Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 168

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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 168

Go Young-eun glanced at her colleague sitting next to her.

Kim Sol-eum, who was doing PC work at high speed while staring at the monitor, had a modest appearance with messy hair and glasses – a styling created for infiltration work.

Accordingly, at the Disaster Management Bureau, he would act like a passive new employee, hunching his shoulders and avoiding eye contact.

However, Kim Sol-eum’s eyes behind his glasses as he looked at the PC now were confident and relaxed.

This was the person she had seen at Baekillmong Corporation.

It was probably the so-called ‘composure of one who knows,’ characteristic of someone with good insight who sees far ahead.

‘Is he absorbed in his work?’

His original attitude was suddenly showing through.

He said documents were his specialty, and it seems that wasn’t a lie…

‘Deception…?’

Go Young-eun looked at her colleague who had been promoted to Team Leader after just one year as the top graduate with complicated eyes!

But soon, finishing his last task on the keyboard cheerfully, Kim Sol-eum also turned to look at her.

And he quickly pulled out his passive character again.

“Ah, excuse me… Agent. Could I briefly ask you to check if I’m doing this correctly…?”

“Yes. Of course.”

There might be something to learn. Even if not, she could help her colleague learn document work.

Go Young-eun looked at Kim Sol-eum’s PC together with him.

“First, these are the versions of urban legends currently secured by the Disaster Management Bureau on the internet.”

[Red Clothes at Exit 4_Current]

Cases poured out.

Red clothes left standing at the exit.

Somehow eerie testimonies, all sorts of gloomy and ominous sightings that seemed like they would appear as foreshadowing in horror movies filled the document in text, comments, and videos.

But Kim Sol-eum continued his explanation without even blinking.

‘As expected, he’s not scared by this kind of thing.’

No. He’s just strong with text!

“First… I classified these sightings. Into actual incidents and unsubstantiated testimonies.”

The document was sorted.

“Then an interesting tendency becomes visible.”

Interesting?

“Namely, that actual incidents occurred after unsubstantiated testimonies.”

“…!”

“Look at this.”

-If you examine the clothes, there’ll definitely be hair or paper money or something like that, but you know you’d be an idiot to mess with it just to check, right? lol

“And it actually came out. Hair and paper.”

Kim Sol-eum attached a comment from the person who found hair and paper money in the ‘red clothes.’

“Next, the same goes for what happened to the person who found this hair and paper.”

-I heard the person who checked the clothes in that screenshot lost contact..

“This comment wasn’t posted after they actually lost contact. The news of losing contact came after this comment was posted.”

“…!”

Go Young-eun’s face hardened.

…Just like what they experienced at Lucky Mart.

“The order is backwards.”

“Yes.”

It’s a characteristic of ghost stories.

Kim Sol-eum smiled faintly.

“After paying attention to this tendency, if we look at the ghost story once more… now we can find a slightly bigger flow.”

Kim Sol-eum clicked on another document.

[Red Clothes at Exit 4_Basic]

“This is the version from 3 months ago.”

Rumors about red clothes were rampant.

So there were many theories – it’s a mark for organ trafficking, someone was possessed by a ghost, it’s the work of a psychopath, etc…

“But the things here don’t all actually occur as real incidents. What do you think is the reason?”

“…”

Go Young-eun fell into thought.

“Could it be because they’re too diverse? If one side is realized, it contradicts the others.”

“Correct.”

Kim Sol-eum smiled faintly.

“And one more thing – I think it’s because there were no speculations that people completely believed.”

“…!”

“The speculative statements were so diverse, almost no one spoke as if confirming anything, and there were many rebuttals… so none of them were sufficient to be treated as actual incidents.”

“…Because there was no evidence?”

“That’s right.”

In other words.

“They weren’t ‘plausible enough.'”

Kim Sol-eum clicked the mouse again.

“But at some point, something appears in the comments.”

A ‘sufficiently plausible story.’

Testimonies keep coming that it’s bait for shamanic rituals

“From here, the situation changes rapidly.”

Go Young-eun scanned the document Kim Sol-eum had organized without even breathing.

It’s a trick to lure ghosts, someone is attached to the clothes, tying the arms twice isn’t ordinary shamanism, it’s something that deserves death…

“Actually, unless you’re an expert in that field, it’s difficult to refute testimonies about shamanism. But the moment there’s an expert, it somehow seems plausible.”

“…But they weren’t even asked for image verification or anything?”

“…! Exactly.”

Kim Sol-eum smiled as he looked at the comments he had collected.

-If you examine the clothes, there’s definitely gonna be hair or paper money or something like that, but you know you’d be an idiot to mess with it just to check, right? lol

“When I checked this person’s comment history, they were an office worker at a steel company.”

“…!”

Not an expert.

But a field where you can sufficiently pretend to be one.

“Someone who’s met a few shamans or read a few books can easily make things up.”

No one knows if the people talking on the internet were actual shamans.

And no one credibly proved whether it’s possible to pass ghosts or curses onto someone else the way they described.

But because it looks plausible, people end up believing it.

The effect of fear combined with familiarity!

“What’s more, if you look closely, these self-proclaimed experts are each telling different stories.”

“…Huh.”

That’s really true.

Go Young-eun held back a sigh as she read the comments.

She hadn’t noticed because of the horror atmosphere and various similar ‘textured’ shamanic testimonies, but they were just taking all the creepy stories and sticking them together.

Rituals, being possessed by ghosts, being cursed…

“…Most of it is probably made up, right?”

“Probably.”

Maybe… not most, but all of it.

“But people believed it.”

And.

“So you think that’s how it became reality.”

“Yes.”

Kim Sol-eum gave a bitter smile.

“Information contaminated reality in reverse.”

A ghost story that would someday in the future be confirmed and registered by the Disaster Management Bureau.

“If we trace the origin further back…”

-Why the hell is there bright red clothing at the subway entrance? Why do I have to experience ghosts? I almost fainted, help me

This is an SNS post uploaded with a photo of red clothing abandoned in front of a subway exit.

Exit 4 sign is visible in the background.

“This is how simple everyday posts emerge.”

Whether that red clothing was actually an outer garment accidentally dropped by some drunk person, or traces left behind by an old clothes collection truck is unknown…

Either way, it was just an ordinary everyday mishap.

“It was probably a coincidental incident, most likely an amusing misunderstanding.”

“But the important thing is that people started to misunderstand.”

That was correct.

Eventually, this eyewitness account spread all over the internet, was quickly reproduced, gained explanations, and became reality as fear and rumors attached to it.

“This is as far as my investigation goes.”

“….”

He’s really good at this…

“Um, but… did I make any mistakes…?”

But when he acts passive like his character again, he really looks like a deceiver…!

‘It can’t be helped because of spy work!’

Go Young-eun nodded while holding back a sigh and bitter smile.

“No. …This probably exceeds the expectations of the agents in this office.”

“Ah, that’s a relief…! Then, would I be adequate to work in the New Investigation Team?”

No, wait. That’s not what’s important right now…

“So, you’ve basically figured out the principle behind this supernatural disaster, right? If your deduction is correct.”

“Ah, that might be…”

No, not ‘might be’ – it seems correct!

Go Young-eun looked at her colleague with a slightly excited face.

Then we can deduce a solution too, right?

Specifically…

“If we make people not believe it, this ghost story will end too!”

“That’s right.”

Then somehow we need to clarify…

‘Ah.’

Go Young-eun realized the reality.

“…Making them not believe is almost impossible.”

“Yes.”

Because the incident is actually happening.

A paranormal phenomenon that has already become truth.

“Since too many people already believe it, persuasion won’t be easy.”

This ghost story was itself a conspiracy theory that internet rumors supported by people’s beliefs had become truth.

Perhaps the author of the Darkness Investigation Records wrote it as a way to mock various conspiracy theory evidence and eyewitness accounts.

“…Besides, it actually became a supernatural disaster. Since the evidence and circumstances are real, refuting it would be even harder.”

That was accurate.

That’s why in the Darkness Investigation Records, whenever agents discovered this ghost story, they ‘managed’ it by continuously destroying objects that were the focal points of the situation or erasing people’s memories…

A method of acknowledging the ghost story’s existence, managing the danger, and slowly neutralizing it.

A lukewarm solution fitting the unpleasant nature of this ghost story.

However.

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

“…Excuse me?”

Kim Sol-eum smiled faintly and placed his hands on the keyboard again.

There it was.

The solution he had thought of since reading this Darkness Investigation Record.

‘I can do it.’

He just couldn’t edit the wiki because it didn’t fit the ghost story atmosphere!

7.3 Solution

Go Young-eun watched Kim Sol-eum write the final section of the document without hesitation.

And even watched him remove his hands with a somewhat proud expression.

“This should work.”

“….”

Kim Sol-eum.

This time he really showed something!

And a few days later.

The red clothing at Exit 4 appeared again without fail.

-That thing is at Yeongdeungpo Station exit, everyone avoid it

Now people were starting to be afraid of even directly referring to the red clothing.

Probably in a little while, broadcasting stations would get involved too. Since there had been several cases of disappearances and deaths, the internet was whispering that no matter how supernatural, at least an investigation would come out.

But then.

-What is this?

This time, the red clothes had black text written on them.

[Red Baccarat New Member 50,000 Won Free Poker Sports Toto Roulette All Combined Ghost-like Thrilling Excitement and Profit Guaranteed (Website Address)]

An illegal gambling site advertisement!

-This fucking thing was a gambling ad?

People exploded.

-Ah fuck, spam messages aren’t enough?

-Building up like fucking shit

-Illegal gambling my ass lol

-Is it good to draw aggro by scaring people?

-Want to kill these scammer bastards

-Reported to police ah so fucking annoying

Curses and irritation flew around.

But after calming down once, other opinions quietly emerged.

-That just seems like copycat advertising since red clothes became a hot topic…

-Just exploiting it, right? Rather scary, what if something happens to them

It seemed like reasonable words at first glance.

So people who firmly believed in the red clothes ghost story started murmuring again, beginning to set the mood wondering what would happen to that company.

But the next day.

[Were you scared of these red clothes?]

[Human life is full of fear. A paradise lover who will protect and love you so you’re no longer afraid is waiting for you. Come to Love Paradise.]

A famous cult officially displayed red clothes at the exit and hung up a sign…!

-What the hell is this

-Hahahahahahahahaha

-These are the bastards who always approach people on the street asking about ideal types and asking to buy coffee

And as the finishing touch, even the text attached below the sign!

[We are a healthy religion that does not operate illegal gambling sites. Legal action is being taken against that company for idea theft.]

People read the context.

-Wait… so they’re saying the red clothes was their doing?

-Was it cult proselytizing?

A trap created by the cult to deceive vulnerable people that an illegal gambling site interfered with and exploited!

-They came running out in a hurry when it got stolen

-Get sued for illegal garbage dumping

-I hate the trash of this society so much

-Shamanism and whatever, thinking about the atmosphere creation again makes me cringe and fucking angry

People shuddered with irritation and began removing red clothes from conversation topics.

‘Good.’

Kim Sol-eum smiled as he scrolled to confirm that scene.

That’s right.

If it’s a ghost story that becomes reality through people’s belief, the solution was simple.

‘Just make them not want to believe it.’

Make it easy to mock and deflating.

‘I knew it would disappear quickly if I tied it to things that annoy and irritate people in daily life.’

-Never getting fooled again by these phishing message bastards

With such irritation, people quickly erased this incident from memory.

Conveniently dismissing the fact that there were actually dead or missing people as ‘it was manipulation for advertising.’

And so…

-The red clothes at Exit 4 case is concluded.

The ghost story ended surprisingly cleanly.

Very safely, without any agent getting hurt.

For the cost of making a few banners.

-Congrats congrats

-Amazing, right after discovering it like this

-Good work~

Thanks to this, Kim Sol-eum smiled slightly while borrowing Go Young-eun’s view of the unusually active anonymous agent group chat.

‘Urban legend investigation and solution proposal documentation from the office. Did it properly.’

If he gains recognition for his abilities as the New Investigation Team like this…

-No, actually haha, embarrassingly enough, our department didn’t do all of it.

-Huh?

-That famous new hire wrote up the documents in the new investigation team and even included solutions… It worked perfectly haha

And.

-The new employee again?

-Holy crap wow wow wow

-As expected, Destruction King

-You’re really so consistent haha

-Destroying ghost stories through documents too

“…??”

Kim Sol-eum really did show something.

And originally, concluding ghost stories involves multiple teams discovering clues and contributing ideas to attempt solutions.

However, there’s something called existing image in the world.

So, the ‘Destroyer Rookie’ ended up making a huge contribution to destroying ghost stories even while doing New Investigation Team work…!

-Wow look at that initiative, Hyeonmu Team 3 material

-No, Team 1 haha

-You who were born for the Emergency Rescue Team

Everything was absorbed as a reinforcement of her existing image!

Kim Sol-eum, who had ruined the ghost story with her image, ended up ruining her own plan with that same image.

“….”

‘Fighting, Sol-eum…’

Go Young-eun, who had anticipated this situation, just squeezed her eyes shut and silently sent a message of encouragement to her colleague…

And on the day when the two-week new employee training period ended.

Kim Sol-eum was… assigned to the Emergency Rescue Team Xuanwu Team 1…

Really, no one was surprised.

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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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