Chapter 23- Match Girl (1)
Cute…
And very much so.
Of course, not as much as our teddy bear trio.
Looking at something that resembled a small, delicate children’s toy, my eyes sparkled before I realized it.
But apparently displeased with my reaction, the conductor, now shrunk to the size of a teddy bear, became extremely agitated.
♯! ff!♪!
Clearly, it was directing its anger at me.
Musical notes filled with abusive language toward me who had confined it in this small book.
Crackle-
[How about that! Even the most vicious ghost story, once confined in the special book created!]
Swish.
A white librarian who suddenly appeared before Park Yeon-jeong picked up the tiny conductor by the scruff of its neck.
[It becomes so adorable that you want to bite it right away, a pet ghost story!]
[Well, whether to use this product as a pet ghost story or not. That’s up to the consumer who purchases the product.]
After listening to Noise’s magnificent explanation, I looked again at the book held in my palm.
…This is incredible!
Even the GRA agency doesn’t have the technology to trap ghosts this perfectly yet.
Of course, that doesn’t mean they have no technology to contain ghosts at all.
Unlike the conductor who displays aggression.
They simply select and isolate safe specimens that don’t show violent aggression for management. Even that isolation and management can’t be called perfect.
Therefore,
The capture of aggressive ghosts like the crazy conductor who turns people into instruments to play them is still technically impossible for the agency.
So currently.
The ‘book that can contain ghosts’ that Noise showed is technology capable of overthrowing the entire balance of the current world.
I was curious.
With this book that can contain ghost, what exactly was he planning to do?
“…What do you plan to do now?”
My pure curiosity was piqued.
[Pardon? What do you mean? Park Yeon-jeong employee, surely you haven’t forgotten why we capture ghosts.]
“…Don’t tell me, you’re saying you’re going to sell this?”
This thing that’s too precious to give away?!
You’re really going to sell it!!
[Yes! Of course we have to sell it! Wasn’t that the reason you worked so hard shedding blood, sweat, and tears to obtain it from the beginning?]
[We can’t just keep something you worked so hard to get as a mere display item.]
…While I felt my eyes moistening at the thought that he appreciated my hard work.
I seriously wondered if it was really okay to sell this.
[Well then, Employee Park Yeon-jeong.]
…What?
Wait, this conversation atmosphere… no way!
[I believe you’ll bring another good item today as well.]
…This is really too much.
Creeeeak.
It already feels like the empty darkness beyond the door is smiling, inviting me in.
A deep sigh escaped me involuntarily.
I’m tired of expending emotions on each of these situations.
Let’s accept it now.
I have to.
In a situation where I might have to pass through that white door many more times.
Let’s not waste any more emotional energy.
It only makes me suffer.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!
But as always, the teddy bear trio ran toward me with little steps.
‘Just seeing them makes me feel better.’
The only source of comfort for me in this current ghost story.
Tap, tap, tap!
These cute ones, as always, acting like they want me to take them along.
“…Maybe one of them.”
Should be fine, right?
Park Yeon-jeong, who already survived a near-death experience in the previous ghost story.
If I had taken these teddy bears with me, I might have easily subdued the conductor’s red orchestra.
No, certainly, I would have caught the conductor long before I needed to use ‘Thousand eyes’.
Park Yeon-jeong has deeply, very deeply engraved what ‘asking for trouble’ means into his bones.
Wave, wave!
Among the three bears, I picked up the one in front that was enthusiastically waving its arms left and right at me.
I choose you.
!!
The remaining two teddy bears who weren’t chosen by Park Yeon-jeong froze in shock right where they stood, just like last time.
But it would be troublesome if I took all three of them in and they jumped out of the employee ID card to wander around on their own like before.
So.
One is enough to cover it.
I pushed one of the little friends called teddy bears into my employee ID card and only then did I start walking.
[This ghost story isn’t too difficult either! Have a good trip, Employee Park Yeon-jeong!]
Yeah, yeah, it’s an extremely difficult ghost story?
I heard you well, Mr. Noise.
Park Yeon-jeong’s third day of work began.
*****
Clack.
The sound of a heel touching the hard ground.
It’s the sound of my shoes.
As I was feeling uncomfortable in these unfamiliar shoes.
Whoooosh-
A strong wind suddenly hitting my skin made me snap to attention.
Cold!
The only clothing I’m currently wearing is.
The black suit that Noise prepared for me to wear.
…That’s it.
Couldn’t you at least have given me some heat packs?
This is not right!
I feel the severe cold with my whole body, as if it might shatter me at any moment.
My body trembles non-stop like it’s become a vibrating bell.
Peek.
Wave, wave!
The first teddy bear, who had somehow stuck half its body out of the employee ID card, was waving its arms up and down at me.
And as soon as it realized our eyes had met, it jumped right out of the employee ID card.
Plop!
The teddy bear that fell limply immediately stood up on the ground and waved both arms toward me.
…Is it asking me to play?
I don’t know what it’s trying to tell me.
No, more importantly, it’s too cold right now!
My head is freezing.
My whole body is freezing.
My eyes… are closing.
…Huh? Mother, Father?
Park Yeon-jeong was one step away from being drawn into the illusion shown by the Samdo River (the River of the Afterlife).
…Soft.
?
The hand I had stretched out toward my mother and father stopped at an inexplicable softness.
…Fur?
What stopped me from proceeding to the Samdo River was.
A huge ball of fur.
It wasn’t a hallucination caused by the cold.
The teddy bear that had been waving its arms at me in a small size until just a moment ago.
Now it has grown to a size slightly taller than Park Yeon-jeong himself.
Did it absorb moisture or something?
Or am I seeing things because it’s my time to die?
When falling into a deep illusion.
Flash!
!!
The teddy bear suddenly grabbed both my arms and lifted me up in one breath.
Crunch.
!?!?!?!
The creature, while lifting me up, opened its mouth wide and began pushing me into its mouth.
“…uh! Jukka! (Hey! Wait!)”
My mouth was frozen from the cold and I was eaten before I could speak properly
The teddy bear began to show unexpected aggression. No, it had now become a man-eating teddy bear.
After all the affection I showed it!
This is betrayal!
Betrayal!
Park Yeon-jeong, who was swallowed by the teddy bear in one gulp… warmed himself for a moment in the surprisingly warm belly of the teddy bear.
…No, that’s not right!
Get a grip, Park Yeon-jeong!
This is the belly of a man-eating teddy bear right now!
I started flailing with all my might inside the giant teddy bear’s body.
Since I was swallowed head first, to escape, I turned my head as much as possible toward its mouth, fought through numerous soft cotton balls, and finally succeeded in turning my body around.
“How could you… repay kindness like this!”
I immediately burst out in anger.
………
“……”
………
??
He-hello?
The creature that was moving just fine until it pushed me into its mouth is, for some reason, not moving now.
After pushing my hands into the teddy bear’s arm parts.
Tap, tap.
I lightly touched the teddy bear’s head.
Flap, flap!
!!
Suddenly, the teddy bear’s arms began moving up and down on their own with strong force.
…What is this, really?
The first teddy bear no longer posed any threat.
…Maybe, this creature.
After seeing me shivering from the cold.
……Oh, I see.
What a thoughtful creature!
I’m sorry for misunderstanding!
Actually, I trusted you from the beginning.
There’s no way our cute teddy bear would have such evil thoughts.
Yes, of course.
From now on, among all haunted items, ‘Little Friends’ are my number one priority.
Let’s stay together forever, my teddy bear trio.
Thanks to the unexpected new use of ‘Little Friends’, I was able to escape the severe cold and wander around the haunted place.
Of course, to others, it might look quite ridiculous—a grown adult walking around in a giant teddy bear costume.
But it’s better than freezing to death.
Moreover, our ‘ Bear-didas ‘ has surprisingly excellent insulation.
Only after escaping the severe cold that felt like it was piercing through the skin.
Currently, Park Yeon-jeong began examining the haunted place he had entered.
European-style buildings set at regular intervals.
Meticulously laid stone floors and street lamps illuminating the surroundings between pathways.
A haunted place seemingly modeled after the 17th century Renaissance era.
If it was a haunted place with a specific era as its background, it wasn’t too difficult to identify.
Especially.
With such a bone-chilling cold, only one haunted place crossed Park Yeon-jeong’s mind.
=======
/Ghost Story Journal
[The Match Girl]
:Identification code Cd-D-111
I’m cold.
So cold.
So, so, cold.
So, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so…cold.
But don’t worry.
I have matches here that will warmly melt the cold you felt. Moreover, my matches can even grant your wishes!
Anything is fine!
Anything.
Shout your honest desire loudly at my matchstick! (It’s just you and me here.)
Then anything will come true.
Physical restraint possible.
No mental damage.
Exploration limited to 1 person. (Limited to sentient beings.)
Additional note.
It was reported that an agent who made all three wishes in this haunted place returned safely to the agency.
=======
A D-grade haunted place named The Match Girl.
The motif of this haunted place, as everyone knows, is sourced from the fairy tale ‘The Little Match Girl’.
A storybook containing the tearful tale of a fragile girl who sold matches to survive day by day in the severe cold, a story of a young girl who was the head of her household.
If asked whether this haunted place is also about such a fragile young girl.
Half right.
Half wrong.
First, since the creature appearing in this haunted place also takes its motif from the fairy tale The Little Match Girl, the creature here also appears as a girl.
The difference here is.
Unlike the clearly fragile storybook girl.
The match girl here, befitting the name of a haunted place, is obsessively committed to the act of selling matches.
And while the original Little Match Girl had a plot where she wished for her own desires.
The match girl here asks about our wishes, which can be considered the differentiating point.
Like reminiscent of a certain blue lamp genie, she makes us wish for 3 things, and when the subject successfully makes all wishes.
The subject can escape from this place.
Of course.
Only if they successfully make the last wish.
Tap, tap.
Park Yeon-jeong, wearing a cute teddy bear costume, began walking slowly through the chilly street.
This place is probably the largest in area among all the haunted creatures’ spaces he had seen so far.
But despite its large area, it’s a boring place with nothing particularly outstanding.
Park Yeon-jeong also knows well that he can’t proceed on his own until that match girl appears.
Using a brief moment of free time.
He tried to take out and use the ‘Final Trigger’ he had newly purchased.
Before entering this place.
The Final Trigger that he remembered to put inside his agent ID.
Press.
Soft.
…?
From the place where his agent ID should be, only a soft sensation is transmitted to his fingertips.
…Ah, right.
The agent ID buried inside the teddy bear body along with himself.
He needs to take off this teddy bear costume.
To retrieve it.
…But if I take it off, it’s cold.
While pondering for a moment about the bone-chilling cold he had felt throughout his body.
Crackle!
The sound of something burning comes.
Crackle crackle!
Looking around at the mysterious sound heard again.
The sound of small sparks flying.
Crackle, crackle!
“……You’ve come.”
Our match girl.
Fizzle!
Along with a powerful heat that normally couldn’t be felt in such severe cold.
Crackle, crackle!
The sound of firewood burning.
Fizzle.
A girl’s voice was heard.
【Hey, wanna buy a match?】
The living, breathing firewood peddler had begun her matchstick sales pitch.
.
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