Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 380

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If You Fall Into Ghost Stories, You Still Have to Go to Work — Episode 380
Walking a mountain path at night is a dangerous thing.
Which is why this “Courage Experience” itself fundamentally evokes an unsettling sense of unease.
Forcing people into the mountains in the dead of night… a training center event, of all things. How does such a thing exist in reality?
Crunch.
‘…The kids who died at the training center—did they die in an accident during the courage test?’
The thought comes unbidden.
I try to shake it off.
Crunch.
The footsteps of three people echo dully through the dirt and broken branches, advancing through the darkness.
We’ve walked maybe seventy meters up the slope.
‘…A crossroads.’
Eyes adjusted to the darkness catch something between the trees.
“A signboard.”
A grimy green metal sign is lodged in a tree.
Close enough to read it now.
«-
Fairy Rock
Jin Na-sol shifts her footsteps to the left without hesitation.
‘Fairy Rock was one of the stamping locations.’
But I notice another signboard behind that one, half-corroded and barely visible….
«-
Fairy Rock

Shinmaru Training Center
-»
An inexplicable chill runs down my spine.
‘Ugh.’
I follow Jin Na-sol as if chasing her.
The remaining worker also hurries to my side. He seems afraid of being left behind at the end.
I understand the feeling.
“Hey.”
“…Yes.”
That’s right—I thought talking while walking might be less frightening.
“I think someone’s following us from behind….”
“…….”
“I’ve been hearing footsteps since a while ago.”
Crunch.
I instinctively prick up my ears.
The overlapping footsteps of our three people, and beyond them….
…….
Rustle
Crunch.
Rustle
“You hear it, right?”
I’ve heard it.
“This definitely….”
“It’s probably other people who came with us.”
“Huh?”
I answer without even breathing.
“Multiple teams of workers came in, so naturally there are other people ahead and behind us on the path. It’s probably one of those teams.”
…….
“R-right. A lot of people came in.”
“Yes. It must be that.”
What kind of….
‘I’m losing it, seriously.’
Horror torture is beginning….
“So let’s walk faster.”
“…….”
The worker swallows hard.
I seal my lips again and face forward.
“Wait a moment! Then wouldn’t it be better to wait and go together? I mean, in a situation like this, having more people is—”
“So? Then you stay.”
“…!”
“Either shut up or stay behind. Take your pick.”
Jin Na-sol speaks without even turning back.
“How many times are you going to whine about finishing quickly and leaving?”
“I’m just….”
“Your brain doesn’t work? No ability to learn?”
“…….”
“Just a moment, Assistant Manager.”
This won’t do.
I step closer to Jin Na-sol and whisper in a low voice.
“Speaking that way won’t have any effect.”
“…….”
“Our situations are different, aren’t they?”
“How are they different?”
“Right now, both you and I are workers at this branch office….”
“Ah.”
Jin Na-sol’s mouth twists up crookedly.
“Who’s going to listen to someone who can’t function without painkillers?”
“…!”
My voice comes out dry.
“True, when someone like that tells you what to do, you probably wouldn’t listen.”
“No.”
I answer calmly.
“Because right now you’re not these people’s superior.”
“…….”
“To persuade someone in the same position, I think you need to provide explanation enough for them to understand.”
A brief silence falls.
And then.
“You’re right.”
Jin Na-sol speaks quietly.
“Both points are fair.”
“……Assistant Manager.”
“Got it. You talk from now on.”
Jin Na-sol doesn’t get angry.
With a quiet, measured motion, she simply takes another painkiller out and crushes it between her teeth.
“…….”
Within the fear, something strange and heavy blossoms, then fades.
‘Exhale.’
I move forward again.
The worker hurries to follow.
“So, why don’t we introduce ourselves or something? I’m Y463, originally ran a tteokbokki place back in Busan….”
“It would be better to do that after we leave. I don’t think I’ll remember anything in my current fear.”
“Ah, I see….”
The worker mumbles awkwardly.
“Ha ha…. Once we’re done, I’ll grab some tteokbokki from the store and make it proper.”
“……Thank you.”
Please, don’t do that.
‘Stop laying foreshadowing like “he was so friendly and neighborly that his death would be shocking”….’
Doesn’t this make me look like a supporting character in a horror movie who doesn’t survive?
“Let’s talk more after we get out safely.”
Wait, does this line also sound like foreshadowing?
‘Sigh.’
Just keep quiet.
I barely hold back my urge to break into a run and continue walking slowly.
Crunch.
‘…I can barely see silhouettes now.’
The deeper we go into the mountain, the darker it becomes.
Moving through pitch-black darkness simultaneously heightens both tension and suffocation.
Trying not to think about the footsteps echoing behind us, we push forward—
“…….”
“Stop.”
“Yes.”
The narrow trail opens slightly, and what appears to be a small clearing emerges.
A slightly easier section of dirt to walk on.
“Is this the clearing?”
“Probably.”
Walking a bit further, something comes into view that cuts across the mountain path completely.
Something massive.
“A rock. Check it too.”
At Jin Na-sol’s words, I carefully reach out and touch what’s ahead.
The rough feel of an old rope tied with jute. And the cold sensation of stone….
Thud. Something grabs my wrist.
“……!!”
I wrench my arm away roughly.
‘What the hell!’
Cold, smooth fingers scrape against my arm as they slip away. The movement brings me into contact with the worker behind me.
“W-what is it?!”
I mustn’t show him.
Fear is contagious.
“…I missed my footing. Apologies.”
“Ah….”
I can’t pass out. I can’t….
‘Play dumb.’
Exhale.
I grit my teeth and slowly gaze at the rock.
…It’s not visible properly.
In the darkness, the rock’s surface remains submerged in shadow, a realm of mystery and imaginative terror….
I desperately long for light.
“Check behind the rock. The stamp is there.”
“…Yes.”
I brush my arm once and move my trembling legs.
As Jin Na-sol said, behind the rock sits an old folding table, and on it I can make out a plastic model stamp and text.
Sagyeongsan Mountain — Fairy Rock
Legend tells of a Heavenly Maiden in rainbow robes who stumbled while walking on clouds, fell, and came to rest on a rock partway up the mountain.
The surface of the rock bears the traces of where the maiden sat.
The first location.
I clench my eyes shut and pick up the stamp.
Dust has accumulated around it; I feel grit against my palm.
‘…But the ink hasn’t dried.’
What is this made of?
Suppressing the creeping sensation, I quickly press the stamp onto the designated space on the guide.
Refreshing Courage Experience
Stamp
4
3
Collect all stamps and receive a prize.
Visit the famous sites of Sagyeongsan in sunless darkness, build courage and perseverance, and temper your spirit.
Fairy Rock – Sagyeongsan Lodge – Oseaek Mineral Spring
Prize Redemption:
Information Desk in front of Training Center First Floor Entrance
One done.
And then.
“Hold out your arm.”
“Yes, huh?”
“There was no rule saying the stamp had to go on paper.”
I stamp everyone’s clothing just to be safe, in case the guide gets lost.
…Perhaps because my wrist was grabbed earlier, touching someone else’s body feels unsettling.
“Then let’s go to the next one.”
“…Yes.”
Jin Na-sol strides forward again without hesitation.
“Since we don’t have visibility, moving a bit more slowly might be—”
“No problem. Keep walking.”
Yes ma’am.
I think I might cry from gratitude.
Rustle.
“…!”
…The footsteps I’ve been hearing are audible again.
But they’re extremely close.
‘Right behind us.’
Rustle, rustle. I swallow hard and prepare to grab the person next to me and run—
“Hey, not people.”
“See! I told you I heard footsteps!”
‘…!’
I turn my head.
The silhouettes pushing through the trail are… wearing work clothes.
“The higher-ups claim to be a major corporation, but every ridiculous task they give… it’s pathetic.”
“That’s why the stock’s tanking these days.”
They were workers.
‘So it really was another team.’
My tension instantly drains away.
‘Exhale.’
My speculative assumption turned out to be right.
“Huh, over there….”
“We’re from a different team.”
“Ah, thanks.”
They don’t know who I am, so no need to adjust my tone.
I see a whitish silhouette turn and wave at us casually.
Behind that, three more human shadows seem to emerge from the trail….
“You guys must be the team that came in earlier, huh?”
Wait.
“Were you the first team to enter?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Wait, are you guys still stamping that first one? We already got one from another location.”
“…Where did you stamp?”
“Ah, the mineral spring. Drank some too—ah~ real refreshing. Headaches, toothaches, all gone in a snap.”
…They drank the water here while doing a courage experience in the hills?
‘They’ve got guts….’
Or am I the one who knows too much?
Holding back a sigh, I roughly confirm the movement of people completely emerged from the trail.
One, two, three, four.
…Four?
“Where’s the other person?”
“What?”
“Your team was five people, wasn’t it?”
“Oh yeah.”
A silhouette shrugs.
And mimics smoking with his hand.
“Said he was taking a smoke, so we left him behind since he was taking too long.”
…!
To smoke, you’d need a lighter.
‘Which means that person….’
Must have turned on a lighter flame.
Even thinking that one person is missing feels bitter and frightening.
Especially because my companions don’t know.
“Kids will just follow on their own, don’t worry.”
Exhale.
“Anyway, you greenhorns are hopeless.”
…….
Wait.
No… it could be my oversensitivity, but….
“…’Kids,’ you said?”
“Huh? What, we gotta mind our language or something? We’re all in the same screwed situation anyway, so what’s—”
“No. That’s not it….”
I swallow.
‘Kids,’ ‘children’.
“The plural marker ‘…kids’… refers to multiple people, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
An indifferent voice.
“Two of them went.”
…….
…….
I slowly turn my head.
One, two, three, four….
Still,
four people.
“Anyway, let’s stamp and go. There’s a stamp here, right? More people means it’s easier for everyone.”
They come closer.
Four people approach.
The mass becomes distinct enough to count.
Three silhouettes in work clothes.
And at the very back….
A silhouette not in work clothes.
“……Stop.”
One.
“Huh?”
“What?”
I point my finger at the person in the back.
“You. Stop right there.”
“What’re you talking about, buddy?”
“What’s your work number?”
“Oh~ asking a guy for his number now, huh?”
“Your work number.”
“Work number?”
“…….”
“…….”
“What’s a work number, sir?”
Damn it.
“What the hell!”
A voice squeezed high, forcing a child’s tone.
My body goes rigid. The three people walking with him turn back in shock at the fourth silhouette.
“Hey, hey, what are you?!”
“Huh?”
“You from another team? When did you tag along?!”
“I’ve been here the whole time, you just couldn’t—”
see me?”
“What is this? The voice sounds….”
“Come this way! Back off!”
But the other team’s workers ignore me and move frantically. Silhouettes tangle violently, wavering left and right.
“Hey! Lighter, you got one too, right! Light it up!”
“Don’t turn it on—”
Too far.
Too late.
“Hey.”
Jin Na-sol grabs my collar and spins me around.
“Run.”
I clench my teeth and start running around the rock.
“Hik!”
“Wait—hold on…”
“Aaaaahhhhh!”
“Joong-seok!”
The sound of a foot finding no purchase.
Beyond the rock, the sounds of something falling, rolling, shattering and breaking with a dull burst.
“Ugh-huh, uh-uh…”
“B-bl….”
“…….”
“Magnificent.”
“Wow.”
Thud.
A sound like a watermelon splitting open.
I try not to imagine what’s broken.
I try to move away from the light and the witnessing.
By the time the sweetness fills my mouth.
“There! A cabin!”
Something else appears at the end of the path. That silhouette is….
‘A building…!’
Jin Na-sol, in her spectral way through the darkness, finds and opens the door knob.
She immediately leaps through the open door.
“Hah—”
A nameplate barely grazes my face.
Sagyeongsan Lodge
Thud.
The door closes.
Any stray light is blocked out completely.
‘Breath.’
I clench my fists….
Rustle
“…….”
A sound right in front of the lodge door.
Rustle
“Ugh….”
I clamp my hand over the worker’s mouth while simultaneously covering my own. Our breathing whistles faintly.
And then….
Rustle
The sound passes by the lodge.
Rustle…
“…….”
“…….”
For a time, silence fills the lodge, utterly submerged in darkness….
‘Exhale.’
A frightened voice comes from beside me.
“D-did you see? Wasn’t that a person dying? Right?”
“…….”
“I mean, we should probably call the authorities, file a report, right? I—hik!”
“Here. Bring the paper.”
Jin Na-sol walks through the lodge and finds the stamp.
‘Admirable….’
Of course, she ignores our remaining team member completely.
“Just, hold on a moment…!”
“Walk carefully.”
I don’t push away the worker clinging to me in panic, but walk slowly toward where Jin Na-sol’s voice echoes.
Honestly, what just happened was so viscerally horrible that being close to another person felt less terrifying.
Cold sweat trails down my spine. I take another deep breath.
As I get closer, I feel very faint natural light filtering through a window on the opposite side of the lodge. Near it, I can make out the position of my companions.
And beside the window, the faint silhouette of a stamp hanging on the wall.
‘That’s how she found it.’
There’s no explanation text like what I saw at “Sagyeongsan Mountain — Fairy Rock” earlier.
‘Finish and get out.’
I grit my teeth and move my hand quickly to press another stamp.
Refreshing Courage Experience
Stamp
4
3
Collect all stamps and receive a prize.
Visit the famous sites of Sagyeongsan in sunless darkness, build courage and perseverance, and temper your spirit.
Fairy Rock – Sagyeongsan Lodge – Oseaek Mineral Spring
Prize Redemption:
Information Desk in front of Training Center First Floor Entrance
One remains.
‘Please end quickly….’
Just as my breathing steadies.
“Whoa—?!”
“…?!”
I thought my heart was going to stop.
Fortunately the worker is unharmed, but his panicked voice doesn’t stop.
“Here, this wall! There’s a lot of Missing Person flyers on the side wall, and advertisements and stuff about ghost stories and—”
“…….”
Of course there would be such things inside a ghost story…!
‘Stop it….’
And I already know everything….
I really don’t want to see.
‘Obviously it would be terrifying.’
I want to silence the worker’s mouth.
I was on the verge of shouting like Jin Na-sol: “Stop looking and move on.”
“……Supernatural… Disaster… Management… Bureau?”
‘…!!’
My head reflexively snaps around.
The worker points at a wall plastered so thickly with flyers that the unease is palpable.
Drawing closer, I can make out scattered text in larger letters.
Missing Child — Please Help.
Phone Repair — Call Here!
Come to Shinmaru Training Center
The tattered, aged, tacky flyers plastered like human faces create this eerie creeping sensation.
But among them, one.
In my eyes now adjusted to the darkness, one colorful flyer enters my vision in grayscale….

“…!!”
Good grief.
“Isn’t that exactly what we’re in right now? Shouldn’t we contact them?”
“There’s no way to contact….”
But I stop.
Beyond the worker, at the corner of the wall, a rectangular outline protrudes from the flyers….
Sagyeongsan Lodge — Public Telephone
※Please keep calls brief ^^
There was one.
A way to contact them.

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