Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 122

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 122

Just before the live talk show begins, backstage is bustling.

The silent staff move in perfect coordination while checking and responding to situations in real time.

“Phew.”

I caught my breath.

By now, I could understand their expressions quite specifically to some extent….

The whispers of the faceless ones.

-Add lighting number 5.

-Host’s shoes need replacement.

-Check guest cushion position.

Each person works hard at their position, thinking about how to create a good show.

And since the host is the type who doesn’t spare compliments for individuals, the atmosphere becomes even more easily elevated.

It really was a decent workplace. The fact that my colleagues had no faces was a bit unsettling at first, but now I seemed completely adapted!

‘People really are creatures of environment, I guess.’

Going into ghost stories never became familiar no matter how much I did it, so maybe there really was an aptitude issue like Brown said.

‘It’s okay.’

I habitually checked once that I was wearing the silver ring, then finally came up to the stage.

“…Whew.”

Today was the day.

The day I would appear for the first time in a corner segment on ‘Brown’s Late Night Talk Show’.

[Sol-eum!

The host, who had already finished preparing, approached me.

[The outfit suits you very well. Yes… Oh my! Makeup, let’s cover this tattoo here properly.]

The host meticulously checked even the tattoo visible under my business suit sleeve near my wrist.

In an instant, the tattoo on my wrist disappeared without a trace.

And I safely went to my designated seat and sat down before the live broadcast time.

[Good. Good… Now. Sol-eum. The camera light will come on soon.]

“Yes.”

[And the audience will be seated right away, so just think about entertaining them. Now, it’s starting…]

The countdown runs on the classic prompter in front of me.

3.

2.

1.

0.

[Good evening! The joy of this night, new faces we meet every day, and… your friendly host!]

Brown’s Late Night Talk Show

The moment the studio sparkled with the band sound.

The live broadcast began.

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“What, what is this…”

The audience seats fill up.

The audience members who had suddenly appeared looked startled or surprised by the dazzling filming set that appeared while they were preparing well.

“Why are my clothes like this?”

Everyone sitting in various work outfits really looked like a special feature on office workers.

[Welcome, hardworking office workers. For you today, we’ll show you a talk show that relieves the fatigue of the day, one you can’t take your eyes off, interesting, and thrillingly fun!]

Clap clap clap…

The host clapped alone, then displayed an awkward and sad emoticon on his TV head.

[…No applause? Not even one?]

Clap, clap clap clap clap!!

The audience hastily sent applause.

“What the heck is this…”

“At least he’s handsome. Let’s do it.”

Next to me, two office workers who seemed to know each other whispered to each other and applauded again.

The host greeted the audience members one by one and led the atmosphere.

Though there were somewhat eerie aspects, basically funny and enjoyable jokes and terrible and amazing news they’d never heard before.

“Ah.”

Eventually tension was relieved, and people naturally accepted the surreal space.

Like watching a magician or sci-fi movie, the minds of people familiar with unrealistic content became blurred as the boundary with reality collapsed.

And then it appears.

[Today’s guest is… ah, coming out now!]

A glamorous door studded with star-shaped light bulbs sparkled open, and the guest came out.

The guest I had selected!

It was…

Toddle toddle.

It was a cloth teddy bear doll.

It had mismatched button eyes and was patched up but quite cute.

[Isn’t it quite cute? Let me introduce. Today’s guest… ‘Happy Ending Teddy Bear’!]

Exclamations burst out from here and there at the small teddy bear sitting on the sofa.

What the heck is that, it’s really cute, it’s moving, where is this place? Is this a dream? What kind of talk show is this… ah, I applied to be in the audience for this!

The confused murmuring soon subsided and converged into one thing.

Interest and focus on the surrealistically proceeding talk show.

[Sponsored by Delusion Home Shopping. Oh, this is a 1999 limited edition product that’s no longer sold, and the most iconic companion doll in the industry.]

[For owners who cherish it until death, it creates a ‘life’s ending’ like peaceful sleep, but for those who abandon it, it visits them in the middle of the night to turn them into dolls just like itself!]

Brown approaches and holds the microphone up to the teddy bear.

[How are you feeling? …Oh, you’re so nervous that you feel like going to your first owner’s grave to wail.]

“Uhahahat!”

Good reaction.

I felt relieved.

The creepiness of cute and friendly but inanimate objects having consciousness, moving, and seeking revenge has always been effective.

That’s why I also used Good Friend… no, stop.

‘Anyway, when the audience reaction is good, the viewer reaction is often good too.’

It was reassuring.

The talk show structure was designed so that non-human viewers could enjoy the audience reactions themselves, like watching reaction videos.

Interesting. Stories are indeed enjoyable and reassuring when you’re one step removed from them!

[Now, let’s hear our guest’s story and current situation!]

The show proceeded smoothly.

The ‘Happy Ending Teddy Bear’ spoke through the host about its heartbreaking but warm farewell with its kind owner, and the terrible owner’s blood-chilling abuse and refreshing revenge.

And they showed props, photos, and illustrations from that time to build immersion and atmosphere.

The final climax.

[Ah, so the father who burned you with cigarettes and beat the child who played with you… is in that audience!]

[That person is… you!]

Bam!

The spotlight illuminates one audience member.

[Please come up… hahaha! Let’s welcome our second guest with applause.]

It was the former owner who abandoned that doll, planted among the audience.

They brought him on stage and demonstrated the process of ‘Happy Ending Teddy Bear’ directly turning that audience member into a teddy bear.

Screams and blood flew everywhere, but the immersed audience found it a bit horrifying yet satisfying. People in the front row who even received raincoats from staff applauded.

Just like reading an interesting ghost story.

[Ah, excellent. We have one more cute teddy bear.]

[This is truly wonderful. Please give a big round of applause to our Happy Ending Teddy Bear guest, who even creates excellent added value!]

Waaaah!

Happy Ending Teddy Bear trembled and happily greeted the people.

And at this point…

[Now let’s move to the next corner. Q&A!]

Brown raises one hand to his speaker part as if listening intently.

[Are you there? My friend!]

Now’s the time!

“I’m here. Friend!”

I raised my hand high and stood up from the middle of the audience seats.

Gasps erupted from the people sitting around me.

And a glowing sign above my head.

Tell Brown’s friend!

Let them know!

[For 100 seconds, my friend can ask the audience members about their impressions of the talk show or ask fun questions! We’ll give wonderful prizes to audience members who answer properly, so let’s try it. Now…]

A clock appeared on Brown’s TV face.

[Starting now!]

Whoosh.

The audience raises their hands.

I pointed to myself with a slightly flustered expression.

“Um, you’re raising your hands before hearing my introduction or questions…?”

Laughter.

“Ah, no time? I… under… stand… noooow.”

I deliberately started speaking extremely slowly, drawing out my words.

The laughter grew louder. Good.

“First question. ‘What was the most boring moment in this show?'”

[Friend!!]

“The moment when you yawned so much you thought you could do better yourself?!”

Intermittent laughter erupted among the audience at the perfectly planned reaction.

Several people in the front who were covered in blood from the former owner turned teddy bear waved their raincoats even more enthusiastically.

I quickly approached those people and held up the microphone.

“Right now.”

[Oooh!]

Explosive laughter erupted again. I deliberately looked at them with a betrayed expression, as if asking how they could say such a thing, then moved to the next question.

Perhaps because the previous corner was fun, people’s reactions were much better than I had worried.

It was almost captivating.

‘Is this… fun?’

I felt somewhat excited.

The 100 seconds flew by in an instant, and it was the moment when the microphone was passed to an audience member who was almost the last in order due to time.

“If you could make just one request to this talk show, what would it be?”

To my enthusiastic question, the audience member enthusiastically shouted back.

“I want to take that teddy bear home!”

Ah.

“That’s not allowed.”

…

Suddenly, the audience seats turned cold.

On the stage too.

“….”

Why, why did I do that? No, let me fix this first.

I raised my eyebrows as if I had deliberately given a short answer.

Then I nodded knowingly and said.

“Our dear guest Teddy Bear says he doesn’t want a serious relationship with an office worker who’s too busy with overtime and has no time.”

“What?!”

The Happy Ending Teddy Bear frantically waved both arms from the sofa as if to deny it. Seeing this, I nodded seriously and conveyed to the audience.

“As expected, he says no.”

“…?!”

The teddy bear fell over. Laughter erupted from the audience seats.

“Just kidding. He says he’ll go happily.”

“Wow! That’s so great. Natural history was my dream.”

“Really? Mine too.”

I smiled and high-fived the audience member.

Phew. Somehow I managed to get through that well.

‘Next!’

And I quickly turned my head for the next question. The next person who raised their hand fastest was….

A familiar outfit.

“…!!”

I stared blankly at that figure for a moment.

An office worker wearing a mask and dressed in a business suit.

‘…It’s the Baekillmong Corporation Field Investigation Team.’

The company I used to work for.

Among them….

‘…It’s the Team D members.’

Three people I knew were sitting side by side.

How could those three be here, no, surely only the Lizard Team Leader is left in Team D now, how could they….

[Ding! Time’s up.]

Ah.

[Now! Let’s ask our friend. Who is today’s MVP audience member?]

“Today’s MVP is….”

I pointed to the last audience member.

“The guest adoption volunteer.”

“Ooooh!”

[Hahaha! May you die naturally and happily!]

The selected audience member sat down happily while receiving a beautifully wrapped gift.

The Happy Ending Teddy Bear was staring intently at that audience member.

“….”

With that, my corner segment ended, and I exited through the door amid applause from the audience.

My heart was pounding.

‘I did it.’

And around that time.

[Let me introduce the next guest. Ah, wait, before that….]

[We’ll be right back after these commercials!]

Aaaaah!

Brown waved to the booing and cheering audience with a smile, and the commercial break began.

Phew!

[Kim Sol-eum!]

Brown came to the backstage with a huge smiling emoticon covering his face, then changed to an impressed emoticon and high-fived me.

And he patted my shoulder as if proud.

[Friend. You did very well! It’s hard to believe this was your first time hosting. Those were very impressive 100 seconds. Ah, truly admirable….]

“I don’t think it was that good….”

[No! This isn’t empty words or flattery, but pure admiration. Now that you’re starting to have passion for this show, you’re producing even better results.]

It was something to be happy about.

“Um, but.”

I said with a smile.

“…There are some familiar faces in the audience. Could I go talk to them briefly? Just for a moment during break time. Not for long….”

[Ah.]

The Host stopped.

And….

[Of course. It’s break time, isn’t it? Go have a comfortable conversation.]

Phew.

I got permission! That was a relief.

“Then I’ll go….”

[Wait.]

My shoulder was grabbed.

[However, you mustn’t make any remarks that would make other audience members feel uncomfortable…. Oh, don’t forget. Even when the cameras are off, the audience still sees you as part of the show’s cast.]

“…Got it.”

The TV head came closer.

[You’ll keep that in mind?]

“…I’ll keep it in mind.”

[Good!]

I backed away from the Host.

And after coming down from the stage, he went around with staff members giving thanks as if checking whether the audience had any discomfort.

Then… he finally arrived at a spot where familiar masks had gathered.

They were masks I knew.

“Noru…?”

“…Deputy Manager.”

Lee Ja-heon, Eun Ha-je, and… even Park Min-seong were sitting there.

‘Wow.’

It felt strange seeing them like this.

They looked just like they did before entering the Hungry Hangman darkness.

“What a surprise to see you here! Nice to meet you. How has everyone been?”

Lizard Team Leader and Eun Ha-je nodded their heads.

Park Min-seong also waved with a smiling face when our eyes met. His complexion looked a bit pale, but he still seemed healthy.

Had he improved so much that he could comfortably do outdoor activities on nights like this? That was really fortunate.

“Yeah. We’re doing well… Noru. Are you okay? How have you been?”

“Ah. I’ve been doing well.”

I could guarantee that.

However, I eventually couldn’t hold back and asked.

“But today was my first appearance… could I ask how it was? I’m a bit nervous.”

Silence.

“It was very good.”

“…Thank you.”

Phew.

The silence was a bit concerning, but Eun Ha-je wasn’t the type to give empty compliments, so it should be fine.

“Come to think of it, did you eat today?”

“Eat? Eat…”

Ah.

Come to think of it, it seemed like quite some time had passed since I last ate.

So… before preparing for the broadcast?

Was the last time I ate on the train before transferring here? Something like that.

Anyway, my body was perfectly healthy, so it was fine!

It was also too personal a topic to discuss during the talk show break.

I smiled and waved my hand.

“I’m fine without it.”

“…”

Park Min-seong quickly rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out.

“Noru. Still. This is break time, right? How about eating at least a snack? This…”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Receiving gifts from audience members is only possible through official channels. For clean operations.”

I politely declined the old-fashioned candy that Park Min-seong offered.

The expression of Park Min-seong holding the Nostalgia Candy darkened.

“Ah…”

…Did I do something wrong?

I thought hard and came up with an alternative.

“Don’t worry. I have the same candy among the ones I have, so I’ll eat that.”

“…!”

“Good.”

Eun Ha-je reached out and shook hands with me.

Her hand was hot.

“Make sure to eat it.”

“…”

“Noru.”

Ah.

Lizard Team Leader was looking at me.

“Press the button.”

“…?”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant by that.

But showing confusion wouldn’t be professional.

“Yes. I’ll definitely do my best. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show. Get plenty of rest and fighting for tomorrow too.”

I hoped today’s audience participation had been a small joy in their difficult daily lives.

Is this the heart of a show creator? What Brown was talking about?

I observed the reactions of the three people.

‘Maybe it’s because they’re wearing masks, but their expressions are hard to see…’

Wait a minute.

If they were wearing masks, could they possibly be in the middle of darkness investigation?

Then let me reassure them!

“Ah. If you came here because of ‘work’, there shouldn’t be any problems. Just enjoy the show and go back.”

“…Really?”

“Yes! It’s very safe here.”

Darkness this easy to clear was probably rare. Wasn’t it even easier than the Tuesday Talk Show?

‘Because no regular audience members die!’

Actually, if they wanted to go more provocatively, they could have given more terrible punishments like the Tuesday Talk Show.

Now it was rather a comfortable atmosphere where other audience members could enjoy watching people get their just desserts.

I felt briefly grateful to Brown.

But Park Min-seong shook his head slightly.

“I didn’t come for work.”

Huh?

“…I came to see you. Noru.”

…Me?

“Noru. How on earth did this situation happen…”

[Oh my, Friend!]

“…!”

The host gestured from the stage.

Right. The commercial break was almost over. That meant the show would continue!

“I’ll go up now. See you again next time. Ah! This one seems like it’ll be really interesting… just watch comfortably.”

“But…”

I couldn’t hear the response and ran to the stage while greeting the audience.

The lights were dazzling.

The talk show ended today as well with tremendous applause and cheers.

[Thank you. Then we’ll see you again tomorrow at 11:33 PM, everyone!]

Brown skillfully ended the broadcast and, as always, took care of the staff and related personnel on the stage where the lights had gone out.

I did the same.

I was looking at the empty audience seats when I suddenly came to my senses and received congratulations.

[How was it, more fun than you thought, wasn’t it, Sol-eum?]

“Yeah. Um… it was better than I expected.”

[Very pleased to hear that. Good. I’ll talk with the Writing Staff about having Sol-eum appear once or twice a week from now on. ‘Brown’s Friend’!]

“Ah, okay.”

Perhaps because I was acknowledged, my stomach felt queasy. Let’s accept it happily!

And the Host asks casually.

[Ah. Was the conversation with your former Workplace Colleagues enjoyable, Friend? I saw them talking to you from the Audience Seats.]

“…! Yeah. It was nice seeing them after so long.”

[I see. I’m curious what kind of enjoyable conversation you had!]

“Ah, they were looking out for me, asking if I had eaten.”

[Aha, our show always has a dedicated Catering Service for the Staff Members’ dietary needs…]

The TV Screen blurs.

[…You haven’t touched any meals this whole time, Noru. You didn’t even apply for personal catering service. How could this be! I told you on the first day.]

It was bothersome somehow. I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck.

“I was fine not eating.”

[Good heavens! Making me into an unscrupulous business partner who doesn’t even take care of meals. No, this is my oversight. New crew members are busy adapting and might miss things, so I, Brown, should have been more attentive as a Friend…]

Brown extended his hand.

[There’s a saying that inspiration and ideas come from physical strength. Promise me you won’t do this again.]

Well. There wasn’t much difference, and I actually felt better…

“Mm. I’ll try.”

[Oh my, my Friend is even picking up bad industry speech habits!]

Brown scolded me somewhat jokingly, but didn’t press me any further than that.

It was rest time now, after all.

[I’m mentioning this in case you forget to rest too, but sufficient rest is also necessary to create the best show, Sol-eum!]

“I got it already. Well then, see you in a bit.”

I parted with Brown for a moment.

And passed by the Staff Members, went around Backstage toward my Waiting Room.

Click.

And I opened the Door and went in, rolled up my sleeve and looked at my arm.

My Tattoos hidden under Makeup.

“…Mm.”

Interesting. It seemed like Tattoos covered to be invisible didn’t work.

‘Now that the live broadcast is over, I should be able to remove the Makeup.’

I rubbed to remove the Makeup.

: Socius :

: :

And I put my hand into the Tattoo that served as Inventory and took out an Item.

‘Has it been a while since I used this too.’

What I held in my hand was Nostalgia Candy.

‘I did say I would eat.’

Mm… well, I’m not particularly hungry or lacking energy though.

I hesitated for a moment, then opened one piece of candy and put it in my mouth.

Chomp.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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