Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 84

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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 084

I decided to use the Blood Bath one more time.

-If I rejuvenate a bit more, it’ll be much easier to travel around with Noru!

I accepted Brown’s argument.

The Stuffed Doll might get a bit bigger… but well, one more time should be fine. It’s still the size of an ordinary keychain doll.

However, Brown looked serious at my idea of casually using my blood as bath salts.

My friend

It seemed like deliberately scaring him last time was still having an ongoing effect.

‘Well, I wasn’t planning to spill that much this time anyway…’

I felt a bit sorry, wondering if I had gone too far.

Anyway, since he said so, we agreed to find blood through other methods.

Friend

Alright.

Having something else to distract me in the middle of office politics was somewhat better…

‘Already being helpful.’

I sighed and went to work.

By the way, Baek Sa-heon didn’t come to the Company Housing at all yesterday. I’ll see how long he can keep that up.

Anyway, since I don’t know how long Director Cheong will wait, I need to make a decision quickly too…

“Soleum!”

Huh?

While waiting for the elevator, I turned my head and saw a colleague holding a buffalo mask coming in.

‘Jang Heo-un!’

The employee I met at Sekwang Technical High School last night and had a brief but eventful journey with.

“You’re safe!”

“Yes. It looks like you escaped safely too, Heo-un.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you. I cleared it well…”

Yesterday was such a series of shocks that I couldn’t think about anything else, including other people’s well-being, but it was nice to meet like this anyway.

Moreover, Jang Heo-un seemed to have a surprisingly good impression of the Agent, as he answered with quite a bright face when the related topic came up.

“He was better than I expected. He didn’t use me as bait… and at the end, he explained about the Management Bureau too.”

Isn’t your standard a bit too low…

Anyway, that guy seemed to have a lot of resentment toward Baekillmong Corporation, so I wondered if traveling with a decent employee had brought about some change of heart.

Anyway, since there were no major problems, Jang Heo-un’s complexion should be fine.

‘I might be able to sell ghost story food again next time.’

I had some hope for side income.

“And… that Agent seemed to be worried about you until the end, Soleum. But, but I didn’t tell him separately about giving you the name tag!”

Ah, the name tag!

“I used the name tag you gave me well. Thank you.”

Actually, there was a way to get a name tag even after borrowing the uniform, but it’s true that I used it quickly and well thanks to him.

“It must have been a precious name tag to you too, Heo-un, but I won’t forget that you gave it up because you were worried about me.”

“Oh, no… it wasn’t a big deal. Compared to what you did for me.”

“…?”

Me?

At that moment, Jang Heo-un clenched his fists and opened his mouth with a happy expression.

“Soleum. I got assigned to a general team…!”

“…!”

“They really transferred me after I lasted three months. Really, really… thank you. I think I endured thanks to you!”

Wow!

There were so many incidents during the regular assignment season that I couldn’t check other people’s teams, but this was great news.

I asked happily.

“Congratulations! Which team is it?”

“I was assigned to Team F…!”

“…”

Oh.

“You’re on the same team as Baek Sa-heon.”

“Yes! He was kind.”

“…”

This person’s standards for good people have definitely gotten infinitely lower after experiencing the Cleanup Team…

‘No wonder they were together in that ghost story.’

It wasn’t a chance encounter but they were on the same team.

I said with a smile.

“What an interesting coincidence. I share Company Housing with him. …Let’s get together as colleagues and have dinner sometime.”

“Oh, thank… Yes!”

And at this point, another unexpected encounter happened in front of the elevator.

“Good morning, Manager Lee Ja-heon!”

“Yes. Good morning.”

I ran into Manager Lee Ja-heon who was on his way to work.

Manager Lee Ja-heon answered Jang Heo-un who was bowing to him, then got straight to the point.

Which meant he was talking to me.

“Soleum, you have a summons.”

Again??

“Do I… not need to stop by the office and just go directly?”

“Yes.”

With a feeling like I was going to develop a neurosis about summons, I eventually pressed the 25th floor button as Lee Ja-heon said, instead of the 13th floor button.

‘I’m off the Field Investigation Team floor again…’

I hope it’s nothing serious.

“Have a good day, Soleum!”

“Yes. You too, Heo-un.”

After seeing off Jang Heo-un, I got off on the 25th floor with Manager Lee Ja-heon.

Ding.

“Follow me.”

“Yes.”

I trudged along following the manager.

‘It seems farther than I thought.’

After turning around corners in the corridor several times, a door appeared instead of a conference room.

There was an unexpectedly wooden nameplate with warm colors attached to it…

Fox Counseling Room

“…”

Wait.

“Team Leader, here….”

Thud.

At that moment.

I was pinned against the wall by Lee Ja-heon.

…?!

“Kim Sol-eum. From now on, answer my questions immediately without hesitation.”

Friend

‘No, wait a minute…!’

The atmosphere is not normal.

I looked at Lizard.

Red vertical pupils were staring straight through me.

“Do you remember the conversation you had with me yesterday?”

I swallowed.

“…Yes.”

“What topic did the conversation end with?”

“Team D might become an Elite Team,”

“That’s not the last topic. Answer again.”

What?

“That is the last topic!”

“No. We had a conversation about a different topic after that.”

No!

We probably did. But it was just small talk, wasn’t it….

“Don’t think about it.”

“…!”

“Answer.”

Damn!

“I don’t remember well!”

“….”

“It was just small talk… small talk, wasn’t it.”

Heavy silence and pressure followed.

And….

Slowly.

“I see.”

Lee Ja-heon released me from the wall.

I don’t know what that was about, but at least it’s a relief for now….

“Kim Sol-eum.”

“Yes.”

“You are contaminated.”

“….”

Huh?

But, that’s….

“…Well, when you’re doing exploration, to some extent….”

But I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Thump.

Lee Ja-heon opened the counseling room door in one swift motion, grabbed me by the collar, and threw me inside.

“…!”

“You cannot come out until you finish the counseling session. I’ll be waiting outside the door.”

Bang.

And the door closed.

“….”

No.

No!!

How dare he be so rude to my friend!!

W-wait.

Don’t you get worked up too, let’s calm down….

‘It’s okay. There seems to be some misunderstanding.’

I held back a sigh and raised my head.

I don’t really feel like it, but….

‘I’ll just get counseling once. It’s good for mental health too.’

Side effects… let’s try not to think about them, the probability is extremely low anyway.

-Hmm…. If that’s Noru’s opinion!

Phew.

It’s decided.

I dragged my feet reluctantly and started walking….

What I could see in front of me was a space that looked like a changing room.

And a flowery signboard was attached above the locker.

Dear client, welcome!

Please change into a gown and come in^^

And hospital gowns with green grass patterns in various sizes were lined up in a row.

Health checkup look…?

-If clothing only pursued comfort, we would have to walk around naked.

-In that sense, this is worse than even that. It has no utility other than covering the body.

I understand.

‘Still, I have to wear it.’

Outside, Lizard who physically destroys ghost stories was standing guard. I had to receive counseling once and then leave.

I finished changing clothes.

‘That curtain seems to lead to the counseling space.’

And just as I was about to lift the curtain that appeared to be the exit from the changing room.

There was text attached.

From here on, only clients are allowed^^

Friends, family, guardians stop here!

‘Ah.’

Well… no matter how much they talk about welfare and such, it’s still a ghost story, so it’s better not to break the rules.

“Brown, you can wait for a moment, right?”

-Oh, it would be a lie to say I’m not worried, but in this case, I should naturally protect Noru’s privacy!

Okay.

I carefully placed Brown near the vase on the table in the locker room and pulled back the curtain.

Jingle…

Then sunlight poured abundantly over my head.

“…!”

A small, cozy space was revealed before my eyes.

A warm midday room that even calmed the heart.

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

Certainly, it is… a room with a nice atmosphere.

Friend

I really hope so.

I drew the curtain properly again and walked into the room.

This time too, I saw a guidance message.

Sit comfortably on the sofa

and enjoy the scenery outside!

I sat on the sofa as instructed.

And crossed my arms.

Well, the atmosphere is nice, but…

‘I already know what’s going to happen anyway.’

It’s really amazing. It helped me regain the motivation I had lost and remember things I had forgotten…

-Lee Jeong-eun (Team Leader) post-counseling interview

Someone appears outside the window to provide counseling.

What appears is customized for each person.

Anyway, there’s a high probability they’ll show a person or object related to my trauma and stage a situation where it gets resolved well for me to observe.

People who become deeply immersed eventually gain a kind of emotional healing effect and leave either crying or with a peaceful expression – that was the cliché of the ‘Fox Counseling Room’ ghost story usage records.

‘I wonder if it’ll be effective when I already know everything.’

Thinking about it now, I’m skeptical about that too.

I crossed my arms and looked at the huge window that showed the beautiful outdoor garden filled with sunlight…

And at that moment.

Someone appeared beside the garden.

“…!!”

That was…

Me.

The tired, dark-looking ‘me’ stood in the sunlit outdoor garden, then turned to look at me in the room.

And waved.

“…!”

I unconsciously raised my hand, then… lowered it.

‘What is this.’

It’s not even a doppelganger.

Uneasiness and rejection welled up.

But the ‘Kim Sol-eum’ standing in the outdoor garden didn’t stop there, looked around, grabbed a suitable chair, came right in front of the window and sat down.

And smiled brightly while facing me.

“…”

‘Should I just get up.’

They say the door only opens after an hour passes, but it should be possible to just wait stubbornly in front of the door…

Just as I was getting increasingly uncomfortable in my seat.

“Teacher Kim Sol-eum.”

“…!!”

“Thank you so much for coming for counseling today. I’m your counselor.”

The something that looked like me outside the window started talking.

“You seem very tired today. How have you been sleeping lately? How much do you sleep?”

I gritted my teeth.

“…I sleep reasonably well.”

“I see… Could you tell me in specific numbers? More than 5 hours?”

“…Sometimes.”

“I see. Could it be that… sometimes sleeping only a short time is related to work being difficult?”

Wow!

‘This is driving me crazy.’

I barely managed to answer.

“I don’t want to answer. Since you’re speaking with my appearance, I only feel rejection.”

“Why do you think Teacher Kim Sol-eum feels rejection?”

“Wouldn’t people naturally feel an existential threat when they see someone exactly like themselves?”

“But… I’m an intelligent being with clear differences from Teacher Kim Sol-eum.”

What?

“Would you like to try finding them? What differences might there be?”

I unconsciously looked the other person over.

Eyes, nose, mouth, body, clothing.

“…They’re exactly the same.”

“Then shall we look in a mirror to compare better?”

Whirrrr.

Suddenly the bookshelf next to the sofa I was sitting on moved, and a full-length mirror emerged from inside.

I unconsciously peered into it.

A tired office worker.

“…”

“Would you like to compare?”

Whether I compare or not, they’re completely the same…

“…”

“How is it?”

“…My side,”

I looked into the mirror.

“More… you do seem to look a bit unwell.”

Is it just my imagination?

“I see.”

However, the me outside the window nods.

“Why do you think there’s such a difference?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then let’s observe a bit more. We might see something else.”

I looked back and forth between the me outside the window and the me in the mirror again.

Eyes, nose, mouth, shoulders, arms…

Wrists.

“Tattoo.”

I muttered as if entranced.

“You’re missing one tattoo.”

The tattoo that remained from the theme park was there.

But…

: :

This one wasn’t there.

The tattoo that had served as my inventory.

“What kind of tattoo is it? Ah, that one!”

“Yes.”

“There must be a reason you got such a tattoo. What kind of effect did it have?”

“I can store items inside it.”

“I see. Do you have various items in there now?”

“Yes.”

“Could you show me? Oh, if you’re reluctant to show me, you could just put them down somewhere I can’t see.”

“…Yes.”

I took out items from the tattoo.

Items, equipment, coins…

All things I knew about.

“I’ve taken everything out.”

I don’t understand why they made me do this.

How is this different from the me outside the window?

“Teacher Kim Sol-eum.”

“Yes?”

“I think there’s still something more left inside the tattoo.”

Quiet!

“Could you extend your hand to me?”

I don’t want to know

“No. Teacher, you do want to know, and you can do it.”

“…”

I got up from the sofa.

And approached right in front of the window…

I extended my hand.

“You’ve really been through a lot.”

The me outside the window grasped my hand.

And.

Swiftly thrust their hand into my tattoo.

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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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