After seeing the crack on the Pop-socket, I don’t know with what mind I spent that night.
The next day, regardless of whether I was in pain or not, I went out immediately and purchased a new phone.
And after moving the SIM card, with trembling hands, I attached the cracked Pop-socket and tried turning it on.
‘…It’s working!’
Fortunately, Wiki was operational, but… something was strange.
Dark Exploration Record / ghost story
[Hell-Surcharge Taxi]
Glitches pop up.
It felt like an old computer; it showed the stuttering peculiar to a machine whose lifespan was on the verge of running out….
It was restored to normal soon after, but it made my blood run cold.
‘Right. Merchandise can be damaged too….’
Because of the bizarre situation where things bought at a Pop-up store could actually be used in the Ghost Story Worldview, I had overlooked that part since I carried the smartphone around almost like a part of my body.
Why not just back it up by copying the Wiki contents somewhere else?
‘That alone would take over a month.’
In the first place, pages displayed via the Memorial Pop Socket are prohibited from being copied or screenshotted. One has to copy them by hand while looking at the
smartphone page.
‘I don’t even know if this Pop-socket will last until then.’
However, there’s no need to panic.
In the first place, aren't the goods given by the Goods Box items from this Ghost Story Worldview?
Since I have established a foundation here for half a year, other options are now open to me.
Either get a new Pop-socket.
Or open up a route where repairs are possible.
Interestingly, both required the same kind of connection.
‘The Disaster Management Bureau.’
The place of origin for this Pop-socket.
And I know where things like this Pop-socket or the silver badge were manufactured….
Naturally, I also know the way to enter, the passwords, and the necessary preparations.
And it just so happens that I even have a Disaster Management Bureau temporary Agent badge.
“…….”
I thought, pressing my temples.
‘I’m currently on a three-day sick leave.’
In other words, I can't go to the company to work or handle the follow-up for Death Road in this state anyway.
But since it's just a matter of not going to work, it’s fine to overdo it with other tasks as long as I can endure it. This is because recovery of my condition after three days is guaranteed.
‘However, artificially avoiding the pain charged as the taxi fare is not allowed.’
Because this is a curse, it won’t get better even if I pour in painkillers, and if I try to avoid the pain through supernatural methods, the duration of the curse will increase by as much as I avoided it.
This is because the actual pain must be received to count as the fare.
So, let's set aside my super-strong painkiller, ‘Happy Maker’, unless it's a situation where I really need to increase the curse duration out of desperation.
In the first place….
“…….”
Thinking about what I did in the nightmare after injecting that, it makes me feel a bit chilled.
‘It was truly not painful at all and very comfortable….’
To the point where, if it hadn’t been a dream and if I hadn't had my Contamination treated at the Fox Counseling Room, it might have suddenly popped into my mind whenever things got tough, or I might have become addicted.
I had to be careful.
‘…Right.’
Let’s not wallow until the limit; let’s prepare while I can.
After very carefully separating the cracked Pop-socket from the phone, I wrapped it and stored it inside my tattoo.
“Braun. I have to go out again.”
-Aha, a fighting spirit despite injuries! This is a very charming subject for an interview. Isn't it a Token of showing one's passion for the industry at times?
-But if it's hard to endure, tell me anytime. Your perfect companion, Friend, Braun will help you….
Those were quite chilling yet reassuring words.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
After showering my sweat-drenched body once more, I put on a light zip-up hoodie.
Then I took the rabbit doll wearing a glossy bowtie and put it in the front pocket of the zip-up.
-You look neat, Mr. Roe Deer! Then, where are we going?
Hmm.
“The place where the most young people gather in Seoul.”
I got off at Hongik University Station.
It was a neighborhood where it was amazing that there could be so many people even on a weekday afternoon.
‘And there are many people even away from the station.’
From Mangwon to Yeonnam, every street would be swarming with people out to have fun.
The crowd was at a level where it felt sorry to even compare it to the outdated alley I went to yesterday, the bustling street that connected to Death Road.
-There are so many people here! Bright, with great reactions… Ah, I want to invite everyone to the show and present them with joy and shock that they won't experience again in their lives!
Uaaagh!
Fortunately, Braun was immediately distracted by something else, so I didn't need to stop that excited voice.
-Ah, the scent of coffee is good too! Would you like a cup, Friend? ……Oh dear! You’re staggering. Do you need support?
‘…I’m okay.’
It was an unavoidable consequence of coming out to downtown Seoul with a Ghost Story Resident while carrying a disease curse… Haha.
Still, the feeling of being filled with positive energy wasn't bad.
A vibrant street lined with cafes and drenched in sunlight, where not a single speck of gloominess could be found.
It was hard to even imagine something mysterious or ghost-story-like happening here in broad daylight.
‘Actually, that’s why it’s safe.’
I recalled the method of approaching the place where the Pop-socket could be fixed.
A Disaster Management Bureau document that had even been registered in the Wiki as an image of a note.
! Must be destroyed after reading thoroughly
Place to visit: A cafe with a blue roof and no sign. A commercial facility converted from a house, with a buckwheat wreath hanging on the door.
There it is.
With Braun’s help, I completely suppressed my presence and entered the blue-roofed building.
It was a large cafe bustling with customers.
In that place where all sorts of lights and decorations sparkled even in broad daylight, the cafe staff were busy taking orders and serving drinks and coffee.
Instead of standing in the order line, I stepped slightly aside and ducked into the kitchen area.
And if I go a bit further inside from there….
The moment I turn the corner, two doors appear.
[Staff Only]
They were identical yellow doors, but one just led outside, and the other….
‘Is the door I must open.’
Enter through the right door of the two.
Never touch the left door. Once you touch the left door, you can never enter the ‘place’ through the right door again.
I carefully approached the right door and knocked slightly in rhythm.
Knock-knock, knockknock-, knock-knock, knockknock-
The Jajinmori rhythm. It was a beat that anyone who had received public education in this country couldn't help but be familiar with.
And I opened the door just a tiny bit, so as not to be noticed, and went in.
Creak, thud.
“….”
The inside looked like an ordinary space for personnel.
A space where hallways, storage, and staff rest areas were mixed together.
Worn-out sofas, desks, laptops, boxes of supplies. And on one side, seasonal interior props were piled up.
Find a model that can be interpreted as a house, such as a dwelling, apartment, or ger.
I carefully sifted through the props and found the corresponding one.
A Hanok model.
It looked like it had been used as an interior prop for Chuseok.
‘This must be it.’
After crouching down by the Hanok model, I reached out and grabbed the small front gate.
And the moment I opened the gate.
Thud!
I fell backward, landing on my buttocks.
“Ah….”
Since my body was already in pain, a surge of blood rose in my throat, but I endured it.
Because this was a place where I must not show blood from here on out.
‘Let’s see….’
As I stood up and looked around, it felt as if I had entered a very quiet Hanok tile-roofed house, not a bustling cafe.
There were walls on all sides, but it was a mysterious space where not a single breath of wind blew. The wood and ivory-colored walls peculiar to traditional houses entered my view….
‘It’s quiet.’
In a place where a sense of awkwardness lingered, as if I had come to a place everyone had suddenly left in the middle of bustling downtown Seoul, or as if I had arrived during a break.
[Uh-huh, who is there! In a place where elders are… Eh? Kim Seobang?]
With a bang, the door of the tile-roofed house opened, and someone wearing a tracksuit with a braided pigtail rushed out.
And then, seeing the Disaster Management Bureau iron badge I had attached to my hood in advance, he pointed a finger.
I took a breath and bowed my head.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s my first time here.”
[A new Kim Seobang!? It seems those Kim Seobangs who do the country's work are doing strange things again.]
[How can a scrawny Kim Seobang come alone to the Dokkaebi Realm in broad daylight! What if you meet a nasty Day Dokkaebi!]
At a glance, he just looked like an ordinary person, albeit with a large build and a loud voice….
[No, are you hard of hearing! Why aren't you saying anything, Kim Seobang!]
He is not human.
……One can also tell from the title Kim Seobang.
‘That is a Goblin.’
And this is the place where they gather.
==========
Dark Exploration Record / ghost story
[Goblin Workshop]
: A ghost story appearing in the <Dark Exploration Record>. No registration number from the Disaster Management Bureau, Identification Code from Daydream Inc. is undecided.
A workshop where Goblins gather at night to make clubs and veils, but almost all Exploration Records were written during the day.
One of the ghost stories for which the Disaster Management Bureau is strongly controlling information to prevent access by Daydream Inc.
Refer to the relevant document for usage history.
==========
It was something like this.
It is said that Goblins gather every night to drink alcohol, eat buckwheat cakes, and play while making clubs and veils.
However, it was a ghost story that started from the imagination that there are night Goblins who enjoy the gathering so much that they don't sleep and linger around the gathering place even during the day.
If you give something good to the Goblins idling in the workshop in the middle of the day and ask them to make various things, they will excitedly make them for you.
Currently, they are in a situation where they bluster and chase away those who are not ‘Kim Seobangs doing the country's work’.
There has been no case of a person who was once chased away successfully entering again.
In fact, I also think it’s like a modern version of a fun and mysterious old tale rather than a ghost story.
Wouldn't this be an urban legend?
‘That’s why even the Disaster Management Bureau quietly receives equipment while offering thanks.’
Several items provided to low-year Agents, including the Pop-socket, came from here. Including the Glass Hand Cannon I received from Agent Bronze.
Such innocent ghost stories without casualties are not even registered as disasters by the Management Bureau; they just slap on a ‘General Supernatural Phenomenon’ label and call it a day.
Although there is a description that weighs on my mind….
I often heard advice to be careful of the scary Day Dokkaebi, but so far, there have been no sightings.
Since this was a plot hook that hadn't been resolved even in the <Dark Exploration Record>, it wasn't something to worry about right now.
‘Let’s just do what I came to do quickly.’
I carefully took the multi-layered wrapped Pop-socket out of my pocket, unwrapped it, and held it out to the Goblin.
“I visited in a hurry to see if you could fix this. Ah, here is a gift in return…….”
[Kim Seobang. This isn't something we made?]
…….
Uh?
“Is… that so?”
[Yeah, yeah. They imitated it, yeah, yeah, interesting, interesting….]
The Goblin began to peer at my cracked Pop-socket with his neck stretched out, muttering to himself that it was interesting.
…‘They imitated it’?
‘The merchandise from the Goods Box definitely had the same effect as the original.’
It seemed that even the source wasn't treated as identical. I should be careful.
Swallowing my saliva and blood, I said.
“Then, is it difficult to fix even in this wonderful workshop?”
[What are you saying! This elder can fix anything smaller than a palm… but you see.]
Grin.
The Goblin smiles.
[Kim Seobang. It seems you have something good!]
“…! Ah, I brought some snacks made of buckwheat….”
[Eh? Not that!]
[I smell something good….]
“…!!”
Am I screwed?
[That, very well-aged….]
The Goblin grins.
[Smell of ginseng!]
“…….”
Ah.
After hiding my wrist, I carefully took the item out as if I were taking it out of my bag.
“Would the ginseng you’re talking about… be this one?”
It was the piece of Mountain Ginseng whose Contamination had completely disappeared after I used it for Braun’s bath and then liberated the sentient being.
Even though the cross-section where the sap had come out had hardened, it still gave off a thick scent of earth and forest.
[Yes! My, how appetizing, my goodness!]
The Goblin licked his lips, acting crazy for it.
[It would be just perfect to brew medicinal liquor with that. How about it? I’ll go in there and make you a wonderful hoe or a broom. Or even a pretty Jade ring!]
Wow.
-It is a person who knows how to make a rude but interesting proposal! How about it, Mr. Roe Deer, will you trust the craftsman's skill?
“…….”
‘That’s… something I have to think about.’
Why would I hesitate when a kind Goblin is offering an Item?
‘Because I came here secretly.’
Since I’m not a real Agent.
Since I’m just impersonating one with a temporary Agent iron badge while not being qualified to use this place, I was in a position where I had to be even more careful here.
‘My story must not reach the government.’
It would be troublesome if a report went in that someone suddenly appeared in a ghost story where the Disaster Management Bureau is trying their best to completely control the information itself.
Even today, if it had been around the 15th, I wouldn't have come at all.
‘Because that’s exactly the Disaster Management Bureau's regular visit schedule.’
Even if the Pop-socket repair today isn't a major event and can be overlooked, if I offer up an amazing Mountain Ginseng and take an Item?
‘That Goblin will surely go around talking about it without any ill intent.’
-Aha, I see!
Even if I ask him to keep it a secret, he’ll probably say he will and then forget and go ‘oops’.
‘Let’s refuse after all.’
“I’ll just give you the ginseng. I hope you brew it into good liquor and enjoy it.”
[Oh my goodness! You’re a truly kind-hearted Kim Seobang!]
The Goblin happily took the ginseng and looked at me.
Then….
[But in this place, receiving something in return is the correct way to respond.]
“…….”
What?
[Which team are you from? Seeing as it's a temporary badge, are you a rookie receiving training this time?]
What does this mean?
-Ah, Goblins have loose lips, so one must be careful!
-It was a very plausible deduction, but there is a flaw, Mr. Roe Deer. One condition is different.
That is.
-That person is a human.
“…….”
I barely managed to turn my head and look up.
[Uh-huh, why aren't you answering!]
At the Management Bureau Agent who was pretending to be a Goblin.
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