Chapter 127: Tagger.apk (1)

1. The Tagger app began as an internet ghost story and is discovered in the form of an app file circulating around with no identifiable source.

It works by 'tagging' six progressively designated checkpoints, each at a randomly selected location.

At each location, it gives the user a small mission, and completing it causes the next location to be tagged.

The seventh and final tagged location is the true destination, gradually leading the user deep into the mountains.

Method of entering the ghost story ― After completely reaching the destination twice through this process, reaching the final destination on the third attempt causes the user to enter the ghost story.

Special note – If the entire process is broadcast live, it is currently presumed that viewers who followed the process are swept into the ghost story as well.

The Governance office fell silent for a moment.

-Yes, yes. Of course, guys. Whatever happens today, I'm going all the way to the end again.

-You're asking if I started early because I'm scared? Come on, what are you talking about....

Song Jae-min's cheerful voice came through the speakers as he continued filming mystery content without the slightest sign of getting tired of it.

-First, we need to be able to reach the destination sometime tonight, so I'll set it to tag somewhere nearby. Let's go with this option.

-We were wandering around until almost sunrise yesterday too. No, I'm telling you, even when this app says somewhere is nearby, it still marks places pretty far away. That's why I'm starting a little earlier today.

Tagger was an app that was not even listed on any official app store and was shared as a file among mystery enthusiasts.

The app was essentially a kind of augmented-reality game.

All it really did was randomly mark an actual location on a real-world map and tell you to go on an adventure there.

It had become famous as a ghost story because of rumors that people who followed it had found all sorts of things, from corpses to treasure.

“.......”

“.......”

Silence still hung over the Governance.

It was true that they were busy preparing for Alice Hotel.

But now that they already knew about this, how were they supposed to pretend they didn't?

Su-myeon picked up his phone and called Jae-min.

On the broadcast, Jae-min visibly flinched as he glanced downward.

But soon enough, he continued the stream as though nothing had happened.

-I can't take your call right now....

Su-myeon let out a hollow laugh at the automated message coming through the receiver, apparently after Jae-min had rejected the call.

So now he wasn't even going to answer?

“......I'll start by finding out where this guy is right now.”

Mi-ae finally accepted reality and pulled up a map.

But Su-myeon redistributed the work.

“No. Agent Mi-ae, don't watch the stream for now. Contact the relevant department and find some way to shut that broadcast down.”

Su-myeon plugged the earphones back in to cut off the speaker audio.

Because if Jae-min reached the destination at the end....

“And wipe all the app files spreading around the internet too.”

Meanwhile, Ju-hee found the Tagger app entry in the ghost-story list she had organized earlier.

“Here!”

It neatly summarized the content Su-myeon had once played through in one of the UTG fangames.

[Day 1] Tagger Experience LIVE

Tagger is an app that's been circulating around Korean websites and has only just started becoming popular.

There are rumors that malware comes bundled with it because no one knows who first distributed it.

But who cares? Even if that's true, couldn't that still make for decent content?

Anyway, this app became famous because two teenage couples tried it and ended up finding a suitcase with a corpse inside.

Of course, no matter how much I search, I can't find any articles about it, so it's probably just an urban legend.

Still, stories like that are exactly why I picked the Tagger app for my next piece of content.

Anyway, today was a jackpot.

All seven tagged locations were eerie and gloomy, perfect for setting the mood.

I ended up at some abandoned pond halfway up Mount Bugak.

With the wind and all kinds of mountain animals making noise, the viewers kept freaking out and saying they could hear an extra set of footsteps.

I pretended to be scared too, but the truth was, while looking around, I'd already spotted a cat following me.

It must have been used to people. The yellow cat, staring wide-eyed in the darkness, was cute.

Of course, I carefully made sure the viewers only saw the side where the cat wasn't.

There's nothing behind me, what footsteps are you talking about, stop messing around, this is scary. The more I made a fuss like that, the better the reactions got.

The viewers were going crazy too, asking what those footsteps were, then.

...If I do this right, I think this could work.

[Day 2] Tagger Experience LIVE

Today was a complete bust.

It felt like I went through hell for nothing.

The damn thing made me wander around the middle of nowhere for no reason, and all I accomplished was donating blood to mosquitoes.

All I can do is hope it gives me a more interesting location tomorrow.

If I could just hit one jackpot.......

The UTG fangame, <Tagger.apk>.

That episode began with those lines of text before shifting into the protagonist's perspective as he started exploring on the third day.

And hadn't Jae-min said today was his third time?

Jae-min would continue moving from place to place and completing missions.

The problem was that in the game, the key words identifying where the protagonist wandered around had been omitted, leaving descriptions like 'OO Mountain Park.'

“Hwi-yeon, keep an eye on the stream and let us know how he moves. Han-su, you drive. Ju-hee, you come too.”

Su-myeon tossed the car keys to Han-su, who caught them naturally.

While Ju-hee changed into shoes better suited for moving around,

Su-myeon let out another short sigh.

It was exhausting to have become so deeply involved in reality that simply pretending not to know was no longer an option.

If only this were the kind of thing he could afford to avoid for a while.

But if even a moment of hesitation or avoidance could cost someone their life?

Who could run away from that?

Besides, if the game he had played was accurate.

“Then right now, the ghost story is in the process of hooking its first victim, isn't it?”

Du-pal said after reading the information Ju-hee had found on the Tagger app ghost story.

If the situation matched the game, then this was the very first incident.

There were fewer people than one might think who would go through three straight days of misery for some unknown game with no reward and no clear source.

Doing it once or twice for fun was one thing.

Doing something that required wandering around all night three times, just as Jae-min had said, was not easy.

But if this broadcast produced the first person to complete a third full run.

“There are a little over a hundred viewers right now.”

Hwi-yeon said after checking Jae-min's broadcast.

That was a fairly large audience for a live stream.

If they stopped the third completion this time, they might be able to prevent the ghost story from properly forming at all.

But if they failed....

'All those viewers might get dragged into the ghost story.'

He did not know whether the condition required watching the entire broadcast or whether seeing only part of it was enough.

At the moment, Jae-min was wandering around because he did not know exactly where the first tagged location was.

After confirming roughly which neighborhood he was in, Su-myeon headed out first.

“We'll leave now. Let me know as soon as you pin down his exact location.”

“Understood. Be careful.”

“I'll start by shutting down distribution of the app and deleting the files.......”

Unlike Hwi-yeon's worried tone, Mi-ae answered with visible depression at the certainty of overtime.

To be perfectly honest, Su-myeon felt exactly the same way as Mi-ae....

'Still have to find him....'

In a way, wasn't this even more important than eliminating a ghost story?

Preventing the ghost story from being created in the first place.

Su-myeon forced his unwilling body out of the office.

All they had to do was catch Jae-min.

Su-myeon did not think that would be particularly difficult.

Surely they could catch one person wandering around Seoul while broadcasting live.

***

<Tagger>

1. A single tagging session sequentially designates a total of 7 locations over the course of one day.

2. Reach every location and complete the day's adventure to increase your tagging level.

3. Minimize your luggage for a comfortable adventure.

4. The uniqueness of an experience enjoyed alone is beyond description. Enjoy fun things by yourself.

5. Tagger works best at night.

6. Make sure your smartphone is charged as fully as possible before beginning.

7. Dangerous areas will not be tagged. Try to reach your destination by taking a safe detour.

Then, we hope you enjoy your adventure!

See you soon!

Song Jae-min skimmed over the app's warning message and continued walking.

The first checkpoint was only about one kilometer away, in some alley.

“Looks like we're staying pretty deep in the city today, huh? Where even is this place?”

Filling the audio with idle chatter, Jae-min felt a rush of exhilaration.

A full hundred people were watching his live broadcast.

Lately, things had been unfolding very differently from what he had expected when he thought his channel would crash and burn because he had failed to deliver the live stream he had promised from the data center.

When he had failed to go live as promised that day, the viewers waiting for him had, thankfully, grown concerned for his safety.

They had spread posts across all kinds of online communities, saying something must have happened to the YouTuber, and eventually even reported it to the police.

That had somehow been neatly handled by that... what was it called, the Unnatural Threat Governance?

'I went into an abandoned data center, tripped over some equipment, and just happened to hit my head and pass out!'

That was the plausible scenario they had come up with for him.

The dramatic story of the police receiving the report, coming to search for Jae-min, and sending him to the hospital had left quite an impression on his viewers.

Thanks to that, word about Jae-min's channel had spread rapidly.

Song Jae-min, the moth-like man who threw caution to the wind in pursuit of mysterious adventures.

'Heh heh. At this rate, I might actually make it big.'

He had already received several advertising offers.

If this content went well too, then surely all that remained was for his life to finally take off!

That thought only made it even harder for Jae-min to stop.

“Uh... I think this should be somewhere around here.”

Jae-min looked around while checking the tagged map.

He had arrived at an old, run-down market somewhere in downtown Seoul.

“Looks like it's deeper inside the market, so all right. Let's keep walking, guys.”

It was a summer evening, the sun setting into a red glow.

Cicadas were shrieking loudly somewhere nearby.

When complaints flooded the chat telling him to do something about the sound, Jae-min stopped for a moment and adjusted his microphone settings.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Those cicadas are seriously loud.”

The hot, humid air of early evening carried the stench of the old, deteriorating market alley.

He stepped around puddles formed by melting chunks of ice discarded by the seafood shops in the market.

As he passed over the wet, clammy ground and went deeper into the alley, crumbling buildings came into view.

Old low-rise buildings that looked easily half a century old were covered in tangled electrical wires, to the point that touching them looked like it might get someone electrocuted.

“This alley has an incredible atmosphere. Places like this still exist these days?”

Jae-min, having no idea what he was getting himself into, simply watched his viewer count slowly rise and grew more excited.