Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work [Novel] Chapter 7 - Chapter 7 is available as a full text chapter. Published May 16, 2026 and updated May 16, 2026.
Translator: Nox
Chapter 7
Even if I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
Even if I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work, Episode 7
Even if I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work, Episode 007
On your first day of work, your team tells you, “New guy, you might drop dead soon. Haha, just kidding~!” What is the correct response for a new employee?
Actually, there isn’t one.
No, there’s just no answer to that.
Fortunately, my superiors didn’t seem to be expecting a reaction as they changed the subject.
“Anyway… congrats on passing the Death Survival.”
Is it okay to call it that out loud inside the company?
“But seriously, top of the class? That’s crazy.”
“Let’s hear you brag a little.”
I was curious about the reason myself.
“I just worked hard.”
“Aigoo, if that’s all it took, everyone would’ve gone to Seoul National University.”
“In any case, it’s impressive. Glad to have you in our group.”
Having good grades upon entry did have its perks. True to a department suffering from an extreme workload, they didn’t seem interested in hazing the newcomer.
“The Team Leader will be here soon. He’s out in the field right now, so let’s just relax for a bit!”
“Ah. Thank you.”
Following my superior’s lead, I walked over to a partitioned space.
Four desks were pushed together, back-to-back.
And next to them, on a coffee table beside a sofa meant for guests, sat an 80s-style radio.
The superiors sat at their desks and gestured toward me.
“Have a seat on the sofa.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I sat down, as if on cue, the radio on the table crackled to life with a dusty sound.
“…?”
Cheery background music and the high-pitched voice of a broadcaster filled the air.
—Hello! This is Live Traffic Updates. Currently, the road conditions for the Seoul morning commute are as clear and pleasant as today’s sunny weather. However, starting from the afternoon….
I turned my head to look out the window.
It was raining steadily.
A disconnect from reality.
‘Ah.’
This radio is a Guedam.
======================
Field Exploration Record / Guedam
[Hello Traffic Information]
: A Guedam appearing in ,
Baekilmong Corporation’s
identification code is Qterw-E-63.
A mysterious radio that delivers the
Daily Fortune
in the form of traffic conditions. It occasionally offers advice or warnings, but sometimes, being overly conscious of that advice leads to
ghastly results
.
======================
“Did you notice?”
“…!”
“Wow, this rookie is like a hawk…. You caught the discrepancy fast, didn’t you?”
A man who looked like a physical education student approached while turning off the radio.
“This is like a daily fortune teller. It’s a relatively safe urban legend. A verified Twilight Grade darkness.”
“…….”
“Wait, you’re thinking, ‘What’s an urban legend and what’s darkness, you otaku?’ aren’t you?”
No, I’m not.
“For a rookie like you, we’ve prepared this. Ta-da.”
A tablet PC was placed on the table.
The senior touched the screen a few times and played a video.
“Take a look.”
A somewhat retro, low-quality, cheerful orchestral BGM played.
Then, two animated characters, looking like they were from the same era as the ’88 Olympic mascot, appeared and bowed.
—Dear new employee, full of dreams and passion! Welcome to Baekilmong Corporation’s Field Exploration Team!
—Today, we’re going to tell you all about the wonderful work the Field Exploration Team does!
‘A fox and a dragon?’
The red fox and yellow dragon characters were wearing hanbok and grinning broadly.
—But before that!
Above the subtly cute characters, a blatantly old-fashioned Gulim font appeared.
[What kind of company is Baekilmong Corporation?]
I already knew.
To the public, this was a beauty-focused pharmaceutical company that sold incredibly effective hair loss treatments and skin disease remedies.
But the truth?
—You think we only make hair loss pills? Oh my god! Actually, Baekilmong Corporation can make every medicine you need!
—Literally a Magic Company that creates magical medicines!
From drugs that completely cure drug addiction to elixirs of eternal youth, they created all sorts of fantasy potions and traded them secretly with political circles and the upper class.
That was the essence of Baekilmong Corporation.
A secret organization that creates transcendental potions.
‘And that’s impossible through existing scientific and realistic methods….’
The fox character winked and raised an index finger.
—But! To make magic medicine, you need magic ingredients.
—Specifically… ‘Dream Essence’!
On the screen, ‘Dream Essence’ was emphasized in golden font, and a sparkling liquid flowed enchantingly in the background.
With hearts and stars popping out, it looked like a magic potion from a children’s cartoon, but….
The true nature of that thing is a Guedam.
—‘Dream Essence’ is harvested from supernatural phenomena!
As the dragon held out a hand, the screen changed.
It was a city alleyway depicted in a cute illustration.
However, red eyes appeared in the shadow of a streetlamp, transforming into the shape of a monster to threaten a pedestrian.
Next, an exaggerated animation showed a fan flickering its tongue while looking at a sleeping person.
—Did you know that supernatural phenomena occur even in modern society?
—Dying if you sleep in a sealed room with a fan on, living longer if you’re cursed at… these are all superstitious urban legends!
—But sometimes, these urban legends manifest in reality!
‘So they call them urban legends….’
Indeed, “urban legend” sounded a bit less frightening than “ghost story” or “Guedam.”
Then came the most important core content.
—Baekilmong Corporation manages these urban legends to harvest ‘Dream Essence’ and create wonderful magic medicines that grant people’s wishes!
—Yong-yong, ‘Dream Essence’ is the most important resource for the company, right?
—Of course! We always need it… but who could possibly go out and collect it for us?
The dragon character, called Yong-yong, tilted its head.
Who else.
—It’s the wonderful Field Exploration Team!
An SD animation played, showing office workers in suits performing heroically in spaces where various unrealistic events were occurring, all while giving thumbs-ups.
—Thanks to the bravery and wisdom of the Field Exploration Team, the Dream Collectors are full again today!
A burly office worker character on the screen coolly held out an object in one hand.
A portable cylinder with markings.
‘Dream Collector.’
======================
[Dream Collector]
: An item appearing in .
A portable liquid storage container created by Baekilmong Corporation. When exploring ‘
Darkness (Guedam)
,’ the scales are filled.
The company refers to this liquid as ‘
Dream Essence
.’
Using the collected ‘Dream Essence’ as raw material to create insane reagents that border on
reality warping
is Baekilmong Corporation’s primary source of income.
======================
As I looked at the essential item of the Field Exploration Team, the two characters clapped.
—Now, grab your Dream Collector and enter the darkness bravely and wisely!
—The future of our company rests on your shoulders! Fighting!
The video, which shouted typical new-employee gaslighting, ended by showing the logo of along with fireworks.
“…….”
“Did you watch it well?”
“Yes….”
I chose my words carefully.
“It was impressive.”
“Uh… our department’s work is kind of like that.”
The fairly affable superior reached out his hand to me again for a handshake.
“Ah, I should introduce myself first. You’re Kim Sol-eum, right?”
“Yes. I look forward to working with you.”
“Right. Oh! That over there is Deputy Manager Eun Haje.”
The woman with short hair introduced as the Deputy Manager waved a hand from her desk and then put it down.
The man of the physical education student type grinned and pointed to himself with his thumb.
“I’m Park Min-seong. I’m an Assistant Manager.”
“Nice to meet you, Assistant Manager.”
“Haha, no need to be so formal.”
“Pardon?”
“In this department, everyone usually becomes an Assistant Manager if they last about a year. You’ll be one soon, too. Soon.”
The tact to not mention that the probability of dying before then is quite high….
“Though you might die before then.”
He doesn’t have any.
“Ah, Senior!”
“What? It’s better he knows. As you saw in the intro video, it is dangerous work.”
Deputy Manager Eun Haje gestured with her chin.
I see. To reach the rank of Deputy Manager in this company, one had to possess that kind of mental fortitude.
“Resigning is also a decent choice. There are plenty of other jobs in the world.”
And in this world, no matter what job you choose, there’s a chance you’ll be sucked into a Guedam….
“Thank you, but I’ll try my best for now.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“Ooh, passion.”
The two nodded, saying my attitude was good, and the Deputy Manager added a word of encouragement.
“They call them Guedams or urban legends, but we have response manuals for all of them, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Yes.”
The Assistant Manager whispered.
“Ah, in this company, we call them ‘Darkness.’ If you don’t want people outside to look at you like some ghost story otaku, just call them that.”
“…….”
Doesn’t that just make me a ‘Darkness’ otaku instead?
However, I kept my mouth shut and just nodded. I didn’t want to do something pointless like nitpicking a superior’s words on my first day.
“Right. Did you understand the manuals?”
“Yes.”
I nodded after thoroughly reading the ‘Operating Manual’ that the Assistant Manager handed me.
“Mmh. Good, good.”
The two superiors looked at each other, grinned, and then turned back to me.
“Then shall we go to work?”
Excuse me?
The 14th floor.
That was the floor the two superiors took me to.
“Now that the basic orientation is over, it’s time for some hands-on experience.”
Where we stopped after getting off the elevator was in front of a small storage room next to the emergency stairs.
“So. The task you’ll be doing this afternoon is… a light exploration of Darkness.”
Pardon?
“You don’t have to worry too much.”
“You won’t die, you won’t die. Uh, in game terms, it’s like a slime that appears in the starter village!”
“……Yes.”
It was about time I started working.
I was prepared, but I still felt lightheaded.
‘Surely they wouldn’t send me somewhere easy to die on my first day.’
It’s not like they’d find it easy to take care of a panicked rookie, right?
I tried my best to calm myself down and use my head.
First, if I were to guess why we’re standing here… Ah, is the storage room a place connected to a Guedam?
‘What Guedams started in a storage room?’
While I was scouring the wiki in my head, the superiors began giving me various instructions.
First of all, I received an item.
“You saw it in the video earlier, right? It’s a Dream Collector.”
I took what looked like a sturdy, plastic-sealed cylinder with markings, about the size of a large die.
‘They used to sell these as merch, too….’
Still, holding the real thing felt somewhat strange.
“Make sure you don’t lose it. They all have serial numbers engraved on them, so it becomes a real headache if you do.”
“Yes, Deputy Manager.”
I understood it as a situation similar to losing a shell casing in the military.
“And for now, it’s best to make it a habit to wear a mask before entering the Darkness. Don’t ask why. Your mask is somewhere… hmm.”
“…….”
“…….”
The superiors blinked as they looked at my mask, which looked like tree bark with sheep horns.
“…A deer?”
“A roe deer?”
I don’t know either.
“The horns are cool. It’s a roe deer, right?”
“I’m not quite sure.”
“Let’s go with Roe Deer. They’re stronger than regular deer.”
Are they?
“Anyway, put that on and look at this.”
Assistant Manager Park Min-seong held out a tablet PC.
Ah, so he’s going to brief me with another manual video….
[Do this for 20 million won vs. Just live]
“…??”
It was an internet post.
—Play hide-and-seek with a ghost for 3 days in a convenience store with no one else within a 10km radius and get 20 million won.
VS. Just live.
Reference: This is what the ghost looks like↓
‘Ugh!’
I suppressed my goosebumps and flicked the scroll down to pass the photo, but the afterimage already remained.
It was a blue ghost with bulging eyes and a lumpy forehead and head.
“What does it say?”
“It’s asking if I’m willing to play hide-and-seek with a ghost in a convenience store for three days for money….”
Even as I said it, I didn’t get it.
‘Why on earth are they showing me this?’
It shouldn’t be workplace bullying.
They said we were going to ‘explore Darkness,’ so why an internet post…… Ah.
“…….”
“…….”
I scrolled back up without looking at the screen.
[Do this for 20 million won vs. Just live]
This… could it be.
======================
Field Exploration Record / Guedam
[Choose for Me]
: A Guedam appearing in ,
Baekilmong Corporation’s
identification code is Qterw-F-243.
Darkness derived from the
‘Get money for horror experience VS Just live’
type of balance game options that were popular on the internet.
Occurs irregularly when accessing a URL containing specific numbers.
Mainly involves being chased by a
killer
or a
ghost
, and upon being caught, you
start over from the beginning
.
======================
What a crazy world.
As the surroundings began to warp, the Assistant Manager’s voice pointedly reached my ears.
“Take it easy and come back, take it easy!”
How could I?!
Do I really have to suffer the indignity of being sent on a solo business trip to secure a contract even inside a Guedam on my first day of assignment?!
But there wasn’t even time to scream.
With that, I fell into the darkness alone.
“…….”
I stood up, staggering.
‘It’s dark.’
The air was cool and musty. My vision was extremely dim.
All I could see was the cold, faint flickering of light coming from a drink refrigerator in the distance.
“…….”
Holding my breath, I carefully walked toward the light source.
The silhouette of a desolate convenience store emerged darkly, then disappeared….
Silence. Stillness.
With every step I took on the floor, cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
There seemed to be nothing around. At least for now.
‘Whew.’
I swallowed my sigh.
My footsteps stopped at a spot where the faint, cold light of the refrigerator was close enough to help but far enough not to illuminate me.
Relying on the dim light, I surveyed my surroundings.
The convenience store was quite large, about the size of a franchise cafe.
Daily necessities and food items were strangely well-organized, displayed without a speck of dust.
‘No threat to food, clothing, or shelter… I guess.’
Right. This Guedam, or rather this ‘Darkness’ itself, wasn’t the type to choke the physical survival out of a person.
It specialized in extracting mental shocks and screams.
The safest answer was quickly derived.
‘I’ll just grab some water and energy bars and hide out.’
Yes. I knew my place. There was no way I could play hide-and-seek with a ghost.
If push came to shove, I didn’t even need energy bars. I’d just grab one or two things I could eat quietly and that would be it.
Humans don’t die from starving for a day or two. Better to starve than to meet a ghost.
‘But I need water.’
It couldn’t be helped.
I quickly spotted the water. It was inside the drink refrigerator.
At least there was light, so it caught my eye immediately, and fortunately, it was on the very last shelf, so I felt I could sufficiently guard my surroundings….
“…….”
Moving my feet cautiously, I avoided the illuminated area and headed toward the end of the refrigerator.
‘Whew.’
The very last shelf, seen from the front.
Just as I’d seen from a distance, the top shelf was packed with various brands of water with blurred labels.
However, as I stood close to the front, I saw something else besides water.
“……?!”
The internet page I saw earlier. I’d scrolled down like crazy and only caught a glimpse, but it was a grotesque silhouette I couldn’t forget.
A blue, lumpy face with bulging eyes.
The ghost.
‘Crazy…!’
The moment our eyes meet, its face twists into a smirk and its eyeballs bulge.
‘Why is a ghost’s face in the goddamn refrigerator…!’
I immediately recoiled. And the moment I tried to turn and run.
I realized.
The ghost wasn’t inside the refrigerator.
It was being reflected in the glass door of the refrigerator.
“Hhh….”
Thud.
Something touched my back.
I felt cool, thick, hard, individual fingers gripping my nape.
The hand of a drowned man.
And….
—Caught you.
Blackout.
The game of hide-and-seek ended.
“Gasp!”
I opened my eyes.
The cool air. My vision was extremely dim.
All I could see was the cold, faint flickering of light coming from a drink refrigerator in the distance.
“……!”
I was back at the starting point.
Mainly involves being chased by a
killer
or a
ghost
, and upon being caught, you
start over from the beginning
.
‘This is insane.’
I have to do this for 3 days?
Just kill me, damn it!
‘No, wait.’
I soon deduced an even more chilling circumstance.
‘If I can’t hold out, I’ll eventually return to the starting point… so in reality, I don’t know how long it will take.’
Literally endless retries.
A coward like me might go crazy before then.
‘No.’
Is there another way, any other way?
This time, I avoided the drink refrigerator and headed toward the checkout counter.
There were many large structures and objects around the counter that could hide my body, so I planned to hide here and buy some time to think.
‘If I just crouch all the way inside the chair….’
In the process, I saw it.
Between the counter and the chair legs.
The silhouette of the ghost’s lower body.
“…….”
Tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
Pale bare feet moved with an strange interval and rhythm. The peculiar sense of wrongness unique to non-humans set off an unpleasant shiver like an alarm.
Holding my breath, I lay flat under the counter.
I stayed there.
Even after the ghost passed with its grotesque gait, I stayed until I reached the limit of being able to keep quiet.
‘There are too many clichés where they shove their face in the moment you feel relieved.’
And a long time later, I very slowly let out my breath. Even then, I struggled with all my might not to make a sound.
“…….”
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Cold sweat dripped from my chin.
I can’t do anything. I couldn’t even turn on my smartphone because the screen light would obviously draw aggro.
The only thing I could trust was my memory!
‘I definitely looked over the records of this Guedam multiple times….’
F-grade Guedams often had exploration records involving rookies, so I’d studied them like I was looking at past exam questions.
Of course, I never dreamed I’d be dropped in alone from the very first round!
‘Damn it.’
Dripping with cold sweat, I recalled the exploration records.
‘Mountain cabin, basement, crosswalk, fast food restaurant, abandoned school….’
None of them matched.
But definitely, definitely, there was a unique case….
======================
Field Exploration Record / Guedam /
Choose for Me
Exploration Record #23 (
Irregular
)
Chased by a mad doctor for one night (12 hours) in an abandoned hospital at night.
※ Note: Exploration ended after
16 hours and 11 minutes
.
======================
“…!”
This is it.
I began to squeeze my brain to reconstruct the details.
