I stepped over the golden rope and set my foot on the ground.

If this were a game, it felt like entering a special field.

The fog disappeared as if by magic, and the scenery revealed itself clearly.

But...

‘...It’s huge.’

Under the full moon, the mountain field was far larger than expected.

A massive field, big enough to cover the ridge.

Dark green hues bathed in bluish moonlight swayed quietly and ominously.

But it didn’t feel peaceful or pleasant.

It felt ominous and eerie.

“– A peculiar scent.”

He was right.

And between the swaying green shades, those tiny red berries... Wait a minute.

‘…Ginseng?’

It was.

Is this a ginseng field?

Wait, ginseng is cultivated, which means it’s grown by people. But this... doesn’t seem like it was cultivated by humans.

‘…Wild ginseng?’

All of this? Wild ginseng?

‘No way…’

Panicked, I scanned the field and spotted a sign stuck in the outer edge.

[千年]

[Millenium or A Thousand Years]

“……”

I immediately turned back, ready to cross the golden rope.

“– Roe Deer?”

‘I’m out of here.’

A thousand-year-old wild ginseng?

This was like borrowing a pen from a friend, opening their pencil case, and finding it full of gold bars instead.

But just as I was about to step over the rope—

[Noble One!]

“…!”

[Ah, Noble One, please don’t leave…]

A delicate, weeping voice called from behind me.

I slowly turned my head halfway back.

[The ghost bound to a tiger is coming to devour me! A dreadful tiger will sever my limbs, chew them, and spit me into the ground! Please save me, please…!]

One of the berries in the field was trembling gently.

As if realizing I had noticed it, the leaf drooped.

[Ah, now it’s my turn. Soon I’ll be mercilessly torn apart with not even a scrap left behind…]

“……”

I turned my body fully toward the ginseng.

The cluster of berries shook violently under my gaze.

[Rather than being dragged away by that wicked tiger, I would rather be eaten by you! Take me with you, boil me in a big iron pot, and your ailments will be cured, and your aging parents will regain their youth and strength!]

Now that I think about it, ginseng has always been depicted in folklore as a benevolent and mystical existence.

A gift to the virtuous.

I crouched down toward the ginseng shaking its berries.

[Noble Oneee!]

Then I reached out my hand toward it—

Only to pull back and stand up again.

[…?]

“Liar.”

The berries froze.

The ground shook as if trembling, and a deep, gravelly voice roared up from the earth.

[You figured it out, you wretched thing!]

Yeah.

‘This is the burial ground of the Mountain Lord.’

Have you heard that ghosts do everything in reverse?

And here I was, in a place haunted by a ghost, referred to as a burial ground?

‘There’s no way the ginseng growing here would be normal.’

It wouldn’t be surprising if everything here had completely opposite attributes. I had a bad feeling about this from the start.

[Heeheehee, heeheehee!]

The ginseng began wriggling, emerging from the ground.

Hiiiiiik!!

Halfway out of the soil, its ghastly purplish-blue form looked like a zombie figurine.

It even gushed some sort of dark red liquid like it was vomiting blood!

‘Even though I was mentally prepared, this is terrifying!’

[You too shall be buried! You too shall become ginseng here! Your hands and feet will be cut off, and you’ll rot! You will experience the agony of living deaaaath!]

Around me, the leaves writhed like tentacles, their roots squirming out of the ground.

Arghhh!!

Without hesitation, I reached for something at my waist.

‘Snow White’s apple!’

This peculiar item causes an instant death-like sleep upon consumption.

But what would I do with it?

‘I already knew eating it as a whole in an emergency wouldn’t be practical…’

So I juiced it beforehand!

Splat.

I pulled out a sealed pouch of Snow White apple juice and poured it generously over the field.

The ginseng…

[Heeheehee! It won’t work! It won’t work, you fool! I’ll rip your limbs ap—]

Thud.

It passed out.

“……”

Snow White’s apple... is very effective.

I cautiously stepped forward.

The grotesque ginseng, half out of the soil, lay lifeless on the ground.

It reminded me of a cockroach knocked out by insecticide or a dog sprawled on its back, sound asleep.

“– Oh! Rude as it was, that creature was amusing! How about taking it as a souvenir?”

Normally, I’d say, “Are you crazy?”

But this time, I carefully examined the ginseng.

It talked, expressed emotions, and tried to deceive me, even calculating the situation. It seemed like it had some kind of sap flowing inside.

If that’s the case, then...

‘Isn’t this an intelligent sentient being?’

A perfect substitute for a sacrificial offering.

* * *

“…So, you gathered all the ingredients, completed the preparations for the ritual, and as a substitute for a sacrifice, brought this weird ginseng… Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“……”

The faces of the people in the abandoned house went blank as they listened to the summary of what ‘Kim Sol-eum (posing as security staff)’ had experienced outside.

Maybe I oversimplified it.

But what else could I do? I couldn’t possibly explain everything that happened, so it boiled down to “Anyway, I brought it.”

‘Sure, taking ginseng feels a bit off, but… sacrificing a random person would’ve been worse for my conscience.’

Whoever owned the field… If it were a real problem, Braun would’ve raised an alarm.

Feigning composure, I looked at the people around me.

They alternated between me, the preparations, and the ginseng.

Still, they bought it.

“Wow, as expected from security staff… You even handle things like this!”

Not exactly.

Feeling guilty, I glanced at the actual security team captain, who lay lazily among middle schoolers, looking like everything was a bother.

The kids chattered around him.

“Mister, you don’t look very strong.”

“No… I’m super strong.”

The kids giggled. Having more people seemed to ease their nerves a little.

Manager Lee Byungjin, nervously glancing at me and the preparations, gulped and asked, “S-So, now we all go to the shrine and perform the ritual?”

“Yes.”

“…The shrine isn’t far. If we’re careful, we’ll make it. I didn’t encounter anything while I was there.”

Go Seonha looked at me with a tense expression.

“Did you happen to check out the shrine while you were out?”

“Yes.”

Since Braun had concealed my presence, I also burned the peach tree branch.

I almost screamed three times from the stress.

“…That makes it easier. Stay quiet, don’t make a sound, and just walk. As long as we don’t make mistakes, we’ll be fine in the fog.”

“Understood.”

“…Let’s go to the shrine together.”

The time has come.

After taking a moment to catch our breath and prepare ourselves, we lined up before the door.

“Kids, don’t stop. Just keep walking.”

“Yes…”

The kids nodded fearfully but quickly fell silent as the adults reassured them and placed them in the line.

“……”

Why am I in the front?

Everyone naturally moved behind me.

‘Did I oversimplify the story…?’

They seemed to think I was some fearless, resourceful expert. Please, no…

‘They wouldn’t believe me even if I said I was scared now.’

Still, it’s better than being at the very back.

Resigned, I opened the door again.

Creak.

The foggy, dark mountainside reappeared.

Inhale.

“Uh…”

“Shh.”

The kids shut their mouths tightly, fear etched on their faces.

We began walking, slowly and as quietly as possible.

Thud, thud.

Each small sound of footsteps quickened our pace.

It felt like the oppressive presence of something that might call out to us, chasing from behind, enveloped the group.

“– Friend! There’s no need to hurry. Remember, Braun is always here in case of an emergency….”

Thankfully, that “emergency” never came.

Beyond the darkness and fog, an old tiled roof came into view.

A house with twisted red and blue structures at odd angles.

The shrine.

Thunk.

“Phew.”

“Everyone’s inside, right?”

The people who safely entered the shrine caught their breath.

The security team captain, who was the last to sluggishly step in, closed the green paper sliding door and locked it.

As Manager Lee Byungjin hastily tried to stick a talisman he’d picked up from the ruins onto the door, Go Seonha stopped him.

“It might disrupt the ritual. Let’s leave it as is. We just need to finish quickly and leave!”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

I used the time to look around the shrine.

My eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, began to make out the contours of the space.

Inside, it was eerily clean, yet extremely old.

Between two rusted, headless statues of Maitreya stood a completely shattered incense burner.

Above it hung a wooden tablet, gnawed by insects.

“– Is that the wooden tablet inscribed with the details of the ritual? It’s got quite the atmosphere…”

I read the contents of the tablet as Braun relayed them to me.

“…The human with the most steadfast mind and body shall step forward and conduct the ritual.”

Well, that’s not me.

“….”

No, seriously, stop looking at me, you guys.

I casually shifted my gaze to the security captain. Their stares followed suit, but…

“I can’t do it.”

“…Excuse me??”

“I said I can’t do it, so don’t make me….”

“Oh, alright.”

Manager Lee Byungjin, cowed, looked at me.

I stared at him intently.

“….”

“…Um…”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Y-yes….”

Even if he’s shaken up, he’s got to be less of a coward than I am…

Manager Lee Byungjin, trembling, stepped forward, but soon turned back with a terrified expression and looked at me and Go Seonha.

“W-wait! Mountain-hero!”

Go Seonha looked startled as well.

“That’s right! ‘The Song for the Mountain Lord’!”

“Yes, that one! We can’t substitute it with anything else! Even if we have all the other materials, without that…”

Ah.

“We have it.”

“…??”

“Wait a moment.”

I called the middle school students over.

Then, I asked them very politely.

“Kids, you said you were on a school trip, right?”

“Yes…”

“Did anyone listen to music on the way down here? Or does anyone know a lot about celebrities?”

The kids exchanged glances, then pointed at one student without bangs.

I quickly asked the student.

“What’s your name?”

“L-Lee Nayeon.”

“Alright, Nayeon. I have a question for you.”

I tried my best to look kind and trustworthy. The adults around me looked puzzled.

“…?? Excuse me, but what are you doing…?”

“Isn’t there a famous idol song with lyrics about tigers?”

“…!!”

I turned back to the adults.

Their faces were blank with disbelief.

“But, um, would pop songs… work? Idol songs, at that…”

“They will.”

I held up the ritual instructions Go Seonha had written out.

“If you look here, it only says ‘a melody.’ There’s no rule that it has to be a folk song or children’s song.”

“…!”

This isn’t some urban legend wiki where we have to perfectly match the mood of a ghost story. There’s no need or reason to select a song that fits that tone.

Human prejudice is what narrows the scope.

“Ah…”

I turned back to the student.

“So, Nayeon, do you remember any songs? Anything about the mountain lord or a tiger?”

“Oh!”

Nayeon’s face instantly lit up as she replied.

“There is one! Peek-a-Boo by SaintU!”

Bingo.

“And, um, there’s also a song by VTIC…”

“Which one do you know all the lyrics to? It needs to be famous, too.”

“Yes! Peek-a-Boo by SaintU!”

[Note: SaintU and VTIC are idol groups from “Debut or Die.”]

Okay.

I turned back to the adults and declared solemnly.

“We’ll use Peek-a-Boo by SaintU as the melody to offer to the Mountain Lord.”

Take this, tiger—an idol song!

* * *

Inside the silent shrine.

Manager Lee Byungjin stepped forward into the darkness with trembling hands, placing ashes into the incense burner.

They were ashes from burning peach branches.

“– First step.”

“– ‘The one conducting the ritual shall step forward, place the peach branch ashes into the incense burner, and inhale the scent.’”

“– ‘Carefully close the lid of the incense burner. When the scent dissipates, open it again.’”

With trembling hands, the manager placed the brittle lid over the ancient incense burner. After a few seconds, he lifted it.

To everyone’s surprise, the ashes were gone.

In their place, a single intact incense stick was burning.

A rich scent of peach wafted from the branch-shaped incense.

“…!!”

“– ‘If the incense burns, it means the Mountain Lord has acknowledged your sincerity.’ Oh, everything’s going according to plan! Wonderful!”

“Ugh.”

The strong scent made Go Seonha cover her nose and step back.

The manager hurriedly moved to the next step.

“– Second step.”

“– ‘Open the paper door.’”

Slide.

Through the open door, the dark forest loomed. The children hid behind the adults.

“– ‘In a brass cup, crush three plums and scatter them in the dirt beneath the floor. Throw the remaining contents to the east and never look back.’”

I handed three plums to Manager Lee Byungjin. He clumsily crushed them with his fingers in the brass cup and scattered the pulp onto the dirt.

The overwhelming sweet and tangy scent wafted upward.

Go Seonha, who had stepped back earlier, moved forward, sniffing, her complexion improving.

She gestured to the manager.

It was time for the third step.

“– Third step.”

“– ‘Prepare the melody to offer to the Mountain Lord. The more well-known, the more effective it will be.’”

Manager Lee Byungjin carefully rolled up the written lyrics and placed them in the drawer beneath the incense altar.

“– ‘Write the lyrics, place them in the incense altar, sing loudly while clapping once with every step, and bow after every thirty steps.’”

Through the open door, the group began stepping outside.

With lyrics taught by the student Lee Nayeon, Manager Lee Byungjin led the singing.

“…Peek-a-boo, here I come.”

The middle school students joined in harmony.

The song for the Mountain Lord had begun.