Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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After that, everything was processed quite quickly.
I seemed to have received some great recognition from the company again.
While it seemed that an employee rescuing a contaminated colleague on their own was something that happened occasionally, most of them seemed to have prepared for months or years to pull them out with desperate resolve.
And there were countless cases where they went missing together while attempting it.
Pulling someone out like this as soon as they were contaminated was said to be unprecedented among rookies.
“That deer horn mask over there……”
“Ah, is that him?”
“Wow… how many times has it been now.”
When I walked down the company hallways, I occasionally heard whispering from behind.
Actually, it did remind me of having similar experiences several times before while eating with Group D in the cafeteria, but….
Perhaps because I was walking alone, it was particularly easy to hear.
Though that didn’t last long either.
“Mr. Kim Sol-eum.”
“Yes.”
“Do not come to work for ten days starting tomorrow.”
“…??”
“It is paid leave.”
Even without this, Group D’s operations had been temporarily suspended since half of the team members had disappeared, but leave was granted under my name.
‘Even so, I had been coming to work diligently for a few days to write the status report.’
Because they were extremely curious about how Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je had twisted the rules and survived from the B-grade Dark that required the Hangman to die to be cleared.
‘Someone must have reported that Supervisor Park Min-sung and I were trying to do something.’
It seemed there was even talk of scheduling interviews with the research team to reinforce the reliability of the exploration records….
-Ah, Supervisor Kim. Why bother with that! Just rest, rest. You did a great job!
-……Mmh. Thank you.
It seemed to have been cut off at the level of Manager Lee Byung-jin, the manual review coordinator, and our group’s Manager Lee Ja-heon.
It was a bit funny, but they said the employees who entered together testified during their reports, saying ‘Kim Sol-eum acted only to save the team members without any other intention.’
They had made excuses on my behalf, saying the situation had just aligned well thanks to quick wits and luck.
‘They all fled the moment the clear door opened, but they still spoke up for me.’
Since the former was natural and the latter was something to be grateful for, I decided to accept it as it was.
In any case, thanks to that, my name was going up and down on the company phones again, and a ‘Possibility of Revision’ tag was attached to the manual of <Hungry Hangman>.
And in the rookies’ group chat, they were trying to pry information out of me somehow again….
[Ms. Go Yeong-eun: You went through a lot of trouble.]
“…….”
Someone even sent a text of consolation.
‘Thank you. Truly.’
For the record, Baek Sa-heon didn’t even ask how I was doing once from home.
‘Well, that’s just his personality for you….’
I didn’t expect it anyway.
In any case, the situation itself so far was not bad for my survival.
‘No, is it actually good?’
I was continuing to build an impressive career.
Specifically, it meant I was continuously establishing a named employee with the keywords ‘clearing quickly in a fresh way without following existing manuals’ and ‘goodness.’
Even a ten-day vacation.
I thought I would either be happy to be distanced from ghost stories for ten days, or disappointed that the speed of gathering points had slowed down.
I expected one of the two, but I didn’t feel either of them much.
So I just did nothing….
-Mr. Roe Deer, would you like to hear this Brown’s opinion on in what aspects that terrible comedy failed to capture the public’s attention? It will be very interesting!
“Should we?”
I just sat in the living room and watched TV for a few days.
It was when about three days had passed like that.
…A text message arrived.
[Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je: Come to the hospital for a bit]
“…!”
* * *
“Did Roe Deer come?”
“……Assistant Manager.”
I placed the get-well gift I had brought under the side table and stood next to the bed.
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je smirked.
“Soy milk? Good choice.”
“…Thank you.”
It was the first time meeting her since we briefly communicated when she regained consciousness for a moment in the infirmary….
The Assistant Manager was slightly pale, but her face was fine.
It seemed the Mount Baekseol Apple had worked to some extent.
“Not bad for someone who almost died, right? …The item was good. Thanks.”
Thanks to that item, Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je had appeared as a corpse, but it was fortunate that she was kept in quarantine storage due to the special situation of lacking a hand rather than a head.
‘They said Manager Lee Ja-heon confirmed her survival at sunrise the next day, reported it, and moved her to the infirmary….’
And she said she had now been transferred to a hospital that had some kind of partnership with the company, and her urgent treatment had just finished.
“Ah, I just said I had that apple on me. People usually don’t want the source to be found out.”
“…Thank you.”
“Thank you for what, that’s what I should say to you and Min-sung.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je paused as she raised her left arm as if to wave it.
Because it was gone.
“…….”
Her left wrist, wrapped in bandages, was blunt.
A body part lost like that does not regenerate with the supply potions provided by the company.
“…Uh, Assistant Manager.”
I spoke out what I had been thinking.
“The C-grade Regeneration Potion I have……”
“Don’t tell me you’re handing it over?”
“I was going to sell it to you.”
“Ha.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je clicked her tongue.
“Listen carefully, Roe Deer. Items traded only with points cannot be bought outside with ordinary money.”
“…….”
“And using that potion just because a hand was cut off is a waste. It’s an item that can regenerate even if half of your limbs are blown away.”
“Still,”
“Forget it. I’ll take care of my hand, so you keep it as an emergency reserve.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s eyes gleamed slightly gloomy.
“As you keep entering the Dark, situations where more than just a hand gets blown away will surely arise.”
A chill ran down my spine slightly….
“Actually, I have something to give to you.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je handled her single hand as skillfully as if she had used it that way for years, then reached into the drawer.
And she pulled out a gold-leafed box painted with a luxurious oil painting.
“…?!”
[Daydream Potion]
‘W-wait a minute.’
That is the box used to store Daydream Co.’s special potion!
Its luxury was even greater than the C-grade Regeneration Potion I received.
“Assistant Manager, what are you currently……”
“Look, see? The one remaining.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je opened the box cheerfully.
The inside was shaped with silk, concave to hold two round glass bottles.
However, one was already empty.
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je took out the remaining one and casually tossed it to me.
“Take it.”
“……!”
My god.
I hurriedly reached out my hand to catch the glass bottle so it wouldn’t fall, and checked it.
Inside the bottle, a liquid that looked as if purple and silver light had been squeezed into it was swimming smoothly like a graceful line….
: Daydream Potion :
Poison
Desert Rattlesnake (Outstanding)
Poison?!
“What you purchased with points was……”
“That’s right.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je smiled, showing her teeth.
“Handle it well. Because that is a Death Note worth 170,000 points.”
“…!!”
“You can secretly kill someone remotely.”
W-wait a moment.
With trembling hands, I read the explanation written on the glass bottle.
The Desert Rattlesnake poison silently and cruelly aids in revenge.
If you breathe the target’s name into the medicine bottle along with a simple ritual…
that night, a terrible death will visit the target.
“In short, if there is a bastard you want to kill, it’s perfect for sending them off without a sound.”
“…….”
“They say that before dying, they suffer a terrible mental torture of immense burning pain and wanting to curse the world, fall into a coma, and pass away after suffering for what feels like four years over the course of four hours.”
You are giving such a murder weapon to me…?
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je grumbled, saying things like ‘They sell it as a set of two bottles because the poison line is two stripes,’ and ‘I had to work twice as long because of that damn concept.’
But in the end, she looked at me and grinned.
“Use it when a bastard you want to kill appears.”
“…!”
“Because I had one.”
I groaned, looking at the empty glass bottle spot in the box.
…So she had indeed already used it!
“Are you curious? Who I used it on.”
I couldn’t help but recall reflexively.
-The word that best describes Teacher Eun Ha-je is ‘traitor’!
The exposure in <Hungry Hangman>.
“If it is a personal matter and uncomfortable for you to speak of, you don’t have to tell me……”
“Uncomfortable? Hey, I’m dying to talk about it.”
Well, if that’s the case.
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je crossed her arms and leaned against the bed.
“To put it simply… it’s true that I made a mess when I was a reporter and changed jobs.”
“…….”
“I ruined my life trying to dig up a scoop on a politician’s son who dabbled in all kinds of crazy things like drugs and human trafficking.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je spoke in her usual plain tone, but the content within it was by no means plain.
It was just the neatness characteristic of a story that had been chewed over and thought about for a very long time, and thus refined.
When she wrote the article, it wouldn’t pass the desk, and starting the next day, immense pressure came on a team level, she was stalked, threat calls came to her family….
“Actually, the conclusion within the team was to scrap everything and let it fizzle out as if nothing happened, but unable to hold back, I tried to take it to foreign media outlets to expose it. It was a betrayal, sure. But….”
A small sigh.
“On the day of departure, I received a call. Like a lie, the four informants had died.”
“…….”
“Well, superficially it was suicide due to despair over their situation… but of course it wasn’t, right? They were either killed, or harassed until they died.”
“…….”
“I was foolish to think everything would be resolved once it got reported.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“Being foolish is being foolish. Anyway……”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je had quit being a reporter.
She said she simply couldn’t do it anymore.
“But I had to get a job. I had people to support at home.”
Fortunately, she had found a suitable company back then.
A pharmaceutical company where the age range of successful new applicants was relatively diverse, and those with experience in various fields were preferred for sales positions.
A company where she wouldn’t be blacklisted because the industry was different.
“Daydream Co., that is.”
And what she encountered here after entering the company….
The Wish Ticket.
“Well… at first I thought about whether I could revive all the dead, but that felt like an insult to the deceased.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je adjusted her crossed arms.
“Acting to revive them at my whim just because I feel guilty is also self-satisfaction. It is right to respect the dead as they are. Although there are many bastards in our company who do not agree with this. Anyway……”
The conclusion ended with a faint smile.
“So I took my revenge last night, and that’s the end of it.”
“…….”
“If news comes out that a politician’s son died horribly, know that I killed him.”
And Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je stretched widely.
“Ha… Fuck, in any case, I’m finally quitting this damn Dark exploration!!”
“Are you resigning?”
“You never know in life.”
Contrary to her cool words, Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s face was somewhat stiff.
Although she mentioned it lightly to avoid burdening me, it was clear that Supervisor Park Min-sung weighed heavily on her mind….
“But I’ll be resting for a while… so I won’t be able to work in Group D like before.”
“…….”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je smiled somewhat bitterly.
“Roe Deer made such a fuss saying he had to stay in our group, and it turned out just like he said.”
“…Yes.”
I realized reflexively.
From now on… Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, who used to sit in the desk next to me in the office.
I wouldn’t be able to see her anymore.
“…….”
“Roe Deer.”
“…….”
“Is it very hard for you?”
“…!”
“Yeah. If it isn’t hard, you’re a psychopath. It’s only arriving late because you were too competent all this time, but it’s a process everyone goes through at least once.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je smiled and tapped her own chest.
“Not seeing the team member who sat next to you the next day.”
“…….”
“But tell yourself that this is the best scenario and give yourself some praise. Because it means you won’t see your team member for a good reason because you were outstanding.”
“……What about Supervisor Park Min-sung,”
“That is something I will carry as a debt.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je cut me off firmly.
“You rescued that guy as well, didn’t you? You should be proud of yourself. He’s a strong guy in his own right. He’ll recover on his own… so you go around worrying only about yourself.”
And then she glanced at me and laughed.
“Actually, the Leader was worrying about you a lot.”
“……?”
The Lizard… worrying?
“Roe Deer, hasn’t the Leader barely come to the office lately?”
That was true.
“Normally, when a team is cut in half like this, instead of resting, they usually go to support other teams.”
Ah.
“But he left you out of it.”
“…!”
“Well, whether by using his connections or going in himself in your stead.”
My god.
“He is somewhat trustworthy, right? That man has been like that since I entered the company. Strangely, though he lacks flexibility, he is reliable.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je gripped my shoulder with her remaining hand.
“It is difficult to work with trustworthy people in this company, and that too is your blessing. …Continue to work well with the Leader.”
And with a grin, she extended it.
“No matter who comes to my seat, Leader Lee Ja-heon and Kim Sol-eum, well. It’ll be fine.”
Her remaining right hand.
“I hope you earn a lot of points safely, Roe Deer.”
I gripped it tightly.
“May your wish definitely come true.”
“……Yes.”
I shook hands with Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je of Group D.
That was the end.
* * *
On my first day back to work after the vacation, I saw that the belongings on Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s desk in the Group D office had disappeared.
Supervisor Park Min-sung’s desk was still as it was, but there was no telling. When it would be cleared.
“…….”
I quietly went and sat at my desk.
Like that.
I was left as the sole member in Group D.