In <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration> there is one recurring theme.
The more popular they become, the higher the probability of anomalies appearing in the records.
‘It’s because there are multiple creators.’
When a ghost story is first created, it generally follows the rules and guidelines.
But as it gains popularity and more people start writing their own versions of records about it, so what happens then?
As the number increases, to break free from repetition and monotony, exceptions start to appear, just enough to “make sense” of their existence.
The example I’ve desperately searched for right now is one of those.
It’s from the exploration record of the Daydream Incorporation's Field exploration team, Team J, who were stuck in an abandoned hospital overnight for 12 hours.
But then...
Special Note: Exploration ended after 16 hours and 11 minutes.
The exploration ended after 16 hours and 11 minutes, much longer than 12 hours.
This was exactly the "temporal anomaly" I was looking for. But...
‘It took even longer time for them to escape.’
During the exploration, something went wrong, and they ended up trapped in the ghost story for longer than the 12 hours they were supposed to endure.
"So… They must have missed an important detail."
That’s when I remembered!
‘They didn’t get the shift change call!’
-------------------------------
(03:12) Employee Lee Jaejin accidentally cut the phone line at the counter.
-------------------------------
Because of this mistake, the call that should have triggered the end never went through.
It was the shift change call.
So, the doctor, who was supposed to end his night shift after 12 hours and go home, ended up continuing the shift. It was a crazy situation.
-------------------------------
(12:12) 7:12 AM passed, but the sun didn’t rise.
-------------------------------
No matter how much time passed, the night wouldn’t end.
When the employee who had set their wristwatch to 7 PM entered the ghost story, they immediately realized what was happening and panicked.
"I think there was an argument whether to get caught and reset the exploration, but towards the end, one person got tied up."
Fortunately, a few hours later, another team member connected the phone line, and they finally escaped.
-------------------------------
(16:09) Phone line restored. The phone rings immediately. Everyone stood by, 3 meters away from the desk.
(16:11) The doctor answered the phone and disappeared.
Escape status: Successful.
-------------------------------
A ghost story that didn’t end even after the intended time. An unsettling irregularity.
‘But there’s a hint hidden in the case’
Although this is a case where it exceeded the intended time, there is a mechanism to be uncovered.
The trigger that signaled the end of exploration.
‘In their case, it was the shift change call.’
And if that trigger didn’t go off, the ghost story wouldn’t end.
Conversely, this means...
‘If the time-trigger works, would it end faster?’
"..."
In the convenience store, what can I use to sense the flow of time?
Thud.
"...!"
Wait a second.
‘...The sound.’
It’s coming from above.
I unconsciously looked up, where the counter was.
Above me was…
A POS machine.
[Note: It’s the small hand-held thing through which customers are generally billed.]
Beep.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.
The ghost was pressing the POS machine at the counter.
The eerie rhythm echoed through the convenience store, with a recorded voice blaring out.
"Calling staff... Calling staff, callingstaffstaffstaffstaff–staf-ssstafffff-stt–staff—."
"...!!"
I get it.
The ghost knows I’m hiding here.
But it’s just toying with me, on purpose.
Even though I understood, instead of anger, cold sweat trickled down my back.
This is just insane and irritating, I might just go crazy.
‘I need to get out.’
I need to run.
But my feet wouldn’t move so easily, just like the extras in horror movies who freeze up when they see a ghost and die.
‘No.’
Even if I get caught, I don’t want to get used to this helplessness.
In the end, I managed to force my way through the counter.
At that moment…
"Calling staff."
Suddenly, a swollen face appeared right in front of mine, grinning widely, mouth stretched.
- Gotcha.
* * *
Restart.
"..."
I took a very slow deep breath.
My heart was pounding so loudly it gave me a headache for a moment, but I endured.
‘It’s fine.’
My whole body was numb.
‘I must endure.’
Instead of heading to the counter, I looked at the dark side of the store.
This time, I didn’t go to the counter but ran toward the opposite direction of the cooler.
Straight toward the store's entrance.
"..."
Beyond the glass door was pitch-black.
Still, I tried to look outside and noticed something near the door.
"...!"
It was an electronic clock.
[12:00 | 04/04]
April 4th, 12:00.
Was this the current date of the ghost story?
After having adjusted to the dark, I also noticed a chime bell on the side of the door. If I grabbed that door, the ghost would probably hear the bell and come running with those strange steps.
‘And it probably won’t even open…’
Since the place has been set to this convenience store, there must be a restriction.
I stopped looking away at the door and hid behind a nearby display shelf.
Leaning my back against the wall, I watched the store carefully while collecting my thoughts.
Cold sweat dripped from my temples.
‘I need to endure this for three days.’
Then, what would the trigger be? What would signal the end?
What would happen at this convenience store three days from now...
‘Delivery?’
I glanced at the boxes stacked near the glass door.
New products must be constantly arriving.
‘If I could somehow confirm which products would arrive three days later, maybe I could use them as a clue…’
No, that’s too indirect.
It seemed way too complex and convoluted.
<Chronicles of Darkness Exploration> is an internet ghost story.
‘And internet ghost stories are intuitive.’
The more trivial conditions and adjustments there are, the less impactful it becomes, and it wouldn’t be popular.
‘It has to be simple, straightforward, and obvious.’
So then...
What would be the easiest item in the convenience store to indicate the passage of time?
"...!"
I got it.
I looked at the display closest to the entrance. It was another type of refrigerated shelf, different from the one I saw.
But strangely, there were only a few items on it.
Some dairy drinks, coffee… boxed lunches, and triangle kimbap.
Items that go stale quickly.
‘...The expiration date!’
I immediately headed to the display and started checking the triangle kimbap and boxed lunches.
‘Most triangle kimbap have an expiration date of 36 to 48 hours.’
The boxed lunches were probably similar.
But strangely, many of the boxed lunches and triangle kimbap had expiration dates longer than three days, or the dates had been smudged and erased.
Patiently and quietly, I checked both the front and back of the items.
And at last…
‘Found it.’
The ghost story starts at 12:00, April 4th.
The expiration date of the product is 12:00, April 7th.
[Soup Hamburger Lunchbox]
I picked up the lunchbox.
Then, I made my way through the store, heading toward the POS machine.
‘Ugh.’
The ghost's afterimage, frantically pressing the call button at the register, played in my mind like a movie.
But the ghost hadn’t even appeared yet…
“Stay calm.”
After selecting the “device settings” on the POS terminal, I chose “change date and time”…
There it was! I let out a sigh of relief as I looked at the screen.
‘The set time is…’
Exactly two days and 23 hours and 59 minutes after midnight on April 4th,
[April 7th, 11:59 PM]
“Please!” I prayed, feeling anxious.
I pressed the change button and then...
[Time changed successfully]
“…!!”
It’s done!
‘Sometimes it’s impossible to change the settings, so I was actually lucky, no, really lucky.’
My hands were shaking with a mix of joy and anxiety, but I managed to calm them down.
I was almost there.
Now, I just needed to register the food as “nearing expiration”...
Beep-beep-beeeep!
“…”
[Expiration Alert]
[An item is nearing its expiration date!]
The POS terminal cheerfully announced it.
The recorded announcement echoed in the dark convenience store.
Beep-beep! Beep-beep!
“…”
I was stiff as a stone and turned my head.
In the distance...
Our eyes met.
It’s coming.
“Fu–!”
Don’t look. Look at the screen. Just the screen!
Please, please! Hurry!
Beep.
After fumbling my hand three times, I scanned the barcode.
[Do you want to register this item?]
I spammed “yes” like crazy…
The footsteps were getting closer, too fast.
The strange sound of the steps kept growing louder, but I kept moving my hand as fast as possible…
[Item registered for disposal.]
Just as the ghost’s footsteps, strange and rapid, reached the counter, I felt a vibration.
[Complete]
It vanished.
“…”
Click.
The lights turned on.
Inside the convenience store, now painfully bright, the previously inconspicuous POS terminal displayed a simple message.
[Registration Complete]
The closing receipt was printed with a white noise.
In that static, I realized.
‘I did it.’
I had succeeded.
“Phew.”
Leaning against the counter, I lowered my head. My legs were still shaking.
"I can finally breathe..."
Lights really define how people act, huh?!
But just the fact that it got brighter brought a sense of peace to my mind and body.
‘Now I just have to walk out the door…’
Clunk!
The cash compartment beneath the POS terminal automatically opened.
“Huh?”
Inside was a thick brown envelope.
“What’s this…?”
I grabbed the envelope and opened it.
Four thick bundles of golden bills were inside.
“…?!”
Bundles of 50,000 won bills!
“Wait, are these... 100 bills per bundle?”
That’s a total of 20 million won.
This was the first time I’d ever touched such a large amount of cash. But why was there so much money in a convenience store’s cash registry?
Ah.
“The prize money!”
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration / Ghost Story
/ Choose
Miscellaneous
Upon clearing, you really get money. Maybe it’s just a nice ghost who likes to scare people?
-------------------------------
Oh.
* * *
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Three days, and he would be out either way.”
“Succeeding on their first try? You’re being pretty generous.”
Team D of the Field Exploration Team at Daydream Inc.
The two employees were briefly taking a break, climbing up to the roof via the stairs next to the warehouse to smoke.
They had just seen off a new recruit and sent him into the darkness.
No matter how many times they did it, they never got used to it. Shoving new employees into the darkness was still unnerving.
But normally, for the “Choose” darkness, the shorter the set time, the harder it is, and the longer, the easier it becomes.
So, the newbie would probably be fine since the set time is 3 days.
“It’d probably be something like a 3-day courage test.”
Of course, it was still harsh. No one said it wasn’t.
But both employees had a common thought.
-If he can’t endure this, he’ll die soon anyway.
In that case, they’d rather he quit.
Many new recruits had quit due to this initiation ritual, so Team D often got side-eyed by the HR department. Still, they somehow managed to get by.
Watching a fellow new recruit die in front of you was genuinely harmful to your mental health…
However, this time felt a bit different.
A strange sense of anticipation.
“The new recruit this time…”
“Yeah…”
“He seemed different.”
“Definitely did.”
The newest recruit of Team D, Kim Sol-eum,
“I’ve never seen a new recruit act like that on their first day.”
Most new employees would freak out or panic once they realized that their job was to continuously face these eerie phenomena that could have killed them at any moment. That was the normal reaction.
But Kim Sol-eum… He was unusually calm.
“He didn’t seem nervous at all.”
“Yeah, not only did he seem unfazed, he even drank coffee leisurely.”
Not once did he lose composure, go to the bathroom to cry, or try to run away.
Of course, Kim Sol-eum already spoiled everything himself and mentally prepared himself for three days in case something happened, but…
To anyone else, he just appeared to be a new recruit with an insane level of mental fortitude!
“Looks like you took a liking to him, manager?”
“Yeah, he’s certainly impressive.”
A strong heart was always welcome.
After all, they worked in a department that had to face horrific, bizarre, and terrifying urban legends. Cowards wouldn’t live to see tomorrow.
“Well, I doubt anyone would pass that death survival challenge if they were a coward…”
That “anyone” is right here!
Of course, they had no way of knowing that.
So, they just nodded along and kept saying, “This new recruit is impressive.”
However, they were slightly disappointed about something.
“By the way, he doesn’t seem like the type to use shortcuts. Why doesn’t he take notes?”
“It’s his first time here, so maybe he doesn’t know. We can just tell him.”
In this life-or-death career, information and manuals were essential, and the two employees nodded in agreement.
“He needs to maintain notes and review them later. That’s the only way to survive.”
“Yeah, he probably didn’t know about this.”
He knows everything!
The two who had no idea continued to discuss the new recruit, completely unaware, and started wrapping things up.
“We should go back and write the report.”
“Ugh, that report no one ever reads…”
The new recruit wouldn’t be out for another three days at the very least.
But since the ghost story had food and shelter, there shouldn’t be any issues even if it turned into a long-term ordeal.
They nodded, grabbed the tablet with the internet post about the ghost story, and started going back in…
Click.
At that moment, the tablet spat out a person.
The new recruit, Kim Sol-eum, was supposed to come out in three days.
“…?!”
As Kim Sol-eum stood up, he looked just as he did 1 hour and 30 minutes ago.
As he brushed off his crisp suit, he was holding something in his hand.
It was the “Dream Essence Collecter” completely filled.
“I’ve filled it.”
“…?!?”
[Clear time: 1 hour 24 minutes]
The new recruit, who had achieved an unbelievable feat, was staring at his stunned superiors with a stoic face.
‘I thought I was going to have a heart attack.’
Of course, it was just a panicked coward, utterly drained after desperately breaking out of the ghost story where quitting midway wasn’t an option!
