The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Urban Legends and Catastrophe-Class Relics: Chapter 115
Woo Ju traced his eyes over the text once more.
A special guest. A special experience. And a department store.
There was something written in front of the department store, but it was difficult to make out.
It was blurred, as if the focus wouldn’t quite sharpen.
Hwa Ryeon had said to pay it no mind—it was likely the kind of thing humans weren’t meant to perceive clearly anyway.
‘Obviously it’s not some ordinary department store.’
He’d found the invitation card only recently, when he was leaving home for work. It had been sitting in front of his door.
Naturally, he’d checked the security cameras and such, but there was no sign of whoever had left it.
It was just there suddenly, as if it had always belonged there.
‘Well, objects like this are all the same.’
Since it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, he wasn’t particularly surprised.
For now, no date or time had appeared on the card yet, so Woo Ju tucked it back into his pocket.
“Then I’ll finish up the paperwork first.”
“All right. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Hwa Ryeon offered encouragement, perhaps thinking of when he might be pulled away to the department store, then returned to her desk.
After that, Woo Ju caught up on some of the backlogged paperwork and handled various other tasks.
Before he knew it, the time had slipped away, and by the time his shift was ending, he pulled the invitation card out again.
“Hmm.”
There was still no date written on it.
According to Hwa Ryeon, invitations of this kind often changed precisely when they took effect.
Times or dates that weren’t written before would suddenly appear.
‘It doesn’t seem like anyone else received an invitation this time.’
Before, the card had come to Woo Ju, and the others had gone along as companions, but still, there had been a group of them.
This time, though, only Woo Ju would be heading to the location on the invitation.
Hwa Ryeon had explained the reason simply.
Given that operations had been escalating lately, and considering his problem-solving style, this type of operation would be far more efficient if he moved alone.
‘But that doesn’t mean I can deny the validity of it.’
Woo Ju scratched his chin.
When a task required heavy thinking or significant experience, naturally his team members were necessary.
But when improvisation mattered more, he often found himself restraining his own actions out of consideration for his team.
Hwa Ryeon, having recognized this pattern, had suggested he conduct this operation alone.
Of course, it wouldn’t always be this way—they’d set future policies based on how this mission turned out.
‘And the rest of the team will be researching ways to observe and infiltrate the department store from outside.’
Though not everyone would be doing that; a few others would be assigned to different operations.
Jobs had been breaking out nearly every day lately, after all.
Woo Ju thought things through to that point, then moved to put the invitation away.
But then.
“Huh?”
Something appeared to slide into view at the bottom of the card.
It was a number.
The arrangement was instantly recognizable, and Woo Ju knew what it meant.
A date and time.
‘Five minutes from now?’
And that time was indicating exactly five minutes from now.
“I think I’m about to be pulled in,” he said immediately, glancing around—then he stopped short.
There was no one around.
Just moments ago, Hwa Ryeon and Chung Woo had been in the office.
Now they were gone.
‘It’s already started.’
It appeared the space had been cleared before the “invitation” took effect.
Most likely the changes had occurred while he was lost in thought reading the card.
Woo Ju swiftly suppressed his initial alarm and set about his preparations.
He retrieved his equipment and began putting it on, piece by piece.
First, he pulled on the leather jacket he’d draped over his chair, gripped the iron pipe, and slung the backpack holding his other artifacts across his shoulders.
Inside the bag were emergency rations like chocolate bars and bottled water.
‘Perfect.’
Enough to last several days, no matter where he might end up. There was also a flashlight and first aid medicine.
He’d prepared thoroughly, just in case.
With his preparations complete, about two minutes had passed. Woo Ju tensed his body and waited for the remaining time to elapse.
One minute passed, then two. Two minutes became three. And finally, the time written on the invitation card arrived.
Creeeak—
With the sound of old hinges, the office door swung open by itself.
It went without saying, but office doors didn’t normally make sounds like that.
And there was no deep darkness beyond the threshold either.
This space had already connected to somewhere else.
‘Might as well check it out.’
Woo Ju acknowledged these facts with a composed expression and stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the office’s ambient noise cut off sharply, replaced by something different.
Classical music began to drift in from somewhere.
He wasn’t particularly interested in classical music, but the melody seemed familiar somehow.
And the Corridor, which had looked merely dark before, had transformed entirely.
Instead of LED lights, soft, elegant illumination traced along the ceiling and walls, while a thick carpet lay beneath his feet.
It was quality carpet—with each step, softness registered even through his shoes.
Moreover, as if someone had perfumed the Corridor, a subtle, pleasant fragrance brushed against his nostrils.
‘Quite upscale.’
Woo Ju had this thought while glancing at both sides of the passage.
Where the elevator had originally been, there was now a wall; the opposite side opened wide into emptiness.
“That way, then.”
Woo Ju murmured this while gripping the Iron Pipe, and walked in that direction.
The Corridor was, as expected, quite long. Normally it would end quickly, but this stretched two or three times its original length.
Yet it seemed the designers had no intention of keeping visitors walking endlessly—after a short distance, a door came into view.
Like the Corridor, it was very elegantly designed.
As Woo Ju drew closer, he stopped at a reasonable distance and peered beyond the door.
The Lobby visible through the opening was even more ornate than the Corridor he’d traversed.
The ceiling soared impossibly high, and from its center hung an enormous chandelier.
It was like a Department Store Lobby straight from a movie—extraordinarily elegant and lavish.
But something that ought to be in any Department Store was missing.
‘Though I don’t see any customers.’
Customers, that is.
More precisely, neither customers nor employees were visible.
Woo Ju narrowed his eyes, surveying the interior, then slowly moved forward.
The instant he reached the door.
—How may we help you, guest?
Without warning, someone emerged from beside the door.
As if they’d been lurking in the blind spot of his vision before suddenly stepping out.
Woo Ju observed this figure.
At first glance, they seemed like an ordinary person.
More specifically: middle-aged to elderly, dressed in an elegant suit, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
But Woo Ju recognized immediately that this was no ordinary human.
‘Bright red.’
Through the veil of Spirit Vision, the figure’s form blazed in crimson light.
Ordinary humans never emitted light like that.
Moreover, he detected no trace of ‘humanity’ from this being.
It was as if they were deliberately imitating a typical human appearance.
“Here. My invitation card.”
But knowing all this, Woo Ju withdrew the Invitation Card and showed it anyway.
The figure received it with a courteous yet careful gesture, then examined its contents.
—Invitation confirmed. Will you be entering?
“Could I just leave instead?”
To Woo Ju’s question, the figure smiled and replied.
—Of course. Whether you enter or exit the Department Store is entirely your choice, guest.
Then he gestured toward one side.
—The exit is on the other side.
In other words, leaving was possible—but first, he’d have to pass through the Department Store’s interior to reach it.
‘As expected.’
He’d never imagined they’d simply let him turn back as things stood.
Woo Ju nodded, then tilted his head and spoke.
“Then guide me to the exit.”
—Yes. Please follow me.
The employee kindly opened the door himself and guided Woo Ju inside.
As he stepped through the opened doorway, the lobby’s brilliant landscape came into sharper view.
A crimson carpet sprawled across the floor, and upscale display cases and merchandise were arranged throughout.
But what caught his eye most was the sculpture at the center.
It appeared to be a statue depicting a human form, yet its posture was extraordinarily peculiar.
How could he describe it?
Like a person twisted and contorted in every direction?
Though it read more as an art piece than outright grotesque, now that he knew this wasn’t an ordinary department store, an uncanny chill crept over him.
-This way.
Woo Ju, who had wanted to examine it more closely, decided instead to follow the employee.
He needed to confirm first whether he could exit properly.
‘It would be ideal if I could resolve this in one go, but there’s a chance I can’t.’
Completely ending an urban legend isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Within the Inspection Bureau itself, there were more than a few urban legends and supernatural beings that couldn’t be ended and had to be kept in isolation.
Even the White Room had only been sealed off at the entrance.
Similarly, here too, it was possible they might not be able to eliminate the root of the problem entirely.
That’s why he needed to confirm first whether there was a safe exit.
For his own escape, of course, but also to establish guidelines for those who might be dragged here in the future.
So Woo Ju passed through the lobby and ventured deeper inside.
Of course, he didn’t forget to observe his surroundings as he moved.
‘The products themselves seem ordinary on the surface.’
The first floor was dominated by cosmetics and accessories, much like the department stores he’d visited before.
Whatever their true nature, they appeared to be nothing but ordinary goods at first glance.
The peculiar thing was that no other employees were visible.
The one guiding him to the exit was the only employee he’d seen inside this department store.
How much farther had he walked?
After passing several product display cases and going through a mysterious space marked “Insertion Chamber.”
-That’s the exit right there.
The employee pointed ahead as he spoke.
There was a door.
-You can walk straight out and continue on, or if you’d prefer a more comfortable return, you can take a taxi at the bus stop.
“I see.”
Woo Ju nodded.
Then he turned to the employee and asked.
“So to leave, I have to go through there?”
-Yes, that’s correct.
“Looks dangerous.”
Woo Ju said with a chuckle.
The entrance the employee had pointed to had something like a blade attached above it.
Like a guillotine.
As if the blade would drop down the moment someone passed through.
The employee answered Woo Ju’s question simply.
-Ah! That’s a device for unexpected intruders.
“Intruders?”
-Yes. Sometimes people come without an invitation card, or those brought here for the customers’ entertainment. That device is for them.
“How does it work?”
-The blade drops the moment they try to sneak out like rats. It’s one of our department store’s notable features. As long as you have an invitation card, there’s no problem.
The employee’s smile remained courteous as he spoke.
That was probably because Woo Ju had received an invitation card and entered as a proper guest.
Woo Ju asked the employee.
“Then, what happens if I tear up this invitation card right here?”
The employee answered his question.
-You’re curious?
His eyes gleamed with heat and anticipation as he looked at Woo Ju.
To be continued in the next episode ▶
How Catastrophe-Class Relics Within Urban Legends Obsess
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publisher
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
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※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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