I Became a Professional Horror Story Cleaner

“Ah, it’s finally gone.”

I didn’t know when it had happened, but the plastic I had been gripping so tightly had disappeared, and I could no longer feel its weight.

The same had happened to the damp fog that had soaked my entire body and the leaves hanging from the trees.

I checked my phone.

[Completion Condition: Clean the pond of Chodam Park.]

[Completed]

“……Brutal.”

Where was Myeong Haebin?

With great effort, I managed to get to my feet and went looking for her, but Myeong Haebin was lying face down beneath one of the trees along the road, completely motionless.

“Haebin, are you okay? Try to get up.”

When I turned her head, a sticky liquid clung to my hand.

It was blood.

It seemed she had hit her head when she was sent flying earlier.

“Umm…….”

Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I shook her lightly. Myeong Haebin flinched and let out a small groan.

What a relief.

She was alive.

‘They said it was enough as long as she didn’t die.’

I had to take her to the company.

How had Myeong Haebin done it?

I remembered that, at the beginning, she had put something into a door, and then company employees had appeared…….

But there was no door here.

And I didn’t know what she had inserted either.

There was no other choice.

“……Hup.”

I hoisted her onto my back and hailed a taxi that happened to be passing by.

The taxi came to a smooth stop. The moment I opened the rear door, the driver clicked his tongue and waved me off.

“Ah, no. I can’t take you.”

“Why?”

“You want to ruin my entire day? You’ll destroy my seats! Close the door already.”

I couldn’t blame him, considering how we looked.

My hair was completely disheveled, and my entire body was covered in mud and sweat. It was only natural that he wouldn’t want to let us in.

But I put Myeong Haebin into the taxi first anyway.

“Hey, hey!”

“I’ll pay for the cleaning and whatever income you lose during the time it takes. And, of course, I’ll pay four times the fare. Would you like me to pay in advance?”

“Seriously. Young people need to learn to drink in moderation. Tsk. Where are you going?”

“Exit 7 of Gwonhae Station, please.”

The taxi driver still looked reluctant, but unable to defeat capitalism, he started driving.

“Boss……. Are we out?”

“Yes. We’re on our way.”

“Why is this so normal……?”

Myeong Haebin’s head fell forward as she murmured.

I quickly placed a hand beneath her nose, but fortunately, I could feel her breathing steadily.

“Young people these days…… Tsk.”

Among the scenery passing by on the other side of the window, I saw a meat restaurant that seemed to have opened recently, as it was surrounded by congratulatory wreaths and flower arrangements.

How strange.

I was supposed to have gotten rid of all my guilt.

Then why did I feel such a vast emptiness somewhere in my chest?

***

What had happened afterward?

When we returned to the company, I happened to run into Team Leader Yong and handed Myeong Haebin over to him.

Then I returned to the dormitory and……

“Ah.”

I vaguely remembered that, even in that state, I had somehow managed to take a shower before collapsing.

I seemed to remember them saying that the dormitory bed functioned as some kind of respawn point, but I was still terribly tired and hungry.

Tap, tap.

I tapped my shoulder, where the burn marks had already disappeared, then brought my foot closer, which still seemed slightly swollen.

Yesterday, it had been a complete mess, covered in blisters, peeled skin, and blood scabs, but now there wasn’t a trace left.

‘What’s this?’

There was a card on the desk beside the bed.

[The recovered object [Unbreakable Garbage Bag] that you submitted has been confirmed.

As the recovered object in question has become a valuable resource for Headquarters, 1 point has been added to Kim Hanmu’s achievement record.]

“Recovered object?”

If it was referring to the Unbreakable Garbage Bag, it had to be the bag we had pieced together to catch the monster.

It had seemed strangely durable even in the middle of all that chaos. So it hadn’t been because of the Tool Enhancement effect.

I didn’t remember submitting anything, so Myeong Haebin had probably submitted the leftover material from making the giant bag on my behalf.

Bzzz―.

Just then, my phone received a notification.

[ ] Notification

You may consume the completion reward to update the [Dictionary] function. Would you like to allow it?

If it meant the completion reward…… it had to be referring to the two questions.

‘Wait. If it’s a dictionary, isn’t that worth more than two questions?’

Normally, a dictionary was specifically used to look up things you didn’t know.

I had no reason to refuse.

[Update complete.]

When I pressed [Y], a new tab immediately opened.

[Dictionary]

: Enter a search term.｜

I typed ‘recovered object’ into the search bar where the cursor was blinking, and a result appeared.

[Recovered Object]

A tool/object discovered within a ‘Horror Story.’ Possesses effects that an ordinary tool/object could not have. It is also said to possess the property of attracting ‘Horror Stories.’

Synonym: Item

‘In the world I lived in…… items existed?’

Now that was a surprise.

After running a few more tests, I discovered that the dictionary didn’t accept questions phrased as sentences.

Only words.

Although it had that limitation, it seemed like it could be quite useful depending on how I used it.

“Yawn.”

The exhaustion hadn’t disappeared at all, but I left the room with my eyes half-closed.

When I opened the refrigerator in the shared kitchen, I found a bottle of cola among all the instant food that had been shoved inside haphazardly.

It had to belong to my roommate, but……

‘I’ll apologize later. Or replace it before he notices.’

I was far too thirsty, so I decided to worry about the consequences later and took several large gulps straight from the bottle.

“Why are all the lights off?”

Had he already gone to work?

I turned on the living room light and picked up the snack bags that, as always, were scattered everywhere.

I’d have to have a few words with him when I saw him.

As I thought about that, I turned on my phone.

The time was strange.

[June 15, 00:42]

So it wasn’t morning, but night?

No, more importantly.

The date was strange.

I couldn’t believe I had slept for three whole days.

‘Should I go to the company tomorrow? No. I’d better go out and check first.’

There was no strict need to go out, but I was hungry, probably because I hadn’t eaten anything for several days.

If the company made people work night shifts, the cafeteria was probably open too. More than anything, my stomach was so empty it felt like it was stuck to my back.

‘While I’m at it, I’ll check that Myeong Haebin is okay…….’

Knock, knock.

As I was putting on those shoes that looked like rags, someone knocked on the dormitory’s front door.

“Boss, Boss, are you there? Are you there?”

It was Myeong Haebin.

It seemed Team Leader Yong had sent her off to sleep in time.

“I’m coming. Wait a moment.”

“Can I come in? Can I?”

Why did she repeat everything twice?

Was she in such a hurry that she had to rush me like that?

I took my hand away from the ruined laces of my shoes and reached for the doorknob.

“I told you I’m coming out. Otherwise, just come in and―.”

I was about to tell her to come in and wait, but……

“Are you fucking crazy, you damn idiot?!”

“Urgh!”

Someone grabbed me by the back of the neck and threw me backward.

The impact knocked the air out of me and made me cough.

“Cough, cough…….”

“You fucking lunatic! Who are you trying to get killed by opening the door at this hour?!”

A guy with bangs cut perfectly straight across, looking more like a boy than a man, turned off the living room light while snorting angrily.

“Boss, Boss. Can I come in? Can I come in? Can I come in? Can I come in? Can I come in? Can I come in?”

Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch.

The unsettling sound of fingernails scratching against the door came from the other side.

Only then did I fully come to my senses.

The thing standing outside the door wasn’t Myeong Haebin.

“……What is that?”

The guy who had sent me flying glared at me as if he wanted to strangle me right then and there and made a zipping motion across his mouth.

I shut my mouth.

He was the one who had yelled, though.

I waited silently, and little by little, the screech of fingernails scraping against a metal plate began to recede from the other side of the door.

Creeeeak―.

The guy silently walked over to the entrance and pressed an ear against the door.

Only then did he seem to relax. He pressed his lips together, revealing slightly protruding fangs, and glared at me.

“I wrote everything out nice and clear and stuck it on your bedroom door because I’m so fucking kind.”

“What?”

Right where he was pointing on my bedroom door, there was a filthy piece of paper stuck to it.

[Caution] Visiting Day

Do not turn on the lights from 11 p.m. on the 14th until 1 a.m. on the 15th. (Just doing this means you’re already halfway there).
If you turn on the lights, a visitor will come. Do not respond. (It’s easy if you keep your mouth shut).
If you already responded, never open the door or invite it inside.
If you broke this rule too, consider it a natural death. (Even if the visitor doesn’t kill you, I will).

“Visiting Day……?”

Was that thing that had just been outside the door a visitor?

But this was the company.

Were there creatures wandering around the company?

If it was well-known enough that he could leave me these instructions in advance…… I supposed I was the only one who didn’t know because I was new.

But why the hell had he stuck this here?

If he left it outside my room instead of inside, how was I supposed to see it?

“Why did you stick it here? I didn’t see it.”

“Because I can’t go into someone else’s room!”

Is he crazy?

But throwing me through the air was allowed?

I was grateful that he had helped me, but he definitely didn’t seem right in the head.

I stared at the guy, who had his arms crossed and was looking at me with a displeased expression.

“You’re Kang Dochae, right?”

“Why ask if you already know?”

He was my roommate and the main culprit responsible for turning the common areas into a disaster.

Whenever I looked for him, he was nowhere to be found, yet today of all days he was actually here.

“Why are you speaking informally to me?”

With his schoolboy haircut and short stature, anyone would have assumed he was a minor.

At most, maybe a senior in high school?

Did this company hire minors too?

Kang Dochae puffed out his chest and proudly pointed at himself.

“Because I’m the Tiger of the Disassembly Team.”

I asked why he was speaking informally to me, and he started by introducing his position.

Fine, then.

“I’m from the Cleaning Team. Why are you speaking informally to me?”

“I just told you I’m the Tiger! And you’re nothing but a cleaner. If it bothers you that much, then talk informally to me too!”

I had heard about the Tiger.

I seemed to remember that even the Dog from Team Leader Yong’s team had to give way to him.

“I don’t know how important you think you are, but speaking informally sounds perfect to me.”

As his roommate, I had a great many things to say to him.

“You know perfectly well that you shouldn’t enter someone else’s room, but you turn the common areas into a garbage dump? If you wrote this, that means you knew I was here, right? Are you aware that we share this dorm? If I already cleaned everything once without saying anything, then at least today you could―.”

“You clean it.”

Kang Dochae interrupted my lecture and shamelessly dug a finger into his ear, as if he couldn’t understand what the problem was.

“……What did you say?”

What the hell had he just said?

I’d heard him wrong, right?

“Isn’t that what you were hired for? Cleaner. Honestly, I don’t even understand why they put you in the same room as me. Hmph. You should be thanking me for giving you work.”

Ring―. Ring―.

“Looks like the time’s up. I’m leaving.”

The moment the clock struck one and the alarm rang, Kang Dochae shot out like the wind.

He left me alone with all the garbage in the common room and one hand on the back of my neck.

What the hell is wrong with that idiot?

More importantly……

Hadn’t he just come out of his room carrying a…… sword?

“I’m going to ask for a room change.”

Whether it meant grabbing Myeong Haebin, interrogating Team Leader Yong, or finding someone from some administrative department, I had to get out of this room as soon as possible.

And in the end, what the hell was Visiting Day?

Everything had happened so quickly, and Kang Dochae had left me so dumbfounded that I hadn’t even had time to process it.

Actually, I didn’t need to ask Kang Dochae.

Now I had my trusty Dictionary.

: Visiting Day｜

I wasn’t sure whether it would work for something like this too, but a result appeared.

[Visiting Day]

One of Daecheonmyeong’s incidents/accidents. It is said that, on the night of the new moon of each lunar month, a visitor who must never be allowed inside wanders through the dormitories.

‘One of the incidents/accidents? Does that mean there are more things like this?’

Considering the company itself was deeply connected to Horror Stories, it wasn’t all that strange, but……

How was I supposed to live peacefully like this?

Now I didn’t even know whether it was really safe to go outside.

I spent a while debating between hunger and fear, until hunger finally won and I left the dormitory.

“……Hmm.”

The outside of the door was wrecked.

Dozens of whitish fingernail marks covered the entrance door, and deep scratches stretched along the wall.

‘Now I really feel like I almost died.’

If it hadn’t been for Kang Dochae, I probably would have ended up face-to-face with that visitor……

But why didn’t I feel grateful?

Was it because I had disliked him from our very first impression?

Better go to the cafeteria.

As befitted a company with night shifts, the cafeteria seemed to be open twenty-four hours a day and was brightly lit.

“This could even compete with a major corporation.”

And to think that, despite having a place like this, I had been eating stir-fried pork at Kimbap Heaven.

It was a buffet with separate Korean, Western, and Chinese food sections, and there was even a regular convenience store off to one side.

‘For all that talk about Visiting Day and everything, there are quite a lot of people here, aren’t there?’

I hadn’t even been holed up in my room for that long, but several employees were sitting here and there.

I went to the Korean food section, filled my tray until it was almost overflowing, and sat down.

Then another tray slid into the seat across from me.

“Wow, you sure eat a lot. Can all of that really fit in your stomach?”