Translator: Nox

Chapter 27

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 27

Even if You Fall into a Ghost Story, You Still Have to Go to Work Episode 027

Baek Sa-heon.

-You idiots. If you can escape with just an eye, you should do it immediately!

The colleague who caused that scene on the subway.

As a named employee of <Baekilmong>, he was someone who would eventually promote to Section Chief and leave a steady trail of achievements, but….

“He’s going to die?”

Suddenly, the plush doll inside the ghost story had handed Baek Sa-heon a death sentence.

Reflexively, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Why?”

I mean, I already know the future where he makes it all the way to Section Chief…?

-Ah, it is very typical. Quite typical… Roe Deer-ssi, have you ever seen those kinds of movies?

“…Movies?”

-Yes. The ones featuring serial killers.

Oh, please.

-In popular art, there are targets that become victims. Blondes, college students, hitchhikers, or those with conspicuous symbols like wearing red shoes.

-Do you know which of those is the most typical and certain method of choosing a victim?

The shadow of the plush doll whispered.

-It is picking up the killer’s belongings.

“…….”

The massive black shadow cast on the wall pointed beyond the partition.

-Your ‘colleague’ picked something up, and he will soon meet a gruesome end!

“…….”

Seriously….

“Anyway, thanks for letting me know.”

-Don’t mention it!

I told him as gently as possible that ‘I have to go to work tomorrow, so I need to sleep,’ and fortunately, ‘Good Friend’ readily understood my situation.

-My, it must have been a tiring day. I hope you fall into a deep sleep and have sweet dreams!

I think that’s out of the question.

‘And you played a part in ruining it….’

-Adios!

The smartphone flashlight turned off on its own.

The giant shadow that had been cast on the wall vanished as well.

After some thought, I used a clean towel to make a reasonably soft bed on the desk and placed the plush doll on top of it.

‘With this, he probably won’t come chasing me with a knife in my dreams, complaining about the treatment.’

Of course, I should probably worry first about whether I can even fall asleep to have a dream.

“Hmm.”

I turned the mood lamp to its maximum brightness and lay down on the bed.

Baek Sa-heon.

He’s probably sleeping in the room next door right now….

‘Just what did you do?’

What kind of heinous ghost story object did he pick up for the plush doll beyond the wall to sense it?

Is it a butterfly effect? Or was it something that originally happened but he overcame it?

I tried to recall the things Baek Sa-heon did in <Baekilmong>, and I even searched the wiki, but nothing relevant came up.

Perhaps it was natural. If it was a personal incident that didn’t happen during work hours.

Sigh.

“…….”

‘If I knocked on his door in the middle of the night, he’d probably have a fit, wouldn’t he?’

Besides, from my perspective, I didn’t want to voluntarily approach a terrifying ghost story that marked someone as a serial killer’s next target….

And honestly, my roommate isn’t exactly the kind of person I’d risk my life for.

‘Still, now that I know, it’s only right to give him a warning.’

Is there a way to approach him indirectly….

‘There is.’

It happened to be related to the next thing I had to do.

Lying on the bed, I checked the messenger app on my smartphone.

[Jang Heo-un: This is the group chat for new recruits. You can join through here. Thank you! (Link)]

It was sent by the Y Team colleague.

I clicked the link with a sigh.

[17th Field Exploration Team Group Chat]

It was an open chat room.

I wondered why they chose this format, but it seemed they used it because it wasn’t linked to contacts, likely to minimize the impact when news of a death arrived.

Anyway, everyone had set their profile names to their real names, so there shouldn’t be a problem identifying them.

‘I should set my name and enter too.’

[Kim Sol-eum has entered.]

And just as I was typing a greeting….

[Whoa]

[Heok]

[Is this really Kim Sol-eum-ssi?]

[Nice to meet you^^]

[Is it real? Who invited him?]

“…??”

Before I could even finish typing, a flood of intense reactions poured in.

‘Surely they’re not asking who invited that guy without any tact, right?’

Looking at it positively, maybe they were curious or rumors had spread since my recent performance was decent.

I posted a brief greeting.

[Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.]

Someone asked as if they had been waiting.

[Kang Yi-hak: Is it true you received 40,000 points? lol]

Hmm.

[Yes.]

[Kang Yi-hak: I’m jealous! I’m curious what method you used to get them lol]

[I just did my best.]

I didn’t answer beyond that and just sent a bowing emoticon.

‘It’s a total jungle.’

I had wondered if it might be a heartwarming group chat where colleagues shared tips and information or talked about hobbies, but it was definitely not.

‘It feels like a group chat for interns where only 10% will be converted to full-time.’

The atmosphere was one where everyone pretended otherwise while trying to scrape together any advantage they could.

‘Well, I guess it can’t be helped since people die left and right, and Wishrights are distant yet desperate.’

If I felt a sense of belonging to this group chat, I’d only end up depressed when news of a death came.

It left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth, but it was understandable.

[Go Young-eun: (Fighting emoticon)]

[Go Young-eun: (Applause emoticon)]

Still, there were colleagues who seemed like good people.

‘Seems like she’s doing well….’

I nodded, looking at the clean emoticons from the medical school dropout who had fully supported my opinion on the subway where people were dying.

‘Now, shall I do what I came for?’

Following the voice of my conscience.

I found Baek Sa-heon’s profile in the group chat and started a one-on-one open chat.

And I said:

[Watch out for the serial killer.]

The ‘1’ disappeared in a second.

However, no reply came.

Well, he probably has a guilty conscience, doesn’t he?

‘If he’s guilty, he’ll be careful.’

This seemed sufficient as a warning.

“I should send this every morning from now on.”

I’ll do it for about a week until the impact wears off.

I gave myself a passing grade and turned off the smartphone.

‘…Now, let’s sleep.’

I didn’t know if I could, but I had to try. Because I have to go to work tomorrow too… Sob.

‘I wish the company would explode.’

Bitterly chewing on the sad fact that I’d still have to go to work even if it did, I spent the night wide awake….

When I fell into a light sleep toward dawn, I had a nightmare where I was chased by theme park mascots swinging intestines while I offered churros to a plush doll.

‘Save me.’

It was the night of an ordinary office worker suffering from trauma.

Though the news I heard the next day was anything but ordinary.

---

“Roe-ya. You hit the jackpot.”

“……?”

“You… earned 20,000 points.”

What?

I looked up and checked the points accumulated this morning.

[Employee Kim Sol-eum / Accumulated Points: 20000p]

It was true.

‘I was told only 10,000 points would come in yesterday…?’

The Assistant Manager pounded my shoulder repeatedly.

“It seems Deputy Jin from Team A submitted a report saying you absolutely must be given additional points!”

Deputy Jin…!

You recognized my hard work in trying to save you even when my palm was pierced!

I upgraded my internal evaluation of the butterfly-masked deputy—who had seemed like a psychopathic workaholic—by about three levels.

From now on, she was a competent superior who worked well, was quick-witted, and was clear with rewards and punishments.

“Originally, our Team Leader was also mentioned as a major contributor to the clear, but the Team A Leader is throwing a fit, so….”

Ah.

That… honestly, from their perspective, it was understandable why he’d throw a fit….

‘Did I benefit from the fallout?’

I wasn’t sure if I should be happy about this, but I’d take it gratefully.

“Anyway, it’s a jackpot, Roe-ya. You’re not just at the record for shortest time since joining anymore. It’s insane.”

“Thank you.”

However, I might have to give up on the idea of not standing out in the company….

‘Still, points are sweet.’

But that wasn’t the end of it.

A call came before the morning was over.

“…Deputy Jin?”

-Yeah.

Since I had finished a Class B Darkness exploration yesterday, I was supposed to have a somewhat relaxed day while doing paperwork.

A call had come from the Team A deputy over the internal network.

I immediately started with my thanks.

“Ah, thank you. I heard you recommended me as a major contributor to the theme park Darkness clear….”

-Things only work properly when the person who did well gets more points. Why are you thanking me for something like that?

Ah, right.

-Anyway, get up here.

“……?”

-Our team is going into a Darkness today, but we’re short on personnel. Come and help.

“…….”

-You don’t want to?

I don’t!

Where is the harm in letting a rookie who almost died yesterday rest today!

“Please wait a moment. ……Excuse me, Deputy Eun. I’ve received a call.”

“Yeah, what is it.”

Help me, superior from the same team!

I called over my team’s superiors and tried to hand over the phone, hoping to roughly brush off the call.

But it didn’t work.

“A vacancy in Team A? Was this a call for a Team A vacancy?”

“…!”

Whoops.

Even the Assistant Manager, who had his head down on his desk, suddenly flew over in his chair and whispered.

“Wait, Team A called Roe to fill a spot today?”

I don’t know either, Assistant Manager. My shoulder hurts, so please stop shaking me.

“Understood for now. Yes.”

In the meantime, the deputy hung up.

Then, with eyes gleaming, he shook his fist at me.

“Hey. Go.”

…Pardon?

“He’s right! If it’s Team A right now, it’s a golden opportunity! It’s safer and you can earn more. You can’t miss this!”

“It’s all points. Points, Roe-ya.”

“…….”

…In other words, it meant this:

‘First of all, the elite Team A gets separate additional points per case.’

I heard those were quite sweet.

And seeing as there was no call for a finishing team like Team Y, it wasn’t a Darkness that required a scapegoat.

On top of that, since they called a rookie to fill the spot, it likely wasn’t a particularly difficult Darkness.

In short, it was overtime, but with good pay and an easy ride!

“They have a vacancy and need to take someone, so they probably want to take you along since they saw you in a good light yesterday. Go on!”

“…….”

‘I have no excuse….’

I could never say something like I couldn’t sleep because I was scared and wanted to rest.

‘A Field Exploration employee who says something like that when a relatively safe situation with lots of points is on the line? That’s too suspicious…!’

If I didn’t want to be branded a coward and sent to the finishing team, I had to keep my mouth shut.

And so, forcing my unwilling feet to move, I headed toward the 15th floor….

“Splendid, the spirit of a rookie!”

It feels more like defeat than spirit.

I tried my best not to trudge as I moved to the elevator.

And when I arrived at the top floor of the Field Exploration Team, the 15th floor, and the doors opened.

I was a bit surprised.

“…!”

There were no rows of desktops or partitions commonly seen in offices.

Instead, I saw a luxurious reception room that looked like something out of a hotel. And beyond that, individual spaces separated by opaque glass were visible.

They were all private offices with each employee’s name on them.

‘My god.’

One room per person.

It was the kind of welfare you’d only find in an executive’s office.

‘Is it a sort of motivation?’

It seemed that if you became part of an elite team in the Field Exploration Team, you could use a private space like this.

‘It’s a dream for an office worker, but….’

A familiar face walked out from the glass door right next to me.

The superior already wearing the butterfly mask.

“Hello, Deputy Jin.”

“Yeah.”

Deputy Jin of Team A looked a bit more human than when I saw her in the ghost story.

“The Team Leader said he wanted to see you one more time.”

And from the larger office across the way, the Team A Leader walked out holding a cup of coffee.

“Roe-ssi.”

“Section Chief, hello.”

The middle-aged Team A Leader patted my shoulder with a jovial, good-natured smile.

He was acting as if he hadn’t glared at Team Leader Lee Ja-heon as if he wanted to kill him at the theme park.

“Deputy Jin isn’t the type to praise people, but it seems she took quite a liking to our Roe-ssi. I’ve heard many good things.”

That much…?

“So I decided to call you over today. It’s my first time seeing an employee that Deputy Jin praises so much.”

Reflexively, I looked back at the Team A deputy.

The deputy wearing the butterfly mask snorted and smiled.

“I just reported the facts.”

“Aiyoo, here she goes again.”

The superior in the butterfly mask frowned when our eyes met, but her voice remained softened.

“Why? You did do well.”

“…Thank you.”

“Yeah. Do well today too.”

“My, how harmonious you youngsters are.”

Chuckling as he watched the scene, the Team A Leader put on a mallard duck mask.

“Welcome to Team A, Kim Sol-eum-ssi.”

“…….”

“Then, shall we get to work?”

---

Honestly, I was a bit curious.

‘Does an elite team have a different way of clearing?’

I had expectations that the work process of the Field Exploration Team itself might be different.

Wouldn’t it be different from the general teams that get assigned work on the day, read the manual, and go rolling into the Darkness!

And it was indeed different.

“Collector check, recording device check, mask check, equipment check, basic supplies check complete. 31 minutes until entry time 11:00 for ‘Identification Code Qterw-C-402.’ As of this moment, I declare the preparation status check complete.”

Hmm… it’s intense.

The atmosphere was entirely different from Team D, where we’d sit around on a sofa for a briefing, the Team Leader would crack a joke no one understood, and then we’d trudge into the Darkness.

Even though they were down to two people because one had died, the hierarchy and protocol were strictly maintained.

The first thing they did when I arrived was make me do the supply check briefing.

“…That is all.”

“Good. Now let’s head in.”

“Yes.”

Whether I was a temporary fill-in or not, I had to do the work of the lowest-ranking member of this team.

‘Come to think of it, that Deputy Jin probably doesn’t have an easy personality, yet she was using formal speech to the Team Leader according to protocol….’

Right. I would have had to go through a team like this eventually anyway.

I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have this kind of experience once in advance.

‘I just need to not get caught being a coward….’

If I only knew which ghost story we were entering today, I could at least prepare myself mentally.

The Team A Leader spoke to me while holding the manual.

“Ah, Sol-um-ssi hasn’t read the manual, right?”

“Yes.”

Trying to think positively, I politely held out both hands to the Team Leader.

Just before the manual paper for the Darkness we were about to enter was handed to me.

The Team A Leader’s hand stopped.

……?

“Wait. Why don’t you go in without it and experience it directly, Sol-um-ssi?”

Pardon?

“I heard that deducing without a manual is your specialty.”

I quickly looked up.

I could see the lower half of the Team A Leader’s face smiling beneath the mallard duck mask.

“I’ll give it to you if it looks dangerous. Okay?”

“…….”

That… doesn’t mean he’ll give it to me if I ask.

‘He’s saying he’ll be the one to judge if it’s dangerous or not.’

He might not give it to me until the moment I die.

“…….”

They know everything, and I’m supposed to enter the ghost story knowing nothing?

“Then shall we go in? Aiyoo, it’s been a while since I’ve had some fun at work~”

Wait. Could this be…….

‘Workplace bullying?’

It was so typical it felt like a joke. My head felt dizzy.

But there was no reason for a Section Chief from another team, whom I’d met for the first time yesterday, to… Ah.

‘……Lee Ja-heon!!’

Could it be that our team’s lizard Section Chief got on his bad side, so he’s taking it out on me, the rookie from that team!

Am I getting caught in the crossfire too!