Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

A few days after Kim Soleum’s “Train Shelter Domination Grand Operation” was launched.

“Young Lady.”

A train resident was irritably tossing a magazine around in Car 2.

The one with a posey celebrity on the cover was already tattered.

I’m bored as hell.

Today was another listless day.

Originally, he had been a college senior until “something” happened. The stress over employment had hit a peak, and he had even thought, I wish the world would just end.

But now that it really had ended, he missed his old daily life like crazy.

At least back then, he could watch short videos.

This is pissing me off.

He got up and looked around, trying to convince himself that even so, he was living in the top 1% of this city’s people.

Comfortable Car 2.

Cars 3 and 4, worse than this.

The rear cars, even more miserable.

And outside the train, monsters roamed, didn’t they?

I’m a winner.

If you stayed on this train long enough, a way out would appear. He’d even heard that the person who built this shelter had said, “Later, a way out will come.”

And since he was in the front cars like this, he would be inside the priority group then, too, and stay safe.

-You just found the train a little earlier than us! This train isn’t yours either!

For the record, the person who’d said that had gotten kicked out even back when the shelter still had space.

They were a fucking nuisance, so it was only natural. It had even felt satisfying.

If you’re going to squeeze your way onto a train someone else claimed first, you should be polite, yeah? We’re the ones letting you stay.

This ex-“college student,” who quickly forgot that he’d only gotten in thanks to seniors who were already here first, left Car 2 and started walking.

He was so bored that he was wandering around looking for anything worth seeing.

And then he saw it.

Between Car 4 and Car 5.

In the gap that divided the front cars and the rear cars, people were gathered, laughing and whispering together.

Huh?

Usually, front-car people tended to look down on rear-car people.

The college student didn’t realize it, but it was closer to squeezing dopamine out of a superiority complex while trapped on a train, forced to live in fear and boredom.

But right now, strangely, that vibe was weaker.

Why?

That...

A high schooler from the rear cars was talking with a middle-aged woman from the front cars, face bright.

Then they showed each other something, bowed their heads, and went back to the rear cars.

And the middle-aged woman, as if trying to hide something, put on a perfectly casual face and walked away....

What did they trade?

The college student immediately stuck to the middle-aged woman and spoke to her.

“Ma’am, what were you talking about with someone from the rear cars?”

“Huh? Nothing, just asking how they’re doing and stuff....”

The college student clearly witnessed the passing emotion in the other person’s eyes as she tried to brush it off.

A sense of superiority.

Pride at knowing something.

Enjoyment.

Those things spilled out for a moment, then forced themselves back down.

What the hell?

The college student’s mood soured instantly.

At the same time, he grew anxious.

Something’s going around.

If something was happening inside the train that could change the pecking order, shouldn’t he jump in fast?

If he couldn’t get in on the trend and got pushed down, he might end up having to do dangerous day-laborer stuff—going outside to scavenge food.

Or get shoved aside when it was time to escape!

“Wait, ma’am.”

In the end, he lowered his posture more than he ever had before and clung stubbornly to her, flattering and pestering her with questions.

The middle-aged woman kept saying things like, “Ugh, it’s nothing,” but eventually, with an expression like she was doing him a favor, she whispered it to him.

“Go to Car 7.”

So this college student set foot in the rear cars.

Rrrrk.

The door opened, and Car 7 came into view.

It was the place where they traded supplies with outsiders, so up until now he hadn’t come unless it was really necessary. A riot had broken out here before, and a few people had even died.

But today it was chaos for a different reason.

“Line up!”

“Hey, hurry up and move!”

A tucked-away corner.

More than ten people were swarming in front of the most unremarkable, narrow gap where they used to stack goods.

Among them, he recognized a few faces from the front cars.

What the...?

Rear-car people coming up into the front cars was tacitly almost forbidden, but front-car people came down to the rear cars plenty if they wanted to, under one excuse or another.

Still, it was the first time he’d seen this many.

What are they selling?

The college student tried to push forward through the crowd, but the front-car people’s presence made him hesitate, and he got in line.

And only after dozens of minutes, worn down and impatient, did he finally see the “goods.”

[Snacks for sale]

That was what the shabby sign—made from reused cardboard—said, but the items displayed were sparkling and intricate.

Chocolate bars, cookie sets, popcorn... there were even salads with fresh green vegetables, and hot dogs.

Huh...??

Every surface had flashy, theme-park-like artwork.

“Where did you get these?”

When the college student demanded it, the person running the stall shrugged their shoulders.

They wore glasses, and their hair was messy, so their face was hard to see.

“So, the home shopping, the station where that is... it’s new... I went by coincidence....”

From what he heard, it sounded like a new place to get food had appeared at Afternoon Station.

Of course, ever since he’d been accepted into the Train Shelter, he’d never once gotten off at a station to do “that kind of thing.”

Anyway, it seemed like this person had won as the 100th customer and gotten a huge pile of snacks.

Even items that weren’t put out for sale, so ordinary buyers couldn’t get them.

Lucky bastard.

When the college student frowned and shot them a sidelong glance, they lowered their head even more.

Can’t even make eye contact?

It was amazing this kind of loser had survived this long. If they got off the train, they probably looked even worse than this.

So you’re trying to squeeze your way into being a train resident with this?

Then they should’ve put it all out “for the Train Shelter,” so how could they be running a business?

But maybe they weren’t smart enough to think that far, because the sign only had timid wording on it.

[Overnight Vouchers accepted]

Hmm.

It looked like their only goal was staying in Car 8 even a little longer.

Short-sighted, and timid.

Total pushover.

Because he knew how to be strong in front of the weak, the college student spoke casually.

“What’s your name?”

“I, um... please call me Podo.”

Hiding your name, too, huh?

Anyway, staring greedily at the snacks, the college student said:

“I’ll just pick some and take them first, and I’ll find you an Overnight Voucher. Got it?”

“Yeah...? Th-that’s, um....”

“You’re offering, so why not? Ah, you don’t trust me. If you can’t trust train people, why are you running a stall here?”

They fidgeted, but eventually nodded.

“It’s... one Overnight Voucher for two snack bags....”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Answering lazily, the college student hurriedly chose his snacks.

Food wasn’t exactly scarce in the front cars, but it was hard to enjoy the pleasure of taste.

There were limits to what they could scavenge!

And on top of that, they kept bringing back weird stuff that barely counted as food, or rough, crude, hard-to-eat raw vegetables.

For people who’d gotten used to that life, new snack items were stimulation beyond food.

There were things like keychains and magnets too, but he didn’t even look at them.

A chocolate bar and popcorn.

After trading, he shoved them into the inside pocket of his padded jacket, then went and got an Overnight Voucher.

In the rear cars, where they tried to avoid conflict with front-car people, it was easy to casually take one for free.

Then he quickly went back to the stall of that idiot “Podo” and held it out.

“Here.”

“Thank you....”

Just as “Podo” bowed their head with both hands and tried to take the Overnight Voucher—

“No, if you’re thankful, then service.”

“Huh?”

The college student snatched the voucher back and quickly grabbed a few candies from the stall.

“One of these should do it.”

“N-no!”

But as he watched the other person fail to properly resist and started to form a triumphant smile—

“Stop it.”

“Yeah. What’s his problem.”

...People in the back of the line murmured and stopped him.

There were even front-car people among them.

...Fuck.

What is this atmosphere?

Everyone used to do this much.

But in the end, he read the room and put the handful of candy down.

Just as embarrassment started turning into resentment toward Podo—

“Um... if you buy snacks from me right now, I’m giving out raffle tickets....”

“Raffle?”

“Yes. Here’s the list....”

Podo flipped the sign and showed him the “prize list.”

7th Prize – 1 candy

6th Prize – Perfect Button

5th Prize – 1 bag of popcorn (Small)

4th Prize – Perfect Magnet

3rd Prize – 1 box of cookies

2nd Prize – Perfect Keyring

And the 1st Prize, decorated rather flashily, was this.

1st Prize – Perfect Stuffed Doll

Is this a joke?

What’s with this Perfect series?

It looked like the non-snack prizes they’d gotten weren’t selling, so they were dumping them like this.

“Want to try?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Praying that snacks would come out, he put his hand into the box Podo offered and drew.

But....

“Congratulations, it’s 2nd Prize...!”

2nd Prize – Perfect Keyring

A golden keyring settled into his hand.

Fuck, seriously.

The metal keyring, engraved with the cute head of a pink rabbit doll, looked completely useless.

But.

“Oh my god!”

“That....”

Whispers rose again behind him....

And even Podo, the stall owner, looked at him like they were surprised and seeing him anew.

Like they’d seen someone incredible and shrunk back in awe.

“C-congratulations....”

Huh?

And when he turned, a few people in line were looking at him with longing in their eyes.

Is this... better than it looks?

Then I should keep it.

The college student immediately shoved the keyring into his pocket and returned to Car 2.

After that, though, he spent his time figuring out how to secretly eat a whole chocolate bar without his acquaintances noticing, and he almost forgot about the golden keyring.

However....

That night, the college student had a dream.

-Ahahahaha!

It was a dream where he spent an exciting day at a wonderful golden amusement park.

The resort was old-fashioned but luxurious, and it was insanely fun.

Some weird things were wandering around so it felt kind of babyish, but aren’t theme parks supposed to be like that?

He ran all over the golden amusement park. Maybe because it was a dream, there were lots of places that were vague and hard to see clearly, but the enjoyment was undeniable....

And then, in that moment.

Clink.

Something unbelievably realistic and vivid appeared in front of him, like a lie.

A carriage-shaped snack cart.

♬♬♩♪♬♬♩♪♪♬-

From that stall, where pale pink and gold blended together, some kind of being looked at him and beckoned.

As if possessed, he approached, and it held out a soft, round foot....

The cookie inside that paw.

That alone was impossibly clear.

A cute deformed design—lines traced in chocolate to depict a pink rabbit doll with meticulous detail... a sugar cookie.

The college student reached out with both hands.

And just as he was about to grab the soft hand of whatever being was offering him the cookie....

He woke up.

“...!”

No flashy theme park, no exciting music, no dopamine.

Just a moderately lit, shabby, suffocating train car again.

Wh-what?

For a moment he couldn’t tell reality from the dream, and he sat bolt upright, gasping.

Then something fell from his pocket.

Thud.

The golden keyring.

Inside it, the pink rabbit was smiling up at him....

.......

It was the rabbit from the cookie he’d seen in the dream.

“...!!”

Swallowing hard, the college student got up.

His heart pounded.

It was from there.

He ran straight to Car 7.

Rrrrk!

He yanked the door open, but Car 7 was quiet, like it wasn’t a market day, and the stall was gone.

But Podo was sitting beside their closed stall, eyes shut, sleeping still.

And before the college student could even call out, Podo snapped their eyes open.

“You’re here.”

“...!”

Podo’s impression was different from before, somehow.

Huh?

The cringing, servile look he’d seen earlier was nowhere to be found. Podo looked at him with a confident, gentle smile.

It even looked like there was a hint of reverence.

What the hell?

And before the college student could even get a word out, Podo held out an Overnight Voucher to him!

“Please use this to buy snacks.”

“.......”

“Will you choose your snacks, and draw the raffle?”

Not like a business transaction, but like some kind of clean ritual.

“......Yeah.”

For some reason, the college student tensed up hard, swallowing like he was facing something enormous, and quickly chose two cookie sets.

Then he reached into the raffle box again....

Maybe it was just his imagination, but a slip seemed to cling to his fingers immediately.

Like fate.

He pulled his hand out and opened it with trembling hands.

1st Prize.

“Y-yes, I knew it!”

A reaction full of joy and shock burst out beside him.

“You knew, didn’t you? Ever since you visited last time, something...! I thought it was like the Stuffed Body was guiding you...!”

“...The Stuffed Body?”

“Did you see their body? Soft....”

Wait.

Soft?

“Did you also... have that dream?”

“Of course!”

But his voice soon shrank, as if embarrassed.

“Honestly, I can’t dream it that often. I heard that a high school student in Car 5 dreams it almost every day....”

In that instant, a fact flashed through the college student’s mind like lightning.

So this was it...!

The front-car and rear-car people talking.

And the thing only they knew—this was it.

The amusement park in dreams!

“Usually you don’t dream it right away, but if you carry something connected to the Stuffed Body, it seems like you sometimes dream it....”

“Aha.”

The college student forced himself to act like it was nothing, like he was worried.

“I dreamed it the moment I carried it.”

“Amazing....”

The college student felt a sense of superiority swell up inside him.

At the same time, he felt friendly toward the person who had looked so pathetic.

They were sharing this special experience.

And his heart pounded.

Today, he might be reborn as a completely different person—chosen anew....

“Then it truly seems this win is the Stuffed Body’s will.”

Nodding, Podo took something out of the box propped beside them, very, very carefully.

It looked like it had been chosen and chosen again, and placed on the best, softest cloth.

Something a bit bigger than a palm....

1st Prize – Perfect Stuffed Doll

A Perfect Stuffed Doll.

“Look.”

They revealed it.

It was a high-end rabbit plush that looked truly fluffy and soft.

Black button-like eyes, a nose that looked velvet-soft, and even a pale pink, plump body.

“The most ideal form of the Stuffed Body.”

Drunk on the sense that something tremendous was unfolding with himself at the center, the college student stared at it intensely.

And Podo, looking at it like they adored it....

Looks like his dopamine exploded.

That was what was going on.

After spending days without sleep, searching for a mark who would fall for it easily—and who also had a bad personality, the kind you wouldn’t feel guilty about deceiving—Kim Soleum was finally cheering inside at bait that had been swallowed.

But his face still wore a flattering smile as he watched the other person.

Did you know?

That amusement park that appears in dreams isn’t real...

It’s a kind of advertisement!

More accurately, it’s an ad video that plays in your dreams via merchandise.

Even though the merchandise was made with its functionality lowered as much as possible so people wouldn’t get contaminated, it was more surprising that everyone still experienced it so vividly.

To some extent, since I’d put Brown—the TV-show host—out front, maybe that influence was part of it....

Anyway, I smoothly checked off the entire “typical initiation traits of a successful cult religion” checklist!