Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 278

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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 278

 

I swallowed and looked to the side.

 

Wolf Team Leader was looking at the back of the old paper envelope in my hand with a leisurely attitude, watching the burned letters together.

 

And just now.

 

“Agent.”

 

…It seems the Dokkaebi Fire willingly provided the hidden sentence and noticed my identity.

 

“How could such an unreasonable thing happen where a Government Official gets hired by a private company? Especially a secret agency Agent.”

 

“…I resigned.”

 

“Really?”

 

A chill runs down my spine.

 

Based on past experience, the reaction that Baek Il-mong’s Elite Team Leader would show upon realizing I was a Disaster Management Bureau Agent is…

 

I examined the eye holes of the wolf mask.

 

Instead of a hostile or piercing gaze, eyes that seemed lost in thought passed by…

 

And.

 

“It seems there’s a deep story behind it.”

 

“…!”

 

“That can happen.”

 

Wolf Team Leader smiled and nodded.

 

The atmosphere instantly became softer.

 

“…Isn’t it suspicious?”

 

“What? Hahaha…”

 

A small laugh passes silently from behind the wolf mask.

 

“It’s so suspicious that it’s strange. That’s why it’s fine. If it were a ghost story trying to bewitch us, it wouldn’t have created such an absurd backstory.”

 

“…!”

 

“And the fact that Dokkaebi Fire recognized you is perfect proof that you really were an Agent.”

 

I realized.

 

The oppressive feeling that the other party had been hiding behind their gentle tone, pressing down on me, had somewhat lifted from their speech.

 

“…Do you have no ill feelings toward Agents?”

 

“Ill feelings? Why would I have ill feelings? They’re good people doing the nation’s work.”

 

“…”

 

“Now, curious Dragon Employee. Stop worrying about my reaction and let’s get moving. The environment has changed, so we need to look around again, don’t we?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Phew.

 

‘That was nerve-wracking. Really.’

 

Swallowing the words that they themselves were some strange thing created by a ghost story, I lowered my gaze to the paper envelope.

 

The traces of Dokkaebi Fire remaining on the back.

 

And the identity of this paper envelope was revealed by someone from decades ago.

 

“It looks like an envelope that contained library checkout slips, seems like it was recycled.”

 

Hmm.

 

Come to think of it, I think I saw something like this when I was young.

 

‘Records of borrowed books were kept in slips inside envelopes like this.’

 

But the checkout slip isn’t inside.

 

Only the burn marks of Dokkaebi Fire remain on the envelope’s surface.

 

“Would it have been okay to damage the checkout slip like this?”

 

“…No.”

 

That can’t be right.

 

‘Basically, you’re not supposed to damage things in a library.’

 

Moreover, with a strange being that ‘must be bowed to’ as the library’s owner, it would naturally be a taboo.

 

The fact that the Agents knew this but still did it means they either deceived the library owner in a very complex and difficult way…

 

‘Or the burning itself is a dokkaebi trick.’

 

I moved my hand as if wiping away the burn marks on the back of the envelope.

 

Then, Dokkaebi Fire flickered and came alive again from the burn marks.

 

“…!”

 

It’s not a Dokkaebi Fire with consciousness. Just something like traces left by that flame.

 

‘…It was left by an Agent.’

 

Dokkaebi mischief.

 

An ability used by Agents who possess artifacts inhabited by dokkaebis, used after passing through trials.

 

As the flickering dokkaebi flames rose into the air, the marks on the back of the envelope disappeared like a lie. And the flames stuck to the floor, showing something new.

 

Traces of another Dokkaebi Fire.

 

Like spilled traces, those things glowing sporadically on the floor like blue glow-in-the-dark stickers were connected like bloodstains, as if providing directions…

 

Into the grounds of Sekwang Technical High School.

 

Into the school.

 

“…”

 

“To the school. Let’s go slowly.”

 

We moved our steps into the grounds of Sekwang Technical High School.

 

 

[Oh, so this is the very headquarters of that tomato graduation ceremony incident that this Brown couldn’t attend with Friend!]

 

I recall.

 

Sekwang Technical High School in the dream where I wore a school uniform and was chased by Students.

 

When entering the ‘In the Black Shadow’ ghost story, Explorer regained consciousness to the sound of a class bell while wearing his old school uniform in a classroom.

 

So this view of looking at that school building from outside felt strange.

 

“…”

 

It’s dark.

 

‘Is this… Segwang Special City outside the Station Platform?’

 

But outside the high school grounds was so dark it couldn’t be seen, as if there were no light sources at all.

 

All that was visible was the playground and school within the fence.

 

We quietly headed toward the main entrance of the school’s main building.

 

However, the blue traces of Dokkaebi Fire didn’t go through the locked main entrance of the main building.

 

A small window next to the main building.

 

The one with traces of Dokkaebi Fire was surprisingly unlocked.

 

-We can enter through here. I’ll move following the traces of the Disaster Management Bureau for now.

 

“…”

 

This is a first.

 

‘Entering the first floor.’

 

While exploring the ‘In the Black Shadow’ ghost story, I had never come down here even once. Because the goal was to reach the auditorium on the 5th floor where the graduation ceremony was taking place.

 

If this is the same place, this is the first time I’m entering the first floor.

 

‘Phew.’

 

I watched as Wolf Team Leader first silently opened the window and carefully entered the school.

 

That person, who moved with frighteningly no wasted motion, quietly looked at the corridor and then gestured to me.

 

And mouthed the words.

 

‘Don’t be surprised.’

 

I understood the meaning of those words the moment I crossed through the window.

 

“…!!”

 

On the school corridor floor.

 

Human bodies are laid out densely.

 

The motionless students of Segwang Technical High School were arranged in rows and columns, five at a time, endlessly placed throughout the corridor.

 

Without movement, like corpses.

 

No, more like corpses that couldn’t be recovered after too many people died in a disaster situation, left abandoned after being merely counted.

 

But their eyes are open.

 

Each student wearing school uniform skirts and pants is ‘organized’ like they’re on display, laid out in rows across the floor….

 

‘Ha.’

 

I barely suppressed a scream.

 

A horror movie sequence. Not the kind with blood and gore, but the deadly kind of horror movie armed with ghosts and eeriness sent chills through me.

 

But.

 

[Oh, there are gaps. Noru.]

 

…Looking closely at the dark floor, I can see empty spaces where student bodies aren’t placed….

 

As if those students were removed.

 

“….”

 

Instead of fear, melancholy settles in to maintain mental balance.

 

But the tension remains.

 

‘Whew.’

 

I moved my feet.

 

Following the blue traces of Dokkaebi Fire.

 

Struggling desperately not to step on any students by accident, I leap through the air to empty spots on the floor.

 

This was only possible thanks to the faint blue light emitted by the Dokkaebi Fire traces, allowing me to identify the outlines.

 

‘Whew.’

 

The blue traces are left haphazardly on walls and ceiling without any pattern, then eventually head upward.

 

To the 3rd Floor.

 

“….”

 

Here too, students were laid out like corpses across the corridor floor, but there’s one difference.

 

I discovered students whose faces I could recognize.

 

[Kim So-ra]

 

A student who had died before.

 

Looking at the name tag of the student who died at the hands of a Management Bureau Agent in the ‘In the Black Shadow’ ghost story, I suppressed a groan.

 

This confirms it.

 

It’s the same place.

 

‘So when it’s not the new moon, this is the state it’s in.’

 

…Why did this school in Segwang Special City become like this.

 

What happened in Segwang Special City.

 

Beyond the unknown eeriness and unpleasantness, I raised my head.

 

The Dokkaebi Fire traces were leading to one place.

 

The end of the 3rd Floor.

 

[Infirmary]

 

….

 

I grabbed the door handle and opened it.

 

And the scene I had seen once before unfolds again.

 

Students injured during exercise should lie on the bed and wait until the School Nurse arrives!

 

The phrase I had used was still there.

 

However, all three beds now seemed to be empty.

 

“….”

 

“Someone was lying here. Until recently.”

 

And the Dokkaebi Fire traces glimmer beyond there.

 

The infirmary window.

 

Below it.

 

[Flower Bed]

 

…Leading toward the school’s backyard.

 

The view of the backyard with its lush azalea bushes reduced to bare branches in the darkness can be seen through the window.

 

And I realized.

 

‘This is the only passage leading to the backyard.’

 

If all the doors of the school building are locked, you normally can’t reach the backyard. Because it’s blocked off.

 

The 1st and 2nd floors end without windows at the very end, so they don’t lead to the backyard….

 

Strangely, only this 3rd floor infirmary window could lead to the backyard.

 

And the fact that the Dokkaebi Fire traces end here means.

 

“….”

 

I quietly jumped over the window into the backyard.

 

“Dragon Employee?”

 

I climbed down the wall, minimizing noise and impact as I safely landed with my feet on the soil.

 

Then I reached toward one of the azalea bushes.

 

Right below it, where the dirt pile was strangely ‘less even than the surroundings.’

 

I began digging through that dirt pile.

 

[Oh.]

 

Thud.

 

And before long, my hand touched something. I swallowed and pulled it out from under the azalea roots. The glimmering object was….

 

A broken glass fragment.

 

“…!!”

 

A glass craft broken in several places emerges covered in dirt. Its shape was something I knew very well….

 

It’s a Dokkaebi Fire lantern.

 

“….”

 

“It’s a Disaster Management Bureau item.”

 

As Wolf Team Leader, who had followed soundlessly, said.

 

This is a glass lantern from there. But it’s terribly shattered, and the Dokkaebi Fire that should be inside is nowhere to be seen.

 

Which means….

 

“Wait.”

 

“…!”

 

I reflexively pulled the broken lantern toward me.

 

By a hair’s breadth, the hand of the one wearing the wolf mask cuts through the air.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

“You acted impulsively, and now you’re being uncooperative too?”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It seems like you know this place, but if you consider me a companion, you should at least talk to me before moving. That’s proper etiquette. Understood?”

 

Though there was a hint of awkwardness, the tone focused on guidance rather than blame.

 

‘Phew.’

 

Right. I know this person isn’t really from the past but a byproduct of the ghost story, but showing too much wariness isn’t wise.

 

…And I feel bad about doing that to someone who just became friendly.

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Good. Then let me try once too.”

 

What?

 

The next moment.

 

Before I knew it, a glass lantern was in the Wolf Team Leader’s hand.

 

“…!”

 

“These days we’ve started making strange objects using darkness, and it seems like they’ll be common in your time. Make sure to create something like this. It’s advantageous.”

 

And in the other hand, the pen from the front pocket.

 

“Equipment for changing positions.”

 

Click.

 

The pen pointer disappeared.

 

The Wolf Team Leader holding the broken glass lamp shook it slightly, listened to the sound as if checking something, then….

 

Tap.

 

Separated the bottom part.

 

“Look, this was stuck in the bottom.”

 

A worn piece of paper is lifted from his hand.

 

Torn in half with only half remaining, rotted away.

 

And I recognized what it was.

 

“Library checkout slip.”

 

The contents of the library checkout slip that had only an empty envelope, the paper with the list of citizens who had borrowed books.

 

The front was definitely that.

 

But the moment I turned it over….

 

“…!”

 

Red brush writing was carved in rough handwriting on the yellowed paper.

 

That shape was….

 

“It’s a talisman.”

 

“….”

 

“Does it look familiar? It looks like something agents from the Disaster Management Bureau would write….”

 

And I had seen talismans in this school before.

 

The 5th floor of this school.

 

The talismans that densely covered that floor where the auditorium was located.

 

I’m sorry I’m sorry for tearing the talisman dug up from the school backyard I’m sorry I’m a ■■ school student preparing for graduation ceremony I’m sorry… No no! The graduation ceremony isn’t a ritual it’s not a mountain sacrifice no no!! Please save me please save

 

“….”

 

Wait.

 

Wait a minute!

 

So the identity of those strange hallucinations I heard on the 5th floor was this?

 

‘Disaster Management Bureau agents buried talismans in this school’s backyard.’

 

And problems occurred when those talismans were torn?

 

“….”

 

Questions swirl in my head.

 

And I realize the answer.

 

If you’re reading this, it means you’re an agent the Dokkaebi Fire can recognize, which ultimately means rescue operations for Segwang Special City have resumed.

 

I hope at least the students can be rescued.

 

Don’t look for us.

 

We failed.

 

‘They had set up some kind of measure in the school with talismans…!’

 

Hoping that at least the students here could be rescued, they must have taken some measure that could relatively withstand the ‘disaster’ of Segwang Special City.

 

‘But problems occurred when it was torn.’

 

Right.

 

That makes sense when I think about it….

 

The problem is.

 

Emergency Rescue Team Azure Dragon Team

 

Why are they using the name Azure Dragon Team?

 

Not Black Tortoise Team?

 

‘The Emergency Rescue Team is Black Tortoise Team.’

 

The place I belonged to.

 

This is a definite record even in the . But why is the sudden and unfamiliar name Azure Dragon Team mentioned?

 

‘Is it a special team? For Segwang Special City?’

 

And then, a feminine voice is heard.

 

“Right. It looks like the Emergency Rescue Team agents had problems while trying to protect students from the darkness.”

 

“….”

 

Wait a minute.

 

“Do you happen to be familiar with the Emergency Rescue Team?”

 

“That’s right. Since our sites overlap, I know that much.”

 

Suddenly, I realized something.

 

If this wolf-masked person is truly the Security Chief’s past appearance as is….

 

‘They’re from before Segwang Special City was sealed.’

 

Someone unaffected by cognitive erasure.

 

But they accepted ‘Emergency Rescue Team Azure Dragon Team’ without any issue…!

 

What’s this?

 

‘Stay calm.’

 

I barely managed not to waver and opened my mouth.

 

“Have you met other teams by any chance? It seems like you’ve met Azure Dragon Team.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

You’ve met Azure Dragon Team?

 

But the Wolf Team Leader’s words didn’t end there.

 

“There was some friction with teams that only deploy to eliminate darkness…. Teams that try to seal ghost stories or drive them out completely.”

 

“….”

 

“Since they have no intention of compromising, from the company’s standpoint of needing to collect raw materials, those government officials weren’t exactly welcome. Some researchers were crying and wailing.”

 

But in the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

 

There’s no team that has only disaster termination as their department goal.

 

‘But that’s strange too.’

 

Because, isn’t it actually obvious? The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau aims to terminate disasters. So why wasn’t there a team that specialized in that?

 

No way.

 

No way….

 

“That team is the Hyeonmu Team, isn’t it?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“….”

 

“Were you perhaps on the Hyeonmu Team?”

 

 

At the same time.

 

The Gangwon Province Branch of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

 

The secret archives on the underground 33rd floor.

 

“….”

 

A blue light flashed in Agent Choi’s pupils as he quickly finished reading the records he had been searching for.

 

“Agent.”

 

Ryu Jae-gwan urged him frantically.

 

Beside him keeping watch, a brilliant and massive Dokkaebi Fire flickered.

 

Woong-

 

Agent Choi suddenly raised his head and brought his hand to his lips with a playful smile.

 

“Oh my, you must keep this secret, Dokkaebi. We promised with buckwheat jelly and pinky swears~”

 

The Dokkaebi Fire spun around cheerfully once.

 

The Underground 33rd Floor Guardian Dokkaebi of the secret archives was a more terrifying being, but since it excitedly went out to play at Jangmadang Market once a year, a week before the winter solstice, a substitute had taken its place.

 

He had come here targeting the shift of a Dokkaebi Fire he was friendly with and could easily coax.

 

To find out about extinction-level supernatural disasters.

 

To properly find records about ‘Segwang Special City.’

 

“We need to get out quickly.”

 

“Yeah. I’ve seen everything I needed to see.”

 

Thud.

 

Agent Choi’s expression disappeared as he placed the closed records back in their original position and activated a simple sealing technique.

 

“Cheongdong.”

 

“….”

 

“It seems we’ve forgotten something incredible.”

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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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