Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel (End Part 1) - Chapter 205

The letter was calm.

I am writing this to record the things I couldn’t tell you before.

It was like a note left behind by someone briefly departing.

Kim Soleum spoke of the spare glasses left on the sofa in the Hyunmoo Team 1 waiting room, mentioned the flat rear tire of the bicycle in front of the headquarters, and informed them of the printer ink still in transit.

It was too trivial and fragmented to be called a handover.

Lingering attachments seemed to surface, only to disappear in the next paragraph.

However, the seemingly casual writing maintained a similar tone, subtly transitioning into significant advice that could be easily overlooked.

Contents that a new recruit at the Disaster Management Bureau could absolutely not know.

…Advice regarding supernatural disasters.

“Wearing silk clothes in the ironing area of the intersection’s laundromat will no longer be safe after you rescue the citizen in the blue dress.”

“I hope you’ll check to ensure no agents enter wearing such clothes.”

These were the ghost stories Hyunmoo Team 1 had entered.

It was as if he had understood and deduced them, yet his words carried a peculiar certainty, as if he had known them all along.

Nevertheless, it was clear he had written them out of concern and worry.

Trembling eyes quickly scanned them.

“And… I apologize once again.”

The content became more personal.

The events of the night the taboo was cast were written very euphemistically, such that only those involved could specifically understand.

As if to consider someone still bound by the taboo.

Following this, gratitude and an apology were extended to Agent Bronze, who had allowed him to speak the unvarnished truth without pressuring himself.

And….

“Still, I want to go home.”

As a farewell.

“I cannot give up without even attempting to return.”

“However, my heart is heavy, feeling as though I have wasted the Disaster Management Bureau agents’ time because of this desire.”

“I apologize once again. For not living up to expectations, for resigning as if fleeing, instead of diligently undergoing disciplinary action.”

“……”

“It may be inconvenient, but I have enclosed items I found useful.”

“I hope they can be used by Hyunmoo Team 1.”

The performance and effects of the items he had left behind were detailed.

And finally.

“Just in case, I’m writing this.”

“The words I wrote on the whiteboard in the Hyunmoo Team 1 waiting room are nothing.”

“I wanted to tell you that it’s okay to erase them comfortably, in case you were feeling uneasy and thought they might be a hint or a sign, and thus couldn’t erase them.”

“It was just something I impulsively left behind; it has no other meaning.”

The letter ended.

The agent hurriedly flipped the pages back and forth.

…There was more small writing at the bottom of the last page.

“Thank you always.”

“I wish you health and happiness.”

“……”

The reader of the letter lowered their gaze and saw the scattered items.

Then they bent down and slowly picked up one of the small, seemingly miscellaneous objects.

It looked like a cheap candy.

But it was an item that briefly turned back time to a “better past,” restoring one’s physical condition.

Items that would be incredibly useful for the rescue team sparkled on the floor.

“……”

“……”

Agent Choi looked up.

The sunken eyes of the two Hyunmoo Team 1 agents met.

If he had disappeared now, there was a high probability he hadn’t yet escaped this place.

“Just a moment. Ag-agents…!”

They rushed out of the waiting room, dragging the flustered person in charge with them.

To search the Crystal Cave.

And….

“……”

Kim Soleum, who had been standing motionless in the corner of the room, quietly followed them out.

With only a single sheet of paper in his hand.

Through the gap in the door the agents had opened to enter this room.

“-A graceful and polite exit, indeed. This method isn’t bad.”

“……”

I quietly watched the pouring sunlight.

‘Is this how it came out?’

I tried my best to end it safely and smoothly… but honestly, I don’t know how the Disaster Management Bureau will receive it.

And what Hyunmoo Team 1 will think.

I quickened my pace to avoid recalling the faces of the agents I had brushed past earlier.

I didn’t forget to thank the host, who kept the lights off for me until I left the Crystal Cave and walked to the bus stop to catch the high-speed train.

“-Oh, don’t mention it!”

Thanks to him, I could slip away so quietly.

If he hadn’t helped, I would have had to escape in a more complicated and emotionally difficult way….

“……”

[The train will depart soon….]

I tried not to think.

How much they would have searched the Crystal Cave after I left, how they would deal with the items I left behind, how suspicious the Disaster Management Bureau would be of me, whether Hyunmoo Team 1 would erase the words I left in the waiting room….

Instead, I tried to sleep.

Fortunately, the high-speed rail northbound to Seoul didn’t evoke the horror of the Tamra line, and I managed to fall asleep and wake up.

And to prevent any tracking, I paid cash for a random motel and checked in.

Thump.

Only after closing the door did I compose myself and begin to sort things out.

Only then did reality return.

‘…Did I leave almost everything behind?’

Only one or two consumable items remained.

Especially the ones purchased from the space shopping mall, whose safety was guaranteed—I left many of those behind.

…Probably because I wouldn’t need them anymore.

‘It’s probably right for people who get hurt more than me to use them.’

What remained were a few pieces of equipment and the tattoos.

However….

Pop.

A small light popped out from my embrace.

A will-o’-the-wisp.

“Are you really going to keep following me like this?”

The flame moved up and down as if vehemently agreeing.

This guy followed me all the way to Seoul, sticking to me until the very end.

He even left behind the glass lamp he had been residing in.

I was worried about being tracked, so this was less inconvenient, but….

“Everyone will be worried. You’re part of the Bureau.”

The will-o’-the-wisp twinkled as if arguing.

-…’He says he’s all grown up and fine.’ Good heavens. Such a persistent, foolish creature. Hmph!

According to Brown’s reluctant translation that followed, he could “recharge” slowly on his own.

He said he could recover faster if there was the energy of a spiritual lightning bolt, but that… wouldn’t it be hard to find?

Anyway, the will-o’-the-wisp’s will seemed absolutely firm.

“…Then, I’ll trouble you a little longer.”

The will-o’-the-wisp happily twinkled and circled the motel room once.

…To be honest, it wasn’t just inconvenient.

‘Still, one remains.’

A trace of where I once belonged.

Proof of the days I spent with good people… that is.

‘…Let’s keep it for a little while.’

It won’t be for long anyway.

I stroked the will-o’-the-wisp once, then let it transform into my right arm.

“-You’re free again, Mr. Roe Deer! You can go anywhere. Where will you go?”

Strictly speaking, isn’t it the opposite?

I’d be lucky if I wasn’t wanted by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, and to Daydream Inc., I’m already a dead person.

The places I could contact and go were limited.

‘Agent Choi even found out about the Dream Cultivation Room at the Pleasant Research Institute.’

Even if the taboo prevented him from telling the Disaster Management Bureau about that cultivation room, he himself could visit it anytime. I would prepare countermeasures, but I had to be careful.

But I didn’t just leave without a plan.

‘I have a plan.’

“-Indeed!”

…The problem is that it’s a very uncomfortable plan.

“……”

I turned on the phone I had stored in my tattoo.

Messages accumulated over two weeks appeared.

‘It’s fortunate it wasn’t caught during the interrogation.’

I almost revealed the identities of Ms. Youngeun and Mr. Heoun.

It was fortunate that I immediately put my phone into the tattoo when I was caught in Jisan Village, and that the tattoo lost its function in the glass prison.

I exhaled a sigh of relief and scrolled down through the message items.

They were mostly advertisement texts.

But among them, there were also several accumulated contacts from acquaintances.

[Hey]

[Are you okay?]

[When will you tell me what you found out]

[Hey]

[If you’re sick]

[If there’s a problem, contact me]

It was the Security Chief.

“……”

Somehow, I felt strange.

From this person, I constantly seem to receive only worry and help.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to contact him since the taboo.’

After some thought, I replied.

[I apologize. Something came up. I’m fine now.]

And after hesitating, I sent one more.

[Thank you again for finding out the information. Could we talk tomorrow or the day after?]

[And eat something delicious.]

The confirmation was quite fast, but the reply came slowly.

[Ye]

“……”

Now, it’s done.

From now on, it was time to go and do what I had to do.

I set my destination.

Reluctantly, because there was no better option.

And….

Because I was already prepared.

[Please prepare the wish coupon.]

[I have found the information you desired.]

To Director Ho.

“Mr. Soleum, you’re back!”

“……”

I lifted my head.

Director Ho was sitting, smiling, at the familiar Fox Consulting Room’s waiting area table.

My stomach churned instinctively.

…My own reluctance to make this choice.

A strange sense of guilt, like a betrayal to someone who had even removed the taboo for me.

Yet, simultaneously, an appreciation for this contradictory situation where, because the taboo was gone, I could engage in a more proper negotiation.

“I’ve come to receive the wish coupon.”

“Just a moment. I wanted to tell you this first.”

Director Ho still wore a gentle smile, hesitating as if embarrassed.

It sent shivers down my spine even more.

“I think I went a bit overboard with the taboo regarding Mr. Soleum’s death. I’m embarrassed that I seem to have made a somewhat emotional choice given the situation back then….”

“……”

“It’s better that it’s gone, isn’t it?”

I recalled the bizarre shamanistic ritual that General Beom of Daecheongbong had performed.

And Director Ho, who had been reacting strangely in the body of Deputy Eun Haje then.

‘…Even if I’m curious or worried about the Deputy, let’s not ask.’

My knowing or worrying about it would likely harm Deputy Eun Haje more if Director Ho noticed. My stomach twisted.

Instead of easily nodding at Director Ho’s words, I answered carefully.

“It doesn’t matter. A promise is a promise, regardless of the taboo, so I’ve come to keep my promise with the Director.”

“Is that so? That would be impossible.”

“……”

“You don’t even know exactly what the ‘extinction-level disaster’ I requested was, Mr. Soleum.”

That’s right.

Director Ho had said he would give more detailed information once our spies could access the secret archives deep underground in Gangwon-do.

But….

I knew.

Because I could already guess what Director Ho was trying to demand.

“I found it through conjecture.”

“……”

“Just tell me the name of the disaster. If it doesn’t match the information I brought, I’ll accept the punishment.”

Anyway, Director Ho had no risk.

Whether he told me and cast a taboo or punished me.

The situation had changed anyway, and now there was no fellow agent to break the taboo for me.

So….

“Alright.”

I knew he would.

Director Ho smiled and interlaced his fingers.

“The name of that supernatural disaster is ‘Sekwang City.'”

“……”

“Oh, right! Don’t try to pronounce it outside the Fox Consulting Room. Bad things will happen.”

Director Ho looked into my eyes.

“So.”

“……”

“Does it match the information you brought?”

I didn’t avert my gaze.

“Yes.”

“…!”

“Here it is.”

Thud.

A document was placed on the table in the Fox Consulting Room’s waiting area.

“This is the document concerning the ‘extinction-level supernatural disaster’ you just mentioned.”

“……”

“Please confirm it.”

Director Ho reached out, picked up the paper, and read it.

And….

“……!”

He closed the paper.

Director Ho stared at me, his expression gone.

“…How did you find out?”

It was the correct answer.

“That’s not important.”

Actually, though.

I didn’t find it out.

‘…I already knew it.’

That’s right.

The reason I had initially boasted that I could bring the information in just a month was because of this.

Because I already knew.

The fastest and surest method.

Writing down the information from <Darkness Exploration Record>.

It was a method I had deprioritized because there was no way to persuade or explain it to other spies, and because I was afraid Director Ho would become suspicious of me in return and something terrible would happen.

Because I wanted to proceed as safely as possible.

But with the whole game ruined, there was only one way.

‘I had to do it quickly.’

If I delayed any longer, the Disaster Management Bureau would try to check for and ferret out other spies.

If Ms. Youngeun or Mr. Heoun were caught, they would never receive a wish coupon and would suffer doubly, bound by Director Ho’s taboo….

Before that, I had to make my move quickly.

However….

“You were clearly imprisoned in the glass cell until yesterday, so where could you have found this out…?”

“……”

“They wouldn’t store such information there.”

That’s correct.

The Crystal Cave, where the glass prison was being stored, naturally didn’t keep valuable information.

Supernatural disaster reports were only occasionally written to be updated, based on information obtained from prisoners.

But….

‘That’s why there are a few items for report work.’

Like this, for example.

The Supernatural Disaster Report paper of the Disaster Management Bureau, on which nothing was yet written.

Since it was written in a glass prison whose location was unknown, it was a paper with a censored format for the responsible department in the report. So….

The most suitable paper for printing the contents of the documents concerning extinction-level disasters stored in the secret archives.

Ironically, my imprisonment in the glass prison became an opportunity for me to acquire what I needed most.

And thus, I could present it to Director Ho.

The “Sekwang City Document” that I had personally created, limiting the information based on what I had read on the wiki.

“……”

But there was no need to tell Director Ho that.

It would only be dangerous.

‘I came prepared with a last resort of sorts….’

Cold sweat beaded on my back.

Still, I had to speak.

“What’s important is that I brought the promised information. And I definitely received help from two other people in this process.”

“……”

“Now, it’s the Director’s turn to fulfill your promise.”

A smile spread across Director Ho’s face.

“Excellent.”

“…!”

“Congratulations, Mr. Soleum. On receiving the wish coupon.”

I clenched my fist.