"Oh, Roe’s back!"

“Yeah, did you receive the regeneration potion safely?”

"Yes."

I returned to the office and greeted my superiors who were just lounging around after having finished their lunch.

But when the supervisors saw the translucent reinforced plastic box in my hand, their expressions stiffened.

"...!"

“Wait, is that the darkness assigned to you, Roe”

"Yes. That's right."

I picked up the box and showed them what was inside.

Inside, two black cards clicked slowly.

It was the F-grade darkness I had chosen.

-------------------------------

Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ Ghost story

[Choose One]:

A ghost story listed in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.

Daydream Inc. ID Code: Qterw-F-2073.

There are two plain black cards, each measuring 60mm by 110mm.

However, when the owner flips the cards at midnight, images appear on the front. The theme is randomly selected from the Major Arcana of Tarot.

Events related to the images will happen in the future.

-------------------------------

Although it's a low-grade darkness, small and portable enough to be managed by a single employee…

In fact, out of the three options given to me, this was the most dangerous and unpredictable ghost story.

Because it is related to the future.

The superiors seemed to realize, as their expressions turned serious.

"For a rookie, this is a bit tough."

“That's right! Usually, they give something easier, don't they? I got the radio when I was a newbie. You saw it on your first day too, right? That one ended up becoming a Twilight-Grade."

Ah, that radio.

‘So, the supervisor was in charge of that one, huh?’

No wonder it was placed so openly in the office.

The supervisor said with a bit of concern.

"Maybe it's because the higher-ups have too many expectations for Roe... Ah, Team Leader!"

The lizard team leader turned around when he heard his name called as he entered the office.

"You mentioned that Roe would be allowed to choose the darkness, right? Do you know when that will happen... or was it not agreed upon yet?"

"20 minutes ago."

"...?"

"...??"

“The choice was made 20 minutes ago.”

The supervisors looked at me.

"Roe."

"Yes."

"Did you choose that one from the options the team leader gave you?"

"Yes."

I nodded expressionlessly.

"They offer overtime pay for it."

"......"

"......"

"Because this darkness needs to be regularly managed at night."

The two superiors exchanged glances.

"Ah..."

“Yeah, that’s just like you, Roe.”

And then, everything settled down again.

"......"

Where is my reputation going...?

‘Should I be happy that my character is developing successfully?’

Ugh.

I held back tears and turned on the PC.

“Are you registering now?”

"Yes. I’m entering my employee ID."

I found the corresponding darkness code from the 'Unassigned Darkness List' on the intranet, and registered it under my account.

Done.

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

With this, I now had a darkness to manage.

"Even though it's F-Grade, it's still a supernatural phenomenon. Be careful when managing it."

"Yes."

I read the management guidelines for this darkness.

It was the method for handling the ghost story I was already familiar with.

[Flip the card at midnight / Once a month]

* * *

A few days later, at midnight.

I came to the company annex for overtime work.

“You’re working hard.”

The employee sitting at the desk, dressed head to toe in black, nodded and opened the corridor door for me.

Following that path, I opened the right door and…

“It’s indeed here.”

I could see the two black cards I was to "manage" today.

I carefully stepped inside the iron door and closed it behind me.

Then, I opened the card storage box, took out this darkness, "Choose One" and placed it on the round table prepared in this space, with the back facing up.

“– Are you reading fortunes? Verifying occult phenomena was also a regular topic on talk shows! Now, Roe Deer, go ahead and check your future!”

It’s a bit different.

"It's not about seeing the future."

“– Hmm?”

"It's about making a choice."

-------------------------------

Interpretation

A pair of mysterious tarot cards that reveal images when they’re flipped. After the user chooses a card, an event matching the image on the card will occur in the near future.

However, the event must be something that could plausibly happen in the person's everyday life. (Winning the lottery, for instance, is out of the question.)

-------------------------------

That's right.

This deck of cards presents two options for what will happen in the near future.

Of course, it doesn't always mean something good.

I reached out and flipped over the two cards lying on the table.

As if by magic, elaborate and vivid illustrations came into view.

The Devil. The Moon.

‘Damn it.’

Just like that.

“– Oh my, neither of these is traditionally considered a very positive symbol!”

Of course, depending on the context, they don’t necessarily depict a bad omen… But overall, that’s usually the case.

In other words, if both options are bad, you’re essentially just choosing a bad event to add to your life.

And considering that more than half of the tarot cards can be interpreted in vague or negative ways, the likelihood of this happening is at least one in four.

But...

“– Have you decided which one to pick out of the two?”

"Yes."

I'll handle it a bit differently.

I moved to the opposite side of the table.

‘This way, naturally…’

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

And if I pick a card now…

“– Oh, it’s reversed now!”

I looked at the card I was holding upside down.

'They always say you should never do this when reading fortunes.'

True to its reputation as an F-grade Darkness, its power isn’t strong, and it’s full of loopholes, so tricks like this work.

'Even if the trick fails, it usually just reverts to being a black card.'

So, I decided to give it a try, looks like it was a decent choice.

And the card I chose is...

“– The Moon. Ah, the symbol of chaos!”

I stared at the Moon card, with its pale yellow full moon hanging upside down.

“– The moon originally is a symbol of uncertainty and mystery. As the sun disappears and the moon takes its place, a vague silhouette and doubt grows, and soon... will start to show madness.”

“– But if it's reversed, the meaning would be the opposite, wouldn't it?”

Hmm.

'Does it mean something will be resolved in the near future?'

“– Quite interesting. The resolution of uncertainty! Wouldn't that bring peace to your mind?”

Agreed.

'In this crazy world of ghost stories, where it's hard to see even a step ahead, it would be nice if something certain came to light.'

“– Is that all?”

"Yeah."

I carefully put the cards back where they belong.

This was done once every month.

In other words, the event will occur this month.

Even though the events are clearly limited to everyday occurences, my "everyday life" happens to involve working at a company dealing with ghost stories…

If that's the case, I thought it might actually be quite helpful for survival.

‘Even if that’s not the case, being certain that at least one positive event will take place in the future isn’t so bad.’

Managing ghost stories not as a burden but as an advantage—where could you find something better?

I decided not to be too greedy...

Thud.

“......”

A sound came from outside.

This was the annex.

It's a place that stores relatively safe darkness. Mostly Twilight-grade (E-Grade), and sometimes F-Grade...

But in the end, all of them are ghost stories.

Thud.

Occasionally.

Very rarely, when a management failure occurs and an unexpected situation arises... people can die, easily.

I stood in front of the iron door.

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

Should I wait here, or...

BOOOOM!!!

"...!"

I immediately opened the iron door and started running.

Because it seemed like something had exploded!

‘Rather than being trapped inside, running out of here would give me a better chance of survival.’

I sprinted towards the entrance, aiming to get out of the building, but...

The floor was already half-destroyed.

"......"

“– Oh no! What a messy sight this is.”

Several crazy possibilities flashed through my mind.

But right after that, in the middle of the broken floor, I saw a silhouette pressing down with their foot on something shattered.

"...!"

It was the black-clad employee who had been sitting at the front desk.

Judging by the way they seemed to have "subdued" the darkness...

‘It must be a security team member!’

And it seemed like the situation was already resolved.

The noise I had heard earlier must have been from the security team suppressing it.

‘So, not just anyone sits at the annex front desk, huh.’

After some hesitation, I asked from about 4 meters away.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

The black-clad employee shook their head. 

Thank goodness…

I’d better get out of here as quickly as possible.

“Well then, I’ll get going.”

The staff member glanced at me briefly, then reached out to the side and picked something up from the desk.

It was a sticky note.

Have a good night.

Surprisingly, they’re rather sociable.

"Thank you."

I gave a slight bow. The staff member, dressed entirely in black, returned a small nod, pulled their foot back, and sat back down at the desk.

On the entrance floor, shards of glass—likely the medium of the ghost story—were shattered and glinting.

In the reflection, the shadow of the staff member's leg briefly distorted, resembling a broken hoof... then shifted back to look human.

'Haa...'

Don’t look.

I left the annex without staring at anything.

"Well, this is… something."

Weird incidents keep happening like they’re part of my daily routine.

‘At least having one positive event in my life definitely seems like a good choice.’

Life has been tough and exhausting, but somehow I feel like I’ve been managing to get through it pretty well, and that made me feel a little better.

Hmm. Come to think of it, I’ve also communicated through written notes, just like that staff member earlier.

[Have a great day ^^]

That was during a transaction on a secondhand market, where I sold some ghost story food for a whopping 40 million won.

I even used written notes to hide my voice.

That was when I sold the churros given to me by the blue dragon mascot of the theme park.

‘I still have one more bag of those churros.’

I don’t plan on selling it for now, just in case... Hmm.

I realized that I own more food-related items than I thought.

My inventory was quite decent.

‘Maybe selling one or two of them to turn into cash wouldn’t be a bad idea.’

If someone is still looking for them, that is.

Thinking about it, I logged into the Salmon Market to check.

Surprisingly, there was a new post.

-------------------------------

[Looking to buy food originating from supernatural phenomena.]

For research purposes.

Preference for strong Rupture-sanctioned Phenomena or above (According to Disaster Management Bureau’s Classification).

40.0

-------------------------------

–Doesn’t this guy ever get tired of it?

– Kekeke, at this point, only an idiot would fall for it.

Hmm.

‘If the churros I sold have already been used for research…’

I sent a message.

[BlueFriend: Hello, sir ^^ I’ve found some more food. Would you be interested?]

* * *

And two days later, on the weekend.

I was once again waiting for the secondhand transaction partner at Exit 5 of Gwanghwamun Station, just like last time.

‘Trust really is the key in business, huh?’

Having sold an item that met their conditions last time, they didn’t even bother with unnecessary questions and simply set the meeting time.

And this time, the other person was already waiting at the exit.

As before, they were dressed in dark clothes and fully covered with a hat and mask.

I recognized them by the box of beverages they were holding. Well, I couldn’t say much, as I was dressed similarly.

[Hello ^^]

Once again, I opened my notebook and showed my greeting.

Perhaps they had expected it, as they didn’t seem surprised.

[Here is the item I prepared.]

Inside the box I handed over were two cookies from the Alice’s Picnic Set.

Why did I choose this? Simple.

‘It’s nearing the expiration date.’

Being a snack, it had a fixed shelf life!

Because it’s an item that reduces or amplifies effects, I couldn’t use it much often, so I still had quite a few left.

Even so, since the soda proved to be such a lifesaver during the Tuesday Quiz Show, I couldn’t bear to bring it out, so I brought the cookies instead.

‘Cookies are harder to use anyway.’

It would be a shame to leave them until the expiration date passes.

Using an expired ghost story item? I don’t really want to risk seeing what might happen.

Anyway, I presented the item and waited for the buyer’s reaction.

The buyer, just like before, ran their gloved hand over the box once...

Then lightly shook their head.

"It’s not what I was looking for."

Hmm. Of course.

‘It didn’t seem like it would match their Rupture-sanctioned requirement.’

Mass-produced items typically have relatively low risk and a passive feel, which creates such a stark difference from the bizarre objects directly obtained from high-grade ghost stories...

‘Too bad, but there’s no helping it.’

Still, it was worth trying to negotiate...

"Then, I’ll buy each of them at half the original price."

Thanks for the smooth transaction.

‘Would this person, upon discovering the existence of the Alien Shop, feel so upset that they’d try to kill me...?’

Just in case, I decided to lay down some groundwork.

I quickly scribbled in my notebook.

[Thank you. I really needed the money.]

“...”

[This time, it doesn’t seem like it’s dangerous food, but the expiration date is close, so it’s best to research it within that timeframe. I’ll add in a couple more for you.]

With that, I added a small bag containing one or two more cookies on top of the box.

‘Let’s call it a bonus.’

This was part of a trust-building effort to keep the transactions going. I had initially brought it for negotiation purposes, but I ended up using it like this.

At this rate, I might just be the friendliest secondhand trader he’s ever met, especially in the world of ghost stories.

Just as I took the beverage box filled with cash from the buyer and was about to leave...

The buyer’s voice broke the silence.

"Excuse me."

Hmm?

“How do you acquire stuff like this?”

Hmm.

[I’m afraid I can’t say. I apologize.]

That should suffice.

This is a platform for trading supernatural items; everyone has their own story. Better to let them imagine on their own.

‘The Alien Shop only appears to those who’ve seen the ad. Otherwise, it just shows as a non-existent page when accessed.’

I was ready to bolt if they pressed further, but…

"......"

The buyer pulled a pen out of their pocket and wrote something on the notebook I was holding.

"If a dangerous situation arises, contact this number."

Huh?

"Well then, I’ll be off."

The buyer left, and I checked the note.

1717 8282 42

"...!"

‘This is a government number.’

It was a direct emergency hotline to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

In other words, a "119" specifically for ghost stories.

[Note: ‘119’ is the ‘911’ of South Korea.]

‘So, that person is affiliated with them?’

No wonder he used their classification system. I shrugged and carefully put away the money and notebook.

Daydream Incorporation, the shady conglomerate I worked for, had a notoriously bad relationship with the government.

Still, the idea of someone like me calling this number and getting involved with them was...

‘There’s no way it would happen.’

Well, it did!

That very evening, when I returned to the company housing…