Water came pouring into the laundromat.
Gurgle, gurgle.
I backed away, avoiding the water seeping through the gaps in the glass door.
But in an unmanned laundromat, there was nowhere to run. There were only a few washing machines spinning all around.
'Damn it.'
"This way!"
I immediately stepped up onto a washing machine. At the same time, Section Chief Lee Jaheon stood on the neighboring machine.
But that was it.
'Where do we go from here?'
I scanned the small, high glass window on the left wall. It had bars, but Section Chief Lee Jaheon could probably rip them—
♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
“…….”
I could hear a sound as the water currents collided.
A faint, flamboyant instrumental piece echoed in my ears.
A melody I’d heard before.
The theme song of Cheerful Theme Park.
♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
The waves filling the laundromat clumped together, transforming into a mass of water.
A Dragon in a theme park Mascot costume.
F o u n d Y o u .
A voice suddenly drifted from the mass of water before me, which had seemed devoid of intelligence.
A sound that seemed to come from the other side of a telephone.
It vibrated, using the water as a medium….
F o u n d Y o u .
Breaking into a cold sweat, I looked at the black streams and masses of water occupying the laundromat….
'How did it recognize me?'
I had taken off the mask and was wearing a hat and a face mask….
K i d n a p p e r .
'…It recognized Section Chief Lee Jaheon!'
The black mass of water raised a forepaw and pointed at the Lizard standing on the washing machine next to me.
"He is not."
K i d n a p p e r .
"He is not."
It was going to keep doing that forever…!
No, if anything, that was a relief. Honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if that mass of water had exerted some chilling, ghost-story-like ability right then and there!
I still hadn't forgotten. The torrent that had surged out of the phone and insanely swallowed the alleyway.
'…Since it’s water, I’m not even sure if Physical Exorcism will work.'
“…….”
Phew.
Right, at least if we're in a situation where communication is possible.
B a d C h i —
"He is not a kidnapper."
I took off my face mask and put on the roe deer one.
Then I rolled up my sleeve and showed the tattoo.
: Socius :
In that state, I faced the face of the water-mass Dragon with the most relaxed expression I could manage.
"Mascot. Are you by any chance looking for me?"
The form of the water mass wavered.
And….
G o o d C h i l d !
its voice became clear.
"Yes, it's good to see you too…."
After gesturing to Section Chief Lee Jaheon not to come down, I slowly stepped down from the washing machine.
'Ugh.'
Water splashed beneath my feet, but there were no other crazy Symptoms besides the theme park's theme song becoming slightly clearer.
'Good.'
I can do this.
I approached the front of the water mass….
L e t ’ s G o
I felt a vibration from the tattoo.
It seemed to resonate with the form before me.
The Dragon's forepaw approached….
P l a y M o r e
I took a breath.
"I'm sorry."
Then I quietly pushed the forepaw away.
"I am no longer a child, so I cannot stay at the theme park forever. I have to work."
Silence.
'This is terrifyingly scary.'
But I endured it, speaking calmly while looking into the Dragon's face.
"Still, when I want to play, when I want to spend time at a fun water park, I will definitely come find you."
I lifted my wrist and showed the tattoo.
"You gave me this for that reason, didn't you? So I can come whenever I want."
The water mass nodded slowly.
"Thank you. …Um, but, it seems I don't really know the way to Cheerful Theme Park."
The way to enter Cheerful Theme Park from the company was through a board game, and every game, you entered a theme park with a different structure.
'It might actually be safer if I can prevent that part.'
A place I've already been to would be better.
"I'm worried I might accidentally go to a different theme park where the Mascot isn't there. Is there a way to prevent that?"
I t ‘ s O k a y
"…Even if I go to another theme park, it's okay?"
I t ‘ s O k a y
“…….”
It was strange.
'…Will something change if I play that board game again?'
Anyway, if that's the case.
P r o m i s e
Phew.
I hid my trembling and reached out my hand to the mass of water.
"Yes. I promise."
Then I hooked my pinky finger with the water’s.
The squelchy sensation of the water made my skin crawl, but there were no problems….
…….
The water mass, releasing my pinky, pressed my tattoo with a claw from its forepaw.
It seemed to be checking if it was well-attached, and soon, as if satisfied, it withdrew its paw.
It was then.
Whoosh.
The laundromat door swung open under the water pressure, and something flew in and landed on top of the water mass's forepaw.
A rectangular black object.
My broken Smartphone.
Y o u r s
“…….”
I picked up my smartphone with a trembling hand.
"…Thank you. I was worried because I thought I'd lost it."
G o o d C h i l d
The shape of the water mass collapsed.
P r o m i s e
The waves subsided.
Then, like a video being rewound, it was sucked out through the gaps in the laundromat….
Slurrrrrp.
The water current brushed back through the alley.
Before long, the alley became quiet, with no trace of water remaining.
And inside the laundromat that had been filled with black water, a few chocolate bars printed with my likeness remained like gold dust.
“…….”
I survived.
"Fuuuu…."
I slumped down on the spot.
-My goodness, Friend! Did you really promise to go play at that unremarkable theme park again?
'Yeah.'
No matter how much I thought about it, if I had said something like 'I don't want to make a promise' back there, I don't know what kind of state I would have ended up in.
'I might have had my guts hollowed out and been forced to work at the theme park as a blue dragon mascot ver.2 staff member.'
Avoiding that was a relief….
As long as I have the Membership Pass, I should be treated as a guest there. That would be better than being dragged away blindly or accepting random variables now.
My mind raced.
'…Should I talk to the company and schedule a time to use the board game?'
Judging by the interval… I should probably go within the next half year.
'Let's prepare items and equipment in the meantime.'
Good.
For now, the important thing was that I'd survived this moment. I stood up on shaky legs and held back a sigh.
'If it was going to be like this, I shouldn't have run away earlier…!'
But honestly, in that situation, would there have been any crazy person who would have thought to stay instead of running and try to resolve it calmly through conversation?
'I'd bet a gold bar on "none"….'
Phew.
Just then, Lee Jaheon hopped down from the washing machine behind me as if nothing had happened.
I asked reflexively.
"Leader. If I hadn't stepped forward earlier, would you have tried to smash… no, anyway, eliminate that water mass?"
"Yes."
“…….”
As I thought.
The timing just happened to be right this time, but if we had just stood there blankly in that stationery store, things would have gone to hell in many ways.
'I was right to run away then.'
I don't know whether to cry or laugh at this….
But I had to pull myself together.
'We're still trapped in this alley.'
One piece of good news was that I’d thought of a way to try and get out of here.
"Leader."
I dusted off the hem of my suit and stood in front of the laundromat's glass door.
"I've thought of an escape method. …If a few conditions are met, I think we can attempt it even here in this Death Road alley."
"I see."
"Yes. And the first condition is…."
I looked around at the shops in the alley.
The item the shopkeeper used to make contact back at the stationery store that had put us in such a distressing spot.
"A telephone."
A short while later.
Ting-
In the alley where Darkness had descended, we opened the door and entered a shop that showed a fairly cozy light through its window.
Coincidentally, it was the very shop where my colleagues had enjoyed shopping earlier.
True to the advertising slogan 'Handmade Knitting,' cozy-looking sweaters, socks, and mufflers were on display, but occasionally there were strangely tattered and damp fibers….
'Ugh.'
I ignored them as much as possible and turned my gaze further toward the shop's layout.
And after several hours of ducking in and out of numerous shops in this alley to avoid the voice of the angry stationery store owner, I finally found what I was looking for.
'…There it is!'
Another door.
There was a large door on the wall opposite the one I’d entered.
It was larger than the door we’d just come through. Which meant….
'That one is the front door.'
And beyond that would be an unknown street, not the alleyway of Death Road….
The kind often described in Dark Exploration Records as 'subsequently processed as missing.'
A door on the opposite side is occasionally discovered in the shops of the Death Road alley. It is advised not to exit through it if possible.
※No records of return to date.
It's similar to the fear one feels when the question ‘Where does an explorer who has deviated from the path go?’ is met only with the answer ‘Unknown.’
The fear of disappearing.
'Phew.'
I quickly looked away to avoid seeing the neon signs shining through that opaque glass door.
Then, I picked up a pair of socks that had been verified as safe from among those Section Chief Lizard was eyeing intently and headed to the counter.
"Hello."
The owner, who was knitting with six arms, stared at me over a pair of primitive glasses.
This time too, I kept my gaze slightly lowered, looking only at the owner's sweater.
Then, I held out the socks and spoke naturally.
"I'd like to pay for these. Oh, and by any chance, would it be alright if I used the phone for a quick call?"
I didn't stop at words; I nonchalantly placed a few more coins on the counter.
…….
The owner of Death Road, who had the face of an old woman, …….
Click.
She picked up the phone and handed it to me.
"……Thank you."
Phew.
'With this, I’ve secured all the conditions.'
And….
3. A means of transport.
I looked at the dial of the classic telephone.
Naturally, dialing a real-world number on a Death Road phone doesn't necessarily mean it will connect.
There were records of it occasionally seeming to connect, but they were all strangely distorted, as one would expect of a ghost story.
Someone would mimic a relative only to laugh maniacally the moment they were caught and hang up, or the connection would be made to a family member in the middle of holding the caller's own funeral due to time distortion.
'It was horrific.'
So, what I was doing wasn't a request for rescue.
'Maybe… it's the opposite.'
I lifted my finger and, somewhat clumsily, turned the dial to enter the numbers.
666666 4444 8282
Originally, it was a number whose format made no sense and shouldn't even produce a dial tone, but….
Ring… ring… click.
Miraculously, it connected.
[…….]
Struggling to ignore the sound of the person's breathing on the other end, I spoke as calmly as possible.
"Hello. Is this the call taxi company? I'd like to call a taxi."
[…Location confirmed.]
A husky voice spoke.
It was a low, arrogant way of speaking that sounded polite yet strangely mocking.
[Please state the time you wish to use the service.]
"I'd like you to come right now."
[Please state your destination.]
"…Seoul Station, Exit 1."
[Confirmed. Assigning a driver….]
I intentionally pulled the phone away from my ear for a moment.
Then, a few seconds later.
[Assigned. Have a comfortable journey.]
Click, beep-beep-beep….
The call disconnected automatically.
"…Thank you."
I politely returned the phone to the shopkeeper, took the bag with the packaged socks, and handed it to Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
It was to hide the fact that my hands were shaking.
'Phew.'
It's done.
As you might have guessed, that wasn't a normal call taxi.
A suspicious call taxi number that crosses time and space at will.
'It's a ghost story…!'
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story
[Hell-Surcharge Taxi]
: A ghost story appearing in the <Dark Exploration Record>, identification code Qterw-C-8282 of Daydream Inc.
A taxi ghost story that appears when calling a specific number late at night.
Anyone who takes this taxi is bound to be cursed.
==========
I can no longer find a normal way out to reality from Death Road.
In that case.
'I'll get out, even if it's by way of a ghost story.'
And a few seconds later.
From beyond the shop's front door, the sound of a small horn was heard.
Beep beep.
“…….”
The taxi had arrived.
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