A long time ago, I worked a part-time security guard job at a vacant lot.

The lot was on a riverbank, just a flat patch of ground without even a guard hut.

It was literally nothing more than a wide, empty field.

The job didn't even require patrols—you just had to be there during your assigned hours.

Plus, if it started raining, you could just call the office and head home.

It was an insanely easy gig.

As for why it was so laid-back,

they had reserved the plot to build a temporary stage for a Kabuki performance or something,

but the construction schedule got pushed back.

While waiting for construction to begin,

the client representative contacted the security company

"We're within the contract period, so why isn't there a guard on site?"

and filed a complaint.

Unable to argue with the client, the company decided to post a guard there for the time being.

That was how things stood.

From the perspective of local residents and passersby,

having someone in a security uniform wandering around an empty lot

felt way more suspicious than anything else...

When this job was pitched to me, getting paid just for being there

sounded really appealing, so I took it right away.

When I got to the site, it really was just a completely vacant lot along the river.

My senior coworker, Hinata-san, was wandering around there all by himself in his security uniform.

When I spoke to him,

"Man, this is nice and easy, isn't it?"

Hinata-san said with a smile.

Then I received the shift handoff instructions for the site:

• Call the company during shift handoffs.

• Call an office staff member before heading home if it rains.

• Leaving without permission or sleeping on duty is a no-go.

• Sitting down or walking around is fine.

• You're free to use the restroom in the nearby park.

• Having a light snack is totally fine.

• When your shift ends, wait for your replacement, then change back at the office before going home.

It was truly a job where nothing happened.

At the very end, though, Hinata-san passed along a strange detail.

"Oh, right—there's someone standing out there all night, but you can just ignore them."

What?? Someone's out there??

Supposedly, once night fell, over on the embankment outside the lot,

at a distance where you could barely make out what they were wearing,

a man(?) in greenish clothes would stand,

staring straight at us the whole time.

The man would seemingly appear out of nowhere in that spot every night.

He stayed outside our security area,

and he didn't trespass onto the property or do anything to us—

he just stood there staring in our direction.

And as dawn broke, he would be gone before anyone realized it.

From the security company's point of view,

they didn't want any complaints or trouble regarding the project,

so the order was simply to ignore him.

"Uh... is it a ghost?"

When I asked, Hinata-san replied,

"I know, right? Spooky, isn't it?"

with a casual chuckle.

Hinata-san had worked the night shift here several times,

and he said the person showed up every single night, without fail.

At first, all the guards on site reported the man to the office,

but since he didn't actually do anything,

everyone gradually stopped reporting it.

Well, as long as there's no actual harm.

Accepting that reasoning, I took up my position at the site.

As I idly wandered around listening to voice actor radio shows,

people walking their dogs or jogging would occasionally pass by.

Every time, I felt an awkward sense of (What am I even doing here?),

feeling embarrassed,

but I was getting paid for it, so I couldn't complain.

Then, I suddenly noticed it.

Someone was standing off in the distance, outside the site perimeter.

They were far enough away that you could barely make out their clothes,

just close enough to tell they were male.

He hadn't been there a moment ago, but he really had appeared.

Ah, so that's him...

To be honest, I was scared when I first saw him,

but after about two hours,

That guy standing in the exact same spot for so long is pretty amazing.

That thought became stronger than the fear.

Besides, as night fell deeper and it grew darker,

even with a few streetlights scattered near the lot, the man wasn't clearly visible anymore,

and honestly, it felt like you couldn't tell if he was there or not.

Eventually dawn began to break, and as it grew bright enough to see the surroundings,

I could make out the figure of the standing man once again.

Incredible. Was he really standing there the whole time?

And by the time it was completely bright outside,

the man had disappeared before I even noticed.

Soon my replacement arrived, so I handed off the shift, changed back at the office, and went home.

I worked at this site several times, both day and night,

and the man never showed up during the day, only at night.

His appearance wasn't set to an exact time either;

he would just appear out of nowhere, always wearing what looked like the same greenish clothes.

From what I heard from others who worked the night shift,

he probably appeared out of nowhere there every night.

Still, he just stood there watching and never did anything.

After taking the shift multiple times, I slowly stopped being afraid,

(Yep, he's there again tonight.)

That was about as much as I thought of it.

About two weeks passed without me working at that site,

but then a shift at that same vacant lot came up again.

Since it was an easy gig, I took it and headed back to the site.

During the shift change, the other guard told me,

"There's someone watching over there, but you're good to just ignore them."

That was the handoff.

Since I'd worked here many times, I didn't show it,

but in my head I was like, (Yeah, yeah, got it.)

As it started getting dark again, I wondered, Is he going to show up soon?

And just as I thought that, someone appeared out of nowhere again.

However, this time something was clearly different.

Huh? Did the clothes change??

Wait, is that a totally different person? Isn't that a woman now??

Where there used to be a vague figure of a man in green on the embankment,

there was now a slightly slender figure of what looked like a woman in reddish clothing.

Wait, the person can change??

Freaked out, I called the office.

The staff member answered,

"Ah, there's someone standing out there, right?"

sounding annoyed.

"There is someone out there, but it's not the usual person!"

"Ah, yeah, I heard. But looks like it's just like before—they don't do anything."

He was completely dismissive.

Come to think of it, if every handoff note

said "Don't worry about it,"

then it was obvious someone else had already reported it.

As the night wore on, the woman's silhouette became hard to see,

and as it brightened up again, her figure came back into view.

Just like before, she had probably been standing there the whole night.

Coincidentally, my replacement that morning was Hinata-san.

During the shift change, I asked him,

"Um... hasn't the person standing out there turned into a woman?"

I tried asking.

Hinata-san responded,

"I know, right? Spooky, isn't it?"

with his usual relaxed chuckle.

Apparently, the person had changed without anyone noticing.

I tried asking the office staff about it as well,

and they speculated that there was a weird group—some cult—around there, so maybe it was someone affiliated with them.

Even so, standing in the exact same spot all night long

seemed like an incredible amount of effort.

Yet, they seemed far too clear and physical to be a ghost.

What on earth was their goal?

Was it really something religious?

Were they monitoring the construction site for some reason?

Or were they standing there for a completely different reason...?

Eventually, construction on the stage began and I stopped working at that site,

but did someone still stand out there watching at night during construction?

Did it have nothing to do with the stage construction, and was there some other purpose?

Could someone still be standing out there in the dark even now?