Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 103

“Buddy, your boss is an uncreative, boring knife-wielder….”

“R-right.”

I thanked Lee Jaheon and went to find Brown.

What made me feel a little sorry for both of them was that it was late, and Lizard Squad Leader took the plush toy home with him after work.

I thought Brown would be quite thrilled to visit my boss’s house, a place I’d never seen (and frankly, had no desire to see).

“Ah, I’d rather sit alone on the cold, tiled floor of a studio backstage.”

“…Yeah.”

He must have been incredibly bored….

I broke out in a cold sweat watching Brown complain, saying things like, “That guy’s house has nothing in it; time passed in silence, without even muttering or humming.”

“But it was such a messy place. As a friend, I didn’t think I should just leave it in that abandoned building.”

“Buddy…!”

Now I pretty much get it. When I treat “Good Friend” like a friend, he reacts most mildly….

‘Well, it’s true, too.’

Anyway, I recalled the conversation I had with Squad Leader Lee Jaheon right after taking Brown over.

“Thank you.”

I said that and bowed my head.

“And I’m sorry. I caused trouble for the Squad Leader by doing something disciplinary.”

Honestly, in a normal company, I would’ve been hit with a file by my direct superior.

But even after hearing the whole story, Section Chief Lizard remained calm.

“Yes.”

“…I couldn’t just push a colleague into a position where they were clearly going to die for no reason….”

“I see.”

Then he stared at me and said,

“Bear the responsibility of your choice.”

“…Yes!”

It was a bit scary, but it seemed like he had let it slide.

‘Thank goodness.’

I apologized and thanked Squad Leader Lee Jaheon a few more times, then handed him the gift set of cookies I had prepared.

And now I’m walking down the stairs from the company housing.

“Ah, so are we going back to Mr. Roe Deer’s modest and cozy room to rest?”

“No, not that.”

I stepped out of the company housing building.

“There’s one more thing left to do.”

Today was the day I would draw the tarot for the F-grade darkness I was managing, ‘Quantum Leap’.

It felt like two months since I last visited the annex to see the tarot cards.

Someone else had covered for me once when I was on sick leave, and now it was my turn again.

“Good evening.”

I greeted the black-clad security team member at the desk, received the key, and walked down the hallway.

‘Last time, I drew the Moon card upside down.’

“Ah, are you going to use that trick again this time? Picking the card upside down, that is!”

Hmm. That.

“If I have no choice, I’ll have to use it, but… I’d rather not.”

“Oh?”

Because something related to it… something that bothered me came to mind.

‘When I drew the Moon card upside down, it said uncertainty would be resolved.’

“That’s right. Is there a problem with that?”

There’s no problem with it itself.

During the month after drawing that card, there were several instances where uncertainty was resolved or things became clear.

For example… my affiliation.

‘It was confirmed that I’d stay in Team D.’

…With two team members disappearing, that is.

“……”

But all of this has a premise.

‘For uncertainty to be resolved, you have to experience an uncertain situation in the first place.’

In other words, drawing a bad card upside down…

‘It implies that you have to experience a bad state no matter what.’

Because to recover or escape from it, that state needs to occur once in the first place.

“Aha, an interesting approach. Quite convincing!”

Right.

Moreover, no matter how much I recovered, falling into a ‘bad state’ in the world of ghost stories was an enormous risk in itself….

I had to remember the contamination incident.

‘It seems safer to draw a good card right-side up if possible.’

So please, I hope two bad cards don’t come out, leaving me with no choice.

‘Whew.’

I entered the isolation area and released ‘Quantum Leap’ from containment. Then I took out two black tarot cards, face down, and placed them on the table.

Taking a deep breath, I flipped both cards over.

The first card.

The Devil.

Damn it.

‘That damn Devil card keeps coming up.’

What’s surprising is that this time it was upside down from the start.

“Ah, the inverted Devil!”

“‘Escaping from the devil.’ It’s a card of liberation. It signifies overcoming addiction or obsession, or a future decision to conquer fear.”

“It suits Mr. Roe Deer quite well, with his remarkable willpower and creativity.”

I appreciated the explanation.

But my gaze immediately fixed on the second card.

…The Sun!

A right-side-up, fiery red and yellow sun blazed, coloring the card image with vibrant hues.

This is….

‘Isn’t this definitely good?!’

“Oh, the Sun!”

“Joy and abundance beneath the Sun’s clear light! It’s a sign of career success, improved relationships, and ultimate positivity. It guarantees happiness in the near future.”

“That’s why some consider it the best card in tarot, but well… isn’t unconditional success and happiness a bit boring?”

Excuse me, but I desperately need that boredom right now, Mr. Host…!

‘There’s nothing to even think about here.’

I reached out and picked up the Sun card.

Thus, I secured a stable, good future with a right-side-up card.

“It is a rather uninteresting choice! But I respect that choice. Mr. Roe Deer!”

‘Thank you.’

And I tidied up the ritual.

‘Success and joy, huh?’

Well, there’s absolutely no downside to having this.

For now, let’s at least feel some relief from the prophecy that this will happen within the next month….

‘Should I go back to the company housing now?’

“Excellent, my friend!”

And so, I ended a long and tumultuous day by returning home late at night. Incidentally, I couldn’t take the elevator, so I had to walk up the stairs.

‘Climbing stairs late at night, even if it’s not a ghost story, is surprisingly scary….’

I felt a little forlorn.

But that was truly the last eventful incident of this tumultuous year.

Surprisingly, the remaining part of the year flowed peacefully.

The remaining month of December.

Kwak Jegang didn’t call me unnecessarily after this incident. There were even almost no assignments for strange research team projects.

‘Looks like my MZ energy worked well….’

I worried that the research team might call Jang Heowoon back, but that didn’t happen either.

[Jang Heowoon: Soleum! I also have no special affiliation changes. I’m still in Team F.]

Jang Heowoon seemed to have safely settled into Team F officially during the year-end personnel reshuffle.

‘Something to celebrate.’

Although a team member is Baek Saheon… well, from what I saw at Sekwang Industrial High School, it didn’t seem like they were just using Jang Heowoon as bait.

Other than that, it was ordinary.

‘I just diligently entered ghost stories, you know.’

There were no instances of entering high-grade ghost stories above C-grade.

Thanks to that, it concluded with an increase in my viewing records of children’s animation, which prevents my internal screams, fear, and insomnia….

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin, the evaluation manager I met in the hallway, casually hinted that it was ‘because the company is ridiculously busy with year-end special demands for accounting and auditing.’

It still bothers me when he occasionally brings up Director Ho, but I’m grateful for him giving me information like this….

“Wow, Assistant Manager Kim, if you just enter high-grade darkness, you’ll clear it quickly and collect points, so you won’t have to worry, right? You must be very disappointed there aren’t many high-grades, haha!”

“……”

Not disappointed at all….

Anyway, even by calmly clearing low-grade ones, points accumulated, and I could take a breather and compose myself.

However, throughout this time, one thing remained strangely unconfirmed.

“Uh, Squad Leader. Is my disciplinary action still under discussion?”

“Yes.”

My disciplinary action, that is.

“Oh. How interesting… didn’t you expect the results to come out immediately, Mr. Roe Deer?”

That’s right.

Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be dismissed, but I didn’t think it would take this long.

I just thought a disciplinary action to humble a cocky, capable rookie and make him docile would immediately fall on my head.

‘…Why are they making it so complicated upstairs?’

It even seemed like rumors had spread within the field investigation team itself, which was a bit strange.

[Kang Yihak: Assistant Manager! I heard the news haha. You decided not to do inefficient work that isn’t included in your salary! Wow! I respect you!]

“……”

Did… did the rumors spread like that?

‘I tried to build a character with a clear moral compass, but did that even get messed up…?’

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be that bad; it just seemed like the development department was debating what to do with me, whether to treat it as an exception or according to regulations.

And in late December.

“The disciplinary date has been confirmed.”

“……”

Phew.

Finally, the official notice came down.

Disciplinary Notice Content: Performing night cleaning duties for the security team. Duration: 3 days. This disciplinary action is for the improvement of the individual’s work attitude, and please be careful to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

A truly ghost-story-company-like disciplinary action appeared.

‘Where did common corporate disciplinary actions like education, salary reduction, suspension, and dismissal go?’

So, isn’t three days okay? Didn’t I get off lightly?

That’s true. However….

“The schedule is from December 29th to 31st.”

“……”

Who is it?

‘I can feel the desire to completely screw me over with the date selection…!’

I could feel the malice of making me spend New Year’s Eve pulling all-nighters at the company. I was genuinely curious who it was.

But since I’d already butted heads once, I guess I have to just take it this time.

‘Phew…….’

Finally, at midnight on December 29th, I went down to the security team area on the first basement floor of the company.

And I met a familiar face.

“Good evening, J.”

“Wow… long time no see….”

It was Security Team Leader J3.

From the Mountain God ghost story to the Hungry Hangman ghost story and the containment incident after escaping, the slender employee, with whom I had become acquainted a few times, raised his hand towards me with a rather welcoming face.

Of course, the annoyance outweighed it, so I quickly pulled out the bribe I had prepared.

“I’m sorry. Please take good care of me for three days.”

“You don’t have to be sorry….”

Security Team Leader J’s face brightened as he accepted two large boxes of a dozen sugar and cream doughnuts.

“It was worth supporting you… Thank you… I’ll enjoy them as my snack….”

“……”

‘I brought two boxes for him to share with the security team members….’

But he seemed to firmly believe that the 24 doughnuts were just for him, so I kept my mouth shut. I think it was a wise decision.

“Um, please come this way first….”

The Security Team Leader began to guide me further inside than the CCTV room.

‘This is an area only security team members can enter.’

I’m here again, huh?

I swallowed hard and began walking down the hallway, following his footsteps.

This is where I have to clean, somewhere around here.

“Can I ask where I need to clean for three days…?”

“Yes… But since you’ve been there once… it might be better? Probably… Hmm.”

Been there?

“Today’s cleaning area is Isolation Corridor B… you know… over there, where you took out the contaminated employee….”

“……!”

Damn it.

He was talking about that isolation room area next to the security team’s rental warehouse.

That corridor lined with secret rooms where I was briefly trapped after escaping and being rescued from the Hungry Hangman…!

‘That place… was not an ordinary place.’

I swallowed, recalling all the muttering and strange phenomena I heard while walking out of the isolation corridor.

‘…Cleaning the security team area, huh?’

A near-certain premonition that I would encounter strange phenomena made my heart pound.

“This way… the changing room.”

I swallowed and headed to the changing room, following the Security Team Leader’s guidance.

And in the process, I inadvertently got a glimpse of the security team’s opened dormitory rooms.

[Bedroom]

Seen through the crack in the door.

They were private rooms with a lived-in feel, furnished mostly with gray-issued items like curtains, blankets, iron desks, and cabinets.

…It subtly felt like a prison’s staff dormitory.

‘It seems… shabbier than the company housing.’

Firstly, being underground, it seemed unhealthy.

“Do all the security team members live here?”

“No. Only the guard team… Hmm.”

The Security Team Leader squinted slightly as if gauging how much he could say.

But soon, with an expression of general annoyance, he answered vaguely.

“The security team… is actually divided from a higher department called the Security Management Department… this is mainly where the guard team is….”

“I see.”

Anyway, we soon arrived at the changing room, and I quickly changed into the clothes provided.

It wasn’t the security team uniform I wore last time, but bright orange, eye-catching clothes. It subtly looked like an engineer’s work uniform.

“Cleaning uniform… not bad… the color is nice too….”

“……”

Is he… serious?

Anyway, I was all changed and it was time to move to the cleaning area.

‘Phew.’

I looked at the Security Team Leader with the feeling of being led to a slaughterhouse, but he stopped without leaving the changing room, as if waiting for someone.

“Cleaning… usually two people work together.”

Hmm?

Surely the Security Team Leader wouldn’t be coming… Is it another employee?

Then the Security Team Leader looked outside the changing room and beckoned me.

“Here he comes… Today’s partner.”

I also looked outside the changing room.

Someone was walking from the hallway where the bedrooms were earlier.

…A familiar face.

“Roe Deer.”

“…!!”

Assistant Manager Park Minseong walked down the corridor, raising his hand and smiling awkwardly, waving at me.

“Nice to meet you. How have you been?”