Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 100

Section Chief Kwak Jegang.

A mad scientist who pushed his subordinate into the Cheerful Theme Park ghost story.

He also acted as an advisor during the “Mansion of the Blind,” where his employees almost all died.

“I’ve really wanted to have a long talk with you, Roe Deer, and finally, the opportunity has come!”

The crazy ghost story researcher grinned, extending his hand.

“Your performance has been so amazing; I’ve been so curious about your impressions!”

“Thank you.”

Wow, what a boss I really don’t want to shake hands with.

But I have to. That’s company life.

“With the new year, Team D will become an elite team, and then we’ll be busy working in teams again, so it’ll be difficult to chat like this before we’re deployed into the darkness…”

Kwak Jegang chuckled, saying he’d gone to great lengths to call me.

“And I was also really curious.”

Then, with a smile, he got to the point.

“How on earth did you convince Section Chief Lee Jaheon?”

“…!!”

“He cuts me off immediately if I try to call you separately. He’s not usually that proactive~”

I screamed only in my heart.

‘Thank you, Section Chief…!’

But actually, I didn’t convince him.

‘I just had to say I didn’t want to do it.’

Section Chief Lee Jaheon is originally a stickler for the rules, always striving to reflect his team members’ requests.

It’s just that no one had ever made such a request before!

Even if it was a great opportunity, I was the only person in this ghost story company who would rather be divided into N parts than go into the ghost story alone….

Or, if there were others, they would have already died or disappeared.

Anyway, this time, it seems Lee Jaheon couldn’t stop it himself.

Or… there was no such reason.

“Anyway, don’t worry, I don’t resent you for how difficult it was to get you, Supervisor Roe Deer.”

Kwak Jegang smiled slyly.

“It’s just… I find it amazing that there’s nothing you seem unable to do!”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that…”

“You work well, you speak well, you manage your reputation well… it’s very impressive. But humans are creatures who can’t do everything well! Including myself.”

Kwak Jegang tapped himself.

“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So…”

Eyes swirling with passionate madness for dark exploration looked at me.

“What is your weakness?”

“…….”

“How do you manage to navigate strange and mysterious phenomena without showing your weakness… I’m really curious!”

Oh my god, seriously….

“If I could tell you, it wouldn’t be a weakness.”

“Haha, that’s the perfect answer!”

Help me.

‘He didn’t guess I’m a scaredy-cat, did he?’

I carefully swallowed my saliva, unseen.

Kwak Jegang spread his hands.

“Anyway, I called you today for good news.”

“Good news, you say,”

“It’s something to celebrate! By my calculations… Supervisor Roe Deer, you’ve already earned more than half the points needed for a wish, haven’t you?”

“…!”

The ghost of a kid.

Yes.

That statement… is true.

I recalled my accumulated points until last week.

[Accumulated Points: 177200p]

This was already a shocking amount.

It’s an amount of points that an employee who hasn’t even been with the company for a year couldn’t even imagine accumulating, so I haven’t talked about it anywhere.

Even in a department with an atmosphere where people talk about their resignation dates, there are limits.

‘Since I’m an exceptional person to this extent, it’s natural to think differently.’

But who would have known?

As of this week, my accumulated points would become even more exceptional.

[Accumulated Points: 277200p]

It’s reaching the point where people might start to wonder if it’s been manipulated.

‘Thanks to Sekwang Industrial High School.’

Let’s think about the basic points awarded per grade.

Grade A: 100000p

But I cleared Sekwang Industrial High School alone at Grade A.

It’s true that several people entered and cleared it together, but I was the only one to get Grade A.

Furthermore, the solution was so potent that it’s considered that I pretty much cleared it alone.

With Director Cheong and Director Ho, the two mountains of the Development Department, ‘actively’ giving the okay, it was approved to be paid as is.

It was a happy and spooky event.

‘And the registration was completed this morning.’

Kim Soleum officially accumulated over half the points needed for the Wish Granting Right.

‘It’s unbelievably faster than I expected…’

Strangely enough, everything fell into place perfectly.

At this rate, if I persevere with the elite team for a year, or maybe even less, I can return to my original world.

To a peaceful 21st-century South Korea without any urban legends!

All of this flashed through my mind in an instant, but my expression remained unchanged… or so it should have seemed.

‘Don’t give them a reason…’

“If I’ve accumulated over half the points, does anything change?”

Instead, I subtly furrowed my brows, giving an ambiguous reaction.

To make it unclear whether I felt pressured by having accumulated so many points or frustrated by not having enough.

“Rather than a change… it creates an opportunity, wouldn’t you say?”

Kwak Jegang smiled slyly and said,

“Have you ever heard of the Wish Granting Right Simulator?”

Simulator?

…Ah!

From that point onwards, Qterw-D-718 provides the simulator to promising employees who have a chance of obtaining the Wish Granting Right.

‘There was such an urban legend.’

I remember.

I compulsively recalled the slightly faded wiki.

Simultaneously, Kwak Jegang’s voice echoed in my ears.

“This company gives employees who are about to obtain the Wish Granting Right a chance to test their wish. To ensure it’s fulfilled in the ‘right’ way.”

The criteria for a ‘promising employee’ was 250,000 points…

Or perhaps it was calculated based on the remaining time until receiving the Wish Granting Right.

Either way, it seemed I had the opportunity to try the simulator.

…If entering an urban legend can be called an opportunity!

“We could do it later, but Soleum, if not now, your turn might get pushed back, and you might not get to do it for a while. I called you because I thought it’d be good if you did it now.”

“…….”

I thought.

A trap laid by Kwak Jegang?

‘There’s definitely a trap.’

But I can’t carelessly refuse.

This guy seems like the type to persistently ask for reasons.

“I’m not a coward, why would I avoid it? Right? Hahaha!”

Hiiik.

“Well, there are other reasons to avoid it.”

I sighed and stood up.

Let’s end this conversation quickly.

‘If I’m going to end up with the urban legend anyway, I might as well not give them a reason.’

“Anyway, I understand. When should I enter?”

Kwak Jegang chuckled.

“Roe Deer.”

“…….”

“Your attitude has changed a lot. You’ve shed your newbie image, haven’t you?”

Wait.

“No. I mean it in a good way! You finally seem like a company employee, and you’re more approachable. Let’s cut the useless chatter and get down to business~ You’re already acting like a member of the elite team.”

Kwak Jegang laughed, his eyes twinkling.

“Then let’s do something befitting a company employee!”

And he placed a document on the table.

‘This is…’

An employee profile.

One I recognize.

[Employee: Jang Heoun]

I saw the ID photo of a fellow employee with long hair and a gloomy expression.

“Ah, we know each other, right? We went to the Happy Theme Park together. A friend from the Cleanup Team.”

“He’s not in the Cleanup Team anymore. He was clearly reassigned to the F Team…”

“Ah~ right. He did get transferred… …But his official affiliation is still the Cleanup Team.”

“…!”

“He’s just on assignment to a general team. His official affiliation won’t change until next year, right?”

Kwak Jegang tapped the document.

“So… he’s still affiliated in a way that makes it perfectly acceptable to involve him in this kind of work.”

“…….”

This kind of work?

An ominous chill ran down my spine.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“It’s simple. After you finish your business in the darkness, Roe Deer, you summon that employee to the remaining elevator and leave him there.”

“…!”

This crazy bastard.

No, calm down. I can’t show my agitation here.

“Hmm. Is this darkness something that requires two people to enter… or is a sacrifice necessary?”

“Haha… confirming that is the very purpose of our research department! Roe Deer, you just need to follow instructions. Simple, right?”

Thump.

Kwak Jegang threw another document onto the table.

The darkness assigned to me this time.

“In the elevator urban legend.”

Okay, I’ll do my best, Mr. Roe Deer! Have the new recruit from the finishing team called when it’s time to go.

“…….”

I reread the manual I already knew and put it back in my pocket.

How did I do it?

[Mr. Heoun, I plan to enter around 5 PM, so please rest.]

[Ah, yes! I understand!]

I’m not taking anyone in.

And I knew.

‘This is grounds for disciplinary action.’

Probably… no matter what excuse I make, this will cause trouble.

As a salaried worker earning someone else’s money, this isn’t the kind of flexible behavior that can be overlooked.

But it was meaningless unless I completely cut it off at the source.

‘There’s a high probability that Kwak Jegang is up to something with Jang Heoun.’

I have to prevent him from coming in the first place.

And there was another effect I was aiming for, something worth the disciplinary action… but I’ll think about that after the exploration is over.

The important thing is this.

……I now had to ride the haunted elevator alone.

“Huu.”

This was the first time I had time to mentally prepare myself and enter a haunted place alone….

‘Maybe… it would have been better if I had just gone in without knowing.’

My hands trembled with fear.

And I left Brown at my desk.

‘In this urban legend, the elevator is a one-person ride anyway.’

I didn’t want to take Brown into the elevator with me… you never know what could happen.

I asked Section Chief Lee Jaheon to check on him periodically to make sure he’s okay, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

‘…Let’s go.’

I entered the building designated for entry, Qterw-D-718, which the company had found and quarantined.

A very old rental apartment, the water had already been cut off, but the company was supplying electricity.

A musty, cold smell hung in the dimly lit interior.

The shadowy hallway seemed to stretch endlessly in front of me.

And the machine operates alone.

[5F]

The door of the first-floor elevator.

“…….”

I swallowed and walked down the hallway.

The elevator was visible in the emergency exit signs and dim light.

-Under Repair-

We will fix it quickly.

Happiness Land Apartment Security Office

Unlike the notice, a tattered piece of paper was dangling, attached to a yellow box tape.

This phenomenon mainly occurs in buildings with only one elevator, and you should be especially careful of elevators that are frequently malfunctioning or have an “Under Repair” sign.

That’s right. This is it.

With trembling hands, I called the elevator.

The elevator slowly descended.

5, F, 3, 2…….

[Ding]

I took a deep breath.

Through the opening elevator doors, I could see the rusty and dark interior.

The floor seemed dirty with soot, as if it hadn’t been properly cleaned.

Still, I moved.

If you take one step into the elevator, you can see it on the right and left….

Dirty mirrors with handprints.

‘…Huu.’

———————=

Darkness Exploration Record / Urban Legend

[Don’t look in the mirror]

: An urban legend appearing in <Darkness Exploration Record>, Daydream Co., Ltd.’s identification code is Qterw-D-718.

One of the ritualistic urban legends that circulated on the internet around 200X.

In the elevator, if you win rock-paper-scissors against your reflection, it will tell you the truth to any question.

Written in a game book style with numbers guiding how to deal with the occurring paranormal phenomena.

———————=

[The doors are closing.]

I pressed my back tightly against the only wall without a mirror and watched the closing doors with a somewhat desperate feeling.

My heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out.

Soon, the elevator completely closed, and darkness and silence descended.

I stood alone in the dark interior of the stopped elevator….

With the mirror.

“…….”

An eternity of several seconds passed.

I have to endure. If I endure….

[Going up.]

Ding.

Even though I didn’t press any buttons, the elevator started moving.

…It was called somewhere.

All the floor buttons lit up red as if pressed, illuminating the inside of the elevator in a red, ominous light.

It began now.

After boarding the elevator, do not press any buttons and wait.

If the elevator starts moving on its own, you have successfully entered the urban legend.

From now on, I’ll play rock-paper-scissors with my reflection in the mirror until we reach the top floor.

If I win even once: Go to floor 3.

If I don’t win even once: Go to floor 13.

“…….”

I swallowed, barely moving my head… I looked at the mirror on the left.

Inside, my pale self stood in the elevator.

Countless times.

My front and back, infinitely repeated, reflecting off the mirror on my right, until it becomes a dot.

My reflection, getting smaller and smaller, becoming more and more unclear….

“…….”

After wiping the sweat from my trembling left hand on my shirt several times, I finally raised my hand.

And I muttered softly.

“…Rock, paper, scissors.”

Scissors.

Countless reflections of me in the mirror are holding up scissors.

Front and back, side by side, stretching on….

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

My fist is reflected countless times.

I repeated it several more times.

Rock-paper-scissors.

Rock-paper-scissors.

Rock-paper-scissors….

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

It was the moment I threw out a fist on the fifth round of rock-paper-scissors.

Something different appeared among the repeating reflections of myself.

…One is quickly spreading its hand.

Among my countless fisted reflections, a single back view with an open hand is reflected on the far side of the mirror.

“…….”

I froze with my hand raised.

From far away in the mirror, that’s me, with an open palm, slowly turning its head….

Looks back at me and smiles.

Widely.