Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 381

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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 381
A nighttime mountain path where a courage test unfolds.
An old telephone mounted on the wall of the mountain lodge.
“The telephone…!”
“Don’t touch it!”
I caught the silhouette of the worker moving toward it.
“If you pick up the handset, won’t the lights come on?”
“…Oh!!”
“And besides, we can’t even be sure that thing works properly in the first place.”
It was obvious.
‘How could I trust a telephone inside a ghost story.’
Even if it actually worked somehow… there was no need to take the risk right now.
‘…Let me just verify something.’
Whether there really is a device here that connects to the Disaster Management Bureau for rescue.
The Investigation Records didn’t cover this case specifically, but just because it wasn’t documented doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in reality—there’s always a probability.
“Wait a moment.”
I approached the telephone and examined it.
It was a classical, ordinary telephone dial with about six shortcut buttons above the number pad.
And one of those shortcuts, button 3, had a label attached to it.
It was phrased in a way the ghost story wouldn’t notice, but something anyone seeing the flyer would instinctively catch on to.
24-Hour Specialist Line
“…….”
This must be it.
I quietly committed it to memory. Behind me, Assistant Manager Jin’s indifferent voice rang out.
“If there’s no danger, we move. No point dragging our feet.”
“…….”
“Besides, why contact the Disaster Bureau anyway? All they do is get in the way.”
In terms of escape alone, she had a point.
But… the fact that I’d managed to survive two weeks as a worker at the Daydream Branch was itself a risk.
‘Who knows what kind of insane situation might pop up in the meantime.’
Wouldn’t it be good to have a lifeline to the Disaster Management Bureau just in case?
‘Let me just check it one more time.’
I looked at the flyer.
But why does it have to be in cheap pamphlet format?
‘It looks just like an illegal debt collection agency….’
Of course, that was probably to blend in with the other mountain lodge flyers, but somehow it made me squint my eyes.
The wording is also… extreme. ‘Immediate safe escape, absolutely available’? How desperate do they have to be to push contact like this?
‘They really packed it full of promotional copy.’
I swept through it all the way to the bottom, reluctantly, and then…….
I yanked my head back sharply.
“……!!”
“What, what’s wrong?”
At the very bottom of the flyer.
Text so small you’d miss it.
The Disaster Management Bureau does not distribute guidance in this format. If you see this text, turn around and escape immediately. Hurry.
A trap.
‘This is insane.’
It’s mimicking the Disaster Management Bureau.
A chill shot up the back of my neck. I reflexively stepped back.
“Deputy Manager, we’re moving!”
I shouted toward Assistant Manager Jin as I began leaving the mountain lodge.
‘Let’s go.’
“Hey, aren’t you going to use the telephone?”
“No. It’s a trap.”
“Eek!”
The worker yelped in shock and hurried after me. Instead of letting go of the worker’s clothes I’d grabbed, I just dragged them along roughly.
‘If they saw that and frantically grabbed the telephone….’
Would the lights come on and they’d vanish?
‘Damn.’
This is why you can’t let your guard down even with cases that aren’t in the Investigation Records…!
It was fortunate I’d noticed the measures the Disaster Management Bureau had taken. I wiped my forehead. But….
‘…Why did they write to turn around and escape?’
I was following the instruction, but doubt began to creep in.
From the circumstances, it seemed like the Disaster Management Bureau had left this text as a countermeasure to prevent the supernatural disaster that mimicked them using the same method….
‘But turning around and running is too active and conspicuous.’
It wasn’t appropriate behavior in every ghost story. It was the kind of instruction you’d only give when truly necessary.
‘What is it?’
In this ghost story where ‘you have to walk a mountain path at night while avoiding light,’ just running blindly would be foolish, wouldn’t it?
The important thing was to move carefully and quickly while avoiding the light, not falling for deception and fear.
So why sound the warning alarm so loudly?
Can I trust this instruction?
Or am I already too late since I moved right away?
‘Stay calm.’
I thought again.
Maybe the telephone suddenly rings and the lights come on? But there’s been no response so far.
‘If it’s not the telephone, then is the guidance text itself the danger?’
Since the text itself was a trap.
‘But… thinking about it, for a trap it was hidden awfully well.’
It was strange that I’d even found it in the darkness of the mountain lodge. So that meant….
…….
“Are, are you all right?”
It was this person.
“Why did you suddenly stop walking and….”
The worker I was holding.
This person had found the guidance text.
“…….”
When we first entered this ghost story. It was this person who tried to turn on the flashlight.
So I’d pressed them to keep them from seeing the light. I’d caught on to the gimmick of this ghost story.
The most terrifying thing here is not just the person who turns on the light,
but everyone who sees that light vanishes.

Right.
So it was important not to accidentally see the light. Every Investigation Record was written with that focus.
But here’s the thing.
If I interpret the sentence from the Wiki literally, not its logic,
the person who turns on the light
‘doesn’t the person who turns on the light disappear no matter what…?’
Whether they see the light or not.
Whether I immediately covered their eyes or not.
“…….”
Then.
‘The person I’m holding right now is….’
“…….”
“…….”
“Hey you.”
“…Yes.”
“Did you figure it out?”
“……Yes?”
“You did.”
I ran.
The clothes I’d thought were work clothes slipped smoothly through my fingers, feeling better than my own. The worker tried to grab my arm from behind. I shoved them away and ran for the door. I grabbed the handle….
Thud.
I was shoved to the side.
‘This…!’
I barely managed to keep my balance against the anomalous attack, but my body slammed hard into something….
Click.
In the moment I felt something pressing against my back.
I understood.
‘…A switch!’
“Eyes!”
I barely managed to close my eyes.
At the same time, light stabbed through my eyelids.
‘Insane.’
Cold sweat drenched my back.
The light switch had just been pressed against my back.
I tried to turn that switch off again, but….
Slap.
The worker gave me a high five on my hand as I fumbled up the wall.
“Done.”
I was absolutely terrified.
I felt my way backward with my eyes closed, found what felt like a groove—a door. Light scattered through my eyelids. I swallowed.
Wait, where’s the other person?
“Deputy Manager!”
“As much as this is supposed to be a courage test, it seemed
too dark, so I turned it on.”
“Are you here?”
“Yeah.”
I felt an overwhelming wave of relief.
Where is she? Not far. If I keep making noise to lure them… I have to get the door open and get out! I’ll….
“With this light, people will be able to find
us safely! Right?”
It was right in front of me.
I could almost feel its breath.
It was pressing its face right against mine.
‘Damn, damn!’
I felt for the door groove with both hands behind my back, slowly searching for the door handle. And I spoke as calmly as I could.
“When you turn on the light, don’t the people who see it disappear?”
“They didn’t disappear! They seemed to have gone to a
better place. I mean, bright places are better than
dark ones, right?”
I found the door handle….
“Hahaha, why are you moving so
awkwardly? You’re looking for the handle, aren’t you?”
“…….”
Creeeeak.
“I opened it for you!”
I let go of the handle.
The mountain lodge door opened by someone.
“So should we go get the next
stamp?”
I can’t see, but my movements are completely exposed to it.
A biological sense of revulsion welled up.
‘What do I do?’
With my vision cut off, how can I deal with an unknown entity that can see?
‘…No.’
That’s not it.
“Deputy Manager. Just keep moving and ignore it!”
Don’t try to deal with it!
‘The more I lose my composure and react, the deeper I’ll get dragged in.’
When a person loses their reason, they end up acting on instinct, and the probability of seeing the light becomes very high.
My body unconsciously feels that having vision is safer…!
‘And if this “worker” had intended to attack us directly, it would have done so already.’
So I had to walk. Tripping and getting a bit hurt was better than opening my eyes and vanishing.
The problem was….
“You’re going to walk a mountain path at night with your eyes closed?”
Damn.
I ignored it and extended my hand out the door, took one cautious step outside.
Thud.
‘Just follow the dirt path.’
If I bump into a tree, I’ll feel my way around it. Yes, slowly, slowly….
“You’re going awfully slow though?”
This was….
Speaking right beside my face, pressing its head next to mine.
Following along beside me as I walk.
“I’ll guide you. There’s a crossroads
coming up soon, and if you go right there,
there’s a place to stamp your card.”

I’m going insane.
“Deputy Manager! You must go left at the crossroads!”
“Huh?”
“The first team members who appeared behind us said they came back after drinking water from the mineral spring.”
They followed the path and caught up with us.
“That means this course is circular.”
Silence.
“So if we follow the path, we should reach the mineral spring by going left, just like we have been.”
“Wow, your mind’s working pretty well there!
Once this courage test is over, I’ll really treat
you to some proper tteokbokki!”
I really wish you’d shut up.
I walked, straining not to stumble.
Someone grabbed me from the side with a light touch.
“…!”
“It’s me.”
Assistant Manager Jin pulled me along without hesitation. I don’t know how she’s managing with her eyes closed, but I followed and whispered again.
“Ignore it. Deputy Manager. If it meant to cause harm, it would have already.”
“I know.”
…If Assistant Manager Jin had failed to close her eyes properly when the mountain lodge lights came on.
If this wasn’t actually Assistant Manager Jin.
Then it’s already over anyway.
‘I have to assume it’s her.’
I took a deep breath.
But.
“But… aren’t you a little nervous?”
“…….”
She keeps walking.
“You can’t see what I’m doing. I could
easily trip you right now.”

Hold it together.
“Should I?”
…!
“Should I? Should I?”
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Its voice draws closer.
“What am I doing right now? What do I look like?
Where are you going? You’re curious, aren’t you? You’re
curious, aren’t you?”
I can’t let them open, even by accident.
I can’t just run, even by accident…!
I wait.
Waiting, waiting….
“You are curious, right? Just a little….”
Now.
“……!”
I thrust my hand out sharply and grabbed whatever was in front of me.
“What?”
I can’t continue like this.
“Deputy Manager! Now’s the time!”
A person who moves without hesitation even with eyes closed.
“Go stamp and come bac—”
Crack!
“…….”
Just now.
There was an enormous sound of beating from ahead…?
“Keep your eyes closed.”
That was all Assistant Manager Jin said.
After that, I heard suppressed sounds and scraping noises, then thudding sounds.
“Done.”
Muffled “mmph” sounds came from near the ground….
“Chattering like crazy. I almost went insane from the noise.”
“…….”
I almost hesitated to open my mouth….
“Did you suppress it?”
“Suppress? I just blocked its vision too. While you were messing with the phone, I tore down the curtains.”
“…!”
She’d covered its vision by throwing a curtain over its head…!
“Didn’t you say if it meant to cause harm it would have already?”
“…Yeah.”
That was true, but how on earth did she find and wrap the entity’s head with cloth while blindfolded….
‘Is this what it takes to be on Team A….’
The Baekil-mong Elite Team cuts are really something.
I clicked my tongue even as my mind raced.
“Still, we should go back and turn off the mountain lodge lights first.”
“Why?”
“It’s too bright. Even from a distance, people will see it. We can’t keep walking with our eyes closed like this.”
…I also didn’t want to cause all the other people to vanish as collateral damage.
“Annoying. You keep holding that. If you get bewitched and let go, I’m leaving you behind.”
Understood.
And surprisingly, Assistant Manager Jin disappeared back toward the mountain lodge as if using a ground-shrinking technique.
‘Phew.’
I was still holding the head of whatever had appeared as a “worker.”
A moment later, the light that had been seeping through my eyelids vanished completely.
“Open your eyes.”
I opened my eyes very carefully, looking at the ground.
Fortunately, Assistant Manager Jin didn’t lean in and ask something like “Did you believe in me?”
‘Whew.’
Without hesitation, I got up holding the “worker”….
…….
“It’s gone.”
There was nothing under the curtain I’d been gripping.
“…….”
“Move.”
“Yes.”
A chill ran down the back of my neck as though possessed by a ghost.
And after walking in silence and reaching the “Osaek Mineral Spring,”
“Here’s your stamp.”
The final moment had arrived.
Refreshing Courage Experience
Stamps
4
3
Collect and receive your prize.
Visit the notable attractions of Sagyeong Mountain in the sunless darkness to build courage and perseverance and train your mind.
Seonnyeo Rock – Sagyeong Mountain Lodge – Osaek Mineral Spring
Prize Pickup Location:
Information Desk in front of Shinmaru Training Center First Floor Entrance
Done.
‘Now… now I just need to get the prize and leave.’
Relief washed through my entire body, feeling like all my strength was draining away.
And having Assistant Manager Jin here is just… so reassuring….
“How were you able to move like that with your eyes covered?”
“Can’t you?”
“…….”
“Train.”
What on earth was this person doing before joining the company.
I almost looked at Assistant Manager Jin with a confused expression. Well, in this darkness I probably couldn’t have seen properly anyway….
Splash.
…?!
“What, what are you doing?”
I was shocked.
Assistant Manager Jin was plunging her hand into the mineral spring and splashing water on her face…!
‘What… what is she doing?!’
I almost turned around and ran, thinking maybe she was in that “worker” state too.
But the next moment, my eyes caught something.
The sign hanging above the mineral spring.
“…….”
The words of the other team’s worker who had visited the mineral spring first came to mind….
-Yeah, the mineral spring. Drank some water and, ahh~ felt nice and refreshing. Headaches and toothaches completely gone.
‘No way.’
She remembered that, and now seeing the sign, she’s trying it…?
For the painkilling effect?
“This… this really does make the pain go away?”
This is insane.
I grabbed my forehead at the remark that felt like overkill confirmation.
“Why would you do that…?”
“Why?”
A face dripping with water turned to look at me.
Her eyes start to look sinister before softening.
“This isn’t related to the light. The guy who drank it was fine. What’s the problem?”
“…….”
The problem is that the original you probably wouldn’t have done this.
‘If it was back when you were on Team A, you wouldn’t have experimented on your own body with an undocumented ghost story.’
You would have either fed it to someone else first, or at minimum found a plastic bottle to gather water in.
But you didn’t do that now.
‘You couldn’t resist putting it directly into your own system.’
It seemed like “painkiller” had become such a trigger for the current Assistant Manager Jin.
Enough to cloud her judgment.
‘…Don’t bring it up for now.’
I’ll talk about it after we leave. Trying now would just stir up trouble. Don’t make the kind of move that gets you killed in the second half of a B-grade horror movie.
“…Yes. I understand. I was just caught off guard because I hadn’t anticipated it.”
“Yeah? That could happen.”
Fortunately, Assistant Manager Jin was more generous than usual.
Probably because the newly-ingested “painkiller” was working well. Phew.
“Then we should head to claim the prize.”
“Let’s do it.”
I left the Osaek Mineral Spring together with the somehow more relaxed Assistant Manager Jin.
And instead of retracing our path, we continued straight. I didn’t want to go back near the mountain lodge.
And so, at last, we saw the sign we’d first seen again.
«-
Seonnyeo Rock

Shinmaru Training Center
-»
Phew.
I turned my footsteps to the right.
To collect the prize and leave this place.
And this process was, surprisingly, something I was actually looking forward to a bit.
#Investigation Record 11
Three uncontrolled civilians (Mountain Climbing Club members) discovered in the Company’s isolation zone corridor.
After completing the courage experience,
at the prize pickup location
they won a third-place prize, they
testified.

The prize in question (blackwood rosary beads with silver ornament) was
classified as an
item.
You can win items as prizes at this location.

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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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