It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 050

“Aigo, Doe is here!”

“Yeah. Did you receive the Healing Potion?”

“Yes.”

As I returned to the Office, I greeted my supervisors, who were already sprawled out after finishing lunch.

However, as soon as they saw the translucent reinforced plastic box in my hands, they straightened up.

“…!”

“Wait a second, is that Darkness your responsibility, Doe?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I lifted the transport box to show them.

Inside were two black cards clattering together.

The F-grade Darkness I had chosen.

———————=

Dark Exploration Records / Horror Story

[Choice]

: The code for the horror story featured in <Dark Exploration Records> and from Daydream Corporation is Qterw-F-2073.

Two plain black cards, measuring 60mm in width and 110mm in height.

However, if the owner flips the cards at midnight, the images on the front will be revealed. The subject is randomly selected from the Tarot Major Arcana.

The event indicated will actually come to fruition in the future.

———————=

It’s a small and portable low-grade Darkness that I entrusted to a single staff member…

But in reality, it was the most dangerous and uncertain horror story among the three candidates given to me.

Because it relates to the future.

Even my supervisors appeared to grasp that, and their expressions turned serious.

“Kind of tough for a newbie.”

“Right? Usually, they give you something a bit easier, right? When I was a newbie, I got a radio. You remember that first day when Doe started? It was reset to Twilight grade, you know.”

Ah, that radio.

“Was it something the Chief was managing?”

No wonder it was so blatantly in the Office.

The Chief spoke with a hint of concern.

“Maybe they have high expectations from you, Doe… Ah, Team Leader!”

The Lizard Team Leader, who was entering the Office, turned their head at the mention.

“Is it true that you mentioned Doe would be allowed to choose a Darkness directly? Any idea when that will be… is it still not happening?”

“Twenty minutes ago.”

“…?”

“…??”

“I chose it twenty minutes ago.”

The supervisors looked back at me.

“Doe.”

“Yes.”

“Did you choose that from the options the Team Leader gave you?”

“Yes.”

I nodded with a straight face.

“They say they’ll give you overtime pay.”

“…….”

“…….”

“This Darkness needs to be regularly managed at night.”

The faces of my supervisors turned wistful.

“Ah….”

“Hmm, that sounds like something Doe would do.”

Then they relaxed.

“…….”

Where did my image go…

‘Should I be happy that I successfully caught the character?’

Cough.

I held back tears as I turned on the PC.

“Should I register it now?”

“Yes. I’m entering my employee number now.”

I searched for the Darkness code from the ‘Unassigned Darkness List’ on the intranet, and once I registered it to my account…

Done.

Qterw-F-2073 : Kim Sol-eum (Chief)

Now I officially had my assigned Darkness.

“Even if it’s F-grade, it’s all supernatural phenomena. Be careful while managing it.”

“Yes.”

I read the management method for that Darkness.

The method I already knew for this horror story.

[Flip the card at midnight / once a month]

And a few days later, at midnight.

I came out for an overtime shift in the Company Annex.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

An employee dressed all in black greeted me and opened the corridor.

Following that path, when I opened the appropriate door…

“Glad to see you.”

The two black cards I was to ‘manage’ today were visible.

I cautiously stepped into the iron door and shut it behind me.

Then, opening the card holder, I took out this Darkness, ‘Choice,’ and placed it on the round table already set in this space with its back facing up.

– Are you predicting? Occult verifications were a staple subject for talk shows! Now then, Doe. Shall we check the future?

It felt slightly different.

“I’m not predicting.”

– Hmm?

“I’m choosing.”

———————=

Interpretation

After previewing the two cards, selecting one will bring about an event corresponding to that symbol in the near future.

However, it must be an event that could occur in the individual’s daily life. (Winning the lottery doesn’t count.)

———————=

Indeed.

This was a card that would allow me to choose what would happen in the near future in a binary format.

Of course, it doesn’t always have to be a good outcome.

I reached out and flipped the two cards sitting on the table.

Gorgeous, ornate images revealed themselves like a lie.

The Devil. The Moon.

‘Damn.’

Just like that.

– Oh dear. Neither of them traditionally symbolizes anything good!

Well, depending on the area of questions, it’s not necessarily that all symbols carry bad meanings, but… looking at it overall, that seems to be the case.

In other words, if both choices are bad, then it simply means I’m adding a bad event for no reason.

And considering that more than half of the Tarot cards could potentially be interpreted ambiguously or negatively, the probability of this was at least better than 1 in 4.

But…

– Have you decided which one to choose?

“Yeah.”

Since I was going to do it differently.

I moved to the opposite side of the table.

‘This way feels more natural….’

From the other side of the table, the cards looked upside down.

If I picked the cards from this state…

– Oh, it’s reversed now.

I looked at the card I was holding upside down.

‘They always taught not to do things like this while predicting.’

As expected of an F-grade horror story, it seems the power isn’t great, and it has many holes that allow such tricks to work.

‘If the trick fails, it might just return to being a plain black card and end there.’

So I took the leap, and it seemed to be a good choice.

And the card I picked was…

– It’s the Moon. Ah, a symbol of confusion!

I gazed into the moon card that had a pale full moon hanging upside down.

– Originally, the Moon symbolizes mystery and uncertainty. Where the sun disappears, and the moon rises, ambiguous forms and doubts grow, and ultimately… madness is bound to surface.

– But if it’s reversed, then the opposite, right?

Hmm.

‘Does that mean something will become clear?’

– Quite good! A resolution of uncertainty! Surely, you can sort out your thoughts, can’t you?

I thought so too.

‘In this mad horror world where it’s hard to see even a step ahead, anything clear would be welcomed.’

– Is that all there is to it?

“Yep.”

I put the cards back in order.

The reading cycle for this divination is once a month.

In other words, it means an event that will happen within this month.

Even if the event is limited to ordinary levels, considering my daily routine, it’s working at a horror company…

That signifies it might actually help with survival.

‘Even if not, fixing at least one positive future is nice.’

It’s good if managing the horror story does not feel burdensome but advantageous.

I decided not to be too greedy…

Thud.

“……”

A sound came from outside.

This is the Annex.

A relatively safe place for storing Darkness. Usually, it consists of Twilight grades, and sometimes F grades…

But ultimately, they’re all still horror stories.

Thud.

Occasionally.

If a mismanagement occurs in a rare instance… it could end up with a person or two dying for no reason.

I stood in front of the iron door.

‘……How far away is that sound coming from?’

Should I wait here, or…

Bang!!!

“…!”

I immediately opened the iron door and ran.

It felt like something was going off!

‘Better to run out of here than get trapped inside.’

I dashed toward the entrance, but the floor was already half collapsed.

“…….”

– Oh dear! Quite a messy sight!

All sorts of crazy possibilities flashed through my mind.

But immediately after, I saw a figure pressing down hard on something smashed in the middle of the broken entrance.

“…!”

It was the employee in black sitting at the front desk.

And judging by that stance as they seemed to have ‘suppressed’ the Darkness…

‘It must be a Security Team member!’

And it seemed that the situation had already been resolved.

The noise I’d heard seemed to occur during the Security Team’s suppression.

‘They don’t just sit anyone at the desk in the Annex, after all.’

Hesitating, I asked from about 4 meters away,

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

The black-suited employee shook their head.

Thank you very much…

Let’s get out of here quickly.

“Then I’ll head inside.”

The employee looked at me for a moment, then reached out beside the desk to lift something.

It was a post-it note.

Have a good night.

Surprisingly sociable, huh?

“Thank you.”

I nodded, and the all-black desk employee lightly returned the gesture before placing their feet back on the desk.

Shards of glass that likely were the medium of the horror story sparkled on the entrance floor.

In the reflected light, the oddly twisted shadow of the employee’s leg looked for a moment like a broken hoof… before returning to a human shape.

‘Huff….’

Let’s not look.

I exited the Annex without fixing my gaze on anything.

“This is something.”

Strange incidents happen regularly, huh.

‘Seems like securing one good daily event really was a fine choice.’

Life is tough and exhausting, but I felt a little better knowing I’m somehow scraping through.

Hmm. It reminded me of the time I communicated with the employee using written notes.

[Have a nice day^^]

It was when I sold horror food for 40 million won at a second-hand market.

I had hid my voice and used notes as well.

That time, I sold the churros given to me by the theme park’s blue dragon mascot.

‘I still have one more churro left.’

I still don’t plan on selling it just in case… hmm.

I realized that I actually had quite a few food-related items stored away.

The quantities of these items were reasonably good.

‘Perhaps it’d be better to sell one or two and convert them into money.’

If I’m still looking for buyers, of course.

Remembering that, I logged on to the Salmon Market to check.

Surprisingly, there was a new post up.

[Buying food derived from anomalies.]

For research purposes.

Preferential treatment for powerful anomalies (Disaster Management Bureau waveform deviation).

40.0

– This guy doesn’t seem to get tired of it.

– LOL at this point, it’d just be foolish to fall for it!

Hmm.

‘If they’ve already used the churros for research…’

I sent a note.

[Blue Friend: Hello, Teacher^^ I’ve got some food again. Are you interested?]

And two days later on the weekend.

I found myself waiting for my second-hand trading counterpart at Gwanghwamun Station, Exit 5, just like last time.

‘Trust is definitely important in people.’

Having sold something that fit the conditions once last time, this time, they didn’t say a word, just set a time.

Moreover, this time my counterpart was already waiting at the exit first.

Dressed in dark clothing, from hat to mask, just like last time.

I recognized them by the drink box they were holding. Well, I couldn’t say anything, as I was dressed similarly too.

[Hello^^]

This time, I opened my notepad to show my greeting. The counterpart didn’t seem flustered, probably having expected it.

[Here are the items I prepared.]

They handed me a box that contained two cookies from Alice’s Picnic Set.

Why did I choose this? Simple.

‘The expiration date is running short.’

As a snack, it had a stipulated consumption period!

Since it functions to mitigate or inflate effects, it wasn’t something I found much useful and thus ended up with a good amount remaining.

But considering the super save I got from using drinks during the quiz show, I brought only the cookies this time without taking out the drinks.

‘Cookies are harder to utilize, and all that.’

Isn’t it a waste to just let them sit there until the expiration date?

But using items that are past their consumption date? I don’t really want to see what could happen.

Anyway, I laid out the items, waiting for my counterpart’s reaction.

The buyer lightly brushed over the box with gloved hands before shaking their head slightly.

“This isn’t what I was looking for.”

Well, there it is.

‘It’s probably not up to waveform level.’

Factory-made items carry relatively low risk and a passive feel, leading to a noticeable difference from bizarre items directly obtained from high-grade horror stories…

‘Too bad, but nothing you can do.’

However, it’s worth negotiating…

“Then I’ll buy it at half the price each.”

Cool transaction, thank you.

‘I wonder if the person will be upset enough to try and kill me if they find out about the alien shop….’

Perhaps I should lay a little groundwork just in case.

I quickly scribbled on my notepad.

[Thank you. I really needed the money.]

“…….”

[This doesn’t seem like a dangerous item, but since the expiration date is short, I recommend researching it further. I’ll include a couple more cookies for you.]

With that, I slipped in one or two additional cookies into a small bag on top.

‘Maybe a bonus.’

It’s a trust-building gesture to keep the transaction ongoing. I planned to use it for negotiations, but it turned out well like this.

At this point, I must say this was a very kind second-hand trader, especially in the horror world.

Just as I was about to exit with the cash-filled drink box handed to me by the buyer, I heard their voice.

“Excuse me.”

Huh?

“How did you come by such items?”

Hmm.

[I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that.]

That should be sufficient.

It’s a platform for trading supernatural items, and everyone must have their own story. Let them imagine on their own.

‘An alien shop would only show a page if the person itself sees the advertisement.’

Just as I was bracing for the event of them digging deeper…

“……”

The buyer pulled a pen from their pocket, then wrote something on my notepad.

“If a dangerous situation arises, contact me there.”

Oh?

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

The buyer departed, and I checked the notepad.

1717 8282 42

“…!”

‘That’s a government number!’

It was a direct line for emergency rescue requests to the Disaster Management Bureau.

In other words, it’s the 119 for horror stories.

‘Were they an official from there?’

It made sense given how they used expressions regarding grades.

I shrugged and carefully pocketed the money and notepad.

Daydream Corporation, being the notorious big company it is, had poor relations with the government. But as an employee working there, I surely wouldn’t get involved by dialing them…

‘Absolutely not.’

Yup. It happened!

That very evening when I returned to the Staff Quarters.