Translator: Nox

Chapter 26

Even if You Fall into a Ghost Story, You Still Have to Go to Work

Even if You Fall into a Ghost Story, You Still Have to Go to Work Chapter 26

Even if You Fall into a Ghost Story, You Still Have to Go to Work Chapter 026

After I finally escaped from that insane theme park.

-Roe Deer!

-Crazy, Roe Deer is out!

I was greeted with a passionate welcome by my teammates, whom I encountered right at the elevator.

As it turned out, the team members had been in a panic, trying to contact even the civilian survivors to figure out what the hell had happened.

“We were going to try and shake them down for their experiences or something. Anyway, I’m glad you made it out safe.”

The D Team Deputy said with a much brighter face.

“What on earth happened? Why were you so late?”

Well.

Before answering, I massaged the back of my neck, intentionally lifting my wrist with the underside facing outward.

So that the mark left behind after the membership burned was clearly visible.

: Socius :

“…….”

“…….”

“Roe Deer?”

“Ah, sorry. Just… I’m a bit exhausted.”

“Ah, right.”

The Deputy and the Assistant Manager simply nodded, saying it was only natural after going through such hell.

That’s when I realized.

‘They can’t see it.’

There was no reaction.

This tattoo was invisible to their eyes.

It wasn’t exactly a good omen.

After a very brief deliberation, I spoke up.

“The reason I was late… was actually because the exit gate lost power right in front of me. It didn’t seem like it was going to be fixed if I waited, so I found another exit.”

“Huh?!”

I intentionally omitted the part about the bracelet turning into a membership.

In this irrational ghost story company, it wasn’t a very wise decision to announce that something abnormal was clinging to my body.

‘Let’s also omit the fact that I now have a stuffed doll that talks to me.’

Of course, I explained everything else thoroughly, so there shouldn’t be any issues with registering the exploration logs or creating manuals.

“…Wait a second. So… you went to the Yellow Zone, but the gate there was dead too, so you powered it up yourself? By ripping open the distribution board?”

“Yes.”

“What are you, exactly…?”

“Come on, I’m just an ordinary Roe Deer.”

“Hmm… I guess so.”

“…??”

Anyway, the atmosphere became quite warm.

“Points will be credited tomorrow. Don’t be shocked; they say the amount might come out to nearly ten thousand points this time.”

“Isn’t that insane?!”

Technically, the share of points should have decreased because I survived.

My two seniors, who looked like they hadn’t even had the chance to wash up because they’d been busy running around worried about my survival, gave me a wide grin.

Honestly, I was a bit grateful.

It was almost touching. It was a level of warmth unbefitting this company.

However, one person was missing.

“Speaking of which, where is the Section Chief?”

The Deputy avoided my gaze.

“…He was summoned by the Team Leader.”

Uh-oh.

“It’s fine. He’ll probably just get a lecture and that’ll be it. I mean, honestly, didn’t that Mantis Mask guy from Team A basically commit suicide?”

Still, it seemed like he’d really gotten on the bad side of the A Team Leader.

I recalled the Mallard Duck Mask staring daggers at the Lizard.

Even the Assistant Manager started whispering.

“Deputy, is that really true?”

“What?”

“That our Section Chief has the performance record to get into an elite team, but he keeps slipping up and staying in Team D because of his personality…”

“Yeah. That’s probably right.”

The Deputy crossed his arms.

“But he’s lived like that his whole life, so you can just leave him be.”

“…….”

“I guess God is fair after all. Seeing as he has that face but that personality…”

“Shhh. He’s a good boss.”

A lizard face with a lizard personality?

Well, I could now understand and agree to some extent that he was a good boss.

Especially since I had just witnessed the absolute worst kind of boss right in front of me.

“Ah, the Research Team Section Chief.”

Kwak Jegaeng, the Section Chief of Research Team 1, who had pushed his own team member into a ghost story on a whim without warning, ultimately causing his death.

“That guy crossed the line.”

From what I heard, he was currently claiming during questioning that ‘he threw the game piece at the researcher by mistake in a moment of panic.’

‘It was clearly an intentional act full of sincerity, though….’

All the Field Exploration Team members present would remember that he didn’t seem panicked at all.

The problem was that there was no one in particular who would testify strongly for the dead, gambling-addicted researcher.

Just look at the state of the bosses who actually had a voice.

“The A Team Leader is obsessed with our Section Chief, and our Section Chief probably doesn’t even know if he should care about the Research Team Section Chief.”

The outlook was that the matter would fizzle out with a simple salary cut or something similar.

Since this was a company where an employee’s life was dictated by performance, it didn’t seem like they were in a position to hand out heavy discipline to a Section Chief over the accidental death of a regular employee whose salary was a waste anyway.

‘Is this how the researcher Kwak Jegaeng keeps appearing in ?…’

It was obvious that things would go to hell if you got caught by him just once, but he seemed to have a sharp enough wit to slither away like a snake every time.

The D Team superiors clicked their tongues, saying that some of the eerie rumors about Kwak Jegaeng seemed to be true.

“I hate that we have to keep working with that guy, but since he had an outburst this time, he’ll probably be quiet until next quarter.”

“Right? If he wasn’t, he would’ve been fired already.”

They were truly desensitized to danger, fitting for people risking their lives at a ghost story company.

‘I agree to some extent, but… I feel like Kwak Jegaeng was trying to kill all of us, not just his researcher.’

The researcher was just a variable used for the sabotage.

But because everyone escaped safely, that part had become blurred, which felt strange.

‘I’ll have to keep an eye on him.’

I planned to check the wiki page for where Kwak Jegaeng appeared once more in its entirety.

“Phew, it’s been a long day.”

“Tell me about it.”

The conversation died down.

Since no one knew when Section Chief Lee Ja-heon would return, permission was given for us to head home.

The Deputy said with a smile.

“There’s nothing else to do. I haven’t registered you as missing yet. I had a feeling we’d find you. …Glad I waited.”

“Exactly! We told ourselves that you’d definitely make it out, Roe Deer.”

“Go on home and get some rest.”

“……Thank you.”

“Hey, don’t mention it.”

And so, after hearing some well-wishes along the lines of ‘look forward to the points coming in tomorrow,’ I parted ways with my superiors.

I returned to the Research Team 1 office, packed my things, and started my commute home.

And on the way, I met another familiar face.

“Mr. Jang Heo-un.”

“…! Sol-eum!”

The Y Team newbie.

Perhaps because everyone else in his team had died and he’d been pushed to the back of the line, he was sitting vacantly in the Research Team 1 office.

His shoulder had healed, but he was still wearing his blood-stained clothes.

“You made it out safely! I’m so glad….”

“Yes, thank you.”

I sat down across from him for a moment and shared some small talk.

Jang Heo-un looked a bit pale, likely due to blood loss, but his gloomy aura seemed to have lessened.

Considering everyone else in his team was dead, it was hard to say he was lucky, but…

I recalled what my superiors had tipped me off about earlier.

-Oh, that Y Team newbie, it sounds like there’s going to be some talk from above because he handled himself well this time. Since B-rank is high.

-If he works without issues for about three months, there’s a high chance they’ll move him to a regular position!

That was all well and good.

The problem was whether he could survive for three months….

“Um, have you ever considered resigning? Your current situation seems far too dangerous….”

“No.”

The answer was firm.

Jang Heo-un, the Y Team newbie, was still wearing his cow mask and had both hands clenched tight.

“I absolutely need a Wishright. I can’t resign.”

“…….”

It seemed he had his own story as well.

“In that case, I wish you the best of luck.”

After a moment of hesitation, I added one more thing.

“Three months.”

“Pardon?”

“If you can just hang in there for three months, there’s a high chance you’ll be reassigned.”

Enduring with a set period is entirely different from enduring indefinitely.

That would be true from a motivational standpoint as well.

“…!”

A light returned to Jang Heo-un’s eyes.

“Yes, yes…. I’ll try to hang in there…!”

He took a deep breath while looking at the ceiling, then bowed his head deeply.

“I received so much help from you today. I… next time, in three months, I will make sure to improve so that I can definitely be of help to you.”

“No, not at all. I’m the one who made it out safely thanks to you. Thank you.”

I shook his hand.

Out of pity and empathy, I found myself saying,

“You’ve really been through a lot. It must have been terrifying.”

“Pardon?”

A look of confusion crossed Jang Heo-un’s face.

Uh…?

“Ah, I’m okay. I’ve almost died a few times before, so…”

“……Besides that, you had to see a lot of disturbing scenes in many ways.”

“Ah, right.”

Jang Heo-un looked embarrassed.

“I’m not very good with blood or organs… so I kept fainting or my legs would give out.”

“…I see.”

Wait a minute.

The scope of ‘disturbing scenes’ just narrowed down significantly….

‘Could it be?’

“……Mr. Heo-un, are you perhaps… okay with supernatural phenomena or ghosts?”

“Oh, oh yes! I’m fine with those!”

“…….”

“I just tend to think ‘oh, that’s happening,’ so yes. Unless someone is actually getting badly hurt, I don’t have much of a reaction.”

“…….”

He wasn’t… a coward?

“Thank you for worrying about me… oh, that’s right! Sol-eum. The person you were talking to in the newbie group chat… oh. You, you’re not in the room.”

There was… a newbie group chat?

---

To think he wasn’t a fellow resident of the Coward’s Shelter.

…To think there was a group chat for the new recruits that I was excluded from!

“Hah.”

I returned to the company dormitory with a troubled heart, took a shower, and came out.

Two shocking truths left the back of my head throbbing.

‘It’s been a long day….’

Since I’d received the link to the newbie group chat from the traitor… no, from Mr. Jang Heo-un, I should check it out, but I planned to do that a bit later.

There was something I had to investigate as a priority.

‘I need to check the tattoo on my wrist first.’

Several candidates came to mind, but there was definitely someone I could easily ask.

‘Good Friend.’

I sat on the edge of my bed and took out the stuffed doll keychain that was in my suit’s front pocket.

And I called out.

“Brown?”

But there was no answer.

‘As expected.’

It was said that when it returns to reality from a ghost story, it looks like an ordinary doll.

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

Good Friend will be with you in your daily life like a shy doll.

Please treat it appropriately.

Because it remembers everything.

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

In other words, it wasn’t that it had been tactfully keeping its mouth shut after seeing me talk at the company, but that it was actually unable to speak.

However, there was a way to talk to ‘Good Friend’ even if it wasn’t a ghost story.

‘…By making reality like a ghost story.’

I recalled a method written in .

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

Talking to ‘Good Friend’

1 Use darkness, a lighter, and shadows.

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

Honestly, it was a bit chilling, but let’s do it.

I leaned down toward the floor.

Then, I propped ‘Good Friend’ up against the back right leg of the bed.

‘Next is… light.’

Since it had been a long time since I quit smoking, I didn’t have a lighter, so I substituted it with my smartphone flashlight.

I placed it on the floor so that the narrow beam of light illuminated the bed leg, then turned off the room lights.

Click.

And I sat on the bed in the pitch darkness.

‘…This is a bit scary.’

My back felt chilly, so I pulled the blanket over me.

There was nothing to be ashamed of. I was alone.

‘…Though it feels like I won’t be alone for long.’

When I looked up, the flashlight beam from under the bed cast a giant shadow of the stuffed doll onto the wall.

“…….”

Before long, the shadow of the stuffed doll leaning against the bed leg began to sway along with the light.

As if it were waking up and shaking its body.

As I watched with bated breath, a sound soon reached my ears.

A voice that sounded somewhat like a hallucination.

-

Friend

.

“…Brown.”

The host had awakened.

-Ah, you made it out of that bizarre theme park safely! Congratulations.

“Thank you.”

Brown seemed to be recalling the events that had happened to me after leaving the ghost story, as if rewinding a tape.

‘So that’s what it meant by remembering everything.’

-Yes,

Friend

has finished work. Have you come home to rest now? Oh, what a cozy place!

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t my house, but a dormitory.

-Hmm, speaking of which, Roe Deer, you seem to be speaking to me quite formally!

Friends

don’t have to do that.

“…Brown, you seem to be speaking quite formally as well.”

-Haha, I can’t help it. It’s what you’d call an occupational hazard!

I swallowed the words, ‘I don’t think I can help it either, because of the occupational hazard of being a newbie at a crazy ghost story company.’

The closer we became, the safer and more powerful this stuffed doll would be.

“…Right. Then I’ll speak comfortably from now on. Since we’re friends.”

-Oh, wonderful!

The shadow of the doll swayed as if it were nodding its head joyfully.

Good… now for the main point.

“I happen to have a question for my friend.”

-Oh! In that case, how about we take turns asking each other questions? However, you must answer.

-It’s like a game. This will be fun….

Stop acting like a ghost story!

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

But I forced a cheerful reply.

It felt like I was working overtime…. Let’s hang in there.

“What I wanted to ask was this.”

I lowered my left hand toward the floor.

So that the black, tattoo-like letters on the inside of my wrist were clearly visible to the stuffed doll.

“The membership bracelet burned, and this mark was left behind.”

A moment of silence.

And then….

-This is… Latin. Ho-oh.

An strange interest and immersion seeped into its tone.

Its voice lowered.

-Socius.

-It was used to mean comrade, member, or kin. The versatility of Latin!

“I know that much.”

Because the first thing I did on the way back was search the dictionary on the internet.

The fact that the ‘membership’ bracelet burned and left a phrase meaning member seemed to have a clear connection, but this was more important.

“But it seems other people can’t see it. Why do you think that is?”

-Oh dear, everyone must have poor eyesight! It’s very clear to me.

That meant creatures within ghost stories could see this.

“I’m glad you can see it well.”

I changed my question.

“Then, what kind of role does this text play?”

-It is a mark that grants you a qualification.

The answer flowed out in a cheerful tone without hesitation.

-Aren’t there times when VIPs come as audience members to a talk show? They are bound to have a wonderful mark that differentiates them from other audience members. Like a name tag or a badge!

-That ‘superior mark’ grants them authority such as special seating, rehearsal viewing, and backstage access!

Reflexively, I lifted my arm to check the letters.

“…So you’re saying this is like a ‘special qualification’?”

-Well, that’s what it means to a theme park mascot.

Brown’s voice became indifferent.

-That emotionally excessive mascot seems to be trying too hard to act friendly with you, Roe Deer. Well, if you visit next time, use that to at least get a welcome drink!

I never want to visit again.

However, to show cooperation, I nodded as if in agreement.

-Good, good!

‘Social life is damn hard….’

Anyway, although granting a ‘qualification’ was abstract, it didn’t have a bad nuance.

‘I should check if there are places where I can use this when I enter ghost stories in the future.’

The stuffed doll’s head shadow swayed a few times as if it were excited, then it whispered softly.

-Did you know?

What.

-Roe Deer, you just asked two questions.

-That is a violation of the rules.

Goosebumps erupted on my back.

-Haha, it’s fine. Isn’t it part of the charm to occasionally break the rules in a close relationship!

Phew.

“…Yeah, thanks.”

-Don’t mention it!

-Anyway, now it’s my turn to ask a question.

I swallowed hard as I looked at the giant shadow of the doll cast on the wall.

“What are you curious about?”

Brown whispered.

-Who is it that lives in the room next to yours?

It was an entirely unexpected question.

And the person currently in the room next to mine in this dormitory was, of course….

“…A company colleague.”

Baek Sa-heon.

-Is it a close relationship?

Not at all.

“He’s just a colleague from work.”

-Ah, I see. Yes…. Good.

Brown’s voice became cheerful again.

-

Friend

. It would be best not to worry about that ‘company colleague’ living next door anymore!

“Why?”

-Because he’ll be dead soon!