The beginning of this disaster traces back to when I first reported to the Field Restoration Unit.

At that time, everything was going smoothly.

"Alright, everyone, introduce yourselves. This here is our new recruit, Agent Horn Craft."

A middle-aged woman with the air of a scholar, who seemed pleasant, introduced me and Jang Heo-un. We exchanged agent names as if we were meeting for the first time.

"Uh, I go by Grape…. N-Nice to meet you…."

"…?! Cough, gasp Y-yes…."

For some reason, Jang Heo-un started choking at one point, but we got past it safely, and everyone laughed as we exchanged greetings.

The team leader of Field Restoration Unit, Team Zhuque 2, was chatting with Agent Bronze. It seemed like she had heard that I had chosen her team, as I could faintly pick up snippets of their conversation.

"Haha, our guy is still a rookie too. It’d be nice to have someone of a similar age join the team."

"Yes. I look forward to working with you."

Thank you, Agent Bronze…!

I wanted to grin from ear to ear, but I suppressed the urge and instead hunched my shoulders, pretending to be nervous.

Jang Heo-un glanced at me but quickly adjusted his expression.

"Alright, today’s site… Yeah, it’s not too difficult, so it’s perfect for the two rookies to handle."

The team leader smiled and patted both of our shoulders.

"This happens to be a case from Team Hyunmu 1, where Agent Choi just rescued a civilian from a horror site. Oh, you’ve heard of Team Hyunmu 1, right? Agent Bronze is part of that team."

"Yes…!"

I’ve heard about them so much that I was practically forced to consider joining….

Anyway, the leader of Team Zhuque 2 gave us a clear briefing on today’s supernatural disaster site.

Including the safety precautions.

"If you feel like you absolutely can’t handle it, just say so. Agent Grape’s senior is waiting outside."

"Thank you…!"

But that won’t happen.

I will absolutely complete this Field Restoration mission flawlessly and handle the paperwork perfectly as well…!

Besides…

‘This is a familiar ghost story.’

No, it wasn’t just familiar—it was practically personal. Whether the grip talk feature got restored or not didn’t even matter.

‘I watched people argue all night about how to conclude this horror exploration record.’

And the story had ended in the way I thought was logical, so the next day, I went to work fueled by dopamine—making it a very memorable case.

Of course, this is the type of ghost story I fear the most.

But the terrifying part of the story is already over! No ghosts will show up!

In terms of cleanup, it’s similar to the taxi case, but since no supernatural entities will pop out, it’s much easier. This is just a simple site cleanup…!

"Wearing this suit makes me feel at ease."

Jang Heo-un spoke in a bright voice as he put on the white protective suit issued for cleanup operations.

"It really does…!"

Being covered from head to toe gives a sense of psychological security.

When I answered with a bright smile, Jang Heo-un’s expression became a bit awkward. Did I act too friendly…?

"Alright, Agent Horn Craft, give us one more site briefing."

"Yes!"

Following the team leader’s encouragement, Jang Heo-un quickly briefed me with a sharp and efficient tone.

"The supernatural disaster site we need to clean up today is located in Dobong-gu, and the estimated time to complete the cleanup is three hours. The defining characteristic of this site is…."

A clear and concise description followed.

"A public phone booth that tells ghost stories."

***

As the sun set dimly over a neighborhood in Seoul, it stood alone on a deserted roadside.

An old public phone booth.

Something rarely seen in Korea now, its ceiling was painted sky blue.

Its exterior resembled a typical public phone booth from the 1980s—worn out on the outside, yet still functioning properly when calls were made.

Its walls were plastered with old, worn-out advertisement stickers, as if they had been placed there long ago.

Most of the advertisement stickers attached beside the phone belonged to businesses that no longer operated.

However, among them was a 12cm x 7cm advertisement sticker, finished in deep red and yellow, stating ‘We Tell Ghost Stories.’ Calling the number on it would trigger a ghost story related to the phone booth.

(The number consists of 13 digits, and calls from any device outside the booth will not connect.)

Users who saw the sticker reported feeling an overwhelming urge to call the number.

That is where the supernatural disaster begins.

And the ghost story actually unfolds inside the booth.

Earlier this afternoon, the Deployment Rescue Unit rescued a civilian who had been caught in the ghost story inside this phone booth.

And so, our job was to clean up the eerie ‘scene’ left in the wake of that ghost story….

The current situation is,

The inside of the booth was flooded with bright red blood, spilling over and seeping outside.

“…….”

“…….”

Wow.

‘I want to run away.’

But if I do, I’ll get recommended for resignation.

I swallowed hard.

"Let’s go in."

"Y-Yes…."

Jang Heo-un, who was just as bad with blood as I was, looked like he was about to faint—but since he was also a spy, he couldn’t back down either.

So the two of us hesitantly approached the phone booth.

The phone dangled from its cord, barely hanging onto the receiver, and it seemed like the blood had started spilling from there….

"I’ll take the photos now…."

"Ah, ah… Yes!"

I raised the camera, centering the phone booth in the frame, and zoomed in.

‘…Something is floating on the blood.’

It was an organ.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘Please, no.’

Think logically. The civilian was rescued safely, so that thing is no different from a prop. Yeah, just pretend it’s a haunted house….

Misfortune Swallower

A piece of Field Restoration equipment, shaped like an industrial vacuum, went in and steadily sucked up the blood.

However, due to the size limitation of the intake, anything larger than that… we had to collect manually.

“…….”

"Are you… okay?"

"Y-yeah… Since… we’re fully covered…."

Touching it directly without any barrier would be the worst ordeal.

Fortunately, since Jang Heo-un hadn’t fainted, we entered the booth together and started cleaning.

F** this….

Holding back my curses, I picked up the entrails and round organs, placing them into the designated collection container.

Since there was no immediate life-threatening danger, I could fully experience the raw, unfiltered terror with a completely clear mind.

I can’t take this anymore…!

‘Save me.’

Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut a few times.

Watching my state, Jang Heo-un, despite his pale face, seemed somewhat impressed.

"Uh, you’re really acting—no, you truly seem like a rookie…!"

“…….”

"Ah, I-I meant that in a good way."

"…Thanks."

I’m not acting….

Holding back the words I couldn’t say, I continued cleaning quickly and mechanically. Ugh.

Fortunately, the blood inside the booth drained away smoothly.

And thanks to the protective suits we were wearing, we proceeded much more calmly than when we first saw the state of this cursed booth.

‘Let’s not look too closely.’

Trying not to think about the fact that we’d have to count the number of organs later, I focused on thoroughly cleaning the horror-stained mess inside the booth.

Next, we’ll spray the cleansing solution….

Then….

"Huh?"

"Yes?"

"Just now… what did you say we should do next…?"

Oh. Did I accidentally say my thoughts out loud from being too nervous…?

Next is…….

“…….”

“…….”

Slowly, we turned our heads.

The receiver of the phone, which had been submerged in blood, was gradually revealed as the cleaner sucked up the liquid.

Droplets of blood dripped heavily onto the floor.

Drip. Drip.

Revealing it.

A pristine speaker.

[To hear the next ghost story, please press 4.]

Thunk.

The booth door slammed shut.

“…!!”

[To hear the next ghost story, please press 4.]

We instinctively stepped away from the telephone.

The phone emitted the characteristic static noise of an automatically playing recorded voice.

"The call… it hasn’t ended yet…!"

Beep.

A brief electronic beep.

…One of the phone's buttons pressed itself.

4.

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

[We will now tell the next ghost story….]

I lunged for the phone.

Then, acting on instinct, I frantically pressed the pound key and shouted into the receiver.

"Today is March 7, 202X. There is no way a public phone booth exists in Dobong-gu. Isn’t that truly terrifying?"

[]

"I have already heard the next ghost story!"

The call stopped.

‘Now…!’

"Agent, this…!!"

I almost blurted out Jang Heo-un’s real name as I grabbed the entire telephone unit with both hands and lifted it into the air.

"…?! W-What are you…?"

"Get out of the way!"

Then, I hurled it straight at the glass booth door.

Then, I hurled it straight at the glass booth door.

“…!!”

CRASH!!

The booth door shattered as the phone tumbled onto the pavement.

With every roll, it broke apart further, emitting eerie recorded screams, button beeps, and connection tones all mixed together…

Until only black ashes remained, and then it was gone.

"…Huff."

"Hah… haaaaa…."

Jang Heo-un and I collapsed onto the ground.

At some point, the glass booth we had entered also vanished.

The area was now wide open, and the container we had filled with blood-soaked organs was completely empty.

The only sound left was the loud suction of the vacuum cleaner, pulling in empty space….

‘Huuuuu…’

Possessed phone booth… dismantled successfully.

‘That scared the hell out of me.’

We almost ended up in a horrible situation.

It was a relief that the method to end this ghost story wasn’t too complicated.

‘By making it aware that I had already experienced a ghost story about phone booths, creating a paradox, and then throwing the phone itself outside…’

"Agent Grape!!"

I could hear my senior agent rushing towards us.

The sudden disappearance of the phone booth must have surprised them. 

“Yes, Agent Bronze, I escaped safely….”

“…….”

Wait, hold on.

My senior agent was waiting outside the whole time anyway.

‘So… couldn’t I have just stayed put?’

And another thing.

‘Instead of cleaning up the site… I completely erased it?’

I lifted my head.

Agent Bronze, who had rushed over, was staring at us in complete shock.

“…….”

“…….”

"Did you just… completely destroy the phone booth?"

Ah.

***

"Hahahahaha!!"

“…….”

"That wasn't cleanup, that was destruction! The Rookie Destroyer! Agent Grape!"

Agent Choi, laughing like a madman, gave me a thumbs-up.

"That’s right! Ending a supernatural disaster is the ultimate form of cleanup! Well done, rookie!"

I really wanted to punch him just once.

‘Haah.’

I held down my right hand, which was about to instinctively give a thumbs-up again, and took a deep breath, suppressing my irritation.

After I destroyed the phone booth, I recalled the reluctant voice of Team Zhuque 2’s team leader speaking with Agent Bronze….

“ – That was… quite impressive, but, uh, it could have been dangerous. I think our team would be better suited for someone with a more calm and composed personality.”

“ – …….”

Obviously, I couldn’t say, ‘I already read the countermeasure in the Chronicles of Darkness Exploration, so it was completely safe.’

In the end, my actions were perceived as those of a timid rookie who, in a moment of slight confusion, made a bold and somewhat reckless decision guided by intuition and inspiration.

And luckily, it worked out!

Of course, completely ending a supernatural disaster was an astounding achievement, so at least my abilities were acknowledged….

…But ultimately, the assessment turned out like this.

“ – Yeah, this rookie would be a perfect fit for Agent Bronze’s team! The Deployment Rescue Unit!”

Kuhhhh.

I saw Jang Heo-un nervously watching from behind, then slowly shifting into an expression that said, ‘Yeah, Supervisor Roe Deer is definitely better suited elsewhere.’ I almost lost my mind.

‘…But I was good at paperwork!’

The site had completely disappeared, so there was nothing left to clean up.

And since the ghost story was completely resolved, I ended up… not as the one processing reports, but as the subject of them.

Just now, I had been interviewed for documentation… by the Team Zhuque 2’s team leader….

“…….”

"Haha, but at least you got to know the rookie from that team, right? It’s always good to have connections in other teams. Makes it easier to ask for favors later."

And that’s why I’m here with Agent Choi right now.

"Oh, oops! My bad. You’re not officially assigned to a team yet, right? I got ahead of myself~ …But since you’re working with us today anyway."

Yeah. Because my next assignment had already been decided.

…As a rookie agent, I’m currently spending three weeks experiencing various assignments across different teams.

That means….

"Welcome back to Team Hyunmu 1!"

It means I’ll be doing another mission with the Deployment Rescue Unit.

And because of what I did, the personnel office seems to have found it very convincing to give me one more Deployment Rescue Unit mission.

‘Agent Bronze…’

He really tried to stop this, but it seems like it was inevitable since this is something a rookie agent is supposed to do anyway…

"Wow~ Some rookies must be so lucky, getting assigned to a team that fits them perfectly~"

“…….”

Agent Choi, grinning from ear to ear, rubbed his palms together gleefully.

"Today, dear rookie, you’ll get to experience a very fulfilling three-person scheduled rescue mission!"

Save me.