Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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[This station is Grudge, Grudge Station.]
[The doors on your right are opening…….]
A subway inside a ghost story where a suffocating silence flowed.
I, too, was playing a part in this silence.
How was a person like me—who, even when just an associated video of a ghost story appeared on Wetube, would get startled by the thumbnail alone and click ‘Not Interested’ to skip it—supposed to survive inside a ghost story?
‘Just kill me instead…….’
That would be a happy death.
I was at the point where I didn’t even have the energy to deduce how this had happened. I was pressing my face with both hands with a mind that wanted to deny the world.
It was then.
Flicker.
[1st Place: Records of the Dark Exploration Real Merchandise Box]
“……?!”
I raised my head.
Following my line of sight, something like a memo pad was floating around.
It was visible even when I closed my eyes, and visible when I opened them.
A scrap of paper that looked like it had been torn straight out of a notebook and folded was swishing around…….
“This is…….”
Hold on. It seemed no one else could see it.
I immediately shut my mouth. Standing out in a situation like this was a foolish thing to do.
Instead, I tapped the memo pad in front of my eyes as naturally as possible.
Flutter.
Amazingly, the memo pad moved as if unfolding and spat out something small.
“……!”
I hurriedly caught it as if covering it with my hand.
It was… a phone grip.
A very simple-looking black phone grip, with the only unusual feature being a golden ‘X’ marked in the center.
However, it was that very pattern that made me realize the identity of this phone grip.
‘It’s the merchandise.’
The very merchandise sold at the pop-up store of <Records of the Dark Exploration> that I had visited just before opening my eyes in this strange situation!
It was one of the items of merchandise I had purchased today.
With trembling hands, I picked up the phone grip.
As for what function this had in the work…….
—–
[Memorial GripTok]
: A C-grade item appearing in <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
When attached to a smartphone, it implements and displays the text of one’s memories in a neat page.
A Grade 9 issue of the Paranormal Disaster Management Bureau under the Ministry of Environment.
—–
‘Displaying memories as text…….’
If so, by any chance?
With trembling hands, I peeled off the adhesive backing of the phone grip and immediately attached it to my smartphone.
It was at that moment.
The lines of text from <Records of the Dark Exploration> that I vaguely remembered took on a clear shape and framework, appearing on my phone screen as a page.
———————=
Records of the Dark Exploration / Ghost Story
[Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation]
: A ghost story appearing in <Records of the Dark Exploration>, Daydream Co.’s identification code is Qterw-D-16.
A crazy ghost story that boasts an overwhelming escape difficulty all by itself among the early 어스름(D) D-grade Dark. And the eternally suffering Field Exploration Team.
The explorations were recorded up to a total of 56 times.
———————=
“……!”
So this meant…….
‘The merchandise I bought actually works?’
Come to think of it, the black merchandise box that had been resting on my lap had vanished before I knew it.
‘That merchandise box… turned into that memo pad and spat out the merchandise I bought?’
What kind of crazy situation was this?
No, but it was definitely advantageous for me.
This ghost story setting called <Records of the Dark Exploration> that I had entered.
Did you know how many internet veterans had burned their creative desires based on this? There were literally hundreds of ghost stories.
Naturally, it was difficult to immediately recall all of that in my head like flipping pages.
Moreover, because they did not directly describe the survival methods in a ghost story style but rather made everyone deduce them by reading the story, deriving the correct answer in a new situation was even harder.
‘But I can check what I read in text all at once.’
If this was possible, the very first thing I should look at was…….
‘The past escape cases!’
I immediately scrolled down the wiki page.
And after breathlessly reading down to ‘3.2 Exploration Records.’
“…….”
I quickly made a deduction.
‘I see.’
It meant I had found my own correct answer as to which station we should get off at.
But there was a problem.
“…….”
I turned my head to the people in the same car.
A total of eight young new employees, including myself.
The people, who had been in panic at the sight of two humans being dissected live, had barely regained their composure and were beginning a conversation.
“What happened just now… That Grudge Station, it seems to refer to that grudge… when a person is resentful, right?”
“Yes…….”
“Sigh, neither phone calls nor data are working, really… Ah, what on earth is this…?”
“…….”
Right. The problem was how I was supposed to convince these people, who were strangers and couldn’t trust each other, to get off at the correct station.
‘I have to somehow make as many people as possible get off together.’
I clenched my fists.
Was I suddenly filled with a noble sense of mission to save the lives of these extras who were sacrificed in this ghost story setting, realizing they were real people?
Well… um, of course, humanely speaking, such feelings did arise, but that wasn’t the top priority.
The reason that made me the most desperate was…….
‘I can’t get off alone…!’
Exactly.
The stations here were often not in a sane state.
Walking out alone through a station filled with eyeballs, a pitch-black station, or a station flipped upside down?
Just imagining that sight brought out cold sweat, and I felt like I would end up crawling on all fours.
‘The probability of fainting midway and failing to escape, over ninety percent…!’
No. Save me.
‘I must convince them somehow!’
I was about to open my mouth, but then closed it again.
‘Still, speaking about strange phenomena or the Dark out of nowhere is foolish.’
Who would want to admit that they were placed in a situation like a RPG horror game? They would either reject it with severe ridicule and disbelief, or believe it and fall into a deeper panic.
‘Slowly… starting with trust.’
Just one person first.
If I could firmly convince just one or two people, human nature has a herd mentality, so it would be easy for others to follow and get off in a crowd.
‘Let’s see. Someone who needs help, or someone with a visible clue to build a bond with…….’
“Sigh…… This isn’t even some Wetube ghost story.”
Found them!
“Did you say… ghost story?”
“Ah.”
A woman with short hair and a calm impression nodded with a slightly flustered face.
“Yes. Well, I, uh, watch some ghost stories on Wetube, and this reminds me of that.”
“Could you perhaps tell me more in detail? Since this doesn’t seem like an ordinary situation, I think it would be best to share as much information as possible.”
“Ah, it’s not really information… literally everything feels like a ghost story. The lecture hall suddenly changing into a subway, and a person… dying like that.”
As if remembering the crazy butchering show that had occurred just before, the other person’s face turned slightly pale.
I understood. I really wanted to vomit too.
Let’s quickly erase it from our minds.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I suddenly… while talking.”
“No. It’s the same for me. Since such an absurd situation is happening, I can’t seem to keep my head straight.”
The woman gave a weak chuckle.
“Gee, you seem to have made the coolest judgment here.”
That was a statement she could make only because she hadn’t seen me coolly fainting yet.
“Huh?”
And amazingly, around this time, someone spoke to me first.
There was a very reasonable motive too.
“Uh, you’re the person who was sitting next to me earlier, right?”
It was a man with curly hair and a fairly naive impression.
‘Come to think of it, did he sit next to me in the lecture hall earlier?’
That new employee seemed unable to fit into any of the conversing groups. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked back and forth between me and the woman I was talking with, then soon reached out his hand as if to shake hands.
“I am Baek Sa-heon.”
“……!”
In that moment, I almost forgot to shake his hand.
Baek Sa-heon?
‘He’s a named character.’
———————=
Records of the Dark Exploration / Daydream Co.
/ Characters
Baek Sa-heon
: An employee of Daydream Co. appearing in <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
His final rank is manager, his total explorations are 106 times, and among them, special cases recorded in the wiki are 17.
His alias is Viper.
———————=
He was an employee who had been active multiple times in <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
I raised my head and groaned as I looked at the curly-haired man with a somewhat weak impression.
‘This person… is Baek Sa-heon?’
The image didn’t seem to match very well.
Anyway, actually seeing an employee from the ghost story setting whom I had only seen in text felt truly bizarre.
In the midst of that, the short-haired woman who had first brought up the ghost story reached out her hand.
“Since the situation is like this, let’s exchange names at least. I’m Go Yeong-eun.”
It was a name I had never heard before. And the real name of an employee I didn’t know meant one of two things.
Either she successfully dealt with the ghost stories and resigned early.
Or she died quickly.
‘Damn it…….’
Although there were occasionally named employees whose nicknames or codenames were the only things mentioned, in those cases, their character traits were so distinct that they could be identified immediately upon seeing them.
It was unsettling. I quickly shook off the lingering image and hid my expression.
“I am Kim Sol-eum.”
The handshake ended quickly, and we naturally sat in the subway seats and continued our conversation.
Meanwhile, it felt like the groups of people had become oddly divided.
“Ah, those people… seem to be trying to talk with the front car somehow?”
“Indeed.”
In this ghost story, moving between cars was prohibited. Sure enough, they soon gave up their gestures and returned.
“What should we do? There is absolutely no communication with the front car. Besides, it seems a fight has broken out in the front car….”
To the anxious and uneasy people, a station arrival announcement came down once again.
However, this time the atmosphere of the keyword was different.
[This station is Ecstasy, Ecstasy Station.]
“Huh?”
The murmuring people paused for an instant.
“Ecstasy?”
“Excuse me, doesn’t Ecstasy give a somewhat good feeling? Perhaps…….”
No.
‘We shouldn’t judge this so simply…!’
I clenched my teeth, recalling the exploration records I had just read.
First of all, the theme of the station names in this ghost story changed every time it appeared.
Therefore, escaping by finding the exact matching word in past cases, like ‘you must get off at this station’ or ‘this station is the correct answer,’ was impossible.
‘But we can observe the trend.’
Like this.
———————=
Records of the Dark Exploration / Ghost Story
/ Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation
3.2 Exploration Records (Recorded up to 56 times)
1. Station names indicated by colors such as red, yellow, and blue.
: 2 successful escapes (Attempt: Blue Station)
2. Station names indicated by body parts such as left arm, cornea, and heart.
: Escape failed (Attempt: Cochlea Station)
3. Station names indicated by serial killers’ names such as ■■, ■■■■, ■■■.
: 12 successful escapes (Attempt: ■■■■ Station)
4. Station names indicated by years such as 2008, 2012, 2016.
: Escape failed (Attempt: Year 2024 Station)
5. Station names indicated by illnesses such as asthma, stroke, and glaucoma.
: 3 successful escapes (Attempt: Common Cold Station)
[Show More]
———————=
Did you see? Even going up to case 56, the positive feeling of a station name had absolutely no relation to the escape probability.
Yet, because of this Ecstasy Station, people were about to get off in a crowd.
[The doors on your left are opening…….]
It was just my luck that the scenery of the platform we arrived at was bright and pleasant.
‘Damn it.’
At the sight of the clean and bright station, looking like a new station in a newly developed city, I could feel the atmosphere of the people shifting decisively.
“Ah…!”
“Sh-should we get off here and look for someone? This place looks genuinely normal…….”
The cheered-up people began to peer in front of the door.
No!
‘My number of companions!’
And my mental state upon witnessing that sight!
‘Curse it.’
In the end, I ran and blocked the front of the door again.
“……!”
“Wh-what the.”
“Please wait.”
[The screen doors are opening.]
“Are you certain?”
“Pardon…?”
“Certainty?”
“Yes. Certainty that this place is safe. Or a deduction at least.”
I intentionally turned my gaze.
“I believe most of you agree that this situation is like a ghost story.”
Under my gaze, Go Yeong-eun, who received the gazes of the people, was startled but did not retract her words.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. There is no turning back.]
“But in a ghost story or a horror movie, have you ever seen a good result come from choosing based solely on luck and feeling?”
“……No, I mean,”
“Are you really going to stake your lives like this without any reasoning or deduction?”
The anxious people paused for a moment, but soon flared up in anger.
“No, did you make some grand deduction then?”
“This person has been saying nothing but frustrating things since earlier…….”
“Ah, get out of the way quickly! What reasoning or deduction… Do you think this is a quiz show? Did someone give us a hint?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
“They are giving us hints.”
I caught my breath.
And raising my hand, I pointed upward.
To the subway train display board equipped with speakers.
“The announcements.”
-Please listen carefully to the announcements for a comfortable journey to your final destination.
From the very beginning, the announcement inside the train had been kindly notifying us of that fact.
“Haven’t they been continuously telling us to focus on and follow the announcements? Glaringly so.”
In that sense.
I asked, listening to the announcement that was just being added.
[Passengers whose final destination is Ecstasy Station must disembark according to the announcement.]
“Is there anyone here whose final destination is Ecstasy Station?”
“…….”
“…….”
The people’s movements stopped.
“B-but, it’s a good thing.”
“To live ecstatically, that is, happily, is the purpose of life…….”
“So, is your final destination Ecstasy Station right now?”
“…….”
“…….”
It seemed everyone felt it was fishy.
However, one or two people began to direct their anger back at me.
“No, do we even have a destination right now? You don’t even know well yourself, so why are you interfering so much?”
“If we can’t get off here because of you and fail to escape, will you take responsibility? Are you going to take responsibility!”
Can I take responsibility?
“Yes.”
“……!”
“Uh…?”
“I will take responsibility.”
That was an easy question.
‘We were planning to escape together anyway.’
Besides, getting off here was a confirmed wrong answer. So there was no probability of my answer being worse than this.
However, perhaps because it was an unexpected reply, the other party stood frozen with their mouth open for a moment.
“…….”
Seeing me act so strongly, their heart seemed to waver completely, and their inner conflict was visible.
[The screen doors are closing…….]
Meanwhile, the doors closed.
“Ah…….”
I stepped out of the way. A few people who were looking at the door with hollow eyes clung to it.
But there was no longer anyone getting angry at me for not letting them off.
‘Is this… enough.’
It was at the moment when I was feeling satisfied in my own way.
An urgent shout was heard.
“Uh-uh! All the people in the front car got off!”
“……!”
All of them got off?
I also immediately stared beyond the train window.
Although not everyone, it really seemed that about five or six people had got off all at once.
“…….”
Sigh.
I really did not want to watch what would happen from now on.
But I had to watch it to be able to convince them logically, damn it…….
Suppressing my curses, I narrowed my eyes and looked hazily through the window.
“Huh? They’re running!”
The people who got off seemed to have made up their minds to move quickly without delay. The figures of five or six people could be seen running toward the platform exit and the stairs.
However, they were too late.
“Argh!”
The platform floor began to boil with a yellow light, and the feet of the running people began to sink as if melting into the floor.
“G-gold…?”
It was a bizarre sight, as if their lower bodies were turning into gold and sticking to the floor.
The people seemed to struggle to run while screaming, but their speed became slower and slower and…….
Eventually, the torsos that were all that remained of their bodies tottered and fell with a thud in front of the stairs.
Even those turned into sparkling gold.
As the easiest means of becoming ecstatic.
“Heup.”
“Gasps.”
[The train is departing from Ecstasy Station.]
Inside the departing train car, only the sounds of gasping in shock and sobbing echoed.
One of the people who had tried to get off hurriedly grabbed me and asked.
“Y-you said you would take responsibility. Can you really guarantee that we can find a safe place? Yes?”
“Yes.”
I answered firmly.
Why the logic had suddenly jumped to making my presenting the correct answer a foregone conclusion was absurd, but the truth was, I was in a state where I could only make that reply.
‘This is going to kill me, seriously.’
My legs are trembling so much I feel like I’m going to collapse…!
The sight of people’s lower bodies bursting was being replayed in low resolution in my head, making my stomach churn.
One thing was for sure: even if I survived and got out of here, sleeping tonight was out of the question.
In the midst of this, Baek Sa-heon also admired and spoke to me.
“You are amazing, sir.”
“…Sir?”
“Ah, I tend to call people ‘sir’ whenever I meet them.”
And smiling sheepishly, he added this.
“People like you are rare in the world these days, aren’t they? Normally, people can’t say definitely yes or no and end up using speech patterns like ‘In my opinion, it seems like…’”
“…….”
“I hope your guarantee definitely brings a good result.”
Uh… I appreciated the well-wishes, but this wasn’t a situation to use such lukewarm, out-of-body speech patterns.
‘If we don’t get a good result here, you will die too, by the way…’
Hold on.
Wait a minute.
There was something I had missed while whining about being scared.
‘The fact that Baek Sa-heon has records of being active as an employee in <Records of the Dark Exploration> must mean he passed this entrance exam?’
In that case, couldn’t I just stick to the station Baek Sa-heon tried to get off at?
If I convinced him and Go Yeong-eun to get off, that would make three people. Originally, if there were people actively agreeing and getting off, the probability of other people following in a crowd was high too.
‘Such an easy way existed?’
“Mr. Baek Sa-heon.”
“Yes?”
“By any chance, is there a station you want to get off at? That is… I’m curious if there is a word you are thinking of, like ‘I should get off if a station with this kind of name comes up next.’”
“……Uh, suddenly?”
“I want to hear various opinions.”
“Ah.”
Baek Sa-heon seemed to ponder for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.
“Not really. I don’t really know about these things.”
“I see.”
Had he not gotten a particular feeling yet?
I nodded readily. In any case, this seemed like a decent idea, so I would keep observing…….
Ding-dong.
[Dear passengers, this is an announcement from Abyss Transit Corporation for a comfortable journey. Please listen carefully.]
“……!”
The announcement began again.
Everyone stopped talking and immediately looked up.
[From now on, our train will pass through a curved section, which may cause noise and shaking.]
[Please all be seated to prevent accidents.]
No, seriously, fuck.
“Everyone, let’s sit down.”
No one raised an objection and quickly sat down in their seats.
It was a speed that made the effort of bringing up the announcements earlier feel worthwhile.
Even the person who had been throwing a tantrum about getting off earlier kept their mouth shut and sat down in a nearby seat first.
However, it seemed not everyone was like that.
“Uh-uh! The front car!”
“Those people….”
In the passenger seats of the front car, people were all standing, seemingly busy arguing fiercely with each other.
The specific voices were not heard well, but it seemed their shouts at each other had drowned out the announcement.
Anyone could see why. Seeing the people who had been with them just now die in a manner they couldn’t even imagine in their dreams had driven them completely into panic.
“Sh-shouldn’t we say something to them?”
“Excuse me! Can you hear us?!”
“Sit down in your seats!”
The new employees sitting close to the front car shouted. However, the people in the front car barely looked, and one person who happened to make eye contact actually walked toward this side.
“Sit down!”
“No, don’t come over here, sit……”
Too late.
[Entering the curved section…….]
The lights went out.
“……!”
In the darkness, the train began to shake with a roaring sound.
And overlapping with the roar, a sharp sound echoed.
It was a scream.
-Aaaah!!
-Argh, ah, argh…….
The sound of something wet bursting.
The sound of squeezing a grape full of ripe seeds tightly.
It echoed dully.
…As if separated by a single door.
“…….”
“…….”
The sounds of the people in this car reflexively holding their breath and breathing while trembling faintly were heard.
And when the lights came on.
-…….
Beyond the narrow glass window of the front door of the electric car, the appearance of the front car was revealed.
It was entirely covered in blood and filth.
In that crazy state, as if only living organisms had been put in a blender and ground up, no traces of humans could be found anymore.
Everyone was dead.
[You may now stand up safely from your seats. Thank you very much for your cooperation.]
The sounds of the panicked people echoed inside the train, contrasting with the neat announcement.
“Let me out! Let me out!”
“Heuuuu, heuuu… What is this. What is this… Mom.”
Yet even in that state, the new employees covered their mouths, hushed their voices, and tried hard to listen to the announcements.
Because it had been proven to be a literal lifeline!
‘Damn it.’
Although it was definitely flowing in a direction advantageous to my survival, it was so horrific in reality that cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
Ignoring my trembling hand as I wiped it away, I clenched my teeth.
I shouldn’t look at the front car door now.
‘Focus, focus only on convincing them…….’
If a proper correct station came up a few stations later, surely people would get off with me…….
[Dear passengers, this is an announcement from Abyss Transit Corporation for a comfortable journey. Please listen carefully.]
The announcement started again.
“Again?!”
“Heuuuuk…….”
Cutting through the wailing sounds of the fed-up people, the recording in a neat, mechanical tone continued the guidance.
With an out-of-place story.
[There is a lost item.]
Hold on.
I suddenly raised my head.
[For those who find the lost item, please disembark at the next station and hand it over to the station employee.]
It was a case I knew.
‘…The escape case in other records!’
———————=
Records of the Dark Exploration / Ghost Story /
/ Welcome to Abyss Transit Corporation
3.4 Other Records (Escape)
Documents recording irregular survival where they succeeded in escaping by means other than disembarking at a station.
A few methods are repeatedly observed. (The most frequent records are ‘Temporary Stop for Train Interval’ and ‘Lost Item Announcement’.)
———————=
An unconditional escape ticket.
If you just have the announced lost item, you can safely go outside!
Except…….
‘The number of escaping people is exactly one.’
……For my case, where I can’t leave alone, it was a survival ticket I was disqualified from the start.
I clenched both hands tightly.
‘If so, who on earth is the right person to send out?’
No, is sending someone out even the correct answer?
And…….
[The lost item is the ‘left eye of a 20-something adult male with type A blood.’]
An unimagined lost item came out.