Extinction-class ghost story.
In the depths of Se-gwang Special City’s underground station, I came face-to-face with a familiar face I’d never expected to see.
My mouth opened reflexively. I barely censored the title as it came out.
“...Sa-nyang?”
“Wait.”
Wearing a shabby padded coat, Ko Yeongeun cast a tense glance around us.
The same decrepit casino interior.
And then—
The dealer smiled when our eyes met.
Deputy Lee Seonghae’s head.
“......”
“......”
“This way.”
Ko Yeongeun seized my arm and suddenly broke into a run. I hurried after, realizing something as I went—
...Some are missing.
A few of my fellow trainee’s fingers were only bandaged shapes.
A chill premonition shot through me.
How long has he been stuck in this casino?
“Huff...”
Only once he’d stopped in a remote corner of the slot machine room, beside a broken vending machine, did he let go of my arm.
And only then did words spill out.
“That dealer—it really is Chief Dolphin, isn’t it? From... the Elite Team.”
“Yes.”
“I knew it.”
Yeongeun’s face darkened.
“I thought so. His way of talking felt familiar...”
But then, with helpless hope and tension in his voice, he asked:
“Then... is the Agency managing this ghost story? You know, the entry path, or a clear method...?”
I shook my head, heavy.
“Deputy Dolphin was dragged into this ghost story for personal reasons. I came here personally as well.”
“Ah.”
Yeongeun’s face clouded.
After a short silence, he continued:
“So... he’s not Chief anymore, but Deputy.”
“...He was promoted a few months ago.”
“A few months...”
Yeongeun lowered his head.
“So much time has already passed.”
“Sa-nyang.”
This wouldn’t do.
“What happened to you?”
“......”
He clamped his mouth shut.
But for someone who’d been working normally at the Disaster Response Agency to suddenly be here, in Se-gwang Special City’s underground... wait.
Why had I never once thought to check on Yeongeun’s whereabouts...?
A shiver ran down my spine.
During my time at the Agency, I could have looked him up—but the thought had never crossed my mind.
Just like with Deputy Lee.
Forgetting.
A symptom of those trapped in Se-gwang Special City.
Damn.
I’d wondered if it might be hallucination or some aberrant effect. But no—it really was him.
And the only real reason I could think of for Yeongeun suddenly being in the middle of a sealed, extinction-class paranormal disaster...
Was the same as mine.
Something I’d used.
“Sa-nyang. Did you wake up here after using a Wish Ticket?”
“......”
He answered bluntly.
“I don’t know.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean... yes, I did use one. But even here, I still...”
His expression twisted in confusion, then quickly steadied.
“No, what matters right now is—how long have you been here?”
“In Se-gwang Special City?”
“No. In this body casino.”
Fixing his eyes on the Se-gwang missing persons clinging to slot machines, he explained quickly:
“The longer you stay, the more your thinking changes—into that of a gambling addict. So you shouldn’t spend more than a night. You have to leave, then stay outside at least as long as the time you spent in here before coming back...”
“And how do you know that?”
“That... it’d be better if we talked outside.”
He cast a glance toward the casino entrance again.
“With just you, Roe Deer, it should be fine. There’s a shelter you can stay in.”
“...!”
“First, we should head there, get situated, then talk again about Deputy Dolphin.”
A shelter?
If there was such a place in the subway, that was a relief.
At least it meant Yeongeun had been able to survive here.
But—
“I didn’t come alone.”
“...What?”
Then.
“Roe Deer.”
“...!”
It was my name being called, but it was Yeongeun who jumped, startled, turning back.
Section Chief Lee Jahaeon stood behind us with the same reptilian face as always.
“S-section Chief?”
“Sa-nyang.”
The lizard chief instantly recognized Yeongeun’s gaping face.
And unleashed a barrage of questions.
“Has Baekilmong Branch secured this Darkness and deployed you inside?”
“N-no...!?”
“Are you exploring of your own will?”
“No!”
“Have you lost over twelve percent of your body?”
“......”
Yeongeun’s lips pressed shut—but then he forced out a reply.
“Yes.”
“I see. Take this.”
The lizard chief pulled something from his pocket without another word.
A vial glowing fresh green, like new sprouts.
“This is...”
Yeongeun’s expression changed instantly at the sight of it—something he had once received before.
A Baekilmong C-grade regeneration potion.
Issued stock from Director Ho Yuwon, held out by Section Chief Lee with cool instructions.
“After taking it, provide all knowledge you have about this casino’s usage and environment.”
“...Yes.”
Yeongeun couldn’t refuse. His bandaged hand shook as he reached for it.
And in that moment, as the padded coat shifted, I glimpsed his ear—
...Gone.
His left ear was missing. Just a bandaged hollow.
[Goodness. Even at exhibitions, they’d hand over ears as admission tickets—he must be used to it now.]
No way...
[Hm?]
Maybe he thought it better to lose a part he’d already lost once before. But having the same wound again should have been traumatic.
Perhaps that was why his hand moved immediately to the lid, ready to open it—
“Wait.”
I stopped him in haste.
“It might not work.”
“What?!”
“Was the body you lost traded here, in the casino?”
“Not all, but... yes.”
“......”
Then it followed.
“You saw Deputy Dolphin, right? His body parts were all from other people.”
“Yes. From others who pawned them off here...”
Yeongeun’s face shifted, realizing it.
Exactly.
“Which means: even when taken, the traded body parts still functioned. In other words...”
I glanced at Section Chief Lee’s gloved hand, missing its ring finger.
“...What’s pawned here isn’t just flesh, but the function itself.”
“......”
“Regeneration potions probably won’t work. Even if flesh regenerates, the function won’t return.”
At that instant—
My phone buzzed with a notification.
In the Body Casino, coins may only be obtained by selling parts of your own body. Any part pawned is permanently lost.
...!
Did it just update based on my realization?
I remembered—the pages had always updated whenever we entered stations or read guides.
Like a game help menu.
I tore my eyes from the screen and spoke again.
“I just meant—don’t be shocked if the potion doesn’t work.”
That was how ghost story rules usually went.
Unless something more powerful than this casino intervenes...
The outside disaster might be stronger, but this casino was still a formidable, twisted ghost story.
So expecting a mere C-grade potion to work here was unrealistic.
“...In that case, may I hold onto it until a better moment to use it?”
“Yes. Now please share your information.”
“Of course.”
Pale-faced, Yeongeun nodded and quickly tucked the vial away.
Then asked:
“So... did only you two come here?”
“There are more. In fact, right now, in this room...”
Ah.
“By the way, Section Chief—where’s Goat?”
“Fourteenth machine, second row of slots.”
Both my and Yeongeun’s heads turned.
Sure enough, there was Baek Saheon, watching a missing person spin the slot machine.
He wasn’t even looking our way—probably trying to use his eyes to track the machine’s patterns or count failed spins.
“...Want me to drag him over?”
“No! That’s fine. So then there are three of you in total?”
“...Six.”
Right then, I spotted the others entering the slot machine hall.
“Deputy Peregrine and the agents.”
“Oh, so you’re all...”
Agent Choi raised his hand when he spotted us—then froze at the sight of Ko Yeongeun under his padded coat.
And the next moment—
“...Agent Mint.”
Recognition.
Yeongeun ducked his head as if to hide, then stilled as though resigned.
Ah.
He must have reflexively tried to conceal himself out of fear of being exposed as a spy—then realized it was pointless now.
Two agents approached swiftly, faces stiff.
“Why are you here...?”
“......”
“We heard you resigned, then saw the dismissal notice posted afterward...”
“You already know I was Baekilmong’s planted spy, don’t you?”
“......!”
Agent Cheongdong’s pupils shook. He turned toward Choi.
Choi gave a wry smile.
“We figured.”
“......”
“Not confirmed, but we guessed when you quit right after Podo disappeared. Circumstances suggested it. And it’s not like you ever leaked anything significant.”
“Then... forgive me for asking this much.”
Yeongeun raised his head, voice hard.
“Could you share how to get out of this subway?”
“......”
“I just... I can’t see any way out...”
He must have assumed there was an escape method, since both Baekilmong staff and Agency agents had come here. A smart deduction. But—
“At present, there isn’t one.”
“What?”
Agent Cheongdong’s voice was grim.
“We entered using a special method, and will return by a means others cannot.”
“Ah.”
I quickly cut in.
“But we’ll look for a way for you, Agent Mint.”
“Of course we will.”
Choi’s voice carried solid conviction. But—
“......”
“...No. Please don’t worry about me.”
“...!”
The voice was worn, resigned.
“Do you know how many people are trapped just in this city’s subway? ...If the Agency could save us, they would have long ago.”
“......”
The agents’ faces hardened.
Because it was the truth.
As it stood, there was no way, no hope, for those trapped whole in Se-gwang Special City.
“I only asked because—there are so many capable people here. Just in case.”
But the next moment, as though steadying himself against fear, Yeongeun drew a breath and shifted his tone.
“For now, you should focus on rescuing Deputy Dolphin. He’s different—he can use your escape method, right?”
“Yes.”
The lizard chief replied instantly, and Choi followed gently.
“...Then do you know how that citizen became a dealer? Any clue at all, even speculation?”
Yeongeun lifted a hand and pointed.
“He was probably after that.”
A banner.
Royal Casino Exclusive
Special Prize
Emergency Exit – 10,000 Coins
The hot topic product that can take you anywhere!
A luxury conveyance for the busy ■■ modern person, a high-class mobility item for the top 0.01%.
“Countless people pinned their only hopes on that.”
“......”
“...Including you, Agent Mint?”
“No.”
Yeongeun shut his mouth, then spoke again.
“...When you see the pile of failures, it’s hard to even try.”
His gaze drifted to the hall packed with addicts.
“But Deputy Dolphin must have tried.”
“How do you know that?”
“I heard rumors.”
From whom?
He didn’t explain, only continued.
A few days ago, word spread that someone new was winning massive amounts in the Body Casino...
“At first they only exchanged for food and water. But one day they pawned another body part to make coins. From there, they won hundreds more in the Dealer Room within a single day.”
“...!!”
“So I came to this casino to find them. But by then...”
“By then?”
“They were already inside the VIP Room.”
“......”
“They’d won over 1,000 coins.”
So he hadn’t seen it himself—until today, when he found a new dealer.
“...So the person in the rumor was the one you saw—appearing as a new dealer.”
“Yes.”
Deputy Dolphin.
“He must have lost big in the VIP Room. Or else suffered extreme contamination.”
“......”
Choi, who had been watching Yeongeun closely, spoke.
“I found some of Dolphin’s other body parts in the pawnshop display.”
“...!!”
“Stored deep inside. No wonder they were hard to spot.”
“How many?”
“Well, hard to be sure. But... elbow, hand, and left foot, I confirmed.”
I almost asked how he could possibly know—then remembered.
He once identified me just by the veins in my wrist.
So of course he could confirm body parts after a day or more beside a Baekilmong employee.
However—
“The ones stored deeper couldn’t be purchased. The display listed them as ‘special products.’”
Special products.
Could it be...?
My eyes met Choi’s.
“They’re used for games in the VIP Room?”
“...Highly possible.”
Since Deputy Lee had lost most of his body and become a dealer there.
Tension tightened everyone’s faces.
Which meant—
“To recover as much of his body as possible, we’ll need to enter the VIP Room.”
“......”
“That’ll be hard.”
Deputy Eunhaje took a cigarette from his mouth, then put it back in.
“First you need 1,000 coins. And gambling—if you go in expecting to win, you’ll end up losing everything.”
“......”
“That’s how you end up pawning deeds, then your own body. You know it.”
Of course.
“But Deputy Dolphin managed to earn over 1,000 coins in just days.”
“...!”
“And under far worse conditions than ours.”
Given his personality, he wasn’t some habitual gambler. Which meant he wasn’t likely a skilled professional.
[Indeed. Even for a talented gambler with luck, such streaks are unnatural. Which means... oh.]
[Perhaps he sprinkled in a touch of magical ‘seasoning.’]
Exactly.
“There must be another way—a method with far higher odds of winning.”
Exploiting the gaps in the ghost story’s rules.
The kind of skill you’d expect from an Elite Team officer.
So—
“Let’s find that method. Build up 1,000 coins. Enter the VIP Room.”
“...Yes.”
Tension hummed through us.
And then—
Brrrring!!
“...!”
I turned my head.
A slot machine blazed with light and music.
The sign of a jackpot.
And the one sitting at it, clutching coins and some “prize” with a thrilled face—
Baek Saheon!
He’d hit a win.
But—
“...That.”
Every addict in the slot hall turned their heads toward him.
And rushed.
“...!!”
Baek Saheon hastily swept everything into his arms, then met my eyes.
And without a flicker of hesitation, he bolted straight toward us.
Damn it!!