Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 117
"What a dilemma! A moment of difficult choices, my friend."
Brown's cheerful voice echoed in my ears.
"So, Soleum, you’ve got only ten passes in hand, but there are forty-five unfortunate candidates who will suffer unspeakable agony on that altar of rotten flesh."
"What criteria will you use to pick the forty-five sacrifices? And among them, how will you choose the ten dramatic exceptions?"
"A trial? A vote? A selection process? A lottery? Ah, no matter the choice, it all seems terribly tragic..."
Brown’s voice rose with excitement.
"But isn’t the heart-pounding tension, the pressure, the immersion, the sigh of relief, the joy, and the despair... the essence of a show?"
"This is the pinnacle of the moment. Oh! And here comes a panelist with their thoughts!"
At that moment, Jin Nasol spoke.
"Does it matter?"
"Deputy Manager?"
"I don’t see why it matters if there are ten doses of painkillers or just one. Just pick forty-five people and make them jump. That’s all there is to it."
Her tone made it clear she didn’t understand why this was even a question.
She turned to look at me.
And then...
"Isn’t this why you worked so hard to set the mood? Isn’t that right?"
Click.
The Deputy casually cracked the door to Car 1 open.
"...! Deputy..."
"Look."
Through the gap, I could see the passengers in Car 2, waving or looking at us with worried faces.
Hundreds of people, their mood perfectly cultivated to move forward without resistance.
"Well done. I thought you were wasting time, but now I see we can get this done without much effort."
"......."
"The remaining passengers won’t figure out what’s happening, will they? Not until they’ve jumped."
...It was true.
At this point, I could grab anyone and tell them, “You’re one of the forty-five chosen for this loop. Please jump one by one out the window.”
And the unaware would jump, without painkillers, straight into torture without warning.
"Actually, we don’t even have to stop at nine. Just make everyone keep jumping until there are no more altars."
"......."
"So let’s go push them off..."
"That’s not allowed."
"...!"
The response came from someone else.
It was the Chief.
She stood below Jin Nasol, her gaze steady.
"...What did you say?"
"I said, that’s not allowed."
"Is that so?"
Jin Nasol’s temple twitched, but she gave the competent Chief one more chance.
"So, what do you propose?"
And true to her style, the Chief made a choice that was quintessentially hers.
"We just pick the worst people and push them off."
"Are you insane? Why bother with that hassle?"
At that moment, the voice of the train itself echoed in our minds.
“Those who wish to reach Tamna must offer sacrifices. Those who wish to reach Tamna must offer sacrifices. Those who wish to reach Tamna must offer sacrifices...”
The chant repeated incessantly, pounding into our heads like a curse.
"Time’s up."
Jin Nasol started striding toward the door to Car 1.
The Chief’s eyes gleamed sharply, her hand moving toward—wait, stop!
"Hold on!"
I stepped in front of Jin Nasol.
"What?"
...This is dangerous.
‘Careful, careful.’
I swallowed hard and spoke.
"The Chief’s suggestion has merit. I don’t think we can simply tell people to jump."
"......."
"What I mean is, there has to be a valid reason to do so!"
"A reason."
"Yes."
I took a deep breath.
Calmly.
I connected the narrative I already knew from the wiki to the clues we had gathered.
To make it sound natural.
"Deputy, when you fell through the window and landed on the altar, you heard a voice, didn’t you? Something like ‘abandon your sins.’"
Abandon your sins.
Tear away your sins.
That eerie, booming echo that reverberated through my head couldn’t even be blocked out by the Happy Maker.
And if it hadn’t been for the Happy Maker, I would have clawed at my own flesh, burning with searing pain, compelled by that voice.
"So."
"If the message is that powerful, it must be deeply connected to this phenomenon. Therefore... I believe ‘sin’ is the keyword here."
"......."
"It’s the key to clearing this."
Jin Nasol stopped walking.
"Keep talking."
"Yes."
I swallowed again.
"Didn’t it seem strange from the beginning? Why do the people sacrificed as offerings keep waking up on the train? If they’re true sacrifices, they shouldn’t come back."
"But they come back insane."
"Yes. But that’s because they followed the command to ‘tear away their sins’ and were driven mad by the pain."
I separated the two ideas that had been lumped together over fourteen loops.
"In other words, the offering isn’t the person itself, but... the flesh they tear away as penance for their sins."
"...!"
I had said this before.
This wasn’t just about some cult where people went mad, killed each other, and threw bodies out the windows.
By sheer numbers, they should have easily passed the ninth altar already.
But the ghost story had persisted through hundreds of loops.
The reason?
"The people aren’t the offerings. The offerings are the sins they present on the altar."
"......."
"And the people return."
Every time someone finished their offering, they walked off the altar and reappeared at the start of the train, beginning the loop again.
Even if they were half-crazed by the pain of tearing away their sins, they still returned.
"The sins are torn away as flesh and left on the altar."
Eaten, vomited, and scattered....
"I believe that’s the true offering."
The pain.
The excruciating burning and the reverberating echo of guilt.
When I looked at the piles of rotten flesh littering the passageways, I began to see them differently.
They weren’t just grotesque remnants—they were offerings that had accumulated steadily on the altars.
"So I think it’s most reasonable to send those with sins to the altar to make offerings. That’s all I have to say."
"......."
"......."
Clap, clap, clap.
The Chief gave a small round of applause from behind me, but Jin Nasol didn’t move an inch.
"Of course, I could be wrong. But wouldn’t it be wise to prepare for the possibility that I’m right? For a safe clear?"
I looked Jin Nasol in the eye and implored her.
"Please, for the sake of a safe clear. Let me convince the passengers..."
"You."
Her lips parted.
"You’re good at lying."
"......!!"
"But at least you’re good at talking."
"Depu—"
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"Three strikes."
Thud.
She grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground.
"Pioneer!"
"Aaaagh!"
"There’s no end to this once you start going easy. We still have to enter the darkness when we get to Mokpo, and you’re wasting energy here?"
Screams erupted from the passengers in Car 2 as they tried to rush forward. But Jin Nasol calmly slammed the door to Car 1 shut and locked it in front of them.
Click.
"Be grateful I’m even wasting time on this."
She leaned in close, her face just inches from mine.
"You said the offering was flesh torn from sins? Then how come the people you threw in with the Happy Maker came back just fine without tearing anything off?"
"...!!"
"By your logic, they didn’t give an offering. And yet the train moved on to the next altar just fine, didn’t it?"
That...
"You knew. You lied."
......
"You caught me."
—Oh my goodness!
Yes.
I had tried to deceive her.
‘Though I didn’t think I’d get caught this quickly.’
I smiled weakly, sweat dripping down my face.
But most of what I said was true.
‘Except for one thing.’
The conclusion.
"I knew it."
Her grip on my throat tightened.
"So we just need to toss anyone into the altar, right?"
"H-honestly, yes."
I admitted it without hesitation.
"In truth, it doesn’t matter how much of their sins they offer. ...It might not matter at all. The act of bringing a person to the altar is likely what’s important."
And also...
"In this Tamna-bound train... everyone seems to be considered guilty anyway."
You’ve seen it.
‘Even the virtuous Silver Heart Owner tore at their body on the altar.’
According to the judgment of this insane ghost story, no one is without sin.
Everyone is guilty; the only difference is the degree of their guilt....
So if the goal is simply to clear the train, there’s no need to go looking for the “worst people” specifically.
"Finally, we’re getting somewhere."
Jin Nasol released me with a sharp motion.
I staggered but managed to regain my balance, breathing heavily.
"Alright. No more unnecessary talk. Get everyone cooperating and make this efficient."
"......."
I forced a strained smile.
"That’s odd."
"What?"
"Deputy, you just made a very inefficient decision."
Bang! Bang!
I gestured toward the passengers banging on the door, the Chief, and Baek Saheon.
"If you proceed with your method, you’ll have to fight all three of us."
"...!!"
"And since the passengers just saw you grab me by the collar, they’re going to fiercely resist whatever you try to do."
"......."
Given how things were shaping up, Jin Nasol’s idea of the “most efficient action” was bound to hit a wall of resistance.
The passengers would flat-out refuse to cooperate!
And with the situation unfolding like this, the Chief would undoubtedly join forces with me to take down Jin Nasol instead.
"Of course, Deputy, you could probably subdue everyone. But wouldn’t that be incredibly tedious? Am I right?"
"Oh! Excellent point, Soleum!"
The Chief grinned as she approached.
"Exactly. Why bother with all the hassle? Just take a nap, and the three of us will handle everything for you."
Baek Saheon, standing behind her, wore a face that screamed, Me? Really? but wisely kept his mouth shut instead of siding with the Deputy.
If it came down to a fight within the elite team, he’d side with the majority for the sake of the odds.
So...
"Deputy, could you let this tedious task slide just this once?"
"......."
"This isn’t actual work, just an unfortunate situation we’ve all been dragged into. We’d like to handle it in a way that’s a little safer and more comfortable. It’ll only take a bit more time."
Please!
‘Jin Nasol is a rational person.’
She wasn’t the type to throw a tantrum or deliberately make things harder just because she was annoyed.
I had no choice but to trust in that.
‘But... she’s still human, and people sometimes act impulsively when they’re in a bad mood.’
Especially someone in a leadership position like her—she’d likely feel a strong distaste for this situation where two subordinates were openly defying her.
I swallowed hard.
"This isn’t work, as you said, Deputy."
"......."
"......."
After a tense silence, Jin Nasol shifted her footing and...
Sat down in an empty seat in Car 1.
"...Thank you."
She didn’t respond. Jin Nasol simply closed her eyes with an expressionless face.
She was clearly suppressing her irritation.
Honestly, it was insane to talk back to a superior during an official assignment.
‘Phew....’
I’m sorry, Deputy.
Still, in the end, I believe this approach will yield efficient results that even Jin Nasol will find acceptable once everything is over.
For now, I had to move forward.
"...Let’s get started."
The first altar would appear soon.
The Chief seemed to have the same thought as she moved to unlock the door.
"Yup! Alright, let’s head out and pick the 45 worst people!"
Hmm.
"Uh, Chief, about that."
"...?"
"Could we try a slightly different approach?"
"Oh?"
***
Creak.
I opened the door to Car 1.
“Ah! It’s open... huh!”
“What... what is this place?”
The passengers, who had been knocking on the door and debating whether to break it down, initially brightened up, only to recoil in horror at the sight inside Car 1.
But upon seeing me, they visibly relaxed.
...Because the person they thought held the key to surviving this train was still standing, unharmed.
I bowed my head slightly.
“Thank you all for waiting.”
“Are... are you alright, Pioneer?”
“What about that person earlier...”
“Of course, I’m fine.”
I glanced over at Jin Nasol, forcing a wry smile.
“She helped me come to my senses after I discovered something... shocking.”
“...Shocking?”
I exhaled.
“Everyone, I have something to share.”
Taking a deep breath, I looked out at the hundreds of passengers staring at me.
“For this loop, anyone can go through the window.”
“Ooooh!”
“And this will be the last time.”
“.......”
“What?”
“What do you mean by that...?”
“Exactly what I said.”
I spoke slowly.
“After this, the test will end.”
The passengers began murmuring, confused by my words. Some asked if everyone wasn’t supposed to go through the window.
“In the original plan, yes, everyone was supposed to jump out of the window one by one... but something has changed.”
The passengers quieted, holding their breath as they waited for me to continue.
“You have all qualified.”
“T-then!”
I nodded.
“Yes. Anyone can go through the window and complete the test.”
“Oh, my God!”
“Then I’ll—”
I raised my hand to stop the eager volunteers.
“But this time, it will hurt. No exceptions.”
“...!!”
I was blunt.
“If you jump, you will feel excruciating pain. You might even want to tear at your own flesh to escape it. You’ll have to endure that agony and the voice echoing in your head, taking one step at a time toward the light....”
The crowd fell silent.
People froze, exchanging nervous glances as whispers filled the air.
Then someone shouted from the back.
“That’s not what you promised!”
“Yeah! You said you’d protect us!”
I nodded.
“Of course. If you don’t wish to participate, you don’t have to.”
“Uh... huh?”
“But there’s one thing I can promise.”
The truth was...
According to the Disaster Management Bureau’s notes on the Iksan train incident—where this ghost story had safely concluded—passengers would wake up at the starting station as if waking from a nightmare.
They’d dismiss the experience as a bad dream and go about their lives as usual.
But...
Volunteers who jumped out of the window showed notable changes.
I remembered those words.
One passenger, who had been habitually verbally abusive to their subordinates, apologized as soon as they got off the train and never raised their voice again.
Another passenger, who had a habit of jaywalking, stopped crossing against the light, saying it made them feel ashamed.
A third, who had been contemplating volunteer work at a youth center, finally acted on it.
Even a scammer planning an insurance fraud scheme gave up and reported it to the authorities.
Overall improvements in morality, self-esteem, and self-respect were observed.
Yes.
If this ghost story concluded safely without looping endlessly, the unbearable pain would fade like a forgotten nightmare.
But the good would remain.
‘...Which is why the Bureau didn’t classify the Iksan train as a disaster, but as a phenomenon, leaving it in an internal memo.’
So, with a bit of dramatic emphasis:
“Those who jump this time will emerge from the tunnel with pride.”
I continued.
“You will be the kind of person who takes action in the moment, instead of regretting yesterday’s choices. You will meet a version of yourself you can be proud of, unashamed and better than before.”
A small voice piped up from the crowd.
“...Is that the answer?”
I locked eyes with the speaker and nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“......”
“But I can promise you that much.”
The passengers fell silent again.
“Now, I ask once more... is there anyone willing to endure the pain and jump through the window?”
......
“I will.”
I turned my head.
The Chief had raised her hand.
And then...
“I’ll go too.”
One by one, hands began to rise.
“Me too.”
“Count me in!”
There was a peculiar energy on their faces—a mix of fear and exhilaration.
Group psychology.
A double-edged sword.
But the bond and trust forged through fourteen loops were now manifesting in their purest, most solemn form.
People were inspired by the courage of those closest to them.
In an instant, nearly half the passengers on the train had volunteered.
...The ending I’d wanted to see after playing the cult leader for fourteen loops was unfolding right before my eyes.
“Everyone.”
The first altar was coming into view.
“Thank you. I’ll join you.”
Just as the Silver Heart Owner had intended.
