CHAPTER 039
I took a deep breath and recalled the instructions for the Blood Bath.
First, you filled the tub with warm water.
- Fill the tub with as much clean water as desired.
(‘Bath of Youth – Foot Massage Edition’ is a product that does not support automatic water supply.)
As instructed, I filled it with enough warm water from the sink to submerge one plush doll.
And then…
From here on was the real point.
- Once the water has filled to the desired level, pour at least 200 mL of fresh blood into it.
The fresher the blood, and the healthier and more vigorous the source, the better the effect.
The very fact that something like that was written in such a gentle, friendly font was insane, but fortunately, I had a substitute.
I lifted the wild ginseng.
Then I snipped off one medium-sized outer root with the scissors.
‘Ugh.’
A blackish purple fluid, disgusting enough to make me gag just looking at it, came streaming out of the cut root.
Thank God I had put on rubber gloves.
Trying not to touch it as much as possible, I pressed the cut end of the root against the Blood Bath.
And then an astonishing sight unfolded.
Bubble bubble.
Bubbles rose from the fluid where it touched the tub, and a fantastical fragrance began to bloom up.
“…!”
The nauseating blackish purple fluid had somehow transformed into a rich, beautiful rosy cream color and shimmered.
It was strange and fantastical.
In that way, the bathwater became comfortable and luxurious enough that anyone would be tempted to put their feet into it….
- Immerse your body fully in the bath additive and enjoy your bath.
(The Foot Massage Edition will revitalize your entire body as well.)
From the dark under the bed came an excited sound.
“At last!”
The plush doll laughed.
“Ah, there is no need to pick me up and carry me over, Mr. Roe Deer.”
“Just don’t turn around.”
I froze in place.
…From behind me, I began to hear sounds.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound of the plush doll walking.
No, was it really a plush doll…? It also sounded like the footsteps of a man in dress shoes. That somewhat lively yet heavy sound brushed right past immediately behind me, then stopped.
And from the tub right beside me came the splash of something dropping into it….
“You may look now.”
I turned my head.
Inside the small tub, soaked through in the bath additive, floated the little plush doll, still looking exactly like a smiling animal mascot, with no change in expression….
“…Brown?”
There was no answer.
Naturally. In reality, I couldn’t have a face-to-face conversation with the doll directly.
Still, he would be listening.
“I’ll put the wild ginseng away for now. Enjoy your bath.”
I set the ginseng, whose fluid had stopped flowing, back on the desk and looked at the tub.
Thinking of the records of people who had used the Blood Bath.
———————=
Usage Record #5
A servant in his forties stirred the bathwater in the Blood Bath with his bare hand while clearing away the bath additive prepared by the homeowner (the blood of a twenty-year-old Caucasian mixed-race man).
30 seconds elapsed before the tub was fully emptied.
Immediately afterward, the skin and muscle tissue of the servant’s hand were observed to have reverted to the condition they had been in during his mid-thirties. Signs of restored vitality were observed throughout his body.
That same night, the servant was arrested while attempting to flee with the Blood Bath loaded into a car.
———————=
Mm, nothing like that seemed to be happening.
‘So it really doesn’t work on a doll.’
I should probably go get a towel.
I turned away toward the dresser—
“Oho!”
A voice?
I turned my head.
Inside the unseen tub, electric light crackled and flashed as if sparks were flying from an old television.
“Light enters my powerless limbs!”
Flash.
A large, dark shadow of the plush doll raising both arms over the tub loomed on the wall.
What is that?
“Mr. Roe Deer!”
Don’t call me!
“This really is an entertaining object! Haha, hahahaha!”
I swallowed hard as I watched that sight.
‘…Is his strength really returning?’
I had never seen any record suggesting that the Blood Bath’s rejuvenation extended to that sort of range.
This was a new case.
One I knew nothing about.
“More bath additive! Pour in more!”
Bath additive.
Unthinkingly, I grabbed the wild ginseng on the desk—
[Waaaahhh they’re grabbing the wild ginseng!!!]
[No, honored one!! Honored one! Save me! Please save me, I beg you!!]
Agh, fuck!
‘It woke up!!’
Startled out of my mind, I reflexively threw the wild ginseng.
Thunk.
As if it were a lie, the wild ginseng fell into the Blood Bath and flailed as if it could feel the fluid it had shed turning into fragrant bath additive.
[Aaaahhhhhh!!]
But that was all.
The wild ginseng did not seem able to pull any tricks like before. Whether it was the Blood Bath’s bizarre power suppressing it, or whether Brown had done something, I had no idea.
Its screams rang out.
[Please save me, honored one!! Honored one!! I was wrong! I was wrong!]
[I’ll work hard! I’ll work hard!! I’ll serve you!!]
“How unbelievably rude and noisy!”
Electricity crackled again inside the Blood Bath.
It was like a TV screen being composited….
And from within it rang the booming cry of an enraged host.
“Cut its throat, friend! Quiet it down. Don’t let it ruin this scene!”
“……”
I stood up.
And, without looking into the tub, I said,
“I can quiet it down without doing that.”
“……”
“There’s no need to use extreme methods.”
“In a show, a single moment, a single beat, can determine every reaction and feeling.”
“But this isn’t a show right now, is it?”
“That….”
The crackling electricity in the tub subsided.
“You’re right. Yes. That is correct.”
Phewww.
‘That was close. It almost could’ve ended up filed as New Blood Bath Usage Record—Irregular or something.’
The situation was already absurd enough as it was.
From the tub came a pitiful, sobbing voice.
[Thank you… thank you, benefactor.]
[Kind honored one! Now please take me out of here and save me from the hands of that lawless monster….]
I folded my arms.
“I never said I’d save you.”
[…?!]
Who gets done in midway through the latter half of a Ghost Story?
Exactly the kind, good person who lets their guard down in moments like this!
‘The moment you soften because a ghost starts crying, that’s exactly when something terrifying happens!’
At times like this, you had to stay calm and not look like an easy mark. I stared at the wild ginseng abandoned in the Blood Bath over the ceramic edge of the tub.
“How do I know what’ll happen to me if I save you?”
I heard it sniffling.
[Th-then, then… how about this? The field! I’ll tell you about rare objects around the field where I was!]
“I don’t need them.”
They sounded like they’d just be cursed, ghost-possessed objects anyway.
[Th-then….]
I sighed.
“Just prove on your own that you won’t hurt anyone. Stay quiet.”
[……]
The wild ginseng shut its mouth.
For the moment, that probably bought me some time.
And so for the next few minutes, time passed in suffocating tension for me and, probably, delight for Brown….
‘Ten minutes.’
It was exactly when I had mentally marked the time.
“Mm. That was a fine bath.”
“……”
Was it over?
I had just been about to turn and see whether I needed to take Brown out of the tub when—
“Ah, splendid…. Thank you, Mr. Roe Deer.”
The plush doll’s voice turned sly.
“For waiting until my bath was finished!”
Bang.
[Kyaaaahhh!!]
A thunderous noise and a scream burst from the tub.
You insane—
“Just a moment! Friend, do not move. If someone sees me, this cotton-stuffed body becomes too embarrassed to move.”
[You said you’d save me, you said you’d save meee!!]
“Haha! Mr. Roe Deer said he never made any such promise!”
“Wait!”
In the end, I ran over to the tub.
For a moment it sounded as though someone clicked their tongue, but when I bent down over the tub, the sound vanished.
What I saw was the wild ginseng, thrown into one corner, thrashing frantically and shaking its berries wildly.
The berries looked half-crushed, as if someone had kicked them, and the roots too were smashed at the side, as though someone had tried to squeeze out the sap.
[Save me, save me….]
The wild ginseng’s berry movement was slowing, as though its strength had already run out.
[L-let me go….]
…Let you go?
With my rubber-gloved hand, I rummaged through the wild ginseng in the tub.
‘It’s not tied up.’
[Save….]
A vibration came through my hand in time with the wild ginseng’s words.
“……”
A vibration.
Come to think of it, whenever this wild ginseng did something resembling speech, waves like that had passed into my hand.
It wasn’t strange. A voice was a kind of wave too.
But there was one strange thing.
‘The roots aren’t moving.’
Come to think of it, even when I first saw it in the field, only the leaves and berries had moved when it spoke.
The roots had only stretched out like infected tentacles.
“……”
In that case.
Acting on instinct, I grabbed the wild ginseng and tore off its berries.
At that very moment—
[Hoooooooh!]
The berries trembled violently and sprang up out of my hand.
“…!”
Then they whirled around in my palm as if beside themselves with joy.
[I’m free!! I’m free! The tiger’s maw is disappearing! Disappearinggg….]
[Thank you, benefactor!! Thank you!!]
The berries flickered, their shape growing fainter and fainter, and at last they floated up into the air like a little light and vanished, as if flying out through the window.
“……”
So that was the real body.
“Oh dear! It escaped. What a pity.”
Phew.
“Such a low, cowardly creature, forever eager to change its words, should never be given another chance!”
“Is that so. Even so, next time, please, let’s do anything only after agreeing on it first….”
“Even in moments that require quick reflexes?”
“If no one’s going to die, then yes.”
“…Understood, friend.”
His voice sounded sulky for some reason, but I had gotten a clear answer anyway.
Let’s be satisfied with that….
“Anyway, look at this! I’ve rejuvenated quite a bit now!”
I looked into the tub again.
There was the plush doll, now quiet as if nothing had happened.
There was a certain sheen to the lump of wet cotton.
“……?”
Uh, it really did somehow look more expensive. Or maybe I should say it looked better quality.
It even seemed like it had grown a tiny bit, just like he claimed.
‘…It can’t get any bigger, though?’
I only got away with carrying it around because it was keychain-sized. A grown office worker always carrying a doll bigger than his hand around would attract way too much attention.
I already stood out at the company more than enough as it was.
‘Before I use the Blood Bath next time, I should think of something.’
Or better yet, maybe I’ll be back home before then.
“I guess so. Looks great.”
I fished Brown out, carefully dried him with the hair dryer, and set him properly on the towel by the bed.
Then, when I turned back to deal with the bathwater, I saw something surprising.
“…The wild ginseng root is still here.”
After the berries flew away, I had assumed the wild ginseng would disappear too, but it had been left behind completely intact.
In fact, it looked even more intact than before.
The wild ginseng, which had been discolored as though contaminated, had now regained its clean original ivory color.
‘It even smells nice.’
It looked spiritually potent.
Like the exact opposite attribute of a Ghost Story.
“Hmm.”
I hesitated, then picked it up and placed it inside the desk drawer.
It might be useful somewhere.
“So with that… is it over?”
‘That’s one thing handled….’
I slowly collapsed back onto the bed.
Wow, ever since entering this world of Ghost Stories, it felt like my lifespan had been shortened by twenty years.
‘I really do need to gather points quickly and get out.’
Which made this contradictory situation ridiculous—if I wanted to do that, I’d have to start tackling Ghost Stories more actively….
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
Jesus Christ, you scared me.
“My body and mouth both move much more easily now!”
“Ah, but please do not look this way.”
I nearly turned my head by reflex and had to force it back onto the pillow.
Then Brown started talking again.
“It seems that now, even here, we’ll be able to converse directly as long as we don’t make eye contact.”
“Isn’t that rather shy? Inconvenient, but interesting in its own way.”
Right. Talk all you want….
‘He’ll save my life again once we go into another Ghost Story……’
“You must be very tired! I hope you have good dreams, friend.”
I fell asleep as if passing out.
It was a refreshing sleep that washed away the exhaustion of several days at once.
…When I woke up, there was another problem waiting.
Later that same day, in the afternoon.
While Kim Soleum was in the Group D office chatting with his superiors about trivial day-to-day matters, another employee whose recent circumstances had been rather closely tied to his was walking through the corridor….
“Ah, Manager Lee Byeongjin.”
That’s right. The same manager who had gone missing and been rescued by Kim Soleum.
“Yes, yes!”
And the person who called him to a stop was one of the directors.
For an office worker, it was hardly a welcome encounter, but the manager forced every facial muscle to produce a bright smile and politely accepted the handshake.
He had no choice.
This was the lifeline he had grabbed at within the company.
The person at the very top of the rope leading upward through Group A—someone standing at the top of the food chain in this bizarre and terrifying conglomerate!
‘Director Ho!’
The director who had called him over in the corridor smiled back and asked,
“I heard you went missing and returned. Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes, Director. I’m perfectly healthy. Thanks to your concern, I’m in excellent condition and working hard, yes, for the peace and prosperity of our company.”
“Haha.”
The director did not point out the other man’s empty flattery. Instead, he said gently, casually,
“You were lucky. There are plenty of cases where, once someone falls into a Darkness, they never come back out.”
“Ah. That’s true… I was lucky enough to be rescued.”
“Rescued? Did you receive help from the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency, perhaps?”
Director Ho’s tone did not change, but Manager Lee Byeongjin nearly jumped out of his skin.
This director was someone who disliked involvement with the government to an extreme degree—to the point of retaliation.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
“N-no, of course not! Someone from our company found me!”
“I see.”
“Yes, yes. Ah, it was a new hire from the Field Operations Team, and he’s a very solid kid! Truly!”
To think words like that could be drawn from the mouth of a man this self-serving.
The director smiled and asked,
“What is that person’s name?”
“Ah! Kim Soleum…. New Group D hire. Kim Soleum.”
From Manager Lee Byeongjin’s perspective, it was quite a courageous thing to do in its own way.
To repay the person who had saved his life!
‘Director Ho may be a little chilling, but he’s still a decent superior.’
As long as you didn’t touch the keywords that set him off, that was.
“He’s a very promising new hire. Yes.”
And so, a line was being formed where the person concerned knew absolutely nothing about it!
Manager Lee Byeongjin wiped his nose with a quick swipe.
‘Once Soleum finds out later, he’ll be grateful to me!’
He would not!
But in any case, this action of Manager Lee Byeongjin’s would end up causing quite a large butterfly effect….
“Oh, I should remember that.”
Because only a few days later, an incident broke out within the company.
More precisely, in the Field Operations Team.
Send the next pair whenever you’re ready, and I’ll keep the same locked style and terminology.
