Chapter Text
I feel myself getting sucked somewhere else.
Somewhere very far from this hellhole of a world.
Darkness consumes me for a few minutes. Or was it hours? I can't tell.
But all I could hope is that I am actually going back home.
...
...
..
.
A bright light hits me in the eyes.
Blinding.
I slowly opened my eyes, fighting back against the light that was shining on my face.
Once I could finally see properly, I was greeted with the sight of a long line of people in front of me, and the pop-up store of the popular ghost story universe that I once loved.
[Prophecy of the Darkness: Dark Exploration Records]
I was in line, the same line that many people were lining up.
This could only mean one thing.
'Holy shit.'
'I'm back.'
I quickly got out of the line, scaring the people behind me as I dashed away. They probably thought I was insane.
Who wouldn't? Imagine the man in front of you who had been waiting for a long time to get inside suddenly running off.
But I know.
I know everything.
I know what will happen.
Once I let myself participate in that [Roulette Event], I will be in the ghost story universe once again.
I ran as fast as I could to somewhere far away from the pop-up store.
I ended up just leaving the department store that held the entire event— ending up in an open space area outside, not wanting to risk anything.
'Looks like I'm not returning to this place for now.'
The first thing I did when I was outside was check my phone.
[2:43PM]
[June X, 20XX]
Yeah, I definitely am back to my world.
'But I shouldn't be too sure of that for now.'
This might be a totally different made up universe where urban legends still exist, but simply altered to be more like my original world.
I checked my contacts list— everybody I knew was still in here.
I moved my finger to make a call, but I stopped before I did so.
It was weird to suddenly call my family members and everybody just to check up on them, especially since I don't usually call them much.
It's not like the time I spent in another world affected this world, I disproven that already.
It took a few more minutes checking whether I was really back.
I checked my left arm if I have any tattoos.
None.
'Is my right arm okay?'
Yes, moving and alive.
I even looked at my camera mirror.
'Yep, I look like the older me now.’
I lean my back against an oddly textured wall, letting out a sigh of relief.
I can finally let my guard down. No more ghost stories, no more weird creatures with weird heads.
No more living on the edge every single day, as I am back to the same old boring yet safe life I always had.
I can now move on—
‘Wait.’
A wall?
I was clearly in an open space area outside—
"Kim Soleum."
"Ah!"
I let out a yelp.
I immediately turned around, met with a familiar figure.
"Squad Leader?"
Wait.
What the hell is happening?
Why was Lee Jaheon here?
I looked up to meet him in the eyes, but my surprise of Lee Jaheon being here was almost forgotten with the fact that his lizard head was gone.
The creepy lizard head was gone.
'Woah.'
So they weren't lying about how Lee Jaheon was handsome— white hair, red blood eyes, and a sharp jawline.
‘If only I saw him in his human version instead of the alien version.’
I cleared my throat, regaining my composure..
"Why— or how are you here?"
I wasn't even sure if I should ask 'why?' or 'how?'.
Lee Jaheon didn't make much of an expression. Well, not much difference from his lizard self.
"Did you get your wish potion?”, he responded with a question instead of answering mine.
‘He definitely doesn't know much either.’
I nod.
“What did you wish for?”, Lee Jaheon asked again.
“Uh, I wanted to get back to my world. So I wished to get back here, because I was never originally from your world.”
I answered sheepishly.
“It looks like I accidentally brought you with me, so I'm sorry”, I bowed my head for a few seconds before looking back up.
Now that Lee Jaheon had a proper face, I could see that he was listening attentively. But it was honestly scaring me.
'Can this guy look less serious for once?'
I continued further.
"Basically, this is a world without Darknesses or Disasters or ghost stories in general."
"You can say it's a much safer world here and I have everything here that I didn't have during my time in the other world."
I was about to explain how the same world that had the ghost stories was actually just one big wiki story, but I stayed quiet.
It's too risky.
Until Lee Jaheon finds out about himself on the internet or asks, I won't mention it at all.
The lizard alien (Or is he human now since supernaturals don't exist here?) was silent for a moment.
'Yeah, that's what I was like when I was suddenly brought into the wiki story universe too.'
Shocked, surprised, confused.
Actually, I'm not even sure if Lee Jaheon feels any of those emotions I just mentioned.
Lee Jaheon finally looked like he was done thinking. Has he figured out the reason why he was brought along with me?
"Do you want to hear my thoughts?"
I nodded once again. "Yes."
I really needed to know what he was thinking.
"There is a possibility I am not the only one who came along with you."
Well, that's going to be a problem.
"Those who you knew from the other world could also be transported when you came here."
Now that I think about it, would I really be okay with my friends in the ghost story universe being with me?
If I can even call them friends.
I never really valued my relationships with anyone since I already knew I'd be leaving soon.
If it was only Lee Jaheon who's with me, then there won't be much of a problem. But if it's people like Agent Choi…
I felt my throat tighten up when I remembered what happened just a few days ago.
I let out a sigh.
"Well… there could be a possibility that you're the only one who ended up being brought along with me.”
If Lee Jaheon was right, where would I find the rest of the people who came with me?
I checked my phone again.
[2:58PM]
Oh, it'll almost be rush hour soon.
Do I still even remember the way back to my actual apartment?
"For now, I'll bring you to my apartment. Is it okay?"
Lee Jaheon nodded, and I took it as a sign to start walking to the train station.
He immediately followed after me.
Fuck, I thought I really thought I could just go back to reality like everything was just a big nightmare.
Can I just rest? Please?