Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 135

Jang Minseo, a high school student trapped in Rookiemart, covered his mouth under a mobile display stand after requesting rescue from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

His heart pounded.

An unusual sound came from nearby.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak.

The sound of something mimicking employees moving.

‘Did they see me?’

Did they see me hide under the display stand?

No, they couldn’t have, since they weren’t right behind me when I ducked down.

‘I turned the corner and came straight in.’

They couldn’t have seen me…

But the sound drew closer.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak.

“Hooo, hooooook…”

Tears kept flowing.

‘Why did I even come here?’

He shouldn’t have followed his friend. The high school student cursed his friend with every swear word he knew, then stopped, realizing it was pointless.

Fear had already overwhelmed his mind.

The approaching sound grew louder and louder…

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak.

It was right next to him.

His body froze.

Through the gap at the bottom of the display stand, he saw the shadow of feet passing right by.

Dozens of feet, walking strangely, ankles twisted, moving with a creak.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak.

The high school student held his breath.

But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end.

Among the numerous strange footsteps of employees’ shoes passing by the display stand he was hiding under, he saw something unfamiliar…

Old sneakers.

“…!”

Between the strangely waddling employee shoes, old sneakers were seen being dragged along.

“S-save me…!”

Goosebumps erupted all over the high school student’s body.

It was a person.

Someone had been caught.

“I’ll pay you back! I’ll pay you, money, money’s right here, I’m a customer! Customer…!”

“Welcome to Rookiemart!”

But instead of politely guiding the poor missing person out, the employees were dragging them away.

Because…

You cannot purchase items in this mart with currency commonly used in South Korea.

Remember: you have no means of payment.

“Save me!”

The moment this fact is revealed, employees no longer view you as a customer but reclassify you.

In most cases, you become a mart inventory.

Thump.

The high school student froze.

And slowly, he looked up.

…The mobile display stand he was hiding under was shaking.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

The employees had surrounded the stand.

And…

Wiiiiiiing.

“Aaaaargh!”

The sound of a blender and a scream began to echo around the display stand.

“Isn’t this a truly excellent product?”

The high school student realized.

They were imitating a promotional demonstration.

Using the missing person as inventory, grinding them alive in a blender.

“Oooob.”

The high school student covered his mouth. Fortunately or unfortunately, his sound was barely audible due to the noise of the blender and the screams.

“Aaaargh! Hwaaaak, Aaaargh-gaaargh!!”

“Thank you always, customer!”

“Isn’t this a truly excellent product?”

“Welcome to Rookiemart!”

Pleading, screaming, blender noise, screaming, employee greeting, screaming, blender, I can’t take this anymore I’m going to scream I need to get out of here tell me the way out! Guide me…

Someone grabbed his shoulder tightly.

“…!”

Warm body heat, and the vibration of a trembling hand.

It was the hand of the agent who had pushed him under the display stand.

The one who had come in response to his rescue request.

“……Hoo.”

The high school student’s breath slowly returned.

Amidst the cacophony that felt like it would drive him insane or cause him to faint at any moment, the high school student clung to the warmth, hiding under the display stand, enduring tens of minutes that felt like tens of hours.

The sound of the blender and the employees’ repetitive greetings continued, but the screams eventually faded.

And…

Wiiiiiing… click.

“……”

It became quiet above the display stand.

The promotional imitation was over.

Creak, creak, creak…

“……”

The sounds grew fainter.

The feet visible through the gaps in the floor, the dragged sneakers, even the shadows, moved so far away that they were no longer visible…

“……”

“……”

“It’s alright now.”

“Hoo.”

At the agent’s words, after checking the outside, the high school student let out a long sigh and began to sob again.

The bespectacled agent watched him with a complicated expression.

“……”

Incidentally, he felt similarly inside.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

Indeed.

Rookie Agent Kim Soleum was left alone with one high school student he had to rescue…

‘My judgment to split up might have been correct.’

It was so terrifying…!

The sound of a person being ground alive—he had a strong premonition he would meet it again in his dreams. Kim Soleum’s back was already soaked with cold sweat.

‘I almost fainted.’

But he couldn’t show it. Because a terrified fifteen-year-old was clinging to his side!

“W-what do we do? H-h-h…”

“No. It’s okay.”

Kim Soleum spoke to the high school student as gently as possible.

He had started using informal speech without realizing it, but he wasn’t in a state to worry about such things, and he judged that being a friendly adult would be better for reassuring him.

‘…In the Mountain God ghost story, the security chief played a surprisingly big role.’

But seeing the high school student still looking anxious, he eventually opened his mouth again.

“Want me to tell you a secret?”

“……”

The high school student was still weeping profusely and trying to catch his breath, but at the word ‘secret,’ he involuntarily looked up.

And the agent truly told him a ‘secret.’

“Actually, I’m the agent who knows the most about this mart.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

However, the high school student instead felt a strange warmth amidst his fear.

‘Anyone could tell he was a new recruit.’

With messy hair and mumbling speech behind his glasses.

Compared to the neat and capable-looking senior agent, he was like a clumsy sidekick clinging to a superhero.

But the other person seemed eager to reassure him, earnestly continuing to speak.

“I looked into it very carefully. What’s dangerous and what isn’t. I know everything other agents don’t know much about.”

His disheveled hair. His eyes met him from behind his glasses.

‘Huh?’

Instead of the naive eyes he expected, a calm and composed gaze appeared and then vanished.

“……”

Somehow.

All his words sounded true.

“So I’ll find the safest and fastest way to escape from this situation.”

“T-there’s still a way out…?”

“Of course.”

The only problem was that more than half of them were crazy attempts with a higher chance of death.

Kim Soleum swallowed the rest of his words and added more useful information.

“Do you remember the other details on the back of the notice? Advice for action after business hours.”

“……Yes.”

The high school student, Jang Minseo, remembered what he had read as if possessed.

After business hours, it is recommended to abandon attempts to escape.

Almost every opportunity that seems like an escape route is a trap.

Prioritize survival and endure until business hours resume.

Currently, the safest floor confirmed is the 2nd floor.

The second floor.

This was the first floor.

“Um, so from here, just one floor up… should we go up?”

“That’s right. The other agent and your friend must have gone up too, so let’s not worry.”

“……Yes.”

Somehow reassured by the definitive tone, the high school student swallowed a sniffle and calmed down.

And the agent checked the outside, then pulled himself out.

“…Alright. It’s safe now. Let’s go now.”

“K-hum, yes.”

The high school student accepted the agent’s support without refusal, and carefully pulled himself out from under the display stand…

“Ah!”

He quickly covered his mouth.

Fortunately, the sound wasn’t loud. But the cause of the sound remained.

‘My ankle…’

It was throbbing.

He seemed to have stumbled while running and ducking under the display stand.

“…Does your ankle hurt?”

“Yes…”

“……”

Kim Soleum’s mind raced.

And he came to a chilling conclusion.

‘I can’t give him an item right now.’

It didn’t fit this ghost story.

A powerful painkiller like Happymaker could have the opposite effect, causing the high school student to use his leg recklessly and become unable to move at all.

Nostalgia Candy… no.

‘Because it’s food.’

Do not eat any products outside the food court if possible. Even food you brought in is no exception.

Employees cannot distinguish and will charge you the price of the food if witnessed.

You have no means of payment.

And this rule applied even if it wasn’t groceries sold in the mart.

Because Rookiemart ‘employees’ couldn’t distinguish between the two.

Let alone shoving the other person into his tattoo, there was no telling what kind of contamination or bizarre deformation would remain, and it would be difficult to explain to the Disaster Management Bureau.

“……”

The high school student had no way of knowing this, but a chilling unease swept through him as he watched the silent agent.

‘Surely…’

Is he abandoning me?

Did he think I was too difficult to rescue? Or was he imagining a grim scenario where both of them would get caught if he carried him on his back?

“Don’t worry. We’ll move to a place where you don’t have to run.”

A firm voice held him.

The high school student looked up.

“Let’s go to the escalator for now.”

“……”

“However, we’re not going up; we’re going to the down escalator. Got it? Towards the escalator coming down from the 2nd floor.”

Since business hours were over, and it would be stopped anyway, did it matter which one?

But why specifically go to the escalator coming down from the 2nd floor?

“…Yes.”

However, the high school student nodded instead of asking.

The agent supported him, and they carefully began to move…

“If you hear employee sounds, tell me immediately.”

“Yes…!”

The high school student tried not to look at the display stand he had hidden under.

And diligently, listening for employee sounds, he very carefully followed the agent.

He winced in pain a few times but endured it.

The agent calmly guided him past the checkout counters to the stopped escalator. The high school student moved as quickly as possible to follow him.

But when they finally arrived…

Ziiiiiiiing.

Tootootootootootook…

One of the escalators was operating.

It was the escalator connecting to the 2nd floor, their destination.

“…!”

Inside the dark store after business hours.

The slowly moving rail.

And above the escalator… the back of a person standing motionlessly was visible.

No.

Not a person, but…

An employee.

After business hours, the escalator is shut down and blocked.

However, it operates when an employee is inspecting it at certain times.

Do not approach.

It seemed to be mimicking ‘inspecting’ the escalator.

But the employee standing on the escalator, with their head tilted to the side and staring blankly at the floor, was grotesque and strange.

And that figure… was approaching, following the escalator operating downwards.

In reverse.

“R-run…”

“You don’t have to go.”

Beside him, Kim Soleum took out an item from his waist.

A fishing line with a red goldfish lure attached to the end.

Lure Play.

‘…Indeed, right after business hours ended, they inspected the 2nd to 1st-floor downward escalator.’

That’s why he intentionally sought out an escalator that was under inspection.

It was originally an item he planned to use to easily breach the entrance… but now there was no other way.

It was a waste, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘I have to use it now.’

Kim Soleum cast the fishing line.

Whish.

Defying the laws of physics, as if cast from a fishing rod, the transparent wire flew towards the top of the escalator.

And it caught on the billboard.

“…!”

The fishing line wrapped around the billboard and dangling below it.

And at the end, swaying… the red lure.

The moment it came into the sight of the employee descending backward on the escalator.

Creak, creak.

Creak, creak.

“…!”

The employee’s back began to move.

Towards the lure.

Ascending against the flow of the escalator.

Creak, creak.

Kim Soleum carefully adjusted the fishing line. His hands were wet with cold sweat, but the trembling line moved according to his will.

The lure began to shift from the center of the escalator billboard to the side.

Further and further.

The lure moved to the left edge of the escalator.

The employee stumbled and walked across.

And when they were right next to the escalator, their head poking over the handrail…

Creak, creak, creak…

Kim Soleum released the fishing line.

Whirl.

The fishing line unwound and fell from the billboard. The moment the red lure fell between the two escalators…

Thud.

The employee plunged headfirst between the escalators.

They had thrown their heads after the lure.

“Gasp…!”

“Let’s go quickly. Before it comes out.”

The agent immediately began to move.

“Give me your shoes, and use your knees rather than your feet… crawl up. Quietly.”

The high school student took off his shoes, handed them to the agent, and got down on all fours to ascend the escalator.

He felt no embarrassment or physical pain.

It was simply reassuring that crawling made less noise and kept him out of the sight of the employee who was now the ‘lure’…!

Still, his throat tightened with the tension that it might pop out, but he successfully traversed the escalator in reverse without incident.

“Hoo.”

Tears welled up as his arms pressed onto the 2nd floor.

The agent helped the high school student stand up.

“You did well.”

“Th-thank you…”

Kim Soleum looked down at his empty hands, where the fishing line had been, a few times, then neatly composed himself and looked straight ahead.

The second floor.

What was immediately visible upon ascending the escalator was… a giant food court.

In the dark store, only the food court sign emitted an eerie light, and strangely, there were sounds of food being cooked.

Wandering employees were…

‘None.’

Surprisingly, it was a relatively safe zone.

“You can relax here for a bit.”

The 2nd floor food court is an area not patrolled by mart employees.

However, do not sit for more than one hour without ordering.

Kim Soleum guided the high school student to sit near a bibimbap specialty store in a secluded corner.

“Um, why here…?”

“It’s safer where there are no meat menus.”

The high school student swallowed.

The agent seemed calm. He sat in a chair, allowing the high school student to catch his breath and rest his sore ankle for a moment…

A composure unfitting for someone who had just performed a stunt on the escalator.

‘…He’s amazing.’

Truly, he was far more skilled and knowledgeable than he appeared.

Just as he had promised.

The high school student involuntarily opened his mouth, wanting to ‘make a good impression.’

“Um, my name is Jang,”

“Let’s not say it.”

“…!”

“It’s better not to use your real name in a place like this. Be careful.”

Gulp.

The high school student swallowed.

“Th-then what should I call you, agent?”

“…Will you call me Grape?”

“Yes, Agent Grape.”

The high school student sat in the chair and let out a deep sigh of relief.

Was he really an agent? He wondered if his clumsy demeanor was because he poured all his abilities into his agent work.

‘…I think we can escape.’

Even with his injured ankle, the high school student held onto hope. So he was able to ask in a slightly more cheerful tone.

“Th-then, are we okay here?”

“Yes.”

Agent Grape nodded.

The high school student felt a deep sense of relief…

“You’re okay.”

It was a lie.

That wasn’t enough.

‘…There’s still a chance of dying or going missing on the 2nd floor.’

Even as he tried to sound calm, Kim Soleum’s mind was frantically searching through the <Darkness Exploration Log> for the relevant entry.

His brain, finally free from immediate danger, began to re-prioritize and sift through data.

‘I have to get out.’

Had such an irregularity ever occurred before?

‘Labor Day, early closing, anything…!’

And.

Business hours ended early due to ?? reason.

“…!”

He found it.

Kim Soleum strained to recall the case in more detail.

Some specific numbers and names from the lost exploration log were reconstructed in his mind…

Exploration Log #3?

An agent dispatched entered the mart around 7 PM after receiving a civilian’s rescue request. (Agent: ???)

Rookiemart business hours ended early due to ??? reason. An unexpected situation occurred, and contact with the agent was lost for three days.

“…!”

This was it.

He anxiously tried to remember more.

So, the result was…

Result: Rescue failed. The agent returned alone.

“……”

That’s why he didn’t remember it well.

‘Because it ended in one line.’

There were countless such records.

Records where the idea was interesting, but the following long and detailed story was deemed ‘redundant’ and omitted, leaving it to the reader’s imagination.

A simple one-line entry, marked as success or failure.

But the meaning was clear.

“……Ha.”

-Agent Bronze failed the rescue.

So, if he reunited with Agent Bronze.

In Rookiemart, whatever judgment that person made, Kim Soleum had to oppose it unconditionally.

And he had to persuade him to escape according to his own plan.

‘…This is insane.’

No, not him, the difficulty level was insane.

Kim Soleum suppressed a groan and, feigning composure, scanned his surroundings from the corner of the food court where he was sitting with the high school student.

‘Let’s wait.’

Agent Bronze would naturally come up to the 2nd floor if he had any sense.

He decided to think as positively as possible.

‘We can decide once we meet.’

And three days passed.

Kim Soleum did not meet Agent Bronze anywhere in Rookiemart.