“Just kidding. The Darkness we’re dealing with today isn’t life-or-death serious. A lot of regular people escaped from it… though the Planning Team did have a hard time covering up all the fuss the Disaster Management Bureau made about it~”
“……”
When none of D-squad’s members responded, the Research Team 1 section chief just smiled and organized the remaining documents.
“Hoh.”
The researcher who had been talking about bets looked over at us with a sneer, crossed his arms, and took on a casual, spectator-like stance.
‘Is it really okay to act like that at work…?’
I wasn’t feeling great about it, but it’s not like work in this company is ever exactly pleasant. What mattered now was the Darkness we’d been assigned.
What kind of ghost story was it?
“Oh, Roe, you should take a look too.”
“Yes.”I took the documents my superior handed me.
‘I bet it’s something I’m familiar with.’
And considering many civilians had escaped, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too bad. At worst, maybe a D-Class story?
I should be able to handle it without too much trouble.
So, no need to panic…
“Roe, did you read this? Something about portraits of clowns… oh, if you see a clown ad, you get pulled in?”
Clown ad…?!
No way, it couldn’t be…
========================
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[The Clown Hates You]
: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-D-210.
It involves an endless hallway lined with various clown portraits, where people are doomed to wander forever.
Upon closer inspection, the portraits aren’t of actual clowns but grotesquely twisted people forced into clown-like appearances, with distorted grins.
========================
“……”
No way.
========================
The longer you stay, the more distorted and bizarre the portraits become.
Those who go missing in this ghost story become new clown portraits.
This is a rare, full-blown horror movie-style ghost story in terms of exploration records.
========================
Wow.
I scanned the exploration record with trembling eyes.
……
It’s really that.
‘Wow, it’s here.’
A full-on horror theme, way scarier than the convenience store ghost.
“Haha, well, let’s head in then!”
Excuse me!
Forget the triple points event—just cancel it! I don’t want to go in!
* * *But of course, in society, words like that don’t really fly…
“……”
I opened my eyes. Before me was a dark, pitch-black hallway—no, more like a corridor, just as gloomy as my future.
The walls were plastered with grotesque clown portraits, each bearing twisted, unsettling expressions.
‘F-Fuck.’
The method for entering this place was terrifying from the start:
1- Watch a YouTube ad featuring a clown with a red nose laughing maniacally while staring directly at the viewer.
2- In any enclosed indoor hallway, a clown’s hand suddenly appears from around a corner.
3- If you get too close, it grabs your wrist and pulls you into this hallway.
I nearly passed out just from that part.
‘This is insane.’
I looked around nervously. The exploration records played vividly in my mind, warning me of all the terrifying things that would happen no matter which wall I approached.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘Honestly, anyone would be scared of this place, not just me…’
“Hm. It’s not that dark. We probably don’t need to turn on our flashlights.”
“Section Chief! Shouldn’t we wait until our eyes adjust to the dark?”
“Right. Close your eyes for 60 seconds.”
“Yes, sir!” responded Supervisor Park in a clear, confident voice.
“……”
Are they serious?
To calmly suggest closing our eyes for a full minute in a dark hallway filled with unsettling clown portraits?
“Roe, close your eyes too.”
I guess that’s the plan.
“Yes, sir.”
I pretended to close my eyes but instead stared at the floor, sweat pouring down my face.
I just realized something.
These people.
They’re basically immune to fear.
Unless it’s a life-threatening situation, their threshold for fear is absurdly high!
They’re the kind of people who would say things like, ‘The scariest thing in life is people,’ and find horror movies boring!
‘Well, that’s probably why they work here!’
But no matter how brave they are, surely they wouldn’t be able to stay so calm if those grotesque portraits started moving…
“Hmm… If you get too close to the portraits or stab them, sometimes they crawl out and chase after you.”
“Oh, right. When that happens, the painting becomes empty, and a few people have used that as a way to escape back to reality.”
“I see.”
Section Chief Lee’s voice remained calm and composed.
“Stab every portrait you see.”
I nearly yelped.
“Yes, sir! If anything comes to life, I’ll signal and run immediately!”
“Yes. We’ll repeat the attempt every hour.”
“Oh, did it say they crawl? That’s good, less mobility.”
“Exactly. Oh, Roe! I noticed earlier—there’s a clown with strange eyes over there on the left. Looks just like a movie poster, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“It resembles the description of a missing civilian. I guess when you go missing here, you end up like that.”
I couldn’t help but look up.
In the eerie darkness, there was a portrait of a clown, with a button for one eye, smeared in colorful clown makeup, baring a forced, toothy grin.
‘…It moved.’
I was sure of it—the pupil of its remaining eye just shifted.
“……”
“Roe, want to try touching that one first?”
Ah, no!! Please, just stop!
“…Uh, yes.”
Why did I say yes? I can’t even go near it!
A strong sense of foreboding hit the back of my neck.
If I keep matching the tempo of these lunatics, I won’t survive here.
“So, Roe will start with the upper-left portrait…”
“Wait a second.”
“Hmm?”
This is my chance!
“I think I’ve figured out the right way to escape.”
“W-What?”
It’s been less than a minute since we got here, but anyway, I’ve figured it out! Just trust me!
“I deduced it from reading the records of civilian escapees.”
Has my brain ever worked this fast before?
‘I can’t let these fearless maniacs take the lead!’
“First, we must not touch the other portraits.”
“Huh? Why?”
Because I’m terrified, that’s why.
But my mouth said something different.
“…There must be a specific correct answer.”
Is this what survival instinct feels like?
I immediately pulled out the toy coin from my equipment and summoned the translucent glove into the air.
Then, I handed over twenty 500-won coins to the glove as if I were dumping them on a big-time YouTuber.
(T/N: Approx. 8 USD total)
The glove froze for a second, like it was in shock from the generous donation, then happily spun around in the air before merging with my hand.
“Wait, is that your equipment, Roe?”
“Yes. It allows me to remotely touch objects.”
“Whoa.”
At least now I didn’t have to approach the clown portraits and touch them myself.
But I pretended I had a different plan, nodding seriously as if deep in thought.
“From now on… I want to run and see as many portraits as possible. We need to find the correct one.”
I looked at Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
“And starting now, the portrait I describe will be the correct one.”
“……”
“If you spot it, please tell me immediately. Is that okay?”
If this works, I won’t have to examine each and every clown portrait myself!
‘Of course, if he responds with Who’s this rookie to boss us around?, it’s all over…’
But Section Chief Lee didn’t seem like the type to be obsessed with authority.
Even though he had a lizard’s head! And maybe even thinks like a lizard!
“Sure.”
It worked!
Relief coursed down my spine, almost making my legs give out, but I held on, nodding as if everything was still under control.
“Then, I’ll start running.”
I acted as if I were testing out some brilliant new hypothesis, one that required running to test properly…
‘Though it’s actually not necessary at all…’
Escaping from here is surprisingly simple.
‘You can touch any portrait you want, and it won’t affect finding the correct one…’
If you’re brave enough, you could just stroll around casually and figure it out.
But I had already learned my lesson.
I learned the hard way during that game of tag with the ghost at the convenience store.
What’s the key to survival for a coward?
‘Speedrun!’
Haunted house midway escape.
Let’s go!
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