Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 68

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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 068

Morning.

I’m sitting in the quiet office.

Friend

Right. Let’s drink at lunch.

While organizing my desk a bit and chatting with Brown to chase away the silence, around 8:50 AM, my lizard-headed superior enters through the door.

I approached and greeted him politely.

“Good morning, Team Leader. Have a good morning.”

“Yes.”

I lifted my head and continued speaking.

“Um, I heard that you helped me receive paid leave. …Thank you.”

“Yes.”

The lizard only moved his eyes to look at me.

“Can you perform your duties in the same state as two weeks ago?”

“Yes. I can work like before. Even if the results aren’t as good as before, I’ll regain my rhythm as quickly as possible.”

“I see.”

The vertical pupils stared at me intently.

“I’ll judge that and provide support.”

Hmm.

At this point, I can roughly translate it.

‘Whether you do well or poorly, I’ll watch and cover for you, so you just need to work hard as you did before?’

Gradually, despite his lizard appearance and word choice, he seems like a good superior, so what does it matter…

Of course, I can’t let my guard down because of that.

‘For a while, I absolutely must clear the darkness well.’

I had already received paid leave.

But an employee who was efficient enough to get promoted to team leader in 60 days comes back from rest and still can’t produce results ‘unlike before’?

This would become office gossip.

Because it would look strange.

[No, it’s not like a colleague died, they all came out alive.]

[Hmm… That employee Kim Sol-eum, maybe he’s unexpectedly weak to mental shock?]

[But how did someone with such weak mentality… manage to produce results until now?]

…Like this.

‘Nothing good comes from starting to be suspected.’

I shouldn’t give them any excuse at all.

‘Let’s clear it properly.’

Although… I haven’t been able to purchase any reliable new items right now.

I recalled the message from the alien shop homepage that had been up throughout my vacation.

※ Under renovation (temporary situation) ※

>>I understood!

That’s right.

The homepage is under renewal…

‘I wonder when it’ll open.’

Since I haven’t seen any documents related to the renewal, it’ll probably finish soon and reopen.

My budget is set, so I planned to secure items after seeing the goods in the newly opened alien shop.

For now, let’s return to basics and properly clear the darkness.

‘They won’t assign high-grade darkness for a while anyway.’

The strange emptiness from reduced personnel can’t be helped, but since I can’t quit… I have to manage somehow.

I deliberately asked with slight enthusiasm.

“Still, from today I’ll be deployed to darkness, right? I heard there’s a high probability we’ll support other teams since we’re not at full capacity of three people…”

“That’s correct.”

Oh.

“Which team are we supporting today?”

If I’m lucky, I might meet one of my colleagues I haven’t met yet…

“The elite team.”

…

What??

Again?

“Do you mean Team A?”

“No.”

“…Then which team?”

“Team C.”

It was a team I had no connection with.

Being an elite team is concerning, but at least it’s fortunate that Team A Leader and Lee Ja-heon won’t meet… I was thinking up to that point.

‘Huh?’

Come to think of it, in some sense, I wasn’t completely unconnected to Team C.

[K.LEE: I’m Manager Lee Kang-heon from Team C haha]

That suspicious manager who introduced me to Salmon Market!

‘He definitely said Team C.’

Maybe I’ll get to see his face this time.

But there was a more important question first.

If it’s darkness that the elite team enters…

“Is it perhaps a high-grade darkness that’s difficult to clear?”

“What criteria do you want me to use for judgment?”

“…I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

“?”

“Um. I’d be grateful if you could tell me what grade it is and whether there’s a manual available.”

“It’s D-grade. The manual is complete.”

Oh, then the probability of seeing the crazy act of calling the cleanup team to use as meat shields is low. I asked comfortably with much more relief.

“Understood. Then when should we move?”

“We’ll start moving in 5 minutes.”

Yes.

So we just grabbed our bags and left the office walking.

But…

“…”

“…”

“Team Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Why are we heading toward the annex building instead of Team C’s office?”

“Because Team C has already entered the darkness.”

“….”

What?

After several more rounds of questions and answers with Lizard Team Leader, the response I received was as follows:

[Team C has 2 members remaining since their team leader is on vacation.]

[Today’s ghost story entry is D-grade.]

[But they said why bother maintaining a 3-person quota for such a low-grade darkness, so Team C went in on their own, causing the administrative office to hastily organize additional personnel.]

“….”

Wow.

When I first joined the company, Deputy Eun Ha-je was furious and cursing about the “makeshift solution of 3 people including a new employee.”

‘Here they’re voluntarily entering with 2 people…’

This is ominous.

-Hmm, members who don’t follow instructions well! A great host should be able to handle all elements of the show well, especially human resources.

Friend

I want to collapse helplessly…

However, I needed points, and it was about time I had to enter the darkness again.

‘Among the elite teams I’ve met so far, none were normal but…’

And I have a strong feeling this time will be the same.

A six-month company veteran team leader has to do what they’re told to do.

If I felt wronged, I should have gone to Team A… though if I had, I’d already be bounced to the cleanup team and be a corpse.

‘…Do I already miss them?’

I tried not to think about Team D’s two superiors as I moved my feet.

Manager Lee Ja-heon handed me a tablet.

“Please familiarize yourself with the manual for the next 10 minutes.”

“Is there a reason you’re only giving me 10 minutes?”

“Time is tight until entry completion, and the recent second quarter survival rate approaches 97%.”

Thank you for the kind explanation…

‘Now I’ve come to accept a 3% mortality rate as natural…’

Honestly, with this background and a complete manual, the 3% who died were probably either extremely unlucky or acted impulsively.

‘It should be fine.’

I looked at the tablet with a feeling that was either reluctance or enlightenment…

“….”

“….”

-Oh? Noru, it seems like your mind suddenly went blank.

Yeah.

I’m screwed.

======================

“….”

Wait a minute.

Please wait just a moment, Team Leader…!

Instead of wailing that I wouldn’t go in, I barely managed to make a rational suggestion.

“Um, would it be possible to prepare for about 30 more minutes before going in?”

“Impossible.”

“….”

Right. They said the entrance closes…

It wasn’t exactly a rational suggestion.

“….”

Aaaaah! Really!!

Why does this have to be what I get for my return!

“Excluding the 2 people who died of heart attacks, there are no death records. It’s safe compared to the same grade.”

“…Yes.”

‘That’s not why I’m acting like this…!’

I was just mistaken about something.

I was intoxicated with ‘building an elite new employee character’ and had forgotten.

Even before my paid leave, I was… just someone who hated scary things and squeezed out tears internally while doing time attacks.

But my return ghost story is hell in traditional horror, which I’m weakest at.

‘With strangers, and half of them are elite teams, so I can’t even pull any tricks.’

The grade is even too low to justify using tattoo stickers, so I have to endure it with sheer grit and determination.

It’s not a situation where survival instincts ring bells and I run like crazy thinking of escape methods, but where I have to feel everything raw…

The horror flavor intended by the wiki writer.

‘Sigh…’

At least with the convenience store ghost hide and seek, I entered without knowing.

It suddenly felt like being doused with cold water and returning to reality. Should I call it shock therapy?

I entered the darkness with my own feet, feeling like being dragged to a slaughterhouse, reluctantly swallowing my pride.

My legs were shaking.

“This way.”

Fortunately, this time it wasn’t the type of darkness that twisted space-time and swallowed us into strange places.

This entry method was very simple.

You knock on an enclosed space that meets specific conditions, then enter, and that place becomes a ghost story.

An enclosed indoor space with no people within 100m in all directions, blocked by 4 walls and a ceiling.

In our company’s case, they renovated part of the annex building to create a space that meets these conditions, and they say it’s used regularly.

Specifically, ‘4m x 4m x 2.4m’ in size…

[Break Room]

Team Leader Lee Ja-heon and I stopped in front of the door with this nameplate.

It was indeed a break room attached to an ordinary office, but the conditions were met.

Wednesday of a date ending with the number ‘4’.

“….”

I have to… do it, right?

By seniority?

Knock, knock, knock knock, knock knock knock

I tried not to let my trembling hands show as I knocked on the door.

Then, as if by magic, the door clicked open.

“Huh?”

“What people… Oh!”

Inside, two employees were sitting with relaxed expressions, then waved their hands when they saw us.

“Ah, you came for support?”

“Yes.”

“Geez, we said it wasn’t necessary but they insisted on sending you anyway.”

To the employees who were chattering among themselves about how more clear personnel means distributed points and diluted dream essence concentration… and so on.

Lizard Team Leader responded like this.

“If you have complaints, apply for a department transfer and revise the field investigation common manual.”

“…”

“…”

The two employees gaped, then eventually nodded with sheepish expressions.

“Yes… We didn’t mean to criticize those who came. We’re sorry…”

“Hahaha, it seems we were being rude! We’re really sorry. Um, you’re Manager from Team D, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then that person is…”

“Team Leader Noru.”

“Ahhh!”

Both of their faces changed again.

“You’re that new employee who almost got into Team A, right? Butterfly Deputy has been keeping an eye on you!”

“I heard you saved an employee who was supposed to die… Ooh, tell us the story when we get out of here!”

“It’s not that amazing a story, I was just lucky… Yes. Nice to meet you too.”

Manager Lee Ja-heon and I were guided by the two to sit together at a small table located in the corner of the break room.

“We have to stay together all night, so let’s at least introduce ourselves. First, you can call her Dolphin Assistant Manager.”

“Nice to meet you, Team Leader Noru.”

A small-framed woman wearing a dolphin mask waved her hand when she was called. Her way of speaking was quite lively.

And a slightly tanned man with a friendly and sociable attitude extended his hand with a grin.

“And I’m Leopard, Leopard Deputy.”

“Yes. Deputy Leopard.”

Hmm.

[K.LEE: Oh hello there, Employee lol]

Definitely ‘Lee Kang-heon’s’ profile was Hawaii Beach. The tanned skin suited him.

Plus the matching rank and sociable attitude.

‘It seems like this person.’

Of course, I planned to keep the possibility open. I didn’t know his real name yet.

Naturally, I had no intention of acting familiar in front of my superior.

“Please take care of me.”

“Yep. Let’s spend the night in our break room munching on snacks!”

Anyway, up to this point, it seemed like a conversation you’d have sitting down for overtime work at some office.

In reality, things like bloody tears suddenly flowing down the walls, everything turning upside down, or the coffee machine turning into a killing machine don’t happen in the break room.

But…

‘The ghost is already here.’

Some of the explorers get replaced by ghosts.

That’s right.

Someone among the people having this conversation has already been replaced by a ghost.

Maybe more than one person.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Ah, I’ll come down and get it.”

“Hey, in our team there’s no youngest member stuff like that. Just sit there.”

I don’t know when it happens. Maybe from the moment of crossing the threshold, maybe from the moment of sitting down and exchanging greetings…

‘Rather, the person who got replaced by a ghost has it easy.’

They just lose consciousness from the moment they enter the break room and wake up the next day.

The problem is the manual for people who don’t become ghosts.

“…”

The rule I have to follow.

Actions that humans don’t do

I, I can do this.

‘I’ll just casually glance over and ignore it.’

I can do this!

Well, if someone grins with their mouth torn open or something, I just need to not look and endure it.

‘Then I’ll naturally pretend to look at someone else and endure it.’

Since there were many people, I felt like I could hold out.

I thought I might have become more of a coward after experiencing various things, but maybe I’ve actually gotten stronger against horror.

At least I’m not bathing in cold sweat while imagining what’s going to happen!

“Ah! The entrance just completely closed. Now we just need to hold out with this group.”

“Ooh~”

“Good. Let’s fighting!!”

Clap clap clap clap!

The employees smiled brightly and applauded. It was a heartwarming scene.

Except for one thing.

“Wow!”

Everyone in the room was clapping with the backs of their hands.

“…”

Ah.

“Huh? Noru. Why aren’t you clapping?”

“…”

“Why?”

Leopard Deputy brought his face close to mine.

“Is there something bothering you?”

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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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