Water gushed into the laundromat.
Gurgle, gurgle.
I backed away to avoid the water seeping through the gaps in the glass door.
But in the unmanned laundromat, there was nowhere to escape. Only a few washing machines were running around me.
‘Damn it.’
“This way!”
I immediately stepped onto a washing machine. At the same time, Team Leader Lee Jaheon climbed onto the one next to me.
But that was it.
‘Where should I go?’
I scanned the small, high window on the left wall. It had bars, but if it was Team Leader Lee Jaheon, he might be able to tear them off….
♩♪♬♬♩♬♬♩♪♪
“…….”
The sound of water crashing could be heard.
A faint yet splendid melody echoed in my ears.
A melody I had heard before.
The theme song of Cheerful Theme Park.
♪♬♩♬♬♩♪♪
The waves filling the laundromat coalesced and turned into a mass of water.
A dragon in the mascot costume of the theme park.
Found you.
From the mass of water in front of me, which seemed to lack intelligence, a voice suddenly emerged.
A sound as if coming from the other side of a phone.
Using water as a medium, it vibrated….
Found you.
I broke out in a cold sweat as I looked at the black streams and mass of water occupying the laundromat….
‘How did it recognize me?’
I’ve taken off my mask, and I’m even wearing a hat and mask…
Kidnapper.
‘…It recognized Manager Lee Jaheon!’
The black mass of water raised its front limb and pointed at the lizard standing on the washing machine next to me.
“It’s not.”
Kidnapper.
“It’s not.”
It’s going to keep doing this endlessly…!
No, if that’s the case, it’s rather fortunate.
Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if that water mass immediately displayed some eerie ghost-story-like abilities!
I still haven’t forgotten the torrent that surged out of the phone and frantically swallowed the alley.
‘…Since it’s water, I’m not even sure if physical exorcism would work.’
“…….”
Phew.
Alright, at least if this is a situation where we can communicate.
Bad…
“I’m not a kidnapper.”
I took off my mask and put on the disguise.
Then I rolled up my sleeve to show the tattoo.
: Socius :
In that state, I looked straight at the face of the water dragon with the calmest expression I could muster.
“Mr. Mascot, is what you’ve been looking for… me?”
The form of the water mass trembled.
In that state, I looked straight at the face of the water dragon with the calmest expression I could muster.
And then…
Good child!
The voice became clearer.
“Yes, I’m glad to meet you too….”
I gestured to Team Leader Lee Jaheon not to come down, then slowly stepped off the washing machine.
‘Ugh.’
Water splashed beneath my feet, but aside from the theme park’s theme song becoming slightly clearer, there were no other strange symptoms.
‘Good.’
I can do this.
I moved closer to the water mass….
Let’s go
I could feel vibrations coming from the tattoo.
It seemed to resonate with the figure before me.
The dragon’s front limb approached…
Play more
I held my breath.
“I’m sorry.”
And then quietly pushed its front limb forward.
“I’m not a child anymore, so I can’t stay in the theme park forever. I have work to do.”
Silence.
‘It’s insanely terrifying.’
But I held back and calmly spoke while looking at the dragon’s face.
“Even so, when I feel like playing, or want to spend time at a fun water park, I’ll definitely visit.”
I raised my wrist to show the tattoo.
“You gave this to me for that purpose, didn’t you? So I can come anytime I want.”
The water mass slowly nodded its head.
“Thank you. …Uh, but I don’t think I know how to get to Cheerful Theme Park.”
At the company, the way to enter Cheerful Theme Park is through a board game, and each time the park’s structure changes.
‘If I could prevent this part, it might be safer.’
Since a place I’ve been to before would be better.
“What if I accidentally end up at a different theme park without you? Is there a way to prevent that?”
It’s okay
“…Even if I go to another theme park, it’s okay?”
It’s okay
“…….”
It was strange.
‘…If I play that board game again, would anything change?’
Anyway, if that’s the case.
Promise
Phew
I hid my trembling and extended my hand to the water mass.
“Yes. I promise.”
And I hooked my pinky finger.
The sticky sensation of the water sent chills down my spine, but nothing happened…
…….
The water mass released my pinky and pressed its front claw onto my tattoo.
It seemed to be checking if it was properly attached, then withdrew its limb as if satisfied.
At that moment.
Whoosh.
The laundromat door burst open under the water pressure, and something flew in, landing on the water mass’s front limb.
A black rectangular object.
My broken smartphone.
Yours
“…….”
With trembling hands, I picked up my smartphone.
“…Thank you. I thought I had lost it and was really at a loss.”
Good child
The form of the water mass collapses.
Promise
The waves settle down.
And like a video being rewound, it was sucked out through the gaps in the laundromat…
Swishhh.
The current flowed backward through the alley.
Not long after, the alley became quiet, with no trace of the water.
And inside the laundromat that had been filled with black water, only a few chocolate bars printed with my likeness remained, like pieces of gold dust.
“…….”
I’m alive.
"Whew…."
I collapsed into my spot.
– Oh my goodness, my friend! Did you really promise to visit that unimpressive theme park again?
‘Yeah.’
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I’d said something like, ‘I don’t want to promise.’
‘I might’ve had my insides ripped out and ended up working as the blue dragon mascot, version 2, at the theme park.’
It was a relief that I avoided that….
As long as I still have the membership, I’d be treated as a guest there.
It’s better than being dragged off or accepting an unpredictable risk.
My mind raced.
‘…Should I talk to the company to schedule a board game session?’
Judging by the interval… I’ll probably need to go within half a year.
‘In the meantime, I’ll prepare items and equipment.’
Good.
What matters is that I got through this moment. I stood up on trembling legs and held back a sigh.
‘If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have run away earlier…!’
Honestly, in that situation, who would’ve been crazy enough to stay and think they could resolve it calmly through conversation?
‘I’d bet a gold bar that there’s no one….’
Phew.
At that moment, Lee Jaheon casually jumped down from the washing machine behind me.
I asked without thinking.
“Team Leader, if I hadn’t stepped in earlier, would you have tried to smash… no, I mean, eliminate that water mass?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
As expected.
The timing was perfect, and if I had just stood idly in that stationery store, things would’ve gone terribly wrong in every way.
‘Turns out, running away back then was the right call.’
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about this…
But let’s pull ourselves together.
‘We’re still stuck in this alley.’
The only silver lining is that I’ve come up with a way to try and get out of here.
“Team Leader.”
I dusted off the hem of my suit and stood in front of the laundromat’s glass door.
“I’ve thought of an escape method. …If we can meet a few conditions, I think we can try it here in this Death End Alley.”
“I see.”
“Yes. And the first condition is….”
I glanced around at the shops in the alley.
The stationery store that earlier put us in an awkward situation, and the item the shopkeeper used to make contact.
“A telephone.”
***
A little later.
Ding-ding-
We stepped out of the shadowy alley and opened the door to a store whose warm light spilled out through the window.
Coincidentally, it was the same store where my colleagues had been happily shopping earlier.
True to its ‘Handmade Knitting’ advertisement, cozy-looking sweaters, socks, and scarves were on display, but oddly, there were also tattered and damp fibers scattered around….
‘Ugh.’
I tried my best to ignore them and shifted my gaze to the store’s layout.
And after hours of avoiding the angry shouting of the stationery shop owner and searching through countless shops in this alley, I finally found what I was looking for.
‘…There it is!’
Another door.
On the wall opposite the door I entered through, there was a large door.
‘That must be the main entrance.’
And beyond that door would not be an alley of Death End Alley, but an unknown street….
Often described in the Chronicles of Darkness Exploration as ‘subsequently deemed missing.
In shops along the alleys of Death End Alley, doors on the opposite side are occasionally found. It is advised not to exit through them.
※ No return records to date.
‘Where does an explorer who strays from the path go?’ The fear is akin to only receiving the answer, ‘We don’t know.’
The fear of disappearance.
‘Phew.’
I quickly averted my gaze to avoid looking at the neon sign shining through the frosted glass door.
I picked one of the socks that Team Leader Lizard had carefully inspected and confirmed to be safe, then headed to the counter.
“Hello.”
The shopkeeper, knitting with six arms, looked at me through a pair of primitive glasses.
Once again, I subtly lowered my gaze and focused only on the shopkeeper’s sweater.
And naturally, I held out the socks and said.
“Please process the payment. Oh, and would it be alright if I used the phone here?”
Not just stopping at words, I casually placed a few more coins on the counter.
……
The elderly-faced shopkeeper of Death End Alley….
Click.
He picked up the telephone and handed it to me.
“……Thank you.”
Phew.
‘With this, all the conditions are met.’
1. A telephone.
2. A main door leading away from the alley.
And…
3. A means of transportation.
I looked at the dial of the classic telephone.
Of course, dialing a real-world number on a telephone in Death End Alley doesn’t necessarily connect.
Occasionally, there are records of what seemed like connections being made, but they were all bizarrely twisted, true to a horror story.
Someone impersonates a relative and laughs maniacally when caught before hanging up, or the time is distorted, and you connect with your family holding a funeral for you.
‘It was horrifying.’
So, what I’m doing isn’t sending a distress call.
‘Perhaps… it’s closer to the opposite.’
I raised my finger and clumsily rotated the dial.
666666 4444 8282
Normally, this is an absurd number, and there shouldn’t even be a dial tone, but…
Ringggg… click.
It connected as if it were a lie.
[…….]
I tried my best not to focus on the other person’s breathing and spoke as calmly as possible.
“Hello, is this the call taxi company? I’d like to book a taxi.”
[…Your location has been confirmed.]
A husky voice was heard.
It was polite but oddly sounded mocking, with a low and arrogant tone.
[Please state the desired time for service.]
“I’d like it to come right now.”
[Please state your destination.]
“…Seoul Station, Exit 1.”
[Confirmed. A driver is being dispatched….]
I deliberately took my ear away from the phone for a moment.
And a few seconds later.
[Your driver has been dispatched. Have a pleasant journey.]
Click, beep beep beep….
The call was automatically disconnected.
“…Thank you.”
I politely returned the telephone to the shopkeeper and handed the packaged sock Team Leader Lee Jaheon.
It was to hide my trembling hands.
‘Phew.’
Done.
You’ve probably realized, but that wasn’t a normal call taxi.
A suspicious taxi number that freely crosses space and time.
‘It’s a ghost story…!’
---------------------=
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ Ghost Story
[Hell Surcharge Taxi]
A ghost story listed in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
Daydream Incorporation ID code: Qterw-C-8282.
A ghost taxi story that appears when you call a specific number late at night.
Anyone who rides that taxi is inevitably cursed.
---------------------=
There’s no longer a normal way to escape from Death End Alley into reality.
If that’s the case.
‘I’ll escape, even if it’s through a ghost story.’
And a few seconds later.
From beyond the shop’s main door, a faint honk was heard.
Honk honk.
“…….”
The taxi had arrived.
