Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 252

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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 252

Genbu Team 1, Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, and me.

The Disaster Management Bureau that permitted this group of members to go out imposed conditions similar to last time, but there was actually quite a difference in attitude.

‘It seemed like they were trying to figure out how to manage spiritual beings.’

It’s similar to tribute.

Rather than checking if it’s safe to send me outside, it felt more like a rural elder helping someone visit the city.

Or perhaps, a filial piety tour…

-Have fun sightseeing in Seoul! But please refrain from giving pocket money from the theme park to passing kids…

…Hmm. Recalling the words of the Sumaksae Agent assigned to me, it really does seem that way.

Of course, I have no intention of doing the crazy thing of scattering Pleasant Coins to passersby.

The problem is that even without that, I’m making choices that would horrify the Disaster Management Bureau if they knew.

Specifically…

Bringing a Daydream Company director into exploring a super-large extinction-class disaster sealed by the Disaster Management Bureau.

“Noru, so… you’re really going to include Director Ho in the exploration?”

Affirmative

I can’t expect help from the Disaster Management Bureau for exploring Segwang Special City.

But getting help from Daydream Company?

‘It doesn’t seem like things will turn out well at all.’

They’ll probably research ways to extract dream essence from Segwang Special City.

But at the same time, since I’m bound to that company, I need a way to have freedom of movement.

To satisfy all these conditions, it comes down to this phrase.

-A backer with third-party objectives who can exert influence on Daydream Company.

In the end, it’s Ho Yu-won.

Of course, he knows this too, which is why he confidently made the proposal…

“…Will it be okay? I have to do what he says since I work under that bastard… but it’s obvious the agents won’t like it.”

“Hey, what’s the problem if we don’t like it!”

Agent Choi replied with a laugh.

But he probably isn’t genuinely happy about it.

“The problem is that something big could happen.”

“…”

“Grape. You’ve already experienced it.”

The agent who nearly died because of Ho Yu-won spoke with undeniable conviction.

But I also have something I believe in.

Variable :

Ho Yu-won’s desperation

“…!”

The conditions are different from back then.

‘We’re probably the only ones who actually went into Segwang Special City and came back.’

He must be that desperate.

Even though he has no other candidates besides himself and could afford to wait more leisurely, Ho Yu-won couldn’t stay still and butted in as soon as we gathered and brought up the related topic.

He might have been watching through Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, but one thing is certain.

He’s desperate enough to say he’d accept restrictions on himself.

And.

When objectives align with a desperate person :

Possibility of betrayal ▼

“…”

“Well, that’s true. They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally.”

Though he’s too disgusting to really consider an ally, Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je glances at the cafe’s smoking room with eyes that crave a cigarette.

“Anyway, I think it’s not bad to use what we can use. Hmm… that bastard probably has connections to the Disaster Management Bureau too.”

“Of course. He does.”

…!!

“You’ve finally made up your minds, it seems. Everyone.”

A group of office workers passing near our table with coffee.

One person walking among them turned to us with a smile and spoke.

“Hello?”

The cafe near the end of lunch break was crowded with office workers, and as if enchanted, the group naturally went outside without noticing that one person had casually left them.

“…”

“…”

Ho Yu-won.

The man who appeared as if by magic sat at our table with a smile like he belonged there.

“Talking about me while leaving me out… I’m hurt.”

“Well, they say people even curse the king when he’s not around, so please overlook this much. It wasn’t even profanity.”

“Of course. Ms. Eun Ha-je.”

Then Ho Yu-won turns to me and makes a pitiful face.

“Actually, you’ve already cursed at me several times to my face, but I was too scared to argue back…”

Why is he acting like this?

[Good grief, how disgusting.]

[But he does seem excited. He must have been burning with desire to work with you, Noru!]

That… might be right.

“How about it, Noru?”

…

“I trust you won’t miss a good opportunity because of agents who are anxiously tied to their institutions…”

…

There seems to be a misunderstanding.

Exploration team members

: Excluding Disaster Management Bureau agents

“…!”

“…What?”

I have no intention of exploring together with the agents.

I can’t let them get into unnecessary trouble.

I just brought up this topic here to make things clear so they wouldn’t worry about what might happen or try to investigate separately.

“…You.”

“Hmm. Government officials definitely have a harder time getting away, don’t they. It’s also hard to hide it from the Disaster Bureau.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je nods as if she understands.

“But Noru, about the vocabulary. You’d be hurt if I said it was unnecessary. If you were human, that is.”

….

“…No.”

…!

“I know you said that out of consideration for my circumstances as an agent.”

Bronze Agent.

The agent, whose eyes had grown even darker from days of deep contemplation over this unprecedented situation, looked at me and spoke quietly.

A conclusion that seemed already thought through.

“…But excluding an agent from a rescue operation wouldn’t be a good choice. The supernatural disaster itself and the entry passage to that disaster were all under the Management Bureau’s jurisdiction from the beginning.”

Segwang Special City and the well.

“In the end, after everything is finished, we’ll need to cooperate with the Disaster Management Bureau for safety. Moreover….”

A firm light appeared in Bronze Agent’s eyes on his stern face, and he exchanged glances with Agent Choi.

Agent Choi smiled faintly.

“Grape. When a companion is trapped in a supernatural disaster, it would be even harder if the field agent couldn’t participate in the rescue.”

Ah.

“Let’s go together.”

….

….

Accepted

Exploration Team Members Added: Hyeonmu Team 1 Agent 2

“Good thinking.”

Agent Choi’s voice, as he patted the dokkaebi on my horn encouragingly, had a hint of playfulness returning.

“And Junior. How were you planning to apply the prohibition without us?”

Ho Yu-won’s smile deepened. Agent Choi smiled back.

“The Management Bureau probably has about nine hundred different prohibition techniques for supernatural slippery characters, so why were you trying to go back to find something else.”

“I’d rather die than receive a prohibition from the Disaster Management Bureau.”

“Really? Then we can’t work together.”

“Well. In that case, wouldn’t you be the one to leave the team? Unfortunately, it seems like you barely got in even now.”

“Oh, then the day Director gets officially registered as a supernatural disaster would be moved up even sooner~?”

Hmm.

Actually, I had thought about that too.

I took out what I had prepared in advance from my inventory tattoo.

A rolled-up paper. Its contents were….

—

Employment Contract

I accept with gratitude and joy being employed in the mascot team of Flower Golden Resort and pledge to dedicate my existence devote myself for a pleasant and safe exploration of ■■■■ City.

The employee must reach an agreement with the employer when wishing to resign, and must refrain from all actions that intentionally threaten the safety of team members.

Employer:

Employee:

—

“…!”

It’s a resort employment contract.

‘Since I could take out the Pleasant Coin, I figured I could use this kind of authority too.’

It was one of the few advantages of becoming non-human.

As a mascot, as the owner of the resort, being able to act without worrying about contamination.

Now I could modify the wording quite decently. I still had to manually erase the mandatory clauses, but this was sufficiently a recommended contract.

So….

Target: Ho Yu-won

You shall become my subordinate.

“…Are you forcing contamination on me? That’s too much, Noru….”

I wish you wouldn’t tremble since it’s scary when someone who isn’t even human acts like this….

And also.

Mutual Contractual Relationship

: Equal Position

Since I’m also in a state of being subordinate to Daydream Company anyway, I can’t exercise life-and-death level authority over Director Ho Yu-won as an employer.

In other words, just the right position to be wary of each other.

[What truly generous treatment, Mr. Noru! Even after the exploration ends, won’t this person enjoy the privilege of job security at the resort?]

[However, this Brown is concerned about Friend‘s business. Taking such a cunning plague as an employee will surely harm the resort’s dignity.]

That… it’s fine. I’ll fire him immediately after the exploration ends.

‘And let’s cut ties with each other without looking back….’

This was purely a measure for safety.

So I deliberately added a clause at the bottom of the contract for visibility.

Official Employment Period:

Until the end of the special exploration project

“…You’re quite humane.”

To be honest, I thought Ho Yu-won would struggle with this a bit more.

I expected some back-and-forth arguing, with a few threatening remarks thrown in before we could proceed….

“Alright.”

…!

Ho Yu-won took the elegant golden pen I offered, which had been placed at the resort counter.

And he wrote.

Employer:

Employee: Ho Yu-won

The pen was returned.

“Now, it’s your turn, Noru.”

I also took the pen.

And the moment I signed in the employer section like before, the employment contract turned golden and became bound to me.

“….”

“….”

Thus, the employment relationship was reversed once again.

“Grape Agent.”

Of course.

“What… did you just do.”

It wasn’t something a normal person could do.

“Isn’t this an action that accelerates contamination?”

….

Current Status: Stable

“Please explain in more detail. You’ve been like that for the past few days…”

“Jae-gwan.”

That’s.

Unable to form sentences

Please understand

“…!”

The truth was… while I had recovered my human mind, speaking like a human was no longer possible.

Using smoke to form natural conversational sentences felt as vague and difficult as trying to do calculations in a dream.

‘…Maybe it’ll recover if I give it time.’

I’m a bit anxious that this might be permanent, but I’m relying on the bell to keep my mind together.

Apology for discomfort and awkwardness

“No! It’s just,”

“Wait, wait a minute.”

Agent Choi interrupted.

“Grape. When we went to see our team manager elder, did you feel uncomfortable and awkward because you’d only seen him in dreams?”

…

Negative

“Right?”

He patted my shoulder.

“That’s what it is.”

I nodded.

“He said it out of concern. There’s no other intention. Right, Cheongdong?”

“…Of course.”

Gratitude

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, sitting next to me, watched this with a bitter smile, then gave my back a hard smack.

“You rascal. Well then, it seems like we’ve sorted everything out… Let’s start the exploration team deployment from now on.”

“Ooh.”

Applause echoed softly around the table.

And Ho Yu-won looked like he was about to demand immediate re-entry into Segwang Special City as he opened his mouth…

But there was something that needed to be done first.

Suggestion: Recruit additional personnel for exploration

This was a big reason why the team accepted you.

If we continue like this, we’ll all die together again and wake up broken from aftereffects in the Management Bureau Main Building.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je asked cheerfully.

“Director, can we borrow Team D’s manager?”

“Are you referring to Manager Lee Ja-heon?”

“Yes. That person. He’s so famous that you roughly know his abilities, don’t you? He’ll definitely be necessary for exploration.”

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je must have expected a reaction like ‘Needed for Segwang Special City exploration? Then of course it’s fine, I’ll kidnap him right away.’

However.

“Hmm… That might be a bit difficult.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lee Ja-heon seems to be unable to come out of the last darkness he entered.”

“…!!”

As expected.

Question: Whether rescue attempts are being made

“Ah, you naturally thought the company would consider rescue? Since Lee Ja-heon is a capable employee.”

Of course.

But bringing it up like this means…

“But it seems to have been determined impossible for now.”

Ha.

Question: Reason

“They say that darkness can no longer be entered using the methods we used before.”

…!

“Thanks to that, the company is also disappointed about losing one C-grade dream source.”

Wait a minute.

So… they’re planning to just dispose of that darkness entirely?

Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je’s urgent voice could be heard.

“You mean they’ve completely given up?”

“It was probably handed over to the research team… If they complete the suspension period, maybe?”

…

Request: More detailed information available immediately

“Hmm… Ah. That’s right. Among the employees who last explored that darkness with Manager Lee Ja-heon, there’s someone Noru knows.”

Huh?

“The person who wore the goat mask.”

…!

‘Baek Sa-heon!’

That evening.

Citizen

I’m trying to give you the promised items

Where should I deliver them?

Sorry for being late.

You said you couldn’t give them

Um

Did you come out of a cult?

Yes. I recently

succeeded in escaping.

Thank you for your concern.

Don’t talk about concern

Anyway

So are you going to give me the item or what

How should I deliver the item to you?

If it’s small

put the item inside paper

and fold it back into a paper boat

Yes.

After sending the item.

Are you kidding me?

What’s this Mind-Clearing String?

I have this kind of thing too lol

I’m sorry

I was in a hurry to get it right after coming out

so it seems it wasn’t very good instead.

I hope you’ll just accept it as a gift.

You don’t have to return it.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch

I never planned to return it anyway

So this time too

did you contact me because you have a favor to ask?

Would it be okay if I asked

about a specific supernatural disaster?

It seems to be Darkness

that your company was handling.

This is ridiculous

Does this make sense? lol

Are you kidding me, asking about company information as a government official?

I’m sorry.

A few minutes later.

Fine, this company doesn’t care

about this kind of stuff anyway

Pardon?

They don’t catch you even if you steal items and trade them secondhand, there’s no system

What kind of Darkness are you curious about?

Oh.

‘This actually works.’

I read the text with fresh eyes.

It seems Baek Sa-heon is at the right seniority level where the corporate excitement from just getting hired at a large corporation is starting to wear off…

And Daydream wasn’t exempt from the grievances that all office workers complain about either.

‘There really is no system in their work…’

Though if a company that pushes employees into ghost stories to grind them up had such a thing from the beginning…

‘No, maybe pushing them into ghost stories created some strange fantasy through mysticism.’

Anyway, I was grateful that it worked. He seems to want to continue trading.

‘Maybe saying the item wasn’t good was partly to haggle down the price.’

I heard it was an item that Ho Yu-won used to distribute to project members like rations, so I got one and sent it. Anyway…

Don’t make people wait

after asking a question

Okay.

It’s said to be a supernatural disaster

set in some boarding school.

Have you recently entered

such a supernatural disaster?

Surprisingly, a response came back immediately.

The crazy school where you take groom lessons?

…?!

If it’s the place that makes you sick by making you pretend to be virtuous even though it’s just Darkness, I’ve been there, why?

Wait a minute.

Groom lessons?

‘If it’s there…’

I realized what ghost story Baek Sa-heon was talking about.

And I understood consecutively.

‘Ah!’

Why Manager Lee Ja-heon can’t get out…!

A few days later.

Question: Location of the Crazy Boarding School with Groom Lessons

“…!?”

With Ho Yu-won’s help, I thoroughly extract information about that Darkness and the Security Team’s current situation from Gwak Je-gang.

‘That’s it.’

And so I devised one method of entry.

To go rescue Lee Ja-heon.

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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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