Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 60

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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 060

‘The fear that you might die.’

Perhaps that’s the essence of ghost stories.

I’d even recently experienced a government-managed disaster where theoretically, someone had to die for it to be cleared.

So I’d become quite accustomed to the explanation that ‘people usually die in ghost stories,’ and had grown somewhat numb to it.

After all, I’d somehow managed to squeeze through the needle’s eye and escape.

-This is crazy, but let’s first look for a way out.

The past few months had been enough time for this to become my basic way of thinking.

But…

“Originally, everyone went missing. Only one corpse with its head cut off came back.”

“…”

“But after repeating it several times, someone got lucky and came back alive? We completed the manual based on that person’s testimony.”

It was the standard process for completing high-grade Darkness Investigation manuals.

“But no matter what we did, there was one thing we couldn’t change.”

Which was…

“One person’s death.”

“…”

“The mechanism for who gets chosen? There isn’t one. No logic either. It’s literally random. We’ve conducted this thirty-seven times so far, and no matter what equipment or items you bring, it has no effect.”

“…”

“It’s even designated as soon as you enter, so preparation or countermeasures are impossible.”

To think such a situation would arise.

Literally by luck, I had a 1/12 chance of instant death.

…Including my team members, it was an absurd 1/3 probability.

Someone would just die.

“You might think, ‘Why include someone as capable as me when you could put in worthless bastards who deserve to die’…”

“No, I don’t.”

“Really? I would have.”

“…”

“We have no choice… But this damn urban legend says it needs challengers with smart heads to let them clear it.”

So we couldn’t just throw in disposable cards.

Eun Ha-je’s lips twitched.

“If it’s an 8.3% chance of death in B Grade, that’s actually a pretty decent average.”

“…”

It was true.

Think about the Exhibition Hall ghost story.

That was a worse case because there was no manual, but even with complete preparation, deaths would inevitably occur.

Even so.

“No matter what I do, being caught in that probability feels strangely absurd.”

“…”

It wasn’t strange.

There’s definitely a different feeling between dying ‘just because’ without being able to struggle beforehand, and having the possibility to try something.

The latter is a challenge, the former is slaughter.

“…Does giving us three days mean we should prepare ourselves mentally?”

“Probably so.”

After about three days, our heads would cool down and we’d start thinking rationally and hopefully.

Like, ‘Surely I won’t be the 1 in 12?’…

“Noru, this is your first time with this kind of Darkness, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Go out and get some coffee. Buy mine too.”

Hearing ‘take your time coming back,’ I took Eun Ha-je’s card and went outside.

Though she sent me on the pretext of a coffee errand, it was really mental care for the new employee.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Thanks to that, I’m now leaning my head against the cafe sofa with an Americano in front of me.

Fear… Well, I haven’t had a moment without fear since falling into this place, so that’s not the problem.

I’m just unsettled.

‘In this situation, information and everything else is meaningless.’

Maybe because I realized that until now, I’d been operating under more ‘certain’ conditions than other employees. I feel a strange sense of self-reproach.

And an intense sense of crisis.

“…”

‘Should I just quit?’

Wouldn’t it be better to quit now and look for other methods?

Investigating ghost stories independently based on …

Friend

-Then how about trying the show business industry from now on?

What??

Friend

I nearly rolled off the sofa in shock.

‘I’ll pass.’

That snapped me back to my senses.

-How unfortunate…

Right. In this neighborhood, there were countless cases of fates worse than that kind of death.

Besides, investigating alone by myself? Only an idiot who forgot they were a coward would make that choice.

Indeed, quitting because of a 1/12 probability would be foolish.

‘But doing nothing would also be foolish.’

-Ah, are you going in?

‘Yeah.’

First, I need to learn more details about this ghost story.

I got takeout coffee for my team members, returned to the office, and read through the tablet PC thoroughly.

And…

‘…Ha.’

Right. Random.

The ghost story I already knew from was correct, but the problem was that almost everything I’d read was already written in the manual.

‘There’s no new information.’

I don’t know any more information than what others don’t know.

‘There are no gaps.’

Even in , the explanation was blatantly written as ‘random upon explorer entry.’

There were no exceptions or suspicious parts either. This hadn’t been treated as particularly important in the first place.

From the writer’s perspective, they just passed it off as a premise setting. They probably thought it wasn’t particularly special anyway, considering people die in every ghost story.

And….

“Team Leaders are excluded from this deployment. Only Assistant Manager rank and below will be sent in here.”

“….”

Lizard Team Leader won’t be accompanying this exploration.

This is because if a Team Leader were designated as a sacrifice, employees might ‘accidentally confuse the priority order’ due to the rank difference.

“There’s no Cleanup Team or Elite Teams either. There was trouble once when they went in.”

Apparently, one of the Elite Teams—meaning one of Teams A, B, or C—was designated as a sacrifice, but they struggled desperately not to die, causing ‘unnecessary losses’ as quite a few other employees died too.

I don’t regret not going to Team A, but this company really is consistent.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The Assistant Manager seemed to find comfort in smoking somewhere between resignation and irritation. The Team Leader chattered away as the two headed upstairs with their cigarettes.

“Did you see the list? The employees going in together….”

“Uh, honestly, if one of them dies, I probably wouldn’t even go to the funeral. They didn’t just pick the worst personalities, did they?”

“Hey, that doesn’t include us!”

I continued trying to find it by comparing the with the manual.

A gap to squeeze through.

A small void in the rules.

But you know what.

That afternoon, a way to circumvent the rules suddenly revealed itself.

Though it was in a somewhat different sense.

“Team Leader Kim!”

“Manager.”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin came looking for me. As the Manual Review person in charge, him coming all the way here definitely wasn’t because he was ‘just passing by.’

“I heard too! Wait, Team Leader, you’re going into that crazy Russian roulette darkness!”

“….”

As I thought before, he has a talent for speaking in ways that irritate people….

But Manager Lee Byeong-jin hadn’t come just to make a fuss.

The Manager lowered his voice, checked that no one was around, then whispered quietly.

“How about talking to Director Ho.”

“…!”

“He’s been keeping an eye on Team Leader Kim’s achievements, you know?”

“What you’re saying now….”

I looked at the Manager.

“Do you mean if I speak to the Director, he’ll exclude me?”

“That’s right!”

“….”

“Usually they just select people saying it’s fair and all that… but I’m against it. You know? Outstanding young people with bright futures like Soleum should be excluded. You’re the top performer!”

A true avoidance method had appeared.

Getting excluded because a superior looks out for you.

I opened my mouth.

“It’s fine.”

“Huh, what?”

I absolutely can’t choose this.

‘It stands out too much.’

The moment I choose that, I’m essentially picking a side within the company.

If this is a Ghost Story Company, the executives probably aren’t ordinary people either, and I shouldn’t get in line by ‘clinging to desperate situations and getting a life preserver.’

Besides, this is a matter of survival.

‘The moment I get special treatment, rumors will definitely spread around the company.’

Would they look kindly on that?

It’s a kind of cheating.

Originally, to be properly recognized as a member of a community, sharing hardships is essential, but if you try to avoid that….

‘You’ll be completely marked.’

Given the Field Investigation Team’s characteristic of constantly moving in groups of three, it would be an act that would thoroughly mess up company life.

It might be different if the Director stepped forward to quietly exclude me without anyone knowing and then called me privately to take credit.

The fact that it’s not like that means he’s not ‘paying attention’ to me enough to specially extract me from here.

Or….

‘He thinks luck is also a type of skill.’

So this is a trap.

Even if my stomach burns, saying this is the correct answer.

I deliberately spoke calmly as if I were a principled person.

“If only I receive exceptional convenience, that would be special treatment. The company must have reasons for assigning work this way, so I’ll do my best to fulfill my responsibilities.”

“Uh, uh….”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin stammered, but eventually, after asking ‘are you sure’ several times, he accepted it and turned away.

Really….

I barely held back from grabbing his pants leg and shouting yes….

‘Let’s find meaning in having built up my character.’

Because there’s no other consolation.

I bitterly watched the Manager’s retreating figure before returning to my seat.

‘Let’s look at the manual again.’

But whether I looked at the or re-read the manual, the lack of gaps was the same.

Because there were no exceptions for any of the explorers.

‘So all the explorers who entered are in this sacrifice lottery….’

“….”

Wait a minute.

‘This….’

I read it several times again.

‘…Could this be a gap?’

I can’t be certain.

‘It’s a possibility though.’

But in this situation, it’s right to grab onto any possibility and try it.

-Have you thought of some interesting idea, Noru?

Not interesting, but I did think of one idea.

‘Creating an exception.’

-Hmm?

All explorers who entered this ghost story were put into the 1/12 probability instant death lottery without exception.

But what if there was a common condition shared only by these explorers?

A condition where no exception has ever occurred.

-What kind of common condition?

….

‘Being human.’

In both the manual and Darkness Investigation Records, the explorers are human. There’s no description of cases involving other life forms at all.

But in this worldview, humans aren’t the only intelligent beings, are they?

If you include animals and plants, the possibilities become endless.

‘What if I were a different life form other than human? Couldn’t I avoid the judgment?’

Considering the tendencies of the irregular records I’ve read so far, that seems like the most likely exception in the current situation.

-Noru, do you wish to escape being human?

‘N-no, that’s not it.’

I wish you wouldn’t throw out innocent questions like they’re traps.

‘I just want to be temporarily treated as if I’ve stepped outside of being human.’

I deliberately chose my words.

‘Like disguising yourself as someone else in a show.’

-Oho.

‘…Is that something Brown can do too?’

-Ah, of course it’s possible!

Brown’s voice gains strength and vitality.

Just like when hosting a show.

-Taking on a new identity is an entertainer’s destiny, isn’t it? I have countless masks and… Ah. Even now, I think I could lend you one!

It was a jackpot.

‘Let’s try this.’

“Phew.”

I finally looked away from the manual and leaned my head against the backrest.

Just then, having apparently finished their cigarette break, the Assistant Manager and Team Leader entered the office and waved at me when they saw me.

“…”

Ah, damn.

‘Brown, about that ‘mask’ ability… could you use it on multiple people?’

-Friend

‘Well, including me.’

-…If I could regain a bit more of my prime abilities, it would be possible. Back then, I used to have dozens of people in the studio! No, was it hundreds?

…Good.

‘Brown.’

-Friend

I politely patted my pocket.

‘Let’s take a bath.’

-…!?

-Friend

“I know.”

Even though he was a quiz show host who made guests’ heads explode, Brown as a ‘Good Friend’ would certainly be that kind of existence.

But there was no other way.

Even if I somehow obtained blood packs from the hospital, their freshness would be poor and efficiency low, and I couldn’t use other people’s blood either.

And I couldn’t bring the Monster from the Ghost Story like last time, could I?

‘The remaining Wild Ginseng doesn’t meet the intelligent being requirement anyway since whatever was inside it escaped.’

What’s left is obvious.

My blood.

I looked down at the small, elegant checkered bathtub.

This thing that still looked clean and smelled nice was the Blood Bathtub I bought from the Alien Shop.

Now I had to pour my blood into it.

“I probably can’t give much either. About half a cup.”

In terms of volume, that would be about 180ml.

-Half a cup! It’ll be tight, but for a small cotton-filled body’s bath additive, that wouldn’t be too bad. Diluted in water… no, that’s not right. Are you really okay with this?

I was okay with it.

‘I can do this.’

I took a deep breath and grabbed the kitchen knife.

Next to me was a Wound Healing Potion I had brought from the Company Medical Room after using some.

“Hah.”

I stabbed the flesh of my arm with the upper part of the kitchen knife.

-Good heavens!

Blood poured out.

I must have found an artery properly as it burst forth and overflowed abundantly.

Hah…

‘Remember. I’m afraid of creepy situations, not the sight of blood itself…’

This isn’t a creepy situation…!

As I repeated this to calm myself, soon enough blood had fallen into the bathtub in the amount I had predicted.

‘This should be about half a cup.’

But I didn’t stop the bleeding.

-Noru?

A little more.

-Friend

A little more.

-Friend

This much should be enough.

‘That’s enough.’

I hurriedly used the Company’s medicine to stop the bleeding on my arm. The magically effective drug excellently stopped the arterial bleeding.

I almost felt a bit dizzy from the blood loss, but it wasn’t a problem.

‘I can just drink a potion for this.’

By the time I get deployed to the ghost story the day after tomorrow, I’ll be back to normal, so it’s fine.

What’s important is….

Isn’t that fragrant scent rising from that bathtub full of water?

“Phew….”

I looked into the bathtub. Whiff, the fragrant smell properly hit my nose.

It seems my blood successfully fulfilled its role.

‘I think I lost about 500ml.’

It seemed to have properly transformed into a bath additive….

‘…A woody scent?’

When I smelled it, it somehow reminded me of that damn Chang-gwi’s Ghost Story Forest, which felt a bit unpleasant, but anyway, it was better than a foul or strange scent.

I nodded and said to Brown.

“You can go in now. Is the scent okay?”

-Ah, of course. It’s an interesting scent. Just like Noru’s unpredictable whimsical decisions!

I smiled.

“Are you being sarcastic? Because I spilled more blood than I predicted?”

-Sarcasm is an essential virtue of a public talk show host! But I don’t exercise that virtue just anytime.

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

-….

“I’ll treat it properly, so it’s fine. But I won’t do this again in the future.”

Friend

Is that so?

To be honest, I did it this way on purpose.

I thought if I gave ‘Good Friend’ a bit of a shock here, it would feel repulsed by the idea of bathing in my blood in the future.

And it seemed to have worked.

‘If I had predicted this amount, it might have accepted it naturally.’

That wouldn’t do.

‘This kind of thing should end with just this once.’

I tried to pick up Brown and put it in the bathtub, but Brown declined again this time.

-I will walk proudly on my own two feet.

Oh my, go ahead then.

I turned around with my back to the bathtub. Soon I heard footsteps entering the bathtub and the sound of splashing water.

The bathing had begun.

But after a moment.

-Noru, this bath additive you made….

-Hmm, it’s quite unique!

Huh?

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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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