Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 142

I successfully made a legitimate purchase in this insane ghost story of Lucky Mart, using a gift certificate.

"..."

I grabbed the purchased items and guided the trembling high school student away from the cashier. To avoid revealing my missing arm, I casually draped my jacket over my shoulder and stepped out of the checkout area.

One step. Two steps.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to look—

"...!"

The bizarre aspects of the mart had all blurred away.

The eerie slogans, grotesque items, sinister bloodstains, and organs—they had all faded, as if a filter had been applied to my perception. Unless I focused intently, I couldn’t see them clearly anymore.

More accurately, they no longer seemed grotesque. Everything appeared... normal.

As if we were just ordinary customers shopping in an ordinary mart.

"Wow."

I heard the high school student exclaim in amazement as they stopped in their tracks.

But at the same time—

"Oops."

"...!"

The past shoppers had started perceiving us as normal too.

"Oh, I’m so sorry!"

The high school student stumbled backward as a shopper they bumped into apologized, looking them directly in the eye.

"I’m sorry," the student stammered, retreating.

I quickly stepped in, guiding them to the side.

"Didn’t I tell you not to be surprised?"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The student stuck close to me, their eyes now sparkling with a mix of awe and excitement.

"So... does that mean we can just walk out now?"

"Yes."

"Wow...!"

All the convoluted steps needed to escape were essentially skipped now.

By making a purchase with a gift certificate, we were treated like any other shopper.

For example, even if we had broken items or eaten food during after-hours, all we had to do was pay for it, and we could leave.

"Excuse me, let me pay for this—!"

"One moment."

Like Ko Yeongeun, who was currently at another register.

I listened closely to her exchange with the cashier.

"Customer, you damaged merchandise in Lucky Mart! Please pay 390,900 won!"

"Sure."

Calmly, Ko Yeongeun handed over a 50,000-won note. The ballooning cashier snatched up the gift certificate with an unnaturally wide smile and handed her 10,000 won in change.

Then, in a monotone voice, they asked again,

"Would you like me to ring up this gum for you?"

"...Yes."

Only then did the items she picked out get processed normally.

Sigh. I exhaled in relief.

As expected.

‘When you don’t know when the mart’s doors will open, nothing beats this method.’

The gift certificates allowed us # Nоvеlight # to cover any mistakes made near closing hours by simply paying for them and leaving.

And, to be honest, I had anticipated that if we stayed in Lucky Mart beyond a week, at least one of us would eventually make a mistake.

Whether it was me, one of the high school students, or even Ko Yeongeun.

‘...My emergency supplies only go so far.’

Even the trick of eating food on the staircase, which avoided detection, required supplies to pull off.

Once those ran out, we would inevitably resort to stealing food or essentials from the mart. At some point, someone would get caught, leading to the "supplies" fate.

‘I’m glad we avoided that outcome.’

With that thought, I looked ahead with renewed determination.

Ko Yeongeun waited for the high school student previously under the Bronze Agent’s care to finish paying before stepping out together.

Safe and sound.

"Thanks to you, we made it through. Thank you."

"It’s nothing."

Now, only one task remained.

"Bronze Agent."

We signaled to the two still waiting inside the checkout area.

Ryu Jaegwan and Lee Subin.

They had been chosen to use the emergency escape item—the Five-Colored Shoelaces.

"It seems unlikely that the Bronze Agent can resolve their situation with an amount under 100,000 won."

"And... it’s best if that student leaves with us as well. The one who went missing first."

The Bronze Agent had already been marked as "supplies," and the compensation owed by their existence far exceeded 100,000 won. A normal escape was impossible, making them a clear choice for the emergency item.

Lee Subin, the high school student who had gone missing earlier, was next. They’d been trapped the longest, owed an unknown debt to the mart, and were mentally too shaken to move without the Nostalgia Candy.

‘The item can’t be smuggled out anyway.’

The Lucky Mart spirit smith could track whether it had been used or not. Better to use it effectively.

I spoke quickly.

"You can leave now."

"..."

The Bronze Agent stepped forward, met my gaze silently, and said,

"You go first."

Ah.

"I’ll confirm that you’ve left before I..."

"Can we leave?!"

"...!!"

Before the Bronze Agent could finish, someone lunged forward with unnatural speed.

A middle-aged woman—at least, what was once a middle-aged woman. She was drooling, her eyes unnervingly wide, and instead of an arm, she had a doll sewn into her shoulder.

A corrupted one.

A long-term missing person.

"Can we leave? Are you talking to them? Haha! Let’s go! Let’s goooo!"

She had realized that the Bronze Agent was part of our group.

‘I thought if we just paid and left, the long-term missing wouldn’t interfere.’

After all, if they caused a commotion by confronting legitimate customers, the employees would step in.

But that had been too logical an assumption.

When corrupted by the ghost story, desires could flip upside down.

For instance—

An overwhelming, irrational desire to escape.

"I want to leave! I want to leeeeave!! Give me the gift certificate! Give it to meeee!!"

Eyes turned toward us.

The cashier called out.

"Customer, you damaged merchandise in Lucky Mart! Please pay 5,208,240 won!"

‘No.’

At the very least, the Bronze Agent and Lee Subin had to get out.

I sprinted into the mart, stepping between the cashier and the commotion, shouting,

"Go! Now!"

Without hesitation, the Bronze Agent shoved the long-term missing person aside, subdued them briefly, and immediately secured the high school student.

Then, with quick, practiced hands, they tied the Five-Colored Shoelaces.

Three steps.

"Ahhh, I’m scared! I’m scared! Let me out!"

"Pay for damages!"

Amidst the chaos of screaming voices, the two of them vanished from the mart as if they had evaporated.

Escape #1: Ryu Jaegwan and Lee Subin – Successful.

There was no time to catch our breath.

"Can we leave? Can we leave?!"

"I want to go too! That guy has money!!"

The commotion drew attention, and other long-term missing persons began muttering as they approached from the shelves, escalators, and even the restrooms.

I bolted toward the cashier and shouted, "Candles, candles!!"

Ko Yeongeun had already pulled out a lit candle and hidden the high school students behind her.

"You two, run!"

The three of them dashed toward the exit. Then, Ko Yeongeun sent the two high schoolers out through the glass doors.

The moment they stepped out, the pair vanished as if it were all a lie.

Second Escape: Jang Minseo, Hyun Jaehun – Successful.

They were safe.

Ko Yeongeun sprinted back to me, panting.

"Deer! Grape! Whatever—!"

She frantically waved me toward the safety of her candlelight. I quickly dove into its protective glow.

But chaos had already erupted outside the checkout area. The long-term missing persons swarmed the aisles and counters, and the "employees" began confiscating items in a frenzy.

"Get out now!"

I wanted to. I truly did.

But I had been waiting for this exact moment.

The moment when only the spies and the marked insiders remained.

"Wait, just a moment."

"What now...?!"

I pulled out the remaining gift certificate from my pocket.

"Let’s finish spending these."

"...!!"

I dashed back into the cashier area.

Since the first time I used the gift certificates, I’d been keeping an eye on the remaining balance.

This was my chance to grab the unique items sold only in this cursed mart.

In ghost stories like Death Road Market or Alien Shop, I had found bizarre, useful items. And this mart—being a ghost story itself—had to sell such things too.

Because that’s what made it fun.

And those items couldn’t be stolen from the ghostly past shoppers.

The past shoppers simply reenacted their normal shopping behaviors, which meant the items they picked up were always mundane essentials.

So, I had to find and purchase the extraordinary items myself.

‘Quickly.’

I needed to act fast to avoid arousing suspicion from those who had already escaped.

And before I got caught in the chaos...

‘Hurry!’

I scanned the mart in haste.

The first-floor event displays, decorated for a Children’s Day promotion, were filled with toys. Among them, spotting the "strange items" was actually easier.

Those were the ones that appeared blurry, as if censored or out of focus. These were the specialty products of the Lucky Mart ghost story.

I noticed a model train, a donut-shaped inflatable tube, and a clay set—but I didn’t pick them up.

‘Something safe.’

I wanted to minimize the risk.

Ideally, it would be something I’d seen mentioned in the mart’s exploration records.

The problem was that matching items based on vague, two- or three-word descriptions wasn’t easy.

‘Focus.’

I clenched my teeth, searching both the shelves and my memory for something familiar.

"..."

Wait a minute.

‘That one.’

I approached an event stand piled with dolls.

Some of the dolls appeared blurry, their shapes partially obscured.

Getting closer, I spotted the one that caught my eye.

A white lizard doll.

It was identical to the one I’d seen on Chief Lee Jaheon’s desk in Division D’s office.

"...!!"

I grabbed the doll.

"Have you decided?"

"Yes. What about you, Yeongeun?"

She nodded, holding a small item in her hand.

"Let’s go."

We hurried to the cashier and paid for our chosen "items."

Behind us, the sounds of long-term missing persons becoming "supplies" echoed—along with insane price demands far beyond what our gift certificates could cover.

"28,000 won," said the cashier.

Quickly, we each secured one item and, catching our breath, headed toward the exit.

"Let’s not tell the Bureau unless they ask," Ko Yeongeun muttered.

"...Agreed. Thank you."

I didn’t test her patience further and sprinted with her to the mart’s glass doors.

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"I’m putting out the candle now!"

"Okay!"

The doors opened.

Sigh.

The queasiness in my stomach worsened after days of confinement. My mind replayed every move, questioning if I had made any mistakes.

‘Let’s go.’

Clenching my teeth, I pushed forward.

The eerie signs that once loomed over the mart were no longer visible. All I could see through the glass doors was the past—a familiar, nostalgic scene from outside.

The fear that I might somehow end up back in that world lingered.

But...

‘Ignore it.’

Together, Ko Yeongeun and I stepped forward.

The automatic doors slid open smoothly.

Ding.

We ran, each step carrying us further from the cursed place.

Forward, forward.

A cold breeze greeted me, along with sunlight piercing my eyes.

I blinked.

"Ha."

As the light dimmed, I looked around.

The warm sunlight of late winter bathed the nostalgic streets of the 2020s.

And there, waiting for us, were the people who had escaped first.

"...!"

"A-Agent!"

The high schoolers ran toward us, their faces still streaked with tears and snot, but now radiant with joy.

Seeing them, it finally sunk in.

‘We made it out.’

Third Escape: Ko Yeongeun, Kim Soleum – Successful.

We had escaped at last.