My legs are shaking.
I am looking at a mountain tunnel that was closed after too many disappearances, the one that shows up in online threads and whispered conversations.
The cold, dead end of the road.
A single streetlamp throws a sickly light into the tunnel’s darkness, illuminating nothing, only casting shadows for no reason.
Ha.
Go inside. Walk all night while telling scary stories.
No matter what happens, ignore it, and keep going.
No, this is....
My fear had been dulled inside the body of 130666, and then further numbed by experiencing only large-scale, backstory-heavy urban-disaster-style horrors in Se-gwang Special City—but now, it hits me like a fist.
Right.
You’re a massive coward...!
“Alright, let’s go in!”
“...Yes.”
It’s been a long time.
That feeling of being led into a slaughterhouse!
But at least I don’t have to fight to keep the fear from showing through sweat or stumbling.
The reptile-extraterrestrial body does not get swept away by emotions so easily.
Section Chief Lee Jahaeon... Thank you.
It feels like I lied when I was spooked by body-switching horror.
No—honestly, even if Dolphin Deputy finds out I’m a coward, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. They probably won’t despise me and say I should have been shoved into the cleanup team.
But the issue is the other person.
“.......”
“What. What is it.”
“You’re really lucky.”
“...?!”
“You never miss the interesting assignments.”
I smile and pat Baek Saheon’s shoulder.
“Entering the darkness while listening to scary stories from the two of us... fun, right? Shouldn’t you be thanking Dolphin Deputy?”
“.......”
“No?”
“...Thank you.”
“Yep. Not like I said it for your sake or anything!”
Baek Saheon’s face turns red and blue, but he keeps his mouth shut. Good. Keep pressuring him so he has no room to suspect anything else.
That way, if I freeze or hesitate at any point, he’ll think, He’s just doing some deranged intimidation play on purpose.
Ha...
I can’t believe I’m doing this again.
“Then let’s go in now! Only one flashlight among the group... I’ve got one, so I’ll turn it on.”
“Yes.”
Step, step.
The three of us walked into the abandoned tunnel.
“.......”
It smells damp and moldy.
Moss-covered stone and concrete. Traces of when electricity once ran here.
Dolphin Deputy’s flashlight beam illuminates the tunnel interior.
[Oh dear, even the ventilator is rusted. This place has been abandoned quite a while. A complete ruin.]
Yeah.
And I am now actually experiencing what those people who go to abandoned buildings to tell scary stories and then vanish must have experienced....
Uuugh.
Dolphin Deputy on my left with the flashlight, Baek Saheon in the middle, and me on the far right.
I want to beg them to let me hold the flashlight, but I endure.
To make it worse, I’m standing at the farthest point from the light. Ha......
If only I were walking in the middle...
The empty space to my right is wide open.
But I have no good excuse to switch places, so I keep walking.
“Alright, let’s start a scary story then?”
Act calm. Act calm.
“How do we judge if the story counts as scary?”
“Just like the kind of ghost stories you see online. Either chilling or gruesome?”
Hoo.
“What matters is that it lasts all night, so just tell it slowly. We can pause while walking as long as we don’t fall asleep.”
No need to worry about falling asleep. Passing out, maybe.
“Then I’ll go first.”
“Yes.”
Step, step.
“Mm... this one’s about the disappearances in this tunnel!”
“...Yes.”
Of course!!
“They say this tunnel used to have frequent accidents.”
“.......”
Footsteps echo.
“There’s a newer two-way tunnel nearby. But at night, drivers coming down the mountain road would mistake this place for the new one and drive in by accident.”
The pale beam shines into the dark.
Dolphin Deputy’s voice hums in the tunnel.
“Isn’t it strange? With navigation, that shouldn’t happen often. But for some reason, this tunnel in particular had many cases of ‘accidentally taking the wrong path.’ And one night...”
The flashlight shifts.
“In the mountain fog, a car going the wrong way hit a compact car head-on.”
Skreeeech—CRASH!
You can almost hear it.
...And faint skid marks really are visible on the road ahead.
“The wreck was found the next morning. A hit-and-run. But the strange part... only the car remained.”
“That means...”
“No one was inside.”
The flashlight slowly traces the road.
“Not in the driver’s seat. Not in any of the seats. Just the airbags, shattered glass, and...”
“.......”
“Bloodstains and handprints.”
A chill runs down my spine.
“The license plate was missing too, so it took a long time to identify the passengers. A family returning from a trip. And after that accident...”
“.......”
“People started disappearing.”
Step, step.
My footsteps sound too loud.
“Day or night—if someone entered when the road was empty, they vanished. Sometimes they left a final message or phone call.”
“.......”
“And it was always the same.”
Step.
“They’d say there was a wrecked compact car ahead, and someone inside was waving from behind the window.”
“.......”
“And then something grabs their shoulder.”
Tap.
I almost fell.
“Like this.”
I manage to turn my head. Dolphin Deputy’s hand is on my shoulder, and they smile.
“Of course it’s all just rumors!”
Ha.
“How was that?”
“...It fit the situation very well.”
I almost cried.
It was too perfect—too much like something following right behind me....
Thank god I’m not holding the flashlight. It would be shaking like mad.
At least I already knew this one.
Gangryeong Tunnel
A ghost story from Darkness Exploration Records.
Baekilmong Corporation identification code: Qterw-D-2076.
A 2076-meter one-way tunnel on the mountainside of ■■ City.
The nickname “Gangryeong” was not official—just an online urban legend name.
It was originally named ■■ Ridge Tunnel, but after a wrong-way hit-and-run, it was closed, and the name fell out of use.
See relevant document for accident details.
Upon entry, one must walk the tunnel all night while telling scary stories to reach the exit.
Never turn back or move alone.
“.......”
How is this safe, Deputy...?!
I mean, sure, if the team had normal field exploration nerves, they’d think it’s awesome.
So we’re going to walk all night and then go get lunch....
My mind drifts, but Baek Saheon picks up the next story.
“...So it just needs to be moderately scary? Fine. This is one I heard as a kid.”
His story is not as situationally terrifying, thankfully.
A girl finds an old cassette player that always plays a song containing exactly the advice she needs...
“To pick gifts, to avoid unpleasant adults—perfect timing. But then the lyrics start changing.”
Eventually the lyrics became unsettling and violent. The child, terrified, tried to open the player and throw away the tape...
“But the inside of the player was empty from the beginning.”
“.......”
“End.”
“Oh. But what’s scary about that?”
It was scary.
I defend it.
“Mm. It’s sufficiently uncanny, so it [N O V E L I G H T] should count.”
“Okay! Then the last one is Cat-sir!”
Wait.
“Cat-sir...?”
“Yep. Your mask is a black cat!”
“Mm. Yes.”
Even though it feels more like a big cat than a domestic cat... not important.
As long as it doesn’t overlap.
I still don’t know how this mask shows this shape anyway.
— It’s similar to the Field Exploration masks. Cognitive deterioration feature. Haha.
...Feels like Ho Yuwon took standard equipment and modified it, like the security uniform I’m wearing.
Anyway. My turn. Hoo.
[Oh, let’s deliver the most thrilling story among us, friend!]
No. Let’s tell something manageable.
“Then I’ll tell—”
“What.”
“...!”
We stop walking.
In the flashlight beam down the road, we see other figures in suits.
Another field exploration team...!
Two people. And one silhouette I recognize.
A tall, slim woman with a ponytail.
“Huh? Deputy!”
It’s Deputy Jin Nasol of Elite Team A.
“I heard you went in first, didn’t expect to meet like this.”
“Yeah?”
Her expression tightens.
“Join us. There’s a problem.”
She doesn’t even look at the employee beside her—clearly displeased.
Familiar...
Cutting someone off without hesitation—very Elite Team.
I glance pityingly at the insect-mask employee.
The insect-mask turns and stares sharply at me.
“And who are you.”
“Oh, they’re one of our company staff too—not main HQ Field Exploration, but very kind and highly capable!”
“Yeah?”
Her gaze sweeps over me.
“Rank?”
“Higher than me!”
“So. Specifically.”
“Mm. Kind of like... Team Leader-equivalent?”
Huh?
“It’s true! They basically act as leader in the project team!”
Her eyes change.
“...Director Ho’s project team?”
“Yes!”
“Hm.”
I answer calmly:
“‘Team Leader’ is too much. Just call me ‘Cat.’ I’ve been with the company less time than you.”
“...Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
Her gaze leaves me.
I swallow.
Been a while.
I’m nervous. ...Maybe because I remembered Deputy Eun Haje imitating Jin Nasol one time?
Did she realize...?
No. No need to worry. Right now, she’s seeing a masked colleague in a horror tunnel, not me.
Let’s just be glad to see her.
More people means safety.
Not just one—two! Amazing.
Why does this company split up to enter horror tunnels like it’s nothing? Why not hold hands and go together?!
“Let’s move.”
“Yes.”
Jin Nasol stands beside Dolphin Deputy. The insect-mask employee stands beside me.
Thank you. Probably because they wanted to get away from Jin Nasol, but I finally get a sandwich formation....
And the scary-story relay resumes.
“New person goes first.”
“So annoying.”
But Jin Nasol proceeds anyway.
“Some idiot bought a secondhand wooden wardrobe. Anyone sleeping near it got sleep paralysis.”
“Oh!”
“They called a carpenter to open the bottom panel. There was a talisman stuck inside. The next day, the carpenter was found hanging in the wardrobe.”
Ugh.
As expected of Elite Team—this is real-deal folk horror.
“And the Agency showed up and took it. Annoying.”
...Did she actually experience that?
“Story over.”
Whew.
Now it’s finally my turn.
“Alright, last—Cat-sir!”
“Yes.”
I take a breath and open my mouth to tell the ‘not-too-scary’ story I prepared.
Ah. Right.
“It’s not the last. There’s one more person.”
“Huh?”
“The one to my right.”
“Cat-sir.”
“There’s nobody there.”
“.......”
...What?
“You’re currently on the far right.”
“...The person who came in with the insect mask?”
“Him? He ran away earlier.”
......
“The idiot saw something and turned back and bolted.”
“...Ah.”
“That’s why I joined you. I didn’t want to keep telling stories alone.”
......
I can’t turn my head.
But there is definitely someone walking beside me.
Footsteps.
A shadow.
Clack.
From behind, headlights spill over us.
...The sound of a broken compact car engine.
“Excuse me?”
Tap, tap.
Someone on my right touches my shoulder and whispers at my ear.
“There’s someone trapped in here??”