"Borrow money from Brown?"
"And with that money… buy an item from the Cosmic shopping mall?"
"...."
No.
'It's not borrowing.'
'It's receiving an Advance Payment.'
And the meaning of Advance Payment is….
[Of course, there won't be any burdensome demands. We're friends!]
[It's simply a form of deduction from the salary on the day we work together someday. This shouldn't be a psychological burden for Mr. Roe Deer….]
He's saying he'll re-employ me.
[Well, how about it?]
...
For now.
"Brown, how are you here?"
I need to buy time.
I looked at the host in a suit sitting on the platform.
"This is a Personal Shopping Space. Other customers shouldn't be able to enter."
[Oh my, isn't mass media family, not guests! Oh, the warm sense of everyday life that a TV in the living room provides.]
His gloved hands spread open, friendly and polite.
[This Brown is part of a friend's family, sharing their laughter and tears. Naturally, he's accompanying the shopping too.]
[Do you have doubts? Then let's ask the Personal Shopper here! Come, let's explain… Why am I here?]
Lizard's added remark could be heard.
"This intelligence is a part of the customer's mental system, manifested on-site to facilitate smooth shopping."
[That's what he says! Oh, of course, if Mr. Roe Deer cruelly rejects this and refuses to let this poor friend accompany him on the shopping trip, then I'll have no choice but to disappear….]
[Are you going to say such harsh words?]
My head sank.
'Brown is now able to speak to me freely, even without the Good Friend doll….'
Just like when my impurities were manifested during the previous Personal Shopping.
It seemed that after the restriction of the Good Friend doll disappeared, or after it was re-summoned, some deep connection had formed.
Even in Segwang Metropolitan City, where external influences are blocked, he's speaking to me.
'Has Brown's Good Friend persona become a part of me?'
I couldn't be sure. In any case, I felt a basic sense of relief that I had grasped the situation and began to analyze it….
Advance Payment?
'No way.'
Isn't that a statement based on my labor? I didn't want to work at that talk show again. The fact that I would be satisfied working there made my stomach churn even more….
'…It seems that thoughts I don't want to be read aren't being read by Brown.'
I sat on the chair without any outward reaction, swallowing as I watched the host elegantly moving his fingers.
Is there no other way? Another way….
Ah!
'Back then, asking for the wages I should have received while working as a staff member on the Late-Night Talk Show….'
That won't work!
I escaped after semi-destroying that studio with the Holy Fire Barrage. Honestly, it's possible the host might consider it 'a big concession' that I didn't present a bill when we met again!
'Then….'
[Think about it slowly, Mr. Roe Deer. You have plenty of time….]
Hoo.
'Maybe I should just sell my organs….'
If my organs could be sold. I grabbed my throbbing head and then remembered something.
"There's one more point to check."
And I turned to Lizard.
"Don't you only accept currency that exists in reality for payment at the Cosmic shopping mall?"
"Yes."
Lizard immediately agreed.
"Only currency that exists in reality and is circulated on Earth can be used."
"Are you saying things like Korean Won, as well as dollars, euros, and rupees?"
"Yes. The real-time exchange rate based on the solar calendar will be applied."
As expected.
"Brown, did you hear…."
[Oh.]
[You're thinking that the Strange Person's Silver Coins that this Brown gives as salary have no monetary value here, so the money I give would be meaningless, aren't you, Mr. Roe Deer?]
Ah.
[Haha, surprising such fixed notions is also part of the show's fun!]
[Let's see, would you prefer to pay with crisp dollars or gold? I'll provide it according to your preference. Isn't that the virtue of a good proprietor?]
"...."
With a stiff neck, I looked back at Lizard.
"Is it… possible?"
"Yes. However, the dollars paid by that intelligence are subject to a special exchange rate, making them very inefficient compared to regular dollars."
[Such remarks only encourage the consumption of luxury goods. You are surprisingly talented in commerce, swordsmen.]
Lizard didn't react.
The host gladly stood up from his seat.
[Now, Mr. Roe Deer.]
[All obstacles have been removed.]
"...."
Before I knew it.
The host in the suit, leaning against the chair, was right beside me.
A hand was extended.
[Will you receive an Advance Payment from this host, from the Late-Night Talk Show?]
…Wait.
Wait, that's….
No, but if there are no problems, surviving is important, so is it the right priority to accept it? Stay calm. Make the wisest judgment here….
[Oh dear.]
[It's a joke!]
...
Huh?
[I was just playing around for a moment. An Advance Payment!]
[That would make your friend sad.]
The host's hand patted my arm neatly, just like when he hosted the talk show. As if encouraging a participant.
[My friend emptied his pockets to buy me a bathtub for my cotton-stuffed body. If this legendary Entertainer only gives his friend an Advance Payment, that would be headline news. So….]
[The payment for this shopping trip will be my favor, a gift. How about that?]
"...."
[Accept my gift, my friend.]
[Oh, what a touching friendship!]
I had a strong premonition.
This.
'If I mess this up, I'm screwed.'
It seems more dangerous than an Advance Payment.
The being before me said things like Advance Payment to lead me to this conclusion. It was to elicit the psychology of 'Then it's okay, isn't it?' when he offered it as a gift.
...
But.
"Then, please, just this once."
Giving up on what's necessary for survival due to fear is foolish.
'Let's walk the tightrope properly.'
"Thank you so much."
[You're too kind!]
[Now, please charge the cost to me….]
"But."
I cut him off.
"I feel too bad accepting it as a gift… I'd prefer to borrow it. Is that possible?"
[Hmm?]
Not an Advance Payment, but a debt.
'I need to settle this as a monetary issue.'
I had a hunch that I shouldn't leave it as an emotional debt or a debt towards some future time.
"I'll pay it back within half a year."
I smiled as much as I could. Damn it.
"It feels wrong to treat money as a gift. If I want a gift, I'll tell you when I want something."
...
After a chilling silence.
[Very well, Mr. Roe Deer!]
…!
[But half a year, you don't need to rush that much. Oh, of course…. We have plenty of time, and we'll continue to be friends.]
"…Yes. Thank you."
Hoo.
'Done.'
I forced a smile and added jokingly.
"The interest is at the legal rate, right?"
[Haha! I can't charge interest to a friend. I'll only take the principal.]
"Haha… Thank you for that too."
Hoo.
I looked at the host patting my shoulder again and recalled the dizzying memories of the Tuesday talk show….
But in any case, it was something to be thankful for.
Thanks to it, I was able to buy this.
[Hoho. I'm truly looking forward to seeing what kind of brilliant escape episode Mr. Roe Deer will show with this small item.]
That…
'I can definitely do it.'
After Brown took some action after hearing an incomprehensible payment address from Lizard, the Personal Shopper.
"Payment has been completed."
Lizard declared, and handed me the item.
"…Thank you. See you again."
"Yes. Customer."
And so, the shopping concluded.
Then, I opened my eyes.
As if I had just dozed off for a moment.
"…!"
On the platform, which had been deserted during the Personal Shopping, my companions were now looking at me with a mixture of casualness and anxiety.
They probably thought I looked out of my mind during the shopping.
"Agent Grape."
"I bought it."
I held up the hard-won item.
A glint appeared in the eyes of the two agents.
It was…
Something hanging from a rope.
It looked like the figures who had hanged themselves from trees in that foggy waiting room, but the atmosphere was the opposite.
A small, charmingly sized Persimmon Tree Fragment.
A rustic piece of art, shaped like a slightly crude fish, was tied to a pile of white silk thread and swayed gently.
"It's an Amulet Dried Pollack."
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
Eun Haje brought her hand to her mouth upon hearing her companion's voice, then realized she didn't have a cigarette and got down.
The involuntary abstinence was getting long and troublesome, but nothing was more troublesome than this situation.
A situation where they might die.
Trying to attempt any possible escape, they pooled together whatever money they could find and gave it to the youngest, who said, 'There's something we can do.'
Surprisingly, Kim Soleum closed his eyes for a moment and then truly brought back something effective.
"This really doesn't require borrowing any other spiritual power~. Right, Cheongdong?"
"…Yes."
And it was something very precise.
What was even more surprising was that he returned all the money and goods they had gathered from people during this process.
·I paid using a different method.
"...."
She pondered whether she could believe that, but they had to escape first before they could interrogate him.
"Then, we'll depart."
And now, with all discussions concluded, the group was heading towards the platform.
'And the team lineup is….'
Well, it wasn't bad.
Each of them was a bit of a lone wolf, but still.
First, at the very back, stood the ill-tempered young man from the Disaster Management Bureau.
He was called 'Agent Bronze,' wasn't he?
This guy, whom Eun Haje teased as a boomer, was actually a pretty decent person.
'He's a bit rigid, but that's often a sign of someone with a good heart who hasn't been too corrupted by society.'
It wasn't bad that he was suppressing his obvious ill feelings towards Daydreams, maintaining his manners, and showing a degree of empathy. Even now, his decision to stand at the back felt like a form of service.
'And the public official who works as a pair with this one….'
Agent Choi.
He's near the front.
"Grape-ie, be careful."
Though he tried to act nonchalant, it was clear he was anxious, having fallen into the highest-grade ghost story related to the Disaster Management Bureau, with many citizens to protect.
He also seemed to have the clear intention of subtly coaxing and appeasing Kim Soleum, who was in a neutral position overall.
'He looks just like a detective giving a carrot to a delinquent.'
I don't know what kind of amazing spy persona Roe Deer created to get him to this point, but for now, I'm just watching. We're both smokers, after all.
And standing next to him was….
"Oh. The pollack effect is good."
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.
Here, well, she's an elite from Daydream.
In the sense that she's competent despite being a bit unhinged.
I had a feeling she could turn hostile the moment she made a slip of the tongue, but Eun Haje's experience wasn't ordinary enough to dwell on such things.
For now, she's also being unusually friendly to everyone in the group.
Especially… to Kim Soleum.
"...."
And that Kim Soleum stands at the very front of the group.
Holding the item he obtained, the strange carved object in the form of an 'Amulet Dried Pollack.'
·It's said to ward off evil for people within a five-step radius until the pollack carving breaks. Since I purchased it, I will carry it.
·Hey~, things like this are usually….
·There are no 'usuals.' It's my item.
·....
'Kid.'
He knows how to protect his item.
It was probably combined with the judgment of a competent person who knows it's easier for him to do it himself. His form, which led to the fastest promotion and drew an A-grade Dream Weave from an irregular ghost story, hasn't gone anywhere.
And so, Kim Soleum was moving through the fog, with each strand of silk thread tied to his fingers, as if he would never drop the item.
And.
'…!'
As he walked between the trees, mold began to appear on the Amulet Dried Pollack swaying in his hand.
As if it were rotting.
'Is this a sign that it's starting to break?'
Perhaps once it's completely covered, the trees with the hanged corpses will draw closer, or strange hallucinations and auditory illusions will begin again.
The speed at which it's breaking… is faster than expected, but it seems like it will hold out until the 'objective' is achieved.
'It seems to have worsened after being touched once earlier.'
If things go wrong, someone might not make it to the stairs this time.
Thinking that I had to hurry before that happened,
"I found it."
"…!"
Agent Bronze, who had been surveying the surroundings with glass-like equipment that had finally started working under the influence of the Amulet Dried Pollack, declared.
'Good.'
Although he, familiar with the subway structure, had identified potential locations, it was still faster than expected.
"Let's move."
The five people moved their legs in unison, sprinting along the shortest route.
Their target was none other than….
"There."
A Transit Card Charger.
·What do you think?
·Seeing that the lights are on and the announcement voice is working fine, it's highly probable that things that operate on electricity are still functioning.
And their guess was correct.
On the screens of the two Transit Card Chargers placed alone among the trees, the lights were surprisingly on.
"...."
The sound of people breathing softly could be heard.
And amidst the tension, Eun Haje reached out.
'I can't ask the guy holding the pollack to do it.'
However, she didn't have a transit card in her hand. No, even if she had a card, expecting it to connect to the card company and deduct money would be an excessive expectation for a ghost story.
They were trying to use the machine in a different way.
Exactly as written on the nameplate right above the machine.
One-time Ticket Issuance · Transit Card Charger
Issuing disposable transit cards.
Five cards.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Fortunately, the machine, which swallowed the banknotes she inserted, successfully spat out five disposable transit cards.
'It was a gamble whether it would accept cash.'
And that gamble paid off.
Eun Haje, who insisted, 'Since nothing is certain, we have to take a chance here,' grinned.
"Let's move quickly."
As soon as she pocketed the change just in case, the group quickly moved again following Agent Choi's signal, who had spotted the next destination.
The most important place in this search.
The ticket gate.
"...."
Several ticket gates, installed like randomly placed objects in the fog, were also lit up.
'Hoo.'
Eun Haje took a breath and recalled.
Without any preparation or equipment, how could they possibly exorcise this foggy, insane waiting room?
For the agents, the so-called 'completion' was a distant goal.
So, they had to clear it like a Daydream.
And clearing means….
·Usually, clearing a ghost story means escaping the location.
·That's right.
·But we cannot go outside.
It was highly likely to be a hellscape where an Annihilation-class ghost story unfolded.
But since this was a station, there was another way to leave. That is….
·Ultimately, the remaining option is the train.
The subway.
·The train passed without stopping. But there was definitely a condition back then.
·…! It was because there were no passengers. Surely….
·That's right, Agent Cheongdong.
"This way is the front."
Agent Cheongdong declared, distinguishing the entrance and exit directions of the ticket gate. After exchanging glances, Agent Choi was the first to tap his disposable transit card on the ticket gate and enter.
Ting.*
·Let's see what happens if we are counted as passengers.
Subsequently, the other companions, as quickly as possible, each tapped their transit cards at the ticket gate and moved. When Kim Soleum, holding the Amulet, moved, there was almost silence.
And when everyone had tapped their transit cards and entered the ticket gate.
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
A sound began to be heard.
An announcement.
From far away, a sound echoed from the platform.
A train is approaching.
"...."
Please maintain etiquette and board safely.
There was no non-stop announcement.
That means….
"Run."
The group began to run towards the platform like madmen.