Three minutes since we landed in front of the lodge deep in the forest, caught up in a ghost story about a serial killer.
The secondhand trader dismounted from their bike and approached the lodge door.
Upon seeing Baek Saheon and me standing there, he hesitated for a moment.
‘...Seems like he recognized me.’
The marketplace trader, specifically, recognized me.
But I pretended not to notice, keeping my mouth shut.
Baek Saheon quickly started talking in his usual amiable voice.
“Excuse me, are you the owner of this house? Sorry, but it seems like we got on the wrong bus. It’s so remote here that there’s no signal. We were hoping we could make a quick phone call…”
“I’m lost as well. I came here to ask for help.”
“Ah, I see.”
At that, I turned to the person as if only just noticing him and feigned surprise.
“…!”
The trick was to widen my eyes and give a slight nod.
The buyer, already having recognized me, wasn’t particularly flustered. He returned a brief nod in acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, Baek Saheon subtly began probing for information about the stranger.
He was likely assessing if the person posed a threat.
“Are you here for some weekend trekking? This seems like such a remote area. Are you a local resident?”
“…No. I’m not sure how I ended up here either. I left from Seoul, but…”
“Oh, really? That’s the same for us. There’s no signal here either. Do you know the way out or where we might be?”
“…I don’t. Let’s go inside and ask.”
“…Ah, okay.”
Baek Saheon clicked his tongue subtly, displeased with the lack of useful information. He glanced at the bike the person had ridden.
Then his expression changed, as though he’d noticed something important.
The logo printed on the handlebar.
[Seoul Metropolitan Government #2153]
It was obviously an official government bike. Baek Saheon, quick to exploit any opening, brightened.
“Excuse me, are you—”
I nudged Baek Saheon lightly in the side.
He stiffened instantly, looked at me, and shut his mouth.
I carefully mouthed the words,
‘Disaster Management Bureau.’
“……!”
‘He probably heard at least once how badly our company and the Bureau get along, right?’
If that person figures our identities…
I mimed a throat-slitting gesture so subtly it was almost imperceptible. Baek Saheon’s complexion changed.
From then on, he avoided engaging the official with unnecessary conversation. A good move.
“I’ll open the door.”
I nodded at the official, who now had his hand on the lodge’s wooden doorknob. He lightly pushed the door open.
Creak.
“Is anyone here?”
Noonday sunlight spilled into the slightly dim interior of the lodge.
And then…
“Oh, what? More people are here?”
“Are you the owner of this house?”
A group of people who had arrived earlier could be seen.
A man and woman who seemed to be a couple, three people in their twenties, and one middle-aged individual.
Six in total.
With our group of three… that made nine.
‘It’s starting.’
Suppressing the urge to close my eyes, I stepped inside the lodge.
* * *
As expected, everything unfolded like a cliché.
The couple claimed their navigation system malfunctioned and led them here.
“Seriously, the GPS guided us to some weird place, then the car broke down, and now there’s no phone signal… It’s driving me insane!”
“Ugh, Honey, I told you we should’ve gone to Sapporo instead of Sokcho!”
The three college students, part of a hiking club, said they had gotten lost.
“We parked at the bottom and came up on foot.”
“Yeah… Ugh, this is driving me crazy.”
The middle-aged man, a chauffeur trying to find the nearest bus stop after finishing his job, explained his situation.
“Dear lord, still, it’s a relief to see people here. If we wait, the owner will come back, right?”
“– And once the owner of this lodge appears, the bloodbath begins?”
Something like that.
I scanned the surroundings with the deadened gaze of someone who had already given up.
I hadn’t even brought proper items with me.
Survival would be rough this time…
‘Focus only on myself. Just myself!’
People soon started asking questions about our group.
“What about you young folks? What brings you here?”
“Oh, we’re just office workers. We were heading to a site visit but must’ve gotten on the wrong bus. He’s my supervisor, and I’m just a regular employee.”
Look at Baek Saheon subtly shifting responsibility onto me.
I pulled out a notebook.
Since I was still in my work attire, I was able to maintain my cover.
[Hello.]
“Huh? Why are you writing…?”
[My throat’s a bit sore.]
“Ah, I see.”
The college students exchanged glances and turned their heads, wearing expressions that screamed, what a hassle. The couple glanced at me briefly before stepping back.
“Oh dear, must be one of those nasty colds going around?”
“You should at least wear a mask. What if we catch it?”
[Sorry. I’ll make sure to stay quiet and careful.]
Baek Saheon looked at me with an expression that suggested he was disgusted. Funny, since he’d been reacting on my behalf this whole time.
“What about that other guy? Is he with your company?”
“No, we met him at the door… um.”
The secondhand buyer, with his large build and sharp gaze, looked intimidating but responded politely.
“I’m a civil servant at the Seoul City Hall.”
Oh. He actually told the truth.
He briefly explained his job as a government official and that he had gotten lost while riding his bike.
Of course, that was the extent of it.
Not a word about being from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, or the fact that everyone here was now caught in a deadly ghost story involving a serial killer, or that everyone here would die like in a deadly game of Russian Roulette.
Still, people weren’t entirely oblivious. They noticed the oddities.
“So, all these people just happened to get lost and end up at this lodge in broad daylight?”
“Maybe we’re cursed or something.”
“Hey! Don’t say such ominous things!”
With more people around, courage swelled.
Despite mentioning ghosts, people began glancing curiously at their surroundings.
“Now that I think about it, this place…”
“Looks like one of those rich people’s houses from back in the day, doesn’t it?”
That was true.
The wooden lodge, built in a style popular several decades ago, had a rustic charm paired with a sense of affluence and sophistication.
“Oh, look over there. There’s a gold frame!”
In one corner of the living room hung a large frame. Judging by the intricate design, the frame itself seemed to be real gold.
But what caught my attention wasn’t the frame—it was the contents.
A verse was inscribed.
+++
Joyful mealtime
The rabbit roasts in the kitchen
The deer is hunted in the backyard
The dove fattens in the bedroom
The lamb is carved in the living room
Hop-hop Hopping and laughing sounds echo
Thud-thud Wooden floors thud beneath feet
The table is full of delights
A humming tune fills the air
The whole family gathers around
Bon appétit
+++
"……"
No.
‘This is outright foreshadowing.’
“– Hoo. Could it be a metaphor for the series of murders that will occur?”
That’s exactly what it looks like.
But no one here seems interested in horror or mystery genres.
The three college students who said they were part of a hiking club snickered amongst themselves, and one of them even slipped a small ivory ornament from the side table into their pocket.
‘Oho.’
I wouldn’t even be surprised if those guys turned up as the first corpses tomorrow.
As I thought about that—
Clunk.
“…!!”
A noise came from behind the kitchen.
A shadow revealed that the back door had opened.
And through the open door, a figure walked in slowly.
The person wore a tattered hoodie, hunched their body, and obscured their face.
“Greetings, mountain lodge visitors.”
“…?!”
“I am the lodge caretaker and will be at your service during your stay.”
It was a deep voice.
The figure bowed politely to us, speaking in an old-fashioned Seoul accent that didn’t match his ragged appearance.
“– Ah, a suspicious character!”
Yeah, the typical “butler managing the murder mansion” trope.
Unlike me, who stared with dead fish eyes, the others seemed unsettled by the mismatch between his shabby attire and his refined speech.
“Um, excuse me, but we’re not really guests. We just got lost and came here to use the phone…”
“No, no. You’ve come to the right place.”
“What?”
“You’re here to exchange the cassette tape, aren’t you?”
The people froze.
“That thing in your pocket.”
“…!”
As if possessed, everyone started rummaging through their pockets and pulled out identical items.
Old, ivory-colored cassette tapes with smudged titles—similar to the one Baek Saheon had.
“…That!”
“How does everyone have one of those…?”
“The master of this lodge was an incredibly wealthy man. He distributed those cassette tapes widely during his lifetime.”
The group flinched.
“And along with that, he made a promise.”
“A-A promise?”
“‘If you visit the lodge with the cassette tape, I’ll let you exchange it for anything I own.’ Was the promise.”
“…!”
“And that promise still holds, even now that he’s passed away.”
“– An inheritance scheme! What a tempting lure.”
It’s such an obvious lure…
‘Or maybe it’s so obvious because it works so well.’
Money is always magnetic.
Even as people let out dry laughs, their eyes instinctively turned toward the ornaments in the display cases—golden trinkets and Goryeo celadon.
The middle-aged man let out a loud laugh and jokingly grabbed a solid gold picture frame.
“Well then, can I just take this and leave?”
The caretaker replied smoothly and politely.
“Of course. However, you may only take it with you after three days.”
“What?”
Hmm. As expected.
-------------------------------
For entrants, a significant monetary reward is guaranteed if they remain in the disaster beyond a certain duration.
The ‘duration’ ranges from a minimum of 12 hours to a maximum of one week, adjusted to what the entrant can endure for the reward.
-------------------------------
“We’re giving you three days to carefully consider your choices so you don’t waste your one chance at an exchange.”
“No need for that! We’ll just leave now!”
“You’re welcome to leave at any time. However, the exchange will no longer be possible.”
At the caretaker’s words, the couple clamped their mouths shut. They seemed reluctant to give up the idea of free money.
One of the hiking club members raised a hand from the back.
“Excuse me. Then… could we ask for something crazy? Like, give me all of the deceased’s inheritance?”
“That’s possible.”
“…!!”
The joking tone vanished from the student’s voice.
“Even the entire lodge?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
The look in everyone’s eyes changed.
‘They want to believe it now.’
The eerie unease had vanished, replaced by an atmosphere of excitement, as if the kind of financial windfall you only hear about on the internet had suddenly come true for them.
When they saw the caretaker present the will and documents to back up his claims, their suspicion turned into certainty.
“This is real.”
“Unbelievable…”
Even the cursing couple’s expressions shifted.
“Screw the weekend trip. Let’s endure it. Worst case, we just call the cops, right?”
“Exactly. Geez, it’s like someone blessed those tapes or something. Look at all these people who ended up here. So strange.”
The caretaker even gave us time to make phone calls.
Once everyone had finished contacting someone, the mood turned festive, as if this were some kind of event.
The caretaker bowed deeply.
“With so many visitors at once, the order of exchanges will become important.”
“Ah, of course!”
“Yeah, the first person could just say, ‘Give me all the inheritance,’ and it’d be over.”
“Therefore… those who possess the most cassette tapes will have priority in the exchange.”
“…!”
For a moment, everyone looked around at each other.
Particularly the three students from the hiking club exchanged glances.
If grouped together, they had the most tapes.
“Wait, are you saying we should buy tapes from other people?”
“I am merely explaining the rules. You don’t have to follow them, but using your wits to negotiate exchange conditions might be fun. Order matters, after all.”
“……”
An ominous tension swept through the group.
“Shall I prepare rooms for you? Bedrooms are on the second floor.”
“Oh, right.”
“Yes, let’s get settled first…”
“Hold on. Excuse me.”
Baek Saheon’s voice came through the crowd.
“I might need to leave soon due to an urgent matter. Could you tell me the way out?”
“Of course.”
But it didn’t happen.
A moment later—
-------------------------------
Entrants are inevitably isolated within the location due to various factors.
Common scenarios include typhoons, heavy snow, landslides, or other extreme weather conditions.
-------------------------------
“A torrential downpour has caused a landslide outside. Fortunately, the power remains functional, so there shouldn’t be any issues with your stay.”
“……”
Baek Saheon gave me a look as if to say we were doomed.
‘Exactly.’
I shrugged.
At this point, no one could leave until everything that was supposed to happen here played out.
‘And I’m currently racking my brain to figure out how to survive it.’
The one silver lining? At least there wouldn’t be any ghosts.
‘…Just a murderer.’
Because, of course.
Every movie and novel loves this twist. So does every ghost story.
The serial killer…
Among the entrants, there is always someone destined to fill the role of a ‘predator’ within the narrative.
…is among us.
– Often referred to as the serial killer.
I had to figure out who among us would become the murderer and avoid them.
The chosen individual would firmly believe they had become the sole inheritor of the legacy belonging to the place’s legendary murderer. They would experience mental and physical changes.
‘Hmm.’
If not… I could try something slightly different.
As I pondered, I noticed the civil servant quietly leaving the room.
“I’ll just check the weather outside.”
“Go ahead.”
I followed him out to the veranda.
The pouring rain and fierce winds had darkened the surroundings, with the downpour drenching my clothes a little.
The storm seemed loud enough to drown out our conversation.
I carefully held out my notebook to avoid getting it wet.
[Excuse me, you’re the one who bought the cookies, right? I wasn’t mistaken, was I?]
Thankfully, the official didn’t feign ignorance.
“Yes, that was me.”
But he studied me up and down as if trying to gauge something.
Hmm.
I pretended to scan my surroundings, making sure no one was looking this way, and nervously scribbled small letters in my notebook.
[Sorry, but… doesn’t this feel strange?]
“……”
[No matter how I think about it, the fact that only people with cassette tapes ended up lost and arrived here seems too weird.]
[Is this… related to ghosts?]
Since he already knows I’ve had experiences with supernatural events—after all, I sold food from ghost stories—this question shouldn’t seem too out of place.
‘The real issue is whether he thinks I came here intentionally.’
I wanted to maintain the impression of being an innocent civilian, if possible. I’d decide my course of action depending on his response.
‘To be honest, he’ll probably just say he doesn’t know.’
“You’re right.”
…??
Just like that?
The civil servant seemed to hesitate slightly but then asked me.
“How did you acquire your cassette tape?”
[Actually, I don’t have one… I saw it with my colleague from work.]
[It felt ominous, so I told him to throw it away and then got on the bus… but ended up here.]
“……”
The official touched his chin and stayed silent for a moment.
“Do you frequently get caught up in situations like this?”
I deliberately smiled awkwardly, as if unsure.
[Sometimes?]
“I see.”
He hesitated briefly before continuing.
“I’m… well, you could say I’m a government agent.”
Seriously, he’s telling so much?
[Are you like… some 007 version of ghost hunter?]
“…Sort of.”
[Wow!]
…His face screamed, “Now’s not the time to be impressed,” but he didn’t say it outright.
“Anyway, this is indeed a supernatural phenomenon. Be careful. …Try to stick with me as much as possible, and if you absolutely must go somewhere alone, make sure you’re in a group of at least three people.”
Wait a minute.
‘Isn’t he treating me too much like an innocent civilian?’
I wasn’t sure why he would do that, but it worked to my advantage. I quickly responded.
[Thank you. But… what about the others?]
The official replied firmly.
“You don’t need to worry about them.”
Hmm.
[Would it be okay to warn my colleag–]
“You must not.”
Oh no.
The civil servant glanced toward the living room, lowered his voice, and spoke quietly, as though confessing a huge secret.
“To tell you the truth,”
The truth?
“…There’s a murderer among us.”
Ah.
Yes.
I already knew…
Of course, I couldn’t let that show, so I quickly scribbled my next question, feigning shock.
[A murderer? How do you know that??]
“…This lodge is no ordinary place. Although it hasn’t been made public, similar situations have occurred multiple times before, where visitors were killed by a murderer.”
“– A classic setup—a legendary murder site where the horrors of the past are re-enacted. Quite a setting.”
No, it’s not the time for sarcastic commentary, Mr. Host.
“No matter how close you are to someone, don’t trust them. And if you find yourself alone, never open your door under any circumstances.”
‘Usually, the ones who barricade themselves in are the first to die, though…’
At least this exchange helped confirm a few things about my conversation partner—the civil servant, and about the nature of this ghost story.
[Thank you.]
After expressing my gratitude and bidding him good night, I left the veranda.
For the first time, I felt relatively at ease as I headed to my assigned room.
Because I’d made up my mind about what to do next.
“Whew.”
I began searching the room.
Looking for something specific.
It is…
“– A weapon.”
When I opened the closet in the room, I found two fairly large one-handed axes mounted as decoration.
“……”
I was genuinely scared and tired, but there was no other choice.
“– Ah, this promises to be truly entertaining!”
Since things had already reached this point…
‘Might as well strike first.’
I gripped the axe firmly.
Serial Killer? Let me try becoming one.
Join the conversation and share your thoughts
