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Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ How to Rewrite Ghost Stories ◈

Episode 11: Hana Galleria Mall Pop-Up (1)

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Dead?

As if.

The ghost that had spent the whole time screaming over the phone that it would kill me shut up the moment we entered Yeosan City. After that, there were no ghost stories and no ghosts.

The Mirror of the Otherworld pop-up opened as scheduled.

I decided not to think about the mental strain wrung dry by endless overtime, the calls with every imaginable contractor that swung between tears and threats, the burning inbox, or the concepts that had been rejected and redone countless times. Anyway, it had launched. That was what mattered.

[Assistant Manager, pre-bookings alone sold out. This is a huge hit.]

During the final inspection, a bright, excited voice came through the radio. It had sold out within thirty minutes of reservations opening. If things went well, we could extend the pop-up by a week and add content we hadn't had time to include.

A hit. Incentives. Promotion. Those sweet words landed in the report, sweet enough to wash away all that hellish work at once.

'When I get this bonus, I should take a trip somewhere.'

The pop-up was an interactive exhibition that made the most of the mall's unusual structure, a feature the drama The Mirror of the Otherworld had actively used.

Galleria Mall's west wing gradually sloped from the second floor down to the first. It was designed so people could circle around and linger as long as possible without taking escalators between the shopping area and the restaurant floor.

In the original episode, the corridor kept winding endlessly, no matter how many times it turned, in time with the song, "Fox, Fox, What Are You Doing?"

When guests began frequently getting trapped and disappearing in this Fox Passage, the protagonist stepped in. In the end, they defeated the Inverted World through a mirror that reflected water.

'It sounds simple when I put it that way, but the space-time distortion was so intense that it was voted the number one legendary episode.'

The goal this time was to let visitors experience that impact firsthand.

Groups of three or four would enter one after another, each carrying only one flashlight. Their experience began with a walk through a darkened, deserted mall.

They would wander through the maze for several loops, hearing the fox song and encountering jump scares created with projectors and props.

We had also installed walls that moved automatically in time with the music and the tour's progression. They would guide visitors to the "next zone," the exhibition hall for The Mirror of the Otherworld.

The final section was a chase sequence with a ghost pursuing them. Once it ended, visitors could exit into the event merch zone on Basement Level 1.

I had also added a few bonus variations so people attending different sessions would have different experiences.

When they compared reviews, their stories wouldn't quite match. If the repeat-visit fans gave it even a little viral push, it would definitely draw explosive reactions, both in on-site reservations and reviews.

[The third-floor route has been checked too. No machinery errors.]

[The Basement Level 1 merch zone inventory has been checked! We've already arranged for on-site reservations and additional production if anything runs short.]

[I'll request one more lighting check on the second floor!]

The radios buzzed endlessly with final checks. I was planning to do one more rehearsal run myself before calling everything ready.

“Assistant Manager, you really worked so hard on this!”

Park Minji, the mall's merchandise manager, approached with a radiant smile. The last time I had seen Park Minji outside the tunnel, they had looked ashen and half-dead. Now they looked alive again.

“You worked harder than I did. You gave us so much space to work with, and thanks to you, we were able to make the route nice and spacious.”

“I actually tried the rehearsal earlier! It was really scary.”

Park Minji's eyes sparkled.

“Which part scared you the most?”

“Oh, when I turned through that mirror maze. The part with the water sounds and those mannequin ghosts! It really made you not want to go in there.”

“...Water?”

The smile vanished from Park Minji's face the instant they saw mine.

“Is there no water ghost section inside?”

“...Oh, come on. Of course there is!”

I agreed first and thought later. Park Minji must have assumed I was joking to scare them, because their smile immediately returned.

“You scared me! I really thought I saw a ghost. Seriously, that was the scariest part. Near the end, I was practically running around looking for the exit.”

What was I supposed to do? There was no water ghost spot. What had Park Minji seen? Maybe it wasn't a water ghost but the mirror ghost section, and there was some problem with the water fixture nearby?

After listening to Park Minji's review for a while, I excused myself by saying I needed to check the lighting settings. If even a staff member was that excited, I must have planned it well.

[Could someone check how many ghost actors are waiting in the first-floor section? Two, right?]

[One is positioned thirty meters in from the section entrance, and one is right before the exit.]

[I'll go in and take a look.]

I calmed the actors clustered around the entrance and went inside. It was a stage I had designed, but walking through it alone by the light of a single flashlight made me feel a little dizzy. My sense of direction was slipping in a strangely unsettling way.

'Nothing wrong here. Nothing here either.'

I reached the section Park Minji had described. When I shone my light ahead, my reflection appeared in a mirror. It seemed Park Minji had seen their own reflection and frightened themself.

'But did we put a mirror here?'

I pulled out the floor plan, but I couldn't remember at all whether we had planned to install a mirror. I called Senior Associate Kang from the installation team over the radio.

[Senior Associate Kang, did we plan to install a mirror in the final Section F, where I am?]

[Sorry? Ah, I remember a manager saying we needed to install one more mirror somewhere.]

[I heard that too. The merchandise manager said they were ordering another mirror.]

Had Manager Park from the installation team handled it? It was definitely there, and it really brought the final stretch to life...

Still, I should confirm exactly who had ordered it.

It was a good thing I had checked once more. At the end, we had kept changing this and that, and my memory couldn't keep up with all the updates.

'...It isn't a ghost story, is it? I can't stop thinking about Park Minji saying they saw a mannequin...'

As I headed for the exit, an uneasy feeling came over me for no reason. I gripped the Offering Stone I carried in my pocket, then opened the radio app on my phone.

The Depth Gauge was still fixed at two. There was no sign of a new ghost story approaching.

『Will a ghost story occur in this place?』

I pressed the listener-message option, which I never normally used, and typed out the message. I hadn't expected an answer, but the radio app turned on and displayed words across the frequency.

“Nothing seems to be wrong around you.”

『Then is there a story that could fill the Depth Gauge?』

“Here, right now? Not at the moment.”

It seemed there really was no ghost story here. Then again, what kind of ghost story would arise in a department store that had only been built a little over ten years ago?

A pop-up event guaranteed to be free of weirdness by paranormal phenomena. I was confident I could make it a hit without any superstition about ghosts needing to appear.

❖ ❖ ❖

At last, the day of the early-access event arrived.

Since the pop-up was set in a department store at night, we had arranged a special early-access event for three hours after closing, starting at eight on the night before the official opening.

Despite the late hour, the demand was enormous. Advertising special perks for early-access visitors seemed to have worked well too.

[Be careful with crowd control, and don't interfere with photos any more than necessary. They can photograph everything except the actors' faces.]

I checked the radios on every floor one more time and stationed everyone in their places. As both the project PM and the on-site manager, I took my position on the third floor.

Eight o'clock. The pop-up opened with the closing music that announced the department store's shutdown. Camera shutters started firing from every direction, and fans carrying armfuls of dolls and merchandise began lining up to enter.

“Please bring one more special perk box! And a tumbler!”

“I'll go! Everyone else, stay at your stations!”

Today's lesson: don't open an early-access event and product sales at the same time.

Only pre-booked visitors could enter the experience zone, but the sales zone was bursting with people desperate to be among the first to buy merchandise. No one had a free hand, so it seemed better for me to move instead of the staff.

'What did we leave over there?'

There was an unfamiliar door beside the Basement Level 1 storage room where I had come to get inventory. It didn't even have a No Unauthorized Personnel sign.

'Did I set up another break room for the temporary actors...?'

“Assistant Manager, we found the inventory boxes! We're heading up!”

“I'm coming.”

It was probably nothing. I could check again after this session ended. It wasn't important right now. My head was full of stock for the displays and the additional order I needed to place the next morning.

I carried the boxes to the sales zone, then headed back toward the exhibition exit.

“Is the first group out yet?”

“Not yet. Ah, here they come.”

The reactions of those who emerged were explosive. Some came out crying, some laughing, some rapidly posting reviews on social media in excitement, and some ran to the sales zone, saying they had to grab merchandise quickly...

It was a huge success. I took photos for the report and began checking the exit counter. I planned to record the times people came out and make further adjustments to the internal route.

“That was seriously terrifying!”

“Are there any tickets left? One time wasn't enough.”

“What did they say the early-access goods were? We can spin the event roulette one more time?”

“I don't know. I think you just need to post a proof shot with a tag on social media?”

I quickly checked the Stargram and Bluebird timelines. It had entered Bluebird's real-time search rankings. If it caught a nightly hot topic just once, there would be plenty of material for articles when we officially opened tomorrow.

[Assistant Manager, does something seem a little strange?]

The radio came alive.

[What is it?]

[I think the route inside is getting backed up.]

[No one's coming out, so the wait is getting longer.]

As those words came through the radio, I counted the counter again.

A total of one hundred people had registered for early access. The experience took ten to fifteen minutes, and we sent groups in every six minutes, including orientation time. After one hour, at least thirty people should have come out. Two hours had already passed.

Every time someone exited, I had checked the counter. I had also heard temporary staff on the radio periodically say they were moving on to the next zone. If people had been coming out properly, there was no way the route could be backing up.

“...What?”

I looked down at the counter I had clicked each time someone emerged.

Eighteen.

The number didn't add up.

My eyes snapped toward the exit. Two students, clutching each other's arms and shrieking with giggles, had just come out.

Click.

I pressed the counter.

The number didn't change.

My gaze dropped to the floor.

The students made no footsteps.

They cast no shadows.

They had no legs.

The students vanished before my eyes. The radio crackled.

[Assistant Manager, someone inside requested a rescue after giving up midway, but there is nobody in there. Did you receive any radio call outside?]

The students passed by me. Through their smiling faces, I could see the department store beyond them. They turned transparent, then hazy...

And disappeared completely.

I pressed the unresponsive counter again. It made no sound. A ringing filled my ears, and the space around me seemed to stretch, separating my senses from reality.

Fox, fox, what are you doing?

I'm eat-ing.

The song began to whisper beside my ear. At that moment, I knew what I had to do. I shouted into the radio and ran for the entrance.

[Everyone, listen. This is the PM. I am temporarily closing the entrance. Rebook everyone still waiting for the experience at whatever time they want, then dismiss them.]

The confused voices of the staff erupted noisily through the radio. I was the one who wanted to panic and cry the most.

But there was no time to explain everything. I continued issuing orders in a firm voice.

[Process full refunds. Tell them their early-access souvenir perks and merch zone access will remain unchanged. Move as many people as possible to the Basement Level 1 merch zone.]

[If anyone asks, tell them there seems to be an internal equipment defect that will prevent them from completing the experience in time, and ask for their understanding. Be as polite as possible, immediately!]

I shoved the radio into my pocket. If I couldn't solve this, my career would be the least of my problems. It would be a massive casualty event. More than fifty people had gone in, and fewer than twenty had come out? At a sold-out, pre-booked pop-up?

'It's not like anyone would believe me if I said a ghost story swallowed them.'

I squeezed my innocent phone once. Three A.M.! You said there was no problem! The Depth Gauge hadn't even given a warning about a ghost story! The radio app did nothing but crackle.

The third-floor entrance was utter chaos. Most people accepted the measures and moved to the merch zone, but the staff were still overwhelmed, handling complaints from some visitors while rebooking reservations.

“Assistant Manager! Did something happen inside? We have only been open for an hour!”

One staff member rushed over, white-faced.

“No, nothing serious. There is an issue with one of the sensors, so we need to check it for a moment. They said the route inside keeps backing up.”

“Ah, that radio call earlier. What should we do about the people inside?”

“Get everyone out midway through. If necessary, no, route them all back to the previous zone. Quickly. I will inspect the inside.”

I pulled aside the black curtain and stepped in.

Footnotes:

Stargram and Bluebird are Korean euphemistic references to Instagram and Twitter/X.

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