Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 17

Team D of the Field Investigation Team entered the urban legend.

“Section Chief, what level do you predict this one to be? Is D the most likely, as usual?”

“Oh, Lee Jooim. Use your judgment on that, okay?”

“…….”

“It’s interesting and good, but let’s keep it quiet within the Development Department. Don’t bring it up when other teams are around. Got it?”

“……Yes.”

The research team’s Jooim, who had been grinning as he suggested a bet to Kim Soleum, finally shut his mouth. He felt bad that Kwak Jegang, the section chief, who was easygoing and young, had scolded him over this kind of thing.

And that annoyance made him think of someone even more annoying.

The Field Investigation Team newbie!

‘Look at him, giving the boss the side-eye.’

The new employee, who he’d tried to include in the bet, had immediately refused as if it were ridiculous. That expressionless look, as if he were being dismissive, kept lingering in his memory. Was his name Kim Soleum?

‘You guys are just human lab rats, so why are you acting so high and mighty?’

Being a newbie in the Field Investigation Team was essentially a death sentence. Yet, he was acting all stiff-necked after having achieved one result, which was laughable.

He’d heard that every year, a newbie who couldn’t grasp the situation appeared, and now he finally saw one himself.

‘Is he going to die? It’d be funny if he did.’

His morally bankrupt brain anticipated dopamine, and he salivated slightly.

He quickly sent a chat message.

It was a company’s anonymous betting group chat.

– I’m betting 10 on D

– OK

It was also a hopeful wish. If it was D-level, the probability of death would be higher!

At that moment, his superior interrupted.

“Jooim, finish the pre-experiment report by the end of today’s work.”

“…Yes, yes.”

‘Anyway, before I get off work, those lab rats won’t be able to come out of the darkness.’

He was specifically being assigned work that he could easily pass on to his junior during the shift change.

‘Why is my luck with superiors so bad?’

The research team’s Jooim grumbled inwardly and continued writing the pre-experiment report.

3.2 Experimental Subjects

Adults over 18 years old who witnessed a 5-second video titled ‘The Clown Hates You’ that plays as a promotional advertisement on a specific video site 4.

‘If you approach the clown’s hand that appears after watching this, you get dragged away?’

Wasn’t it stupid to approach it? If something looks suspicious, you should run away; at this point, even death would be considered natural causes.

‘But some civilians get lucky and come back alive.’

According to the testimonies of previously reported civilian survivors, they returned to reality by entering the empty frame where the clown had disappeared.

‘The lab rats know that too.’

However, which portrait is the correct one hasn’t been revealed.

The type of hallway, the size of the portrait, the frame, and the time were all different. Most people simply jumped into the empty portrait where the clown had disappeared, and only a few lucky ones returned.

‘Finding the answer to this is going to be a huge pain.’

It was a darkness that required a tremendous amount of physical strength—waking the clown, evading it, and sometimes even defeating it. At the same time, not knowing which portrait was the right one was frustrating!

Wouldn’t at least one or two people be almost certainly dead? It felt like they’d be sacrificing each other while using them for test runs.

‘If someone is going to escape, it’ll take at least half a day, or maybe even several days…’

“Waaaaah!”

“Clear!”

“…….”

“…….”

Huh?

The researcher turned his head.

From the corner of the research room, people suddenly poured out.

…All the members of Team D of the Field Investigation Team!

“……?!”

“Is the dream collector full?”

“Yes! Oh, it’s D-level!”

He reflexively checked his watch.

2:41 PM.

‘They entered at 2:15 PM…’

26 minutes after entry.

Wait a minute.

‘…26 minutes?!’

Seeing the four members of Team D emerge from the urban legend in the time it takes to visit a cafe, a heavy silence fell over Research Team 1’s office.

‘Is this a dream?’

No.

‘Are we also entranced by the urban legend?’

No.

“…My goodness! No, how did they come out so early?! Section Chief Kwak, did your method of smashing things work again?”

Kwak Jegang’s exclamation was met with immediate responses.

“No.”

“That’s right.”

“He did it.”

Kwak Jegang’s eyes widened at the words spoken in unison by the Team D supervisors.

“…See you again.”

A new employee, who had been quietly standing in the back, nodded slightly. It was Kim Soleum.

“…That kid did it?”

An indifferent reply came to the unspoken words, ‘It’s a newbie.’

“So what?”

“Roe Deer was like that on his first day too.”

“…??”

 

The team D’s associate and section chief didn’t answer further and began organizing their equipment. Lee Jaheon, the team leader, nodded.

“So it seems.”

“…….”

“This urban legend is Class D.”

“Yes, yes.”

Lee Jaheon abruptly began a report. Kwak Jegang, the team leader of the research team, accustomed to this stream-of-consciousness style focusing only on efficiency, immediately responded.

“Then what’s the clear mechanism?”

“? I don’t know.”

“…….”

“Ah. May I explain?”

The new employee raised their hand from behind.

“Oh, uh, okay… go ahead.”

“First… to enter this darkness, the name of the clown advertisement that must be witnessed beforehand is ‘The Pierrot Hates You,’ right?”

“Right.”

“But Pierrot is not a clown.”

“……??”

“Clowns wear colorful makeup, laugh playfully, and perform acrobatics and comedic acts. They are a type of traditional entertainer.”

So?

“However, Pierrot wears monochrome makeup and has a crying expression.”

“…!”

“There’s a definite difference.”

A faint smile appeared on Kim Soleum’s pale face, then disappeared.

“And because it’s called ‘The Pierrot Hates You,’ I thought it wouldn’t chase us.”

Because entertainers wouldn’t chase someone they dislike.

“To prove this, I found a monochrome portrait with only red lips, and I didn’t approach any other portraits.”

“…….”

“And considering the worst-case scenario, I maintained a 3-meter safety distance and remotely accessed the painting to touch it.”

Clearing the unknown darkness in 30 minutes, and considering all that?

Moreover, judging from the results…

“The Pierrot didn’t come out of the portrait.”

“…!”

“Instead, it quietly disappeared from the painting.”

This new employee had found the exact answer. The civilians before had been chased by clowns jumping out of various portraits, but team D, having interacted with only one portrait while keeping a distance, had perfectly understood the situation.

It was chilling.

Moreover, they considered other variables.

“There’s a record that clowns jump out of all portraits if you shine a light on them, so I didn’t use a separate light source.”

“Oh? Then how did you determine the state of the portrait in the dark from 3 meters away?”

“Ah.”

 

Kim Soleum blinked.

“The team leader recognized it just by looking…”

“…….”

Ah.

Kwak Jegang tried hard not to look at the team D leader, to whom the phrase ‘The human itself is strong’ seemed most fitting.

“From the next entrant onward, carrying night vision goggles should solve the problem.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

“That’s all.”

A thick silence fell once more.

Kwak Jegang quietly muttered to himself.

“They… deduced this based only on prior information.”

“Yes.”

The new employee added, as if having realized something.

“Perhaps there wasn’t anyone familiar with American daily culture among those who entered before.”

“…….”

Was it really that simple…?

“S-Soleum, did you… study abroad?”

“No.”

Kim Soleum replied immediately.

“I just have a lot of random knowledge.”

“…….”

The researchers witnessed the rare sight of Kwak Jegang, usually a fluent speaker, becoming speechless!

“Ah, I also created a temporary manual based on this theory. Section Chief Park Minseong kindly lent me their notebook…”

“Oh, I didn’t do anything~ Roe Deer did it all~”

The researchers witnessed Kwak Jegang receiving the notebook from the team D’s section chief, who wore a badger mask, as the latter’s words echoed in the background.

They craned their necks to peek.

Indeed, inside was a clear summary of the hypothesis Kim Soleum had mentioned earlier.

‘…!’

Team leader Kwak Jegang skimmed through it, then smiled and closed it.

“…Hmm, let’s test it.”

“Yes.”

Thus, a prototype manual was completed.

By a single person, a new employee at that.

“…….”

The researchers who had made a bet instantly doubted if they were dreaming.

Even if I coincidentally learned about Pierrot… could I really build a theory so easily in such an extreme situation and escape in just 30 minutes?

No. Does this even make sense?

‘Is he some kind of monster pretending to be human?’

But there’s no way something like that could get a job on a field research team.

The Dream Collector is supposed to only react to humans, right?

“Team Leader, the research team wants to borrow that thing they took out of the darkness.”

“Yes.”

Meanwhile, Manager Lee Jaheon returned a piece of cloth he was holding.

“That’s…”

“Ah, the Team Leader saw the portrait of Pierrot trying to escape, so he immediately rushed over…”

It was a piece of fabric torn off when he instinctively covered 3 meters to grab Pierrot by the collar to prevent him from escaping.

“…….”

‘Birds of a feather.’

Are they perhaps cousins or something? Now that I look at them, they look somewhat similar. They both have that slick look about them.

The researcher almost had an absurd delusion.

And the new employee who gave him this shock and horror…

‘I… I lived.’

My heart is still pounding because I acted without thinking of the consequences!

‘Why does the clown have teeth! Why is he skinning people! Why is he sucking people into the sewer like balloons!’

Witnessing all kinds of moving ghost portraits in real time, a clown phobia I never had developed today!

‘Adding to insomnia reasons…’

Meanwhile, I’m surprised I managed to somehow get out of this situation plausibly.

‘No, I did manage to get out of it, right?’

It wasn’t too suspicious, was it?

I’m not going to get caught because I was told to have the answer sheet and get dragged to the intelligent entity laboratory in the basement of Daydream Company?!

Just before Kim Soleum handed the controller to his inner anxieties, Manager Kwak Jegang, who had silently handed over a notebook, opened his mouth.

“…New employee Kim Soleum, did you happen to receive a business card?”

Kim Soleum, regaining his senses, answered diligently.

“No. New employees don’t get business cards yet…”

“Oh, you’re dodging the question. You know that’s not it.”

“…….”

Kim Soleum’s anxiety suddenly stopped.

Something came to mind.

The business card the MC gave him at the welcome party.

───

When needed

010-0153-24865

───

The manager of Research Team 1 smiled slyly.

“If you want to earn points faster, contact them.”

“…….”

“I think Soleum will contact them soon.”

It was a tempting offer.

However.

“I’m fine.”

Kim Soleum answered without flinching.

“…Hmm. In that case.”

Manager Kwak Jegang shrugged and lightly dismissed it.

“Is there any reason not to contact them? Haha.”

“…….”

It was simple.

‘A scarier event… yeah, I’d rather pass.’

The cowardly heart of someone who has been severely punished once again.

Kim Soleum had decided to settle for this triple points bonus event!