Chapter 73: CHAPTER. 4 The Mountain of the Red Cloak (1)

[1. Entry Method]

1-1) It can be entered through Mimi Lodge, an abandoned mountain lodge at the foot of a mountain in Gangwon Province.

1-2) Find and follow the shortcut sign that appears separately from the map.

1-3) Speak toward the presence felt inside the lodge.

1-4) Go outside through the back door in the lodge’s kitchen.

When the above methods are used in order, entry is guaranteed.

----

“Wait, wait a second....”

Su-myeon said while gasping for breath toward Han-su and Hwi-yeon, who were climbing the mountain ahead of him.

Hiking, hiking!

He had never properly done anything like that in his life.

Recently, he had run around until the soles of his feet sweated in things like ghost stories, but that was all.

As he climbed the steep mountain trail, Su-myeon was on the verge of completely running out of stamina.

“Are you all right?”

Han-su asked as he looked back at Su-myeon.

Including Hwi-yeon, who was walking even farther ahead, the two of them looked perfectly fine, as though they were walking on flat ground.

Han-su was even carrying one large bag and one small bag on his back.

One of them contained various firearms and bladed weapons that would cause trouble if ordinary people discovered them....

“There isn’t any more luggage I can carry for you now....”

Han-su said with a troubled expression as he looked at the struggling Su-myeon.

That was because the smaller of those bags was the bag containing Su-myeon’s supplies.

At this rate, Han-su looked ready to carry Su-myeon on his back up the mountain, so Su-myeon waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.

While Su-myeon caught his breath and drank some water.

Hwi-yeon continued looking around with an anxious gaze, as though being tired was not the problem.

“....”

Su-myeon carefully watched Hwi-yeon like that.

When they had organized the method of entry, Hwi-yeon’s reaction had been intense.

The mountain path she had climbed hundreds of times over more than ten years in order to find her younger sibling.

She had searched Mimi Lodge so thoroughly that there was hardly a place she had not examined.

And yet, because she had not known conditions like these, she had been unable to go to the place where her younger sibling was.

‘I’m glad I couldn’t go.’

Hwi-yeon had said that while pressing down hard and making an expressionless face, with eyes that looked as though tears might fall at any moment.

Even if she had gone back alone, there would have been no answer other than dying a dog’s death together with her sibling.

All of those facts drove Hwi-yeon’s mind into a corner.

The searches she had carried out with utmost sincerity for more than ten years, it was fortunate that they had failed.

Su-myeon could hardly imagine how much despair and emptiness that would give her.

There was nothing he could do except watch Hwi-yeon blankly fiddle for a long while with her scarred left arm.

“Now, let’s go again.”

For Hwi-yeon’s sake as well, Su-myeon decided to put in a little more effort.

Once again, there were three people climbing the steep mountain path.

The more humans entered, the more causality included in the ghost story increased, and the greater the power it possessed became.

If they brought everyone out, they could end the ghost story.

Considering various things, three was still the most appropriate number.

Su-myeon adjusted his glasses and started walking again.

***

At that time, in the office of the Governance headquarters located in Seoul.

Ju-hee, who had been looking through the internet for quite some time, briefly turned her gaze away.

On top of the partition in the exact center of the office.

There, the Cheshire doll that Su-myeon had left behind was sitting quietly.

“We can still contact the field team, right?”

“Yep! They said they haven’t entered yet.”

In the meantime, Mi-ae’s voice could be heard answering Du-pal’s question.

Apparently, Su-myeon was having a miserable time because of the mountain climbing.

Actually, it wasn’t that Su-myeon had particularly poor stamina.

Han-su and Hwi-yeon, who were accompanying him this time, had backgrounds as a police officer and an agent, and Ju-hee herself also had good stamina because running was her hobby.

“But it probably won’t be very fun.”

Ju-hee gave an awkward smile at Mi-ae’s voice.

It did not seem like a matter of fun, but it was also true that thanks to Mi-ae’s slightly less serious attitude, some of the tension eased.

“But, was it really okay to leave it behind?”

Ju-hee asked, referring to Cheshire, whom she had been staring at for quite some time.

For some reason, Su-myeon had left the doll with the office staff this time.

Du-pal also looked at Cheshire for a moment, then crossed his arms and fell into thought.

“He must have had a reason, don’t you think? And, I felt quite uncomfortable about it too.”

In any case, Cheshire was an existence inside a ghost story.

Perhaps calling it an object might be more appropriate.

A mysterious thing whose identity they did not even know how to describe.

Ju-hee could also understand the opinion that Cheshire could not simply be trusted.

But why?

Ju-hee could trust Cheshire.

“...There must have been a reason.”

Even so, since Su-myeon had decided to leave it behind like this, Ju-hee decided to put aside her unease.

Su-myeon must have a plan.

Ju-hee turned her gaze back to the computer.

There were quite a lot of internet posts about Mimi Lodge.

“These, I think all the recent ones spread from Team Leader Hwi-yeon’s side?”

Mi-ae complained while stretching {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} for a moment.

Just as she said, among the posts they had found on the internet, many of the recent ones had originated from Hwi-yeon asking around while searching for her younger sibling.

[You know Mimi Lodge, the place famous for courage tests?]

[Apparently, there’s someone whose younger brother disappeared there more than ten years ago.]

[Apparently, someone saw a female ghost in a red dress there.]

Various stories were being posted on various communities and message boards.

Since Mimi Lodge was famous domestically as a horror spot, there were also many videos by various YouTubers.

But the thing that stood out the most was a post uploaded three months ago.

Anyone remember that YouTuber from before?

Author: ㅇㅇ

This is driving me fucking crazy.

Seriously, nobody’s seen him? I can’t remember his name and it’s driving me insane.

He was one of those abandoned-building exploration YouTubers, and he still had tens of thousands of subscribers.

He was a guy who went around picking all the famous places like Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital and Neulbom Garden.

He was fucking good at talking, so I liked watching him because he made it not scary at all.

He was about to blow up, then suddenly disappeared.

His last thing was a livestream at Mimi Lodge.

I don’t know if he nuked his channel or what, I’m just curious, so why does nobody know

ㄴ Who the hell is that

ㄴ Xㅂ I’m looking for him because I don’t fucking know

ㄴ Choi Yeo-reum?

ㄴ He’s still active.

ㄴ Maybe he went missing

ㄴ Apparently lots of people disappear after going there

ㄴ His channel probably tanked, so he quit and ran

ㄴ Read the post, it says he was about to blow up

“Should we contact them?”

The last livestream.

If that person remembered it, there might be something that could help them.

And even if there wasn’t.

“The fact that they remember a missing person means....”

“Yep! I know that much now too! It means they’re probably someone who has experience with a ghost story, right?”

Mi-ae answered Du-pal brightly.

“I’ll contact them~”

Ju-hee nodded at Mi-ae’s answer.

Cheshire caught her eye, but Su-myeon and the others had already left, so she decided not to concern herself with it any further.

***

“Found it.”

Su-myeon finally straightened his back while barely catching his breath.

The ‘Mimi Lodge Shortcut’ sign that appeared on a different path every time.

To find it, they had gone all the way to Mimi Lodge and then come back down the mountain three times.

In the meantime, the sun had already begun to set.

“It finally appeared.”

Hwi-yeon said in a slightly tense voice.

Until now, Hwi-yeon had been walking in front the entire time, but from here on, Su-myeon decided to take the lead.

By the time the shortcut appeared, they were already on a path that had left the designated hiking trail.

The mountain terrain was that rough, but after the shortcut, the path became strangely flat.

In keeping with the season approaching spring, new shoots were sprouting on the mountain covered in fallen leaves.

The mountain, which had still been full of warmth during the day, was turning into a space filled with cold air.

“...It may get a little cold once the sun goes down.”

At Han-su’s words, Su-myeon only nodded.

But they could not go back down the mountain now and promise to return the next day.

Next time, they might go up and down not three times but ten times and still fail to see the sign.

Following the winding path with almost no incline, an extremely old lodge began to come into view in the distance.

[Mimi Lodge]

A signboard that had almost completely fallen apart and was hanging there while creaking halfway loose made its presence known.

Hwi-yeon’s left arm, which normally showed almost no sense of incongruity, could be seen trembling.

Had she said she had been injured here a very long time ago?

Even though she had received a medical diagnosis saying there was no problem with rehabilitation or function, she had said that perhaps because of how it felt, it was slightly uncomfortable.

Su-myeon took the lead and entered the lodge.

Creeeeeeak-

The sound of rusty hinges screaming continued for a long time.

The door was so stiff that it seemed as though it might fall off, but fortunately, nothing unusual happened.

The space that seemed to have been used as both a living room and a lobby was cluttered with antique furniture that looked extremely old.

The stuffing had been completely torn out of the sofas, and the wood was crumbling.

Moreover, it was so dark that it was hard to believe it was only around sunset.

Click-

Click-

Su-myeon tried pressing the light switch, but only the weak sound of plastic came from it.

Having gained nothing, he went a little farther inside.

The ceiling was filled with cobwebs thickly tangled with dust, and the clouded glass chandelier was also covered with insect corpses and cobwebs.

“It’s exactly the same as that day.”

Hwi-yeon was remembering that day she could never forget.

The moment when she had exchanged jokes with her younger sibling and shaken off the eerie feeling, when it could still have been nothing more than a prank.

That day, if only they had stopped there.

Looking at her expression as she once again chewed over regrets she had already repeated thousands upon thousands of times, Su-myeon shrugged his shoulders.

“Countless people have come through here since you did, Agent Lee. It won’t be the same.”

They must all have come here expecting the same thing she had.

Whether they believed in ghosts or things like ghost stories or not.

Traces of the countless people who had come here expecting an unusual experience for one night covered the surroundings.

All kinds of trash were scattered everywhere.

There were traces of someone pitching a tent here, traces of drinking and eating, and even some offerings meant to appease the vengeful spirits that might remain in this place.

“You can’t say these people did anything wrong. No one can live while predicting an insane situation like being dragged into a ghost story.”

Su-myeon spoke in an ordinary tone, but Hwi-yeon knew that it was meant as comfort.

At his words, which seemed to say that none of this situation was her fault, Hwi-yeon quietly nodded.

Going farther inside, they saw a staircase leading upward and cheap graffiti scribbled across the walls.

“This, I really don’t understand....”

Why would someone write something like Hye-won♡Seung-min in a place like this?

They’d be lucky if they didn’t get cursed.

While Su-myeon muttered in disbelief, the rustling sound of someone stepping on a snack wrapper came from somewhere.

“...!”

All three heard the presence at the same time and turned their heads.

In that direction was the lodge’s kitchen.

The back door was probably there.

“Is someone there?”

Su-myeon called out toward the presence as he headed toward the kitchen.

Even though the presence had been distinct enough for all three of them to notice it, there was no one in the kitchen.

There was only a slightly oversized door, strangely clean compared to everything else, standing alone in the wall.

“.......”

When Su-myeon stood in front of the door, Hwi-yeon picked up her phone.

“I’ll report to the office that we’re entering now.”

If they informed them in advance like this, the office would be able to take various measures regarding the lodge just like last time.

The certainty that there was someone who would handle the aftermath later gave them considerable psychological reassurance.

Relaxing slightly, Su-myeon carefully opened the door.