NoveLight ™
Buying Everything from the Alien Shopping Mall
“Wow.”
My hands trembled slightly. Spending ₩130,000,000 on a few items was a first for me.
Still, I’d spent a few million before, so it felt a bit less daunting this time.
"Let’s put these to good use," I thought. They were all stepping stones to survival.
With a bold click, I pressed the Purchase button.
Purchase Successful!
Your items have boarded the rocket!
Soon enough, as before, the space around me distorted, and a delivery box materialized in midair. My heart pounded as I waited for the box to hit the floor...
Except—
“…??”
The box didn’t fall. Instead, it hovered in the air, held delicately by something—or someone—with a careful grip.
Tentacles.
“…!?”
The tentacles gave the box a gentle shake, as if asking, “Is this a good place to put it?”
“...Yes, just set it on the ground, please.”
The tentacles obliged, carefully placing the package on the floor with a smooth motion.
“Thank you.”
But the tentacles didn’t vanish immediately. Instead, they deftly retrieved something else from the rift—a small, golden card—and handed it to me.
Welcome, VIP of the Alien Shopping Mall!
A complimentary gratitude cell included
“Uh, thanks?”
I accepted the card, and the tentacles waved a little before retreating into the spatial rift.
“...”
Well, it seemed like the Alien Shopping Mall now considered me a VIP.
“That’s… good, right?”
I tucked the gratitude card away. Its iridescent gold shimmer was almost blinding.
I guess expecting good design from the Alien Shopping Mall was too much. But, well...
"The important thing is the functionality."
My attention returned to the delivery box.
It was time for an unboxing.
“Phew.”
Opening the box, the first thing that caught my eye was the bulkiest item.
The ₩28,000,000 purchase.
Happy Maker.
A bright pastel-colored package. It resembled something that might contain liquid antacids or vitamin drinks. Inside were twelve glow sticks, roughly the size of a highlighter, neatly arranged. But at the end of each glow stick was a needle.
It was exactly like the ones sold on the Delusional Homeshopping Network under the same name.
A perfect painkiller.
Dark Exploration Record / Delusional Homeshopping Network
Item: Happy Maker
"Is life painful?"
"Are you kept awake by mysterious aches? Afraid of accidents?"
"Introducing your perfect savior: the Rapid Pain Relief Shot, Happy Maker!
—Product description from the Delusional Homeshopping Network (20XX.09.09)
It lived up to its name.
I read the label on the box:
Quick and comfortable shots.
Say goodbye to pain!
This stick-style auto-injector, when pressed against the skin, delivered an immediate dose that completely eliminated pain for a certain period.
“It’s genuinely over-the-top tech,” I thought.
Though, to be fair, it wasn’t science but a paranormal phenomenon driving it.
Pain muddles your judgment in extreme situations—that much I knew for sure, given my experience dodging countless injuries and disasters. This would definitely come in handy one day.
"Hopefully, I won’t need to use it..."
Abandoning futile hope, I braced myself.
"This cursed world of ghost stories..."
I carefully packed the item, promising to carry it with me at all times. The back of the box did, however, contain a particularly eerie additional usage note:
"In irrecoverable situations, this can be used for euthanasia."
Yeah. Not happening.
“Only for pain relief,” I muttered.
How does a ghost story resident with a TV for a head even take headache medicine? Never mind.
I wiped the image from my mind, distracted Braun with a few compliments to boost his mood, and turned back to the box.
"Phew."
The next items caught my attention.
One was an ominous old book, sealed in crimson wax and layered with dust. The other was... modern and neat—a roll of eco-friendly packaging material.
Yes, just the packaging material itself was the item.
Packaging 12B357na.
Aside from the barcode and some engraved text on the surface, there wasn’t a single explanatory note.
Looks insignificant? Wrong.
“It’s here. Armor!”
This “packaging material” had a unique protective feature and would be a literal lifesaver. Handling it with utmost care, I stored it safely for future use.
Then, I turned to the book.
Necronomicon.
The infamous Book of the Dead. The quintessential forbidden grimoire.
It’s appeared in countless stories for decades, so much so that it’s become the ultimate symbol of evil magical texts.
And as expected, it had a spot in the Dark Exploration Records, which I’d read.
So, what are the usual clichés about the Necronomicon?
“…”
Yeah.
The human-skin part? Accurate.
Even the crimson wax coating the cover hinted at a face screaming in agony beneath.
“Ha.”
Truly, a sight that made you not want to touch it.
A ghost story host modeled after an American talk show knowing about the Necronomicon? Not surprising at all.
Unfortunately for him...
"Not the version you’re thinking of."
Yeah, this is that kind of Necronomicon.
Wordlessly, I stashed the sealed book into my forearm storage.
"Phew."
With the “intimidation item” stored, I moved on to the familiar Nostalgia Candy, another emergency recovery tool.
If contamination pushed me to the brink, this would stabilize me until I could escape.
“Alright.”
Finally, my gaze fell on the small red button casually sitting in the corner of the package.
Process of elimination told me exactly what this was.
We Help! - ₩66,666,666
Have you ever heard of that internet ghost story? The one where someone gives you a button and asks:
“If you press this, someone will die, and you’ll receive ₩1 billion. Will you do it?”
It looked like it belonged in that kind of tale.
Examining it closely, I noticed tiny text etched into the side.
Though...
“What language is this?”
As expected, Braun stepped in.
So, pressing it would summon alien assistance for a quick getaway?
“Better be worth the ₩60 million price tag.”
This was more of a gamble than a purchase, but I had no regrets.
"At least the Alien Shopping Mall doesn’t scam."
If this had been any other ghost story, I’d be worried about my brain “escaping” my skull as an ingredient for some otherworldly soup. But the Alien Shopping Mall? Reliable.
"That’s it."
With everything sorted, I stored the items in my forearm’s tattoo storage.
If even a human fully contaminated by ghost stories could survive, these items should be fine.
...Not that I wanted to prove that point.
“Phew.”
Time to stop overthinking.
Luckily, sorting everything out hadn’t taken up the entire day, so I managed to squeeze in a nap during the bright afternoon.
But when I woke up...
A message hit me like a freight train.
[Go Yeongeun: Did you check the intranet?]
[Go Yeongeun: The personnel reshuffle announcement just dropped!]
“...!”
A personnel reshuffle.
Which meant the vacancy in Team D was about to be filled.
“…”
Who could it be?
***
A Few Days Later
“Hello.”
“Oh, uh, hi, hi.”
I saw the new recruit assigned to Team D walk into the office. Their rank matched mine—junior staff. They appeared to be around my age, judging by their demeanor before entering this ghost story-infested company.
The bespectacled newcomer gave me a quick once-over.
“So, you’re that junior staff member? The one who got promoted in just 60 days?”
“Yes.”
“So, technically, you’re still a rookie, huh?”
“...”
I simply looked at him.
“Ooh~ Look at that stare. What? You expect to be treated the same as someone who’s been here for three years?”
Then he smirked.
“Of course not. I’m counting on you, senior.”
“Well, well, they say you’re quick to assess situations, don’t they?”
“Haha…”
“This field exploration gig? It’s all about teamwork. You’ve got to be aware! Being perceptive is everything here.”
Is that so?
“Plenty of rookies who got early promotions whined about being treated like seniors, got marked as nuisances, and ended up dying because no one helped them. Happens all the time.”
The new recruit casually glanced around the office, taking in the empty desks.
“I heard the previous assistant manager and junior staff here both got injured or contaminated, right? That could’ve been you next.”
“...”
I glanced away slightly, my eyes landing on an eerily clean, empty desk.
That had been Park Minseong’s desk. A few days ago, the morning after the reshuffle announcement, I’d arrived to find all his belongings—mugs, picture frames, everything—gone.
“That’s true. Or it could’ve been you, sir.”
“…What?”
“This job is inherently dangerous. I’ll do my best to support you going forward so that doesn’t happen. I look forward to working with you.”
I extended my hand politely for a handshake.
“Uh…”
The newcomer, who had been looking at me with a vaguely uncomfortable expression, eventually decided it must’ve just been his imagination and accepted the handshake.
A moment later, the team leader entered the office.
“Assistant Manager! I’m Yoon Johoon, pleased to meet you!” the newcomer said enthusiastically.
Lee Jaheon, our team leader, gave him a brief nod.
“Yes.”
“Haha, did you know our initials are the same? Don’t you think it’s fate that I’m assigned to work under you?”
“Yes.”
“…No, I mean… it feels like fate, doesn’t it?”
“No.”
“...”
Yoon Johoon’s attempt at small talk fell completely flat. The moment the team leader left the office for a meeting, Yoon sidled up to me and whispered conspiratorially.
“Hey. Is the Team D leader seriously mentally unstable? I’d heard rumors.”
“Do you think so?”
“You heard that conversation just now, didn’t you? He sounded like some free AI chatbot.”
He let out a heavy sigh.
“Goddamn it. It’s already hard enough to stay sane in this company, and now we’ve got a team leader like that. Is he seriously like this?”
“Team Leader Lee Jaheon actually takes good care of his team.”
“Oh, sure. And what’s the point? You die, and it’s all over anyway. I heard he doesn’t follow instructions in the Darkness and even pissed off the A-Team leader. That true?”
“...”
“Yeah, thought so. Damn it. Watch yourself too. Seriously, what rotten luck to end up in this team…”
Muttering curses, Yoon Johoon announced he was heading to the bathroom. He didn’t come back for over thirty minutes.
“...”
And this is the guy I have to work with now?
“Sure. Let’s just watch some variety shows together after work.”
That small exchange with Braun helped calm me down a bit.
Right.
Strictly speaking, the fact that I’d had good luck with colleagues before was an anomaly.
“This is just normal corporate life…”
At least Yoon wasn’t my direct supervisor. For that, I was grateful.
I quickly composed myself and focused on the present.
That Afternoon
“We’ll begin the briefing for tomorrow’s Darkness entry.”
Team Leader Lee returned from his meeting and handed out PDFs while beginning the debrief.
The new recruit, Yoon Johoon, stared at the materials in shock.
“Undefined grade? Wait, this Darkness doesn’t have a manual?”
“That’s incorrect,” replied Lee Jaheon calmly, his vertical pupils locking onto Yoon.
“The grade changes each time it’s cleared, depending on the liquid collected in the Dream Collector.”
“...!”
Anomaly?
“Then why assign this to Team D instead of an elite team?”
“This wasn’t assigned to Team D alone. All general teams will attempt entry.”
Lee Jaheon glanced at me.
“This is a dream-based Darkness, where even entering it has a high failure rate.”
“...!”
“The basic premise is this: on a night with a full moon, you read a specific book and fall asleep. If you wake up in a nighttime school, you’ve successfully entered the Darkness.”
Wait.
“If that school is named Sae Kwang Technical High School, you’re inside.”
Sae Kwang Technical High School.
“...”
I know this ghost story.
But it’s more than just familiarity.
“This… is one I was part of.”
Exploration Log #13.
The thirteenth entry in the Exploration Records for ghost stories… was one I had written myself.
I've been waiting for this!!