How a Veteran of the Urban Legend Gallery Survives – Chapter 15

“Ugh…”

I lifted my heavy eyelids as if waking from a deep sleep. My head throbbed. Whether it was the side effects of the painkillers or not, my whole body felt like it weighed a ton.

That was the characteristic of Catastrophe Foundation’s drugs. The effects were certain, but so was the price.

Moving even a single limb felt like dragging lead weights around. Seeing that I was still wearing the bread bag, it seemed it hadn’t fallen off midway. Inside the bag, inscribed with ghostly characters, a faint warmth still lingered.

“Damn it…”

I slowly peeled off the bag. The moment I did, a sharp metallic smell hit my nose.

It was a thick, nauseating stench, like stepping into a slaughterhouse. I felt like I was going to throw up what I had eaten this morning.

“Ugh…”

It was the smell of blood. Familiar yet foreign, but definitely not something I ever wanted to get used to.

As soon as I looked around the seats, I instinctively turned my head away. It was a sight too gruesome to bear. The nightmare from the subway resurfaced in my mind.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. Maybe this would become my daily routine from now on. Since joining the Catastrophe Foundation, I’d have to face these horrifying scenes over and over.

‘Will I ever be able to adapt?’

But whether I could adapt or not, it was something I had to do.

Nausea welled up. The contents of my stomach rose to my throat and then sank back down. My mouth was filled with a sour taste.

I quickly grabbed the green emotion spray and sprayed it into my mouth. A refreshing sensation spread, calming my mind. It felt like breathing in the crisp air deep in the mountains. My mind cleared.

‘Now I can probably look.’

After taking a deep breath, I surveyed the surroundings again. It was literally a sea of blood. Under the cold fluorescent lights, the seats, blurred by Leon’s keychain, were spread out before me. The scene, more terrifying than any horror movie, was thankfully obscured by the blur.

The red velvet seats were stained with an even deeper red. It looked as if someone had poured red dye over them. But it wasn’t dye—it was blood. Human blood. A faint warmth still lingered, as if it hadn’t cooled yet.

The outlines of bodies faintly visible through the blurred screen. The sound of red liquid dripping was the only clear thing. The figures of the audience who had died by self-harm were faint but gruesome. Traces of them attacking each other before dying were vaguely visible beyond the blur.

The 300-seat theater was a scene of chaos. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it hell.

The stage was even worse. The actors’ forms were faintly visible, each in a different state. The stage floor was covered in bloodstains, resembling an abstract painting. Red marks reminiscent of Jackson Pollock’s action paintings covered the stage.

Suddenly, I thought of my smartphone. Even in this situation, there was something I had to check first.

With trembling hands, I fumbled through my pocket and pulled out my phone. My fingertips shook so much that I almost dropped it several times.

Fortunately, the screen was intact. Despite the likely splatters of blood, the phone was clean. Checking it, I saw a message.

[You have successfully escaped from the horror story ‘The Tragedy of the Red Prince’.]

[You have been awarded 300,000 Dalant as a basic reward.]

+ 300,000D

‘Typical B-grade horror story.’

Of course, it was a paltry sum compared to what was needed to reach the reset button. Compared to 10 billion Dalant, it was a drop in the bucket.

But still, it was double what I had received in the Back Room. It wasn’t a bad result. Escaping a horror story and getting this much in one go might even be considered a decent performance.

If I had been the first to clear it, there would have been additional rewards, but since I had tackled it with Moon Jinwook, there were no extra rewards this time. Normally, I would have been disappointed, but right now, I didn’t even feel that. Just being alive was enough of a reward.

But I couldn’t just leave my supervisor to die. For the sake of my future at the company, it was a necessary choice. Besides, handling this scene alone was impossible.

‘But what about the supervisor…’

Looking to the side, he was still asleep. Leaning back in his seat with his head down, he looked peaceful.

It seemed the effects of the painkillers were still lingering, as he was in a deep sleep. It didn’t even look like he was having nightmares.

“Supervisor, wake up.”

Shaking his shoulder, Moon Jinwook opened his eyes and looked around. His complexion instantly turned pale. His face drained of color, and even his lips turned blue.

“Ugh…”

I quickly sprayed the emotion spray into his mouth. A green mist enveloped his face. A faint green light spread like fog. Instantly, Moon Jinwook’s expression softened.

“Ha… We survived.”

Moon Jinwook let out a sigh of relief. The tension visibly drained from his shoulders.

As he looked around the seats, his gaze no longer trembled. Whether it was the spray or not, he began to assess the situation calmly. As expected of a veteran, his recovery was quick.

“This… It’s going to be tough for just the two of us to handle, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Over 200 bodies. And most of them were in such a gruesome state that it would be difficult to clean up. This wasn’t just an accident scene. It was a supernatural mass murder that wouldn’t even be found in the statistics bureau.

A sigh echoed through the seats. Moon Jinwook thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone. His fingers hesitated over the screen. It seemed he was deciding who to call. It was clear he was pondering who would be the best to contact in this situation.

“I’ll call the deputy.”

As soon as he pressed the call button, Kang Hana answered. Her sharp voice came through the receiver.

After about an hour of explaining the situation…

Deputy Kang Hana, a man in a suit, and the cleanup team in white hazmat suits entered the theater.

The man whistled as soon as he entered. The cheerful whistle oddly contrasted with the gruesome scene around him.

“This is a real bloodbath.”

His voice carried an unusual calmness, as if he were looking at an everyday scene. Then he glanced at me and asked.

“You’re the newbie who just joined our team?”

Our team? So this guy is the leader of Team 4?

I nodded in response.

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cheon Seungsoo, Team Leader of Team 4.”

At the name Cheon Seungsoo, the effects of the serum kicked in. My mind cleared, and related information flooded in.

Cheon Seungsoo.

Another named character in the Catastrophe Foundation.

He held a special position within the organization. If Kang Hana was the type to brute-force her way through horror stories, Cheon Seungsoo was an extreme pragmatist who could escape horror stories with minimal information.

His success rate in resolving horror stories was over 90%, but his team survival rate was only around 30%. He was known as the ‘Cold Calculator’ for his ruthless decision-making.

He often sacrificed his team members under the guise of ‘sacrifices for the greater good’. But his judgments were always accurate, and in the end, he saved more lives. At least, statistically.

‘Damn it, of all people, why did it have to be Cheon Seungsoo….’

Just as I was inwardly despairing, Cheon Seungsoo asked Moon Jinwook.

“So, how did you survive in a scene like this?”

“If it weren’t for the newbie, I’d be dead too. I took sleeping pills and passed out like I was dead…”

“Escaping a play where you die if you watch till the end by sleeping through it? Interesting.”

Cheon Seungsoo muttered. A smile spread across his lips. He looked like a child who had found a new toy. It seemed I had piqued his interest.

“Let’s head back to the office first. We’ll need to write up the field report.”

* * *

After the meeting, Team Leader Cheon Seungsoo came to the office. The cold fluorescent light shone on his suit. The tension from the meeting room still lingered in the air.

“<Boy A>, no… <The Tragedy of the Red Prince> has been adjusted to a B-grade horror story due to its extreme difficulty to control and its abysmal survival rate.”

Cheon Seungsoo continued. His voice carried a strange nuance.

“Considering the hazard pay and manual writing incentives, Baek Jeongwoo will receive 200 million won, and Moon Jinwook will receive 70 million won.”

“…!”

The corner of Moon Jinwook’s mouth twitched upward, then quickly returned to a serious expression. He seemed to ponder for a moment before turning to me.

“Jeongwoo.”

“Yes?”

“Actually… I owe you big time this time. Can you give me your account number?”

Moon Jinwook opened his smartphone account as he spoke.

“35 million won. It’s a paltry sum for the price of a life, but…”

I shook my head and waved my hand. Of course, I had done most of the work this time, but accepting money for something like this would likely harm team relations in the long run.

“No, I can’t accept it.”

“Take it. You saved my life, even using items…”

“Supervisor, I just did what I had to do. Helping each other is just part of being a team, right?”

The corners of Moon Jinwook’s eyes reddened slightly.

“Jeongwoo…”

“And if I had been alone, I wouldn’t have survived. It was only possible because you were there.”

Cheon Seungsoo watched our conversation with interest. A smile played on his lips. Moon Jinwook reluctantly put his phone away, but his expression had brightened considerably.

“Well, you’ve worked hard today…”

Cheon Seungsoo stood up and said. His long shadow fell on the office wall.

“Let’s treat Team 4 to some good food.”

“Huh?”

“You need to know how delicious Hanwoo is after escaping a horror story.”

At the mention of Hanwoo, Moon Jinwook’s eyes lit up. I was honestly hungry too. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.

A high-end Hanwoo restaurant near Gangnam Station. Cheon Seungsoo took a seat, and we followed. The sizzling smell of meat grilling over charcoal stimulated my nose. My mouth watered.

“Order whatever you want. It’s on me today.”

At Cheon Seungsoo’s words, Moon Jinwook picked up the menu. After some thought, he selected a few special cuts. Cheon Seungsoo nodded readily.

At the dinner gathering, I thought to myself. Today had been a crazy day. A day so nightmarish that I wouldn’t forget it even as time passed.

But strangely, the taste of the Hanwoo melting in my mouth was disgustingly delicious, more than ever before.