Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 141

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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 141

Nostalgia Candy returns me to my peak condition.

In other words, that’s still me. It doesn’t mean I become smarter or more perfect.

It means I shouldn’t let my guard down just relying on the condition Nostalgia Candy provides.

I knew that.

“…!”

I gritted my teeth, feeling the excruciating pain from my right arm, no, ‘the empty space where my right arm used to be.’

I missed the timing to take it.

Damn.

‘I was too hasty.’

With the safe zone disappearing within an hour, and suddenly finding a way to open the mart door, I got distracted.

The price came as horrific pain.

My severed arm that was cauterized for hemostasis.

Every single word of that description slashes me with raw, chilling pain.

“Huff.”

My legs gave out for a moment and I almost collapsed to the floor. I instinctively tried to support myself with my right arm, then realized it wasn’t there and stumbled, managing to support myself with my left hand in an awkward rhythm.

But it’s okay.

“Agent…!”

“Just… wait a moment,”

Bronze Agent stepped behind me and supported me. I gasped from the excruciating pain.

Go Young-eun rushed over urgently. She checked my consciousness and urged me. What did she say?

“That thing! Where’s that candy!”

Ah.

“Hurry!”

I tried to search my jacket pocket with my remaining arm. Go Young-eun was one step ahead, quickly rummaging through my pocket, taking out the candy and unwrapping it.

‘I just need to eat that.’

That’s definitely… right.

“….”

“Grape Agent?!”

Maybe because of the endorphins, I suddenly had this thought.

Nostalgia Candy, there are only 2 left.

I don’t know what other ghost stories I might have to enter in the future.

‘…Do I really have to eat it?’

Can’t I endure with Happy Maker?

My arm is already in a hemostatic state.

And originally, my plan was set up so I could escape without problems once business resumed, even with one arm missing.

But didn’t I already make business resume?

‘Considering the versatility of items.’

Then, rather than wasting it here….

“….”

I took the candy and put it back in the wrapper.

“What, what are you doing….”

Then I struggled to put my hand back in my pocket, put the wrapped candy back in, and took out a rod-shaped item.

Happy Maker.

I’ll use this one.

‘Right.’

I was about to inject it immediately, then realized I couldn’t roll up my sleeve to expose bare skin.

Because I don’t have an arm to roll it up with.

“…Agent, I’m sorry but this… please inject this for me.”

“….”

“It’s a painkiller.”

But seeing their stern eyes, they seem to know the dangerous origin of this item. …Fantasy Home Shopping, that is.

At times like this….

“Please. Just….”

“…!”

Fortunately, Bronze Agent took a deep breath instead of arguing about this, rolled up one side of my remaining arm, and injected the Happy Maker.

Prick.

With a small sound, the drug immediately began circulating through my bloodstream.

‘Ah.’

The pain fades, and a sense of stability comes to my mind.

Tranquility.

Anxiety and panic shatter and crumble, becoming dust particles that fly away, leaving nothing in my chest.

‘Ha.’

I stood up without staggering, with normal steps.

“Thank you.”

But around me, a deathly quiet silence flowed.

“Why….”

“Since it won’t immediately impair my mobility, I’m trying to endure for now.”

“….”

The items are precious.

Go Young-eun seemed to read those words in my eyes.

“Sigh.”

My colleague who had struggled together at Baekillmong Corporation looked away from my situation with a complex expression.

…She must have empathized to some extent.

However, one person was different.

“…You’ve been moving around in that condition?”

“….”

Bronze Agent looked at my injury with an almost dazed expression, then suddenly looked at me as if realizing something.

“That medicine.”

As expected.

They realized the original purpose of the regeneration potion I had given them.

“….”

“Are you insane?!”

“I’m not insane.”

Thanks to Happy Maker, my head became calm.

I steadied my breathing and even managed something close to a smile for them.

Along with an explanation they could understand.

“Listen. It was a rational choice.”

“What?”

“I’m not in life-threatening danger even without immediate treatment, but you were in a dying situation.”

“….”

“And if a veteran like you hadn’t joined our group, the citizen who requested rescue would have been in danger too.”

Right.

From the beginning, I hadn’t counted the two high school students Bronze Agent was protecting as personnel for the rescue.

My original plan was made based on the premise of 3 people who could hold out on the stair landing.

Me, Go Young-eun, and my assigned high school student.

These 3 people.

‘…While giving up on Bronze Agent.’

But the situation changed when we found the sign left by the Bronze Agent.

Instead of the Bronze Agent, two high school students joined us—one unpredictable and one already mentally gone.

‘…It was difficult.’

If they had just been adults, I might have been able to pretend not to notice.

But they were 15 and 16 years old, so it was hard to apply the concept of cutting ties… with modern sensibilities.

In the end, the best answer was right in front of us.

Rescuing the Bronze Agent.

‘And since I can’t use Nostalgia Candy indefinitely, the Regeneration Potion is the right choice.’

Overall, even excluding my personal big picture, it was a rational judgment as a rescue agent of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

“So… I believe my judgment was reasonable.”

“…”

However, the Bronze Agent’s expression darkened.

He opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…Why on earth,”

At that moment.

Clang.

“…!”

The three agents’ heads turned quickly.

“Ah, shit.”

Someone who had been hiding behind a tent hurriedly looked at us nervously. They picked up a camping cup they had accidentally dropped and hastily put it back in place.

…It was the high school student the Bronze Agent had been taking care of.

‘Oh dear.’

I properly covered the area around my missing arm with my jacket.

“…Please, let’s go outside the mart to talk.”

“…”

The Bronze Agent moved his lips, then with a somewhat regretful expression, bowed his head and quietly went to the end of the camping store.

Go Young-eun looked back and forth between me and the Bronze Agent, then sighed and followed the Bronze Agent.

“…”

Then, the high school student who had been looking around nervously hesitated and quietly approached me.

“Um, I’m sorry…”

“…I know you weren’t trying to eavesdrop. It’s okay.”

“No, that’s not…”

The high school student hesitated, then spoke properly.

“The way I acted.”

“…”

“Just… how I was.”

From our conversation he had just overheard, he seemed to have fully realized that the agents were also risking their lives to save them.

Enough to reflect on his mistakes and irritable behavior.

“…”

‘Phew.’

Even adults often act emotionally in extreme situations, so what could I expect from a minor.

Just apologizing was already more than expected.

Even if half of that apology came from the fear of ‘What if they get annoyed and abandon me to escape?’

“Alright. I accept your apology.”

“…”

“Let’s hang in there just a little longer until we get out.”

“Um,”

The high school student suddenly spoke up once more.

“When we go out this time, I’ll steal properly. The… items.”

Ah.

“It’s okay.”

I patted the high school student’s shoulder with my remaining arm.

“This time, there’s no need to steal.”

“…?”

Because we won’t be taking that risk.

The high school student seemed puzzled for a moment but soon nodded and quietly returned to his friend.

My surroundings became quiet for a while.

“…”

It was a bit awkward.

…Maybe I had gotten too used to the days when I had a friend who perfectly understood and empathized with my position.

Anyway.

“Phew.”

Now really, only the final work remained.

And this will work.

‘…Even if there are more people, we have two types of escape items.’

We can do this.

I fumbled inside my jacket and took out the item I had been keeping most safely and thoroughly.

Two white envelopes.

‘Gift certificates.’

And I sat quietly in place, checking my reinforced version of the original plan once more.

Until everyone was ready.

A moment later.

“Everyone has candy in their mouth?”

“Yes! Both of us have it.”

“Good.”

I checked on the high school students taking care of each other and looked around at the agents.

The two people who had neatly restored the camping store met my eyes with stern faces.

All briefings were finished.

Now…

‘It’s time to get out.’

The six of us left the 3rd floor and began calmly going down.

Out-of-season pop songs, laughter, the sound of people pulling carts around.

“Haha!”

“No, that’s too expensive. Put it back.”

We could hear the bustling voices of shoppers around us. Even though it had only been three or four days, nothing could be more welcome.

Of course, since they were ghosts of the past who couldn’t see, hear, or perceive us, the eerie feeling didn’t fade.

Neither did the tension.

“…”

“…”

“Excuse me.”

One of the high school students spoke up.

“Back there…”

“Shh.”

I cautioned him and quietly sent him forward.

Because I had already seen what the high school student saw.

At the end of the escalator we were going down, someone was standing there, staring blankly at us.

Bloodshot eyes, dirty clothes, a mouth muttering strange words.

A strange person who was once normal, wearing clothes that looked like they came out briefly to shop at the mart at night, but has been wearing them for months.

Long-term Missing Person.

I pulled the High School Student’s shoulder.

“…Don’t smile, and don’t be anxious either.”

If you smile, they think you can get out and follow you, and if you’re anxious, you look easy and they follow you.

‘…We can’t save them anyway.’

There was no need to feel hope torture or fear by imagining something impossible given the situation.

The High School Student swallowed and nodded. Then he lowered his head and stuck behind me.

“….”

One of the Long-term Missing Persons who was watching us dragged his disheveled hair and broken leg as he also went down the escalator.

Because he wants to get out.

But that’s not all.

…I can feel their gazes.

Behind the Meat Section, behind the Event Display, muttering next to Employees, crying, laughing, standing blankly.

They’re trying to come down the escalator.

‘…The First Floor will be crawling with them.’

Then eventually when they get caught by Employees, they disappear by becoming ‘Equipment’.

By evening, the Lower Floors will be ‘cleaned’ like that, and new victims will wander the lower levels as if they alone entered this mart from the past….

“….”

The bleakness crept down my back even through the painkiller’s calming effect.

Not too fast, not too slow, we continued forward on the escalator. And we returned to where we had entered.

First Floor.

In front of the Checkout Counter.

“…I’ll start quickly.”

I took the High School Student I had been in charge of….

And headed directly to the Checkout Counter instead of the exit door.

And we each grabbed the snacks and beverage cans placed in front of us.

Next to me, the High School Student breathed heavily, trying to calm down.

On a weekday afternoon, in the still quiet mart, we smoothly reached the Checkout Counter Cashier without waiting….

“….”

I took out the gift certificate and held it forward, tapping the Checkout Counter very lightly.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

The Cashier quickly turned and looked at me.

That’s right.

She ‘recognizes’ me.

“Oh, you’re a Customer!”

“…!”

This was exactly the power of the Gift Certificate.

Being recognized as a legitimate Customer of the mart.

-If you use the Gift Certificate, you can just walk out.

-…!

There’s no need to deceive the mart.

“Please ring this up.”

“Oh, yes!”

Beep, beep.

The Cashier cheerfully scans the items I bought and takes the Gift Certificate….

“Um, we can’t give change for Gift Certificates in hundred won units, but if you give me six hundred won in cash, we can make it even thousand won units.”

“…That’s fine. Just give me whatever.”

“Really? Understood~”

The Cashier gives me change of four 10,000 Won Gift Certificates and eight 1,000 won certificates.

I immediately handed several thousand won Gift Certificates to the High School Student, and he repeated the process I had done.

With a trembling voice.

“Oh, wait, this too!”

So the Cashier wouldn’t feel suspicious, we made sure that even though we calculated our items together, the change wouldn’t be too much.

And….

“Thank you.”

“Thank you~ Please come to Lucky Mart again!”

We passed through.

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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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