Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 132

Bronze Agent Ryu Jaegwan stood calmly in a corner of the indoor space, showing no signs of anxiety.

The room where the final successful candidates gathered.

The names of those who passed the aptitude test had already been called several times, and the prepared chairs were almost full.

But…

‘Why isn’t he coming?’

While successful candidates were being called one after another and appearing, the one he had reluctantly passed still hadn’t arrived.

‘Kim Soleum!’

Even though his number had been called three times already!

• “Group ‘Da’, Number 4.”
• “You have passed. Proceed to the designated location.”

If that broadcast was repeated more than four times, the assessment would change to ‘deferred’!

Because they would assume he had given up the interview.

‘Why on earth…’

To pass the aptitude test and then give up like this?

Just as Ryu Jaegwan himself was starting to burn with an incomprehensible anxiety, it happened.

Thump!

“S-sorry.”

In the room almost full of successful candidates, the door was hurriedly flung open, and a man with a bright red face rushed in.

He seemed to have run in a hurry, catching his breath, water dripping from his suit sleeves and neck…

[Da-4]

That number, which was almost dismissed if called one more time.

It was Kim Soleum.

By all appearances, he seemed to have washed his face due to nervousness.

…If he were a spy, he probably wouldn’t do something so conspicuous…

‘Damn it!’

Don’t be lenient! Ryu Jaegwan firmly closed his mouth and maintained a displeased expression.

• “Please take a seat.”

“Yes, y-yes…”

Kim Soleum, adjusting his glasses, quietly sat in the back corner.

He heard another successful candidate sitting next to him cautiously speak.

“Are you alright? Here, even this…”

“Oh, I-I’m fine! Thank you…”

His startled reaction to the kind offer of water from the person next to him appeared more concrete in Ryu Jaegwan’s eyes, knowing the circumstances.

As if being among cult-like employees with no ethics left at the insane pharmaceutical company made him feel great emotion even at such small kindnesses…

“……”

The agent silently continued to observe the situation.

• “The appointment ceremony will now begin.”

The Disaster Management Bureau’s agent appointment ceremony was simple and unadorned.

One registered their desired funeral method in case of death in the line of duty, received a temporary transit pass, were informed of a brief training schedule and the missions they would be deployed to.

There were hardly any standardized administrative procedures compared to general civil servants, yet the emphasis on training wasn’t as high as in special forces either.

Supernatural disasters.

The ability to respond to terrifying and chilling ghostly phenomena was ultimately cultivated through experience.

And the majority of agent applicants were people who had lost family or relatives through terrifying unknown incidents.

Even if not, the unique sense of duty of those who had grasped the secrets of the strange otherworld permeated the atmosphere in the successful candidates’ room as a given.

• “Group ‘Da’, Number 4. Kim Soleum.”

“Th-thank you.”

Kim Soleum, receiving his transit pass at that moment, was no exception.

Because he seemed timid and dark, there was a certain presumption that if someone of that personality applied, their determination must be extraordinary.

Of course, a somewhat displeased gaze, as if looking at an unqualified bungler, was mixed in among them.

• “You will undergo three weeks of training and trial deployment, and then finally be assigned to a specific team.”
• “Until then, please thoroughly follow the instructions of your senior agent.”

This was when the interviewers appeared.

The interviewers became the senior agents of the new recruits they had chosen, directly guiding and taking responsibility for the newly passed agents.

Because this was the basic policy of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

Of course, if there wasn’t a match, agents who weren’t interviewers were also mobilized, but at least for ‘impressive successful candidates’, the interviewer himself would be assigned as their paired agent.

And in Kim Soleum’s case, due to the subtle support and recommendation of the assistant interviewers…

• “The agent standing in front of you will be your direct senior and will oversee your one-on-one training for three months.”

Ryu Jaegwan stood in front of Kim Soleum.

“…!”

Watching the face beyond the glasses, recognizing him, turn ashen.

“Follow me.”

“……”

Ryu Jaegwan heard his assigned recruit, Kim Soleum, quietly following him.

And the moment they entered an unkempt room in a corner of the eerie aptitude test building, leaving them alone.

Rustle.

“…!”

He heard the sound of the other person taking something out.

‘A weapon?’

Just as Ryu Jaegwan was about to move his hand to immediately subdue him…

“Uh, Agent-nim.”

“……”

“I… wanted to return this.”

It was…

The temporary agent badge and the pistol.

Items he had given to the temporary agent Grape in ‘Sekwang Industrial High School’.

Things Ryu Jaegwan had forgotten due to how rapidly the situation had unfolded.

“I should have returned them sooner, but I didn’t have the chance, so I’m giving them to you now. I’m sorry…”

“……”

Ryu Jaegwan looked at Kim Soleum.

Despite having voluntarily reported something no one would have known if he had just kept quiet, the other person looked as if he had already given up everything.

As if he expected the agent in front of him to immediately expose him as a pharmaceutical company informant.

…Ryu Jaegwan’s heart settled.

“Does that pharmaceutical company know you’re here?”

He slowly shook his head.

“No.”

How could he possibly believe that…?

“In the company, I’m already a dead person…”

“…!”

What did he say?

“What do you mean by that…”

“I, I was caught in the darkness… that is, a supernatural disaster, for over a month and couldn’t get out.”

Kim Soleum’s face turned slightly pale.

“They treat you as dead if it goes on for over a month, so, um, the company will consider me a deceased employee, no, a former employee…”

“……”

They just process someone’s identity like that without even a rescue attempt?

Speechless for a moment at the unimaginably unethical processing method, Ryu Jaegwan then realized the unspoken story behind Kim Soleum’s answer.

“Then you were trapped in a ghost story for over a month?!”

Kim Soleum nodded slightly, his head bowed deeply.

Ryu Jaegwan felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

‘No way!’

And he examined the other person again.

The neatly dressed and tidy person suddenly reacted to his surroundings so cautiously and awkwardly.

It seemed that he had been in that state due to being trapped in a terrible ghost story for a long time.

“No way, intentionally…”

“No.”

Right.

What lunatic would voluntarily choose to be trapped in a ghost story for a month?

Especially someone who had experienced it firsthand while working…

“But not reporting to the company after I got out… that was intentional.”

“…!”

Ryu Jaegwan reflexively said.

“Was it so you could… quietly, ‘without trouble,’ leave the company?”

“……”

Kim Soleum took a deep breath, then finally nodded.

“Yes.”

It was a lie.

Daydream Co., Ltd. was a place that would let you go without a word, even if you said something like ‘Dobby is free!’ and waved goodbye.

It was just that no one from the Field Investigation Team did that because it meant throwing away hard-earned points!

“I don’t regret it.”

But in the mind of the benevolent Disaster Management Bureau agent, who didn’t know this fact, a typical multi-level marketing escape drama unfolded.

The image of a victim who, after suffering mental shock, PTSD, and gaslighting, finally faked his death to escape the company…

“I, so… the fact that I was from that company, of course I can’t stop you, but… please, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t make it public…”

“……”

He was afraid of being tracked by Daydream Co., Ltd.

Ryu Jaegwan intuited this but showed no outward sign, instead questioning him further.

“The wish? Weren’t you working there because of the wish that company supposedly granted?”

A bitter, hollow smile spread across Kim Soleum’s lips, still bowed.

“That… it lost its meaning.”

“…!”

“Um, a problem arose while I was working, and the achievements I had accumulated for the wish were reset.”

“……”

“That’s when it seemed strange.”

Daydream Co., Ltd.’s wish ticket certainly granted wishes.

However, the company could decide at any time not to grant a wish ticket to an individual employee.

Irrationally and unfairly.

“I thought, ‘I’m working in this terrible place indefinitely, based on a ridiculous judgment,’ and…”

Ryu Jaegwan felt like saying, ‘Didn’t I tell you not to believe that absurd talk about wishes?’ but he held it back.

“Ah! Don’t worry. Anyway, since I was declared dead… I can no longer accumulate achievements or claim them.”

The bitter smile slowly faded from Kim Soleum’s face.

It was empty.

“After that, I had nothing left to do.”

“……”

“So… I remembered the business card you gave me and applied to the Disaster Management Bureau.”

And he recoiled again.

“…I apologize if I displeased you.”

Suddenly, Ryu Jaegwan felt as if he was unfairly interrogating the other person over something absurd.

It was psychological guilt.

It would be a similar feeling to grabbing a citizen just rescued from a supernatural phenomenon by the collar and demanding they explain what happened.

The guilt of psychologically pressuring a victim who, despite suffering under unethical company work and directives, tried to live morally, and finally barely escaped!

Yet he himself had unfairly pressured the other person during the interview and was now calling him in privately to intimidate him.

Furthermore, the other person had lost both his deeply desired goal of the wish ticket and his affiliation.

Ryu Jaegwan thought.

…Yet Kim Soleum tried to join here, clearly with an unconscious hope.

The work of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

Protecting citizens from supernatural disasters, ghosts, unidentified creatures, unknown phenomena, and threats.

It was the exact opposite purpose of Daydream Co., Ltd., where he had worked.

If, through their past two encounters, Kim Soleum had entered this organization with even a glimmer of hope and purpose.

‘Then…’

Ryu Jaegwan clenched his fist.

‘He’s not going to hit me, is he?’

I stared at the Bronze Agent’s clenched fist, feeling a cold sweat.

I had spilled everything.

‘It seemed to have worked.’

I was sweating because I didn’t know why he was clenching his fist.

But after a few seconds of silently bowing my head, without changing my expression, then…

Beep beep beep.

“…!”

The watch on the Bronze Agent’s wrist began to blare a noisy alarm.

“…Please wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

Phew.

‘Was he clenching his fist because of that?’

Click.

Almost simultaneously with the Bronze Agent opening the door and leaving, I shook my head and sat down on the floor.

Ha.

‘The only time I’ve ever swindled a good person like this in my life was during a Mafia game…’

Now I was deceiving a government official to spy. I was literally drenched in cold sweat.

But the important thing was…

‘He seems to believe it, right?’

That it seemed to have worked.

A moment ago, I checked that the Bronze Agent had clearly become abruptly taciturn and started looking at me with pity.

If that pity wasn’t pity for a criminal who would be permanently imprisoned in the Disaster Management Bureau’s special glass prison, then ‘Applicant Kim Soleum’ was, in a way, cleared from suspicion.

‘Done.’

I wiped the cold sweat from my temples.

They say a good con is 90% truth and 10% lies, and unintentionally, I seem to have maintained that ratio well.

…By the way, my colleagues who infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau with me as spies didn’t go through this.

• “Director Ho, then what about the other colleagues…?”
• “Ah, they’ve already entered.”
• …….
• “Until last month, there was a prepared route for irregular recruitment at the Disaster Management Bureau, so immediate deployment was possible.”

…In short, I was the last spy to get on, and instead of irregular recruitment, I had to take the official Disaster Management Bureau exam and go through all this trouble. Haha…

Go Youngeun, Jang Heoun… I don’t know where you are in the Disaster Management Bureau, but please, enjoy your easy jobs wherever you are, and if something comes up, please help me… please.

‘I beg you.’

I wonder if it’s okay to wish for my colleagues’ peace for such a self-centered reason, but isn’t it good if things are good, anyway?

Of course, what’s important right now is…

‘The department I’ll work in at the Disaster Management Bureau.’

The deduction wasn’t difficult. I crossed my arms.

Let’s see, based on the .

The affiliations assigned to agents who pass the official Disaster Management Bureau exam after three weeks of temporary work and aptitude assessment can be broadly divided into three categories.

‘Broadly, it can be divided into 3 categories.’

One could say these are the three basic stages of responding to supernatural disasters.

First, the first.

1. New Investigation Team
   : An exploration team that identifies the phenomena of newly occurring ghost stories, measures their development and danger level, and reports on them.
   Their role is to search for and classify recently rumored urban legends, both online and offline.
   Of course, it’s not like Daydream Co., Ltd., where they just throw in the Field Investigation Team to make a manual; they collect information and conduct explorations as safely as possible.
   ‘It makes me realize again how insane the company I used to work for was…’
   But now that I think about it, I’m still working there and even spying.
   …It’s sad, so let’s stop thinking about it.

Anyway, next, the second.

1. Emergency Response and Rescue Team
   : A rapid response unit that receives rescue requests from civilians caught in already occurring supernatural disasters and ghost stories and deploys.
   They are the rescue team.
   It’s a crazy job where you have to enter the midst of a rampaging ghost story and rescue people at its most terrifying.
   It’s the most dangerous, but also the essence of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, and a respected department within the company.
   ‘And the exploration logs are the most fun.’
   However, that’s not what I’m aiming for.
   ‘I’m done with fun now.’
   Indirect experience was enough for fun…
   ‘What I’m aiming for is the last affiliation.’

That is…

1. Site Cleanup Team
   : The work of tidying up the situation after a ghost story has occurred and restoring the site so that ordinary citizens don’t notice.
   In short, the cleanup crew!
   Like crime scene cleaners, this team finalized the cleanup of resolved or sealed ghost story locations and drafted related documents.
   So, I could be involved in creating registered documents!
   It’s the easiest team to access documents, making it convenient to access data about ‘a certain supernatural ghost story’ that Director Ho mentioned.
   ‘Moreover, for someone who has already read the Darkness Exploration Log, there’s no better sweet deal than this.’
   It was just like organizing a wiki, so it was a truly comfortable and interesting job.
   And most importantly…
   ‘You go in after all the scary stuff is over!’
   Meaning it’s the least scary.
   With this, I can finally lead a normal work life without breaking a sweat…!
   Do you hear it? The sound of my quality of life soaring!

The method of assignment is also simple.

‘For the next three weeks, I just need to show that I’m passive but good at thinking.’

Let’s emphasize a personality that is analytical and research-oriented, good at classification, organization, and so on.

Have you noticed? This job perfectly matches the character I just created…!

It will be even easier to appeal since my senior knows I’m a ghost story survivor.

Plus, he knows about my suspicious background, doesn’t he?

‘I talked my way out of it, but if there’s even a shred of doubt left, he’ll stick me in document organization.’

The Bronze Agent seemed competent.

But why would he expect someone from an insane pharmaceutical company to be good at rescuing people?!

“Phew.”

I let out an inward sigh of relief and stood up.

Just then, the agent returned too.

Thump.

“Kim Soleum-ssi.”

Ah, he’s probably going to tell me to go home now…

“Take this.”

Thud.

I instinctively caught what he almost threw at me.

‘A transit pass?’

It looked like an ID card for facility access. But I already received this during the agent appointment ceremony, didn’t I…?

“Normally, new agents are assigned to a workplace after three weeks of two-person duty.”

I knew that…

But I didn’t know the next part.

“However, I have arbitrarily assigned you a department.”

“……”

Excuse me?

“From now on, you are in the same department as me.”

“……”

Wait a minute.

‘If it’s the Bronze Agent’s department…’

With an ominous feeling, I flipped over the transit pass I was holding…

Agent (β)

Name: Kim Soleum

Assigned to: Emergency Response and Rescue Team, Hyunmu Team 1

“From this moment, you are assigned to Hyunmu Team 1.”

“……”

No…

No!!

“Just now, I received a rescue call, so we will immediately enter the supernatural disaster to rescue citizens. Follow me.”

“……”

My persuasive jackpot hit in the wrong place!