Chapter 8 Part 3: Cd-A-11

Drag.

Drag, drag.

My left leg feels particularly heavy.

It feels like it’s being affected by gravity more than usual.

My gaze turned to the source of that weight.

Grip!

Clinging to my left leg like a leech, a little kid with bear ears sprouting from their head.

…No, a ghost story kid.

『Don’t, turn it off!』

『Turning off the light, bad person!』

Ignore it.

Even if my left leg is a little heavy…………ignore it.

Now, if I just put out the last candle, I can get out of this damn mansion.

I have to ignore it with all my might.

Drag, drag, drag…………Thud!

……?

My left leg suddenly stopped moving.

I turned my gaze back to the source.

Grip!

The ghost story kid who was clinging to my left leg was now holding onto a pillar of the mansion with their other arm.

…Strong grip.

『Do, don’t…turn off the light!』

“Seriously, you’re a handful.”

Even if the ghost story kid’s act of grabbing the pillar achieved the basic purpose of stopping me from walking.

It’s only for a moment.

This guy, although a ghost story, his strength itself was not much different from that of a human child.

A simple example.

Just by putting a little strength in my left leg like this.

『Turn off the light……………Ah!』

The other hand of the kid who was holding the pillar was now endlessly flailing in the air.

Really.

What is this kid’s identity?

Judging from the appearance, it looks like a young child.

『Don’t………… Don’t…….』

But every time the kid moves their mouth.

Judging from the ringing in my head.

It’s a ghost story.

Undoubtedly a ghost story.

On the other hand, the possibility that this kid is the main body of the [I Hate the Dark!] ghost story.

『Stop it! Bad person! Stop it!!』

Seeing the little friends rushing towards me at once according to the ghost story kid’s words.

‘…It seems like it might be true.’

Thud.

The bear dolls that clung to my pants with difficulty fell off so easily with the simple act of me taking a step.

Thud.

Thud!

Seeing the bear dolls falling powerlessly and the ghost story kid swallowing tears while watching them.

It feels like I’ve become the bad guy.

『Bad person!』

…What is this guilt.’

It’s a strange feeling, like accidentally making my nephew cry while playing with them.

Leaving that feeling behind.

I continued to move forward endlessly.

Before I knew it, I had reached my final destination.

This is where the last candle is.

I didn’t waste any more time and reached for the doorknob.

Click-

I immediately grabbed the doorknob of the door and pushed it in.

Creeeeak-

Typical horror BGM.

The interior of the study was also well decorated with a structure and design suitable for a typical luxury mansion.

‘……Unlike there. There’s a lot here.’

Unlike the library bookshelves I know.

Bookshelves filled with books.

If I had my way, I wanted to take some time to look at the books on the shelves.

If you ask me why I suddenly thought that.

It’s not just any place.

This is a space from a ghost story that I’ve always enjoyed watching.

But.

That’s just what I wanted to do.

I’m not the kind of attention-seeker who would trade my life for curiosity.

I’m just a healthy young man in his 20s.

And a ‘job seeker H’ who likes cosmic horror and similar genres a little…………just a liiiiittle bit more than others!

!!

I found myself losing my mind and reaching for the bookshelf.

I quickly turned my steps to the window on the left.

To be precise, a single candle with a faint flame flickering on the corner of the window.

I’m alive.

That was the first emotion I felt upon seeing the candle.

I never thought I would get out of this ghost story alive.

No, honestly, it still doesn’t feel real.

Of course, I know that even if I put out that candle right now, it won’t all be over.

Even if I clear this ghost story safely, another ghost story will surely be waiting for me.

But…………just.

For now, just….

It was enough to be able to stand here with both feet intact, without any injuries.

‘It would be greedy to ask for more.’

This much sentimentality should be enough.

“Now I’ll go back………..?”

Grab!

『Don’t! Don’t turn off the light!』

The ghost story kid who was holding my leg was now standing in front of the last candle with his short arms outstretched.

Blocking my last path.

Pitter-patter!

And under that kid, countless bear doll legions are also playing a part.

It’s a very cute sight to behold.

But now it’s really time to end this.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the strength to play with you guys anymore.”

I’m not actually sorry.

Honestly, the number of agency people who died in this ghost story would easily exceed several thousand.

If the person standing here now was someone from the agency, not me.

Even if it’s in the form of a child, they would try to kill it without hesitation.

Of course.

I’ll pass because I’m scared.

“It’s easier for you if I go, isn’t it?”

『Don’t! Don’t turn off the light!』

“No. I’m just saying I’ll put out that candle and go back quietly, okay?”

『Don’t! Bad person! Light-off person, bad person!』

I can’t communicate with this kid.

I didn’t expect a normal conversation with a ghost story from the beginning, but…

Now, it’s the final showdown.

Park Yeon-jung VS Ghost Story (Kid).

Use of force.

“Just the light….”

『Don’t!』

“If I turn it off….”

Block!

“I’ll just go back, you little brat!!”

But the blocking that stops me every time I reach out with my arm.

It’s truly top-notch.

If the kid had come out like this from the beginning, they could have stopped me long ago.

Crack!

Annoying!!

I clenched my fist, determined to teach this kid who challenged me a lesson about the bitterness of adulthood.

But, this kid.’

‘Wasn’t this kid part of the ‘physical restraint impossible’ category?

/Ghost Story Log

[I Hate the Dark!]

: Identification Code Cd-A-11

Physical restraint impossible. (There’s a reason why they tell you not to.)

The red pill flashed by.

‘…….I’ll let it slide, just this once.’

But if physical restraint is impossible, I have to get past that top-notch blocking no matter what.

Just when I was getting tired of facing this unexpected variable.

[The child trembled.]

【Was it because the day was cold?】

Whisper?

It’s not the voice of that ghost story kid.

A fairly young man’s voice.

【But playing with fire is a serious crime. Good children should never imitate it. Love the darkness.】

A deep voice like a narrator in a stage play.

My attention was focused on the deep voice.

But my gaze was focused on the ghost story kid who had been blocking me until now.

The ghost story kid’s actions stopped.

The ghost story kid, who had been standing in my way with such confidence until just now, suddenly froze.

And no longer tried to stop me.

To be precise………….

As if terrified.

The very image of someone who has lost all motivation.

A ghost story…is terrified.

I don’t need to ask anyone why, because Park Yeon-jung, who is here, knows the reason.

<Exploration Record 105>

Employee Kim Dong-won, who is considered an elite by the agency, succeeded in finding and extinguishing all the candles marked on the manual, created by the fast speed and judgment and the sacrifice? of his seniors.

He stated that when all the candles were extinguished, the darkness that seemed to cover the entire mansion swallowed him.

After that, he said he heard a deep male voice over the only permitted sense of hearing, as follows.

【Now, is it my turn?】

After that, with the faint scream of a child heard in the end, employee Kim Dong-won returned safely to the agency.

Later, the identity of another ghost story was revealed in the [I Hate the Dark!] ghost story that was observed.

/Ghost Story Log

[Shadow Man]

:Identification Code Cd-A-12

Grade A.

Observed simultaneously in Identification Code ‘Cd-A-11’.

Physical restraint impossible.

Extremely hates bright light.

Conversational style of a stage play observer.

Strong obsession with children.

Appears the moment all candles are extinguished. Drags Cd-A-11 into the darkness and disappears together. (Statements that a child’s scream, similar to that of C d-A-11, was heard multiple times from the place where they disappeared.)

+Additional statements that Cd-A-12 was witnessed in other ghost stories. (Verifying the truth.)

[Shadow Man.]

Originally, another A-grade ghost story ‘Shadow Man’ that only appears when all the candles in the mansion are extinguished.

The reason why child’s screams have been heard continuously in the exploration records until now is now roughly guessed.

【Now. A naughty child who played with fire needs a good spanking.】

【Because good children need a good role model.】

A determined voice that sounds like it might have a close relationship with Mr. Announcement of a certain library.

But.

A slight difference from that Mr. Announcement.

Is the fact that this guy is an A-grade ghost story.

The type of conditional ghost story that reveals its true colors when all the lights are out.

I feel a strange sensation, as if he’s sticking to my back even now.

…It’s creepy.

Let’s really end it now.

‘Since this ghost story kid seems to have lost motivation.’

Now is the chance to put out the candle.

Thud.

Only three steps to go, and how much did I struggle with this kid over this short distance.

Should I exercise when I get back?

I seriously 고민했다.

But the conclusion I came to after that 고민 was.

No.

It’s just that this ghost story kid was unusually weak.

The very idea of trying to win against a ghost story with brute force is something only crazy people would do.

At least you have to be at the level of a department head in the agency to have a fistfight with ghost story guys.

Not applicable to me at the moment.

For now, it’s not too late to think about it after clearing this ghost story.

Thud.

Now just one step.

……Grip.

The sensation of grabbing my pants again.

But now I’m in a position where I can put out the candle even if it interferes………….?

Sniffle.

?!?!

“Wait, are you….

“”

Crying?

A child is holding my pants and crying.

No, no, no.

Let me correct that.

A ghost story is holding my pants and crying.

『Don’t………… Don’t. If you turn off the light……….』

And with the face you’d see in a tragic heroine’s crying scene, no less.

At my hesitation, ‘Shadow Man’ whispered again.

【Because we need a role model!】

[Because we need

【Because we need

a role model!]

a role model!]

Yes, yes! We need a role model!

Since it’s a ghost story that has killed many people, a role model is necessary.

Grip!

The force of gripping the hem of my pants is transmitted through my skin.

“……Sigh.”

I’m going crazy.

I wondered if I was being mentally affected by this ghost story kid, but.

Thud!

When I saw the little bear dolls holding onto my pants and falling down just like the ghost story kid, I thought maybe not.

This compassion of mine, which activates at strange timings with strange guys.

At this rate.

‘I’ll never be able to get out of here and live.

……Ah?

Wait.

Park Yeon-jung’s brain suddenly started spinning rapidly for some reason.

And.

The thought that reached the end of the rotation was as follows.

If. If I don’t put out this candle here.

-Isn’t it safer here?