“I believe that’s the house over there.”
The morning sun cast a brilliant glow upon the idyllic house Kim Do-hyun pointed toward.
It was the home of Choi Seong-min, the first victim of the Merchant.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The doorbell chimed.
“Who is it?”
Though muffled by the door, the voice sounded frail and uncertain, clearly belonging to someone over seventy.
When the door finally creaked open, an elderly woman with a gentle demeanor emerged.
Kim Do-hyun spoke, his voice maintaining its characteristic steady tone.
“We’re from the Urban Legend Management Bureau. Is this perhaps Mr. Choi Seong-min’s residence?”
“Ah, I’m Seong-min’s birth mother. What brings you here?”
“We’ve come because further investigation is required regarding the urban legend you were involved in yesterday.”
“Oh? Ah, yes. Now that I think about it, that must have been what all the commotion last night was about.”
“I apologize, but could you please call Mr. Choi Seong-min for us?”
“Ah, he just left with his granddaughter and daughter-in-law to eat out.”
As Kim Do-hyun’s expression turned bewildered, Park Se-jin, who had been listening silently from behind, interjected.
“What? But something so major happened just yesterday!”
It’s common for ordinary people caught up in urban legends to spend a month holed up at home, traumatized.
Thus, Choi Seong-min’s actions struck Park Se-jin as utterly suspicious.
“Oh, well, yesterday was my granddaughter’s birthday, but what was it? The Merchant? Anyway, because of that, her birthday party was ruined, wasn’t it? So, I took her out to cheer her up a bit.”
“Ah.”
In that case, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Parents, after all, are said to even give their hearts for their children.
Yet, despite that, there was a high probability that Choi Seong-min had concealed items originating from the Merchant.
“If you’re in a hurry, would you like to come in and wait? I don’t have much to offer, but I’ve brewed some barley tea (TL Note: A roasted barley infusion, often served chilled in Korea.). He should be back in two hours at the latest.”
“No, thank you. We’ll return around evening.”
Having said that, Park Se-jin lightly poked Kim Do-hyun’s palm.
It was one of their pre-arranged signals.
“Alright then.”
Just as their conversation concluded and the door began to close—
“Grandma!”
The voices of a dozen or so children echoed.
“Oh! My darlings, you’re here! Just a moment!”
The grandmother smiled as if the children were her own, then stepped back inside the house.
Park Se-jin, momentarily staring blankly at the unexpected turn of events, then shifted his gaze toward the children.
None of them appeared to be older than ten.
The grandmother reemerged with a rattling sound, a large bag of snacks clutched in one hand.
“Don’t fight, share them.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
The children bowed deeply (TL Note: ‘Baekkob insa’ is a polite bow where children touch their navel, often taught as a sign of respect.) before excitedly dashing off to wherever they were headed.
The grandmother, who had been watching them with a warm gaze, soon noticed their eyes on her and spoke.
“They’re just the neighborhood children. They smile as if they own the world just for one snack, and it’s so lovely that I often give them some.”
“You seem to be fond of children.”
“Indeed I am. You’ll understand when you have children and grandchildren of your own, young lady.”
A cool breeze swept through.
“Ah. Well then, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Oh, go safely.”
Watching Park Se-jin and Kim Do-hyun walk towards their car, the grandmother murmured softly.
“That’s why I… can’t help but love children.”
****
Eyeballs sprouted from various parts of the flesh, which could no longer be called a doctor.
*Crunch—*
With a ghastly sound, like flesh being ground together, all the eyeballs simultaneously opened.
“…”
“…”
“…”
In the abyss-like silence, only those damned eyeballs stared at me.
As if they were merely observing me.
It would be far easier to understand them if they attacked me first.
However, initiating an attack against them would not be a wise choice.
When facing an unknown urban legend, a preemptive strike is always the worst move.
And indeed, I realized this during my very first playthrough of this game.
“Damn it.”
I waited for it to make a move.
It was a deeply unsettling wait.
Still, as a self-proclaimed veteran (TL Note: ‘Goinmul’ is a Korean slang term referring to a highly experienced or skilled player in a game.), I was confident in my ability to handle most situations.
Before long, as if in response to my patience, all the eyeballs began to tremble simultaneously.
“Huh?”
The eyeballs simply fell to the floor.
Only fist-sized holes remained scattered across the walls.
And from these holes, a green liquid began to ooze.
“f*ck! That’s Dream Solvent!”
This wasn’t the Urban Legend Management Bureau; how was this stuff being mass-produced here?
The Dream Solvent poured down incessantly.
The Dream Solvent, which had initially submerged my ankles, gradually rose, and within about five minutes, it had already reached my waist.
The flesh of the walls, seemingly governed by entirely different physical laws, remained utterly unblemished, no matter how much I struck it with my tentacles.
“Damn it! If only I had the Urban Legend Management Bureau’s utility knife!”
The Urban Legend Management Bureau’s utility knife.
Commonly known as ‘Rosa’s Utility Knife,’ it was a consumable, a basic item capable of tearing through anything once.
This meant that if I had possessed (TL Note: ‘Bingui’ refers to the act of possessing a body or character, often used in web novels where a protagonist is transmigrated into a story or game.) a body in the Urban Legend Management Bureau instead of this wretched urban legend, I would have already escaped.
The Dream Solvent continued to rise, its increase perceptible every time I blinked.
As the Dream Solvent swelled, eyeballs could be seen floating alongside it.
It felt as if those eyeballs were staring right at me.
When I had blinked about twenty times, the Dream Solvent reached below my neck, and after the eleventh blink following that, I could no longer open my eyes.
****
*Hahaha! Hehe—*
From somewhere, a child’s laughter echoed.
I couldn’t see anything, as if I existed in a void.
In fact, no sensation other than hearing registered.
*Haha! Hehehee—*
It was a girl’s laughter.
In this void, that laughter alone was unnervingly clear.
‘Where is it coming from?’
‘Left? Right? Up? Down?’
*Hahaha!*
‘Yes! It’s to the right.’
‘I must go that way.’
I suddenly stopped.
It was because I doubted whether the direction I was heading was the correct one.
*Hahaha! Hehehe—*
‘I was wrong after all.’
‘I should have gone left.’
The sound grew louder.
*Hahaha! Hehehe—*
“Mister!”
‘Ah, yes, there you were.’
‘I must go that way!’
‘No, wait! That horrible laughter!’
‘Is it up? Where is it!’
‘No, that’s right, it was below.’
‘It’s looking for me.’
‘It’s calling me.’
‘That fresh laughter!’
‘Just a little more, laugh at me just a little more!’
‘Mister, you’ve finally come for me.’
‘Come straight to me and hug me, just like you always did!’
‘No! Stop it, I don’t have anyone like that!’
‘A child’s laughter echoes from everywhere in this space.’
‘It’s luring me from every direction.’
‘Like a mousetrap!’
“Hoo, hoo.”
The moment I realized this, my mind snapped awake, as if roused from a dream.
Neither that girl nor this space had ever appeared in the game.
“You’ve finally awakened. Or perhaps, ‘awakened’ isn’t quite the right word?”
A rather intellectual-sounding voice then resonated.
‘The Doctor.’
“Indeed, it is I.”
The Doctor’s voice had completely transformed, now sounding entirely human.
“I can only express my gratitude to you.”
‘Mister, where are you?’
“What?”
“Yes, I have come to realize the horrific deeds I’ve committed. How much suffering countless children have endured because of me—”
‘Mister, come find me.’
“I can only express my gratitude to you, for thanks to you, I have been able to create a world of nothingness that suppresses all five senses! A true paradise, free from any suffering—”
‘Mister!’
“Therefore—”
‘Mister!’
“I will grant you—”
‘Mister!’
“bestow upon you—”
‘Mister!’
“Is something the matter? Though you cannot see it, your expression seems rather unsatisfactory.”
“Huh?”
“In any case, do not worry. As I said, I highly value your contribution, and thus I shall allow you to also live in this world of nothingness.”
“Huh? Oh, no.”
The voice ceased.
It should have been over, yet a sense of unease enveloped me.
“Surely this isn’t enough? Very well, then I shall allow your friends and family to also partake in this blessing.”
As the girl’s voice stopped, the Doctor’s words finally began to make sense.
‘I need to keep the conversation going naturally while figuring out a way to escape.’
“Don’t be ridiculous. This isn’t a void to begin with. I can hear sounds, can’t I? And who is that girl, anyway?”
“Haha. A valid question, indeed. I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘the girl,’ but I can resolve your former concern. With that, I shall bestow upon you the final blessing and bid you farewell. Thank you.”
*Clap—* (TL Note: ‘딱—!’ represents a sharp, distinct sound, like a clap or snap.)
With the sound of the clap, all sounds in the world ceased.
“…”
Literally, none of my five senses registered.
“…”
‘This is liberation from suffering?’
“…”
‘This is just a madman generator.’
“…”
‘I’d probably prefer suffering after a month in this state.’
“…”
‘By the way, who was that girl?’
“…”
‘That’s not what’s important right now.’
“…”
‘Ways to escape a dream, huh?’
“…”
The simplest is to snap my fingers.
“…”
But I can’t feel anything here, so that won’t work either.
“…”
‘Then, another method—’
“…”
‘Mister.’
“…”
‘I found it.’
My five senses gradually returned.
My hearing came back as I perceived the girl’s voice.
As hearing returned, my body, eager to feel the wind, regained its sense of touch, prompted by the rustling sounds.
As I felt the crumble of earth and the freshness of grass beneath my feet, the desire to see the world awakened my sight and smell.
Before my eyes, an endless prairie stretched out under a clear sky.
It was a peace uncharacteristic of an urban legend.
“Where… am I? Damn it, everything’s been so different from the game since earlier.”
It felt as if my 10,000 hours of playtime had been rendered meaningless.
I lifted my head.
In the far distance, at the edge of the horizon, I saw a small dot.
I could wake up from the dream the moment my sense of touch returned.
But if I left like this, I wouldn’t learn anything.
‘Let’s head over there for now.’
‘I can always wake up immediately if something goes wrong.’
The dense grass covering the ground tickled my feet as I walked.
As I drew closer, I realized its true identity was a parasol.
“Mister, over here.”
And then, a familiar voice spoke.
It was a girl who looked like she had just graduated middle school, with a large, incongruous scar on her face.
Her expression held a hint of regret.
“Who are you?”
I asked, one finger poised to snap, ready to escape if necessary.
“I’m… well, I guess you could say I was the first person to fall into the Doctor’s dream?”
“You—”
“Before you ask any more questions, have some tea. You’ve forgotten something, Mister.”
“Forgotten something?”
“Your sense of taste.”
In the girl’s hand, a teacup appeared that hadn’t been there moments before.
I took a sip of the tea she offered.
Despite the elegant teacup, the contents were just barley tea.
“What’s your name?”
“That’s an unimportant question, as this will be our last meeting, Mister. Don’t you have more pressing questions?”
“Yes… why did you keep calling for me?”
“Hmm. I’d like to say there was a slight misunderstanding. Before the dream changed like this, it was quite painful, you see? That’s why I was a little out of my mind. I got better after being in a state of sensory deprivation for a while. Though, separate from that, my last call for you was sincere.”
The girl looked up at the sky for a moment.
“Look at that clear sky. Wasn’t this the true dream the Doctor wanted?”
“What exactly is your relationship with the Doctor? And who is this Doctor to begin with?”
“Question time is over! Now, this is my wish: go out there and kill the Doctor, and end the dream.”
The girl thought for a moment, then added.
“Hmm, but it wouldn’t be fair to just ask for a favor like this after such an unhelpful Q&A, would it? There’s a hidden safe behind the encyclopedia in the director’s office bookshelf. The password… doesn’t seem necessary. What’s inside will be quite helpful.”
The girl gazed at my shadow.
“It’s time for you to wake up from the dream. And just so you know, if you ignore my request and just take what’s in the safe and leave, I’ll curse you for eternity.”
I had more to say to the girl, but seeing her expression, which clearly indicated she wouldn’t answer, I quietly snapped my finger.
****
I opened my eyes to reality.
The Doctor, returned to his original form, stood before me.
He wore a startled expression.
“How in the world…?”
“Do you know a girl with a big scar on her face?”
“What nonsense is that! How did you escape—”
Before the Doctor could finish speaking, I lashed out with a tentacle.
The tentacle, imbued with a hint of rage, crushed the Doctor until he was formless.
“That’ll prevent phase 3 from starting.”
The director’s office was stained with an unidentifiable green and red substance from the recent massacre.
‘The Urban Legend Management Bureau will be quite surprised when they arrive later.’
Beside me, I saw the two students who had been trapped in the dream.
Both were quiet, so the dream seemed to have been thoroughly destroyed.
“Are they alive?”
Carefully, I placed a finger near their noses and felt faint breaths.
“Okay, they’re alive.”
Leaving the students behind, I used a tentacle to break open the safe the girl had mentioned and checked its contents.
Inside was a glowing green gem.
‘In the game, the Urban Legend Management Bureau recovered it, so it was here?’
The reward wasn’t bad for all the trouble.
The gem that produced Dream Solvent, the very gem that allowed the Urban Legend Management Bureau to mass-produce ‘Pediatrician’s Dream’ related products later on.
“At least for a while, I won’t need to deal with other urban legends.”
Dragging my fatigued body, I roughly tossed the students outside the hospital, then headed for the restroom I had used to enter this place.
Opening the restroom door, I found myself back in the Merchant, which, for some reason, felt particularly nostalgic today.
