Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 105

I stared at Isolation Room B14, frozen.

Creak, creeeeeak.

The rusty hinges shrieked, like a scream, prying open a gap in the isolation room door.

A door that absolutely should not open, opens. And from within, a black shape…

“Run.”

I immediately turned around and sprinted towards the isolation corridor entrance.

Beside me, I heard Assistant Manager Park Minseong running like crazy alongside me. Survival instinct propelled my feet, while my head was in a chaotic mess.

‘What is this?’

What situation is this?

‘In the work tips…’

Rule #4: Ignore sounds from the isolation room. 

Rule #11: If you shout at it to shut up, it will quiet down.

Before I could even decide which of the two to do, the door opened?

What on earth is inside there right now…?

“Kids.”

The Assistant Manager and I almost stumbled simultaneously.

It was a voice we both knew.

But without looking back, we continued to round the corner, sprinting towards the green emergency exit sign at the end of the corridor. I even flung the cleaning tools aside. My gasps for breath reached my throat.

The moment Assistant Manager Park Minseong, without even breathing, grabbed the doorknob beneath the green emergency light.

Beep-beeeeeeeep!!

“…!!”

[Unauthorized isolation room opening confirmed.]

[Corridor sealed.]

Red emergency lights flashed in the corridor.

Along with an emotionless mechanical voice, I began to hear the sound of a protective shutter descending from outside the doorknob Assistant Manager Park Minseong was holding.

The Assistant Manager and I glanced at each other for a moment.

“……”

Leaving us inside.

The corridor was sealed.

‘We’re screwed.’

Damn it, damn it!!

I fumbled in my pocket. Maybe I should check the work tips for any relevant rules…

“Well, well. You two are a pair of Dumber and Dumber. Did you trade your exploration manual for candy? Where did all your composure go?”

…

‘Huh?’

It was a bewildered voice.

One that seemed to be suppressing anger, but also somehow sounded ordinary…

Thump-thump.

“This is driving me crazy, really. No, wait, should I praise you for being so cautious… Phew.”

The voice had followed us, now right behind my back.

But there were no abnormal phenomena as I had expected.

No spine-chilling laughter, no cold hand reaching out from behind, no eerie actions.

“……”

“Damn it. Phew, no. Calm down… kids. I know I said some crazy things just now. But I had no choice if I wanted to use the escape item. We don’t have time, so just hurry up and understand, okay?”

The voice grew slightly anxious.

“What can’t I say to get out of here? I was trying to extract some information while pretending to be crazy, but then the item suddenly activated and the door opened, so I got out.”

That voice was,

“Snap out of it. I’ll give you 10 seconds. Hurry.”

…

…

“…Assistant Manager Eun?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t stop Assistant Manager Park Minseong from turning around and muttering beside me.

More precisely, I turned around too.

And then I saw a familiar silhouette.

Short hair.

Clear, sharp eyes.

A woman in a cold-looking suit.

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae, as we knew her, stood in the corridor.

She was scanning the cleaning tools we had flung aside, with a look of distaste on her face.

“…Can we really just leave those like that? No, I’ll check that later… First, you need to understand.”

“……”

“……”

The strength left Assistant Manager Park Minseong’s hand, which had been gripping my shoulder.

We stared blankly at the person in front of us.

“Badger, and… Deer.”

An expression appeared on Assistant Manager Eun Hajae’s face.

“Have you been well?”

The face of a superior, tinged with composure, leisure, boredom, and a hint of fatigue.

And a fierce smile.

“This damn company, seriously… Phew.”

The Assistant Manager ruffled her hair and sighed deeply, then gestured.

“I’m sorry, but I need a favor. Just open that isolation corridor door for me.”

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae said calmly.

“I’ll find my own way out after that.”

The Assistant Manager and I didn’t answer, as if by prior arrangement.

My mind felt like it was about to explode.

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae gave a wry smile.

“Can’t even answer? Well, it’s a wise decision. I would have done the same…”

What is this?

‘Why does this feel so… plausible?’

Why does it feel so real…?

‘No, that can’t be!’

“Assistant Manager.”

I swallowed, speaking slowly and quickly to Assistant Manager Park Minseong, as if repeating to myself.

“Remember. The Assistant Manager resigned. She couldn’t possibly be here…”

…

‘Wait.’

Is she really not here?

I recalled several strange points that had remained as suspicions until now.

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae, who had lost contact.

Handing over her equipment without meeting in person, only checking texts, phone calls never connecting, and only hearing things through Team Leader Lee Ja-heon…

Could it be.

‘Trapped here?’

I hurriedly recalled the conditions under which one would be transferred to the isolation zone by the security team.

Emergency contaminants, internal abnormal phenomena, dangerous elements, spies, disciplinary cases, and even unknown, eerie conditions censored by black squares…

‘It’s diverse.’

Even Assistant Manager Park Minseong and I were briefly trapped.

If so.

What about the possibility of Assistant Manager Eun Hajae falling under these categories?

“…Deer?”

“Just a moment… just a moment.”

Isn’t there a possibility?

I want to meticulously ask and verify the situation from whatever is impersonating Assistant Manager Eun Hajae right now, to find out what happened.

However, I couldn’t gamble on a possibility.

‘First, another method.’

I asked the ghost story resident.

‘Brown, about that thing that looks like a person in front. Is that Assistant Manager Eun from Team D, who I worked with a few months ago?’

Brown answered cheerfully.

-Oh, unfortunately, this legendary host is not an entertainment detective specialist!

-Of course, my eye for detail is excellent, but there’s a limit to what these pebble-like eyes in this stuffed body can see…

-The appearance looks identical, but who knows? There are masters of disguise in this world, you know.

Damn it.

I desperately continued.

‘Still, could you confirm just one thing? I’m just curious about your judgment based on what you see. I trust you.’

-…! In that case, I will gladly answer, my friend!

‘Thank you. Then…’

I swallowed.

‘Is what’s in front of me… human in every aspect, mentally and physically?’

-Ah, that’s a question I can definitely answer right away.

Brown affirmed with a cheerful voice.

-Yes!

Ha…

‘It’s human, it says.’

This is driving me crazy.

I wish the being in front of me would just say it wasn’t human. Then it would be confirmed, wouldn’t it?

…That it wasn’t Assistant Manager Eun Hajae.

But the familiar-looking person in front of me continued to speak in a familiar tone.

“Normally, I’d want to persuade you carefully, but there’s not much time, kids.”

Her complexion had grown slightly pale.

“The security team will be dispatched to assess the situation soon, and the only way for me to get out of here is to escape before they arrive.”

“……”

“I’m not asking for much. I’ll hide for a bit, so when the door opens, just let me go.”

I admitted.

‘I can’t tell with my own eyes.’

In that case, I had no choice but to risk a little.

I immediately spoke.

“Assistant Manager.”

“Uh, uh-huh?”

To Assistant Manager Park Minseong.

“Don’t you think meeting the Assistant Manager, who is on leave, in a security team isolation facility, is an impossible occurrence?”

“That’s… right?”

“Oh. Indirect conversation. That’s a good method, Deer.”

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae briefly admired, then quickly muttered.

“They stuck me here saying to think it over until I change my mind about resigning. Thinking about it again, it’s my fault for trusting this damn company. F**k.”

“Assistant Manager. Even if someone isolated manages to exit the corridor door, won’t they be caught quickly?”

“Am I stupid? I’ve prepared an item. The problem is time. There’s no time. The security team must be on their way. I can’t even confirm this, it’s driving me crazy…”

Confirm.

‘…Wait!’

I remembered what was in my back pocket.

‘The walkie-talkie.’

I pressed my back against the door, then carefully reached my hand behind me without looking, grabbing the walkie-talkie from my pocket.

And then I turned the volume up just a tiny bit…

BEEP-beep-beep!

[Currently sealed…]

Damn it!

‘The security chief was continuously sending messages!’

I immediately turned off the walkie-talkie’s sound.

But it was already too late.

“I hear a walkie-talkie.”

“…!”

“Well, it’s up to whoever has it, so you can contact them comfortably. But I have a question…”

A question?

“They wouldn’t give a walkie-talkie to a cleaner.”

“……”

My back turned cold.

“Did someone specially give it to you? That’s… odd too. Cleaning staff read manuals from unmanned devices and record their attendance before entering. It’s a system where they don’t necessarily meet other employees.”

Doubt and tension mixed in Assistant Manager Eun Hajae’s voice.

“Is that… really the security team you’re connecting to?”

“……”

“Deer. Who have you been meeting?”

My hands were sweaty.

This insane situation was the first.

‘I don’t know what to believe.’

There are no hints. No, even if it really is Assistant Manager Eun Hajae, how could I let her go? Hiding from the security team? Is that even possible?

‘To understand the situation even a little more…’

Ah!

I remembered what I originally wanted to look at.

The second note with the work tips.

‘If I read all the remaining tips, I might be able to grasp the truth from the context.’

I immediately took out the note and read the next number.

12. If you smell anything strange from the door crack or something starts flowing out, run away unconditionally. It’s always a sign that appears before the door opens. Conversely, if these signs aren’t present, it’s usually safe. I’ll talk about other exceptional situations in detail in the next number. I recommend taking your time to read it.

I immediately read the next item…

13. Huh? The door opened?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOL

I instinctively crumpled the paper.

My pulse hammered in my hand.

“Deer, what’s wrong?”

Calm, calmly…

“First, let’s calm down. The security team is coming, so all we have to do now is figure out the best course of action.”

Assistant Manager Park Minseong pretended to pat my back, then…

“Ways for us to get out…”

He was writing something on my back with his finger.

Dae 

Ri 

Nim 

A 

Ni 

Ya

…

It’s not the Assistant Manager.

I lifted my head, frozen.

“Wow.”

Assistant Manager Eun Hajae.

No, the one with Assistant Manager Eun Hajae’s face lowered its head towards us.

“How did you know?”

How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know?