After confirming the crack on the grip tok, I don’t know how I got through that night.
The next day, despite being sick or whatever, I immediately went out and bought a new phone.
And after transferring the SIM card, with trembling hands, I attached the cracked grip tok and turned it on.
‘…It works!’
Fortunately, the wiki was working, but something felt off.
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ Ghost story
[Hell Surcharge Taxi]
A glitch appeared.
As if it were an old computer, it showed the stuttering unique to a machine on its last legs.
Although it soon recovered normally, it left me feeling chilled to the bone.
‘Right. Merchandise can break too….’
Having bought it from a pop-up store, in the bizarre situation where it can actually be used in the ghost story universe, I overlooked that part since I carry my smartphone like an extension of my body.
Why not copy the wiki content somewhere else and back it up?
‘Just doing that would take over a month.’
In the first place, the pages displayed through the memorial grip tok are prohibited from copying and capturing. You have to manually copy them by hand while looking at the smartphone pages.
‘Until then, this grip tok might last.’
Even so, there’s no need to panic.
In the first place, the merchandise given by the goods box are items from this ghost story universe, aren’t they?
Since I’ve established a foundation here over the past six months, now other options have opened up.
Either get a new grip tok.
Or secure a repair route.
Interestingly, both required the same type of connection.
‘It’s the Disaster Management Bureau.’
The origin of this grip tok, that is.
And I know where items like this grip tok or silver badge were made….
Of course, I also know how to enter there, the password, and the necessary preparations.
But coincidentally, I even have a temporary agent badge for the Disaster Management Bureau.
“…….”
I pressed my temples and thought.
‘I’m currently on sick leave for three days, aren’t I?’
That means, in this condition, I can’t go to work or handle any follow-up related to the Dead End Alley.
But since I’m only not going to work, if I can endure it, it’s okay to push myself with other things, because my recovery after three days is guaranteed.
‘However, it’s not allowed to artificially avoid the pain imposed as the taxi fare.’
Because this is a curse, even if you take painkillers, it won’t get better, and if you try to avoid the pain using supernatural methods, the curse duration will extend by the amount avoided.
Because you have to endure actual pain for it to be considered as payment.
So, the ultra-powerful painkiller I have, ‘Happy Maker,’ should be kept aside unless it’s an emergency where I have to extend the curse duration.
In the first place….
“…….”
Thinking about what I did after inserting it in a nightmare, it gives me chills.
‘It was truly painless and comfortable….’
If it wasn’t a dream, and if I hadn’t received treatment for contamination at the Fox Counseling Room, it might have popped up whenever I struggled or even led to addiction.
I had to be careful.
‘…Yeah.’
Don’t delay until you can’t do it anymore. Prepare while you can.
I carefully separated the cracked grip tok from the phone, packed it, and stored it in my tattoo.
“Braun. I need to go out again.”
“ – Aha, fighting spirit despite injury! Truly a charming interview topic. Sometimes it’s a testament to one’s passion for the industry, isn’t it?”
“ – But if it becomes hard to endure, just let me know anytime. Your perfect companion, friend, Braun, will help you….”
Those were chilling yet reassuring words.
“Yeah. Thank you.”
After taking another shower to wash off my sweaty body, I put on a lightweight hoodie.
And then, I took the rabbit doll with its shiny bow tie and put it in the front pocket of my hoodie.
“ – You’ve freshened up, Roe Deer! So, where are we going?”
Hmm.
“The place where young people gather the most in Seoul.”
***
I got off at Hongdae Entrance Station.
Even though it’s a weekday afternoon, it was amazing how there could be so many people in this neighborhood.
‘And even away from the station, there are still many people.’
From Mangwon to Yeonnam, every street is packed with people out for a good time.
The crowd here was incomparable to the bustling area connected to the outdated alley I went to yesterday, the Dead End Alley.
“ – There are really so many people here! It’s bright, and the reactions are great… Ah, I want to invite everyone to the show and give them once-in-a-lifetime joy and shock!”
Aaah!
Fortunately, Braun immediately got distracted by something else, so there was no need to stop his excited voice.
“ – Ah, the coffee aroma is nice too! Would you like a cup, my friend? …Oh no! You’re staggering. Do you need support?”
‘…I’m fine.’
Carrying the curse of disease and coming out into the city with ghost story residents, it was inevitable… Heh.
Still, the feeling of being filled with positive energy wasn’t bad at all.
A vibrant street lined with cafes and bathed in sunlight, with not a trace of gloominess to be found.
It’s hard to imagine anything mysterious or eerie happening here in broad daylight.
‘That’s precisely why it’s safe.’
I thought of how to approach the place where I could fix the grip tok.
A document from the Disaster Management Bureau, complete with an attached note and image, was registered on the wiki.
! Read carefully and destroy immediately afterward.
Destination: A signless café with a blue roof. A converted residential building with a wreath of buckwheat flowers hanging on the door.
There it is.
With Braun’s help, I completely erased my presence and entered the building with the blue roof.
It was a large café bustling with customers.
Even in broad daylight, the lights and decorations glittered, as café staff busily took orders and prepared drinks and coffee.
Instead of joining the order line, I quietly slipped aside, crouched, and entered the kitchen area.
And if I went even deeper inside….
The moment I turned the corner, two doors came into view.
[Staff Only]
The identical yellow doors, one simply leads outside, while the other…
‘It’s the door I need to open.’
Enter through the door on the right among the two.
Never touch the left door. Once you touch it, you’ll never be able to enter the ‘place’ through the right door again.
I carefully approached the right door and lightly knocked in rhythm.
Knock-knock, knock-knock, knock-knock, knock-knock
Jajinmori rhythm, a beat familiar to anyone who has received public education in this country.
*TLN: A fast traditional Korean rhythm, typically in 12/8 or 6/8 time, used in folk music and Pansori (a form of musical storytelling). This rhythm conveys a lively, cheerful, or urgent feeling.
Then, without drawing attention, I slightly opened the door and stepped inside.
Squeak, thud.
“….”
Inside, it looked like an ordinary staff-only space.
A space that was a mix of hallways, storage, and staff break areas.
An old sofa, a desk, a laptop, and boxes of consumables. And in one corner, a pile of out-of-season decorative items.
Look for a decorative object that can be interpreted as a house, such as a residential building, an apartment, or a Ger.
I carefully sifted through the decorations and found the appropriate one.
A Hanok model.
It seemed like it had been used as a decorative item for Chuseok.
‘This must be it.’
I crouched before the Hanok model, reaching out to grab its small gate.
And the moment I opened the gate.
Thud!
I fell backward, landing on my butt.
"Ah..."
Blood rushed up in my sore body, but I held it in.
This was a place where I couldn’t afford to show blood.
'Let's see...! When I got up and looked around, it wasn't a lively cafe but rather like entering a very quiet traditional Korean house.'
There were walls all around, but it was an eerie space where not a single breeze blew.
The unique wood and ivory-colored walls of the traditional house entered my view…
'It’s quiet.'
It was like a place suddenly deserted in the bustling streets of Seoul.
It was a place that gave off an awkward feeling, like I had wandered into the wrong spot during break time.
[Hey, who’s there! In a place where the elderly are... huh? Mr. Kim?]
With a sudden swing, the tiled house door opened and someone wearing a training suit with a traditional hair tie in their hair ran out.
When they saw the Disaster Management Bureau badge I had already attached to my hoodie, they pointed their finger at me.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
"Ah, sorry. This is my first time here."
[A new Mr. Kim!? I guess the government employees are up to strange things again.]
[What is a weak Mr. Kim like you doing coming here in broad daylight? What if you run into a nasty goblin?]
If you look closely, they’re big and have a loud voice, but they seem like an ordinary person…
[Is your ear deaf or something? Not saying anything, Mr.Kim!]
It’s not human.
……You can tell from the title ‘Mr.Kim.’
'That’s a goblin.'
And this is where they gather.
==============
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ ghost story
[Goblin Workshop]
A ghost story listed in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
No registration number from the Disaster Management Bureau, identification code of Daydream Corporation is undecided.
At night, goblins gather in a workshop to make clubs and hats, but almost all the exploration records were written during the day.
One of the ghost stories that the Disaster Management Bureau is strongly controlling the information to prevent Daydream Corporation from accessing.
For usage details, refer to the corresponding document.
==============
This is it. It is said that the goblins gather every night to drink, eat buckwheat rice cakes, make clubs and hats, and have fun.
However, the ghost story started from the imagination that some night goblins, so enjoying the gathering, peek around the meeting place even during the day without sleeping.
If you give something good to the goblin lounging around the workshop during the day and ask them to make this or that item, they happily make it for you.
Currently, those who are not ‘Mr.Kim working for the state’ are being threatened and chased away.
There has never been a case of someone who was once kicked out successfully entering again.
In fact, it feels more like a modern version of a fun and mysterious old folk tale rather than a ghost story.
Isn't this kind of thing a ghost ?
So even the Disaster Management Bureau should just quietly thank them and take the equipment.
Items issued to field agents, including grip-toks, came from here.
This kind of naive, harmless ghost story is not even registered as a disaster by the Disaster Management Bureau; they just label it as a ‘general supernatural phenomenon’ and leave it at that.
Although there are some descriptions that are a bit unsettling…
I’ve often been warned to be cautious of the terrifying daytime goblin, but there have been no sightings so far.
This is a plotline that hasn’t even been picked up in the <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>, so it wasn’t something to worry about right now.
'Let’s just do what we need to do quickly.'
I carefully took the grip talk out of my pocket, which was wrapped in several layers, unwrapped it, and handed it to the goblin.
"I came to you in a hurry to see if you could fix this. Oh, and here’s a small token of appreciation..."
[Mr. Kim, we didn’t make this one, you know?]
Huh?
“Is that so?”
[Uh-huh, you mimicked it, uh-huh, so fun, so fun...]
The goblin muttered to itself about how fun it was while craning its neck to take a closer look at my cracked grip-tok.
...'Mimicked it?'
The goods from the merch box certainly worked just like the original,
But it seemed like the source wasn’t treated the same way.
I’d better be careful.
I swallowed hard, suppressing my nerves, and said.
"So, even in such a marvelous workshop, it’s hard to fix this, is it?"
[What are you saying! This old man can fix anything smaller than a palm… But you know.]
The goblin smirked.
[Mr. Kim, seems like you’ve got something good!]
"...! Ah, I brought some buckwheat snacks, but…"
[Huh? Not that!]
[I mean, there’s a nice smell coming from you…]
“...!”
"Is it ruined?"
[Oh, such a well-aged... meal...]
The goblin smirked slyly.
[The scent of ginseng!]
“......”
Ah.
I quickly covered my wrist and, pretending to rummage through my bag, carefully took out an item.
"Is this the ginseng you were talking about?"
It was a piece of mountain ginseng, previously used in Braun’s bath, which had been freed from its inert state and was now perfectly clean.
Although the section where the sap had oozed out had hardened, it still exuded a deep, rich scent of earth and forest.
[That’s it! Oh my, how splendid, simply incredible!]
The goblin went wild with excitement, smacking its lips.
[If you soak this to make medicinal wine, it would be perfect. How about it? If you agree, I’ll head inside and craft you a magnificent hoe or broom. Or perhaps a lovely jade ring!]
Wow.
“ – You’re someone who knows how to make rude yet entertaining proposals! So, how about it? Would you like to trust his craftsmanship, Roe Deer?"
“......”
'That... is something to think about.'
Why hesitate when a kind goblin offers to give you an item?
'Because I’m sneaking in here.'
I’m not a real agent.
At the moment, I’m only impersonating one by carrying a temporary agent badge, with no rightful authority to use this place.
This situation demands even greater caution.
'My story must not reach the government.'
If a report about someone suddenly appearing in the midst of the horror stories that the Disaster Management Bureau is desperately trying to control comes out, it would surely lead to trouble.
If today were around the 15th, I wouldn’t have come here at all.
'Because that’s exactly the regular inspection schedule of the Disaster Management Bureau.'
If fixing this grip tok is just a minor event, it could be overlooked. But if I offer an extraordinary mountain ginseng and get an item in return?
‘That goblin will surely go around bragging without any ill intent.’
“ – Aha, of course!”
Even if I ask it to keep it a secret, it would probably agree, but then forget and mess things up.
'It’s best to decline.'
"Sir, I’ll simply give you this ginseng. I hope you can use it to brew some good wine and enjoy it to the fullest."
[Oh my goodness! What a kind-hearted person you are, Mr. Kim!]
The goblin happily took the ginseng and stared at me. Then it said...
[But here, taking something in return is the proper way to respond.]
“......”
What?
[Which team are you from? Judging by your temporary badge, you must be a rookie undergoing training this time, right?]
What does this mean?
“ – Ah, ‘Goblins are loose-tongued, so you have to be careful,’ huh!”
“ – Quite a plausible deduction, but there's a flaw, Roe Deer.There’s one condition that’s different.”
That is...
“ – The culprit is a human.”
“......”
I barely managed to turn my head and looked up.
[Hey, why aren’t you answering?]
It was an agent from the Disaster Management Bureau pretending to be a goblin.
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