Saat aku berpikir butuh uang banyak, sebuah pesan dari profil tak dikenal datang menanyakan apakah aku butuh uang. Tapi ini bukan soal dunia creepypasta. – K.LEE : Dengar, kau menolak tawaran Tim A hari ini!!! wkwkwkwkwk – K.LEE : Wow, berani! Aku belum pernah lihat rekrutan secakap itu wkwkwk – K.LEE : Memang kau tolak kali ini, tapi siapa tahu tahun depan kau masuk tim elit lain? Naik pangkat tepat setelah promosi jadi asisten manajer! Bisa jadi kau wkwkwk Apa dia pakai semacam alat ketik super cepat? Kalimat-kalimatnya beruntun datang seperti bom sebelum aku sempat mengetik sepatah kata pun. Aku cepat menenangkan diri dan membalas satu baris. – Kim Soleum : Senang bertemu dengan Anda, Asisten Manajer Lee Kangheon. – K.LEE : Tidak usah formal-formal. Kalau kita bertemu di tempat kerja, kita makan bareng ya. Aku tahu tempat ayam bakar arang yang enak dekat sini! haha – K.LEE : Aduh, kebanyakan ngomong ya? Ngomong-ngomong, alasan aku menghubungimu! – K.LEE : Kau butuh uang, kan? – K.LEE : Pasti sudah waktunya kau ingin punya dana tambahan… Menjelang promosi, mereka yang punya potensi sering cari cara untuk mendapatkan barang pribadi wkwk – K.LEE : Dengar kau sudah punya peralatan khusus sendiri. Pasti kau sedang cari cara untuk menambah perlengkapan, kan? Aku tidak butuh hal seperti itu. ‘Cuma lagi cek pasar alien yang sudah kukenal…’ – K.LEE : Semuanya butuh uang, kan haha – K.LEE : Tidak perlu buang waktu dan uang buat traktir senior kalau kau bisa dengar langsung dariku haha Kim Soleum : Aku hargai tawarannya, tapi boleh aku tanya kenapa kau bilang begini? – – K.LEE : Karena aku mau dekat? haha Bisa tidak kau bohong yang lebih meyakinkan… – K.LEE : Penasaran? haha Aku ragu sejenak. – Astaga! Tuan Rusa, aku bisa mencium bau sales murahan dari kata-katanya. Bukan orang yang bakal muncul di kanal bereputasi. – Tapi… barang murah juga ada gunanya. Kalau kau perankan dia dengan benar… Aku mengetik balasanku. Kim Soleum : Tidak, terima kasih. – – K.LEE : Oh, wow, Tuan Karyawan! Kau punya selera humor! Cocok untuk seseorang yang memecahkan rekor pengumpulan poin cepat haha Kim Soleum : Aku akan tanya Kepala Seksiku saja. – Kim Soleum : Selamat malam, Pak. – – K.LEE : hei tunggu dulu – K.LEE : kau bukan sepupu Kepala Seksi Lee Jaheon kan?;; sikapmu sama persis… Daripada begitu, kau langsung saja mengumpatku… Bagaimanapun, karena dia tidak tahu kepribadianku, gertakanku tampaknya berhasil. Dia buru-buru mengirim pesan lagi. – K.LEE : hei aku tidak memungut biaya untuk ini, dengarkan dulu. aku sumpah tidak sering buat tawaran begini!;; T-T Pesan berdatangan dengan deretan ketukan dadada. Bersama tautan ke sebuah laman web. – K.LEE : kalau kau butuh modal atau barang, cek saja ini. kau bisa tulis aku sebagai referensi –>hawaiib53<– ketik saja di sana nanti berfungsi – K.LEE : kau tidak wajib, tentu saja, tapi karena aku yang mereferensikan, alangkah baiknya kalau kau,,, ikuti hati nuranimu wkwkwkwkwk kau paham maksudku kan? hahahaha – K.LEE : dan tolong ini hanya antara kita! (Emoji malu) Itu kelihatan seperti hasil copy-paste kalau aku pernah melihatnya. – K.LEE : pokoknya ingat siapa yang memberi tahu oke? [K.LEE telah meninggalkan chatroom.] ‘Kalau dia khawatir kena masalah, kenapa dia ungkap identitasnya…?’ Mungkin dia ingin aku merasa berutang budi. Aku mulai mengetik, [Situs apa yang Anda kirim, Pak?] tapi lalu menghapusnya. ‘Dari kata-katanya soal belanja, sepertinya semacam situs e-commerce.’ Tidak ada salahnya mencari alternatif selain toko alien. Dan pilihan katanya menarik. Sepertinya mungkin menawarkan cara untuk mendapatkan uang serius. ‘Apa ini semacam situs judi eksklusif?’ Bagaimanapun, hanya ada satu cara untuk mengetahuinya. Setelah menjalankan pemeriksaan keamanan untuk memverifikasi tautan, aku dengan hati-hati mengkliknya. Layar ponsel pintarku berubah hitam pekat, dan teks muncul perlahan: Seperti salmon yang berenang melawan arus sungai yang mengalir, Kita berenang melawan dunia gila ini. Dengan efek yang membuat salmon tampak berenang melintasi layar, kata-kata itu memudar, dan teks baru muncul— Keanggotaan tersedia (membutuhkan referensi) Ini mencurigakan (dalam banyak hal), tapi aku tetap memasukkan ID referensi dari karyawan yang mereferensikanku, membuat akun hanya untuk memeriksanya. Saat aku masuk, aku langsung paham apa ini. “Jadi ini situs jual-beli barang bekas.” Ini platform tempat orang bisa membeli dan menjual barang langsung satu sama lain—kecuali daftar di sini melibatkan barang-barang mistis dan okultisme atau informasi. [Daging Putri Duyung Kering Dijual (disertifikasi oleh Han Nuri Jade)] [Mencari: Pecahan ‘Ubin Haus Darah’ (Tanpa Noda)] [$$Lokasi langka Mesin Penjual Kesialan! Info terverifikasi tersedia!$$] [Menawarkan jimat pelindung terpesona] Saat aku mengklik-klik, aku segera memahami sifat situs itu. ‘Penuh penipuan.’ [1]Cyworld adalah perusahaan Korea yang menyediakan layanan mikroblog. Sangat populer di pertengahan hingga akhir tahun 2000-an) ↩
Bab 65
The moment I thought about needing some serious cash, a message from an unfamiliar profile asking if I needed money appeared. But this is in the realm of a creepypasta. – K.LEE : Mr. employee? haha Blocking and leaving the chatroom immediately seemed like the smart choice… but it also felt a bit too stereotypical. Since I’m in a ghost story, I might as well get some ghostly advice. I set my ‘Good Friend’ plushie under the bed, turned off the lights, and summoned Braun using the shadow trick, this time with a small flashlight I’d bought on my way home. Braun snapped to attention with almost no delay this time. After recalling my escape from the previous creepypasta, he seemed rather pleased, quickly grasping the situation. An unfamiliar figure offering a large sum of money. – Especially if it’s accompanied by some sparkling gold! Despite the plushie sounding like a dopamine junkie, his reaction assured me that this wasn’t a creepypasta-related phenomenon. I typed a quick question into the chat. Kim Soleum : May I ask who this is? – The reply came instantly. Honestly, I was expecting something vague, like [lmao just a friend~] but instead, he gave a proper introduction. – K.LEE : This is Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon from the C-squad haha Another elite team. Why would they reach out to me… and why would he reveal his identity and rank so openly? – K.LEE : Heard you turned down A-squad’s offer today!!! lolololol – K.LEE : Wow, gutsy! I’ve never seen such a capable rookie lolol – K.LEE : Sure, you turned it down this time, but who knows, next year you might end up on another elite team? Moving up right after promotion to assistant manager! Could be you lol Is he using some sort of speed-typing device? Sentences poured in like bombs before I could type a single word in response. I quickly pulled myself together and managed to reply with one line. – Kim Soleum : It’s very nice to meet you, Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon. – K.LEE : No need to be so formal. If we run into each other at work, let’s grab a meal sometime. I know a great charcoal-grilled chicken place nearby! haha – K.LEE : Oops, too chatty, aren’t I? Anyway, the reason I reached out! – K.LEE : You need cash, right? – K.LEE : It must be about time you’re wishing for some extra funds… Right before promotion, those with potential are often looking for ways to acquire personal items lol – K.LEE : Heard you already have your own special equipment. Bet you’re scoping out ways to get your hands on more gear, right? I don’t need anything like that. ‘Just checking out the alien marketplace I already knew about…’ – K.LEE : It all costs money, doesn’t it haha – K.LEE : No need to waste time and money buying meals or drinks for seniors when you can hear it straight from me haha Kim Soleum : I appreciate the offer, but may I ask why you’re telling me this? – – K.LEE : Because I want to get closer? haha Could you at least try lying more convincingly… – K.LEE : Curious? haha I hesitated for a moment. – Goodness! Mr. Roe Deer, I can smell a cheap salesman from these words. Hardly someone who’d appear on a reputable channel. – But… cheap things have their own uses. If you play him right… I typed out my response. Kim Soleum : No thanks. – – K.LEE : Oh, wow, Mr. Employee! You’ve got a sense of humor! That’s fitting for someone breaking records for rapid point accumulation haha Kim Soleum : I’ll just ask my Section Chief instead. – Kim Soleum : Have a good night, sir. – – K.LEE : hey wait just a minute – K.LEE : ur not a cousin of section chief lee jaheon are you?;; uve got the same attitude… You might as well just curse at me directly… In any case, since he didn’t know my personality well, my bluff seemed effective. He hastily fired off more messages. – K.LEE : hey im not charging for this just hear me out. i swear i dont make these offers often!;; T-T Messages came pouring in with a steady stream of taps going dadada. Along with a link to some webpage. – K.LEE : if u need seed money or items just go check this out. u can put me down as your referrer –>hawaiib53<– just type that there n itll work – K.LEE : u dont have to, of course, but since i referred u, itd be nice if u could jus,, follow ur conscience lolololol u get what im saying ryt? hahahaha – K.LEE : and pls keep this between just us! (Shy emoji) It looked like a copy-paste job if I’d ever seen one. – K.LEE : anyway, remember who gave u the tip ok? [K.LEE has left the chatroom.] ‘If he was worried about getting in trouble, why reveal his identity…?’ Maybe he wanted me to feel some sense of obligation. I started typing, [What kind of site did you send me, sir?] but then erased it. ‘Based on what he said about shopping, it seems like some sort of e-commerce site.’ It wouldn’t hurt to explore alternatives to the alien shop. And his wording was intriguing. It seemed like it might offer a way to earn some serious money. ‘Is this some kind of exclusive gambling site?’ Regardless, there was only one way to find out. After safely running a security check to verify the link, I cautiously clicked on it. The screen of my smartphone went pitch black, and text slowly appeared: Like salmon swimming against the currents of a flowing river, We swim against this mad world. With an effect that made it look like salmon were swimming across the screen, the words faded, and new text appeared— Membership available (requires referral) This was (in more ways than one) suspicious, but I went ahead and entered the referral ID from the employee who had referred me, creating an account just to check it out. The moment I logged in, I realized what this was. “So it’s a secondhand trading site.” This was a platform where people could buy and sell items directly to one another—except the listings here involved mystical and occult items or information. [Dried Mermaid Meat for Sale (certified by Han Nuri Jade)] [Looking For: ‘Bloodlust Tile’ Pieces (Untainted)] [$$Rare locations of Misfortune Vending Machines! Verified info available!$$] [Offering enchanted protective charms] As I clicked around, I quickly got a sense of the site’s nature. ‘It’s full of scams.’ [1]Cyworld is a Korean company that provides microblogging services. It was very popular in the mid-to-late 2000s) ↩
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