Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 382

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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 382
Jin Na-sol and I made our way quickly down the trail.
With the escape imminent and having seen everything there was to see, my pace showed no sign of flagging—yet I could feel the atmosphere around us shifting all the same.
«-
Seolyeo Rock

Shinmaru Training Facility
-»
After turning right at the signboard.
‘…Something about this feels damp…….’
A clammy, sticky sensation clung to my skin.
And with each step along the trail, the ground seemed to resist me strangely—my legs felt heavier, as though some peculiar weight pressed down on them. I pushed forward without a word, step by step….
Until at last the trail came to an end.
“There it is.”
Where the trail terminated, the landscape opened up abruptly.
A massive concrete building filled my field of vision.
Beneath a moonless, dim night, the sprawling, decrepit structure stood carved into the mountainside.
‘Huh.’
So vast was the building that even in this darkness, the signboard was visible. I drew a heavy breath and stepped forward….
Prize Distribution Point:
Information Office in front of Training Facility 1st Floor Entrance
The 1st Floor Entrance was made of glass, as is typical for training facilities, and the interior was dimly visible.
‘…It’s a mess in there.’
I was grateful there was no need to enter.
A small window was visible just to the right of the entrance.
Information Office
“Looks like a security desk.”
“It seems to serve both purposes.”
The upper half was blocked by glass, much like a proper information counter.
Inside, it was dark as death. Dark enough that no one could see you, even if someone were there.
A small opening, typical for exchanging tickets or items, was cut into the glass here as well.
“Do they want me to push it through here?”
“Just a moment.”
To be safe, I announced myself politely.
“I’ve participated in the Stamp Event.”
At that moment.
A hand emerged from the darkness of the window.
“…!!”
It looked like an ordinary middle-aged man’s hand.
Wearing security guard clothes….
“Assistant Manager.”
I quietly passed the form stamped with the prize marks to Jin Na-sol. Her eyebrows rose.
She spoke without hesitation.
“I’d like you to keep this prize, Assistant Manager.”
“Alright.”
Without protest, Jin Na-sol placed the form on the Security Guard’s palm.
The Security Guard’s hand grasped the form and withdrew it back through the window, disappearing….
Thud.
Something emerged from the window with a dull thunk.
A small box fashioned from recycled cardboard was fairly deep and had a hole in the top.
“They want us to draw from it, right?”
“That appears to be the case.”
Without hesitation, Jin Na-sol thrust her hand in and selected one.
‘Let’s see—8th place was a participation prize, wasn’t it?’
It seemed supernatural effects kicked in around 4th or 5th place.
A colorful ball emerged in Jin Na-sol’s hand, and when I turned it over, a number appeared on its surface….
[3rd Place]
“…!!”
That’s incredible.
The Security Guard’s hand appeared again, depositing a shrink-wrapped prize on the counter.
Ebony Wood Rosary, Silver Decorations
Exactly as described.
Jin Na-sol’s lips curved upward as she held the black rosary, adorned with subtly glimmering silver ornaments crossed through at two points.
“Not bad. Must mean 3rd place ranks pretty high?”
Yes.
“Congratulations.”
‘So even the Elite Teams have good luck….’
I swallowed my envy and raised my hand.
It was my turn.
“Then I’ll submit mine as well.”
And I tore away a section of my work clothes, right along one arm.
Rip-p-p-p.
“…!”
The poor-quality fabric tore unevenly in my hands.
Three stamps I’d collected separately were imprinted on the cloth, scattered across it like flyers.
“Just in case. I didn’t have a flyer, so I stamped it here instead. …Here you go.”
I placed it in the Security Guard’s palm.
Rather than discarding or pushing back my cloth, the Security Guard’s hand froze for a moment, then withdrew back through the window.
“…You know how to work the situation, don’t you?”
Not at all.
When the prize box emerged again from the window, I felt a little thrill.
One prize per person. A really good way to put it….
“Thank you. I’ll take what comes out.”
“Got it.”
Exhale.
‘Good.’
Now that prize ownership was settled, let me think quickly.
Are there any relevant investigation cases to reference?
‘Hmm.’
First, considering that duplicate prizes have appeared before, the prize draw appears to be the type that “resets to its initial state” every time this ghost story opens.
‘There was no hint of anyone winning by ability or using a trick.’
But thinking about it holistically… from a pattern perspective….
‘People who seemed to have more time before escape pulled higher numbers.’
For instance, the civilians in a previous record who’d drawn 3rd place were a mountain hiking club.
People who would move about less panicked and less frightened in this environment.
Besides that….
During interview
Prize Distribution Point
testimony of winning 4th place prize
at
the above location—
That was a group of seven high school students wandering about mindlessly.
…One of them returned drenched in blood.
Prize Distribution Point
testimony of winning 2nd place prize
at
the above location—
That was a Serial Killer.
There was a counterexample too: a family that all went missing and returned with their mind shattered, clutching the prize tightly….
‘In other words, being out of their mind meant they had no fear or tension to speak of.’
Given all this and what just happened with Assistant Manager Jin Na-sol….
“…….”
Ah.
“I’ll draw now.”
I inserted my hand into the box.
“Why are you thinking so hard? It’s all luck anyway.”
“I was wondering if there might be elements beyond pure luck.”
“…!”
Jin Na-sol watched my hand enter the box.
“What did you notice?”
“Perhaps something.”
I’d formed a hypothesis.
‘This training facility’s event doesn’t look particularly sophisticated or elaborate.’
From the start, it seemed like a bare-bones setup.
So perhaps the prize draw was executed at that same level.
The facility probably made the prize box and simply filled it with drawing balls.
How would they have filled it?
‘Most likely they just went in order.’
Very naturally.
Sequentially from number 1 through 9.
‘That means lower numbers went in first and would be buried at the bottom.’
Logically, higher-numbered prizes would be more likely to rest at the very bottom of the box…!
‘But in this situation, it’s hard to push your hand all the way to the bottom and actively dig for them.’
Uninformed explorers are gripped by fear, informed ones by pressure from the light.
Either way, they’re dominated by urgency—wanting to grab something and leave quickly.
‘Even if someone were very deliberate about choosing, it wouldn’t matter.’
There’d be no weight difference between prizes to distinguish them, and the more you stir, the more the original pattern breaks down—it becomes pure chance.
As a result, higher numbers are drawn by certain types of people.
Those who feel slightly excited or anticipatory, who push their hand deep into the box and reach to the bottom to find their prize.
‘This fits the pattern perfectly.’
People who seemed to have more time before escape.
So then.
‘I’ll draw it right the first time…!’
I thrust my hand in deep.
Deep into the prize box within the ghost story, I buried my hand in the deepest corner and grasped the buried ball.
And I drew it.
‘Please.’
Of course, luck still played a role. I could still end up with 8th place, a participation prize.
‘Huh.’
I took a deep breath and turned the red circle in my hand, checking its surface….
[1st Place]
“…!!”
‘Insane.’
The grand prize.
My head felt electric. This wasn’t documented anywhere in the Wiki…!
‘Wait, hold on.’
Could 1st place here be some kind of disappearance ending? Even at peak dopamine levels, I remained tense, watching the window.
Fortunately, the Security Guard’s hand appeared and set something down with a thunk.
[Clear Water Optical Shop]
It looked like an ordinary eyeglass shop case.
On the front of the black case, which had a wood-grain texture, the shop name and a water-droplet logo were engraved.
But when I opened it, inside was a single pair of black-framed glasses with lenses that were inexplicably transparent and pure.
Even in the absence of light, the frame seemed to reflect a silver sheen.
‘Wow.’
Remarkable.
I immediately tucked it carefully into an inner pocket of my work clothes.
Before gaining the eyes of Z999, I’d spent tens of millions, hundreds of millions of won at the Cosmic Shopping Mall like it was game currency, purchasing items.
But now a single pair of glasses felt like dopamine incarnate.
‘Excellent.’
A good haul. Now to return….
“Could you fit some mineral spring water in that case?”
“…Why not?”
It won’t be possible.
Once you leave the training facility zone, the clear judgment activates.
Right. I shouldn’t say it out loud…. They’ll find out soon enough anyway.
‘Let’s go.’
Jin Na-sol and I strode forward purposefully.
Turning our backs to the training facility building and moving ahead, once we left the facility zone….
……Hm?
‘…Why hasn’t the surroundings changed?’
I should be stepping out through the containment room door after being engulfed in fog and regaining consciousness. Did I not walk far enough?
“Assistant Manager, over there….”
As I turned my head, I realized.
Jin Na-sol was gone.
Deep in the mountain.
In the darkness, I stood alone.
“…….”
Wait.
Could it be… only I couldn’t get out?
‘This can’t be happening.’
I walked again, approaching the facility building before trying to leave its zone once more.
…Nothing changed.
Still alone, I stood before the abandoned training facility.
“……Ah.”
I’m trapped.
I don’t know what went wrong, but something did. What is it? What’s the problem?
‘Do I need to find another team?’
No, that’s foolish. Just because I’m scared and want to see someone doesn’t mean I should act recklessly.
‘Don’t introduce unnecessary variables.’
Meeting someone else won’t solve this anyway.
Reasoning!
‘Why couldn’t I leave?’
What’s the difference between me and Jin Na-sol? She drank the spring water, she covered the changed worker with curtains….
…….
‘That worker.’
The worker pushed me.
And.
Click.
My body struck the switch, and the lights came on inside the mountain lodge.
‘It was me.’
This time, I was the one who turned on the lights.
Like the vanished worker.
“…….”
I don’t need to see my face to know it’s gone pale.
‘But wait, wait….’
I’m not losing my mind right now, am I?
I didn’t lure Jin Na-sol into a trap or act on some strange impulse like the worker did. I don’t even know if that was really a worker.
‘The important thing is I wasn’t replaced or disappeared…, right?’
I was interacting normally and navigating fine.
Even now… I don’t feel particularly contaminated.
“What is this?”
I instinctively pressed my back against the facility wall and sank into thought.
‘…Is it a matter of intent?’
Strictly speaking, I didn’t turn on the lights myself. Someone pushed me; I hit the switch by accident.
‘I was involved in the process, but I didn’t actively press it myself.’
I could have been used as a tool.
‘But in the end, I was involved to some degree….’
More importantly, I can’t get out of this darkness.
“…….”
It seems I’m somewhat caught within this ghost story.
‘Ah….’
If that’s the case, thinking by genre grammar….
‘I’ll have to find another way out.’
“Huh.”
Calm down.
I’ve managed so far. I can do this too.
‘Is there any unease serving as a hint, or any hidden truth to this ghost story?’
One thing came to mind immediately.
The Courage Trial form.
Refreshing Courage Trial
Stamp
4
3
Collect and receive your prize.
Visit the sights of Sagyeong Mountain in sunless darkness and cultivate courage and perseverance, refining your spirit.
Seolyeo Rock – Mountain Lodge – Osaek Mineral Spring
Prize Distribution Point:
Information Office in front of Training Facility 1st Floor Entrance
‘The stamps clearly said 4, but it was hand-corrected to 3.’
Four carries symbolic weight and fits well with typical ghost story grammar, but this changes my thinking.
‘If there were one more stamp….’
There was only one.
The one that kept appearing on signboards, a site integral to this courage trial course.
God, this is driving me crazy.
I turned to look behind me, breaking into a cold sweat.
‘They want me to go in there?’
Alone?
Why would they do this to me….
“Hah….”
…The fact that I don’t know what will happen is what’s making me most anxious.
‘Is there anything I can use or take advantage of?’
I scanned the area around the facility.
What I know about this training facility comes only from fragmented and ominous hints from investigation records and my own direct experience. Among those, information that could help with “entering the facility interior” is sparse….
‘Think harder.’
You can do this. This isn’t your first time in a situation like this. You’ve escaped similar predicaments before.
I racked my brain desperately.
Something useful….
Mountain Lodge Public Telephone
※Keep calls brief, thanks ^^
Wait.
The poster imitating a Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau rescue request and the telephone in the lodge.
‘If you can’t know the original, you can’t mimic it.’
So being able to mimic it means this ghost story knows the original….
How would it know?
Where would it have learned?
‘This ghost story must know because there’s a means to send a rescue request to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau somewhere in it…!’
And if I haven’t found it in all the courage trial locations so far, then what’s left is….
“Only here.”
I turned and faced the facility again.
And this time I moved forward with greater conviction.
Squeak.
The glass door opened dully, revealing the dim lobby of the abandoned training facility.
‘More likely here than deeper inside.’
If the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau installed it, there was a decent chance it would be somewhere people could access. I scanned the space thoroughly.
…….
‘Found it.’
And I did find it.
A dark rectangular silhouette lying on the floor in the corner of the lobby.
I approached carefully and examined it.
‘It’s a telephone!’
Its cord was still connected to the wall, though it had been pulled away.
A tingle shot through my head. Keeping myself ready to bolt outside, I examined it more carefully….
‘This telephone has numbered buttons like the one in the lodge.’
And I noticed 3 was particularly clean among them.
The same position as the one in the lodge labeled “24-hour specialist call.”
As if a label had been stuck there and then removed.
And one more thing.
Every part of the telephone that would normally light up was wrapped in black tape….
“…….”
I closed my eyes and picked up the handset.
And carefully, hesitantly, I pressed the shortcut button 3.
Brrr-brrr-brrr….
Brrr-brrr-brrr….
Brrr-brrr-brrr….
Click.
[This is the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau. Do you require rescue assistance at this time?]
Connection established.

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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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