Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Saint U’s Peek-a-boo.
According to the middle schoolers’ explanation, it was the final group promotion album of a famous girl idol who made a splendid comeback after a hiatus a few years ago.
The addictive, bright, and cheerful pre-release track reportedly remained on the music charts for a long time.
Right now, that song was echoing along with claps matched to their footsteps inside the dreary, dark, foggy forest.
Clap.
“My glaring eyes capture you at once, but I have no intention of approaching first….”
“Until you come closer, I wait pretending not to, very comfortably.”
Cuz Predators never move first…. The adults also sang along to the song with all their might, albeit clumsily.
Clap.
“Yeah, hurry and prepare. I’m a graceful tiger, the moment you draw near, peek-a-boo!”
The lively and exciting melody continued.
Perhaps because several were singing together, the children’s expressions gradually became relaxed and their voices gained strength.
“Peek-a-boo! Here I come, be tense! I’m a tiger. Twinkling even in the dark, my eyes!”
-‘While walking along the path offering the melody, place the sacrifice to be used as a victim at the very back.’
However, at the very end of the line, instead of a person, a palm-sized purplish wild ginseng was dangling and swaying like a bundle.
The security leader followed at the very back with the stick on which the wild ginseng hung slung over his shoulder, as if carrying a trash bag.
Even though Ko Seon-ha was persistently glancing at it suspiciously from the side, the party concerned was humming the song quite joyfully.
“Peek-a-boo! Bewitching you so you lose your senses. Peek-a-boo. Yeah, be tense.”
Clap.
I signaled the people to stop with a hand gesture.
‘The thirtieth step.’
The people half-heartedly yet deeply bowed as if making a New Year’s bow, and stood up.
And the song continued.
“Peek-a-boo!”
The trail gradually became flat and easy to walk on.
-‘The path ends when the melody ends. When thou findest a small snake cave in a place without grass, thank the mercy of the Mountain Lord and insert thy hand.’
-‘Thy hand must be in a state layered with well water mixed with salt.’
By the time the second verse ended and they sang the last chorus, the surrounding scenery had also changed.
The trees that were dense enough to hit one’s face decreased a bit, and the whitish fog grew thicker.
Instinctively, everyone realized.
‘We are almost there…!’
The people’s faces were stained with tension, expectation, and alertness.
Yet as calmly as possible, they sang the song to the end.
“Peek-a-boo, yeah be tense…Pairs.”
Clap.
Up to the last line.
“Now I will approach.”
Their footsteps stopped.
“…….”
“…….”
The path ended.
Ahead of the blocked trail was a wide open clearing.
“Th-there are no trees.”
The people’s footsteps quickened. In that thick fog, the result of the ritual finally revealed itself before their eyes.
“Now the snake cave…!”
A giant reservoir.
“…….”
“…….”
‘What is this.’
A black, giant waterside from which fog rolled out endlessly.
The people stopped with expressions of bewilderment and terror.
Faces that looked like they didn’t know what on earth was going on.
“Wh-why……”
“U-uh, a snake cave is supposed to come out, uh……”
What is it?
What went wrong?
I looked at the wild ginseng that the security leader was holding.
…It was perfectly fine.
‘It was supposed to have disappeared…?’
Ko Seon-ha opened her mouth with a face pale as blue.
“…Water ghost.”
“…!”
The words I heard a few hours ago immediately came to mind.
‘And… be careful of water. A Changwi was originally also meant to refer to a water ghost in the past….’
“It was a trap! The ritual, the ritual itself was a trap!! Bewitched by the water ghost…!”
“Aaaah!!”
“We were all dragged here, to the reservoir…!!”
Manager Lee Byung-jin screamed and tried to flee backward, but tumbled over. The children whimpered, screamed, and grabbed each other.
I also almost fell to my knees at the chill creeping up my spine.
It felt like stepping into a horror movie scene right before all the characters die.
“…….”
‘To die like this…….’
…No.
No!!
I must at least know the reason.
No matter how much I thought, there was no mistake within the given information. Even including all the exploration records of the <Records of the Dark Exploration> I had read!
An irrationality that I couldn’t accept ruled my head rather than fear.
The screaming of the terrified Ko Seon-ha buzzed in my ears.
“T-turn back and run away. To the abandoned house…!”
…Uh?
Hold on.
I turned to look at Ko Seon-ha.
“…Did you know that?”
“Pardon?”
“The abandoned house is also a trick.”
“……Pardon?”
“Doesn’t it seem strange when you think about it.”
I spoke slowly.
Of the intended contradiction of this ghost story.
“That we can come to our senses in an abandoned house pasted with talismans to prevent the Changwi from entering, when this is a space entered after being bewitched by the Changwi.”
“…….”
“And that the ritual to escape this place is kindly written in that abandoned house.”
That was why interpretations differed regarding this abandoned house even in the comment section of the <Records of the Dark Exploration> wiki, but I was almost certain.
‘This is a ghost story that drains the blood of a person from the very start.’
If so, the intended probability is this.
“It deliberately locks you in the abandoned house for fifteen days to squeeze and weaken your mind and body.”
While holding out a hope called the ritual, it forces a person into extreme conditions to hold out, thereby breaking down their psychological barriers.
“Then it is easy to lure you out.”
Decisively….
“In that state, inducing a mistake while performing the ritual would be best, but it doesn’t matter even if that’s not the case.”
I looked at the wild ginseng.
“Because conflict will surely arise in the process of deciding the sacrifice, and a straggler will emerge. And a single sacrifice can definitely be ‘taken’.”
“…….”
“Of course, the ritual must be real. Because only then would you cling to it more desperately.”
And since this is the <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
You shouldn’t put too many convenient false settings into a story. Since immersion would be disrupted and tension would drain, the ritual is definitely real.
That was why I also proceeded with the ritual with almost total confidence, but….
“So it is even more questioning.”
I’ve read quite a few ghost stories.
At least all the ghost stories uploaded to the <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
Since even those a bit hard to read were included in my work routine, I ended up reading them over and over.
In that process, I also came to know several bits of trivia that I hadn’t known before….
Things like this.
“Peach branches are commonly known to expel ghosts.”
“So?”
“And plums are the fruit that the Changwi likes. That is likely why these two ingredients were needed.”
“…Ah.”
“Luring the Changwi to the shrine, and in the meantime, the person conducting the ritual flees holding the ghost-expelling incense.”
I raised my head.
“However, as it happens, there is someone in this place who felt uncomfortable with the smell of the burning incense made of peach branches, and reacted as if captivated by the plums.”
“…….”
The person who insisted on walking right next to the security leader at the very back, despite there being as many as seven people.
As if wanting to walk as far away as possible from the incense made of peach branches.
“Ms. Ko Seon-ha.”
I stared at the party concerned.
“Are you speaking under your own will right now?”
“……What do you,”
Perhaps.
The real Ms. Ko Seon-ha had already failed the ritual at the shrine and before meeting us, already….
“Right now, isn’t it the Changwi speaking, and not Ms. Ko Seon-ha.”
Still.
Her feet stopped.
“I’m caught.”
Ko Seon-ha’s mouth ripped open.
But too late! Too late!
Both arms stretched out bizarrely long, trying to grab and pull me….
‘Argh!’
I rolled on the floor to avoid the arms.
The screams of the manager and the children echoed from behind.
“Aaargh!!”
“G-ghost!”
Reflexively, I pulled out the knife from my front pocket. That isn’t fully a Changwi! Since it is a human possessed by a Changwi, if I somehow suppress it….
However, I realized.
‘I-I can’t rush at that thing!’
To use this short-range weapon, I have to go right under the nose of the possessed person! I feel like I’m going to faint even now!
Even so, my brain immediately found the right candidate!
“Leader!”
I threw the weapon to the figure standing behind my back.
“Please suppress her!”
Whoosh.
The Vampiric Knife sliced through the air.
“…Ah.”
The security leader grabbed the Vampiric Knife I threw, scanned it once, and immediately rushed at the Changwi.
Hihihik!!
Ms. Ko Seon-ha’s face and arms twisted, and strange and bizarre shapes burst out haphazardly.
Countless arms, faces, hair, and eyes of young and old, male and female, looked in all directions.
Excuse me! Excuse me!
“Hieeek!”
“Step back and close your eyes!”
Manager Lee Byung-jin retreated to the mountain path as if rolling along with the kids, crouching down.
Can you hear me? Someone please help!
The moment, the security leader’s appearance also began to twist.
A bizarre shape.
His upper body, which had looked slender, swelled as if it would burst, turning giant, and his mouth ripped long like a snout, with his tongue protruding.
That tongue ruthlessly grabbed and snapped the Changwi’s long arms.
Aaargh!
No, it was a hallucination. The security leader was in the shape of a normal human.
No, he indeed changed into a monster-like form…….
‘Wow, this is driving me crazy.’
I barely shifted the focus of my gaze.
The reason why the Security Team suppressed ghost stories so well.
The reason why they weren’t in the Field Exploration Team despite that.
Was appearing before my eyes.
———————=
[Security Team]
: One of the three teams under the Security Department of Daydream Co., the massive faction appearing in the <Records of the Dark Exploration>.
A team where personnel who are eroded by a specific anomaly and are no longer judged as humans work.
It is a lifelong job, and resignation is impossible.
———————=
Did you know that?
If you are not judged as human, even if you clear a ghost story, the raw liquid does not fill the collector.
There is no value in field exploration.
That was why people who assimilated with ghost stories and practically turned into monsters were assigned to the Security Team.
Particularly… people contaminated by a certain ghost story that was violent and had a strong territorial psychology,
It hurts! It hurts!
To the Security Team.
For the purpose of suppressing when a major problem occurred in the ghost stories managed within the company.
‘…And if he is to the point of being a leader there, that person is the same.’
In a word, an employee specialized in confronting monsters in ghost stories.
Kyaaaak!
Countless arms of the Changwi burst apart at the tongue, claws, and teeth protruding from the security leader’s snout.
An odd shape was still shimmering on the face of the security leader, who held the Vampiric Knife in his mouth.
‘…A wolf?’
The hallucination of saliva and blood dripping from a snout ripped wide to show countless teeth overlapped and vanished.
Dizziness and nausea surged like a wave, so I hurriedly stared at the ground.
‘…It feels like having a nightmare.’
I began to vaguely understand in reality the reason why they removed all people when the Security Team suppressed ghost stories in the <Records of the Dark Exploration>….
Still, considering I had taken a risky move, the work was proceeding successfully.
“Keep your eyes closed!”
I also endured silently while looking at the floor.
And in the next moment.
-Oh, Mr. Roe Deer. The bizarre guest you brought won!
The situation was terminated.
When I raised my head, the Changwi was lying down with the Vampiric Knife stuck in her right palm.
And the distorted and mutated appearance of the security leader holding that head tightly was visible….
-Ugh, he seems like low-class trash who has gone all the way. Had he come as a guest on my show, he wouldn’t have dared to appear!
There was never another time when I felt so fortunate that only I could hear the sounds Brown made.
I desperately brought out a nonchalant voice to the security leader who was pressing down hard on Ms. Ko Seon-ha’s head.
“Leader, thank you.”
“Urrgh….”
-He says he is tired. How could he be so rude!
You, who can translate that growl, are scarier….
It was then.
A crushed sound came from beneath the security leader’s hand.
It was a human voice.
“W-wait a minute….”
“…!”
Before I knew it, Ms. Ko Seon-ha with a normal face groaned desperately with a terrified expression, gasping.
“S-save me! S-save……”
Leave her behind….
“U-uhrrg….”
Her eyes rolled back and the Changwi’s voice was heard.
Let’s only have you die…… huh? You deserve to die. You killed a person. You tried to kill the kids. I know everything? You deserve to die.
Ko Seon-ha struggled.
“No, n-……”
Only leave her behind. Only leave her behind. Huh? Please?!
“Save me, save me!! Aaargh!”
At that moment.
“Right now.”
The security leader asked in a human voice.
“You have requested emergency rescue from <Daydream Co.>, right……?”
Due to the monster’s shape, his face was not visible.
However, that distinct voice was clearly asking Ms. Ko Seon-ha directly.
“Is this an official request… worthy of drawing up a contract?”
……Something felt strange.
Looking up with a blank face, Ms. Ko Seon-ha soon answered in a desperate voice as if snapping awake.
“Ye—”
Wait.
“It is not.”
I grit my teeth and intervened.
“This place is not a Dark anomaly owned by the company, nor did we enter for the rescue of a civilian, and above all, we exchanged mutual help.”
“Uh…? That’s strange……”
The growling voice lowered dangerously.
“Didn’t this one try to obstruct our escape…?”
Gasp.
“…It doesn’t matter. Since she was helpful in the end.”
I declared firmly.
“Then this is cooperation.”
“…….”
The security leader stared at me blankly.
And looking at Ko Seon-ha….
“Ah… is it so……”
“…….”
“It seems correct too….”
Slowly.
Energy drained from the security leader’s voice, and it returned to his original tone of being annoyed by everything.
‘Whew.’
I intervened because the feeling was strange somehow, and as expected, this seemed correct.
‘It is the best policy not to get entangled with Daydream Co.….’
Even owing a debt to that company? No matter how much I thought, the premonition was completely bad.
“Mmh…… then what do we do….”
“Wait a moment.”
I approached Manager Lee Byung-jin, who had retreated to the back holding the kids with his eyes closed.
The manager was startled out of his wits by my footsteps.
“Hieeeek! Don’t tell me you’ll use me instead…!”
“The incense burner.”
“Huh…?”
“Give it to me.”
I snatched the incense burner that Manager Lee Byung-jin was still holding.
The incense made of peach branches had already burned out, but the ash remained completely inside the burner.
‘They disliked peach branches.’
If so….
I poured that incense burner straight onto Ms. Ko Seon-ha’s shoulder area.
Kyaaaaaaaak!!
Sizzle.
Even though it clearly wouldn’t be at such a high temperature, a burning smell and a salty smell rose from her shoulder.
I’m not going! I’m not going! I can just cling again! I can just cling again…… Aaaaaaargh!
I poured it all over her head.
The body possessed by the Changwi convulsed, hopped wildly, and then…….
“Huff,”
Her eyes snapped open.
Eyes revolving with clarity and relief.
It was Ms. Ko Seon-ha.
“I-I’m fine! I feel like I’ve gotten better—”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“Since this is originally a space entered after being bewitched by the Changwi, it seems it can visit again at any time.”
“Th-then….”
“So, let’s prevent it from entering Ms. Ko Seon-ha altogether for now.”
“…?”
Because I packed one more bag of apple juice.
I held out the sealed pack to Ms. Ko Seon-ha.
“U-uh……”
“You just need to swallow it all down.”
When I strongly urged, Ko Seon-ha had an expression of not knowing the reason, but in the end, held down on the floor, she began to gulp down the apple juice.
And a moment later.
Thud.
She fell into sleep just like the wild ginseng.
Phew.
‘Solved for now…….’
“You can take your hands off now.”
“…….”
The security leader quietly took his hand off, then asked in a subtle voice.
“By any chance, a department change……”
“I won’t.”
Please stop.
Anyway, after thanking the security leader who had returned well to human shape once again, I took care of Manager Lee Byung-jin and the kids who still had their eyes closed tightly.
“You can open your eyes now.”
“Ah…!”
Relief flashed across Manager Lee Byung-jin’s face.
But soon, watching the kids’ reactions, he whispered to me with a desperate expression.
“B-but what do we do now?? How on earth are we going to find the way out……!”
“…….”
“It seems the sun will rise soon!”
I looked at the sky.
Beyond the thick fog, a dim light also seemed to shine from somewhere…….
…The night of the full moon is ending.
‘There is no time to perform the ritual again.’
However…….
“It will be fine.”
“…Pardon?”
“Because half of the ritual was likely successful.”
I recalled that the path changed every time we walked singing, and that the incense burned properly.
‘Everything prepared was correct.’
Strictly speaking, this ritual has two purposes.
Avoiding the Changwi.
Pleading to the Mountain Lord to find the escape route.
“And I’m saying the latter of the two seems to have worked properly.”
Although the former failed because the possessed person was mixed among us, bringing us right under the nose of the waterside….
“Perhaps, the exit might be around here as well.”
“…!”
We clumping together inside the thick fog, we began to search the clearing close to the mountain, slightly away from the waterside.
Meaning around the spot where the trail walked during the ritual ended.
-‘When thou findest a small snake cave in a place without grass, thank the mercy of the Mountain Lord and insert thy hand. Thy hand must be in a state layered with well water mixed with salt.’
‘A place without grass…, a place without grass.’
And a moment later.
“I-I found it!”
“…!!”
One of the middle schoolers discovered a small hole beneath a tree.
As if piercing the fog, the moonlight was shining down into it.
A pitch-black hole, as if calligraphy ink had pooled.
“…….”
The snake cave.
I had the people quickly dip their hands into the salt water. Urgency made them move first regardless of fear.
‘Quickly, quickly.’
Just like that, right before the sun rose.
We inserted our hands into the snake cave.