Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 57

A company employee’s resignation is something they always carry (physically or mentally).

But usually, they hide it…

‘Tell a newbie?’

Especially by their direct superior.

“I’ve almost collected all the points. Don’t spread it around.”

“…….”

Given Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s personality, I thought they wouldn’t change their expression until the day of their resignation and would only tell me then.

“Is it alright to tell me?”

“Well, it’s not bad news. Anyway, many people in this company talk about how many points they have collected…”

The Assistant Manager sharply tapped my shoulder.

“I just wanted to tell the people in our team in advance.”

“Sniff. Even watching from the side, it’s moving, senior!”

“Stop it.”

I groaned, looking at Supervisor Park Minseong, who came over and was acting excitedly.

It seemed like the Supervisor already knew.

‘Is it because of the company’s nature?’

It’s a crazy job where people desperately want to fulfill an impossible wish, pulling a Russian roulette on their temples with work.

Since everyone wants to escape anyway, I understood why there was no need to desperately hide it.

Still, it was a pity that such a helpful direct superior was leaving… but it was good for them, so it’s something to celebrate.

However, I have a question.

“Assistant Manager-nim.”

“Yeah.”

“So, you collected all 500,000 points?”

“What?! 500,000…?!”

Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who was shocked, soon smiled as if they realized something.

“Ah, you thought I was going to buy a wish?”

“…?”

I guess so?

Wouldn’t it be harder to find someone who isn’t?

“Ah. When I first joined, that was my goal, but after thinking about it, there are other things I can do.”

“…!”

Ah.

‘I see.’

Thinking about it, there were cases where a wish wasn’t necessary.

‘If I can fulfill my wish with something I can buy at the employee point mall, that’s enough.’

“I just need one of the high-grade potions from this company.”

As expected.

“…May I ask how many points it costs?”

“170,000. I don’t even have 5,000 points left. Well… even so, the point bonus I got thanks to you will end, so I guess I’ll have to work a few more months.”

The Assistant Manager winked, unlike usual.

“I’ll talk to the Section Chief to see if we can keep you here until the next regular personnel transfer.”

It meant that after that, I would naturally remain in team D.

Since they would be leaving and the team would be at full capacity.

‘That’s very thoughtful.’

Even more so because they show confidence that I’ll like staying in this team.

“Senior, when you leave, let’s have a really proper farewell party… Let’s keep in touch even after you leave. Let’s go watch baseball…!”

“Of course. Hey, you just need to stick around for a few more years.”

“Me? Sigh, I can’t. I absolutely have to collect 500,000.”

The Supervisor scratched their head, but their face brightened.

“Anyway… then Roe Deer can stay in our team!”

“If the Section Chief agrees.”

And that ‘Section Chief’, after finishing the manager-level meeting, calmly confirmed.

“Yes. The probability is higher.”

“Ooooo!”

“It’s a matter of probability. Don’t plan your work assuming you’ll stay.”

“…That’s what they said, Roe Deer……”

“Yes…”

It was like a lizard.

“Anyway, congratulations, Assistant Manager-nim.”

“Thanks.”

Assistant Manager Eun Haje smiled and went out for a smoke.

Their backs already looked quite relieved.

‘…What happens to resigned employees?’

There was no mention of depriving them of their human rights and locking them up in a laboratory or disposing of them secretly to maintain secrecy.

‘A few cases of quite decent retirement have been described.’

You know, like the employees everyone likes.

The kind of supporting character that the people who read the wiki get attached to, and they somehow end up having a good retirement.

‘…I hope it’s the same for them.’

After a short prayer, I went back to my work.

It means I was assigned tasks by the Section Chief who came back from the meeting.

“The darkness we will explore this time is a C-class spider, and the supply source is well-documented.”

“Oh… so we’re getting around 600 to 700 points per person?”

“Yes.”

“Roe Deer, we did well saving up points when we had a lot of work.”

The ‘New Darkness Manual Completion Exploration’, which had been almost exclusively assigned to Team D, was now winding down.

“The new darkness always has its busy periods. The research team tends to register everything right before the deadline.”

“Ah.”

It really is… like a company.

Of course, there’s no point in a new employee pointing that out.

I smiled and said,

“Then we can all work safely for a while.”

“Right, Roe Deer is always so positive, it’s great~!”

The supervisor chuckled and handed me a tablet with the manual PDF open.

“Even with the manual, it’s a C-rank, so don’t get complacent; you could be in big trouble. Let me know once you’ve fully understood it.”

“Yes.”

“From what I see, it’s about surviving a day in a certain location.”

Hmm.

I took the tablet and read it.

The calmly written official manual was in the same format as before.

Similar in form to the <Darkness Exploration Record> wiki, meaning it provided detailed numerical information based on the records we’d obtained.

‘Let’s see.’

An urban legend about a space you can get lost in if you take a wrong turn in an office building with many vacant units, a type called Backroom on the internet….

“…….”

As I read the next paragraph, a strong premonition hit me.

‘This is…….’

I’ve been guessing the true nature of the urban legend based on the <Darkness Exploration Record> and the manual for months now.

It doesn’t mean I’m not surprised to know it already.

But is it still a surprising situation?

Usually, it would be a crazy mass-murder situation like <Tuesday Quiz Show>, or me getting a guaranteed kill.

But this time it was different.

‘This… is good!’

My goodness, it’s a heartwarming urban legend!

If you measure the terror level, it’s probably 0. If you’ve been spoiled, even a scaredy-cat could calmly pass through this phenomenon!

But why is it C-rank?

‘Daydream Corporation must have misclassified the rank!’

This was a story that derived enjoyment from the situation.

In other words, a misconception-type urban legend!

It looks dangerous, but it’s actually very gentle and kind; it’s just a safe and friendly urban legend, but people misunderstand it due to prejudice, making it funny.

‘It’s more like a magical experience than an urban legend….’

Naturally, it was a rare case in the <Darkness Exploration Record>.

My heart beats a little faster.

Am I going there?

‘Wait a minute.’

If I do this well….

‘It might not just be a heartwarming feeling, but my whole life could become heartwarming!’

My mind raced.

There was definitely one thing I needed.

That was….

“You’re deployed tomorrow afternoon, so you have plenty of time. Take your time reading it. Well… I don’t need to explain this to Roe Deer separately!”

“In that case… would it be alright if I took a short leave of absence before lunchtime tomorrow?”

“Oh? Well, the Section Chief or the deputy probably won’t mind… Why? If you’re going to the hospital, I’ll give you more time.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that. It’s just…”

I thought of my bank account and counted.

“I need to buy something quickly.”

“…?”

To gain from this heartwarming urban legend, I needed to prepare something.

Something very expensive!

And after lunchtime the next day.

We were taken in the deputy’s car.

To the location where the darkness we were entering was contained.

“Did you bring everything you wanted?”

“Yes.”

The ‘expensive thing’ I bought during my lunch break was safely in my briefcase.

The deputy in the driver’s seat checked.

“This is Roe Deer’s first time entering a real-life urban legend, rather than touching some object and getting abducted, right?”

No. Actually, I just went to some mountain lodge and pretended to be a serial killer with dismembered bodies; I almost threw up.

…I won’t mention that.

“Yes. It’s like my first business trip.”

“Haha. Roe Deer is still in your twenties, right? This must be your first job.”

The atmosphere was quite warm, and we travelled without incident.

We even exchanged some casual conversation.

“Did you know? Our Section Chief accidentally broke the steering wheel three times while working. So, rumor has it that unless a zombie apocalypse happens, he’ll probably never sit in the driver’s seat again…”

“…….”

Hmm. Let’s not ask him directly.

Anyway, the vehicle, after about 40 minutes of driving, arrived smoothly at its destination.

“Here we are.”

It was a densely packed alley of shops in a bedroom community on the outskirts of Seoul.

However, it was a somewhat quiet and empty ‘old’ new town, as the real estate boom had passed long ago, and new urban development had caused many people to leave.

On the windows of countless vacant spaces, real estate contact numbers with ‘For Sale’ signs were posted.

“One of these buildings is apparently the subject of an urban legend. Strange things happen if you enter when the sun sets on a fine day.”

“Yes.”

Along with my superiors, who kindly briefed me on the contents of the manual, I approached a designated commercial building.

“It seems they’re blocking access to civilians with some kind of… security team equipment. It recognizes our masks and lets us in.”

Hmm.

“Be careful once you’re inside.”

The supervisor lowered his voice and whispered seriously.

“There are quite a few gruesome records, so let’s be careful.”

“…….”

Is this… what you mean?

Exploration Record #12

One of the deployed employees (Employee Jung Sejong) discovered a shop operating in unit 404 next to the 4th-floor emergency exit. The name on the sign was ■■■ Cafe.

However, the closer the employee got to the location, the more strange sounds, inaudible from the cafe, began to be heard.

Barking, shouting, and the howls of animals overlapped dozens of times, growing louder and louder, until they suddenly seemed to rush closer the moment the employee stopped at the door.

The panicked employee managed to escape to the emergency stairs just before the door opened, but after a loud crash, contact was lost.

The employee was later found unconscious near the building. With bilateral open fractures in the legs and serious back injuries, they were removed from duty. They subsequently suffered from persistent PTSD.

At first glance, it might seem creepy and gruesome.

But did you notice?

‘It’s just… a pet-friendly cafe.’

The employee, scared by the sound of dogs, ran away and tumbled down the stairs, sustaining multiple injuries, the urban legend kindly sending them outside….

This darkness is simply a space where the previous shops were operating normally, that’s the most unusual thing.

It could be seen as a story about investigators who get scared and misinterpret everything negatively, making a fuss and failing.

And those very people are diligently advising me beside me….

“Let’s be careful. This place has quite a few records of harming those who enter.”

No.

“Especially, don’t lose consciousness. It ends with serious injuries.”

It just means that even if you are seriously injured and lose consciousness, you will be sent out after a while….

This is literally a commercial building, so they politely evict you when the shops close.

But I stopped because I was worried that if I mentioned that, someone might think, ‘Oh, this urban legend also causes mental contamination!’ and then crazily create another gag story through misunderstanding and misinterpretation….

Instead, I readily nodded when they suggested we distribute contact information and split up for efficient exploration.

“Are you okay, Roe Deer?”

“Yes.”

Normally I’d want to grab onto their pant legs and stick with them, but today’s my coward day!

“Contact us immediately if there’s a problem.”

“Understood.”

I set off immediately with the walkie-talkie I received from the security team (it strangely reminded me of a toy walkie-talkie sold at an alien shop).

– Hmm, is there a shop you want to visit? It seems a few are operating.

Did you know?

That’s the answer.

‘However, it requires a rather unusual approach…’

Because the space here is distorted, the floors and directions were a mess, but sometimes it showed its own system and rules.

And among them is this.

When boarding the elevator on the 7th floor, a button to go underground appears probabilistically.

After several attempts, I finally found the button marked ‘B1’ in the elevator.

– Ah, a hidden location? It reminds me of that elegant exhibition.

Do we really need to bring that up?

Even now, I still have nightmares about being trapped in the exhibition’s basement, unable to find the exit, wandering around and around, until I ran into that spider machine and got completely ripped off…!!

‘This… this is a kind place……. A kind place…….’

I pressed the button, trying to shake off the nightmare.

Ping.

And when the door opened, I saw the underground parking lot.

‘I think someone even fainted here from the car horns.’

That’s not important.

I diligently moved according to the directions I remembered.

‘Three times to the left.’

Going round and round this underground parking lot, a new section number appeared that I hadn’t seen before.

‘A19.’

Then I was practically there.

My heart pounding, I hurried my steps.

Next to this parking area, there’s a door leading to a shopping arcade, but instead of going through it and taking the elevator, if you look to the side, there’s a small shop.

That’s how it appears.

Dalbit Tattoo Shop

The magical place.