Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 257

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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 257

I looked around the traces of the wedding venue that resembled a crime scene.

My mind is in a daze.

‘How many people died?’

Unfortunately, there are still ‘Trial Students’ sitting in the guest seating who got caught up in this insane groom lesson ghost story.

They all look expressionless as if they’ve lost their minds.

…I counted the empty seats.

Eleven out of fifteen, dead.

Less than a third remaining.

‘A 30% survival rate…’

Of course, it’s better than the Alien Reptilians’ Sacred Fire Bombardment.

I had judged that it was impossible to save the other people anyway. And I thought there would definitely be casualties no matter what I did, but… dying just for atmosphere on a TV show.

…

[You’re slow to answer, Friend. You must still be basking in the afterglow of the live broadcast!]

But at the same time, I clearly recognize this.

‘There’s no point in complaining to Brown with words like “was that really necessary”…’

Handing over control to a host from a ghost story who could do even worse things for the sake of a successful broadcast means I should have predicted this situation.

Especially if I had received a warning just before.

‘…At least it’s fortunate that it wasn’t total annihilation and a few people survived.’

Do you know what’s even more bitter?

I no longer feel great shock when seeing dead people.

It wasn’t simply that I had gotten used to it.

Currently, I am a mind trapped in an amorphous body that barely maintains reason with a bell.

The fact that I can maintain enough emotion to feel even bitterness about dead people like this is rather fortunate in this situation.

…

‘Let me focus on whether the survivors return safely.’

And.

-Brown.

[Hmm.]

This is the right way to answer Brown’s question of ‘what do you think’.

-You really were like a legendary host.

[…!]

-I expected you to ruin the wedding, but I didn’t know you’d completely renovate it even more successfully.

-Thanks to that, the bride seemed satisfied too.

I realized this from what just happened.

‘I don’t know what would have happened if I had just disrupted the wedding and fled.’

The situation was resolved more peacefully and safely than expected because the entity called the ‘Bride’ was satisfied.

However.

-Are you thinking of continuing… as a series?

The fact that Brown was satisfied with the live broadcast ratings.

That keeps bothering me.

What if this gets incorporated as a new series for the Late Night Talk Show? What if this groom lesson ghost story mutates into an even higher-grade ghost story…

[Noru.]

Brown’s cheerful voice speaks affectionately.

[You’re being too cautious about saying something obvious!]

…!!

[Of course I’m thinking of producing it until next season if conditions allow. Producers can’t miss the timing when viewers react well. To notice this, my Friend really has a sense for broadcasting.]

-Brown.

[What is it, Friend?]

-You do know that the Late Night Talk Show is much more interesting, right?

A moment of silence.

[Oh, of course. You’re stating the obvious, Noru!]

[You don’t need to worry that I’ll neglect the Late Night Talk Show. I only meant that production possibilities are open under the assumption that conditions are met.]

[For now, let’s wrap this up by broadcasting an epilogue.]

Phew.

[Now, the crew will also withdraw.]

Clap clap.

At the sound echoing through the air, the cameras and lights installed in the wedding venue, as well as the band, are systematically dismantled and organized by the Faceless Staff.

Even though they have no facial features, some of them seem somehow familiar… no, let’s not think about it.

‘If I go too deep, I might get dragged in again.’

It already feels a bit precarious since I even mentioned it.

When I try not to focus on the staff, my gaze naturally goes to something caught at the edge of my shared vision.

The destination at the very end of the long white velvet carpet. The place where wedding vows are made.

The altar.

‘…’

It was eerily shattered, with only stone fragments that had exploded in all directions remaining. Scars left on the floor, torn carpet.

And below where the altar had been, a hole was pierced through…

A black hole.

A deep place.

Darkness where the bottom cannot be seen.

‘…’

Just before.

The ‘Bride’ had emerged from that place.

That shock, the sensations that were crushed into a mess despite not being properly perceived through Lee Ja-heon’s censored vision. Something that had been sleeping down there, barely bound and interpreted within the framework of a wedding ceremony…

“Noru.”

…

“Noru. Do not attempt to turn your gaze.”

…!

I snapped back to my senses.

…Before I knew it, I seemed to have been struggling to turn my gaze by seizing control of Lee Ja-heon’s body.

-…Thank you.

“Yes.”

Manager Lee Ja-heon, who had remained silent throughout the broadcast, regained control of his body as soon as the live broadcast ended.

And until now, he had been quietly observing the wedding venue scenery.

I’m grateful that he silently watched the crazy antics of winking and hosting a live broadcast with his own body, truly befitting a veteran Field Investigation Team with excellent judgment.

Even now, he didn’t interrupt Brown’s words and quietly waited until it was finished…

“Noru. Do you need advice?”

…

-…If I said I needed it, what advice would you give me?

“Yes. Remove the talk show host from the ghost story called Brown from your mental system.”

Aaaah!

[Oh, the pathetic swordsman who would have decorated a wedding cake instead of walking out on two legs if not for the live broadcast is making shameless remarks.]

W-wait a moment.

-Manager. Still, it’s certain that the current situation has made escape possible without Sacred Fire Bombardment. Right?

“Yes.”

Phew.

[And who created this ‘situation’! It was the late night talk show host, the entertainer who put together a live broadcast program in just one day. My goodness, anyone with even a bit of sense should offer thanks in this situation.]

“I see. Thank you.”

[…]

“Now remove it.”

I witnessed the rare situation where the Talk Show Host ghost story was left speechless…

-B-but it was rewarding, wasn’t it…?

[I can hear the sound of disappearing.]

…

Right…

A-anyway, it seemed like the tension had been roughly resolved.

‘…Let’s get out of here quickly.’

I need to separate these two immediately.

It was exhausting in many ways…

-For now. It looks like we can just go out through the main entrance like this. Manager.

The main entrance of the boarding school appeared back in place as if declaring surrender to the live broadcast, opened roughly to allow the filming crew to come and go.

I watched Manager Lee Ja-heon send the survivors outside the door first and breathed a sigh of relief.

‘He’s definitely making ethical choices.’

Thank goodness.

Then Manager Lee Ja-heon also stepped through the door.

Wide open.

Through the shared vision, I could see light pouring from beyond the open door.

Something I had never seen in the boarding school ghost story with its perpetually gloomy weather.

Sunlight.

I stepped into it…

…

“Customer.”

I opened my eyes.

White space. I was somehow sitting in this strange place made of light and dimensions.

And what was in front of me was…

“The Space Shopping Mall has confirmed the rescue attempt and success of the ‘Lee Ja-heon’ entity.”

The Lizard from the Space Shopping Mall.

This time it was grayish-green.

It seems I’ve encountered these Alien Reptilians again through a mechanism similar to the VIP personal shopping experience.

“Did Manager Lee Ja-heon return safely?”

“Yes.”

“I want to speak with him directly.”

“Yes. That’s why ‘we’ are here.”

I didn’t understand the sentence for a moment, then grasped it belatedly.

These Alien Reptilians consider talking with ‘us’ to be the same act as talking directly with Lee Ja-heon.

Because Lee Ja-heon is us.

Because they have one giant mental system that shares all experiences and judgments.

That’s why I realize it even more.

‘There probably isn’t even a sense of having cut ties with the member called Lee Ja-heon.’

It’s just… no different from giving up a part of myself.

Removing a broken nail, scraping away a burned wound, amputating rotten flesh.

Even if they feel regret, they wouldn’t feel guilt.

Because we are us.

It was a truly strange feeling.

“I’m sorry, but I want to speak with the specific entity called ‘Manager Lee Ja-heon.'”

“We have no differences in experience and judgment.”

“Still, I would like to request it.”

A moment of silence.

“Confirmed. The Lee Ja-heon entity will contact you in reality.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

It seems certain that he returned safely for now.

“Then I can just return to my own body now?”

When we went to rescue Manager Lee Ja-heon, the space shopping mall had explained this as the final stage of the ‘We Help!’ item’s operation.

-Upon successful rescue of the caller, the consciousness of the entity that responded to the call will return to its original coordinates.

“Yes.”

As expected, the customer service lizard agreed.

Then I should hurry back and…

“Will you receive the reward later?”

“A reward, you say…”

“Our reward for rescuing the Lee Ja-heon entity.”

…!

“The space shopping mall is giving me compensation?”

“No.”

The lizard somehow sent me a friendly gaze.

Something more meaningful.

“‘We’ will provide the reward.”

…

A more comprehensive designation than ‘space shopping mall’.

“What do you want?”

My mind suddenly becomes clear.

‘This.’

This is no ordinary opportunity.

“…Could I possibly receive help with rescuing someone from Segwang Special City?”

“We do not recommend it.”

I expected this.

‘Back then, they didn’t recommend the ‘We Help!’ button either…’

Excluding that immediate urgent matter.

‘…I need to think more carefully.’

Let’s not answer hastily.

I pondered meticulously, and finally selected one.

…

…

Among the goals I had set in the Daydream underground isolation room, the clearest one.

“I… want to regain a human body.”

I want to become human.

I want to regain my physical form.

“By ‘human body’ do you mean the body of 21st century modern Earth humanity?”

“Yes. …Is it possible?”

An immediate answer comes back.

“It is possible.”

…!

“What method??”

“Use the body of a human whose consciousness has been lost.”

Wait, that means…

‘They’re telling me to body-swap?’

It was a truly alien way of thinking. Even more so from the perspective of being difficult to execute.

…Let me change the nuance.

“Is it possible to use my current body like a human? Like when I was a team leader at Baekillmong Corporation before.”

I swallowed and watched the lizard’s snout intently.

Slowly its mouth opens and pronounces…

“Yes.”

…!

“Then I’d like to receive help with that.”

“Yes. We will deliver the reward as soon as preparations are complete.”

Perfect.

I was about to say I’d finally leave with the feeling of wanting to clench my fist…

When I thought of one additional idea.

Perhaps?

“Um, my rescue assistance was also significant in that it could save ‘us’ the cost of sacred fire bombardment, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then. Could you perhaps price my help like sacred fire bombardment… and count it as space shopping mall purchase history?”

The lizard made eye contact with me, then nodded.

“We judged your statement as reasonable deduction.”

And.

“Congratulations on your membership upgrade.”

It held something out to me.

‘VIP thank you card?’

That’s what it looks like. Then perhaps I was upgraded to the next level after VIP?

‘There was an even higher level than that.’

Truly a shopping mall. I opened the rather splendid golden card…

I am space shopping mall VVIP!

Amazing promotion!

~Gratitude cells enclosed~

“…”

“…”

“…The, shopping mall design, I mean.”

“Yes.”

“Do you do it yourselves?”

“Yes.”

Hmm.

I feel like I understand many things…

“Thank you. I’ll be going.”

“Yes.”

I carefully tucked away the thank you card.

“I’ll see you again.”

And I was pushed far away from the shopping space.

A soft sensation.

“Grape.”

I opened my eyes. Before I knew it, I was…

“Did you come to?”

Lying on the main wooden floor.

My quarters prepared by the Disaster Management Bureau.

And I can see the faces of agents looking at me with the hanji paper door completely opened.

Genbu Team 1.

‘Ah.’

I’ve returned safely.

I raised my hand. A thermometer and heart rate monitor fell with a clatter. They seemed to have been tucked in through a slightly opened zipper.

They must have had trouble finding where my pulse beats.

‘They prepared so much for me.’

Feeling slightly touched, I got up from my seat.

And quickly reported.

Gratitude and Report:

▶ Safe return

▶ Successful rescue of Manager Lizard

It was a very satisfying result.

“Oh~ That’s impressive?”

Agent Choi smiled and patted my shoulder.

“Then can I ask you one more thing?”

Affirmative

“Okay! Want to see this?”

Agent Choi lifts something up.

It’s the small rabbit doll I had put in my pocket.

“Your friend Brown.”

Right.

‘Come to think of it, the agents said they delivered it.’

I was planning to thank them at least once. It probably fell from my chest again and they took care of it…

“Are you the Talk Show Host?”

…

…!!

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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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