“Oh, it looks exactly like Soleum-ssi, doesn’t it? Could it be a trap?”

“Squad Leader, maybe it’s time to at least give him the basic manual…?”

“Oh, sure. I suppose you’re right?”

A-squad’s leader looked at me, seemingly weighing the idea, then finally spoke slowly, as if granting a rare favor.

“Soleum-ssi, you’re inside a story.”

“……”

“Think of it as entering a novel or a movie.”

Yeah I mean, I already figured that out myself.

The moment I saw my own corpse, I realized which Darkness this was.

========================

Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story

[The Day I Died]

: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>

: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-C-406

A ghost story that pulls the victim into an unsuccessful thriller-mystery, making them the sacrificed character.

The first witness is always faced with the discovery of their own sacrificial corpse.

Exploration Records indicate a total of up to 25 entries.

========================

It’s a creepypasta tailor-made to drive someone to the edge of a mental breakdown.

‘This is… a potato—a potato.’

I tried to brainwash myself as best as I could, looking away from the corpse-shaped thing in front of me…

“Don’t use your special equipment. Check it directly. Look carefully and examine every detail…”

Are you kidding me?

“No, I can’t.”

I replied without even taking a breath.

The eyes behind the teal duck mask narrowed.

“…Hm?”

Oh no.

I just talked back to a superior who’s already prone to workplace harassment?

‘I need to fix this, pronto!’

Instinctively, I added more, smoothly following a well-tested routine I’d already used once.

“There’s a faster way to escape.”

Not again.

Why does it always go this way…?

* * *

My work conditions just expanded.

Stipulations

1- I must not let them find out that I’m a coward.

2- I must not reveal that I already know the correct strategy to use.

3- I must survive this uncooperative squad leader’s corporate bullying.

4- I must pull off a timed escape. (NEW!)

…Still, the one good thing is that seeing my own corpse allowed me to confirm exactly which creepypasta this is.

‘And the standard strategy for this creepypasta is… this.’

========================

To succeed, restructure the story so that the victim does not die.

========================

In this creepypasta, the more you explore, the further back in time you go.

So, typically, you’d have to investigate the entire factory, figuring out why ‘my corpse’ ended up dead and piecing together the story step by step.

========================

Failure to alter the story within the time limit will result in the victim’s confirmed death.

========================

Normally, you’d spend half a day in tense, desperate pursuit, racing against time to avoid the fixed fate of one guaranteed kill…

‘Um. At this rate, my stomach will give out first.’

My digestive system won’t survive this.

If there’s no shortcut, I’ll have to make one. Help me out, <Dark Exploration Records>!

With a total of 25 documented exploration attempts, surely there’s a record of someone breaking the pattern with some creative or unconventional approach. Something that might serve as a hint!

I quickly scanned through records in my mind.

‘Let’s see, any unique experiences I can reference…’

========================

Exploration Record #21

Entered by Assistant Manager Han So-eun and two others.

As soon as they entered the ghost story in the form of an abandoned lodge, the squad immediately recognized which story they were in.

It was a widely mocked, failed thriller that became a meme online.

Responses included ridicule, meme reenactments, bursts of laughter, and spoiler-filled derision.

Result : The setting suddenly collapsed, transporting them to a different story (continued in Exploration Record #22). Testimonies indicate that crying, whimpering sounds were heard.

Aigoo, is this a failed director’s poltergeist or something?

Even the fragile mentality is spot on.

– Researcher Kwak Jaekang

========================

Oh.

“Squad Leader, Assistant Manager, could you give me just ten minutes?”

“Hmm, alright.”

First things first, I decided not to leave any room for interference from my superiors. If I wanted to avoid workplace harassment disrupting this, I’d have to handle everything myself, no matter how frustrating or unfair it felt…

‘…I just need to do it quickly before I throw up or scream.’

I swiftly used my special equipment to recheck the indentation on the sticky back of the corpse’s head (uuuuugh!). Then I checked the footprints around the body, as well as the surrounding bloodstains…

“Why are you using your special equipment when you could just use your hands?”

“Because handling it directly could damage the evidence. I thought this was the best approach to preserve the scene.”

I hadn’t realized I had a talent for rapid-fire responses.

“Evidence? You sound like you’re in a detective novel.”

“It’s not quite deduction—just a simple guess. And…”

I stood up.

“I found it.”

“What?”

“The answer.”

Immediately, I surveyed the area. Naturally, I used my special equipment to do this remotely.

Let’s see here.

In a shadowy corner, partially hidden but not entirely, in a place that would be easy to overlook if you weren’t paying attention…

‘There it is.’

I pulled out a cylindrical object from a musty corner under the shelf.

“That’s… a can of food?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, there are cans all over the place here, though.”

Yes. After all, this place does seem like an abandoned canning factory.

But this one was different.

The can I picked up had a slightly dented edge with bloodstains on it.

It was a classic cliché—the ‘hidden in plain sight’ trope.

– Hooh, Mr. Roe Deer! If this were a mystery story, this would be the decisive evidence. The shape matches perfectly with the wound on the head.

Exactly.

“This matches the indentation left by the blunt-force trauma on the back of the head.”

– Ah, classic. The weapon was just an everyday object in the background that no one noticed! This is the structure of a typical work of fiction…

Right, right.

Anyway, A-squad’s assistant manager seemed to accept this, nodding.

“So that’s the weapon, then…?”

Tuk.

I let the potential ‘weapon’—the can—drop to the ground.

Then, I stomped on it with full force, crushing it hard.

“……??”

“……????”

– ?!??!

“Ah.”

I tilted my head to the side.

“There’s no way a human skull would be damaged by something with this level of force… Hmm. It doesn’t add up.”

Tremble, tremble.

At that moment, the space around us shook slightly.