The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 88

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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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Catastrophe-Class Relics in Urban Legends Grow Obsessed | Chapter 88
Dragging his suitcase out through the terminal, Woo Ju was greeted by familiar air.
“Ahhhh.”
He drew a long, deep breath and allowed himself a satisfied smile.
People rarely admit it, but when they think of home, one of the first things that comes to mind is often the smell.
He’d spent just over a week in Japan, yet it felt as though he’d been gone for years.
“You’re heading straight home, right?”
Woo Ju nodded at Hwa Ryeon’s question as they exited the airport together.
“Yes. I should get home, wash up, and rest.”
“Good. Since I have to pass by the Company anyway, let’s share a taxi.”
“A taxi?”
“Yeah. The Company’ll cover it anyway.”
“Then of course we should take one.”
Why take anything else when a taxi was available?
Woo Ju rode with Hwa Ryeon all the way to the Company, without a care in the world.
“See you Monday, then.”
“You got it!”
Today was Wednesday, but he didn’t return to work until Monday—a brief vacation after wrapping up demanding work.
‘Though I did rest at the end in Japan, so maybe it’s not that short?’
He lingered on the thought for a moment, then shrugged and moved on. ‘Well, good is good.’
His apartment was practically next door to the Company—close enough that you could stumble into it with your eyes closed—so he walked slowly, pulling his suitcase behind him.
Before long, he arrived home.
“Man. It’s been a while.”
The moment he stepped inside, Woo Ju set down his suitcase and flopped onto the living room sofa.
He wanted nothing more than to collapse onto his bed, but skipping a shower before lying down felt wrong somehow.
So instead he sprawled across the couch scrolling through his phone for nearly an hour before forcing himself up.
‘Better unpack first.’
It was better to get chores done early if he wanted to rest properly.
He brought the suitcase in from the entrance and began methodically unpacking its contents.
Since he hadn’t packed much to begin with, the task didn’t take long.
The only thing that slowed him down was the souvenirs.
He’d bought things for his family, friends, and coworkers alike—grabbing whatever caught his eye—and the pile was considerable.
But as he was organizing the souvenirs, a wooden box caught his attention.
‘Right. This was here.’
He’d completely forgotten about it on the way back, caught up in the excitement of returning.
Which was strange, given how impossible it should be to forget something with such a distinctive appearance.
Examined on its own, the wooden box had an utterly ordinary look.
According to the shop attendant, it was expensive—crafted from high-quality cypress wood through some special drying process—but in the end, it was just a box.
The problem was the talismans plastered all over its surface.
Talismans in a style different from those found in Korea covered all four sides, and to anyone’s eye, they screamed: do not touch.
“Hm.”
Yet Woo Ju simply picked up the box and turned it over in his hands, examining it from different angles.
He was checking whether it had been damaged during transport, but fortunately, it remained completely intact.
He set the box on the table and considered it.
‘Why did I feel drawn to this?’
He’d never been interested in dolls before—if anything, he would’ve refused one for free if it was cursed.
Yet when he first saw this doll inside the box, he’d felt an instinctive pull toward it.
A feeling that leaving it behind would’ve been wrong somehow.
‘The attendant said there was nothing particularly special about it.’
She’d mentioned it came from Korea and had some history, rambling on about various details, but she’d never said anything that made the doll itself seem particularly extraordinary.
‘Compared to the dolls the Team Leader buys, it was actually on the cheap side.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Woo Ju decided to open the box and examine its contents.
Opening a box like this felt unsettling, but since the doll itself bore a powerful seal, there was no real danger.
The box was used only to contain it safely when moving it elsewhere, as a precaution.
Whoosh.
As he opened the wooden box, the doll came into view, nestled quietly within.
He lifted the doll out.
It looked exactly as it had when he first saw it.
Black, shoulder-length hair. Black eyes. A dress styled like traditional Korean hanbok.
‘The Team Leader mentioned it might be an artifact or something like that.’
To be precise, there was probably another reason why Woo Ju felt drawn to the doll. Well, that’s what he thought.
He’d acquired so many artifacts in just that way over the years.
But now he felt nothing in particular. It was just a doll carrying a moderate curse, the same as when he’d first laid eyes on it.
“I’m not sure.”
In the end, Woo Ju deliberated for a moment, then placed the doll back inside the box.
He planned to take it to Headquarters later when he had time and ask the analysis team to run some tests on it.
With that settled, Woo Ju finished organizing the rest of his things, headed to the bathroom, and emerged refreshed.
After ordering dinner and eating, any lingering thoughts about the doll had cleanly vanished.
* * *
The following Monday.
Woo Ju opened the Office door with bright energy and stepped inside.
“Good morning, everyone!”
As he offered the cheerful greeting, several faces turned toward him.
Woo Ju glanced at them and flinched in surprise.
Their faces were plainly exhausted.
Specifically, it was Chae Wol, Chung Woo, and Baek Ho who looked that way.
Ryu Sun Dam, as always, appeared neat and composed.
“Good morning…….”
“Morning already…….”
Woo Ju walked to his desk, set down his bag, and spoke.
“Why do you all look like you’re barely hanging on?”
“We were up all night.”
“Me too.”
“Same here…….”
Before Woo Ju could ask why they’d stayed up, Ryu Sun Dam added his explanation.
“An incident broke out suddenly in the early morning yesterday. We’ve only just wrapped it up and returned.”
“Ah, I see.”
That would certainly explain why they all looked so drained.
They must have worked their full shifts, clocked out, then been called back out again at dawn to handle the situation.
“But aren’t you leaving soon?”
“Should be.”
“We were just waiting for you and the Team Leader.”
Baek Ho spoke with a tired smile on his face.
Woo Ju sat down in his chair and asked.
“So today it’s just me and the Team Leader on duty?”
“No? Yeon Woo’s here too.”
“I had yesterday off!”
“Right.”
Woo Ju nodded in understanding.
Whenever they went on an operation like that, they usually kept at least one person off the roster.
If everyone got sent on the operation and then took the next day off all at once, the Office would sit empty.
It seemed they’d calculated Hwa Ryeon and Woo Ju’s return time and strategically kept Yeon Woo, the most junior, off that day.
“Before you go, please take these. I picked up some souvenirs.”
Woo Ju lifted the large bag he’d brought onto his desk and distributed the items inside one by one.
“Oh, what’s this? Liquor?”
“Yes. I know you like Whiskey. This one’s for you, Chung Woo. And…….”
Those who received the gifts all smiled and thanked him.
He’d picked them out based on vague recollections and impressions of each person’s preferences, and fortunately, everyone seemed pleased.
“Good morning.”
It was right then that Hwa Ryeon appeared, opening the door.
She entered, went straight to her seat, sat down, then looked around at everyone and spoke.
“You all look like death warmed over. I heard Dueokshini appeared yesterday?”
“Don’t even mention it. It popped up right in the middle of the city, and let me tell you, it was a real mess,” Baek Ho said.
At his words, Hwa Ryeon laughed softly and replied.
“Well, you all did good work. At least no one got hurt, so that’s fortunate. Get some proper rest today, and you can come back the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
At her words, Baek Ho rose from his seat as if he’d been waiting for that moment, and Chung Woo, Chae Wol, and Ryu Sun Dam also stood and gathered their things in turn.
“I’ll enjoy this!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
And so the workers who had labored through the night departed.
Before long, only Woo Ju, Hwa Ryeon, and Yeon Woo remained in the office.
“It’s so quiet in here.”
Hwa Ryeon spoke while slumped back in her chair, her spine against its rest.
True to her words, as people had drained away, the already spacious office felt even more hollow.
Woo Ju addressed her.
“Is there any assignment for today, or something like that?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Just rest and take it easy.”
Hwa Ryeon, as if to prove her words meant it, reclined in her chair at nearly a horizontal angle and gazed blankly up at the ceiling.
Woo Ju read the situation, then decided to follow her lead.
He slouched in his chair and began to zone out.
“Um, senior?”
Just then, Yeon Woo called to Woo Ju hesitantly.
Woo Ju turned his head slightly to the side and replied.
“Yeah?”
“Is there a report template by any chance?”
“A report template? Oh, that. Hold on.”
Woo Ju straightened up and quickly located what Yeon Woo had asked for, directing him to it.
After that, Yeon Woo came with several more questions, and Woo Ju answered each one patiently, passing the time that way.
Before they knew it, lunchtime had rolled around again.
“Let’s go get some food.”
“Yep!”
“Yes!”
The two followed Hwa Ryeon as she sprang to her feet and headed for the in-house cafeteria.
When they arrived, the cafeteria was rather quiet.
Woo Ju took his food to a table and asked Hwa Ryeon.
“It seems especially sparse today, doesn’t it?”
“It’s actually empty. There was an incident that broke out in the heart of the city yesterday that needed cleanup, and another situation flared up in the provinces, so a lot of people were sent down there.”
“I see. Everyone’s busy, then.”
Having come here to rest at a leisurely pace, he felt a twinge of conscience for no good reason.
At that remark, Hwa Ryeon’s expression turned incredulous.
“Under normal circumstances, after pulling off something like this Japan operation, you’d be entitled to an extended vacation.”
“Really? That much?”
But hadn’t it all wrapped up in maybe a day or two?
That thought must have shown on his face, because Hwa Ryeon shook her head.
“Usually you wouldn’t think like that after narrowly escaping death.”
“Mm.”
“Well, the things you’ve been through have been pretty insane.”
In ordinary times, the kind of incident Woo Ju had handled in Japan would’ve been something he participated in maybe once every few years.
But since joining, Woo Ju had encountered such situations almost as routinely as eating.
So it wasn’t strange to think of this as just another ordinary day’s work.
“Senior, but was that thing there originally?”
Just then, Yeon Woo suddenly pointed to a spot and spoke.
Woo Ju’s and Hwa Ryeon’s gazes naturally shifted in that direction, and they quickly spotted something.
It was a stone statue.
A stone statue had planted itself squarely in the middle of the in-house cafeteria.
“That’s quite a unique decoration.”
“No, there was nothing like that before.”
Hwa Ryeon frowned as she spoke, and Woo Ju added from beside her.
“It wasn’t there when we came in.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I went down that way to get food, so I would’ve noticed.”
A stone statue that had appeared without a sound.
Yet it seemed only the three of them sitting at this table had noticed it.
The others went on eating and talking, not paying that area any attention whatsoever.
That was distinctly strange.
If something like that suddenly appeared in the middle of a dining hall, eyes would naturally be drawn to it.
‘Though now that I think about it, I didn’t notice until Yeon Woo pointed it out either.’
By that logic, only Yeon Woo had truly caught sight of it first.
Woo Ju furrowed his brow.
Hwa Ryeon had already drawn out the Pipe without thinking, holding it between her lips, while Woo Ju reached beneath the table and Summoned an Iron Pipe.
“Let’s get a closer look.”
“Right.”
They moved toward the Stone Statue at once.
Continued in the next episode ▶
Catastrophe-Class Relics from Urban Legends Obsess Over
Author
Other World CEO
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited, and violation may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from writers.

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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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