Chapter Text
Rrrrr... click.
The ball of the giant black roulette slowed down... and surprisingly stopped right over a thin, golden sliver...
"......!"
"Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" The staff, even more excited than me, exclaimed, "Finally, on the second-to-last day of the popup, someone hit first place!" before running behind the roulette and coming back with a large, plastic-wrapped box. He handed it professionally to me and my trembling hands. The black box, with a huge silver symbol embossed on it, looked like it had been carefully crafted.
Is this... for real?
"...Thank you." I awkwardly said, accepting the box.
I needed to leave immediately and slap my face to make sure this was real. As I was about to leave the popup store, the staff stopped me.
"Oh! We're giving out custom-made merch here, so all I need is your name!" The bubbly staff member tilted his head as he dawned another practiced smile.
My name? My personal information has long since become public property, leaked all over portal sites. The only thing that matters is getting this safely home...!
"It's Kim Soleum."
"Got it! Soleum-nim, just a moment."
The staff started operating a black machine next to the roulette, which looked like a 3D printer. There was even an explanatory note above it, made for the popup store.
[Dark Exploration Records Character Maker]
Ah, so that's the thing they mentioned during the roulette event.
The 'Create Your Own Dark Exploration Records Character' event.
How perfectly tailored to a teenager's tastes...
"Please input your name here."
"...Okay." I shifted the merch box to one hand, holding it tightly. I quickly entered my name on the machine's pad.
The black machine made a loud, eerie music box sound, putting on a show as gears turned, and then, it spat out a small object.
Clank.
I picked up the familiar-looking item.
It was... a convenience store's employee nametag.
[⋆ LookyMart ⋆]
Kim Soleum
'Ah... My luck seems to have ended at the first place prize...'
"......!" The staff seems flustered for a moment, before recovering, "Wow! LookyMart! It's one of the oldest ghost stories in our <Dark Exploration Records> universe!"
"......"
Yes, I know. I know it so well, it's practically a problem.
A giant supermarket chain by the name of Lucky Mart became the motif for a certain ghost story. Back in the earliest days when the <Dark Exploration Records> had still been archived under the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, this ghost story was the seventh 'original' ghost story documented.
People rushing to find a supermarket late at night would stumble on a Lucky Mart branch by chance and go in, and then vanish.
But...
'Why is my 'custom character' a contaminated LookyMart employee...?'
Creepy humanoid balloon monsters working at the checkouts...
Shudder...
No, really, there was no way even a fictional version of me could work at that place..!
"Wow! I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of adventures Employee Kim Soleum will have in the <Dark Exploration Records> universe!" The staff member says an obviously rehearsed line with a slightly stiff face and his arms held out for me to take the nametag. Although it was a little embarrassing, the staff had clearly said this so many times that it looks like he had built up immunity to it, handling it all with professional poise.
"Yes, thank you..." I nod my head, trying desperately to stop the expression of cringe from showing on my face.
'I didn't even realize this would be an option. It's just as bad as carrying around an ID from the government bureau or that shady religious cult...!'
"Thank you." I repeat, finally accepting the nametag with one hand.
With that, the roulette event seemed to be over after I received the nametag.
I looked down at the nametag with my name printed on it and sighed inwardly.
'This... this needs to be hidden somewhere no one will ever find it.'
No matter what, my tolerance for embarrassment couldn't handle this any longer. Meanwhile, the staff cheerfully asked again,
"Do you like it? You'll treasure it, right?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
...?
I looked up, thinking I misheard.
Smirk.
The staff was suddenly smiling at me with an unnaturally wide grin.
His mouth stretched upward unnaturally, almost reaching his ears...
"......?"
In that instant, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed me.
"......!"
The noise of the popup store vanished. Everything in front of me blurred as if covered by black paint, flickering in red and blue.
Suddenly, my eyes were closed. There was something cold, so cold it was burning my skin, on my forehead.
I shot up (when had I laid down?) and opened my eyes. A plastic bag filled with half melted ice fell on a linoleum floor. Ice cold water ran down my face.
'No, what...?'
I looked around the... ugh, the employee break room I was in. The old leather couch I had woken up on seemed to have lost its firmness a decade ago, leaving me sinking into the middle of the cushion I was seated on. The rest of the room that I could see was normal looking, with a hallway I couldn't see into because of the angle on the opposite side of the room from me. A flimsy looking metal door with words I could understand but not read that seemingly goes out to the rest of the store. Other possible employees don't seem to be around.
...Am I really in LookyMart?
SqueakSqueakSqueak!
I flinched violently as a human-shaped balloon wearing a convenience store uniform and a blank nametag turned from the corner of the hallway and rushed over to me.
"Welcome to LookyMart!"
It waved its stiff balloon 'arms' wildly (is it worried?!) while talking loudly into my face. It bumps its air-filled 'hands' onto my shoulders, perhaps trying to get me to lay back down, before giving up and bending down to pick up the crudely made icepack that was currently leaking on the floor.
'Oh, surely that isn't counted as damaging LookyMart property, right???'
But I wasn't sure.
I hold back another flinch as it shoves the icepack into my arms--
...!!!
I had the same convenience store uniform the balloon monster did. I had the LookyMart uniform on. The nametag I had gotten from the roulette was pinned innocently on the left strap of my bright yellow employee apron.
I was... a LookyMart employee.
"Isn't this a wonderful product?" The LookyMart employee says as it lets go of the icepack, leaving it in my hands, but it doesn't walk away. If it had eyes, I'm sure they would be saucer-wide, waiting for my answer.
'......'
Was it really worried?
"Eh, um, yes. Thank you." I say stiffly
"Welcome to LookyMart!" It repeats before walking back into the hallway. Perhaps it would have smiled at me, but it didn't have a mouth to do so.
Na-na-na-na, na-na-nan-na-na-na, na-na-nan~
"......!"
A chime-like melody suddenly filled the break room.
– Looky Mart's doors are now open. We welcome our valued customers with bright smiles today~
I got excited, how lucky am I? I just got here and the store opened, I could have been waiting for days.
......
Wait,
Could I even escape as a LookyMart employee? No, the more important question...
Was I in the alternate past timeline?
I broke into a cold sweat.
'No...!'
Shaking my head violently and slapping my cheeks I stand up--
(...And awkwardly bend over to pick up the icepack I had dropped again, setting it on the low table that was in front of the couch.)
-- I can't just accept this, right? How crazy would you have to be to just accept this situation!? I cannot have murderous balloons for coworkers, there's just no way..! And, in the first place, I wouldn't be seeing them as balloons if I were in the alternate timeline! Which means I can escape! Definitely!
SqueakSqueakSqueak! SqueakSqueakSqueak! SqueakSqueakSqueak!
Multiple identical looking balloons waddle over to the metal door and push out of it. One (the same one as earlier?) hurriedly comes up to me, and wraps both its 'arms' around my right one, hoping to drag me with the other employees.
...What other choice do I have, really?
***
I stand at a checkout and genuinely check people from the past out.
'Do I even get a salary for this?'
"T-Thanks you for shopping with us, dear customer...! Please visit us here at LookyMart again soon!" I awkwardly yell out at the middle-aged man who I had just received payment from as the balloon next to me, the one who had dragged me along, nudges me in the side with its 'elbow'. He nods and walks out the door. I kind of feel nauseous...!
Am I seriously receiving work training in a lethal ghost story from one of the monsters that kills people like me...? Well, what would you do in this situation!? It's not like I had a choice, right? And if I hadn't let the balloon employee drag me down from the third floor, I'm sure I would have gotten lost on the freakishly large floor.
Don't think about it!
I'm tactically waiting for a break (LookyMart employees would get those, surely!) and then I would be able to steal an item (would I? The customers from the past can see me, afterall) and leave!
'Another plus is, other than the one balloon employee next to me, the rest of the cashiers here look like normal humans too...'
As I think this, a young looking woman wearing the same uniform as me, walks up with a smile on her face. Her nametag says 'Lee Miyeong'.
She speaks quite bubbly, like an experienced extroverted cashier. I shudder slightly at the reminder of the staff member from the pop-up...
"Hi! I'm here to relieve you! You've been hard at work since opening, haven't you? It's only your first day right? I'm glad you're fitting in so well here, Kim Soleum-ssi..." She says with a light smile. I freeze.
'She... For some reason she makes me think of my mother.'
......
Will I really be back in my original world when I leave LookyMart? Or, would I be in the world of <Dark Exploration Records>?
"...Kim Soleum-ssi?" She asks, worriedly. It's hard to comprehend that she's actually an incredibly contaminated individual who had once tried to head up into the fourth floor to escape the employees.
For some reason, my heart starts to ache.
The balloon employee that I had almost forgotten was next to me bumps me lightly,
"Ah, yes...! Um. Thanks for having me!"
She perks right back up, "Oh, of course! Well, go ahead and take a break, alright? Don't want the newbie to burn himself out, now do we? Hehe..."
She slides into the terminal as the balloon employee nods excitedly and starts to lead me to a break room that's on the first floor.
A bell jingle that's different from the one that plays when a customer from the past walks in sounds, and I instinctively look towards the front doors.
A young looking kid, probably a first year high school student, walks in with a slightly bewildered look on his face. He whips his head around to look at the windows, which let in the pink light from the setting sun (Wow, have I really been working for that long?) and he makes a strange face.
From that alone, I would have known...
But the most apparent piece of evidence.
All the other customers are ignoring him. Completely.
He's standing stock still in the middle of the automatic doors, and yet, no one is asking him to move out of the way. They're all just flowing around him as they come and go.
This is...
The balloon employee curiously tugs at my wrist. I sigh inwardly.
'...Did it have to be a kid?'
I mean, really, why couldn't it have been an adult which I could easily ignore and leave behind?
I turn back to the balloon employee and smile apologetically,
"Haha... Sorry, I thought I, um, saw someone I knew. But I didn't..!"
It accepts the answer, leading me into the first floor employee break room.
***
It was 6 PM by the time I had taken my first break. I was shocked I wasn't more fatigued. And, surprisingly, they had allowed me to take a break for the rest of the day, considering I worked eight hours straight after seemingly having a headache of some kind.
They even gave me a 15000 won LookyMart gift card.
'I guess I do get paid...'
Even though it's way less than what a real job would pay.
Of course, I didn't idle around in that break room until closing time, I had five hours to play with, after all.
After accepting my pay, I hurriedly took off the employee apron along with the LookyMart visor on my head, leaving me in the white button up shirt and black slacks I had been wearing before appearing in LookyMart...
(...Best not to think about where my suit jacket and tie went.)
I had to move fast to not lose the teenager who had appeared just five hours until closing in the expansive store.
I rush out after nodding politely at the balloon employee who had lead me here, I'd likely never know if this was the same one who had wanted me to rest a little more when I first woke up here, and since I'm leaving, it really doesn't matter, but I imagine it would appreciate a thanks anyway.
After I leave the break room, I rush to the front of the store.
And stand there.
I'm testing something, first.
A young woman with a tote bag lightly brushes past my arm, and other than the light shudder, makes no reaction that she had seen me in the first place.
'...That's relieving!'
When the LookyMart employee uniform is off, they can't see me, which means I can leave.
Now to find the teenager...!
***
– Hello, dear customers. Thank you for shopping at Looky Mart today.
– Customers still in the store, please follow the employees to the exit.
Na-na-na-na, na-na-nan-na-na-na, na-na-nan~
...I didn't end up finding him before the store closed.
Well, really, I went back to the break room 30 minutes before 11, I didn't want to get treated like a 'customer'.
'I feel bad, though.'
Leaving a teenager there by himself in this dangerous ghost story made my stomach churn, but what choice did I have?
......
Hold on.
I'm an employee...!
I rushed to put my visor back on (I had put on the employee apron when I entered the break room, just in case) and raced out the door, hoping it was still possible to find him.
"Ah...!"
I bumped into someone as soon as I left the break room.
The teenager cowards away from me, clutching a strange looking receipt paper.
'Oh! He found a leaflet left by the Bureau. Good...'
...Still, I can't leave him in good conscience.
But, ah...
Wouldn't he be afraid of me now that he's read the leaflet?
A bead of sweat runs down my neck.
But he doesn't run, maybe it's because I don't look creepy?
"Um, um." He looks terrified.
...What do I even say in this situation?
"Um, it's alright." I try.
"...!"
"It's, well, it's dangerous here, alright? You should hide somewhere. I'll help you. They won't attack me during closing hours, since I'm an employee too."
Hopefully.
Even though I'm not so sure myself, the high schooler looks relieved at my words, "Um, t-thank you," he glances briefly at my nametag, "Soleum-hyung...!"
...?
Wow, overly familiar, much?
But what can I say? He's just a scared kid.
I lead him up to the second floor quickly, explaining to him the rules the whole way.
"And, here," I reach into my pocket and hand him the 15000 won gift card I got as payment for my work, "If you forget and accidentally stay up here for more than an hour at a time... Just pay for something to eat."
"Oh...! Um, thank you. Really." He bashfully looks away, "I, uh, I'm--"
"Oh, it's better to not say your real name in places like this...!" I hurriedly stopped him.
"Ah, right.. Okay." He scratches his cheek, "It's just, are you part of the bureau? The group who, who left these leaflets?"
'......?'
What?
"No. Why?"
"......! What, really?" The teenager looks genuinely surprised, "It's just, um, you seem really reliable! I thought, maybe, you were like... an undercover agent working here, to help people like me..."
Reliable? Me?
'Just wait until you see me faint from fear...!'
Yea, there's no way. He must've been confused because I had spoken a little confidently before.
"No, it's nothing like that.." Ehem. Okay, changing the topic..! "Like I said before, when the store reopens I need to go back to working." Because I don't know what they'll do to me if I don't!
"......" The high schooler looks scared again.
"But, I don't know how long the store will be closed for."
"Huh? Wouldn't it just be for the night?"
"This place's time is different from the real world, it probably won't just open tomorrow like regular stores."
"Ah, okay..." He says, dejectedly.
"I'll stay with you, here, until the store opens back up."
"...! T-Thank you very much, Soleum-hyung!"
Ugh...! Seriously, this kid...
***
Three days passed.
I didn't want the kid to starve or die of dehydration, so I resolved, as the adult (and employee), I would.. borrow food and drinks from the store if it came to it. I could just work it off, it's fine. It'll be fine.
Sniff...
Lee Soobin (he had blurted out his name to me before I could stop him towards the end of the second day) is sitting in the corner, chin resting on his knees, silently crying to himself.
"......"
I don't know how to comfort teenagers.
I pull out Lee Soobin's phone, which he had lent to me. There's no connection, sure, but the clock still works just fine.
'We've only been in the food court for 30 minutes...'
Ah, but...
One issue.
'Fuck...! T-The battery...!'
His phone, which I had put on the lowest brightness setting, to maximize its battery life, was at 1%.
Lee Soobin's phone had been on the verge of death even before he showed up in LookyMart, it was actually surprising that we had managed to ration it for this long.
And, I still don't know when the store will reopen.
To stay on the second floor safely, we can't be up here for more than an hour at a time...
'Well, I might be able to, but what about Lee Soobin?'
He could pay, with the 15000 won giftcard, but it's closing hours.
'...I should have called the Bureau's hotline sooner.'
It's okay! There's still time before the phone dies.
I cough lightly, to get Lee Soobin's attention.
"......?"
"Do you... still have that leaflet?"
"Oh...! Um, yes, I should!" He starts to fumble around his pockets.
"......"
"Uh, um."
"......"
"......"
Yea, I should have really called the hotline sooner.
"...It's okay if you lost it." I say.
"Ugh...!" Lee Soobin's face flushes red from embarrassment, "N-No, I really just had it! I swear!"
"Lee Soobin, I said it's fine--"
Suddenly a loud crash can be heard from the first floor.
"......!"
Shit...!
There's someone else here, and they just damaged property. A lot of it.
"Lee Soobin, stay here."
"W-What?!" The teenager squawks at me, "Y-You're gonna go down there!?"
Sure, there's some urge as an employee of this store to who damaged company property, but, if what they broke wasn't too expensive..
"Yes. Give me the giftcard."
"Ah, alright.."
Lee Soobin hands over the giftcard I had given him earlier, and I sprint down the escalator, using my hand to turn around corners faster, until I see two adults running my way.
They're both wearing Bureau jackets.
"......!"
A senior and new hire pair, perhaps?
"Oh, shit! Another employee...!" The older man yells, skidding to a stop, forcing the young woman he's with to as well.
"Ugh--!" She says, as she's yanked back.
"......"
"Wuh, Why isn't it attacking us..?" He asks, stuttering.
I silently hold out the giftcard,
"Was what you broke equal to or less than 15000 won...?"
"......!?" The older man stands quiet in shock.
"W-What?" The younger woman asks, bewildered, but recovers quickly, "Um, n-no I think it was probably more than that."
"Dammit," I curse, shoving the giftcard into my apron pocket, "Come on, then. Don't let them catch you!"
"W-Well yea! We weren't planning on it!"
We run up to the second floor, shocking Lee Soobin who was still huddled in the corner, they start to slow to a stop.
"Hey, don't stop now! They can still catch you up here." I push them both forward, "Lee Soobin, come on!"
"Y-Yes Hyung!"
'...Still?'
"Wait, wait, hey! Y-You're telling us you want to go to the third floor?" The man asks me, incredulously.
"You don't want to? Stay here and get caught, then." I reply coldly, my legs shaking so hard I'm surprised I'm still standing.
The woman looks at her superior, conflicted, then helps Lee Soobin run up the third floor stairs.
"Ugh!" The man finally relents just as the first balloon employees ascend the stairs to the second floor, and he rushes up the stairs behind me.
Unfortunately, he's in such a rush to get up the stairs that he trips, falling into the crowd of employees and knocking some over like bowling pins.
"......!"
"Oh, God!" The woman at the top of the stairs covers her mouth with her hands as she witnesses her superior get dragged away by balloons, screaming.
The lingering few balloon employees look at me, ignoring the two 'customers' behind me, and turn to walk away.
"......?"
Ah, I see.
'They think I'm going to escort them out of the store.'
"It's still not safe," I say, turning to the two, "Let's go rest somewhere..."
Oh,
"And, um, Miss... Perhaps your phone is still working?" I hand her a leaflet I had torn off the wall while running.
"......! Yes!" She lights up at the Bureau's number on the leaflet, "Oh, but, let's get somewhere safe before I call."
I nod my head, but pause.
Somewhere safe...?
I think of an exploration entry in <Dark Exploration Records>. An agent, who, upon learning all rescue targets had died, decided to test out the fourth floor.
[/ Start of recording
Agent Choi : So, I'm on the third floor, and I've just found a door leading to the fourth floor.
Agent Choi : I'm only going to open it a little. I'm not crazy, okay? But we can't just leave that place alone, right? Isn't it recorded that nearly a hundred people have gone missing after going upstairs?
(The agent rambles on with personal excuses and parting words considered to be a will.)
Agent Choi : All right, I'm opening the door to the fourth floor now. And... it's open. Ta-da!
(Sound of door opening, footsteps entering, door closing in quick succession.)
Agent Choi : Looks normal enough, just some old emergency exit... There's a staircase... Nothing unusual... The exit door's still there.
(He observes for a few more minutes-- no anomalies.)
Agent Choi : Great. I'm heading up now.
(Echoing footsteps. Presumably the sound of someone climbing up the stairs.)
Agent Choi : Let's see... The exit's still... Oh. ...It's gone now. So I've got no choice but to keep going. Off I go!
(Footsteps continue for 30 seconds.)
Agent Choi : Whew... Made it. Fourth floor door.
Agent Choi : Looks like nothing special on the outside. It's just a metal door.
Agent Choi : ...Alright, I'm opening it now.
(Sound of a metal door opening. At the same time, Lucky Mart's jingle starts playing.)
Agent Choi : Huh?
(The jingle grows louder, shifts in tone.)
Agent Choi : W-Wait.
(A cacophony that defies description. Deafening roars, bizarre howls, noise like wind filling a void, begging, balloons rubbing, bursting sounds, 12 unidentifiable noises, and ███ ██.)
Agent Choi : (silence)
Agent Choi : Welcome to Looky Mart!
Nothing of note recorded in the next 24 hours. When the battery died, the recording ended.
The agent's recorder was later found in the electronics section on the third floor of Looky Mart.]
I shudder.
The fourth floor is unsafe, that much is clear.
'But...'
The exit door was still there, when he was still technically on the third floor, right?
I have to at least try it!
So...
"There should be a fourth floor exit. It's safe as long as you don't start actually walking up the fourth floor stairs."
The woman looks skeptical at first, probably knowing how many people had gone missing after going up to the fourth floor, but ultimately decides to trust me.
Having two extra pairs of eyes makes it extremely easy to find the fourth floor doors.
Screeeak.
We push open the door, and step out together. The woman had already put the number into her phone, and all she needed to do was dial, so I used the leaflet to wedge between the door and the wall to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
The door creaks closed, a small sliver of light peaking through where the leaflet is preventing it to close fully. It should look closed from inside the store. There should be no reason for the employees to check here.
All three of us release a heavy sigh.
"Thank you," the woman starts, "I'm Agent Mint. I'm actually with the people who set out these leaflets."
Lee Soobin's eyes widen, "Really?"
"Yes, we'll get you out, don't worry." She smiles softly at the boy, "Ah, but, one of you two should probably make the call." She holds her phone out.
"Huh...? Why?"
"Calls made by agents are lower priority than the ones made by civilians, like you two."
"...Oh."
"......" I reach out for the phone silently, pressing the call button immediately.
***
After making the call, we sit in front of the door silently.
Suddenly, Agent Mint's eyes widen.
"...What's wrong?" I ask.
"I... I can't leave."
Oh.
Right.
'She and her fellow agent had knocked over a display shelf by accident.'
"I mean, I've already been here for a couple days, haha..." She laughs humorlessly, "I guess it was just a matter of time."
......
Agent Mint looks down at the floor, smiling sadly.
'Do I have no choice...?'
No, let's try a different way for now. Don't jump to conclusions.
I take the visor and employee apron off...
And hand them to Agent Mint.
"Let's trade."
"Huh?"
"The employees treat me as an employee when I wear that. Although the customers can see you while wearing it, it's better than being treated as a customer who can't pay."
And...
'They might see you as 'me' since you're wearing my nametag, instead of the 'you' who had damaged LookyMart property.'
"Then what about you, Kim Soleum-ssi...?"
Ugh, seriously, I should have taken off the nametag earlier!
"Me and Lee Soobin can steal something and leave, since the customers can't see us, " I hold up the giftcard, "and you can use this as an employee to buy something. This won't be enough to cover the display shelf you knocked over earlier, so this is the only option."
'Well, to be honest, there's another option, but...'
[Sell Your Flesh at Looky Mart]
A stall I had seen while looking for the fourth floor exit door.
Sweat streams down my back.
But it's fine, we won't have to resort to that...!
Agent Mint smiles, embarrassed at her slip up being brought up.
"Yes, okay." She grabs the visor and apron, and tugs them on.
"The pay here is abysmal, though," I joke, hoping to ease the tension, "I got 15000 won from eight hours of work. What a ripoff."
"Ha!" She huffs an airy laugh, and lightly taps on the darkening phone screen she had placed on the floor surrounding us.
[09:42]
20 more minutes. Just 20 minutes, and we can leave.
I look up at Agent Mint, wearing the employee uniform.
'Probably. Hopefully.'
***
Na-na-na-na, na-na-nan-na-na-na, na-na-nan~
– Looky Mart's doors are now open. We welcome our valued customers with bright smiles today~
"......!" Agent Mint and Lee Soobin jump up at the sound of the store opening. A brighter light pours through the crack in the door
'I guess it really does open when someone else is going to enter the store.'
I'll mention it, later. When the Bureau interviews me.
We rush out of the stairwell, and run down the stairs to the second floor, then to the escalator to the first floor.
I feel Lee Soobin stiffen behind me.
Of course, I know the reason. I saw it, too.
At the bottom of the escalator, someone was standing still, staring at us blankly.
Bloodshot eyes, filthy clothes, lips murmuring something incomprehensible. Once, that person must have been ordinary, too; someone who had just gone out for a quick grocery run at night, still wearing the same casual outfit he had worn months ago.
A long-term missing person.
I pulled the high schooler closer to me.
"...Don't smile. Don't look nervous."
If you smile, they think you know a way out and follow you.
If you look anxious, they sense weakness and follow you.
'...We can't save them.'
The high schooler swallowed hard and nodded, lowering his head as he stuck close behind me.
"......"
The long-term missing person watching us dragged his broken leg and tangled hair as he stepped onto the escalator.
Because he wanted to leave.
But he wasn’t the only one.
...I could feel the stares.
Behind the butcher’s counter, behind the promotional display stands, next to employees. Murmuring, crying, laughing, staring blankly.
And now, they were all stepping onto the escalator.
'...The first floor will be packed with them.'
Eventually, when they get caught by the employees, they will be turned into 'supplies' and disappear. By evening, the lower floors will be 'cleaned out', and the next batch of victims will wander the store alone, believing they are the only ones trapped here.
"......"
The eeriness trickled down my spine.
At the bottom of the escalator, Lee Soobin and I separated from Agent Mint.
I was a little bit nervous, to be honest.
'Agent Mint... is not a character I know.'
My eyes stared at her yellow-clad figure, disappearing down the aisles.
Maybe, if I weren't here...
'She would have died.'
......
Lee Soobin silently takes a container of floss out of a customer's bag.
Agent Mint had given us her jacket earlier, to cover the cutout's eyes.
"Um, Hyung...?"
I still hadn't stolen anything.
I have a terrible feeling about Agent Mint...
I watch her pick out a pack of gum, standing in line behind a mother and daughter. It's Lee Miyeong's checkout line.
It should go fine...
But Lee Miyeong's smile drops as Agent Mint finally steps in front of her.
'Uh oh!'
I throw the agent's jacket, obscuring the cutout's vision and push Lee Soobin through the doors.
"H-Huh?! Hey--!"
After confirming Lee Soobin had successfully exited the LookyMart, I grab the jacket off the cutout, and shrug it on while running to Agent Mint.
Agent Mint's face had drained of all color as Lee Miyeong says,
"Customer! You damaged LookyMart property! Please compensate! Total: 39,900 won!"
"......!"
'There's only one option left...'
I slap my face with both hands to steady my nerves,
"U-Um, Lee Miyeong-ssi...!"
"!?"
The cashier turns to look at me, smiling.
"Ah, Kim Soleum-ssi~! Is it your day off today?"
I glance at Agent Mint, who gets the message. She pulls off the nametag that says my name, and stuffs it into the apron's pocket before hastily taking the employee uniform off and silently slipping away while I distracted Lee Miyeong, back towards the second floor escalator.
"Uh, yes! Haha..."
"Wow! You like it here so much, you decided to visit on your day off. Hehe, I'm glad~"
"Yes! Well, I should let you get back to your work...!"
"Oh, right!" She turns back to the customer, and is briefly confused when it's no longer Agent Mint.
Huu...
'At least the distraction worked.'
Ignoring the long term missing people staring at me, I sprint to the second floor to meet Agent Mint.
"Ugh, um, Kim Soleum-ssi, I'm sorry...! It didn't work!" Agent Mint says as I run up to her. She hands me my employee uniform back.
I shake my head while catching my breath and shrug off her jacket, "There's still a way."
"Um, how?" She asks, nervously. It was probably her first real mission as an agent.
"...You just have to pay for the damages."
"......!"
"Um, there's a stall upstairs..." I trail off, not really wanting to tell her what it is.
There's no way she would go through with it if I told her she had to... do that.
But...
'I don't want to leave her.'
She had made it possible to escape in the first place, with her phone. I couldn't leave her in good conscience.
"...I trust you, Kim Soleum-ssi."
"......!"
I can't leave Agent Mint here...
'I'll have to do it.'
Ugh.
***
After telling Agent Mint to wait in the fourth floor stairwell to avoid employees, I took a quick detour to the pharmacy and bought the strongest painkillers I could find within my 15000 won limit.
'To be honest, I could just swipe them and pay it back later...'
But I didn't need to, there was a bottle of pain killers for exactly 15000 won that looked far too dangerous to be being sold here.
They appeared blurred, almost as if intentionally hidden from perception. The ‘special edition products’ of the Looky Mart ghost story.
These have to be strong enough for... Ahem, my purposes!
'They'll have to be.'
***
Sprinting back to the third floor and grabbing Agent Mint I cautiously led her over to our destination.
The place I was headed...
[Sell Your Flesh at Looky Mart]
...was a bizarre 'event stall' with that insane sign.
"......"
In this particular spot, there was nothing on the white floor except row upon row of grills.
And in the silence, something was sizzling. Right on the grill displayed out front, pitch-black charred meat was cooking as a demo. You could tell at a glance it came from some two-legged creature in a shape far too familiar.
"Ugh..." Agent Mint grit out quietly.
Likely missing persons, repurposed as store 'supplies'.
‘I feel like throwing up.’
Above us was a banner.
[Instant BBQ Event!]
[Participate alive, and receive a guaranteed gift certificate!]
A gift certificate.
Obviously, it would be worth more than the 15000 won giftcard I had gotten at pay.
"Huh? W-Wait a second, this..." Agent Mint stuttered out.
"It's fine."
It wasn’t fine.
I desperately wished someone else would handle this.
'Wouldn’t anyone in their right mind?'
But...
I couldn't possibly ask Agent Mint, who had helped so much, to do something like this.
'Even if it is for her to escape.'
I gritted my teeth.
Then I crunched down on some of the pills I had bought earlier, that I had poured into my mouth immediately, to make them work faster.
From items I had swiped on our way here, I pulled out one, trying not to let my shaking fingers drop it.
A massive butcher's knife.
Its razor edge glinted.
"H-Hey...!" She yelled out.
"It's alright. As long as we don’t break the item and return it to its original state, the store won't register it as a purchase."
"That’s not the issue, Kim Soleum--!"
I brought the butcher's knife down on my own right forearm.