Bang, bang, bang!

The doors to the auditorium closed one by one.

Damn it!

While I panicked, the naive new employees, who still thought Daydream Inc. was just a normal pharmaceutical company, hadn't realised what was happening.

And so, as about a hundred new employees listened intently to the host, the host cheerfully shouted,

[Let's get started!]

With this lively voice.

The lights in the room went out.

"......?"

"Huh?"

The new recruits, still confused, seemed to think it was a video or something being prepared, showing only mild curiosity.

That was to be expected.

Who would expect such a crazy thing to happen just because they got a job?

For example.

The surrounding scenery suddenly changed to the inside of a desolate underground train.

[Passengers, thank you for using Abyss Transpo today... Our train will not be stopping.]

[Please listen to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination].

An unfamiliar announcement with strange station names began to play.

"......?!"

"W-What is this!?"

The new employees, still in their suits and neatly seated on subway chairs as if the auditorium had been transported as is, all shot to their feet.

It was understandable that they were startled.

"Excuse me?"

"Is this some kind of VR? Did we really move?"

Many of the people in the auditorium still seemed to be there, which offered some comfort and led to complacent reactions.

They wandered around the subway looking for any sign of the company or anyone from the event, or looking for doors that might open.

Soon they began to get a better sense of the situation.

"There are people in the next carriage! But... er, the doors won't open? Is this some new technology?"

With a feeling of cold sweat creeping up on me, I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again.

I already knew what ghost story this was.

 

--------------------

[Welcome to Abyss Transpo]

: A ghost story published by <Dark Exploration Records>.

D-Class Darkness, which has a ridiculously high escape difficulty and one of the most notorious stories. The Field Exploration Team suffers endlessly.

Exploration records show a total of ■■ entries.

--------------------

 

<Welcome to Abyss Transpo>.

As you can probably guess, it's a ghost story based on the Korean subway system.

 

- You fall asleep and wake up on a subway train. It feels like your usual commute home, but strange station names start appearing...

 

That's how it starts.

The target audience for this ghost story is anyone who has ever commuted by subway, which makes it all the more chilling for most working people who read it.

"......"

And this ghost story... it's Daydream Inc.'s responsibility, isn't it?

It seemed that Daydream Inc. wanted to 'filter' their new employees through this ghost story. ...Damn it!

"Is this some kind of escape room?"

"Why would a pharmaceutical company that makes a hair loss treatment bother with escape rooms for new sales recruits...?"

That's when it happened.

[This stop is Sorrow, Sorrow Station]

"......!"

"S-Sorrow?"

The first announcement came over the loudspeaker.

I held my breath and turned my head.

[The doors are on your right...]

Clicked.

The train stopped.

[The doors open.]

The doors opened.

It seemed like any other day, but...

[The doors will close in 30 seconds. Once closed, they will never open again.]

[Passengers bound for Sorrow Station should disembark according to the announcement.]

The familiar voice calmly mixed strange words and phrases into the announcement.

But people always try to rationalise things to find some form of reassurance.

"Look outside! It's just a tube station!"

And indeed, they were right.

Outside the train, the platform was clearly visible. It looked a little dark and damp, but otherwise it looked like an ordinary tube station.

Relieved, two or three people moved towards the door.

Oh no.

"I think it's better if you don't get off."

"Huh?"

This is bad. I sighed and spoke quickly.

"You heard them say 'Sorrow Station'. There's no such station in Korea. Everyone would think it's weird."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I think he's right. Maybe we should wait and see how things develop..."

One of the quicker-witted people backed me up. It was the new recruit sitting next to me.

This made the people who were about to leave even more hesitant.

"But still..."

"Hey, the doors are closing!"

But the sound of the doors closing caused some panicked people to impulsively jump out...

It was a disaster.

[The doors close]

"Ah!"

"I missed it. Shit."

The people who didn't get off sighed and watched those who did wave at us from the platform.

Some even glanced at me, muttering curses under their breath.

I understood. In such a strange, unsettling situation, their instinct would be to flee without thinking.

But still.

"What the...?"

"Look at that..."

A grotesque scene unfolded.

As soon as the people who had disembarked turned to move...

Silver droplets suddenly poured from the ceiling and pillars of the platform, cascading down on them.

Drip, drip, drip.

It looked like huge teardrops.

But the countless silver droplets fell on their bodies like molten metal, making terrible ripping sounds.

Screams. Cramps. Silence.

Blood mixed with the silver liquid splashes against the windows.

[The train now leaves Sorrow Station.]

The last thing we see outside the window.

"......"

Outside the sliding doors, now soaked in filth and blood, only the crushed remains of the new recruits remained, twitching slightly.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Ahhhh!"

This was the fate of those who chose the wrong path.

[Please listen to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination.]

Finally, fear began to spread among the people as screams and cries echoed around them.

It has begun.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I'm in a ghost story?

I don't know how it happened, but I definitely seem to have become a new employee in a company from a ghost story.

And in a department with an insanely high mortality rate.

Is this for real?

Sure, if I'm honest, I'm probably in a more advantageous position than the other new recruits.

I've read all the <Dark Exploration Records> on the wiki.

 

--------------------

3.2 Exploration Records (up to ■■ entries)

--------------------

 

I can remember things pretty clearly up to about this level.

From this point on, it sounds like the classic overpowered protagonist trope.

Maybe you're thinking that I could escape this situation and look cool by using my superior knowledge of this world?

Maybe you're even imagining that I could monopolise the hidden treasures and items to come?

That might be true.

But there's a problem.

A very critical problem.

I'm bloody terrified of anything remotely scary!

That's right.

I... am a coward.

The lyrics are fine. I can enjoy reading it.

But the moment it's visualised, I can't handle it.

And not just an ordinary coward - a coward to the point where my friends tease me about it all the time!

 

 

- kim soleum's crush asked him to watch a horror movie, but he turned her down because he's too scared? is that for real?
- Lololololololol

- Dude, your name is literally the SFX for goosebumps, but you can't even watch a horror movie lolololol!

- No wonder your crush ran away lmao!

lol -

Do you wanna die? -

- Sorry.

- Sorry.

 

 

I'm the kind of coward who, when reading horror stories at work in broad daylight, turns off the background images and BGM just to concentrate on the text!

I was so scared I didn't even include a picture in the ghost story I posted!

Long-term resident of the Scaredy-Cat Shelter, that's me!

"......"

I covered my face with both hands.

I'm fucked, really fucked...