Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 235

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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 235

The days in the Happy Ending Cult’s underground bunker were monotonous and strange.

People taking turns praying.

New corpses arriving every day.

And people passionately arguing about how good these corpses were in life and therefore deserved a happy ending.

People shedding tears, smiling, and applauding at those words.

Corpses being stuffed into black boxes.

The sight of this small society going mad was disgusting, yet peaceful among themselves.

‘Truly befitting a cult.’

Cruel and insane acts.

Contrasted with closed-off comfort.

The cult members were strangely kind, treating each other warmly and intimately, calling each other family.

In a survival bunker isolated underground.

[Ah, that too is a technique of governance. Solidarity, sense of belonging, and daily constraints prevent groups from leaving.]

Right. Perhaps it could be seen as natural. But…

‘…Something feels lacking in detail.’

[Hmm?]

The details that make this unreasonable situation possible, I mean.

For instance… usually when cults conduct such rituals, there are specific acts they all share together.

‘Like drinking a specific beverage, holding certain tree branches, or mimicking animals…’

Small symbols they share only among themselves.

Something slightly mystical yet unique and symbolic, not too difficult, that makes them feel religious belonging.

‘The same goes for clothing.’

I think it’s typical to share at least one unified color or decoration.

But the people in this underground bunker are all wearing ordinary clothes. Meaning there’s no particular proof of initiation.

The school uniform the executive was wearing… well, symbolically speaking in ghost story terms, it’s significant, but it wouldn’t feel out of place as regular clothing either.

‘If they all wore school uniforms, it would have been bizarrely striking.’

Giving it only to the executive makes it feel neither here nor there.

‘No, how do they form unity anyway.’

To think this inhumane group is maintained solely through the ideology of ‘Name-nim’ and ‘happiness.’

Is it just brainwash with Name-nim, kill people, and that’s it?

[Oh, what a witty analysis! My friend could create a splendid cult group directly. The prophet role you showed on the train was quite impressive too.]

[How about creating a wonderful organization right now? Interesting, bizarre, delightful… And this is truly a groundbreaking proposal, but I’ll permit using this Brown’s cotton-stuffed body as a symbol!]

Th-thanks, but I’ll pass for now.

Anyway.

So to be completely honest, um… those aspects even feel like a kind of void.

As a wiki entity.

‘It’s like they couldn’t provide setting values.’

Focusing only on visceral stimulation and discomfort, constructing only incidents and ghost story horror, it feels like realistic details are missing.

Actually, that’s where the foundation supporting the story comes from.

‘…The Happy Ending Cult was the most recently created cult on the wiki among the Mumyeong Chanran Temple groups.’

Is that why? I wonder what it would have been like if I’d gone to a cult created in the early days of wiki registration.

‘Like the Garden Praise Cult?’

But I quickly dismissed the thought.

The current state of feeling only discomfort without major disturbance would be better.

‘…Really, rather than realistic disgust and chills.’

Let’s be grateful it’s not that.

I’m just sighing at the clumsy balance, adapting to feeling stomach pain while witnessing cruel and chilling scenes.

[Ah, it’s certainly a sharp analysis, but… Well. Noru.

[Haven’t you ever thought that some cult groups only show their true value once you enter their genuine inner circle?]

So you can only feel the real thing by joining…

‘I’d rather not.’

There’s been no particular pressure over the past two days to swallow blank scripture fragments and be reborn with Mumyeong Chanran Temple’s divine authority.

The absence of subtle suggestion or pressure… would have felt more chilling in other cults.

Like intentional tranquility.

‘Maybe they think I’m not a contaminated human but just a ghost story itself, so they’re taking the long view.’

So I asked Ho Yu-won about it too, but he also shook his head.

“Ah, there wasn’t anything like that particularly.”

…Is that so.

“But it’s hard to find out anything that could be called special information. Right? Though it’s convenient that we can meet separately like this with Noru-nim.”

That’s right.

The Happy Ending Cult assigned us to a kind of… living space at the same level in this underground air raid shelter.

Semicircular spaces connected like an ant hill.

[Authority Zone]

It was different from the initiates’ area that was packed together, shelter-like spaces that guaranteed only minimal living.

An area somewhat separated from there. More spacious, empty, and… independent space. As if allocating territory.

Strange sealed rooms without even CCTV.

[Just like lion cages. If such things were equipped in the living spaces of those who hid underground in times of apocalypse.]

Incidentally, the nearby ‘Authority Zones’ except for our assigned individual areas seem to be empty.

Except for the two people wearing school uniforms.

“Authority Zone… In Mumyeong Chanran Temple, they seem to call darkness ‘divine authority.’ Right?”

Correct.

Come to think of it.

Question:

What you know about Mumyeong Chanran Temple

How much does Ho Yu-won know about Mumyeong Chanran Temple?

“I know as much as necessary. I saw the experiment logs mentioned at the Joyful Research Institute.”

Ah.

Derived from prior research, we adopted the name of a deity worshipped by a certain cult group currently flourishing as the subtitle for this research.

…The experiment log that was next to the cultivation tank where I awakened.

Apparently, Ho Yu-won had found traces mentioned several times in the underground Joyful Research Institute besides that.

“I confirmed it’s an extremist religious group that worships darkness and seeks to become darkness, rapidly growing in power. It looked perfect for finding information I hadn’t been able to find until now. And…”

Ho Yu-won meets my eyes.

“In the experiment log that created Noru-nim… it was written that the name was taken from the deity of this religious group, right?”

…!

“I’m a bit curious about what relationship Noru-nim has with the religious group. Ah, this isn’t a question.”

…

“Then this time, let me ask you. Noru-nim.”

The topic that was cut off in the elevator.

One obsessive question.

“How do you know about Segwang Special City?”

…Huh.

‘I can’t say I read it on the wiki.’

I had no choice.

Cannot answer

: Request replacement with different question

“…”

Ho Yu-won’s laughter stopped.

For a brief moment, he looked at me with his expression gone, then a smile returned to his face like a lie.

“Cannot answer… I see.”

…

“I’ll remember that well, Noru-nim.”

There were no follow-up questions.

It was a somewhat unsettling end to the Q&A.

And that evening.

Just one thing, a detailed and understandable daily event returned.

Namely, the Happy Ending Cult’s meal time.

“Let us spread happiness.”

“Name-nim’s gaze.”

Here, during breakfast and dinner times, everyone must attend and eat together without exception.

There are no exceptions.

Even those contaminated by ghost stories sit together with the converts.

By the way, executives in school uniforms also sat across from me… Huh.

‘At this rate, they’d say they made people happy even if they killed converts.’

I held back a sigh.

Soon the meal began.

I looked around at the walls and ceiling of the underground bunker, where cement and structure were exposed as they were, then sat quietly looking at the dining table…

Canned food.

“Can’t eat?”

I turned my head.

An executive in a school uniform who had called me was resting his chin on his hand, looking this way.

And he poked a pretty male student who looked just like him.

“Hey hey, what do dragons usually eat?”

The male student just shrugged his shoulders. The executive hit his back once, then looked at me and said brightly.

“Ah. I should introduce myself! Self-introductions are important… Look, I’m Lee Seo-yu, and this is Lee Seo-bin. We’re twins, I’m the older sister!”

She grins.

“Some friends call me ‘Isseoyu~’ in Chungcheong dialect!”

Cheerful.

That’s why it’s even more awkward.

The ordinary cheerfulness of someone who had killed people like crazy, brainwashed with hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, and tried to kidnap.

The creepiness of casually stating real names in a ghost story. And…

‘They really were twins.’

Coming this far, I can tell who they are… The Happy Ending Cult twins who were active in several Mumyeong Chanran Temple ghost stories.

I’d seen them a few times in YouTube thumbnails too.

Though this is the first time I’m hearing their real names.

“Do you maybe eat something special? Like human brains or something. Or liver?”

But looking at them like this, they just seem like high school students.

So I pondered and finally asked.

Reason for clothing choice

“Ah, my school uniform?”

Her head drops.

“Curious?”

She rolls on the dining table.

Long hair with a red headband writhes on the tablecloth.

“Really really really really really curious? Curious why I wear this? Really really? Really?”

No.

I think it’s fine…

Polite conversation for dining table etiquette

“I see! I see!”

‘Please just leave me alone…’

Maybe because they’re crazy people, there’s no warning.

I’ll be mentally exhausted before finding a way to disguise as human form.

Everything was just tiring and somewhat overwhelming…

Then.

Thud.

“Oh my…”

To my right.

The grandmother who was eating next to Ho Yu-won bumped into his arm and spilled her water cup.

His clothes get wet.

“Oh dear, are you alright?”

However, instead of looking at the water on his arm, Ho Yu-won immediately went to help the grandmother. He cleaned up the table in front of her and wiped her clothes.

…Ho Yu-won would go that far?

“He’s a good person.”

“He’s a good person.”

…I feel gazes.

From every table, I hear whispers as they watch Ho Yu-won’s actions.

‘…’

That evening, Ho Yu-won seemed to have a friendly chat with that grandmother… and even went so far as to invite her to his ‘zone’.

“I’ll tell you an interesting story.”

No one stopped him.

[Oh. I can feel the audience’s anticipation.]

Right.

Anticipation.

The Happy Ending Cult executive who introduced herself as Lee Seo-yu whispered to us as we were leaving.

“If you’re going to make Grandmother Kim Bok-ja happy, make sure to tell me in the morning. We need to perform the ritual for her!”

….

My stomach churned.

But I didn’t stop Ho Yu-won.

‘It must be for information.’

If push comes to shove, I’ll step in, so there won’t be any problems.

And so, I slowly followed the grandmother as Ho Yu-won supported her and led her to his area….

And I entered Ho Yu-won’s area.

Thud.

But the moment I closed the door and leaned against it.

Ho Yu-won let go of the grandmother he was supporting and stepped back.

And the grandmother straightened her back and stood upright as if nothing had happened.

‘…!’

The grandmother spat out something like a round glass sphere she had been holding in her mouth. Then, her form began to change and gradually became more solid….

A cold and weary impression.

Sharp eyes like a hawk.

A pale face with blue bobbed hair.

Someone I know.

‘…!!’

It’s Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.

‘Wait a minute.’

What kind of situation is this.

For a moment my mind stopped, unable to process the situation.

And then I realized like lightning.

‘No wonder he was helping the grandmother.’

Eun Ha-je had infiltrated this Happy Ending Cult facility while disguised as a grandmother…!

And there was only one person who would order such a thing.

Ho Yu-won!

“Wait, you sent someone and then came in like this yourself?”

“No. It’s a coincidence. I didn’t expect to run into you like this either.”

“Yes, yes. I see.”

Eun Ha-je plopped down in her seat.

And she made an expression like she wanted to smack Ho Yu-won, then soon noticed the bruise on his face with gleaming eyes.

“Director, are you injured?”

“Ah. This person has rather rough hands….”

[How detestable.]

That’s what I mean.

As Ho Yu-won pointed at me, Eun Ha-je naturally glanced at me with her eyes.

And she was about to be shocked, but caught her breath and calmly asked.

“…Aren’t you from the Security Team?”

“That’s right. And actually, Peregrine Falcon knows this person too.”

“….”

Eun Ha-je’s eyes darkened.

As if she was recalling the list of various Field Investigation Team employees she had worked with and encountered, and their final fates.

But before that process could finish, Ho Yu-won spoke first.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? You’re Noru.”

Eun Ha-je stopped.

And her gaze that had been facing Ho Yu-won turned completely to me.

Her mouth opened.

“Noru?”

….

Yes. Deputy Manager.

I created letters with smoke.

‘It’s okay.’

Actually, this is better than when I met the Security Team people.

I’m in a situation where I can regain my reason and think normally, and I’m in a freer situation than when I was in the containment room.

And to match eye level with Eun Ha-je sitting on the floor, I also carefully sat down in front of the door.

While trying to use the way I used to speak.

I made a mistake and problems arose, so I became like this, but it will be okay.

I’m looking for a way to recover.

“….”

Eun Ha-je looks at the floor.

Her face hidden by her hair is invisible for a moment….

“Right. Noru.”

It becomes visible again as she makes eye contact with me.

On that face, only composure remains after completely erasing any agitation.

“Of course you can recover. Hey, you have to experience absurd side effects from the darkness to truly become a Daydream employee.”

And she taps my arm that’s in the black smoke.

“You’re a smart kid, so there must be another way. Think about what you want to do when you recover.”

….

Thank you.

“Thanks for what. Hey. I can just stand next to you whenever I want to smoke.”

That doesn’t seem quite right….

Anyway, I was able to talk more about what had happened with Eun Ha-je, who grumbled that ‘I can’t smoke while disguised like this.’

It was a very short but quite good time.

A faint smile appeared on Eun Ha-je’s face when she heard the story about working with Park Min-seong.

Of course, it disappeared again when we returned to the main topic.

“Peregrine Falcon. I didn’t call you here so you could enjoy small talk with Noru.”

“I’m sorry.”

Eun Ha-je immediately apologized, but an expression like ‘what are you going to do about it, you bastard’ remained.

Hmm, more than I thought, they seem to have gotten quite familiar with each other….

‘I was worried because that bastard even controlled Eun Ha-je’s body last time.’

I was relieved that Eun Ha-je seemed to be acting according to her personality.

‘Still, let me check once later.’

First, this.

Deputy Manager, were you here under Director Ho’s orders by any chance?

“Right. It’s absolutely deadly. Having to retrieve corpses and all that…”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je grumbled that she had only infiltrated cults twice before when she was a reporter.

“What’s with worshipping darkness in some underground bunker and killing people? What, happy ending? Then they should go get their own happy ending instead of bothering innocent people with their bullshit.”

Every single thing she said was absolutely right…

And this seems like a place where they gather people for initiation, so it might be difficult to extract any special information.

“No. Initiation ceremonies are actually where you can dig up the most stuff.”

Huh?

“Cult religions usually show their true colors once they think they’ve got someone hooked.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je smiled coldly.

“And for that, they must have made preparations, right? There’s definitely something somewhere in this facility. So…”

“That’s all well and good. Peregrine Falcon. I hope you haven’t forgotten the purpose of why you came here.”

Ho Yu-won cut in.

“Have you found out anything about Segwang Special City?”

“Well, saying that in front of him… I guess it’s okay. Anyway, so to find that information here, we first need to figure out what these guys are up to and use that as a base to approach… Ugh.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je spoke as if she was fed up.

“Just wait a moment. Didn’t you send me here after confirming a future where I would learn about Segwang Special City from this place?”

…!

‘Future?’

An incident suddenly flashed through my mind.

Just before I boarded the Tamra-bound train, what Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je had said when she urgently came to my room in the company housing.

-You’ll be processed as dead on January 2nd.

-I confirmed that… from a darkness that sees the future.

If that was something she learned during activities related to Ho Yu-won’s project.

‘Then Ho Yu-won’s behavioral patterns up to now make sense.’

Ho Yu-won had already confirmed it.

‘The future where Eun Ha-je would learn about Segwang Special City from Mumyeong Chanran Temple.’

One realization after another came to me.

‘Wait, then did he even plan for her to get recruited and infiltrate personally?’

With the title of Director, it wouldn’t be strange if he noticed something suspicious on the day itself or the day before and took some measures.

No wonder the Happy Ending cult executives didn’t raise more alarm and we smoothly infiltrated all the way to the main building basement.

I suspect he pulled some trick to minimize confrontation by removing security personnel that day.

All to enter here without suspicion.

And of course, I’m not happy about being dragged into that planned scheme… but more than that.

‘…What kind of darkness did he use to see the future?’

This accuracy.

Darkness is a paranormal phenomenon, and paranormal phenomena are usually more dangerous and incomprehensible the more powerful they are.

What is Ho Yu-won using?

Question: The darkness that confirms the future

“…Are you asking me a question? That’s strange. The Q&A session should have stopped when it was my turn to ask.”

Damn.

“It seems Noru doesn’t have the right to ask questions until I do.”

The gas-masked me and the smiling Ho Yu-won stared at each other for a moment.

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je watched this scene with eyes that seemed to say ‘what’s going on,’ then soon shrugged and spoke up.

“Anyway, now that we have more people, it should be easier. If Noru and the Director would help with the search.”

“Search?”

“Yes. I was thinking of looking into this facility itself first… Hmm.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je shrugged.

“No matter how much this bunker itself is darkness, there must be an entrance somewhere, right? One that leads to the surface.”

That… would definitely be the case.

‘Usually spatial ghost stories have an escape route to reality.’

If we entered, that means there’s also a way out.

No matter how much it’s Mumyeong Chanran Temple’s ghost story, it can’t violate that basic condition.

Even if this underground bunker isn’t in a fixed location, there must be places it connects to from time to time.

The initiates wouldn’t know since they go through the process of losing consciousness and waking up here, but probably the deeper personnel would know.

For instance, those twins.

“And as for persons of interest, those twins in school uniforms seem to be the most inside personnel here, but they’re never in the cafeteria during lunch time.”

Eun Ha-je added that they seemed to be doing ‘something other than managing initiates.’

Anyway, setting that aside, it would be good to find hints about the entrance.

Because we could trace back to the center.

“Usually in cults, the most precious things are placed farthest from the entrance, in the deepest interior. Of course, they can also escape if necessary.”

“Ah.”

Ho Yu-won didn’t object.

And after thinking for a moment, I answered.

Then there might also be devices to check the outside in that vicinity.

“Oh, that could be possible.”

Actually, this was a certainty.

In the wiki records related to this Final Ritual Site, there were several descriptions that seemed to show checking the outside from within.

“It wouldn’t be in places where clueless initiates are. Showing them the outside would reduce the educational effect.”

A place away from the initiates’ living area.

A place with somewhat higher elevation.

A place convenient for insiders to check.

But that would be…

‘Here.’

[Authority Zone]

A zone with an ant-hill-like structure that has high ceilings, and therefore areas closer to the surface.

Eventually, we decided to very carefully explore this zone to avoid meeting the twins.

“Good. With you two together, this grandmother can move around more easily too.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je swallowed the glass sphere again.

And a little while later.

“Here it is.”

We discovered it.

The very end of the Authority Zone. An empty area.

There, when you open a small round cover attached near the ceiling…

“It’s glass.”

A small telescope-like fixed facility designed to peek outside emerges.

“Noru, want to take a look?”

I gladly did so.

I lightly covered myself in smoke and headed upward, placing my eye against the round opening where the cover had been removed…

The scenery visible through the span-sized opaque glass telescope.

….

…!!

“Noru?”

I looked again.

But the scenery doesn’t change. Old houses, mountains, utility poles, unpaved roads, traditional Korean houses.

That’s….

Jisan Village.

This ritual site of the Nameless Radiance Cult was located underground beneath Baek Sa-heon’s hometown village.

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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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