Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 134

The eerie mart, just before closing.

The store darkened as the lights went out.

Na na na na na na nanana na na nan~

Amidst the cheerful jingle, the high school student whose mouth I was covering gasped for breath, the vibration transmitting through my hand.

My body tightened with tension.

And beyond the noise-like music and vibration, a tiny scratching sound, far away, grated on my nerves…

Creeeeak.

The sound of a metal door opening.

And if there was a metal door, not a glass one, in a mart…

‘…The staff area door.’

That was the sound of staff coming out.

‘Hah.’

I swallowed the rising groan, turned my head slightly, and peeked out from behind the display shelf…

Waddle, waddle.

Figures in mart uniforms were appearing one by one in the dark interior of the store…

Grotesque figures of staff, shaped like people made of balloons, waddled out.

[LOOKY MART]

The Looky Mart logo, mimicking Lucky Mart.

The clumsy imitation on their chests and hats was revealed by the light, then disappeared back into the darkness.

At that moment.

“Let’s hurry out, they’re closing.”

“Okay.”

Someone passed by the liquor section, right next to the display shelf we were hiding behind, heading towards the checkout.

“…!”

There were two or three past shoppers still in the store.

Then… one of the ‘staff’ who had entered the liquor aisle lightly bumped into them.

Thump.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The staff member’s head turned.

“Welcome to Looky Mart!”

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Thank you always, customer!”

The shoppers felt no strangeness.

They passed the staff and headed towards the checkout on their own.

I could feel the high school student, whose mouth I was covering with my hand, breathing heavily.

“Goodbye, customer!”

The head-turning staff-like thing creaked out of the liquor aisle.

And walked down the corridor with that strange gait again…

In front of the snack aisle.

Right next to the display shelf where we were crouching and hiding.

Squeak, squeak.

“……”

“……”

There was a strange sound, like balloons rubbing together.

All four of us held our breath, almost glued to the floor.

Squeak, squeak.

The sound moved away…

“……”

‘Hah.’

Tap, tap!

The high school student tapped my hand, which was covering his mouth.

His face was tear-streaked but quiet.

“You won’t scream, right?”

He nodded slightly.

When I released my hand, the high school student urgently mumbled, as if about to choke on his breath.

“Th-those strange staff, we shouldn’t be seen by them, right? Right? The guide notice says….”

That’s right.

After closing, the Looky Mart staff mimic normal operations and engage in strange behaviors.

If one staff member spots you, all staff on that floor will chase you.

To survive in Looky Mart after closing time, you had to move as if playing a survival horror game from now on.

But… could we be safe dragging two clueless teenagers around?

‘No matter how I look at it, the equipment I received doesn’t seem to have accounted for that.’

It seemed like they gave me equipment assuming we’d get out today within business hours.

Of course, since it’s the Disaster Management Bureau, they must have some contingency, but no matter how I thought about it, there were too many variables.

‘Damn it.’

Cold sweat dripped down my chin.

Are we just supposed to endure? What is Agent Bronze going to do? For now, it seems like we’ll just hide?

Wait!

‘He looks like he’s trying to subdue a staff member….’

Agent Bronze held a pistol, quietly staring at the back of the receding staff member.

It seemed he was planning an escape route, and that staff member must be in the way.

…Should I help subdue them?

If Brown were here, I would have asked him to turn off the lights, but now the idea of using an unavailable method came to mind first, and I bit my tongue.

‘Think, think….’

I desperately racked my brain. I quickly searched through the <Records of Darkness Exploration> in my memory.

So, after Looky Mart closes…

…….

No, that’s not right.

[20 : 25]

“Agent…!”

I crept towards Agent Bronze, whispering urgently.

“There are still 5 minutes until closing. It’s not completely closed yet!”

“…!”

“The doors will still be open.”

We can just leave now!

Agent Bronze quickly checked beyond the basement first-floor checkout. Seeing that the escalator outside the checkout was still running, he quickly made a decision.

“Let’s move now.”

And he quickly grabbed the high school student clinging to him and began to move swiftly.

“…!”

Right. Each of us needs to take one.

I looked back at the high school student whose mouth I had been covering.

He frantically shook his head.

“I’ll run by myself, I’m faster than him…!”

“……”

Should I have looked a bit more trustworthy too? No, this isn’t the time to be thinking about this!

I started running with the high school student, pushing him from behind so he wouldn’t fall behind.

We rushed past the empty checkout counters, madly cutting across the escalators filled with shoppers.

“Ah!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think I just stumbled.”

Not recognizing us, we pushed through the shoppers, heading towards the exit just before closing time.

And at the first-floor entrance…

“……”

Something was standing in front of the door.

It seemed to have been a standing signboard originally.

Like one of those depicting Lucky Mart’s founder, a famous entrepreneur, a typical blonde middle-aged Caucasian man with a trustworthy smile and a thumbs-up.

But…

It was alive.

-Mph!! Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!

The person, forcibly pressed and fixed into a flat, signboard-like shape, looked like a dead body crushed by a flat press, now moving.

It was smiling, but its eyeballs still rolled, shedding tears and drool.

It was looking at us.

…It was perceiving us.

As if begging for rescue, or filled with malice wanting to pass on this pain, its eyes rolled, desperately staring this way, and the signboard vibrated… F***!

“Hic.”

“Quiet.”

I saw Agent Bronze in front, calming the high school student he was responsible for.

How convenient the term ‘ghost’ is. To be able to describe such a sight with just one word.

‘This is insane.’

Still, we had to ‘block’ its vision.

‘To do that, first….’

We had to induce a misunderstanding.

I swallowed a groan and grabbed the shoulder of the high school student I was in charge of.

“You read it in the guide notice, right? Steal an item. You both have to do it yourselves.”

Before obscuring the entrance ghost’s vision, you must first induce it to mistake you for one of the shoppers. Steal one item that a shopper has already checked out and carry it. No commotion should occur at this time.

“But if we get caught….”

“It’s okay if you steal something that won’t be noticed right away.”

I looked at the entrance.

There weren’t many people, but everyone was either rushing to check out or leaving the building due to the closing announcement.

‘Even if we don’t explicitly block its vision, we might be obscured if we blend in with that crowd.’

Of course, I had no intention of taking such a risk.

“Fishing line.”

“Yes.”

I immediately took out the item I had.

The rolled-up fishing line and… a small red goldfish-shaped lure attached to its end.

———————=

Records of Darkness Exploration / Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau

/ Item

Lure Play

An item with a red lure attached to the end of a transparent fishing line.

When used, it can attract the attention of supernatural entities of waveform-grade or lower.

The more powerful and closer to its origin the entity is, the weaker and more insignificant the effect.

Item usage condition: Civil servant of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, grade 7 or higher, or special permit holder.

———————=

As soon as we stole an item, we would use this to attract the signboard’s attention and leave.

Agent Bronze and I took turns, securing enough time for the two high school students to get out.

Agent Bronze unrolled the fishing line, equipped it, and gestured with his eyes.

“You steal.”

I nodded and looked at the two high school students.

“We, we can’t steal….”

“Kids. Anyway, they can’t see us, so it’s okay as long as it’s not something that would be immediately noticeable if it went missing.”

People generally don’t expect things that are already in a bag or box to disappear.

‘Something that would be least looked for, like that…’

Small daily necessities.

Items bought out of necessity but not of great interest.

Something not to be used or eaten immediately.

“……”

I approached a shopper sitting on a chair near the entrance.

‘It’s easier if they’re not moving.’

They seemed to be waiting for their companions, and had their mart shopping bag on their lap, eyes briefly closed.

I quickly observed their mart eco-bag.

‘Good.’

And I subtly reached inside… and took out something stuck to the bottom.

Dental floss.

“There are a few more inside.”

“…!”

“I almost pulled out the other dental floss when I took this out, so just grab it gently. Gently.”

“……”

The high school student I was in charge of swallowed, then extended a pale hand into the eco-bag.

And succeeded in immediately grabbing the dental floss I had placed on top.

“…It, it worked!”

“Good job!”

The high school student, holding the dental floss, retreated with an excited face.

And both of us looked at the one remaining person.

The high school student who had been sticking with Agent Bronze.

“……”

Eventually, that high school student also approached with an anxious expression.

“Uh, calmly….”

“Oh, I know already! Just be quiet!”

“……”

He seemed to be in full panic.

The high school student who yelled at me tightly closed his eyes and reached out, as if wanting to finish it quickly.

And he quickly shoved his hand into the eco-bag and snatched the dental floss.

“It’s….”

The high school student pulled his hand back with a bright face.

Wait, if you pull it back too quickly like that…

Thud.

The high school student’s hand brushed the shopper’s cheek.

“Mommy!!”

“…!!”

The shopper, who had the eco-bag on their lap, gasped and fell backwards off the chair.

“Uh, uhhhh?”

The high school student was startled and instinctively grabbed the eco-bag.

“Uh, Mom, what’s wrong, are you okay… Ow!”

A person who seemed to be their companion rushed over to help the shopper up, holding the eco-bag, but gasped in horror when they saw the eco-bag floating, held by the high school student.

‘Damn it!’

I immediately snatched the high school student and pulled him back. The eco-bag fell to the floor, spilling items everywhere.

The owner of the bag screamed.

“There was a p-person here, but they disappeared!”

The surroundings began to stir.

Attention was drawn.

“What are you talking about? You must have missed…”

“No, Dad! The bag was weird!”

“Some boy is holding my bag! Uhhhhhhh?!”

Damn it.

Shoppers usually do not perceive you. However, if physical contact occurs, they may notice you. At this point, if communication is possible, there are several methods you can attempt to receive help for escape.

Thinking only up to this point, it seemed hopeful.

However….

“Excuse me! Someone please help!”

“Huh? What day is it today? What day was it today? Why am I here? Uhhhh?”

However, if a shopper perceives you and feels a sense of incongruity or panics, quickly leave the area.

“Run.”

The staff are coming.

Agent Bronze and I simultaneously pushed the high school students and began running towards the opposite side of the entrance.

…Because something began waddling out from the escalator, from the very end of the checkout, from the restroom.

Squeak, squeak.

The sound was heard.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak.

A strange creaking, balloon-rubbing sound chased us madly from behind.

It was getting more and more numerous.

We instinctively ran madly towards the wide, complex areas.

…Into the checkout area, into the store’s display shelves.

‘Damn it.’

I checked my watch.

[20 : 29]

It’s over.

Closing time is almost here.

‘We need to hide.’

We had to give up on the entrance for now.

Before the store completely closed, shoppers all disappeared, and more staff appeared, we had to lose them within 60 seconds. To do that, we had to hide, but…

‘Four people is too many!’

I made eye contact with Agent Bronze.

He gestured upwards with his eyes, then nodded and quickly moved sideways.

Taking one high school student with him.

“Ah…!”

“This way.”

I took the high school student I was in charge of and moved.

I ran until I was out of breath. And behind us, the mad squeaking sound still echoed, but it had definitely lessened.

‘More of them went towards Agent Bronze…!’

It seemed he deliberately lured them. I gratefully took advantage of it, concerns and all, and ran like crazy.

Vacuum cleaners, cosmetics, dishes, kitchenware, bleach…

All kinds of display shelves repeated endlessly in the giant mart until…

We encountered a staff member.

‘F***.’

Squeak, squeak.

It chased us. Each time, I immediately changed direction with the high school student and ran again.

“Huff.”

The high school student began to pant.

My mouth was getting dry too.

But the huge mart seemed to endlessly spew out staff and corners, like a maze….

‘Damn it!’

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak.

We turned the display shelf corner multiple times.

‘This isn’t going to work.’

A place to hide.

A place where two people could quickly hide without prior preparation, at a moment when no staff member saw us!

And the moment we turned the corner again.

‘…!’

I saw it.

[Electric Mixer 50% Off]

A mobile display stand.

‘Found it.’

I pushed the high school student under the massive mobile display stand, piled high with mixers. I also went under it and pressed myself against it.

And held my breath.