Got Dropped in a Ghost Story Chapter 1

Have you ever gotten completely hooked on something?

I don’t mean just thinking, “Oh, this is fun.” I mean liking something so much that you ended up spending extra time and money on it.

You know the kind of thing.

Watching the director’s cut of a movie, buying an art book for a game, paying for advance chapters of a webtoon, going to a singer’s concert….

And if you take it one step further, you might even start buying things related to it.

Merch, in other words.

Figures, slogans, badges, dolls……

I can say this with confidence.

Never in my life had I spent money on things like that.

Until now.

I was at a department store.

The pop-up store was so popular that all the queue tickets were gone by the time the department store opened at ten that morning.

And somehow, I managed to get one.

“Anyone with a 2:30 p.m. time slot, you can enter now!”

“Finally!”

“Hey, hurry up. Let’s go!”

The cheerful teenagers standing beside me rushed toward the employee with excited looks on their faces.

2:30… Yep, that’s mine.

I pulled my cap down as low over my face as I could and joined the line.

Then I heard people whispering behind me.

“Huh…?”

“Is he a reseller?”

“Maybe he’s a dealer.”

“……”

It felt incredibly unfair, but I could understand why they thought that.

I was the only adult man in the line who looked like he had a full-time job!

Haah…….

I groaned as I looked at the entrance to the pop-up store.

[Welcome, Explorer Who Has Come Into the Darkness.]

‘This is killing me.’

The theme combined caricatures of various monsters and occult elements with the symbols of corporations, religions, and governments, all against a black-and-red background.

It was practically made to appeal to teenagers.

Even the title was something else.

[Prophecy of the End: Darkness Exploration Records]

Hah…….

I barely resisted the urge to cover my eyes with one hand.

‘Why did I have to start reading this at work…?’

Records of Darkness Exploration.

It was an internet horror setting that had become extremely popular recently.

You know those open-source fictional universes where anyone can contribute stories, and the world gradually expands through collective creativity?

Apparently, it had started as an offshoot of a famous online horror story and quietly gained traction among students. Then the YouTube algorithm picked it up, and its popularity exploded.

The basic premise was simple.

Records of various strange phenomena known collectively as “the Darkness.”

Eventually, it grew into an independent wiki containing hundreds of thousands of stories, which was how it first caught my attention.

…And since it was all text, it was incredibly easy to read at work.

Besides, they say anything is fun at work as long as it isn’t actual work.

Before I knew it, I had fallen completely into the setting.

I even reached the point where I created my own horror story and uploaded it……

How did things end up like this?

Was my painfully dopamine-free office life really the problem?

And then there was Records of Darkness Exploration itself.

Who would’ve thought it would get this big?

Apparently, it had become a massive IP that practically ruled YouTube among teenagers.

Naturally, a company had jumped in to monetize it.

This pop-up store was part of that.

‘Still, didn’t the wiki have a 15+ age recommendation?’

So why were there so many kids here?

Getting whispered about from behind was already making me painfully aware of myself……

“I really think he’s a reseller……”

“Hey, hey. Maybe he’s buying something for his nephew or cousin. Don’t be like that.”

No.

I’m buying it for myself.

…Actually, I’d been here just last week, but one of the items I wanted had sold out right before I could get it, so I’d come back….

I’d even taken a day off.

‘At least there was a woman my age last time.’

Of course I’d ended up with a weekday afternoon slot, when the only other adults around were parents accompanying their kids. I was so embarrassed I wanted to run away, but I had no choice but to stick it out.

I was so embarrassed I felt like running away, but I endured it.

Actually, I don’t even know why I’m trying so hard to endure this…….

Anyway, following the employee’s directions, I entered the store.

The fact that the employee didn’t react strangely to me was my only comfort.

“Whoa!”

“Hey, it really looks like the real thing!”

As the middle schoolers exclaimed in excitement, I looked around the surprisingly elaborate interior.

It was decorated well enough to feel like a small theme park.

They had even divided the displays neatly by theme.

[Daydream Corporation]

[Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau]

[Church of the Luminous Unknown]

In this horror universe, there were three major factions—corporations, governments, and religions—all competing to investigate, contain, and secure supernatural phenomena.

That was the basic premise.

Originally, the stories had mostly revolved around the government’s Disaster Management Bureau.

But as more and more people joined the fandom and contributed their own ideas, the setting kept expanding until it became what it was today.

Anyway, this pop-up store seemed to have gathered only the stories and characters that had become especially popular online.

It was obviously a cash-grab pop-up packed with merchandise featuring the most popular characters and horror-themed items.

Still, the quality was pretty good.

‘Right. When else would I ever come to a place like this…?’

Ignoring the stares, I quickly grabbed the things I had come to buy.

Luckily, I’d already bought almost everything I wanted last week, so there weren’t many popular items in my basket. At least the suspicious looks from people who thought I was a reseller disappeared.

“Would you also like to purchase a large eco-bag for your items? It’s 5,000 won.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I finished paying without any problems.

But instead of leaving the pop-up store immediately, I hesitated.

I turned my head toward the area beside the check out counter, where people had gathered in a line.

[Roulette Event]

: Create Your Own Records of Darkness Exploration Character.

That.

I’d seen it last week too, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to stand in line and participate….

I heard the pop-up ends tomorrow.

I was seriously debating whether it was worth sacrificing what little social dignity I had left when the employee who had just taken over at the counter noticed me and smiled.

“The roulette event is only available until today! Would you like to participate?”

“…Yes.”

Thank you.

Seriously, thank you, kind staff member…

“Great! Please come this way. Oh, you can just stand right here…”

Before I knew it, she had smoothly guided me over to the line in front of a giant black roulette wheel.

And somehow, I naturally ended up standing at the very back.

Fortunately, the line moved much faster than I’d expected.

It wasn’t long before I reached the front, where a staff member handed me a button resembling a walkie-talkie.

“All right, we’ll start the lucky roulette now! Press the button whenever you want it to stop.”

Whirrr.

Along with a synthetic sound effect, the roulette began spinning.

Each section of the wheel displayed a different rank and prize.

There was merch I’d already bought, display-only merch that wasn’t for sale, and even a random pair of Bluetooth earphones….

Naturally, seventh place took up the largest section.

The prize?

A tiny memo pad.

That was probably what I’d end up with.

But honestly, I didn’t mind.

I’d almost walked away without participating at all.

Better not get my hopes up.

With that thought, I carefully pressed the button I’d been given.

Rrrrrr…

Click.

The black wheel gradually slowed.

And then—

It stopped.

On an incredibly thin strip of gold.

[1st Place]

[Dark Exploration Records — Real Merch Box]

“…!”

“Oh my gosh! Congratulations!”

Wait.

Seriously?

“Whoa, no way!”

“That’s insane! I’m so jealous!”

Behind me, people screamed, cheered, and shouted in envy.

“Wow, we finally got a first-place winner the day before the pop-up closes!”

The staff member seemed even more excited than I was.

She hurried behind the roulette wheel and returned with a large plastic-wrapped box.

The box itself was completely black, with an enormous silver emblem embossed across its surface.

It looked far more detailed than ordinary merchandise.

I somehow managed to stop my hands from shaking as I accepted it.

“…Thank you.”

I needed to get out of here immediately.

Then maybe slap myself across the face a few times just to make sure this was actually happening.

But just as I was about to leave the popup store, the staff member called out to me.

“Oh! Since the prize includes custom-made merchandise, we just need your name!”

My name?

At this point, my personal information had already been leaked all over the internet anyway.

That wasn’t important.

What mattered was getting this box home safely.

“It’s Kim Soleum.”

“Got it! Mr. Soleum, please wait just a moment.”

The employee quickly operated a black vending machine beside the roulette wheel that looked a bit like a 3D printer.

It must have been made specifically for the pop-up store, because there was even an explanation printed on top.

[Records of Darkness Exploration Character Maker]

Oh.

The staff member began operating a black machine beside the roulette wheel.

It looked almost like a 3D printer.

There was even a sign attached above it explaining what it was.

[Dark Exploration Records Character Maker]

Ah.

So this was the thing mentioned as part of the roulette event.

Create Your Own <Dark Exploration Records> Character.

Seriously…

Could anything be more perfectly designed to appeal to teenagers?

“Please enter your name here.”

“…All right.”

Still clutching the merch box tightly with one arm, I quickly typed my name into the machine’s keypad.

Then—

Clunk. Clatter.

An eerie, music-box-like melody began to play as the machine whirred theatrically to life, its gears turning inside.

A moment later, something small slid out.

I picked it up.

The object looked strangely familiar.

It was…

An employee ID card.

[Daydream Inc.]

Employee: Kim Soleum

Field Exploration Team

“Wow! Daydream Inc.! That’s one of the most popular factions in the <Dark Exploration Records> universe!” ……

Yeah.

I know.

Put simply, Daydream Inc. was the stereotypical giant corporation that made money by exploiting supernatural phenomena.

And the Field Exploration Team…

That’s basically the department where everyone dies.

Like the expendable redshirts from an old sci-fi series.

They were constantly sent out to investigate paranormal incidents, only to meet horrible ends.

Probably because of that, quite a few named characters in the setting belonged to the Field Exploration Team.

“Wow, you got a Field Exploration Team employee ID! I can’t wait to see what kinds of adventures Employee Kim Soleum will have in the world of <Dark Exploration Records>!”

“Yes… thank you.”

I nearly cringed myself inside out, but somehow managed to endure it.

Well, at least I didn’t get assigned to some government bureau or suspicious religious cult.

Thank goodness it was just a corporate employee ID.

It was still embarrassing, of course.

But the staff member had probably repeated that same line hundreds of times by now.

Unlike me, she seemed completely immune to the embarrassment, delivering every word with flawless professionalism.

And with the employee ID card in hand, the roulette event appeared to be over.

“Thank you.”

I glanced down at the card with my own name printed across it and sighed internally.

This…

I need to hide this somewhere no human being will ever find it.

I’d reached the absolute limit of how much secondhand embarrassment I could endure.

Just then, the staff member cheerfully spoke again.

“Do you like it? You’ll treasure it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

…

I froze.

What?

Thinking I’d misheard her, I slowly raised my head.

Grin.

The staff member was smiling.

No—

She was grinning.

Her lips stretched far too wide across her face, curling upward in an impossible arc.

Almost all the way to her ears.

At that exact moment—

A violent wave of dizziness crashed over me.

The sounds of the popup store disappeared completely.

My vision blurred, as though black paint had been smeared across the world, while flashes of red and blue flickered through the darkness.

And when the dizziness finally subsided…

Not even in my wildest imagination could I have guessed that the world around me was about to change completely.

[Welcome to Daydream Inc., everyone!]

“…?!”

When I came to my senses, I was standing—or rather, sitting—in the corner of a huge auditorium, staring toward the podium at the center.

And then—

Boom!

Applause erupted as animated fireworks burst across the presentation screen behind the podium.

[New Employee Orientation]

Cheers and clapping filled the auditorium.

The person acting as the host smiled brightly and moved on to the next slide.

There was no mistaking it.

This was a new employee orientation ceremony for some huge corporation.

The auditorium was packed with young men and women dressed in suits.

They applauded with a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and pride, looking every bit like people who had just landed their first real jobs.

[All of you beat odds of 145 to 1 to make it here! You should be proud of yourselves! Haha! Now then, let’s officially begin our new employee orientation!]

What the hell is this?

Instinctively, I tried to step backward.

Except—

I couldn’t.

Because I was already sitting in a chair.

I looked down at myself.

A suit.

I’d worn one today because I was supposed to meet a client later in the evening.

Thanks to that coincidence, I blended almost perfectly with the countless “new employees” seated around me.

And on my lap…

Sat the merch box I’d just won from the roulette event.

Completely untouched.

“Excuse me.”

The person sitting beside me glanced at the box.

“Where did you get that? Is the company handing those out too?”

“……”

I couldn’t answer.

Because the presentation continued.

[Everyone gathered here has been specially selected!]

[Among all applicants who responded to this recruitment posting, only a small number were chosen to attend this special orientation session in Room A!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully passed the aptitude examination and have been assigned to our special division—]

[The <Field Exploration Team>!]

“They already decided our departments?”

“Field Exploration Team? Daydream Inc. has something like that?”

“Field exploration… in a pharmaceutical company?”

“Wait, doesn’t that sound like they’re sending us somewhere remote? Maybe we’re not working at headquarters at all.”

“Did they just give it a fancy name so we wouldn’t realize we’re being shipped off to some branch office…?”

Confused whispers spread throughout the auditorium.

But I barely heard them.

Two names were ringing inside my head.

Daydream Inc.

Field Exploration Team.

I knew both of them.

Of course I did.

Like a bolt of lightning, a page from the wiki flashed through my memory.

[Field Exploration Team — Daydream Inc.]

: One of the five teams belonging to the Development Department of Daydream Inc., the massive corporation appearing in <Dark Exploration Records>.

Commonly known as the “death squad.”

A miserable department for the people assigned to it—

but an incredibly entertaining one for anyone writing horror stories.

Wait.

A realization struck me.

…This was the scenario from the pop-up store event I’d just participated in.

Which meant what came next was…

In the middle of the new employee orientation, the recruits were suddenly thrown into a deadly survival game.

Only those who survived and passed the evaluation would be officially hired as full-time employees.

It was one of the wiki’s consistently popular storylines, since it showed ordinary people being thrown headfirst into encounters with the Darkness.

“…!”

“Uh, wh-what are you doing…?”

I immediately shot out of my seat.

I didn’t care how or why I’d ended up here.

There was only one thought in my head.

Get out.

But—

I was already too late.

[Before you can officially join the company, you’ll need to complete a short probationary period. Don’t worry! It won’t take long!]

[During that time, your practical abilities will be assessed on an absolute basis.]

[And naturally, full participation is required for an accurate evaluation! We can’t have anyone simply freeloading!]

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

One after another, the auditorium doors slammed shut.

Damn it!

While I was panicking internally, the unsuspecting new recruits around me still seemed to believe that Daydream Inc. was nothing more than an ordinary pharmaceutical company.

They hadn’t realized what was happening yet.

And so, while nearly a hundred new employees continued listening attentively, the host raised their voice with cheerful enthusiasm.

[Now then—let’s begin!]

The moment those words rang out—

The auditorium lights went dark.

“Huh?”

The recruits murmured in confusion.

Most of them probably assumed the company was about to show some sort of promotional video.

Their reactions were no more than mildly curious.

Which made sense.

After all, who would ever imagine that something insane would happen just because they’d gotten a job?

For example—

That the entire world around them would suddenly change.

The next instant, the auditorium vanished.

In its place was the interior of an old, desolate subway train.

[Passengers, thank you for choosing Abyss Transit Corporationrt today.]

[This train will not stop.]

[For a pleasant journey to your destination, please listen carefully to all announcements.]

An unfamiliar automated voice echoed through the carriage, announcing stations none of us had ever heard of.

“…?!”

“W-What the hell is this?!”

The new employees, still dressed neatly in their suits, found themselves sitting in subway seats exactly where their auditorium chairs had been.

This time, almost everyone jumped to their feet.

Their shock was understandable.

“Excuse me?!”

“Is this some kind of VR?”

“Did we actually move somewhere?”

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—most of the people from the auditorium still seemed to be here.

That small bit of familiarity seemed to reassure some of them.

Their initial panic quickly turned into confused curiosity.

People began moving through the subway car, looking for company employees or anyone connected to the orientation.

Others tried the doors, checking whether any of them would open.

Before long, the others started to realize that something was off.

“There are people in the next car! But… huh? The doors between the cars won’t open. Is this some kind of new technology?”

Cold sweat began forming along my back.

I shut my eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again.

There was no mistaking it.

I knew exactly which ghost story this was.

[Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation]

: A ghost story appearing in <Dark Exploration Records>.

A D-Class Darkness infamous for its absurdly difficult escape conditions and notoriously brutal scenario.

The Field Exploration Team has suffered countless casualties while investigating it.

Exploration Records: ■■ documented entries.

<Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation>.

As the name suggested, it was a horror story modeled after Korea’s subway system.

The premise was simple.

—You doze off on the subway, only to wake up and realize you’re still riding the train. At first, everything seems normal, just like your usual commute home.

But then unfamiliar station names begin appearing…

That was how the story started.

Its victims could be anyone who had ever used the subway regularly, which made it especially unsettling for office workers reading it.

“……”

And this one… belongs to Daydream Inc.’s jurisdiction, doesn’t it?

So this was their plan.

Daydream Inc. intended to use this Darkness to weed out the new recruits.

Damn it.

“Maybe this is some kind of escape room?”

“But why would a pharmaceutical company that sells hair-loss medicine make new sales employees do an escape room…?”

Right then—

[This stop is Sorrow.]

[Sorrow Station.]

“…!”

“S-Sorrow?”

The first station announcement echoed through the train.

I instinctively held my breath and turned toward the doors.

[The doors will open on your right.]

Click.

The train came to a stop.

[The doors are opening.]

The doors slid apart.

At first glance, there was nothing unusual.

It looked like an ordinary subway platform.

Except—

[The doors will close in 30 seconds.]

[Once they close, they will never open again.]

[Passengers whose destination is Sorrow Station should exit according to the announcement.]

The same calm automated voice casually slipped several deeply disturbing phrases into an otherwise perfectly ordinary subway announcement.

But people had a tendency to cling to whatever explanation made them feel safest.

“Look! It’s just a normal station outside!”

And technically, they weren’t wrong.

Beyond the open doors was a clearly visible subway platform.

It was somewhat dark and damp, but aside from that, it looked completely ordinary.

That sight seemed to reassure everyone.

Two or three people immediately started walking toward the exit.

No.

“I don’t think you should get off.”

“Huh?”

This was bad.

“You heard the announcement. ‘Sorrow Station.’ There’s no subway station in Korea with a name like that. Obviously something’s wrong.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I think he has a point. We should probably stay put and see what happens first.”

Someone quickly agreed with me.

It was the new hire who had been sitting beside me back in the auditorium.

Thanks to that, the people who had been about to leave hesitated.

“But…”

“Wait, the doors are closing!”

Unfortunately, the warning only made a few nervous people panic.

They impulsively leapt onto the platform.

It was the worst possible decision.

[The doors are closing.]

“Ah!”

“Damn it, I missed it.”

Those who hadn’t made it off sighed as the doors shut.

Outside, the people who had successfully gotten onto the platform waved back at us.

A few of the people still inside even shot me irritated looks and muttered curses.

I couldn’t really blame them.

In a bizarre situation like this, it was only natural to want to escape the train as quickly as possible.

But then—

“What the hell…?”

“Look!”

Something horrifying happened.

The moment the people on the platform turned to leave—

Silver liquid began dripping from the ceiling and pillars.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

Huge droplets fell one after another.

They looked almost like tears.

Except the moment those silver drops touched the people below—

Sizzle!

They tore straight through the flesh like molten metal.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Screams filled the platform.

Bodies convulsed.

Then went still.

Blood mixed with the shimmering silver liquid and splashed across the train windows.

[The train is now departing Sorrow Station.]

As the train began moving again, the final sight outside the window was—

“……”

The blood-soaked platform.

Near the closed doors lay what remained of the new employees who had gotten off.

Crushed, mangled bodies twitched weakly amid the silver liquid.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Ahhh!”

Screams erupted throughout the carriage.

That was what happened to the people who chose incorrectly.

[Please pay close attention to all announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination.]

Only now did everyone truly begin to understand.

Panic swept through the train as shouting and crying broke out all around me.

It started.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I’m actually inside a ghost story?

I still had no idea how any of this had happened.

But one thing was becoming painfully obvious.

I’d somehow become a new employee at a company that existed inside a horror story.

And worse—

I’d been assigned to the department infamous for having an absurdly high mortality rate.

Is this seriously happening?

Still…

If I looked at things objectively, I probably had a huge advantage over everyone else here.

After all, I’d read practically every entry on the <Dark Exploration Records> wiki.

3.2 Exploration Records

(up to ■■ documented entries)

I could remember information in surprisingly good detail.

Which, on paper, sounded like the perfect setup.

You know the trope.

The protagonist gets dropped into a fictional world he knows better than anyone else.

Then he uses his future knowledge to avoid every danger, collect hidden rewards, and casually impress everyone around him.

Maybe I could do that too.

Maybe I could exploit my knowledge to escape every scenario.

Maybe I could even monopolize valuable items and secrets before anyone else discovered them.

There was just one problem.

One extremely serious problem.

…I’m fucking terrified of horror.

That’s right.

I’m a coward.

Reading horror?

No problem.

As long as it’s just words, I can enjoy it perfectly well.

But the second that horror gets turned into something I can actually see?

I’m finished.

And I’m not talking about being slightly jumpy.

I’m such a coward that my friends have been making fun of me for years.

—Kim Soleum’s crush asked him to watch a horror movie and he rejected her because he was too scared. Is this actually real?

—LOLOLOLOL.

—Bro, your name practically sounds like the sound effect for getting goosebumps and you can’t even watch horror movies? LOL.

—Damn, no wonder your crush gave up on you.

—Wanna die?

—Sorry.

—My bad.

That’s the kind of person I am.

Even when I read horror stories at work—

in broad daylight—

I turn off the background images and disable the BGM so I can focus on nothing but the text.

I was so scared that even the creepypasta I wrote myself didn’t include a single illustration.

A permanent resident of the Shelter for Scaredy-Cats.

That’s me.

“……”

I buried my face in both hands.

I’m so fucking screwed.

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