Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 250

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

Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 250

When Manager Lizard from another company was suddenly mentioned as a colleague recommendation, the civil servants who had been diligently grilling Korean beef were so dumbfounded they couldn’t even chew their meat and responded.

“Cheongdong, did we just… get recommended an employee from Baekillmong Corporation as someone good to work with?”

Of course, the former Team D members from Daydream Company remain steadfast.

Affirmative

“Well, more than half of this group was already from Daydream Company, so what’s so surprising? That place is full of people living their lives too.”

Of course, what I’m recommending isn’t a person but an alien reptile…

“Our manager really is a decent person though. He’s strong and straightforward as a human, perfect to work with.”

“Someone from that company who’s also strong-willed…”

“No, that’s not it. Old-fashioned Guy.”

“…?”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je solemnly waves her hand.

“He’s just literally strong. Just strong.”

Agreement

Bronze Agent looked slightly more confused, but Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je and I both nodded our heads as if we had made a promise.

And the Deputy Manager’s gaze turns away.

“But this guy isn’t surprised.”

“Hey, I was surprised too.”

However, Agent Choi doesn’t seem very surprised and is just being playful.

And I think I already know the reason.

The other identity Agent Choi used.

‘Lee Kang-heon.’

-K.LEE: Wait, is he Manager Lee Ja-heon’s cousin by any chance?;; Their personalities are exactly the same

There was definitely a time when he sent such a message during the process of recommending Salmon Market.

‘This means Agent Choi already knows what kind of person Manager Lee Ja-heon is.’

No, it’s more than that. It actually means he’s figured out the messenger profiles of Daydream Company employees and roughly knows their personalities and movements.

…There was no such record in the wiki.

‘There’s no way he infiltrated Daydream Company.’

Agent Choi doesn’t have two bodies, and he couldn’t attend Daydream Company while doing his busy agent work. In the first place, Deputy Lee Kang-heon from Team C doesn’t exist in the company.

Eventually, I extended smoke under the table to catch only Agent Choi’s attention.

“Hmm?”

And I asked.

Question: Lee Kang-heon’s identity

“…”

I quickly erased the words I had made so the other people at the table couldn’t see them.

Agent Choi grins.

“Hey now, it’s not good to covet your senior’s trade secrets.”

…

Well, I suppose.

It seems like an identity for extracting Daydream Company information, so it would be difficult to tell an employee who still works there…

-Still, should I tell you if you’re curious?

…!

Agent Choi wrote letters with his finger on my gathered smoke under the table.

-But you have to keep it secret haha Do you trust Grape?

I created the word ‘Affirmative’ and showed it.

Agent Choi smirked and continued writing.

-Lee Kang-heon is a real person.

-A former employee of Daydream Company.

…!

-But oh? One day, the Management Bureau’s cool ace agent managed to obtain Lee Kang-heon’s messenger account haha

He didn’t tell me how he obtained it.

However, he added an explanation about the account.

-There were so many group chats he hadn’t left.

Colleagues from the same hiring period, short-term projects, anonymous rooms for information sharing, even company gambling.

They were all places useful for gathering information. Moreover, with Agent Choi’s skills, he probably successfully infiltrated various new chat rooms that branched off from there.

By digging into employees’ profiles one by one like that… he eventually would have continuously found out about the profiles of newly hired employees too.

I recalled Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae’s testimony that he was introduced to Salmon Market by someone called Deputy Lee Kang-heon from Team C. And…

-I’ve heard good rumors about the elite top new employee Kim Sol-eum, who explores ghost stories without batting an eye lololol

…

So he knew everything from the beginning…

-Well, that’s about it.

Request: More detailed explanation

-Grape, you really have no conscience…

-But if our youngest wants to know, I have to tell you more! Come ask me on the day I completely cut ties with Daydream Company and I’ll just tell you everything lol

That means he won’t tell me.

With that sentence, Agent Choi refocused on the table as if there had never been any written conversation under the table from the beginning.

I held back a sigh.

‘…Is this why he didn’t trust the wish ticket more?’

There was a former employee who disappeared leaving only an account, and he had tried using that account directly.

Anyway, I was bewildered that my curiosity was resolved like this.

‘I didn’t expect him to answer.’

Of course, saying he trusts me is obviously a lie. He cut off the detailed story from the beginning anyway.

After using it for several years, the identity ‘Lee Kang-heon’ is probably starting to get a reputation that prevents him from being invited to new group chats, so maybe he was planning to stop using it anyway.

He probably has other information gathering routes too.

‘Still, I’m grateful for what I’m grateful for…’

While I was organizing my thoughts, casual joke-like sounds were exchanged across the table.

“Wow. Manager Lizard. I’m curious how strong he is, does he chew on steel bars or something?”

“He seems like the type who would if he tried.”

“…??”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je shrugged her shoulders while asking the part-timer to change the grill.

“Anyway, as Noru said, it would naturally be great if our manager helped us… but it’s actually a difficult matter when working at a company.”

…

Actually, that wasn’t the only problem.

The news I heard from the Space Shopping Mall when I purchased the protective dried pollack.

-The relevant entity is currently at a boarding school.

It was essentially saying that Manager Lee Ja-heon couldn’t get out of some darkness.

‘They said it was a boarding school ghost story.’

So since I had already made up my mind to find Manager Lee Ja-heon anyway, I wanted to confirm it somehow. It seemed like no ordinary matter.

After regaining my senses thanks to Agent Hae-geum, I was even feeling somewhat anxious.

‘I was trying to ask Baek Sa-heon to accurately identify what kind of darkness it was.’

But there’s an even bigger obstacle here.

Namely… my condition.

Concern:

Request for 130666’s return to Baekillmong Corporation for work

“…!”

Actually, the announcement telling me to return was still ringing in my head.

Although I regained my senses thanks to the massive jade bell that seemed like the source of the jade beads, I don’t know how long I can hold out against arbitrarily postponing this call request…

That wasn’t all.

‘…Re-entering Segwang Special City is the same.’

I don’t know the method.

If I try the well again, there’s a high probability the Disaster Management Bureau will notice something strange. Once could be recklessness during a mission, but if it repeats, the purpose becomes obvious.

Moreover, even if I use that method…

‘…Is it okay to take these people with me?’

Death never becomes familiar no matter how many times I experience it, and it was accompanied by tremendous contamination. Moreover, there were probably many people whose trauma from nearly dying in ghost stories had been triggered…

…Indeed.

‘Is it right for me to do this alone?’

Since I’m not in human condition. The contamination aftereffects would definitely be less than for other people…

I was the one who pushed Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae with the train in the first place. If Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae continues to be unable to come out, it’s clear who bears the decisive responsibility.

So… yes.

That would be better.

“…Well. The company is problematic in many ways.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, who couldn’t know my thoughts, pats my back as she speaks.

And seeing the part-timer approaching to change the grill, she leans back and mutters jokingly.

“Geez, should I tell Director Ho about this?”

“Then I think I could help you.”

“…!”

Before we knew it.

The part-timer who was serving our table sits down at our table with a smile.

Only then do I see that face. A pleasant-looking young man with a smiling expression.

…It’s Director Ho.

‘Just when.’

He had infiltrated so cleverly that I couldn’t even tell when he had been at this spot.

That pleasant-looking young man’s face looks around at us.

“Everyone. Congratulations.”

“…”

“You went there, didn’t you?”

Segwang Special City.

The young man’s expression as he pronounced it only with lip movements was truly peaceful, but I noticed a strange madness overflowing in his eyes.

“How was it? You entered a special secret place that other people can’t perceive. Was it enjoyable, or were you nervous? Or was it painful because you can’t tell your affiliated organization anything?”

“…”

“I’d appreciate it if you could speak comfortably.”

I realized that while the agents appeared to be frozen in tension, they were actually surveying the surroundings and checking their equipment.

This is a restaurant full of civilians…

“Don’t worry. The other people in this place will be safe.”

“…!”

“I don’t like disturbances, and I don’t harbor malice toward other people carelessly.”

“Oh…”

Agent Choi grins while gritting his teeth.

“Such a person suddenly throws other people into supernatural disasters where they suffer and die?”

“That’s something I already mentioned.”

Ho Yu-won speaks gently.

“The Disaster Management Bureau is still okay, you know.”

The crazy talk pretending to be rational was chilling.

Holding individuals belonging to a group responsible for complaints against the group: illogical

“Huh? You’re saying strange things… Originally, emotions aren’t logical. 130666.”

Phew.

Recommendation: 130666 alternative designation

▶ Noru

▶ Grape

Grape.

Something that might have been anger or distortion seemed to flash in Ho Yu-won’s eyes as he read the agent name, but it was soon tidied away without a trace.

“Haha, you like unofficial designations. Noru.”

I read something strange there.

Impatience.

Suppressing anger because he wanted to proceed with the conversation quickly.

“Wait a moment.”

Bronze Agent spoke up.

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That the well could connect to a specific area. Was that your goal from the beginning?”

“What if it was?”

“…”

“If so, wouldn’t that rather be good? It means our purposes align.”

Clap.

Ho Yu-won applauds with a smile.

“I’ll spare no support so that you can rescue Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae.”

“…!”

“Think about it.”

A voice so cunningly gentle it was almost sly.

“Would the Disaster Management Bureau really spend that kind of time and resources? Drawing field agents away from their busy work?”

“….”

“I, on the other hand, could help you no matter what happens….”

The area around the table rippled.

“I don’t ask for much in return either. Just a modest request to find one thing in Segwang Special City….”

“Oh~ Then why don’t you do it yourself?”

“….”

“You know the passage, and if it’s such a modest task, you could just go in and do it yourself. I can’t understand why you’re flapping your mouth here instead.”

Anger pierced through the cheerfulness in Agent Choi’s voice.

“Don’t tell me… you can’t go in?”

“….”

“That’s it.”

I realized it from the silence.

That was exactly right.

For reasons unknown, there was a high probability that Ho Yu-won couldn’t enter Segwang Special City.

That’s why he kept drawing employees in through projects, and was using Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je right now.

“That’s correct. Unfortunately, I cannot enter that place.”

But Ho Yu-won showed no disturbance, making a sad face as if greatly disappointed.

“Doesn’t that make it more trustworthy? Since I can’t enter directly, I’m supporting every action for the attempt to explore Segwang Special City. It all adds up, doesn’t it?”

If that’s the case.

Suggestion:

Prohibition for trust (Target: Ho Yu-won)

“…!”

“Oh, Grape made a good suggestion.”

Ho Yu-won’s eyes looked at me.

“Right. You wouldn’t do something so shameless as putting restrictions on others while refusing to be bound yourself~”

A heavy silence flowed.

But then.

“Sounds good.”

“…!”

“Shall we place mutual restrictions? Making it so we can’t betray each other until the Segwang Special City exploration is finished.”

Ho Yu-won smiled and placed his hand on the table.

“Shall we do it right now?”

“….”

“It seems you need preparation. Fine. I can wait for you….”

Ho Yu-won stood up from his seat at the table.

“But thinking of the person you’re trying to rescue, it would be good to pick up the pace. No one knows how long they can hold out.”

“….”

“Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je will know how to contact me. Well then.”

And when I turned my head again.

It wasn’t Ho Yu-won, but an ordinary part-timer carrying a grill back to the kitchen.

“….”

“…Phew.”

“It’s hard to ruin the taste of Korean beef, but he managed that difficult feat. As expected, higher-ups shouldn’t join company dinners.”

“Haha….”

That day.

The company dinner ended with people lost in thought, sitting at the table pondering various concerns.

With an untrustworthy backing option now available.

‘Phew.’

After the company dinner ended.

As the others returned to their respective living spaces, I too was sent back to the security area for supernatural beings in the main building where I had been staying.

‘It’s surprising they let me go out….’

They probably tested my stability by ensuring safety with agents attached, I thought.

And this time I passed.

‘Thank goodness.’

Actually, thanks to Agent Hae-geum helping me come to my senses, my extreme isolation life had eased considerably.

This place wasn’t simply a room either… um, it felt like a small isolation space projecting an outdoor wooden floor somewhere. It seemed to be a facility for the mental stability of supernatural beings.

‘I haven’t even properly paid taxes yet….’

I felt somewhat sorry for seemingly wasting the facilities.

I’d eaten quite a few rice balls too, so I felt a strange guilt like I should earn my keep.

[To feel guilt over receiving such a trivial space, my friend is too humble for their own good….]

Of course, someone would have said such nonsense….

But now….

‘….’

Nothing.

‘Has it been about two weeks already.’

Since I stopped hearing Brown’s voice.

Like when I worked at Daydream Company’s Annex Basement Level 13, I couldn’t perceive Brown’s voice while in the 130666 state.

‘But I thought I’d hear the voice again soon after coming to my senses.’

For unknown reasons, I still couldn’t hear it now.

The merchandise… no, anyway, that substitute doll was also confiscated by the Disaster Management Bureau and I haven’t gotten it back.

‘…Will I hear it if I wait.’

Last time too, there seemed to be some time lag between regaining consciousness and hearing Brown’s voice, so I was waiting for now.

Or maybe Brown, who was overly immersed, only spoke when the merchandise was present.

‘I’d prefer the former.’

Just as I thought that.

Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling….

‘…!’

The sound of wind chimes.

It meant there was a visitor to this isolation space.

From my experience these past few days, it was mainly today’s assigned duty agent safely conversing from beyond the paper sliding door while recording my condition….

Today, there was a unique guest with them.

“The Hyeonmu Team 1 Elder requested this…would you like to see?”

Inside the small lantern the agent was holding.

A similarly small dokkaebi fire poked its head out.

‘…!’

The dokkaebi fire that was once my arm was twinkling.

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