Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 214

“Then again… good morning. Special Department Registration Number 130666. Are you ready for work?”

“Oh dear, the support staff are running late, aren’t they? Captain of Security Team 3, have you forgotten how to go out, just doing cleaning and security work? Your hands have turned into paws, hahahaha!”

“……”

“…Hey, are you listening?”

“Well, anyway, it seems the support staff are finally ready to escort the Special Department employee. I will now introduce today’s workplace.”

“Badger probably knows, but apparently, the security team has also been notified about this.”

“A strange request came from the Sales Team employees.”

“As you know, our company is a pharmaceutical company that makes rather special medicines, isn’t it? So, accordingly, we have ‘special customers’… Well, should I call them useful higher-ups in society?”

“For such individuals, Daydream Inc.’s sales representatives sometimes visit them directly for door-to-door sales. If the payment is large, there are sometimes regular deliveries.”

“But these Sales Team delivery staff, who went to deliver this very potion regularly, just sent a formal rescue request to Daydream Inc…. saying they are experiencing strange phenomena.”

“And isn’t this truly interesting, no, doesn’t it smell of rich darkness?”

“Because this Sales Team person wasn’t asking to be let out of here, but kept asking for the answer!”

“He says he’s being chased by something and trapped in a room, and he doesn’t know the answer. He’s rambling, saying he doesn’t know who to trust or where to choose.”

“And he also mentioned that he sometimes felt strange or eerie whenever he came for regular deliveries to this house before. Specifically…”

“On rainy days. Like today.”

Outside the window, the rain poured steadily.

CRACK!

Thunder rumbled like tinnitus and passed.

With nerves on edge, two office workers in suits had just entered this house on the outskirts of Seoul and were guided to the sofa.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

‘Phew.’

Lee Jinyoung, a manager in the Sales Team, a so-called ‘delivery staff’ at Daydream Inc., sighed and adjusted his tie.

The middle-aged woman who let them into the house and went upstairs to ‘announce their visit’ was already just disappearing back.

She probably wasn’t a family member of the client.

‘She must be someone who does housework in this house.’

It didn’t seem likely that such important people, for whom the company developed and supplied very special custom medicines, would do their own cleaning and dishes.

‘Still, it’s strange that they buy the medicine themselves.’

He glanced at the box his superior was holding.

They were here to introduce and sell a ‘special’ potion.

Only after joining the company did he learn that Daydream Inc. developed and sold not only hair loss remedies but also more specialized medicines.

And that their ingredients were something… not common and very special.

‘It’s not something extracted from the human body, is it?’

It felt a bit unsettling because it smelled illegal, but well, what large modern company doesn’t tread the fine line of legal loopholes? He just had to work without getting deeply involved and collect his salary.

…Though it was a bit uncomfortable.

‘That’s just how sales jobs are, I guess…’

And this was his first time coming for a regular delivery to this house.

His superior had brought him along to fill in for someone on leave.

“Deputy Manager, are you okay?”

“Hmm. Not good.”

The colleague, whose complexion was poor, probably due to a bad digestive system, answered gloomily.

‘They said it wasn’t a difficult client.’

…Is it because of the rain?

The manager recalled the conversation they had before coming here.

About today’s regular delivery client.

-Well, they’re the kind of clients you can manage with a bit of effort, but… that house feels a bit off on rainy days.

-Feels off?

-Yeah. That… you know, the feeling of a bad ‘site.’ Like when you go to a tunnel where an accident happened, don’t you feel it?

-Hmm…

-I even bring an amulet just in case.

That much?

‘Maybe he’s just not feeling well.’

It’s natural to feel down on humid and dark, gloomy days.

‘The house looks fine, though.’

The manager inwardly shrugged and looked around the expensive townhouse located in Seoul.

It was luxurious and clean.

It looked like a rich person’s house that someone else cleaned. The manager felt a slight sense of deprivation as he looked at the spotless floor.

Then, suddenly, he saw something.

‘…Huh?’

There was something shabby under the sofa.

He instinctively reached out and picked it up…

A thin, smooth texture.

‘…Sketchbook paper?’

It looked like something a child would use. He unconsciously flipped the paper over…

I’m hungry

Childlike, wobbly handwriting appeared.

Around the letters, a few clumsy human figures made of circles and sticks were drawn in various colored crayons.

Did they draw other family members?

“Hey, they’re coming.”

“Ah.”

The manager quickly put the paper next to the sofa and greeted the clients who appeared from upstairs.

“Good afternoon!”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

They were a surprisingly gentle-spoken couple.

“Are you here for the delivery?”

“Yes, we are!”

His superior changed his expression and skillfully handled the clients.

“It’s the usual C-grade.”

A sealed box passed from his hand. The couple opened the box, checked the light green liquid in the bottle inside, and nodded with satisfaction.

‘What on earth is that?’

The sales employee, unfamiliar with the Daydream potion, merely glanced at it.

Does it make you young again?

Anyway, the payment for that special potion wasn’t made on the spot, and rumors said that it wasn’t even money they paid.

‘They say it helps the company with its work…’

The sales employee guessed it might involve covering up illegal activities or being entangled in bid rigging.

Of course, he didn’t utter a word.

Anyway, the situation proceeded as usual for a regular delivery.

Making the atmosphere gentle by flattering them before leaving. That is, to ensure the transaction continues.

And the sales employee merely recalled the superficial small talk he usually made.

“Ah, your child seems to enjoy drawing.”

“…Pardon?”

“They left this behind.”

The sales employee recalled the drawing he had seen earlier and reached out, fumbling on the sofa. It was definitely here…

“The cute crayon drawing that says ‘I’m hungry.’ That…”

…Huh?

He blinked.

Only the smooth leather texture of the bare sofa was felt.

Even when he quickly turned his head, there was nothing that could be called a drawing.

That’s strange, he clearly put it on the sofa…

“What paper?”

“Ah.”

As he turned his head to explain, he saw the couple looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“Our eldest is already independent. She’s a university student.”

“I… see.”

Their reaction implied: There’s no child in the house, what’s this sudden talk about?

Damn it!

The couple, who had been looking at him with some suspicion, soon got up, saying they would ‘store the medicine,’ and as soon as they left, his superior glared at his subordinate with an exasperated expression.

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m sorry.”

But he felt wronged.

What happened?

“No, but it was definitely there. You saw it too, Deputy Manager, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, the drawing that looked like it was torn from a sketchbook. Like a child’s scribble…”

Like that.

“Ah!”

The sales employee instinctively stood up and approached what he had found.

Half-hidden paper was visible under the carpet beneath the kitchen table.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“You see this? It was something like this.”

He flipped the paper over. Perhaps this also had a child’s drawing or writing on the back…

It hurts

I’m hungry

It hurts

I want to get out

Wobbly letters filling the paper.

And crude family drawings filling the space around the letters.

The adults in the drawings held black sticks and nooses in their hands, and where their faces should be, bizarre, reddish-black features were drawn.

As if glaring out of the paper.

“……”

A chill ran up his spine.

This wasn’t normal.

This was the kind of thing an abused child might draw in psychological counseling…

“Deputy Manager, we should really check this…”

“Hey.”

His superior patted his back.

“What was the first proverb they taught us during training?”

“……”

“Do you remember?”

“…Curiosity killed the cat.”

-Do not try to know about the clients or the performance of the products sold.

Ignorance.

It was training that went precisely against the professionalism usually required of sales staff.

That’s why it was emphasized and taught first.

“Yes, that’s it. You still don’t know what kind of medicine we deliver, do you?”

“……”

“It’s best not to know as much as possible.”

The same goes for clients.

It’s better not to know.

“……”

I want to get out

The sales employee looked down at the drawing and the words once more, then finally sighed and nodded.

“Yes.”

His superior patted his back. The sales employee folded the paper and bent down to put it back on the floor.

“Good. Now, be careful on your way out…”

Get out

Click.

“……!”

Suddenly, all the lights in the house went out.

In the pitch-black darkness, the two sales employees, flustered, grabbed each other.

It was dark.

“Is it, a power outage?”

“Yes, it seems so…”

It was strangely quiet.

Normally, if the house suddenly went dark, wouldn’t people make noise or talk to check the situation, like them?

But in the silent darkness, only the sound of rain falling outside filled the stillness.

Pitter-patter-patter-patter…

“…Hello?!”

No answer was heard.

The dark house, as if holding its breath, showed only faint outlines…

Eeriness.

“……”

“……Let’s go outside and check first. See if other places have a power outage too.”

They headed for the front door.

It was dark due to the rain, but not so dark that they couldn’t see at all, so reaching the front door was not difficult.

But something felt… uncomfortable.

‘…The smell of rain.’

It smelled of damp earth.

It wasn’t a smell one would expect from a well-maintained house. The manager took shallow breaths, feeling somehow unpleasant, and stepped forward.

In front, his superior seemed to be holding and fiddling with something in his pocket.

Was that the amulet?

“This lock… just a moment.”

And he seemed to be struggling with the front door lock. It was unfamiliar and dark.

“Shall I try?”

“Sure. But…”

“Why are you still holding that paper?”

He turned his head.

The paper held in his left hand was visible.

Water was dripping, drip-drip, from the paper…

‘Ah.’

The smell of rain was coming from here…

Beep.

CRACK.

“……”

A sound.

The manager stiffly turned his head forward again.

His superior, who had been holding the front door lock, was looking back at him.

No.

Only his neck had turned.

Thump.

The body, whose neck was twisted backward, fell like a toy, lifeless.

“……”

His body stiffened from the shock.

A corpse.

Fluids began to flow from every orifice of his dead superior’s twisted face.

Tears, snot, saliva flowed onto the hallway.

Like rainwater.

“Hic, hieek, hic…”

Roll-roll-roll…

A small, round device rolled out of the dead man’s hand and touched the employee’s hand.

The employee instinctively grabbed it, even as he thought.

Tinnitus echoed in his empty head.

What is this?

What… is this situation?

At that moment.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry! You must have been startled by the sudden power outage.”

“Are you alright?”

The flustered couple’s voices were heard.

It sounded a bit muffled, as if they were calling from upstairs, but the important thing was that it was a human voice.

“Ah…!”

Reality rushed back.

A sense of relief and terror, shock, and helplessness.

He barely managed to part his lips, unable to take his eyes off his dead superior.

“No! No…”

“Where are you? Are you really okay?”

“Since this is a house, power outages sometimes happen like this… Oh my. What a surprise.”

The sales employee, barely catching his breath, got up. And he raised his hand to throw away the paper he was holding…

Liar

The changed words on the paper.

And…

Something that flashed through his mind.

“Where are you??”

…

“Excuse me.”

His mouth opened.

His voice trembled.

“You clearly said, ‘Our eldest is already independent,’ didn’t you?”

“Yes? That’s right. Why do you ask…?”

But.

“…The expression ‘eldest child’ is used when there’s a ‘younger child,’ isn’t it?”

…

“Then where is the ‘younger child’?”

A deathly silence.

“Hello?”

“Too late.”

“Too late.”

The sales employee started running like mad.

In the opposite direction of the upstairs stairs.

“Too late.”

“Too late.”

His neck felt paralyzed with goosebumps.

Survival instinct screamed.

Something was wrong.

He had to hide.

But where?

He unfolded the paper again with trembling hands. Thud. Rain-soaked dirt and dust fell to the floor.

But before he could be horrified by that, the contents were revealed.

The letters had changed again.

“……”

Bathroom bathtub

‘Bathroom?’

He looked up and saw a door with a ‘Bathroom’ sign.

The sales employee hesitated for a fleeting moment, then finally opened the door next to the bathroom, went inside, and locked it.

“Hic.”

The silhouette in the dark pantry was revealed terrifyingly, but he first caught his breath.

And held his breath.

…Because he heard sounds coming from upstairs.

Thump, thump.

“Too late.”

It was getting closer.

Closer and closer, the footsteps grew louder and louder…

“Too late.”

They stood in front of the door.

The employee again stifled his cries and breath, but finally heard the sound of the doorknob being grabbed…

Click.

“……”

“……”

The next moment.

The employee realized.

They hadn’t opened the door.

They had locked the door from the outside.

“Too late.”

“Too late…”

What is this?

What judgment am I making right now?

What is it?

“Ah…”

“Please rest a little.”

“There’s nothing we can do right now.”

What words should he have believed?

In his confusion, the sales employee’s hands trembled as he tried to unfold the paper again, but then he realized what he was holding in his other hand.

‘His superior’s amulet.’

With trembling hands, he finally examined it properly for the first time…

‘…A pager?’

It was a pager.

A shabby little electronic device called a ‘pager’ that was briefly popular decades ago.

On it, ‘505’ was already entered, as if his superior had typed it in.

That was…

‘…SOS!’

His desperate brain derived the interpretation.

‘Where does this connect to?’

Perhaps the term ‘amulet’ didn’t refer to a real amulet, but… something that could be used to ask for help?

With the feeling of grasping at a lifeline, the sales employee frantically reached out and pressed it. He frantically pressed the button that looked like a send button.

“Please, please…”

And.

[Processing request.]

“…!”

A businesslike voice emerged.

Echoing in his ears like a faint whisper.

[Would you like to call the security team? A fee will be charged.]

“Yes, yes!!”

He didn’t know what it was, but he needed help. Help!! Please!

“Wh-who should I trust, no, where should I go, pl-please tell me. I don’t know what the answer is.”

[Processing request.]

The employee rambled, telling everything that had happened so far. The suspicious house, the rainy day, the drawing, the lies.

The child!

“The child who drew this…”

“Is there a child who needs care?”

“AAAAAAH!”

The sales employee fell backward.

The pager, from which the strange voice had come, fell to the floor.

And from the black shadow that formed where it fell, a black figure began to rise as well.

[Request complete]

[Security team assigned]

Employees of Daydream Inc.’s security team, dressed in their uniforms.