A dark and silent alleyway in the city.
A lone pedestrian slipped into the narrow passage, casting a long shadow behind a utility pole.
“Hic!”
Thud.
Having bumped into the utility pole, the man lifted his head.
“Fuck…!”
The heavy stench of alcohol poured from his mouth.
He was in such a drunken state that anyone passing by would instinctively avoid him. With blurry eyes, he muttered curses to himself.
“Money, money… Fuck, fuck, this fucking….”
Thwack, thwack!
He kicked the utility pole over and over.
He was dying to vent his rage on someone—anyone.
500 million won.
The debt, which he had accumulated trying to cover sports gambling losses with cryptocurrency, had spiraled beyond first- and second-tier banks and into the hands of private loan sharks.
And yet, even as he posted things like ‘Is the Han River water temperature warm these days?’ on the internet, and even as he drank himself into despair….
Somewhere in his mind, he still couldn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation.
It just didn’t feel real at all.
I owe such an astronomical amount of money?
I actually have to pay it back?
My life is ruined?
‘Surely there must be some way out, right?’
“This… uh, this can’t be happening, hic,”
The moment his bloated ego was consumed by a mix of despair and delusional hope.
Flash.
A harsh light stung his eyes.
“Ugh…?”
The drunkard squinted.
Looking closer, the light from the utility pole was reflecting off something attached to the pole itself.
It was….
“A flyer?”
It was a flyer.
A tacky laminated advertisement, often called a leaflet.
{Seeking Employees
URGENT!
…Major Corp Specializing in Ghost Stories}
Black text on a yellow background.
Some parts of it were torn, letters missing here and there, but the context was clear.
A job recruitment advertisement.
And two massive words struck his money-starved brain.
Employment.
…Major Corp.
“…Bullshit. Why the hell would a major corp… hic, ugh? Do something like this, huh? Why hang up flyers?”
Even a brain soaked in alcohol could tell that much.
The drunkard looked at the final phrases at the bottom of the cheap flyer—‘Insane welfare benefits’ and ‘Start work today!’—and was about to kick the pole in anger again when….
Stumble.
“W-Whoa,”
He suddenly lost his balance and fell forward.
His flailing hand grabbed the flyer tightly.
Crinkle.
The flyer crumpled in his grip….
And the back side of the paper became visible.
“…?”
There was more text there, as if it had been scribbled with a black marker.
{Daily wage provided immediately upon application!
500,000 won in cash}
Five hundred thousand won.
“…….”
Not fifty thousand, not five million, but five hundred thousand won!
It was a large yet strangely realistic sum.
An amount that felt actually attainable.
But also an amount that fell into the ‘high pay’ category, enough money to squander on pleasure.
That caught his eye.
And then….
‘One big score, maybe…?’
Money that could serve as investment capital.
Hope exploded like fireworks in his brain.
‘If I work hard for a month, uh, and get paid… put it all into crypto or gambling…and it hits big…’
This time for sure!
Hope swelled in the drunkard’s head as he thought of ‘getting his money back,’ and he swallowed hard.
Even if it was a bit illegal or dangerous, wasn’t it worth a shot?
And wouldn’t anyone else think the same and call? Are there even any spots left?
He grew impatient.
“Where….”
Where do I contact them?
The man scanned the flyer again. Then, at the bottom of the flyer, he noticed slips of paper cut vertically, the kind designed to be torn off.
The place where a phone number is usually written.
070939312535 [1]
In a fit of impulsivity, the drunkard tore one off.
Riiipp.
Then he pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and dialed the number for the ‘Major Corp Job’.
070, 9393….
Ring… click.
“Hello. I heard you’re looking for people. …No, I’m asking if you’re actually hiring? I saw the flyer, 500,000 won, yeah, is that for real? In cash?”
…….
“…Am I going to do it? I called because I want to do it. Now? You want me to do it now? Yes, yes. I can do it now. Where, hic, should I go? That… uh?”
“Look at the number again?”
“What does that… huh?”
…….
“Why is there one more digit in this number, uh, weird, uh, uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-”
…….
“Come this way.”
Click.
…….
…….
Thud.
The smartphone fell onto the ground of the dark alleyway.
-The number you have dialed does not exist. Please check the number and try again…
Beep.
Silence followed the sound of the call disconnecting.
The smartphone screen, which had been blinking on the ground, turned off.
…….
Now there was no one left in the alley.
In that place where only the light from the utility pole remained, the flyer’s laminated surface briefly reflected it once more.
{Hiring Complete}
Even the crumpled bottom of the paper, which had been hidden beneath folds.
{Daydream Inc.
Namhae Branch} [2]
***
“Soleum-ssi.”
“…….”
“Soleum-ssi!”
Ah.
I jerked my head up.
In the bright office, my supervisor stood next to my monitor, tapping it with his hand.
“Have you not been feeling well lately?”
And here comes the universal workplace sarcasm…!
I reflexively put on a professional smile and answered.
“I’m sorry. I was a bit slow to respond, wasn’t I?”
“No, I’m not saying this to get an apology….”
I’m not sincerely apologizing either.
“…I’m saying it because I’m worried. You’re just staring at a blank monitor when you’re supposed to be on break.”
“…Haha.”
Ah, so that’s what it was….
I gave an awkward laugh and took my eyes off the monitor.
‘Is this… post-lunch drowsiness or something?’
I did seem to be a bit spaced out.
It was five minutes before the end of the lunch break.
The air-conditioned office was reasonably quiet. Most of the employees had already returned to their desks.
Just like the supervisor in front of me right now.
“Your performance is great, so why are you still so cautious even during lunch break?”
It turned out that he was interpreting it very positively.
“Look for something fun or whatever. Didn’t you used to be into something, Soleum-ssi? That….”
……Wait.
Wait a minute….
“You know, ghost stories.”
“…….”
The moment I heard those words.
A strange chill ran down my spine.
An odd feeling like trauma, yet also like nostalgia.
An otherworldly sensation.
I….
“Yes.”
I barely managed to answer.
“Thank you. Haha, I think I might have caught a cold from the air-conditioning… I think my head went a bit fuzzy while I was relaxing.”
“Sure, sure. Take care of yourself while you work.”
“Yes.”
Let’s relax.
Being too tense would be awkward.
Well, it’s fine even if it looks awkward, but since there’s no need for it, I should just put my mind at ease….
“Huh?”
The supervisor cast his gaze behind me.
Toward where my bag was.
“Ah, do you carry things like that too, Soleum-ssi? It’s cute, all fluffy like that.”
“…Pardon?”
“I mean the doll on your bag. It’s a rabbit, right?”
“…!”
I turned my head, startled.
The spot where my bag was sitting. There….
“Oh, looking closer, it’s a dog.”
A trendy white dog character was hanging from it.
……Not a pink rabbit.
“…Yes. That’s right.”
Tingle.
A tingling sensation spread through my chest like electricity discharging.
Relief. Or… a sense of emptiness.
“Did your girlfriend give it to you?”
“No.”
“Ayy, you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“…No.”
“…….”
“…….”
“My bad….”
“It’s fine….”
The supervisor left after saying some generic well-wishes like ‘Anyway, watch out for the AC.’
Phew.
I leaned back with a sigh.
A KakaoTalk message I remembered because of that conversation flashed through my mind….
-Hey Kim Soleum, want a blind date?
-You should definitely take this one lol
-Don’t tell me you developed a crush-phobia because of ‘that incident’? Lolol
“…Ha.”
-Screw off.
I tossed my smartphone onto my desk.
Then I stared at the ceiling where the air conditioner was blowing, glanced outside the blinds where the summer sunlight was in full bloom… and finally looked back at my desktop monitor.
July 7th.
A somewhat familiar date was displayed there.
And I immediately realized why that date was so familiar.
It was the day I went to the pop-up store.
And at the same time….
It was also the day I returned home.
‘Ah.’
That’s right.
365 days had passed before I knew it.
***
The day I returned from the site of the <Dark Exploration Records> pop-up store.
In other words…the day I finally returned home.
I had slipped back into my original daily life with surprising speed.
My original life, where ghost stories didn’t exist.
Going to work, leaving work, meeting family on holidays.
The routine of daily life, which had only changed from school to workplace over the past few decades, once again created a peaceful rhythm.
Human complacency and resilience functioned remarkably well.
To the point where, before I knew it, the fact that I was sucked into another world, into a ghost story, felt like a dream–a figment of my imagination.
Every time I fell asleep comfortably in my family home, every time I returned home after laughing with—and meeting friends and acquaintances without a single worry, it felt even less real.
‘…It feels like a lie.’
That I went to the world of <Dark Exploration Records>.
That I’d worked at a suspicious pharmaceutical company that granted wishes and a supernatural government agency.
That I had met the characters there as actual people.
And yet….
“…….”
Sometimes, I would flinch.
—Stay tuned!
When I heard that phrase on a TV talk show.
When the subway announcements crackled with static, when I filled the bathtub with water, when I heard the store’s jingle while shopping at a supermarket, when I saw an advertisement for a counseling program, and….
Whenever I happened to come across <Dark Exploration Records>.
[The Horrible Truth of the ‘Panacea’ Developed by 7 Researchers from a Famous Pharmaceutical Company / Qterw-B-486]
“…….”
Friday night after work.
I briefly turned on my smartphone in bed, then quickly scrolled past the W-Tube video that popped up in the algorithm.
Because it made the fading scene of ‘reality’ surge up my spine with a prickle.
‘Whew.’
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
Because I could no longer consume it as mere interesting stories.
When reading about the actions or the fates of people I had actually met, how could it not feel ‘unbearable’?
I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy <Dark Exploration Records> like I used to.
At the same time, even imagining myself enjoying it as a ‘wiki’ again… felt repulsive.
I felt like I shouldn't do that.
“…….”
My thoughts began to trail on.
If the world of <Dark Exploration Records> that I went to still existed.
Would that world still be connected to this world?
If so, how much time had passed over there since I returned?
How is everyone living their liv—
“Stop.”
…Enough.
There was no point in dwelling on it.
“I can’t find out anyway.”
I couldn’t find out even if I looked at the <Dark Exploration Records> Wiki.
Because ever since I fell into that world, events had been unfolding differently from the Wiki, like a butterfly effect.
However….
‘…What if that was also reflected in the Wiki?’
Given the nature of the Wiki being updated in real-time, wouldn't it be impossible to know what… is happening right now?
If I checked right now….
“……."
No.
Let’s not be dragged around by impulses and restlessness.
I barely made it back home. Let’s not go looking for trouble.
‘It’s just because it’s nighttime.’
These thoughts and worries that come up late at night usually disappear once morning comes.
“Instead of doing this on a weekend night, please, just go to sleep….”
Fortunately, I was successful in that.
Leaving the living room light on, I tossed my smartphone onto my nightstand and lay down on my bed.
Just like that, I fell asleep.
And then….
My eyes shot open.
“…!!”
It was a dark and vast indoor space.
I was standing there. In the basement of a department store… Where the lights were turned off because business hours had ended.
Wooooo—
Areas selling sportswear, designer brands, and character merchandise. In the middle of that department store basement, which would surely be modern and atmospheric if the lights were on,
There was an empty space.
Wooooo—
A place where the interior had been stripped away, exposing the concrete underneath.
As if everything had been torn out, it was empty and desolate, like a vacant commercial space with a ‘For Lease’ sign….
However, there was one thing still remaining.
The worn-out sign at the entrance.
[Prophecy of the Apocalypse: Dark Exploration Records]
“…….”
Right.
I am standing in the very place where the <Dark Exploration Records> pop-up was once held and then demolished.
But I didn't panic.
“It’s a dream.”
That’s right. This is a nightmare.
And it was a situation I had experienced several times already.
At some point, I had started to occasionally dream of wandering through the demolished space of the department store basement where the <Dark Exploration Records> pop-up was held….
The first time I screamed, but from the second time on, I was fine.
Because I knew it was only a dream.
“It doesn’t exist in reality.”
Right.
“There’s already another pop-up running at this location.”
I had even visited this department store’s basement again. In that space filled with idol fans, there wasn't a single trace of the <Dark Exploration Records>.
“So a space like this doesn’t exist in reality.”
It’s all my imagination.
It’s just a place created by my subconscious.
I knew that.
But….
“…….”
Dreureureu…
The moment it became quiet.
I heard it.
Dreureureu…
From deep inside the demolished pop-up space,
From a place I could not see,
I heard a sound.
Dreureureu…
The sound of something operating.
The sound of something spinning.
A sound that reminded me of an action I myself had performed.
That was….
The prize roulette.
Dreureureu…
Tuk
Someone was spinning the roulette.
A sound coming from a pitch-black corner, from an inner area I couldn’t see from this distance.
Only that sound could be heard.
Dreureureu…
Tuk.
No!
‘I imagined it.’
I…I imagined it….
It’s clear that I’ve been traumatized because I spun that roulette and ended up at Daydream’s new employee orientation.
I’m fine during the day, but when I fall asleep, my subconscious causes this to happen. It’s fortunate that this is a lucid dream. The fact that I could think it through like this proves it.
So I can be at ease.
This was all just a dream my mind created!
But….
Dreureureu…
Tuk.
“…….”
…What if it wasn’t my imagination?
Tuk.
My head felt like it was going to explode, caught between fear and curiosity.
‘No.’
I took a shaky breath.
And…
Eventually,
Unable to resist, I turn my head.
Over there,
I stared into the dark place beyond the sign…….
…….
Beep beep beep beep!!
Thud!
I rolled off the bed.
“…Gah!!”
Dammit.
I reached out and turned off the smartphone alarm ringing loudly.
My entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.
“Haa….”
I could have turned off the alarm since it was the weekend, but like a fool, I had left it on….
Still thanks to it, I woke up.
“This is driving me crazy.”
I sighed as I picked myself up and sat on the bed.
Fortunately, my sense of reality returned quickly.
Because this wasn't a desolate underground space, where the pop-up had been demolished, but my studio apartment bedroom with sunlight streaming in.
“……Whew.”
…It seems my nightmares were getting worse.
‘I didn’t hear a roulette sound before.’
This was the first time.
This was exactly the kind of experience that would circulate on the internet under a title like ‘(True Story) I Had a Terrifying Dream.’
And given that I barely escaped that ghost story in my dream, the plausibility was certain.
“Haha….”
I lowered my head and saw the screen where the alarm had just stopped.
The device that allows me to access the internet… my phone.
“…….”
—These thoughts and worries that come up late at night usually disappear once morning comes.
Usually, that was true.
But today, they didn't disappear.
So….
‘It might be better to just face it right now.’
I swallowed hard and swiped the smartphone screen.
I opened the browser and, for the first time in a very long while, entered the familiar keywords into the search bar.
<Dark Exploration Records>.
Soon, the search results were displayed, and a website link appeared at the very top.
My heart pounded.
Squeezing my eyes shut then opening them again, I….
[Prophecy of the Apocalypse: Dark Exploration Records]
Clicked the page link.
Soon, the website home page filled with familiar text…….
…….
“Huh?”
I blinked.
- - -
The apocalypse has arrived.
Thank you very much
- - -
That was all.
On the blank, white page, there were only two sentences, displayed without any special effects.
“…….”
Even when I tapped all over the screen, the page didn't react.
‘Did the site itself… vanish?’
Leaving only this page?
‘Wait… Hold on.’
-What's this?
-The bastard sold the site and ran away lolol
-?????
-Everyone, please calm down. Of course, this is a very disappointing situation, but let’s wait a bit. Although it would be unacceptable if they made such a shameless decision.
└It's so funny when an otaku tries to be dignified like this
-Please tell me it's a lie, my commute dopamine is gone—
On the emergency communities and social media I hastily found, people who used to read the Wiki were screaming in their own ways.
-Does anyone have a backup?
-Lol, it’s not like there are copyright issues, so of course someone does lol Please come forward, please
What on earth is this?
‘…It disappeared the very moment I clicked on it?’
No, maybe that was just me being self-conscious… but a chilling sense of foreboding continued to crawl up my spine.
A sense that something was off.
-The wording is way too suggestive, isn’t it? I’m telling you, this is an event, right?
└You think? Ever since they launched that cash-grab pop-up, it was obvious that the site would be sold eventually lol
The phrasing.
I quickly returned to the <Dark Exploration Records> page.
- - -
The apocalypse has arrived.
Thank you very much
- - -
Come to think of it.
‘…Why is there no period at the end of the second sentence?’
Was it a typo?
But that sense of discomfort still lingered, unsettling me.
Just like… when exploring the ‘Darkness’.
That sensation—the flash of warning from my survival instincts whenever I had overlooked something in a ghost story, came back to life once again.
“…….”
I took a screenshot of the page.
Then I opened it in an image editing app and adjusted the brightness and saturation.
The moment I set the range and pushed the contrast to the extreme….
“……!!”
It was revealed.
- - -
The apocalypse has arrived.
Thank you very much
- - -
- - -
After you returned home,
The apocalypse has arrived.
Thank you very much
Ireum-nim.
- - -
I froze.
—------
TL Note:
[1] This is not a real phone number. ↩
[2] Namhae (남해군): A county located in the southwestern part of Gyeongsangnam-do. The administrative district consists entirely of islands, the most important of which are Namhaedo and Changseondo, which are connected to the mainland by a bridge through Hadong-gun and Sacheon-si, respectively. (- NamuWiki). ↩
The winner of our fan art contest for Part 3 Launch was JuliaKenni! Congratulations! We’ll host more events in the future, so join the Discord!
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