Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 103

"Friend, your supervisor is a dull, unimaginative knife-wielder...."

“...Right.”

After thanking Lee Jaheon, I finally retrieved Braun.

Admittedly, I felt a little bad for both parties. Since I was delayed, my supervisor had taken Braun home after clocking out and kept the plush toy at his residence.

I thought Braun might find the rare visit to my supervisor’s home intriguing, considering I hadn’t been there myself and had no desire to go in the future.

But instead—

"Ah, I would have preferred sitting alone on the cold tile floor backstage at Studio B."

“...Okay.”

It seemed he found it utterly boring.

Listening to Braun complain about how the house had “nothing in it, not even murmurs or idle humming—just an oppressive silence,” I couldn’t help but break into a nervous sweat.

“Well, leaving you in that filthy place—the abandoned building—felt wrong. As your friend, I couldn’t do that.”

"Friend...!"

I think I was starting to figure out Braun’s patterns. Addressing him as a “friend” seemed to be the most effective way to get a mild reaction.

“Well, it’s true anyway.”

In any case, I recalled the conversation I’d had with Team Leader Lee Jaheon when I retrieved Braun earlier.

"Thank you."

I had bowed my head.

"And I’m sorry. I’ve caused trouble by doing something worthy of disciplinary action."

In a typical company, I’d have been smacked with a document binder for saying such a thing to my immediate supervisor.

But even after hearing my explanation, Lee remained composed.

"Understood."

"...I couldn’t knowingly send a colleague into a situation where their death was all but guaranteed...."

"I see."

After staring at me for a moment, Lee spoke.

"Take responsibility for your choice."

"...Yes!"

It was a bit intimidating, but it seemed he was willing to let it go.

“Thank goodness.”

I apologized and expressed my gratitude to him a few more times before handing over a gift set of snacks I’d prepared.

Now, I was descending the stairs from his residence.

"Ah, so now we return to the modest, cozy room of our dear friend, Soleum, to relax?"

“No, not quite.”

I stepped outside the building.

“There’s still one more thing I need to do.”

Today was the day to draw the tarot cards for the F-rank Darkness under my care: ‘Choose One.’

It had been two months since I last visited the annex to read the cards. While I was on sick leave, someone else had filled in for me, and now it was my turn again.

“Good evening.”

I greeted the dark silhouette of a security team member at the desk, received the keys, and made my way down the corridor.

“Last time, I drew the Moon card in reverse.”

"Oh, will you use that same trick again? Drawing the card in reverse, I mean."

“Well, if it’s necessary, I’ll have to. But I’d rather not.”

"Oh?"

Certain concerns came to mind.

“When I drew the Moon card in reverse, it was said to resolve uncertainty.”

"Indeed. Was there an issue with that?"

Not inherently.

For the next month, several events did bring clarity or resolution to uncertain matters.

For instance, my team placement.

“It was confirmed that I’d stay in Team D.”

...After two team members disappeared, that is.

“......”

But all of this hinged on a premise.

“To resolve uncertainty, you first have to experience an uncertain situation.”

In other words, drawing a “bad card” in reverse assumes you’ll experience a negative state.

“You have to go through it to recover or escape from it.”

"Ah, an interesting perspective. Quite convincing!"

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Exactly.

And no matter how much recovery occurs, in the context of ghost stories, entering a “bad state” comes with enormous risks.

I couldn’t forget the contamination incident.

“It’s safer to aim for a good card in its upright position whenever possible.”

So, I fervently hoped I wouldn’t end up with two bad cards, leaving me no choice.

I entered the isolation chamber, lifted the containment on ‘Choose One,’ and took two black tarot cards from the deck, placing them face-down on the table.

Taking a deep breath, I flipped them over.

The first card:

The Devil.

Damn it.

“That damn Devil card keeps showing up.”

The surprising thing was that it was already reversed this time.

"Ah, the Devil in reverse!"

"It represents liberation from the Devil—a card of freedom. It signifies overcoming addiction, obsession, or fear, and suggests a decisive act of will in the future."

"It suits someone with your determination and creativity, Soleum."

I appreciated the explanation, but my gaze was already fixed on the second card.

The second card:

The Sun!

A blazing red and yellow sun illuminated the card’s surface with vivid, radiant colors.

This was...

“This has to be good, right?!”

"Oh, the Sun!"

"Under the Sun’s brilliant light lies joy and abundance. It signifies career success, strengthened relationships, and unparalleled positivity. It guarantees happiness in the near future."

"Some even consider it the best card in the deck, though, well... isn’t unrelenting success and happiness a bit boring?"

Sorry, but I’ll gladly take that boredom right now, thank you very much!

This was an easy choice.

I reached out and picked up the Sun card.

With that, I secured a straightforward and positive future.

"A bit of a dull choice, perhaps! But I respect it nonetheless, Soleum!"

“Thanks.”

I wrapped up the ritual.

“Success and happiness, huh.”

There’s no downside to that.

For now, I’d take comfort in the prophecy that something good would happen within the next month.

“Time to head back home.”

"Excellent, my friend!"

And so, I ended the long and tumultuous day, returning home late at night.

Since I couldn’t take the elevator, I had to climb the stairs.

“Climbing stairs at night—it’s scarier than you’d think, even without ghost stories...”

It was a little disheartening.

But that was truly the last major incident of the year.

Surprisingly, the rest of the year passed peacefully.

For the entirety of December, Gwak Jaegang didn’t summon me for pointless tasks. Even the strange research team projects were nearly nonexistent.

“Looks like my MZ act worked...”

I worried they might try to drag Jang Heowoon into something again, but thankfully, that never happened either.

[Jang Heowoon: Soleum! I haven’t been reassigned either. I’m still in Team F.]

It seemed he had settled into Team F officially after the year-end reshuffle.

“That’s something to celebrate.”

Even though his teammate was Baek Saheon... well, considering the Saekwang Industrial High School case, it didn’t seem like they’d use Heowoon as bait recklessly.

Everything else was ordinary.

I tackled ghost stories diligently, though I avoided anything above a C-rank.

Thanks to this, my internal screams, nightly fears, and reliance on children’s cartoons to stave off insomnia all remained manageable.

When I bumped into Evaluation Manager Lee Byeongjin in the hallway, he remarked that the company was “filthy busy with year-end accounting and audits.”

Though he still brought up Director Ho from time to time, which was grating, I appreciated the occasional bits of useful information.

"Wow, Assistant Manager Kim must be raking in points, clearing high-rank Darkness left and right, right? You must be sad there aren’t more high ranks, huh! Haha!"

“......”

Not sad at all.

Even by steadily clearing low-rank stories, I accumulated points and managed to catch my breath.

Still, one thing remained curiously unresolved the entire time.

“Um, Team Leader. Is my disciplinary action still under review?”

“Yes.”

"Oh, how fascinating! Didn’t you expect a swift resolution, Soleum?"

Exactly.

While I hadn’t expected them to dismiss it outright, I also hadn’t thought it would drag on like this.

I figured I’d get a quick, straightforward punishment meant to humble a cocky but capable rookie.

“Why is this taking so long at the top level?”

It seemed rumors about me had spread even within the Field Exploration Team. They were... strange.

[Kang Ihak: Assistant Manager! I heard the news, haha. You stood your ground and refused to do inefficient tasks that weren’t in your job description? Legend! Respect!]

“......”

“So... that’s how the rumors spread?”

“I tried to craft a character with clear moral boundaries, but did even that go off track?”

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to have gone that far. It appeared that the administration department was simply debating whether to handle my case as an exception or follow regulations to the letter.

And so, by late December—

“Your disciplinary schedule has been finalized.”

“......”

Finally.

The official notice had arrived.

Disciplinary Action Notice

Details: Nighttime cleaning duties with the Security Team.

Duration: Three days.

This measure is intended to improve the individual’s work attitude and ensure similar incidents do not occur in the future.

Truly, this is so typical of a ghost story company.

“Where are the usual corporate punishments like education, pay cuts, suspension, or demotion?”

You’d think three days of cleaning wasn’t so bad, right? A manageable outcome?

Well, yes... but...

“The schedule will be from December 29th to December 31st.”

“......”

Who’s behind this?

“The sheer pettiness in choosing those dates reeks of someone’s desire to utterly screw me over.”

It felt like they were daring me to ring in the new year sleepless and trapped at work. I really wanted to know who had come up with this.

But after standing my ground once already, I had no choice but to accept it this time.

“Sigh...”

By midnight on December 29th, I headed down to the Security Team's area on Basement Level 1.

And there, I ran into a familiar face.

“Good evening, J.”

“Wow... long time no see...”

It was Security Team Leader J3.

The wiry-framed employee I’d crossed paths with several times—during the Mountain God ghost story, the Hungry Hangman escape, and the containment incident—greeted me with a mildly pleased expression and raised his hand.

Of course, he mostly looked annoyed, so I quickly pulled out the bribe I’d prepared.

“I’m sorry to trouble you. Please take care of me for the next three days.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for...”

His face lit up as he accepted two large boxes of a dozen sugar and cream donuts each.

“Totally worth signing up for this... Thanks... I’ll enjoy these myself.”

“......”

“I brought two boxes so you could share with the team...”

But judging by how firmly he believed all 24 donuts were for him alone, I wisely chose not to say anything.

“Alright, follow me...”

J3 led me deeper inside, past the CCTV monitoring room.

“This is an area restricted to the Security Team.”

Here I was again.

Swallowing nervously, I followed him down the hallway.

Somewhere in this section, I’d be doing my cleaning.

“May I ask where I’ll be cleaning for the next three days?”

“Yeah... You’ve been there before, so it should be easier for you. Maybe...”

I’ve been there before?

“Today’s cleaning area is Corridor B of Containment. You know, where we pulled that contaminated employee from...”

“......!”

Damn it.

That meant the corridor adjacent to the Security Team’s storage area, where the isolation rooms were located. The very place where I’d been briefly quarantined after escaping the Hungry Hangman.

“That place... was anything but normal.”

I remembered the whispers and strange phenomena in that corridor and couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Cleaning in the Security Team’s section...”

I had an almost certain feeling that I’d encounter something abnormal. My heart raced at the thought.

“Here’s the locker room.”

Following the Security Team Leader’s guidance, I headed to the changing room.

On the way, I got a brief glimpse of their living quarters through an open door.

[Dormitory]

Through the crack in the door, I saw functional yet bleak living spaces outfitted with gray standard-issue curtains, bedding, metal desks, and cabinets.

“This feels oddly like a prison staff dormitory.”

Compared to the employee residence halls, it seemed much more spartan—especially since it was underground. That couldn’t be good for their health.

“Does the entire Security Team live here?”

“No. Just the guards... uh...”

J3 frowned slightly, as if calculating how much he could reveal.

Eventually, with a weary expression, he shrugged and answered lazily.

“The Security Team and the overarching Security Management Department are split into different branches. This area is mostly for the guards.”

“Got it.”

Before long, we arrived at the locker room, where I quickly changed into the provided uniform.

It wasn’t the Security Team attire I’d worn last time but a bright orange outfit that stood out like a neon light. It resembled an engineer’s work suit.

“The cleaning uniform... It’s nice... Bright color... Pretty...”

“......”

Was that genuine?

Once dressed, it was time to head to the cleaning area.

“Sigh.”

Feeling like a lamb to the slaughter, I turned to J3. But instead of leaving the locker room, he stopped, as if waiting for someone.

“Cleaning is usually done in pairs.”

Hmm?

Surely he wouldn’t be joining me... would he? Or was it someone else?

That’s when J3 glanced outside the locker room and waved me over.

“Here they come... Your partner for tonight.”

I turned toward the dormitory hallway.

Someone was walking toward us.

“An...familiar face?”

“Soleum!”

“...!!”

Walking down the corridor was Assistant Manager Park Minseong, raising a hand awkwardly as he greeted me with a smile.

“Good to see you. How have you been?”