Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 93

The shop smelled faintly of dust, but it was warm. A cozy feeling unique to old spaces. At Sweet Stationery, as its name suggested, there was also a slightly comforting sweet smell. The tension and strain in my shoulders eased… no, not yet! ‘Don’t let your guard down.’ I bit the inside of my cheek and moved forward. Narrow space, walls like a maze, lined with metal shelves, each compartment stacked with various snacks. On the front of a fairly large central counter, the names of popular items were written.

Forgetting Cotton Candy

Soft Cookies

Sun’s Taste Chips Chips

Carrot Is It Coke

Inverted Bubble Gum

Nostalgia Candy SOLD OUT!

I walked quietly, quickly scanning the snacks with my eyes. I didn’t see ‘Good Child Chocolate Bar’, but I did see a few familiar names and appearances. Among them were some relatively safe and useful items. ‘Good. While I’m here, let’s use up the change.’ They were decent items, and could be turned into extra income. The atmosphere hadn’t been bad when I last parted ways with the bronze agent, so maybe I could restore the ‘rumor-origin food’ sales route through them… My gold bars had been completely emptied, so I needed a way to make money.

– You’re picking quite a lot, friend! You’ll have to be careful not to get cavities.

I quickly picked out a few snacks. And I glanced back at the lizard that had been silently following me with minimal movement.

“…Sir Lee Jaheon, are there any snacks you need or want to buy? I’d like to give them to you as a token of appreciation.”

“Yes.”

Surprisingly, Lee Jaheon didn’t refuse. He glanced around and grabbed a snack.

Inverted Bubble Gum

If you blow like a balloon in your mouth, your body will grow as big as a building!

Happy Research Institute Genuine Certification Complete

(Beware of substandard imitations sold by street vendors!)

“…Would this be alright?”

“Yes.”

Does he want to become a giant lizard? I suppressed my useless imagination. ‘Let’s just pay.’

Holding the chosen snacks in both hands, I headed towards the counter at the back of the shop. On the way, I scanned the interior, but the ‘Good Child Chocolate Bar’ was still nowhere to be seen…

‘Hmm.’

I finally reached the counter.

“Hello.”

The figure sitting at the metal counter slowly nodded its head. It was the shop owner, in shabby casual clothes and a hat pulled low. At first glance, they looked like an ordinary stationery store owner, but six arms tapped the counter….

‘Phew.’

I absolutely avoided making eye contact, carefully placing the snacks I wanted to buy on the counter. And quickly presented the coins.

“Here you are.”

I didn’t want to be mistaken for a ‘barter’ transaction. I recalled my first successful purchase record from this place.

Purchased item: One Carrot Is It Coke

Cost: The memory of the second day of the 1997 family trip

That’s right. This stationery store was a shop that charged in memories. From happy memories that made me laugh just thinking about them, to terrible traumas I wanted to forget. The type of memory lost depended on the snack purchased.

‘That’s why the exploration boundaries ranged from heartwarming to chilling records.’

I didn’t want to risk which side I’d fall on, especially in this rumor-based world where the information in my head was important.

‘Let’s just find the Good Child Chocolate Bar.’

I even wanted to ask the owner for its location. But since something resembling me was drawn on the packaging, I didn’t want to unnecessarily bring up associations…

“Please tell me the location of the chocolate bar.”

Team Leader!

I almost grabbed my direct superior by the collar. But the shop owner simply pointed to a shelf, still leaning back in their chair….

‘Phew.’

Apparently, the picture on the packaging wasn’t similar enough to me to be instantly recognized.

‘I wish I looked even half the size of the lizard’s liver…’

I should have bought a liver at the butcher shop. I muttered such nonsense and bent down to retrieve the paid snacks and remaining coins from the counter….

Then I saw it.

‘Huh?’

There was something behind the counter. A life-size cutout and decorative papers that seemed to have been hastily put away.

A sign and… a blue box containing a chocolate bar.

Theme park collaboration new product launch!

Good Kid Chocolate Bar (Cinnamon Churros flavor)

Oh my god.

‘Found it!’

I observed the chocolate bar wrapper as quickly as possible.

The hairstyle, mask, and suit were far better implemented on the wrapper than I thought.

Was the counter promotion removed? It seems strangely rushed to have been removed like that….

“…….”

Wait a minute.

I looked at the chocolate bar wrapper again.

And I realized.

This product didn’t use me as an advertising model, nor did it decorate the wrapper with a similar-looking character.

It was…….

Please find this Good Kid.

We are waiting for eyewitness accounts.

It was a missing person advertisement.

“…….”

I took a step back, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Then…….

Ring ring ring.

…….

I craned my neck and looked around the counter.

The shop owner was holding a phone.

A phone call was connecting somewhere, then….

Click.

The moment it connected.

It’s here!

I turned around, grabbed Manager Lee Jaheon, and ran out.

It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!

There’s no time to swear. I couldn’t even breathe properly as I ran across the store, away from the counter as far as possible.

And I grabbed the door I had entered and pulled…….

Huh?

Why is it there?

Click.

The door locked.

“…….”

I turned my head and looked at the shop owner standing at the counter.

“I’m leaving now. Please open it.”

After a short silence.

It’s okay.

The shop owner’s voice echoed in my ears….

From the phone it was holding, a black stream of liquid was now dripping onto the floor.

Getting thicker.

Glug glug.

The thin stream of liquid soon clumped together, and like clay being molded, its form twisted and piled up in mid-air.

I’ve come to get you.

……In the form of an animal wearing a mascot costume I’ve seen somewhere before….

“…!!”

I desperately turned and pulled at the shop door. But it didn’t budge, this damn thing….

“Let go.”

Ah.

The moment I let go of the door, Lee Jaheon smashed the doorknob with his left fist.

Crack, Bang!

The handle fell to the floor like magic.

The door, kicked repeatedly, swung open, revealing the alley outside.

Lee Jaheon and I ran out without hesitation.

My door!!

A strong sound of water came from behind. Splash, splash, splash!

Mixed with the shop owner’s enraged voice, the sound of water was following us down the alley. A chill ran down my spine.

‘Braun!’

– It seems you need my help, friend!

Yes!

‘Let’s turn off the lights! Manager Lee Jaheon too!’

– That person too? Alright. I’ll take this as my present!

Tap!

A crisp sound of fingers snapping against a stuffed animal was heard, and once again, a heavy shadow covered me.

That feeling of fading away.

“!”

Lee Jaheon’s vertically slit pupils swiveled to look at me.

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s run!”

Splash, splash, splash….

From behind, the sound of water violently hitting the walls of the alley was getting closer.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

…What will happen if we get caught?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. The unknown outcome drove me crazy.

I gritted my teeth.

‘Running away was the right answer.’

Coming here to find out what was going on was the problem!

This was an urban legend. A worldview where verifying the truth wasn’t the right answer, but a shortcut to death.

‘I should have just said I didn’t know and left…!’

No, I’ll worry about that later!

Don’t give up your body!

Remaining steps: 3441

I had to endure 400 steps.

‘No matter what’s in the next alley, I have to escape that way…!’

Now, I can hear the voices of the alley residents whose ankles are being swept away by the rushing current right behind me.

“Wow, this is fun~ What is this?”

“A mascot is parading on the water! Fun! Fun!”

“They say you can ride a flume ride at Waterland! Eat a chocolate and win a trip to Waterland! Let’s find the Good Kid!”

“Wow, Good Kid……”

“…….”

“…….”

“Is that him?”

Damn it.

“Who?”

“Where is he?”

“I can’t see him…”

I sweated profusely, pushing through a crowd of ghosts to make my way down the alley.

– Oh, yes. Even if all the lights go out, a star remains a star. And the pursuit of obsessive fans is a fate one must endure!

– If they know the star’s physical characteristics particularly well, wouldn’t they try even more relentlessly to find them?

Physical characteristics.

I recalled the picture on the packaging.

“…A mask!”

I tore off the mask I was wearing and shoved it into my pocket.

Then I took out a mask and a hat and pressed them onto my face.

My pace slowed naturally, bringing the water closer. In my downward gaze, I saw the wave that had reached right behind me….

No. The difference in speed is too great.

‘Then….’

I checked another direction.

Above my head!

“…Team Leader, the utility pole!”

“Yes.”

I quickly climbed the utility pole next to me. I had never climbed anything so desperately fast in my life. Whether my palms were scraped or not, somehow, somehow….

‘…Got it!’

Water rushed into the space where I had been.

But I had successfully climbed to just below the power lines of the utility pole.

“Ha….”

I gripped my hands, which were about to loosen in relief.

‘It’s alright for now.’

Just as I twisted my body, leaning my legs against the alley wall to stabilize my position.

Thump.

From my suit pocket,

A smartphone with its screen lit up slid out.

Splash.

It fell into the water filling the ground.

The smartphone screen cracked against the stone floor, water seeping in, and the app screen flickered.

Do not give up your body!

Remaining steps: 3210

And…

The screen went dark.

“…….”

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

Only a black surface remained on the broken smartphone.

Grotesque, moving mascot-shaped blobs of black water filled the dark, narrow alleyway, peering into shop windows.

My smartphone was swept away by the current.

It moved and moved, eventually disappearing into the crowd following the mascot-shaped blobs…

The rapids passed beyond the alleyway, brushing past the utility pole I was clinging to….

Along with the escape method that wasn’t revealed to me.

“…….”

I’m screwed….

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

I turned my head, frozen.

A gecko clinging to the utility pole section directly below me reached out to me.

Showing me something.

Its own intact smartphone screen.

Exit from Death Alley →

Follow the arrow!

Section Chief Lee Jaheon had successfully completed 10,000 steps at this moment.

I blankly stared at Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s smartphone app page, where the navigation was already activated….

But.

“Please accept this.”

“…Yes?”

The gecko offered me its smartphone.

“Escape by following the app’s directions.”

“…!”

A lifeline had been lowered.

“The smartphone doesn’t recognize a change in the owner. As long as you don’t deviate from the guided route, you can escape.”

“…….”

I reached for Lee Jaheon’s smartphone. And….

I gritted my teeth and refused.

“I can’t do that.”

“?”

“Section Chief. The strange black water just now…was definitely trying to find me. And it’s still searching this alley.”

I barely escaped by removing my mask and concealing my presence.

However.

“If I follow the app’s directions, I won’t be able to avoid encountering the black water. …Because I can’t deviate from the route.”

While moving according to the app’s directions, never take your eyes off the screen for more than 3 seconds or deviate from the guided route.

Failure to comply will result in being listed as missing.

This rule also applies to the return journey.

“So…the probability of me getting out of here safely without going missing is extremely low.”

For me to survive, the navigation needed to be activated after I escaped to another alley.

‘Ha….’

“…I think it’s more likely I’ll escape if I try to find another way.”

Lee Jaheon stared at me with vertically slit pupils.

“I see.”

“Yes. So, Section Chief, you use that to escape….”

And turned off his smartphone.

“…!!”

Is this gecko crazy?

“What are you doing?”

“I’m following the recommended two-person team manual.”

That’s inconsistent.

“Then why did you try to give me the escape route earlier?? You’ll be alone, not a team of two!”

“I followed the manual’s priorities. Request further explanations after the escape.”

Lee Jaheon said flatly.

“From now on, the priority of all conversations and questions will be survival and return from this darkness.”

“…….”

“Roe Deer, although not written in the current manual, devises a new escape method you can deduce.”

Good heavens.

“…Yes.”

I barely answered.

A moment later.

We got down from the utility pole.

And we started walking again on the bottom of the alley swept away by the rapids.

Without guidance, without an escape plan.