Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 63
Faster. Faster.
“Assistant Manager, your previous experience was the 35th cycle, right?”
“T-That’s right. It was the only cycle where they tried to deploy new recruits.”
After a brief and urgent exchange with Assistant Manager Park Min-seong, Kim Sol-eum instantly organized the core points in his head.
‘Assistant Manager Park Min-seong’s details as a survivor…’
“Is this it? Is this the information you need?”
“I’m putting it together.”
—The new recruits were drafted into this dark exploration for the first time, and it was a scene of pandemonium and horror.
—Several people used profanity and were penalized. A fight broke out over a bottle of herbal tranquilizers, and both were penalized. The person who took the medicine was also penalized.
—The number of personnel who received two or more penalties and were on the verge of contamination was seven.
—The new recruit who was chosen as the Hangman lost consciousness from a panic attack midway through, but the panic and fear were so great that no one could pay them any mind.
—A new recruit fainted after being hit by a corpse falling from the gallows. They resigned afterward.
“…….”
Wait?
“After that, they never put new recruits in again until….”
“Wait a moment.”
“Yeah?”
“Does the corpse remain?”
Kim Sol-eum looked at the assistant manager urgently.
“I mean the people who become the Hangman and die here.”
“T-That’s right? Of course, I don’t know about decomposition or anything like that. …I think they were missing heads, too. It’s not like I went to the funeral and watched every step of the process….”
“…!!”
A chill ran down Kim Sol-eum’s spine.
This, this was….
“Wh-Why??”
Assistant Manager Park Min-seong grabbed my shoulders urgently.
“Is there a hint? Can you do it?!”
“Yes.”
Kim Sol-eum nodded urgently.
However, cold sweat trickled down his neck.
‘Actually, I can’t be sure this time either.’
It felt like madness. But, but….
What a thrilling hope it was to have a possibility.
‘It’s right to try.’
Kim Sol-eum pieced together the necessary elements. …It seemed like it might just work, narrowly.
‘With this, I can slip through the cracks without touching the rules!’
There was just one problem….
There was one absolutely necessary ability, but it wasn’t on standby.
‘…Brown.’
I needed him again.
‘Makeup ability—how much longer do I have to wait before I can use it again?’
—Hmm.
—Don’t I need about half a day’s rest as well?
Kim Sol-eum immediately adjusted his question.
‘What if the conditions were changed?’
—Conditions?
Kim Sol-eum explained the ‘changed conditions.’
Then, the answer changed.
—If it’s that, I could do it after about an hour’s rest!
—It’s a rather grueling schedule, but… well, I’ll bear with it. Because I am a professional!
‘Thank you so much.’
—Don’t mention it!
Then, one hour.
The conditions were redefined.
‘I have to buy time.’
In this mess, I had to make sure Deputy Manager Eun Haje didn’t fully ascend the gallows for one hour.
And that was impossible to do alone.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
“If possible, I need you to act as a shill.”
“……?”
Kim Sol-eum immediately and quickly kicked the ‘Silver Heart’ into his pocket.
Then he shouted.
To the nine employees who had gathered in the room and were engrossed in the game of Hangman.
“Seniors.”
“…!”
Nine pairs of eyes turned toward Kim Sol-eum.
He swallowed hard inwardly.
What he needed now was….
‘…Aggro!!’
“If you could double your clear points, would you do it?”
The deputy manager of Team D, Eun Haje, looked up.
For someone who had been sentenced to death and was hanging in the air with black ropes around her neck and limbs, her mind was surprisingly peaceful.
‘This is a good enough way to go, I guess.’
Aside from dying right before collecting points, honestly, compared to the bloody ends of the employees who had died before, it really wasn’t bad.
“Deputy Eun!! What kind of transportation is this?!”
“I don’t know. I told you, I don’t remember!”
It was even better in the sense that she was frustrating these personality-deficient trolls to the end.
The only regrettable thing was that even if she wasn’t very cooperative, the answer was eventually being pieced together.
That was how Hangman worked.
“Damn… what was the last transportation she took when she was a reporter? How the hell should I know? I don’t know, damn it… A?”
[Correct!]
“I-It worked!!”
Even if they couldn’t guess the initials through the hints, the answer would eventually come out if they just threw out letters of the alphabet.
_ _ _ _ A _ _ R
‘Ugh,’
Deputy Manager Eun Haje felt the cold fear of death behind her neck as she saw her missing feet, but she didn’t show it.
She didn’t want to give the trolls any satisfaction.
[Hint for the 3rd blank letter!]
[Why can’t Teacher Eun Haje take a plane again?]
In the midst of that, the two juniors from Team D were busily exchanging questions and answers in a corner.
‘What are they doing.’
They seemed to be gritting their teeth after seeing her feet disappear, and then they started talking even more desperately.
They were probably having the futile thought of trying to save her from here….
‘Maybe that’s better.’
She hoped they would just realize there was no answer and give up while they were talking.
Just knowing they had tried would be a comfort.
“…….”
Meanwhile, someone got the answer to this relatively easy question.
“Trauma? T!”
_ _ T _ A _ _ R
[Correct!]
Her entire left leg disappeared.
‘F-Fuck…!’
“Waaaaah! It worked!”
“Ah!! I should have gone first!”
The sound of the trolls shouting as if they were watching a sport after seeing a person’s leg vanish.
Eun Haje was starting to get irritated with anger.
‘Should I just actively troll them too?’
But suddenly.
“Seniors.”
Someone raised their hand from beyond the trolls.
“If you could double your clear points, would you do it?”
‘…Roe Deer!?’
That was right.
The new recruit of Team D—no, the youngest, Kim Sol-eum, who had escaped the new recruit status in record time—was raising his hand with a calm expression.
“What?”
“That guy… isn’t he that kid? The one who got promoted this time.”
By then, everyone recognized him.
The top recruit of the year who wore a mask with antlers like a deer. Since he had been promoted to Assistant Manager in just 60 days, rumors had already spread openly.
Was it because of those rumors?
Strangely, everyone focused on the new recruit. He had an oddly… natural presence.
Moreover, just now.
‘Didn’t he say points…?’
“…….”
In the bizarre atmosphere of the playroom where everyone was focused on him, Kim Sol-eum spoke.
“Would you like to make a bet?”
…??
“If you win this bet, I will give you all of my clear points.”
“…!!”
“Huh?”
It was insane aggro.
“Is he crazy? What’s wrong with him?”
But at the same time, any field investigation employee hooked on the word ‘points’ couldn’t help but say this.
“Are you really going to give us all two thousand points?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, No-ru Assistant Manager. You might not know because it’s only been a few months since you joined this company… but points aren’t transferable.”
“I know.”
“You know? Then what….”
“But there’s no problem with buying two thousand points worth of items at the employee mall and handing them over.”
“…!”
“If you beat me, I’ll let you choose what you want. Even if you’re making custom equipment, I’ll pay for it for you.”
The atmosphere changed.
Since they had already avoided being the ‘scapegoat,’ how useful would it be if they could get additional points?
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
He was serious.
Of course, if they could win.
“What kind of bet is it?”
Kim Sol-eum folded his arms.
“It’s about who can guess the most letters of the Hangman word.”
“Ah!”
“I’ll give the points to the person who guesses more than me—the most out of everyone.”
Is that kid crazy?
“For the record, I’ll only guess one, so if you guess just two, you’ve already met half the criteria.”
“W-Wait a minute!”
Assistant Manager Park Min-seong of Team D, who was listening nearby, stood up in horror.
“No-ru, why a bet in this situation….”
“Because B-rank ghost stories that are safe as long as you follow the manual are rare. I thought we could take this opportunity to see if any special phenomena occur if we get a lot of answers right.”
Kim Sol-eum said, looking seriously at the employees.
“If the atmosphere gets strange, I’d like you to stop. I hope it won’t be dangerous.”
“Ha.”
A few employees snorted and looked at each other, and one of them finally spoke with a smirk.
“Ah~ how noble. To add details to the manual and make it safer~ you’ll make a bet?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kim Sol-eum replied immediately.
“I want to help those who come in after us to be able to clear it even a little more safely.”
“……Why?”
“There’s no particular reason. Hmm… I think it’d be good if someone did it, and since I’m someone who can, I’m going to do it.”
“…….”
The employee who had asked fell silent.
For some reason… they felt strange.
‘Come to think of it, did they say this recruit even saved a missing person?’
It came back to them.
‘They said he got promoted because he saved all the other employees in some B-rank darkness last time too.’
Searching for an unpopular office worker for no pay when no one else was looking, and doing dangerous things in high-rank darkness to save employees whose faces he didn’t even know.
‘He’s not in his right mind.’
Normally, they would have mocked him as a pushover, but strangely, they couldn’t do it this time.
Ting—
A clear metallic sound spread through their minds.
Strangely, their thoughts became clear.
An odd feeling, as if they were breaking away from the tainted, comfortable methods and inertia they had been accustomed to and were looking at the phenomenon directly.
…Then, really strangely.
Those foolish choices seemed, well, somewhat impressive.
“…….”
“…….”
Their mouths just opened.
“…Well, a bet sounds good.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Kim Sol-eum bowed a few times as if thanking the employees who had suddenly become quiet, and then he moved his feet.
“Then I’ll see you when we leave.”
And he approached Deputy Manager Eun Haje, who was watching this scene with her mouth agape, with a solemn face.
“Deputy Manager.”
Deputy Manager Eun Haje felt a strong headache.
‘This kid is too kind, that’s the problem!’
He was a smart youngest member, but this was a flaw.
‘He’s too sincere.’
He was the type to easily get burned out or broken.
He had even desperately told the nonsense lie that the item belonged to his colleague just to save them, and now he was doing this kind of foolishness….
“You, are you really….”
Kim Sol-eum lowered his voice and spoke quickly.
“It’s a lie.”
“…….”
Ah.
“I just pulled some aggro to buy time.”
For a moment, Deputy Manager Eun Haje almost forgot that she was about to die, then she managed to ask back.
“…You said you were trying to buy time?”
“Yes.”
Hah.
“Wait, if you’re thinking of doing something in the time you’ve bought, don’t. It’s a perfect way to die….”
“What if I decide to do it anyway?”
“…!”
“We’re definitely going to do it. …If you cooperate, Deputy Manager, the success rate will be higher.”
This… disobedient brat!
Eun Haje gritted her teeth.
“Hey. I told you I’d handle it.”
“I don’t believe you. …You’ve already given up. You’re ready to die.”
“…….”
He was quick-witted, too.
‘Sigh.’
“…It’s not that I really had no thoughts of trying something.”
In the end, Eun Haje confessed. The words she hadn’t brought up so as not to give the assistant managers useless hope.
“You know how this ghost story throws all sorts of rules at the people it’s caught as new teachers. But do you know who the only wildcard is?”
“……That would be,”
“The Hangman.”
Deputy Manager Eun Haje grinned.
“That’s me.”
The Hangman wasn’t penalized even if they swore or punched a hole in the wall with their head.
“The problem is, it’s hard to move your body regardless.”
Eun Haje gestured with her eyes to the ropes holding her.
“But… to put it the other way, I can do whatever I want with everything above my neck.”
“…!”
Of course, the probability of anything working would be extremely low.
Eun Haje spoke nonchalantly, without showing it.
“Did you hear? I’m the only one who can keep trying this opening. Because I won’t get penalized. So you guys, who are subject to penalties, just sit there….”
Kim Sol-eum’s eyes flashed.
“I’ll try to utilize that opening in a way that maximizes the survival rate.”
“What?”
“Please remember exactly what I’m about to tell you.”
Kim Sol-eum conveyed what Deputy Manager Eun Haje had to do very clearly, distinctly, and simply.
So….
“……!”
“…That is all.”
And Deputy Manager Eun Haje felt like she had been hit with ice water.
He was really going to do that?
“We’ll go and get to work quickly. See you in a bit.”
“Hey!”
Wait a minute.
“Roe Deer!! Badger!! You brats!”
But the two were already walking out of the playroom.
“Hey! Come back!”
‘Phew.’
Buying time—it seems to have worked.
I am walking down the kindergarten hallway, which is even creepier because it is too clean, colorful, and quiet, with Assistant Manager Park Min-seong.
‘Let’s go fast.’
Basing it on the testimonies of the assistant manager and the deputy manager, the outline was becoming clearer. Anxiety and hope took turns taking the lead.
Even in the midst of it, the setting of this damn ghost story was terrifying.
But Assistant Manager Park Min-seong, who seemed to have no fear, kept looking back at me with a face full of worry and finally asked.
“N-No-ru. Is that okay? Two thousand points isn’t child’s play…. What are you going to do if someone guesses twice!”
Ah.
That.
“They’ll never exceed it.”
“……!”
I grinned.
“If their personalities are selfish and they’re in a situation where they’re checking each other, it’s absolutely impossible.”
“Huh?”
“Because they’ll interfere every time someone tries to guess.”
“…!!”
According to the records, the time limit per question was between 7 and 10 minutes, at the ghost story’s whim.
To be most conservative, we had to drag this time limit out to the full for at least 9 rounds.
Then what was the best way?
“They’ll probably check and fight each other until the very last moment, and then someone will set a condition and try because they don’t want everyone to accumulate penalties.”
And the probability of that being the correct answer was quite small.
‘In the end, time will keep being consumed as they endure contamination one by one.’
Furthermore, once contamination accumulated, they would hesitate to just throw out letters, so time would be delayed even further.
In that case….
“It’ll take at least an hour.”
I guaranteed it.
“The prize for the bet isn’t two thousand points itself, but goods that can be bought with it, so it’s hard for them to even suggest sharing.”
It would be awkward to form a team and split it among a few people, and it would be hard to trust each other to share it fairly through a verbal promise.
‘The only reason I received trust through just a verbal promise… must be thanks to the Silver Heart.’
I must never get caught. I continued speaking, trying not to even be conscious of my pocket.
“So don’t worry. We have to think about saving the deputy manager first.”
“…….”
A surge of emotion passed under the assistant manager’s mask, but he quickly suppressed it, realizing there was no time.
“Right. Let’s do it quickly! Oh. We’re here.”
“Yes.”
It was time to start preparations right away.
‘Whew.’
I took a seat on the floor with the assistant manager.
It was the largest space in the kindergarten.
[Playroom]
I tried my best not to look at the scenery right in front of me.
In front of our eyes… was a colorful ball pit decorated with flowers and butterflies, and a platform.
However, on the fresh-looking platform, two lumps of flesh were standing idly.
A left leg. A right foot.
They were Deputy Manager Eun Haje’s body parts.
‘Ha.’
Whether it was a chill, fear, or a sense of crisis, something made my hair stand on end.
‘The gallows.’
The timing was only once.
I had to seize that opportunity here.
