[Resentment, The next station is Resentment Station.]
[The exit doors are on the right...]
A suffocating silence flew through the subway.
I, too, was contributing to this silence.
Even though I already knew this story, I'm the type of person who gets scared by just the thumbnail when YouTube suggests related videos and quickly clicks "Not Interested" to skip immediately. And now I have to survive in a ghost story?
‘Just kill me already…’
That would be a blessing.
I’m already at a point where I don’t even have the energy to figure out what’s going on.
I was pressing my face with both hands, wanting to deny the world.
That’s when it happened.
Blink.
[First Prize: Chronicles of Darkness Exploration Real Goods Box]
“…?!”
I lifted my head.
From what I could see, something similar to a notepad was flying in the air.
I could see it even when my eyes were closed.
Paper scraps, seemingly torn from a notebook and folded were fluttering around…
“This is…”
Wait, it doesn’t seem like anyone else could see this.
I immediately shut my mouth. In this situation, drawing attention was the stupidest thing I could do.
Instead, I tried to touch the notepad in front of me as discreetly as possible.
Flap.
Surprisingly, the notepad moved as though it was unfolding and spat something small.
“…!”
I hurriedly grabbed it to cover it with my hands.
It was… a Griptok.
A very simple black griptok, with the only distinguishing feature being the golden "X" symbol in the center.
But it was exactly this pattern that made me realize what the griptok actually was.
‘Isn’t this a merch?’
It was part of the goods sold at the pop-up store I visited before landing in this strange situation!
One of the items I bought today.
With trembling hands, I picked up the griptok.
In the story, this item had some kind of function…
-------------------------------
[Memorial Griptok]
: A C-grade item featured in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
When attached to a smartphone, it presents the text that the user remembers in a clear and concise page format.
Issued as a Level 9 item by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau under the Ministry of Environment.
-------------------------------
‘It shows memory as text…’
In that case, could it be?
I removed the adhesive from the griptok with trembling hands and immediately attached it to my smartphone.
It was at that moment.
The scattered text I vaguely remembered clearly took shape and appeared on my phone’s screen as a page.
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ ghost story
[Welcome to Abyss Transit Company]:
A ghost story from <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
Daydream Inc. ID code Qterw-D-16
An insane ghost story, and one of the D-grade darkness stories initially written, it stands out for its overwhelming difficulty to escape. The field exploration team suffers endlessly.
Exploration records include a total of 56 entries.
-------------------------------
“…!”
Does this mean…
‘The merchandise I bought actually work?’
Now that I think about it, the black goods box that had been on my lap was now gone.
‘That goods box… turned into this notepad and spat out the goods I bought?’
What kind of crazy situation is this?
No, but still, this is definitely advantageous for me.
The ghost story world I entered, <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>…
Do you know how many internet veterans have burned their creative desire based on this? Literally hundreds and thousands of ghost stories exist.
Of course, it’s hard to immediately recall everything as if I’m flipping through pages in my head.
Moreover, as with any ghost story, it doesn’t give you the survival methods directly but forces you to infer them while reading the story, making it even harder to figure out the answer in a new situation.
‘But if I can search everything I’ve read previously,’
If that’s possible, the first thing I need to check is….
‘Past escape cases!’
I quickly scrolled down the wiki page.
And after breathlessly reading the section ‘3.2 Exploration Record,’
“...”
I came to a conclusion.
‘I realized it.’
I found my answer, the station I needed to get off at.
But there’s a problem.
“…”
I turned to the people in the same compartment as mine.
Including myself, there were 8 young new employees.
Two of the people, who had been in panic after witnessing the live horror, had barely regained their composure and were starting to talk.
“What was that… Resentment Station’ they mentioned? It sounds like the type of grudge people hold when they’re angry…”
“Yeah…”
“Ugh, no phone service or data, seriously… What on earth is happening…?”
“…”
Right, the problem now was how I would convince these unfamiliar and untrustworthy people to get off at the correct station.
‘I need to get as many of them as possible.’
I clenched my fist.
Was it because I suddenly felt a noble sense of duty to save the extras who were destined to die in this horror universe, realizing that they were real people?
Well… I mean, sure, it was my humanity screaming, but that wasn’t the main reason.
The most pressing reason was simply this:
‘I can’t get off alone…!’
Exactly.
These stations often have bizarre and horrifying designs.
Am I supposed to walk alone through a station full of eyeballs, a pitch-black station, or an upside-down station?
Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine and made me feel like crawling on all fours.
‘The odds of me fainting before escaping safely? Over 90%…!’
No way. Someone save me, please.
‘I have to persuade them somehow!’
I almost opened my mouth immediately, but then shut it again.
‘Still, shouting about supernatural phenomena or darkness right away would be stupid.’
Who would willingly accept that they were stuck in a scenario like an RPG-maker horror game? They’d either dismiss it, laugh it off, or panic even more at the chaos.
‘Take it slow… I need to build trust first.’
At least one person.
If I could reliably persuade one or two people, the crowd psychology in humans would kick in, and others would more easily follow.
‘Let’s see… Someone who looks like they need help, or someone showing signs of being open to conversation….’
“Hah… This situation is straight out of a Y-Tube ghost story or something.”
Found one!
“Did you say ghost story?”
“Ah.”
A woman with a calm impression and a bob haircut nodded slightly, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Yes, um, I watch horror stories on YouTube sometimes, and the situation reminded me of those.”
“Could you share more details? It definitely does not seem like an ordinary situation, so it’s better to share whatever information we can.”
“Oh, it’s not exactly information… It just feels like everything here is out of that story. An auditorium suddenly turning into a subway… People dying… out of nowhere.”
Her face turned pale, likely recalling the grotesque scene from earlier.
I get her. I felt like throwing up too.
Let’s quickly erase that memory from both our minds.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up…”
“No, I feel the same. I can’t think straight with all this madness happening.”
The woman gave a faint, tired smile.
“Oh, you seem like the calmest one here.”
That was probably because I haven’t passed out like a dead fish yet.
“Huh?”
And surprisingly, around this time, someone else spoke to me first.
There was a very reasonable explanation for it.
“Oh, weren’t you sitting next to me earlier?”
It was a man with curly hair and a somewhat naive-looking demeanor.
‘Now that I think about it, he was sitting next to me in the auditorium earlier.’
This rookie employee seemed to have been left out of any group conversations happening around us. Rubbing the back of his neck, he alternated glances between me and the woman I was talking to, before extending his hand for a handshake.
“I’m Baek Saheon.”
“…!”
For a moment, I nearly forgot to shake his hand.
Baek Saheon?
‘A named character?!’
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ Daydream Incorporation
/ Characters
Baek Saheon:
An employee of Daydream Inc. featured in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
Final rank: Manager.
Total exploration records: 106, with 17 special cases documented on the wiki.
Nickname: Viper.
-------------------------------
He was a veteran employee who had been active multiple times in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
I looked up, staring at the slightly meek-looking man with curly hair, and swallowed my thoughts.
‘This guy… is Baek Saheon?’
His image didn’t quite match the one I had in my head.
Anyway, the feeling of seeing a character I had only read about in the ghost story universe come to life was truly surreal.
Meanwhile, the bob-haired woman who had first brought up the ghost story extended her hand.
“Given the situation, let’s at least introduce ourselves. I’m Go Yeongeun.”
It was a name I didn’t recognize.
And when it comes to the names I don’t recognize, there are two possibilities..
Either they handled ghost stories relatively smoothly and left early.
Or they died quickly.
‘Damn it….’
Sometimes, there were named employees with only nicknames or codenames, but in such cases, their character traits were so distinct that it was immediately obvious who they were.
This was unsettling. I quickly shook off the lingering doubts and masked my expression.
“I’m Kim Sol-eum.”
The introductions ended quickly, and we naturally continued the conversation as we sat down on the subway seats.
By then, it felt like the crowd had subtly divided into groups.
“Oh, those people… Are they trying to communicate with the front compartment?”
“Looks like it.”
In this story, movement between train compartments was forbidden. Unsurprisingly, they soon gave up and returned to their seats.
“What should we do? There’s no way to communicate with others.
And it looks like there’s a fight breaking out up there…”
As anxiety and unease spread among the people, another announcement was made.
However, the name this time had a different vibe.
[Pleasure, The next station is Pleasure Station.]
“Huh?”
The murmuring stopped for a moment.
“Pleasure?”
“Uh, doesn’t it sound a bit positive? Maybe…”
No, it doesn’t.
‘You can’t jump to conclusions…!’
I gritted my teeth as I recalled the exploration records I had just read.
This ghost story changes the theme of a station every time it appears.
So, finding an answer to "Which station should we get off at?" or "Which station is the right answer?" from the examples and trying to escape based on that information was impossible.
‘But trends can still be observed.’
Like this:
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Dark Exploration / ghost story
/ Welcome to the Abyss Transit Company
3.2 Exploration Records (includes a total of 56 entries)
Stations named after colors like red, yellow, and blue.
Escape status: Success, 2 people. (Attempt: Blue Station)
Stations named after body parts like the left arm, cornea, heart.
Escape status: Failure (Attempt: Cochlea Station)
Stations named after serial killers like ■■, ■■■■, and ■■■.
Escape status: Success,12 people. (Attempt: ■■■■ Station)
Stations named after years like 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Escape status: Failure (Attempt: 2024 Station)
Stations named after diseases like asthma, stroke, and glaucoma.
Escape status: Success, 3 people. (Attempt: Cold Station)
[More Records]
-------------------------------
See?
Even with 56 records, there’s no correlation between the positive connotation of a station name and the chances of escape.
And yet, here at Pleasure Station, the people were about to rush out like a herd.
[The exit doors are on the right...]
And the platform just had to look bright and pleasant.
‘Damn it.’
The station looked clean and radiant, like a new stop in a freshly built suburb, and I could feel the crowd’s mood shifting sharply.
“Ah…!”
“Should we get off here and look for people? This place looks completely normal…”
Excited people began to hover near the doors.
No way!
‘The people in my group!’
And my mental stability watching this scene!
‘Damn it all.’
In the end, I rushed to block the doors again.
“…!”
“What the? What’s your problem?”
“Please, wait.”
[The screen doors are opening.]
“Are you certain?”
“Huh…?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. But are you sure that this place is safe? Do you have any evidence to support it?”
I deliberately turned my gaze.
“I think most of you would agree that this situation feels like a ghost story.”
The one who caught my gaze, Go Yeongeun, flinched, but she didn’t take back her words.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. There’s no turning back now.]
“But whether it’s a ghost story or a horror movie, have you ever seen anyone who picked a choice based only on luck and intuition live till the end?”
“…Well, no, but—”
“Is it really okay to gamble your lives without any reasoning or deduction?”
The anxious people paused for a moment but soon erupted in anger.
“Wait, so do you have some grand deduction?”
“This guy’s been spouting nonsense since earlier….”
“Just move already! Deduction, reasoning… What is this, a quiz show? Did someone give you a hint or something?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
“They’re giving all of us a hint.”
I took a deep breath.
Then I raised my hand to point above us.
At the subway train display screen with the speaker.
“The announcements.”
—Please pay attention to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination.
From the beginning, the subway announcements had been kindly stating the facts.
“They keep telling us to focus on the announcements and follow them. It’s too obvious.”
With that in mind—
I spoke as I heard the next announcement.
[Passengers whose final destination is Pleasure Station, please disembark as per the announcement.]
“Does anyone here have Pleasure station as their final destination?”
“…”
“…”
The crowd froze.
“Well, it’s good, isn’t it?”
“Pleasure… Like, living joyfully. Isn’t that the purpose of life…?”
“Then, is your final destination Pleasure Station?”
“…”
“…”
It seemed everyone felt something unsettling.
But a couple of people began to lash out at me with anger.
"Hey, do we even have a “destination” right now? Why are you interfering when you don’t even know what you’re talking about?"
"If we can’t get off here because of you and fail to escape, are you going to take responsibility, huh?"
Take responsibility?
"Yes."
"...!"
"Wh-what...?"
"I will take responsibility."
That was an easy question.
‘I was planning to escape with everyone anyway.’
Getting off here was a confirmed wrong answer, so my choice couldn’t possibly be worse than that.
But perhaps because it was an unexpected response, the person froze with his mouth open.
"..."
It seemed as if my determined stance began to shake them up, as I could see indecision creep across their face.
[The screen doors are closing…]
And in that moment, the doors closed.
"Ah..."
I stepped aside. Some of those who had been staring at the door with vacant eyes pressed themselves against it.
But no one was yelling at me anymore.
‘This… should be enough.’
Just as I was feeling somewhat satisfied—
A frantic shout rang out.
"Oh no! Everyone in the front compartment got off!"
"...!"
All of them?
I quickly looked out the train window.
Not all, but about six people appeared to have left at once.
"..."
Sigh.
I really didn’t want to see what was going to happen next.
But if I wanted to make a persuasive argument later, I had no choice but to watch it.
Suppressing a curse, I squinted to peer through the foggy view outside the window.
"They’re running!"
The people who had gotten off seemed determined to move quickly. I could see the six figures sprinting toward the exit stairs at the platform.
But it was too late.
"Aaarggh!"
The platform floor began bubbling with a golden hue, and their feet started sinking into it as if melting into the ground.
"Is that… gold?"
It was a bizarre sight as if their lower bodies were transforming into gold and sticking to the floor.
The people screamed and struggled to run, but their movements grew slower and slower….
Eventually, their torsos toppled forward, and their upper bodies that were separated tumbled forward at the base of the stairs.
Even those parts began to shimmer, turning into gold.
As if it’s showing that they’re feeling joy and pleasure.
“Gasp—”
"Hicc—"
[The train is now departing Pleasure Station.]
Inside the departing train compartment, the only sounds were the gasps and muffled sobs of those shaken by what they had witnessed.
One of the people who had tried to get off grabbed me desperately and asked:
"Y-You said you’d take responsibility. Can you really promise we’ll find somewhere safe? Can you?"
"Yes."
I answered firmly.
Though I couldn’t understand how it came to the point where I gave out a definitive answer, I had no other response to give.
‘This is killing me, seriously.’
My legs were trembling so much I felt like collapsing…!
Images of those people’s lower bodies disintegrating kept replaying in low resolution in my mind, making me nauseous.
One thing was certain: even if I survived this, I wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.
At that moment, Baek Saheon, who had been watching, spoke up admiringly.
"You’re incredible, sir."
"…Sir?"
"Oh, I tend to call people I meet ‘sir’ out of habit."
Then, with a sheepish laugh, he added:
"In this day and age, there aren’t many people like you, you know. Most people hesitate to say things with certainty and instead use phrases like, ‘I think it’s probably…’"
"…"
"Since you’re making bold claims, I really hope it leads to a good outcome."
Uh… thanks for the encouragement, but this wasn’t the time to be making detached, lukewarm remarks.
‘If there isn’t a good outcome, you’ll die too, you know….’
Wait.
No, hold on.
There was something I had missed because I was too scared.
‘If there’s a record of Baek Saheon working as an employee in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>, that means he passed this event, doesn’t it?’
If that’s the case, I just need to stick to whatever station Baek Saheon decides to get off at.
If I convince myself and Go Yeongeun, that makes three people.
And if someone takes the lead to get off, others are likely to follow in a chain.
‘Could it really be that simple?’
"Mr. Baek Saheon."
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to have a station in mind?
Something like… a name of a station that makes you think, ‘This is the one.’"
"…Why’re you asking me out of nowhere?"
"I just want to hear everyone’s thoughts."
"Ah."
Baek Saheon seemed to consider it briefly before shrugging.
"Not really. I don’t know much about this sort of thing."
"I see."
So he didn’t have a particular sense for it yet.
I nodded calmly. It seemed like a decent idea, so I’d continue to observe—
Ding-dong.
[Please pay attention to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your final destination.]
"…!"
The announcement began again.
Everyone stopped talking and immediately looked up.
[Our train will soon pass through a curved section. It may lead to some noise and turbulence.]
[Please remain seated to avoid accidents.]
Oh, for f—!
"Everyone, take a seat."
No one objected, and quickly scrambled to their seats.
Even the person who had been demanding to get off earlier shut their mouth and was the first to sit down nearby.
But apparently, not everyone seemed to follow the rules.
“Hey, the front compartment!”
“Those people….”
Passengers in the front compartment were too busy arguing fiercely among themselves that they were just standing.
The specific words weren’t clear, but it seemed the shouting drowned out the announcement.
It was obvious even without hearing. They were panicking about the fact that the people who were just with them, had all died right in front of their eyes.
“Shouldn’t we at least try to say something?”
“Hello? Can you hear us?!”
“Please, sit down!”
The new employees sitting closer to the front car shouted, but the people in the front car hardly paid any attention. One person, who happened to make eye contact, instead began approaching them.
“Sit down!”
“No, don’t come closer. Just sit—”
It was too late.
[Entering a curved section of the track…]
The lights went out.
“…!”
In the darkness, the train began to shake violently with a deafening roar.
And then, over the roar, came a sharp sound.
Screams.
—Aaaaahhh!!
—Ahhh, ahh, aaahhh….
There were sounds of something wet, bursting.
Like squeezing a ripe grape to its limit—a thud.
A dull thud echoed.
…As if it were just on the other side of a door.
“…”
“…”
In this car, the passengers instinctively held their breath, trembling faintly as they exhaled.
And then, the lights came back on.
…
Through the narrow glass pane on the door, we could barely see the front compartment.
It was completely covered in blood and filth.
In that insane state, as if living beings had been thrown into a blender, there wasn’t even a trace of a person left.
Everyone was dead.
[It is now safe to leave your seats. Thank you for your cooperation.]
The calm, polite announcement stood in stark contrast to the panicked screams filling the train.
“Let me out! Let me out!”
“Gasp…Gasp… what is this? What the hell is this…? Mom…!!”
Even so, the new employees tried to muffle their cries, holding their breaths and straining to listen to the announcement.
Because it had just proven to be their lifeline!
“Damn it.”
It was clearly heading in a direction favorable to my survival, but the reality of it was so horrifying that cold sweat dripped down my forehead.
Ignoring my trembling hands while wiping the sweat, I clenched my teeth.
I couldn’t look at the front door anymore.
‘Focus, I just need to focus on persuasion….’
If we reach the correct station a few stops later, surely people would get off together….
[Dear passengers, this is an announcement from Abyss Transit Company, Please pay attention to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your final destination.]
There was another announcement.
“Again?!”
“Ugh….”
Cutting through the sobbing cries of the exhausted recruits, the polished, mechanical tone of the recording continued.
It said something utterly nonsensical.
[We have a lost item.]
Wait.
I instinctively raised my head.
[If you have found the lost item, please disembark at the next station and deliver it to a station staff member.]
I recognized this scenario.
‘…One of the miscellaneous recorded escapes!’
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration / Ghost Stories /
/ Welcome to Abyss Transit Company/
3.4 Miscellaneous Records (Escape)
A document recording irregular survival cases where individuals successfully escaped, aside from getting off at a station.
Certain methods were observed repeatedly. (The most frequent cases being "Temporary Stop for Train Interval" and "Lost Item Announcement.")
-------------------------------
An unconditional escape ticket.
As long as you had the announced lost item, you could safely exit!
But….
‘Only one person can escape.’
…For someone like me, who couldn’t leave alone, it was a survival ticket I was disqualified from by default.
I clenched my fists tightly.
‘Then, who should I send out?’
No, was sending someone out even the right answer?
That’s when I realized…
[The lost item is the ‘Left eye of a Type-A Male in his Twenties.’]
The lost item was something unimaginable.
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