Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work [Novel] Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 is available as a full text chapter. Published May 16, 2026 and updated May 16, 2026.
Translator: Nox
Chapter 1Chapter 1
Even if I’m Trapped in a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
Even if I’m Trapped in a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work - Episode 1
Even if I’m Trapped in a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work - Episode 001
Have you ever been completely obsessed with something?
I mean beyond just thinking, “Hey, this is fun,” to the point where it leaves such a deep impression that you spend extra time and money on it.
You know how it is.
Watching the director’s cut of a movie, buying an art book for a game, paying for early access to a webtoon, going to a singer’s concert…
If you take it a step further, buying merchandise is another example.
Yeah, what people call “goods.”
Figures, slogans, badges, plushies…
I can say with absolute certainty that I have never spent money on things like that in my life.
Until now.
This is a department store.
The wildly successful pop-up store had already finished distributing waiting tickets the moment the department store opened at 10:00 AM.
And I was one of the people who received one of those tickets.
“The 2:30 PM slot, we’re ready to help you enter now!”
“Ah, finally!”
“Hey, let’s go, hurry!”
The bright-eyed teenagers standing next to me ran toward the staff with excited faces.
‘2:30… right.’
I pulled my cap down as low as possible and stood in line.
However, I could hear whispering from behind.
“Huh…”
“Is he a reseller?”
“Isn’t he a professional flipper?”
“…”
It was incredibly unfair, but I could see why they thought that.
I was the only adult man in this line who looked like an office worker!
‘Sigh…’
I groaned inwardly, looking at the entrance of the pop-up store.
[Welcome, Explorer of the Darkness.]
‘This is driving me crazy.’
The theme was a mix of black and red backgrounds with caricatures of various monsters, occult elements, and symbols of corporations, religions, and the government.
It was a worldview perfectly designed to target the hearts of teenagers.
Even the title was a work of art.
[Prophecy of the End: Darkness Exploration Record]
Ha…
I barely managed to suppress the urge to cover my eyes with one hand.
‘Why did I have to look at this at work…’
.
It’s an internet ghost story worldview that’s been very hot lately.
You know, one of those collective intelligence open-source worldviews where people can freely participate and create stories.
At first, it seemed to have started small among students as a derivative of a famous ghost story, but after hitting the Wethube algorithm, it reportedly grew at an insane pace.
“Records of exploring various supernatural phenomena called .” Ghost stories with that concept.
Eventually, it became an independent wiki with hundreds and thousands of recorded stories, which is how it caught my eye.
‘…Since it was text-based, it was so easy to read at the office.’
And they say anything you do at the office is fun as long as it’s not work.
I fell head over heels for this worldview, to the point where I even ended up creating a ghost story and uploading it myself…
Why did it turn out like this? Is my dopamine-deprived corporate life the problem?
Besides, there’s also the matter of this event itself.
‘I didn’t think it would get this big.’
Apparently, it’s now a massive IP reigning over Wethube as the “President of Middle Schoolers.”
Naturally, corporations jumped on it to generate profit.
This pop-up store is a part of that.
’No, but even so, the wiki had a 15+ age recommendation tag on it.’
Why are there only kids here?
Listening to the whispering behind me made the reality check hit pretty hard, but…
“He definitely looks like a flipper…”
“Hey, hey, he might be buying something for his nephew or cousin… let’s not be like that.”
No. I’m going to keep it for myself.
…Actually, I came last week too, but the goods I wanted were sold out right in front of me, so I visited again…
I even used a day of my annual leave.
‘At least last time there was a woman around my age.’
Of all times, I got stuck in a weekday afternoon slot where the only other adults are parents who came with their kids. I feel like running away from the sheer embarrassment, but let’s endure it.
‘Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m trying to endure this…’
Anyway, I entered the store following the staff’s guidance.
The only consolation was that the staff member didn’t seem fazed.
“Whoa!”
“Hey, it looks so real.”
Amidst the exclamations of the middle schoolers, I saw the interior of the pop-up store, which was quite elaborately decorated, almost like a theme park.
And there were even kind classifications for the exhibition themes.
[Baekilmong Corporation]
[Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau]
[Nameless Radiant Church]
In this ghost story worldview, there are three giant factions—corporation, government, and religion—and the setting is that each of them tries to observe and secure supernatural phenomena.
‘At first, there were only ghost stories about the government’s Disaster Management Bureau, but I guess it turned into this because so many people got involved and excited.’
Anyway, it seems this pop-up store only picked out the things that became hot topics on the internet.
The fact that they just lumped everything together and released popular characters and ghost story items made it feel like a blatant cash-grab pop-up, but the quality was decent nonetheless.
‘Right. When else would I ever come to a place like this…’
Ignoring the stares, I quickly grabbed the items I intended to buy.
Since I had bought almost everything I wanted last week, it was a relief that not many of the items I picked up were particularly popular. The suspicious looks labeling me a reseller disappeared.
“Would you like to purchase an L-sized eco-bag to carry your items? It’s 5,000 won.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I successfully finished checking out, but I’m hesitating, unable to leave the pop-up store immediately.
I turned my head and saw a space next to the counter where people were gathered in a line.
[Roulette Event]
: Create your own Darkness Exploration Record character.
That.
Actually, I saw it last week too, but I couldn’t bring myself to stand in line and participate in that, so I went home…
‘I heard this pop-up ends tomorrow.’
I was in the middle of a fierce internal conflict over whether it was okay to trade my social dignity for this.
A staff member who had just finished their shift change at the counter saw me and spoke with a smile.
“The roulette event is only until today! Would you like to participate?”
“…Yes.”
Thank you.
Really, thank you… staff member…
“Great! Then please come this way! Ah, stand here…”
The staff member nimbly guided me to the line in front of a giant black roulette wheel, and thanks to that, I was able to naturally stand at the end of the line.
The line moved faster than I thought.
Soon, I was standing at the very front and was handed a button that looked like a walkie-talkie.
“Then we’ll start with the Lucky Roulette first! Please stop it with the button whenever you like.”
Whirrr.
The roulette board began to spin with an artificial sound effect.
Each slot showed a rank and a prize.
There were goods I had already purchased, goods that weren’t for sale among the exhibits, and even some random Bluetooth earphones…
Of course, the 7th place prize, which occupied the largest slot, was just something like a small notepad. I’ll probably land on that.
But that was fine. At least I didn’t have to just walk out without even participating.
‘Let’s not get our hopes up.’
I thought that even as I carefully pressed the button the staff member gave me.
Click, click, click… clack.
However, my black roulette wheel slowed down and… amazingly, it stopped here.
A single, thin golden slot.
[1st Place]
: Darkness Exploration Record Real Goods Box
“…!”
“Heol! Congratulations!”
Is this… for real?
“Whoa, insane!”
“I’m so jealous, ah, I’m so freaking jealous.”
The area became noisy with screams, exclamations, and voices mixed with jealousy from behind.
“Wow, we finally got a 1st place winner on the day before the pop-up ends!”
The staff member, looking even more excited than I was, ran behind the roulette wheel and returned carrying a large, plastic-wrapped box.
The black box, engraved with a massive symbol in silver foil, looked like a fairly well-made production in its own right.
I barely managed to take the box without my hands shaking.
“…Thank you.”
I need to… I need to leave this place quickly and slap my face or something. Is this reality?
I tried to leave the pop-up store right then and there, but the staff member caught me.
“Ah! We’re also giving out on-site produced goods, so just let us know your name!”
My name? My personal information has long since become public property after my portal site accounts were hacked anyway. The only important thing was getting this home safely…!
“It’s Kim Sol-eum.”
“Okay! Sol-eum-nim, one moment please.”
The staff member quickly operated a black vending machine that looked like a 3D printer next to the roulette.
Perhaps because it was made for the pop-up store, there was an explanatory phrase attached to the top.
[Darkness Exploration Record Character Maker]
Ah. Is that the sub-title that was attached to the roulette event?
…’Create your own Darkness Exploration Record character,’ I mean.
It really couldn’t be more tailored to teenage tastes…
“Please enter your name here.”
“……Yes.”
I gripped the goods box tightly with one hand and quickly typed my name into the vending machine’s pad.
The black vending machine made a rather loud and eerie music box sound, performing a flashy show of rotating gears.
Then it spat out a small object.
Clack.
I picked up the familiar-looking object.
It was… an employee ID.
[Baekilmong Corporation]
Kim Sol-eum, Employee
Field Exploration Team
“Wow! It’s Baekilmong Corporation. It’s one of the three most famous factions in our , right!”
“……”
Yes. I know.
To put it simply, it’s the corporate cliché that does business using supernatural phenomena.
And among them, the Field Exploration Team is…
‘It’s a department like a death squad.’
Like the Red Shirts in some sci-fi drama. They’re the ones who get ground up whenever they go in to explore some supernatural phenomenon.
Of course, thanks to that, many named characters seemed to belong to this Field Exploration Team.
“Wow! A Field Exploration Team employee ID. I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of activity Employee Kim Sol-eum will show in the world!”
“Yes, thank you…”
I felt like my hands and feet were curling from the cringe, but I endured it.
‘At least it’s not a government agency or a cult leader’s ID.’
It was a relief that it was a company ID.
It was a bit embarrassing, but the staff member was composed, like a worker in a capitalist society who had developed immunity from saying it so many times.
Anyway, it seemed the roulette event was over with the receipt of this ID.
“Thank you.”
I groaned, looking at the employee ID with my name printed on it.
‘This… I should tuck this away somewhere out of sight.’
No matter how I looked at it, my cringe tolerance couldn’t handle this.
Meanwhile, the staff member asked excitedly.
“Do you like it? You’ll cherish it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
……?
I looked up, thinking I had misheard.
Grin.
The staff member suddenly looked at me, their mouth splitting into a wide grin.
The corners stretched unnaturally high, as if they would reach their ears…
“…?”
At that moment.
Dizziness suddenly overwhelmed my head.
“…!”
The noise of the pop-up store vanished.
My vision fluctuated dizzyingly as if covered in black paint, flickering red and blue.
And by the time the dizziness finally subsided.
I never dreamed… that the world would have completely changed.
[Welcome to Baekilmong Corporation!]
“…!?”
Before I knew it, I was looking at a central platform from the corner of some large lecture hall.
And then.
“Waaaaah!!”
With a roar, firework effects exploded on the large beam projector PPT on the stage.
[New Employee Orientation]
While new employees in suits politely sent up cheers and applause, a person who appeared to be the moderator grinned and flipped through the PPT.
It was a new employee orientation event for a major corporation, no matter how you looked at it.
Faces full of the happiness of having finally broken through the employment barrier were flushed with pride and tension.
[Our new employees, who have joined us after overcoming a competition ratio of 145:1, have every right to be proud! Haha! Now, we will begin the new employee orientation!]
“……”
What is this?
I tried to step back, faltering.
But I realized I was already sitting in a chair.
I was dressed in a suit. It was the outfit I had worn for a client meeting in the evening, but coincidentally, it was similar to the ’new employees’ who filled this lecture hall.
In the meantime, the goods box I received from the roulette event was sitting quietly on my lap.
“Excuse me, where did you get that? Is the company giving those out?”
“……”
I couldn’t even respond to the question from the new employee sitting next to me.
[You are the chosen successful candidates!]
[Actually, among the people recruited through this new employee announcement, we have brought only the very special individuals here to Lecture Hall Room A for this orientation!]
[Congratulations! After passing the aptitude test, you have all been assigned to a special team, the .]
“We’re already assigned?”
“Field Exploration Team? Is there such a place in Baekilmong Corporation?”
“Field exploration at a pharmaceutical company…?”
“Uh, somehow it sounds like a place where people get exiled? Is it a branch office, not the headquarters? Are they just trying to lure us with nice-sounding words…”
Whispers hidden from the moderator could be heard from all directions, but I didn’t even have time to focus on them.
It was because I recognized the familiar company name and team name.
Baekilmong Corporation.
Field Exploration Team.
…Like a bolt of lightning, a page from the wiki flashed through my mind.
-—-
[Field Exploration Team] (Baekilmong Corporation)
: One of the five teams under the development department of Baekilmong Corporation, a giant faction appearing in .
An ill-fated team often referred to as a death squad.
But thanks to that, it’s fun for the people writing ghost stories.
-—-
‘Wait a minute.’
…This is the original ghost story from the pop-up store I just participated in.
In that case, what happens next is…
-—-
A crazy department that filters for permanent positions by making people do a death survival even from the induction orientation.
It’s also a consistently popular subject for wiki entries because it reminds people what happens when ordinary people try to explore the darkness.
-—-
“…!”
“Uh, what, what are you doing…”
I immediately kicked back my chair and stood up.
Regardless of figuring out the situation, I intended to run outside.
But it was already too late.
[However, there is a short probationary period before formal employment, but it won’t be long! It will be conducted as an absolute evaluation to judge your practical aptitude.]
[Of course, for individual evaluations to be carried out properly, active participation is essential, right? We will catch all the free riders!]
Thud, thud-thud-thud.
The doors of the lecture hall closed one after another.
‘Damn it!’
In the midst of this, the naive new employees who thought was just a large pharmaceutical company still hadn’t grasped the situation.
And so, while over a hundred new employees listened intently to the moderator’s words, the moderator shouted brightly and energetically.
[Now, let’s begin!]
Along with that cheerful voice.
The lights in the lecture hall went out.
“…?”
“Huh?”
Perhaps thinking they were preparing to play a video, the new employees were still only slightly puzzled.
And for good reason.
‘There’s no way they would have expected such a crazy thing to happen suddenly after getting a job.’
For instance.
The surrounding scenery suddenly changing into the inside of a desolate subway train.
[Passengers, thank you for using the Abyss Transit Corporation today… Our train does not stop.]
[Please listen carefully to the announcements for a comfortable journey to your final destination.]
An announcement message with a strange name I’d never heard in my life comes on.
“……!?”
“What, what is this!?”
The new employees, who had been sitting in rows in their suits on the subway seats as if the lecture hall had been moved as is, jumped to their feet.
It was understandable for them to be flustered.
“Excuse me?”
“Is this like VR? Did we really move?”
Still, it seemed many of the people who were in the lecture hall earlier were still there. Perhaps because of that, they felt somewhat relieved, and the dominant reaction was one of complacency.
They were peeking around here and there in the subway looking for traces of the company, or searching for someone who looked like the event moderator or a company representative.
And soon, they rationalized the situation.
“There are other people in the front car! The door… uh, the door won’t open, though?”
“Is it some kind of new technology?”
I closed my eyes tight with a feeling that I was about to break into a cold sweat, then opened them.
It was because I already knew which ghost story this was.
-—-
[Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation]
: A ghost story appearing in .
A crazy ghost story that boasts an overwhelming escape difficulty alone among the D-rank darknesses written in the early stages.
And the eternally suffering Field Exploration Team.
Exploration has been recorded a total of ■■ times.
-—-
.
As you can tell at a glance, it’s a ghost story based on the Korean subway.
-Waking up to find yourself inside a subway train. It feels like the commute home, but strange station names begin to be heard…
An introduction like that.
Since the prey of the ghost story was the broad criterion of ‘someone who has commuted by subway,’ it applied to most office workers, making it even more chilling for the readers.
“……”
‘And this ghost story… is darkness under the jurisdiction of Baekilmong Corporation.’
Apparently, Baekilmong Corporation intended to ‘filter out’ the new employees with this ghost story. …Dammit!
“Is it like an escape room?”
“No, why would a pharmaceutical company that makes hair loss pills force an escape room on new sales recruits…”
It was then.
[This stop is Sorrow, Sorrow Station.]
“…!”
“Sor…row?”
The first announcement came out.
I held my breath and turned my head.
[The doors are on your right…]
Clack.
The train stopped and.
[The screen doors are opening.]
The doors opened.
It felt like any other day.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. There is no turning back.]
[Passengers whose final destination is Sorrow Station must get off according to the announcement.]
The familiar voice spoke kindly, mixing strange words and phrases into the announcement.
However, people tend to rationalize by finding something to reassure themselves.
“Look outside! It’s just a subway station!”
It was exactly as they said.
The appearance of the platform was clearly visible outside the train doors. It looked a bit dark and damp, but anyway, it looked like an ordinary subway station.
At that, two or three people headed for the door, looking relieved.
Ah, damn it.
“I think it would be better if you didn’t go out.”
“Pardon?”
This is driving me crazy. I spoke quickly, suppressing a sigh.
“You heard it say Sorrow Station just now. Where in Korea would there be a station like that? It sounds strange to anyone.”
“Ah…”
“I, I think this person is right. Why don’t we see how things go a bit more…”
One quick-witted person chimed in with my words. It was the new employee who had been sitting next to me.
Perhaps because of that, the people who were about to leave became more hesitant.
“But still…”
“Hey, the doors are closing!”
However, at the sound of the doors closing, a few people who were in a hurry impulsively ran outside…
It was a disaster.
[The doors are closing.]
“Ah!”
“I couldn’t get off. Ah, f*ck.”
Looking at the ‘people who got off’ waving their hands on the platform, those who couldn’t get off sighed as if they were disappointed.
Some even glanced at me and muttered small curses.
I could understand. In a strange and bizarre situation, they probably just wanted to turn their brains off and run away for now.
But the thing is.
“Uh, uh?”
“That…”
A bizarre sight unfolded.
As the people who went out onto the platform turned around to move,
Suddenly, countless silver droplets gushed from the ceiling and pillars of the station and poured over their heads.
Patter, patter, patter.
It was like a massive downpour of tears.
However, the countless silver droplets poured onto the human bodies like molten metal, creating a horrific sound of tearing.
Screams. Screams. Convulsions.
Silence.
Blood mixed with the silver liquid splattered onto the glass windows.
[The train is departing from Sorrow Station.]
The last view outside the window.
“……”
In front of the screen doors, which were drenched in filth and blood, only the mangled remains of the new employees were left.
Twitching.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Ugh!”
That was the end for those who gave the wrong answer.
[Please listen carefully to the announcements for a comfortable journey to your final destination.]
Among the people shriveled with fear, screams and shouts finally began to break out.
‘It’s started.’
I closed my eyes tight.
I’m inside a ghost story?
I don’t know how I ended up like this, but I’ve certainly become a new employee for a company team within a ghost story.
And for a team with an extremely high mortality rate.
‘Is this for real?’
Right. To be honest, I’m probably in a more advantageous position than the other new employees.
After all, haven’t I read this entire ghost story wiki?
-—-
3.2 Exploration Records
(Recorded up to No. ■■)
-—-
It means I remember it quite in detail, up to about this level.
And looking only at this, I seem like a typical overpowered protagonist.
Can I imagine myself looking cool as I escape this situation with the absolute superiority of information, having been possessed into a world I like?
Can I feel a bit confident at the thought of monopolizing fortuitous encounters and items from now on?
That might be possible.
But there’s a problem, a single one.
A very decisive problem.
‘…I can’t freaking watch scary things!’
That’s right.
The point is… I’m a coward.
Text is fine. I can read it with interest.
But from the moment it becomes visualized, I’m a coward who can’t stand it.
And not just any coward, but a coward to the point of being mocked like a dog among my friends!
-Is it true Kim Sol-eum’s date asked to watch a horror movie and he said no because he couldn’t watch it?
-LMAO
-F*ck, Sol-eum, your name is ‘Goosebumps’ (Soleum), but you can’t watch horror movies? Pffft
-Even the girl who came would run away
-ㅋㅋ
-You wanna die?-
-Sorry.
-Sorry.
Even when reading ghost stories at the office in broad daylight, if a scary background image or BGM played, I was a coward to the point of turning off data so only the text would load!
A long-term resident of the Coward’s Shelter who couldn’t even put a single image in the ghost story I submitted myself!
“……”
I covered my eyes with both hands.
I am, already, screwed…
