Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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In the midst of the hellish ghost story where people were dying, a single survival ticket had appeared.

Just like in a movie.

And it was not an illusion either.

‘If you get off carrying the announced lost item, they will guide you out of the station immediately upon meeting the crew…….’

It was indeed a light of hope.

The problem was that the lost item announced just now was ridiculously bizarre.

“What did they just say? A male in his 20s……?”

“The left eye of a Type A adult male.”

Go Yeong-eun hung her head with a hollow face.

“Type A is probably… a blood type, right?”

“Yes…….”

A heavy silence flowed. It seemed they were already frightened.

‘…Should I just let this pass?’

In any case, if we get off at the correct station, everyone can survive. If one person escapes first for no reason, the atmosphere might turn strange and cause conflict.

However, it did not proceed that easily.

“S-still, wouldn’t it be better to look for it?”

“That’s right. Since we don’t know what will happen…….”

Because these new employees had become so strongly conscious of the announcement, they could not just let it pass.

‘…Let’s leave them be for now.’

“By any chance, your age is……?”

“Ah, I’m in my 30s.”

“You look young for your age. Ah, I’m Type B. I don’t qualify.”

“Me too…….”

Everyone checked among themselves to see if they met the criteria for a ‘Type A adult male in his 20s.’

However, no one who perfectly met the condition came forward, and eventually the question returned to me.

“By any chance, Mr. Kim Sol-eum is……?”

I answered simply.

“I am Type AB.”

Actually, it was a lie.

I am indeed Type A.

‘But there is no need for me to reveal that I am the eligible person.’

If I, who could be a beneficiary, turned out to be the candidate in this situation, it might be misunderstood as a statement made for my own benefit, which could make it harder to convince them in the future.

“I see. Then Mr. Baek Sa-heon is……?”

“Hold on.”

Suddenly, the person sitting opposite me raised his hand with a solemn face.

“Actually…… I fit it perfectly. Those criteria!”

“Ah!”

He had spoken in quite a solemn tone, which seemed to be because he thought he might die if he didn’t.

‘He doesn’t need to worry about that, though.’

And the reason he revealed it so abruptly was also clear.

[This station is Anger, Anger Station.]

Because an announcement stating that we had arrived at a new station was broadcast.

The station where the station employee would be waiting to receive the lost item.

Tension smeared onto the face of the new employee who had volunteered.

“Is there no one else?”

“Yes… it seems so.”

“Oh dear.”

Baek Sa-heon, who was sitting next to me listening to the conversation, sighed and asked the other person.

[The doors on your right are opening…….]

“You said you are Type A?”

“Yes, yes.”

“That’s too bad.”

And a fist flew.

“……?!”

A merciless fist struck the left eye of the new employee who had revealed himself to be a 20-something Type A male, accompanied by a horrific cracking sound.

Baek Sa-heon had struck the other person’s eye using the corner of the smartphone he held in his hand.

It was a strike delivered with no regard for whether the eye burst or not.

“Urgh,”

And the moment the person, who couldn’t even let out a proper scream, fell.

[The screen doors are opening.]

Baek Sa-heon lightly hopped over the collapsed body and went out of the train.

“J-just now…….”

“Argh!!”

“What are you?”

A step too late, the people shouted in horror.

Baek Sa-heon smirked.

“You idiots. If you can escape with just one eye, you should do it quickly!”

“……!”

“They said we could get off!”

It seemed Baek Sa-heon had understood the contextual meaning of the announcement exactly.

-For those who find the lost item, please disembark at the next station and hand it over to the station employee.

Even though there was a hint that we should pay attention to the announcements, it was an extremely bold judgment.

“I suppose… it’s hard to expect such things from a guy who asks others to take responsibility for his own life.”

“Huh?!”

Furthermore, Baek Sa-heon was composed even as he spat out reckless words. He seemed certain that no one would dare to follow him out.

And that was correct.

Because everyone had already seen what happened when they got off at a station they shouldn’t get off at.

“Th-that person…….”

Go Yeong-eun’s face turned red, perhaps because she was so furious, but I felt a sense of relief as if things were finally clicking.

No wonder!

His alias is Viper.

The depictions of Baek Sa-heon in <Records of the Dark Exploration> made sense only if they stemmed from such a personality.

I had wondered if he was fine because he was a rookie who hadn’t been stained by society yet, but it seemed he had always had that kind of personality.

[The doors are closing.]

In the midst of that, Baek Sa-heon waved his hand toward the inside of the train.

In any case, he seemed to be in a good mood, thinking he had succeeded in escaping.

Even if it meant giving up a left eye.

‘Oh dear…….’

But… you see.

‘There was no need for that.’

Taking advantage of the moment everyone was focused on Baek Sa-heon, I secretly reached my hand up to the luggage rack behind me.

‘I definitely… saw it earlier.’

And as I swept deep inside, something that had been placed in an invisible blind spot was caught like magic.

Pulling my hand back, I checked the object.

Inside a bizarre portable lens case lay a single eyeball.

And a label.

[Type A / Female / 27 / R]

As for what this was, it was indeed a candidate for the lost item.

‘In the first place, a lost item is something lost by someone else, not my own.’

Actually, this announcement was a treasure hunt style where one had to get off carrying the real item that perfectly matched the description from several candidates in the luggage rack.

Well, there were cases where someone got lucky, handed over what they had, and escaped.

‘Now Baek Sa-heon would fall under that.’

However, what if he found out he didn’t have to ‘hand over’ his own left eye?

The screen doors had already closed. Thus, in the brief moment our eyes met with Baek Sa-heon, who was turning toward the platform just before the electric car departed.

I raised the lens case containing the eyeball toward the door so it was clearly visible.

Since I covered the label, only one thing would be clearly visible.

The eyeball.

-……!!

Beyond the door, Baek Sa-heon’s expression changed as he recognized what it was.

But the timing was already too late.

[The train is departing from Anger Station.]

The train departed.

I looked back at the new employee Baek Sa-heon had attacked.

Looking at how he had injured the left eye, Baek Sa-heon had tried to eliminate any other ‘correct lost item’ besides what he possessed.

‘He probably did this in case only one would be accepted as the lost item.’

I believed that escaping by oneself could not be blamed, since everyone works hard to survive. But… this had crossed the line.

I turned my head back to the door.

From far behind, the sound of someone violently pounding on the screen doors a few times could be heard.

And from the receding platform, the faint scream of a person undergoing bizarre agony seemed to echo.

[The lost item has been successfully handed over to the station employee.]