Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 347

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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 347

 

I swallowed my breath.

 

Agent Choi didn’t look well.

 

Even though hope and joy about a team member’s return were clearly visible on that smiling face….

 

Deep fatigue showed beneath it all.

 

“How’s your body feeling?”

 

“….”

 

“It’s really tough when you get up after lying down for so long, all your muscles waste away, right? Heh, this senior has experienced it all. Take it easy. Take it easy.”

 

I carefully sat up following those joking words.

 

My limbs were shaky, but it wasn’t bad considering I’d been asleep for 293 days. Probably because I… no, let’s stop thinking about that.

 

What’s important is that I’ve escaped from Segwang Special City and Director Cheong’s grasp for now.

 

Probably thanks to this person.

 

I hid my still-trembling hands and turned my head to express my gratitude first, but froze when I saw the surrounding scenery.

 

“…Where exactly is this place?”

 

“A place with good air and good water.”

 

It looked like the inside of some kind of natural cave.

 

A small space between jagged rocks that looked carved away, a hideout set up within it.

 

In one part of the rock, five-colored cloths were arranged like a ritual site, covering something….

 

Next to me, I could see Bronze Agent’s sleeping body.

 

“….”

 

I looked back and forth between Bronze Agent’s body lying on a well-prepared bed and my own spot, then turned my head toward Agent Choi.

 

“…Certainly, we entered Segwang Special City from Fox Counseling Center.”

 

“I smuggled you out.”

 

“…!!”

 

“That place was anyway… no, never mind that.”

 

Agent Choi suddenly spoke brightly again.

 

“Anyway, that was nice timing just now, right? This is how Genbu Team 1’s top ace agent does it. Grape. See, I told you I’d save you right on time?”

 

“….”

 

An ominous premonition crept over me like an invasion.

 

I looked to the side.

 

Though Agent Choi was trying to casually cover it up, there were still ritual bells there.

 

And bloodstains that had splattered and flowed from them.

 

“…Why is there blood splattered from the bells?”

 

“It’s nothing serious.”

 

“Did you ask General Beom of Seoraksan Daecheongbong… did you ask him to save me?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“By what means?”

 

“By good means.”

 

“…Then why is there blood on the bells?”

 

“….”

 

“Tiger General is supposed to be… vegan, isn’t he?”

 

“….”

 

“Agent.”

 

I said in a trembling voice.

 

“What exactly did you offer to whom?”

 

“….”

 

Agent Choi looked at me quietly, then….

 

Burst into laughter.

 

“What are you talking about! Hey, look.”

 

Then he rolled up his sleeves to show arms covered in scars. He rolled up his pants to show his legs too, and pressed on his body.

 

…He seemed fine.

 

“I’m perfectly fine, right?”

 

And then he shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Let’s not say things that could cause misunderstandings~ People might think a cool agent like me who only thinks about citizens day and night is some addict gambling with his body at a casino.”

 

“….”

 

Then what exactly did he….

 

“Rest for now. Eat some food… then we’ll talk after that.”

 

“….”

 

“Okay?”

 

I saw a desperate look on Agent Choi’s gaunt, smiling face.

 

I thought of Bronze Agent who was still asleep.

 

And I wondered.

 

How this person had spent the past 293 days alone.

 

“….”

 

I slowly nodded in the end.

 

Agent Choi smiled brightly.

 

“Come on, eat plenty.”

 

The prepared food was egg porridge and side dishes.

 

The side dishes seemed to be frozen or ready-made foods, but only the egg porridge tasted freshly made, as if cooked directly somewhere….

 

[It seems like a composition where he tried his best with limited means.]

 

I ate the food as enthusiastically as possible. Agent Choi’s face became slightly brighter and calmer.

 

So I was able to ask.

 

“Agent. While I was asleep… what happened?”

 

“….”

 

Agent Choi opened his mouth.

 

“There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

 

“…Well,”

 

“No, no. I’ll decide what to talk about.”

 

Agent Choi waved his hand and looked at me.

 

Calm warmth settled in his eyes.

 

“Grape. Do you remember the train shelter?”

 

“Of course… I remember.”

 

Since I fell from there.

 

Even while falling, and even while… suffering unpleasant things, I remembered the train that had departed far away through the air toward the outside of the city.

 

‘It was probably fortunate that it was in the air.’

 

Perhaps because that train happened to run through the sky ‘rather than on the ground,’ it could safely use supernatural phenomena as fuel instead of crashing or stopping.

 

Just like how the subway was relatively intact because it was separated from the ground level.

 

‘But the fuel… both agents disappeared from the train.’

 

Bronze Agent and I, that is.

 

I quickly raised my head with a blood-chilling feeling.

 

…Don’t tell me.

 

The people on that train, Young-eun who was riding there….

 

“Grape.”

 

“….”

 

“The train made it outside. And….”

 

“All the people inside survived.”

 

I looked at him as if I’d been struck.

 

“You saved them.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

“Everyone… made it out safely?”

 

Agent Choi nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“…!”

 

“Congratulations. Genbu Team 1 Grape Agent. …You successfully rescued 104 citizens from an extinction-level supernatural disaster.”

 

Ah.

 

An indescribable surge of emotion rose up in my chest for the first time in a very long while.

 

A sense of achievement.

 

‘…Thank goodness.’

 

It was such a relief.

 

[Congratulations, Friend!]

 

Deep relief made my breathing feel tight.

 

How on earth did it happen? How did they manage to run the train safely with that engine that uses agents as fuel…

 

“Was there… anyone in the engineer’s cabin?”

 

“Oh, that’s quite a specific question?”

 

But Agent Choi answered readily.

 

“According to the situation report, there were two people. A middle-aged man with bruises all over his body.”

 

…The train engineer.

 

“And… there was a young woman next to him, checking and guarding the train operating equipment.”

 

…No way.

 

“Agent Park Ha.”

 

Ah.

 

Ah…!

 

‘It was Go Young-eun!’

 

If I could be judged as an agent, then Go Young-eun could be too. That’s right…!

 

Fortunately, since there wasn’t much distance left until escaping the city, she seemed to have stayed safely in the engineer’s cabin.

 

“Is Go Young-eun healthy?”

 

“She was hospitalized for a while, but she was discharged in good health.”

 

“…”

 

That was a relief.

 

‘Young-eun made it out of Segwang Special City…’

 

It didn’t feel real. I wanted to meet her in person.

 

And even though the conditions matched like this, I still needed to figure out how the train was able to safely escape the blockade.

 

Then I realized again like a bolt of lightning.

 

‘Because it was the subway…!’

 

The subway people weren’t offered as sacrifices. They weren’t included within May 4th!

 

They were an exception to the elements that constituted the blockade!

 

‘So that’s how they could get out.’

 

Everything clicked together in my head, and a pleasurable sense of relief washed over me again. Then…

 

“The rescued citizens received good care from the Management Bureau thanks to Agent Park Ha’s report.”

 

“…”

 

“Grape?”

 

“Um, has it been confirmed that those citizens were safe afterward? I mean… did the Management Bureau return them to society without any other… problems?”

 

“Huh? Of course. Anyway, when rescued from supernatural disasters, they return after simple memory erasure. Even if they came out of cognitive blockade, the process wouldn’t be much different.”

 

…Phew.

 

“They did contamination tests, confirmed there was no contagion. They all came out after identity restoration.”

 

“…I see.”

 

Agent Choi was answering without any hesitation at all. He didn’t seem to notice what I was worried about.

 

That’s why it was eerie.

 

…Could it be that ‘someone’ who planned the blockade ritual had somehow intervened?

 

But Agent Choi’s tone became slightly cheerful.

 

“Ah, there was something that made the procedures pass quickly, which no one expected.”

 

“Something no one expected…?”

 

Agent Choi looks at me.

 

More precisely, at the Good Friend doll placed obediently next to my bed.

 

“Um~ The rescued citizens showed cult-like tendencies of fervently worshipping a pink rabbit stuffed doll?”

 

Ah.

 

“When we examined it further, it turned out to be a supernatural phenomenon? So that’s how the conclusion came out.”

 

Agent Choi lightly slapped his knee.

 

“‘The citizens in question were contaminated by cult-like supernatural phenomena related to stuffed dolls, and it is believed they entered said phenomenon and escaped the blockade in a roundabout way’!”

 

“…”

 

“That seems to be how it was judged. It was processed as a special case.”

 

Good heavens.

 

[Haha, for viewers who trust and wait for this Brown, there are always gift-like surprises that follow!]

 

“Well, memories related to supernatural phenomena were sorted out before returning to society, but their rabbit doll affection tendencies remained?”

 

Ahhh…

 

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about this…

 

But since it was insanely fortunate, I just nodded.

 

However, a bitter smile appeared on Agent Choi’s face.

 

“The problem is… some of those citizens went missing again right after returning.”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

“To some counseling room.”

 

…!

 

“Right. It’s definitely the work of that being you call Director Ho, Grape. He heard the story about who came out of the special city.”

 

Ah.

 

“After that… those citizens couldn’t return to society again. And that Director Ho’s project started making increasingly extreme and strange choices… that’s how we can summarize it.”

 

“…”

 

Agent Choi’s bright blue eyes calmly sank.

 

“So I secretly took you away. Who knows what he’d do with you if I left you there.”

 

That voice trembled for a moment then quickly composed itself.

 

“Actually, I wanted to take away the other… your colleagues who are sleeping too, but he had completely separated the rooms.”

 

“…”

 

“…Grape. I’m sorry.”

 

“No. Absolutely not…”

 

How could I question him here about ‘why he made such a choice’?

 

And this agent probably already knows that I couldn’t do that…

 

“Right. It’s better not to see that dangerous director again, right? If you ever need to go underground in the special city again, you can use the well.”

 

“…”

 

I couldn’t give an affirmative answer.

 

Because I already knew too much.

 

Even though he must have noticed that sign, Agent Choi deliberately spoke in a bright tone again.

 

“Ah, and there’s this. Agent Park Ha seems to want to return to duty?”

 

“…! Really?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

A soft, low voice continued from behind.

 

“And you’ll be able to see her soon too. You can hear more detailed explanations about the train incident from her.”

 

…!

 

I bolted upright and turned my head.

 

For a moment my head felt dizzy, but more than that, I could see the familiar face of someone emerging from beyond the rocks.

 

“Hae-geum Agent!”

 

“Grape Agent.”

 

Hae-geum Agent’s expression, which had been shining with joy and delight upon seeing me, contorted the moment she saw Agent Choi grinning beside her.

 

“This…!”

 

“Hahaha, hey, ma’am, this worked out great! Agent Choi pulled off another one!”

 

Hae-geum Agent, who had been striding over to punch Agent Choi, sighed and lowered her hand.

 

“…I came after receiving contact. Grape Agent, I’m glad you woke up safely.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Watching this scene, I felt a moment of doubt.

 

“Are you both… on leave?”

 

No, more than that.

 

‘Isn’t Agent Choi the only one left in Genbu Team 1…?’

 

Don’t tell me he was operating alone?

 

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Agent Choi slightly averted his eyes and smiled.

 

“Genbu Team 1 is… currently being processed as everyone on leave.”

 

“…!”

 

“This is my first time taking leave that isn’t sick leave in my life. Still, it was about time I took a break anyway. Hey, what’s with that expression.”

 

Agent Choi grinned and shook his head.

 

“No problem. The people who were on leave returned as Genbu Team 5. They completely took over our schedule and are currently working.”

 

Watching Agent Choi joke around, saying things like ‘They insisted on choosing the separate number 5 because 4 sounds unlucky,’ made my heart heavy.

 

Only then did I realize that this space wasn’t just a place to keep us while we slept, but a base where Agent Choi had been staying for several months.

 

‘He even took leave and kept searching for ways to wake Bronze Agent and me.’

 

Otherwise, there would have been no way for him to pull me out of Director Cheong’s grasp with such perfect timing.

 

And thinking this far, I made up my mind.

 

I took a deep breath.

 

“Aren’t you going to ask what I went through?”

 

“…Are you ready to talk about it?”

 

I think I am.

 

…About the truth I experienced in Segwang Special City.

 

I was about to open my mouth when I realized the two agents were tense to an unusual degree.

 

And I noticed another sense of unease.

 

Actually, I had been feeling it from the moment I opened my eyes, but couldn’t quite bring it to the surface… this strangeness.

 

‘Why aren’t they asking about the whereabouts of the other people…?’

 

They hadn’t asked why the others besides me weren’t waking up.

 

Even if they knew I would speak first if it was an urgent situation, wouldn’t their position be different, having waited outside for nearly a year?

 

‘They should be anxious.’

 

At the very least, they should be desperately asking if Bronze Agent was okay, alive, safe, or if I had at least seen him, yet they were avoiding the topic.

 

…As if they wanted to show me just a little more consideration.

 

“…”

 

Consideration from what?

 

-There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?

 

Just now, the news about rescuing the train survivors was definitely good news no matter how you heard it.

 

Then…

 

“Agent.”

 

“…”

 

“What exactly… was the bad news?”

 

“…”

 

“Agent?”

 

A pained expression seemed to cross Agent Choi’s face before being skillfully composed, becoming the calm and competent expression of an agent.

 

“Stay calm.”

 

Hae-geum Agent’s mouth opened.

 

“Grape Agent. Originally, good and bad come attached like two sides of a coin.”

 

“…What does that mean?”

 

Hae-geum Agent looked into my eyes.

 

“Don’t be too shocked. Listen slowly.”

 

…

 

“The Special City’s seal is breaking.”

 

Information poured into my mind that had gone completely white.

 

“It seems the train was the trigger. The moment over a hundred people escaped from inside the Special City, something… went wrong with the conditions of the sealing ritual. Cracks are forming.”

 

Wait a minute.

 

“They’re keeping it quiet internally, but that damn Agent Choi did something dangerous… ha, anyway, he desperately dug up information.”

 

Hae-geum Agent gestured toward the consciousness chamber covered with five-colored cloth.

 

“That guy has been continuously monitoring the seal from here. How it twisted, when that seal would lose its effectiveness.”

 

…

 

“How much time is left?”

 

“300 days.”

 

Ha.

 

We have to find a way somehow within that time. Just as my mouth went dry from the urgent time limit.

 

I realized Hae-geum Agent’s words were continuing.

 

“From the day the train escaped, collapse began with a 300-day grace period…”

 

Wait, wait…

 

“Today, 293 of those days have passed.”

 

…

 

…

 

“Then the remaining days are…”

 

“7 days.”

 

I stopped breathing.

 

“In one week, the Special City’s sealing ritual will collapse.”

 

I looked at Hae-geum Agent in bewilderment.

 

“Then an extinction-level disaster will be unleashed upon this land.”

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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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