– How dare you treat my friend so rudely!!
Let’s not overreact, Braun. Let’s calm down…
‘It’s alright. This feels like a misunderstanding.’
I held back a sigh and raised my head.
Though I wasn’t thrilled…
Let’s not dwell on any side effects—it’s probably a very low chance anyway.
– Hmm… if that’s what you think, Mr. Roe Deer!
The decision was made.
Dragging my feet, I walked reluctantly.
What lay ahead appeared to be a locker room.
A flowery sign was attached to the lockers.
Welcome, dear client!
Please change into a gown before entering ^^
Rows of hospital gowns with green leaf patterns were lined up in various sizes.
Is this a medical check-up or what…?
– If clothing were only about comfort, we would all go about naked.
– In that sense, this is a piece of cloth that fails at everything except covering the body.
‘Still, I should wear it.’
There was a lizard out there who could physically destroy ghost stories standing guard. I’d better cooperate and finish the session.
I changed into a gown.
‘That curtain looks like the way into the counseling space.’
Just as I reached to pull aside the curtain that seemed to be the exit of the locker room, I noticed writing.
From here on, only the client may enter ^^
Friends, family, and guardians must wait here!
Hmm… Even if this was technically a benefit, it was still part of a ghost story. Better not break the rules.
“Braun, can you wait here for a bit?”
– Oh, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, but in this case, I must, of course, respect your privacy!
I carefully placed Braun near the vase on the locker room table and drew back the curtain.
Sunlight poured down warmly over my head.
A small, cozy space lay before me.
A soothing room bathed in the glow of midday sun.
========================
Dark Exploration Records /
[Fox Counseling Office]
: A ghost story featured in
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-E-925
A counseling space consisting of a sunny window, soft pastel-tone sofas, and a small silver bell that emits a clear sound.
Listed as an E-level employee benefit at Daydream Inc., it has mild effects on mental stabilization and contamination recovery.
Refer to the full document for detailed usage records of the Fox Counseling Office.
========================
Indeed, the atmosphere here was… quite nice.
– May it be a productive counseling session, Friend!
I sincerely hoped so.
I pulled the curtain closed again and stepped into the room.
Once more, a guiding note appeared.
Please sit comfortably on the sofa
and enjoy the view outside!
I sat down on the sofa as instructed.
Then I crossed my arms.
Well, the atmosphere was nice, but…
‘I already know what’s going to happen.’
It’s truly fascinating. It helped me recover lost motivation and remember things I had forgotten…
– Interview after counseling with Lee Jeongeun (Supervisor)
Someone would appear outside the window to counsel me.
The figure would be customized for each person.
It would likely show me a person or object related to my trauma and create a scenario where the situation is resolved, allowing me to observe it.
For those who immerse themselves deeply, the session brings emotional healing, and they often leave either in tears or with a peaceful expression. That’s the cliché of the usage records for this ‘Fox Counseling Office’ ghost story.
‘Will it have any effect on me when I already know everything?’
At this point, I doubted it.
I crossed my arms and gazed at the large window showcasing a beautiful outdoor garden bathed in sunlight…
Someone appeared near the garden.
A tired, somber-looking version of myself stood in the sunny garden, looking back at me in the room.
I instinctively raised my hand… and then lowered it.
It wasn’t a doppelgänger, but a strange unease and discomfort crept over me.
However, the ‘Kim Soleum’ standing in the garden didn’t stop there.
He looked around, grabbed a nearby chair, and sat right in front of the window.
Smiling brightly, they faced me and smiled.
‘Should I just stand up and leave?’
Even if the door wouldn’t open for an hour, I could just wait by it…
I was getting more uncomfortable when—
(T/N: ‘Sir’ as in, the counselor is calling him ‘Teacher’. The term blatantly means teacher, but it can also be used as an expression of respect — Baek Saheon used the same term when he and Soleum first met)
“Thank you so much for coming for counseling today. I’ll be your counselor.”
The figure outside the window, looking exactly like me, began to speak.
“You seem quite tired today. How have you been sleeping recently? How many hours of sleep do you usually get?”
“……I sleep well enough.”
“I see… Could you give me a specific number? More than five hours?”
“I understand. Do you think sleeping less at times might be related to the stress of work?”
‘This is driving me insane.’
I barely managed to respond.
“I don’t want to answer that. Hearing it from someone who looks exactly like me just makes me uncomfortable.”
“Why do you think you feel uncomfortable, Sir Kim Soleum?”
“Isn’t it natural for people to feel a sense of existential threat when they see someone identical to themselves?”
“But… I’m an intelligent being with clear differences from you, Sir Kim Soleum.”
“Would you like to figure out what those differences are?”
I instinctively scanned the person in front of me.
Eyes, nose, mouth, body, clothing.
“Then let’s use a mirror for a better comparison.”
The bookcase next to the sofa slid open, revealing a full-length mirror.
I found myself looking into it.
A tired office worker.
“Would you like to compare now?”
Whether I compared or not, it looked exactly the same…
I stared at my reflection.
“…To look more fatigued… maybe.”
Was it just my… imagination?
But the ‘me’ outside the window nodded.
“Why do you think there’s a difference?”
“Then let’s observe a little more. Maybe something else will stand out.”
I alternated between looking at the ‘me’ outside the window and the one in the mirror.
Eyes, nose, mouth, shoulders, arms…
I muttered as if in a trance.
“You don’t have a tattoo.”
The tattoo I had retained from the theme park was there.
This one was missing.
The tattoo that functioned as my inventory.
“What kind of tattoo is it? Oh, that one!”
“There must be a reason you got such a tattoo. What does it do?”
“It lets me store items.”
“I see. Do you have anything stored in it now?”
“Could you show me? If you’re uncomfortable, you can just place the items somewhere I can’t see.”
I retrieved items from the tattoo.
Equipment, coins, various items…
They were all familiar.
“I’ve taken everything out.”
I still didn’t understand the point of this.
How was this different from the ‘me’ outside?
“I think there’s still something left inside your tattoo.”
“Would you like to extend your hand to me?”
“No, you do. You want to know, Sir, and you can do it.”
I stood up from the sofa.
I walked right up to the window…
And extended my hand.
“You’ve worked so hard.”
The me outside the window grabbed my hand.
He thrust his hand straight into my tattoo.