The moment I stepped over the golden rope, my foot touched the ground. It felt like I'd entered a special field in a game or something. The fog vanished as if by magic, revealing the scenery around me. But…
'…It's huge.'
Under the full moon, the field in the mountain was far larger than I had expected.
A massive field sprawling over the ridge.
The dark, deep greens swayed quietly under the bluish moonlight. Yet, there was nothing peaceful or pleasant about it.
It felt ominous, unsettling.
– A strange scent lingers here.
He was right.
And among those swaying green plants, I noticed clusters of small, red berries… wait a minute.
'…Ginseng?'
It was, wasn't it.
Is this a field of ginseng?
Wait, ginseng is typically cultivated by people, but this didn't seem to be human-grown…
'…Wild ginseng?'
All of this is wild ginseng?
'No way…'
I quickly scanned the field and saw a sign posted at the edge.
[千年]
Millennium.
"..."
I immediately turned around, intending to cross back over the golden rope.
– Mr. Roe Deer?
'I'm outta here.'
Thousand-year-old wild ginseng?
It's like opening a friend's pencil case to borrow a pen and finding it filled with gold bars instead.
Just as I was about to cross back over the rope—
[Honored Guest!]
"...!"
[Ah, Honored Guest. Please, don't leave me…]
A faint, trembling voice called out, with the sound of soft sobbing from behind me.
Slowly, I turned my head halfway.
[The ghost bound to the tiger is coming to take me! A terrifying tiger will tear me limb from limb and spit me out upon the earth! Please save me, please…!]
One of the berries in the field wobbled, as if waving at me. Then, realizing I was looking, its leaves drooped dejectedly.
[Ah, my time has come. I will be shredded with nothing left but fragments of flesh…]
"..."
I turned fully to face the wild ginseng plant.
The bundle of berries shook vigorously in response to my gaze.
[Better to be consumed by you than to be taken by that wicked tiger! If you take me, boil me in a large iron pot, your illnesses will be cured, and even elderly parents will rise with newfound strength!]
Come to think of it, in folklore, wild ginseng was often depicted as a benevolent, mystical being.
A gift given to those of good character.
I knelt down in front of the trembling wild ginseng.
[Honored Gueeest!]
I reached out my hand to the wild ginseng… but then straightened up again.
[...?]
"Liar."
The berries froze.
Then, as if the ground were quaking, an ominous, raspy voice erupted.
[Hah, you saw through me! You worthless thing!]
Yep.
'This place is called Sangun-nim's Burial Ground.'
Have you heard the tales that spirits do everything backward? And here I was, in a place haunted by spirits and ominously named a burial site?
'There's no way that wild ginseng growing in a place like this would be normal.'
I wouldn't be surprised if its properties were entirely reversed. I expected this.
[Heeheehee, hehehee!]
The wild ginseng started to wriggle and rise from the ground. Its half-emerged form, glowing a sickly, bluish-purple, looked like something straight out of a zombie miniature.
It even began coughing up something dark and reddish like blood!
'I prepared myself for this, but it's still terrifying!'
[You will be buried too! You'll be buried here and become ginseng, your limbs chopped so you can rot! Feel the agony of living deeeeeeeeath!]
The surrounding leaves twisted like tentacles, extending roots out of the soil, writhing and reaching toward me.
Uwaaaahhh!
Without hesitation, I immediately grabbed something from my waist.
'S-Snow White's Apple!'
This item has the peculiar effect of inducing a sleep akin to death upon consumption.
So, what was I supposed to do with this?
'I thought it would be hard to chew an apple in an emergency anyway…'
I'd ground it into juice in advance!
Splat.
I took out a sealed pack of juice made from the Snow White Apple and splashed it generously over the field in front of me.
The wild ginseng…
[Heeheehee! That won't work! You fool! I shall rip your limbs asunder and —]
Thud.
…fell into a deep sleep.
"..."
Snow White's Apple… its effect was as reliable as ever.
Carefully, I stepped closer.
The half-buried, grotesque ginseng lay motionless on the ground, completely knocked out.
It was a strange sight, like a cockroach lying flat after being hit by bug spray or a cat or dog dozing peacefully, belly up.
– Oh! Rude, but that was quite an amusing character! How about taking it as a souvenir?
Normally, I would've thought he was crazy.
But I cautiously examined the ginseng.
It had talked, shown emotions, tried to deceive me, and calculated its actions. Something like sap even seemed to be flowing through it. So, if that's the case…
'Isn't it… a sentient being?'
I'd found it—a substitute sacrifice.
"…So, you gathered all the materials, prepared the ritual, and for the sacrifice, you're planning to use this strange wild ginseng… is that correct?"
"Yes."
"..."
The people in the abandoned house looked utterly dumbfounded after hearing the abridged version of 'What Kim Soleum (currently posing as security) encountered outside~.'
Maybe I summarized it too much.
But there was no helping it. I couldn't explain exactly how I'd managed everything, so it ended up as, 'Anyway, I got everything.'
'I still feel a bit uneasy about bringing back the wild ginseng, but… it's easier on my conscience than randomly picking a person to die.'
I had no idea whose land this belonged to, but if it was a real issue, Braun would've raised an alarm.
Trying to keep a natural expression, I looked around at the others. They were still gawking at me, switching their gaze between the materials and the wild ginseng.
But they seemed to buy it.
"Wow, as expected from the Security Team… handling even things like this!"
Not quite.
Feeling a bit guilty, I glanced over at the actual member of the Security Team. The security sergeant lay among the middle schoolers, looking thoroughly bored.
Somehow, the kids had started chatting with him as if they'd already introduced themselves.
"Hey, you don't look that strong."
"No… I'm super strong."
The kids were laughing, seeming a bit more at ease with more people around.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin, checking the materials, glanced anxiously between Go Seonha and me, then gulped and said, "S-So, we're all going to the shrine now? To perform the ritual…?"
"Yes."
"…The shrine is nearby, so as long as we move carefully, it should be fine. Nothing happened when I was there last time…"
Go Seonha, with a tense expression, looked back at me. "By any chance, when you went out, did you visit the shrine too?"
"Yes."
Taking advantage of Braun's ability to erase my presence, I'd even burned the peach branches.
I'd nearly screamed a total of three (3) times from nerves.
"…Then that makes it easier. Just walk quietly, don't make a sound, and move quickly. As long as we don't make mistakes in the fog, we'll be fine."
"Understood."
"…Alright, then. Let's go to the shrine together."
The time has come.
After taking a moment to steady our breathing and prepare ourselves, we lined up in front of the closed door.
"Kids. You mustn't stop. Just keep walking."
"Okay…"
At Go Seonha's words, the kids, looking terrified, nodded. Then, reassured by the adults, they pressed their lips together tightly and fell into line.
"..."
But why am I the one standing at the very front…?
Everyone, why are you naturally moving to the back?
'Did I simplify the story of gathering materials too much…?'
It seems they think I'm some kind of fearless, resourceful genius. Aahh, please…
'No one would believe me if I said I'm terrified right now, would they?'
…Well, I guess it's still better than being at the very back. With resignation, I opened the door once more.
Creeeak.
Once again, the mountainside, shrouded in darkness and fog, appeared before us.
Inhale.
"Uh—"
"Shh."
The kids, looking terrified, clamped their mouths shut.
We began moving slowly, as quietly as possible.
Crunch, crunch.
With each little sound, our footsteps quickened.
I could feel the oppressive tension surrounding the group, as if at any moment, the changgwi might call out to us from behind and begin to chase us.
– Friend! There's no need to rush too much. Remember, in case of emergency, this Braun is always by your side…
And thankfully, that 'emergency' never came.
Through the darkness and fog, the old, tiled roof became visible. A worn-down shrine, with red and blue tiles tilted at odd angles. We had arrived.
Thud.
"Phew."
"Everyone's here, right?"
Those who had safely entered the shrine took a moment to catch their breath.
Finally, the security sergeant, who had been lingering, closed the green paper door made of traditional hanji paper and locked it.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin hurriedly attempted to stick a talisman he'd picked up from the floor of the abandoned house onto the door, but Go Seonha stopped him.
"That might interfere with the ritual. Let's just leave it as is. We just need to finish quickly and get out!"
"Y-You're right."
Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to look around the shrine.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the shadowy outlines became clearer. Inside, it was eerily clean yet very old.
Between two rusty Maitreya statues without heads was a broken incense burner.
Above it was a slightly worn woodblock.
– So, that must be the woodblock detailing the ritual. It's quite atmospheric…
Following Braun's whispered narration, I read aloud what was inscribed on the woodblock.
"…The human with the sturdiest mind and spirit should step forward to conduct the ritual."
Well, that's definitely not me.
"..."
Hey, seriously, don't look at me.
I turned my gaze naturally toward the security sergeant. The other two followed my gaze as well, but…
"I can't do it."
"…Pardon?"
"I said I can't… don't make me do it…"
"Oh, understood."
Section Chief Lee shrank back, then looked over at me.
I stared back at him.
"..."
"…Uh…"
"Please, go ahead."
"Y-Yes…"
Even if he's traumatized, he's got more guts than I do…
Section Chief Lee stepped forward, his legs trembling, only to turn back with a look of alarm, glancing between Go Seonha and me.
"W-Wait a minute! Mountain Hero!"
Go Seonha's eyes widened as well.
"Right! The song for Sangun-nim!"
"Yes, that's it! Even if we have all the materials, without that song— whether it's a children's song or a folk tune about tigers, we're stuck…"
Ah.
"We have it."
"...??"
"One moment."
I called the middle schoolers over.
Then, very politely, I asked,
"Kids, you mentioned you were on a school trip, right?"
"Yes…"
"Did anyone keep listening to music on the bus? Or know a lot about celebrities?"
The kids exchanged glances before motioning toward one student without bangs.
I quickly turned to that student.
"What's your name?"
"I-It's Lee Nayeon."
"Alright, Nayeon-ah. I need to ask you something."
I tried my best to put on a friendly, trustworthy expression. All the adults in the room had question marks on their faces.
"...?? Um, what exactly are you doing right now…?"
"There's a popular idol song that mentions a tiger in the lyrics, right?"
"...!!"
I looked at the adults. They all had bewildered expressions.
"B-But, are we even allowed to use, um, pop songs for this? Like, an idol song…?"
"We can."
I held up the ritual note Go Seonha had written down for me.
"If you look, it only specifies a 'song'. It doesn't say it has to be a folk song or nursery rhyme."
"...!"
This isn't some kind of internet creepypasta where we have to choose songs that fit the eerie atmosphere. There's no reason or need to pick something that matches the tone of a ghost story.
Human bias had limited the options.
"Oh…"
I turned back to the student.
"So, Nayeon-ah. Do you remember any songs that mention 'Sangun-nim' or 'tiger'? Something like that."
"Ah!"
Nayeon's face immediately brightened as she answered. "There is! Saint U's 'Peek-a-Boo'!"
Perfect.
"There's also a song by VTIC…" [1]
"Do you know the full lyrics to either of them? And is it a well-known one?"
"Yes! I know Saint U's 'Peek-a-Boo'!"
Okay.
I turned back to the adults and made a firm declaration.
"We'll use Saint U's 'Peek-a-Boo' as our song offering for Sangun-nim."
Take this idol song, oh mighty tiger!
In the quiet shrine.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin stepped forward from the shadows, his trembling hands dropping ashes into the incense burner. They were ashes from the burned peach branches.
– First.
– 'The one performing the ritual should step forward and place the peach branch ashes into the incense burner, then inhale the fragrance.'
– 'Gently close the lid of the incense burner, and open it again once the scent has faded.'
With shaking hands, the section chief closed the lid of the old, broken incense burner with its equally worn cover. After a few seconds, he lifted the lid.
Amazingly, the ashes had vanished.
In their place, a single, intact incense stick was burning.
A faint peach scent wafted from the small, twig-shaped incense stick.
"...!!"
– 'If the incense is burning, it means Sangun-nim has acknowledged your devotion.'
Oh, everything's proceeding as planned. Excellent!
"Ugh."
The smell was strong, so Go Seonha covered her nose and took a step back. The section chief hurried on to the next step.
– Second.
– 'Open the door made of hanji paper.'
Sliiide.
Through the opened door, the dark forest came into view. The kids huddled behind the adults.
– 'Crush three plums in a brass bowl and scatter them under the floorboards. Throw the remaining bowl to the east and never look back.'
I handed three plums to Section Chief Lee. He crushed them with his fingers in the brass bowl and scattered them onto the dirt.
The overpowering, sweet-sour scent rose up.
Go Seonha, who had been standing back, stepped forward, sniffing and looking a bit relieved.
Then she motioned to Section Chief Lee.
It was time for the third step.
– Third.
– 'Prepare a song to offer to Sangun-nim. The more well-known, the more effective it will be.'
Section Chief Lee carefully rolled up the prepared lyrics sheet and placed it in the drawer under the incense stand.
– 'Write the lyrics down, place them under the incense stand, then sing loudly, clapping with each step, and bow every thirty steps.'
One by one, everyone stepped out through the open door. Section Chief Lee began singing the lyrics the student, Lee Nayeon, had shared with him.
"…Peek-a-boo, here I come."
The middle schoolers joined in, singing in chorus.
A song offered to Sangun-nim.
Note/s:
[1] Saint U and VTIC are idol groups featured in the author's other hit series, Debut or Die! ↩
(Sorry in advance for butchering the lyrics of the song, I've got no talent for poetry or lyric writing…)