Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 97
When I spotted the dress shoes in the entryway, my first thought was that the bastard Baek Sa-heon had finally worked up the nerve to come home to the company housing.
‘Did he finally find some courage after a few days?’
Or maybe he’d heard a rumor that I wouldn’t be coming back from the ghost story today and hurried inside.
‘But I just got off work.’
I was just contemplating how to deal with the guy who was likely in his room right now when—
-My, my, Roe Deer. Listening to your story, it seems there has been a slight misunderstanding!
A misunderstanding?
-Those shoes have always been in the same spot every evening, Friend.
“……!”
What?
No. I’m certain that when I left on the first day, there was nothing in this entryway….
‘…Wait a minute.’
I suddenly recalled the last time I saw Baek Sa-heon.
Segwang Industrial High School.
The sight of him causing chaos between the clashing Disaster Management Bureau and the Field Exploration Team before fleeing with an item.
And the effect of that fountain-pen-shaped item he held was….
‘Brainwashing.’
“…….”
I looked down at my hand.
The silver ring.
The mental defense item I had purchased today.
‘…Aha.’
So that was it.
It wasn’t that Baek Sa-heon had been leaving before me and coming back later, or commuting from somewhere else entirely.
He had been coming back to the housing all along.
He had simply placed a suggestion on me.
So that I wouldn’t perceive him.
‘But it doesn’t work on me anymore.’
Thanks to the silver ring protecting my mind, I was ‘witnessing’ Baek Sa-heon’s shoes for the first time in days.
“…Ha.”
Good grief.
I’m already feeling sick and exhausted enough to die, and now I have to worry about this kind of crap at home….
-Ah, what a perfect and delightful deduction, fitting together like puzzle pieces!
-However… is it not a traditional and moral plot point for those who seek to deceive others to pay a price?
A devious joy crept into Brown’s voice.
Normally, I would have been appalled, but….
Well.
‘Brown.’
-What is it, Friend?
‘I’m thinking of doing something fun right now. What do you think?’
I managed a smirk despite my throbbing headache.
‘It’ll be right up your alley.’
-…!!
‘Phew.’
Baek Sa-heon cautiously sat up in bed as soon as the noise in the entryway subsided.
‘What the hell is that bastard doing out there instead of going straight to his room?’
It had been several days since he left Segwang High School. He had been living in seclusion in the company housing, staying as quiet as possible.
All to avoid being caught by Kim Sol-eum!
‘…At first, I only used it because I thought I was screwed.’
Imagine waking up in the morning to find a psychopath holding a grudge against you waiting in the next room!
Driven by the fear of what might happen if he faced Kim Sol-eum, he had made it so the man couldn’t perceive his traces or presence.
‘It really was a decent item.’
That psychopath hadn’t noticed a thing!
Even so, terrified that the suggestion might break, he desperately avoided him within the housing and made no unnecessary noise even while inside his room.
He’d considered trying a stronger brainwashing or suggestion, but he was too afraid of the consequences if it failed….
Still, though.
‘…Isn’t it about time I could try something a bit stronger?’
The suggestion had been successfully maintained for days. He was starting to think it might be worth taking a risk.
For instance, making him throw himself into danger to save Baek Sa-heon at work. Or making him hand over good items and then tricking him into thinking he’d lost them….
‘Hmm.’
Besides, he’d heard that the darkness Kim Sol-eum entered this time was an alleyway where one could obtain various equipment and items.
It was news he’d heard from Jang Heo-un, who was in the same group.
‘…I’m jealous.’
Baek Sa-heon briefly clenched his fist, thinking of his peer who had been from the Cleanup Team but joined his group.
He needed a chance to get items too. More chances…!
He felt like he could brainwash his coworkers and slowly siphon off their items….
‘But I can’t do that right now!’
With the fountain pen, he could only place a suggestion on one person at a time. As long as it was being used entirely on Kim Sol-eum, using it on others was out of the question.
He was getting restless.
‘I really need to squeeze something more out of Kim Sol-eum.’
Now was the perfect time.
‘Let’s make a plan.’
First, once Kim Sol-eum falls asleep tonight, I’ll use the fountain pen to….
As he painted the picture in his mind, he opened his door to get some water.
And he froze in sheer shock.
“…!”
Kim Sol-eum was in the dark kitchen.
He was sitting at the table, laying out some unknown snacks and staring at the wrappers.
And in the center of the table, sitting on a cushion, was a fluffy stuffed doll.
The creepy rabbit doll Kim Sol-eum called ‘Brown’ and carried around everywhere.
“What? You think they look cheap?”
He flinched.
“You’re right. They’re probably snacks with that kind of concept. They were from a stationery store, after all.”
‘That crazy bastard.’
He was talking to the doll again.
‘Why isn’t he in his room? Why is he still out here doing that crap…!’
Baek Sa-heon shuddered and tried to retreat back into his room… but he paused.
Wasn’t running into him like this actually an opportunity?
It seemed like the perfect timing to strengthen the suggestion without having to try anything separate.
“…….”
Baek Sa-heon made up his mind and pulled out the fountain pen.
Then, he moved his feet silently.
“True. But even items like these have their own effects.”
Toward Kim Sol-eum’s back.
Going right behind that talking psychopath to use the fountain pen….
“Just like the fountain pen belonging to the roommate passing behind me right now.”
“…….”
Ah.
Baek Sa-heon froze as the blood drained from his face.
“Brown, did you know? My roommate tried to brainwash and manipulate me.”
“…….”
“Yeah. And here I was, bringing a gift to pay back my debt….”
Kim Sol-eum continued speaking slowly.
It was because he felt like he would vomit blood again if he spoke too fast, but his voice, lowered by burning pain and fatigue, combined with the scent of blood….
Made everything sound far more threatening and ominous.
“Isn’t that quite rude?”
Kim Sol-eum set the snacks down on the table and turned his head.
“And a person without manners… shouldn’t they lose the right to be a roommate?”
“…!!”
Their eyes met.
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…!’
He’d been caught.
How did he know? No, that didn’t matter right now. He was caught. Absolutely, definitely, certainly!
“I-I’ll leave!”
Baek Sa-heon shouted in a trembling voice before his brain could even process it.
“Assistant Manager! You’re right, I don’t deserve it! I’ll leave immediately! I’ll leave right now and never come back!”
Kim Sol-eum frowned.
“My head is throbbing. Don’t you have any etiquette? Why are you screaming in an apartment in the middle of the night?”
Fuck…!
Baek Sa-heon cursed inwardly in every way possible, yet he resented himself for automatically shutting his mouth.
“Brown.”
In the meantime, Kim Sol-eum was talking to the rabbit doll again.
“He’s noisy, but hearing him talk like that… I feel like even if he doesn’t deserve to live here, I should give him one chance.”
What?!
“I don’t ne—.”
“You don’t need it?”
Kim Sol-eum whipped his head around.
“The chance to live here—you don’t need it?”
“…….”
Why did that sound like ‘You don’t need a chance to stay alive’?
Baek Sa-heon swallowed hard and answered.
“I need it.”
“Right?”
“Yes….”
“Good. Then hand over the item.”
“……!”
“The fountain pen you were using. The item that turns whatever you write on a post-it into a suggestion.”
“…….”
“Since you might try something weird again, I’ll have to keep it somewhere else for a while.”
How the hell did he know that?
Despite the terror climbing up the back of his neck, Baek Sa-heon grit his teeth.
“I can’t… give it to you.”
“…….”
“T-Think about it, Assistant Manager. Honestly, what I did didn’t actually cause you any trouble.”
He spoke urgently and desperately.
“I need this item. I really can’t give it to anyone. I won’t use it on you again, so please….”
“Hmm.”
Kim Sol-eum responded expressionlessly.
“Why do you think I’d believe that?”
“…!”
“Take a moment… to reflect on yourself.”
Kim Sol-eum pointed at Baek Sa-heon.
“I told you the guaranteed entry method for Segwang Industrial High School where you got that item, and I didn’t even get angry when you tried to kill me inside….”
It was the plain truth.
“But what I got in return was brainwashing? I have no reason to trust you.”
“…….”
That, that was….
He might… be right.
The Assistant Manager in front of him might be a crazy bastard, but he was incredibly competent, and making an enemy of him like this… might actually be the crazy thing to do.
‘What is this? What’s happening?’
Did I make the wrong choice?
Baek Sa-heon’s mind raced, as a faint sense of guilt and self-loathing mixed with intense fear under the guise of logic, clashing fiercely….
And then.
“But since it is an item you earned yourself, well… shall I offer a reward?”
Huh?
Kim Sol-eum pulled out something he had left on the kitchen chair.
The item, wrapped in transparent packaging, was….
“It’s a left eye.”
Oh, fuck!!
Baek Sa-heon suppressed a scream at the sight of the black pupil darting around within a violet iris.
However….
“This isn’t just an eye. It’s biological equipment.”
“…!”
“As for what kind of ability it has….”
Kim Sol-eum explained the ‘eye’s’ ability.
As he spoke, Baek Sa-heon’s expression gradually shifted.
“…….”
“Do you want it?”
Baek Sa-heon grit his teeth.
He could hardly believe it, but.
“…Yes.”
He voluntarily surrendered the fountain pen.
And with hands trembling with anticipation and confusion, he accepted the biological equipment Kim Sol-eum held out.
‘Phew.’
That was nerve-wracking.
After finally finishing the conversation with Baek Sa-heon, I sat on my bed, suffering from the headache and the coughing up of blood.
It was a miracle I managed to hide the pain.
‘But I didn’t back down, right?’
Wow, I almost flinched when he looked like he was about to snap and charge at me. I felt a sense of futility, wondering why I had to do this when I was already sick….
But I had to set things straight immediately.
I couldn’t leave a sociopath with a brainwashing item near me while I was going to be ill for three days.
‘I think I used the carrot and the stick well.’
I thought of the purple eye that had left my hands.
It was an item with functions that weren’t threatening to me but would be helpful to Baek Sa-heon.
Well, it happened to be a left eye, so he could use it without having to gouge his own out.
Anyway, of all people to be roommates with… no, thinking about it, maybe Go Young-eun or Jang Heo-un were the special cases, and Baek Sa-heon was just the company average.
There seemed to be sociopaths everywhere in this neighborhood!
‘Thinking about this will only make me depressed, so let’s focus on something good….’
Like… the gift-giving ceremony I was about to have.
“Brown.”
I sat up and took out the item I had kept safe within my tattoo.
It was the ribbon hair tie I had boldly purchased at the boutique instead of taking change.
“It’s a gift.”
-…!
“Is it okay? Honestly, I thought you might have guessed beforehand.”
If it didn’t fit his aesthetic, I might have to break out in a cold sweat and look for another offering….
But the voice that came from Brown was one of joy.
-Ah, the circumstantial evidence was indeed quite strong!
-If I hadn’t guessed, it would be unacceptable for a show host… but showing that I’ve noticed everything is also something an entertainer must not do.
-Now then, this stuffed body can finally maintain a proper appearance.
His tone was unusually trembling with a bit of anticipation.
‘Thank goodness.’
I smiled and adjusted the hair tie I’d taken out of the bag, tying it as stylishly as I could around the fluffy rabbit doll.
“Thanks for everything, Brown.”
The rabbit’s round, button-like eyes stared into space, and the moment I looked away, the cheerful host’s response came back.
-I have only done what is natural as a Friend, Roe Deer.
Perhaps the ribbon hair tie had no effect other than looking very high-end and plausible.
But Brown’s voice, now wearing a bowtie around his neck, was overflowing with joy.
-Is a neat appearance not a basic requirement for one who stands before an audience?
Brown accepted it with great pleasure and delight as I adjusted the bowtie several times to find the perfect angle.
At the same time, he urged me to sleep.
-Roe Deer, maintaining your condition is a basic skill for a professional. Rest is also important, so it would be best to head to dreamland early today!
“Right.”
A gift-giving ceremony for a good friend. This was a rewarding enough end to the day….
Normally, I would have read through the Wiki one more time, but neither I in my pain nor my broken smartphone seemed to have the energy for it.
‘I’ll either buy a new phone or get it repaired as soon as it’s light out tomorrow….’
As long as the Memorial Griptok was fine, switching phones wouldn’t affect my ability to see the Wiki at all.
I lay down comfortably on the bed.
And first, I detached the Griptok from the broken smartphone….
“…….”
-Friend?
I hurriedly flipped the smartphone over.
The Griptok was cracked.
