Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 180
I remember it exactly.
So vivid it’s impossible to forget. It was a turning point in my time at the Hundred Dreams Corporation.
The summoning ritual for a Kind Friend.
Dip your finger in water and draw a hexagram based on the enclosed design on a smooth surface.
I ran to the bathroom, brought back water, poured it on the resort office floor, and began drawing the diagram with my finger.
Strangely enough, I could recall the exact pattern with perfect clarity. As if someone had carved it directly into my mind.
In an instant, the floor was covered with a water-soaked hexagram.
But there was one difference...
It was bigger.
So big it covered the entire office floor.
I placed the Magic Bunny mascot suit, now deactivated, at the center of the completed hexagram.
Then, with the utmost care, I tried placing the coin on its belly...
'……'
I couldn't get the coin.
The original silver snake coin used to summon the "Kind Friend"... was deep inside. Past the mascot suit, past the security team uniform inside it, all the way in the pocket of my own clothes underneath.
But I couldn’t take off the mascot suit.
‘…In that case!’
I opened the office drawer and took out a Happy Coin.
‘It’s still a coin.’
Even if it was plastic, it was still a legitimate form of currency. It matched the ritual’s symbolic use of the term "coin."
It didn’t need to be real silver—just a small, circular token with monetary value.
I thoroughly wiped the water off the mascot's gloved hand, then picked up the coin and placed it on the belly of the suit.
‘Done.’
I hurried to the next step.
Right…
'Salt!'
Hold a spoonful of salt in your mouth and burn an item related to your friend.
When the "Kind Friend" starts speaking, swallow the salt and return the greeting warmly!
If the coin disappears, the ritual was successful! You've met a loyal friend. Treasure your time together!
※ If the salt won’t swallow, tastes strange, turns to ash, or starts bleeding—run.
Not much left now.
The budget mascots came running from the room service storage, carrying salt. I snatched it from them outside the office and tried to put it in my mouth...
……
Wait.
Can I even do that while wearing the mascot head?
‘Gotta try.’
I cautiously opened the yellow mascot’s mouth. Then I poured the salt in and shut it.
Now just one thing left to prepare.
Burning the item.
Last time, I used my tie… but I didn’t have one now.
‘This’ll do.’
I untied the yellow bowtie from the yellow mascot suit and held it in my hand.
Then I brought it to the flame of the prepared candle.
Whoosh.
The bowtie caught fire.
The unnaturally high flame reminded me of the time I first summoned the Kind Friend.
A massive shadow was cast across the pink mascot suit.
And it trembled.
Twitch.
Twitch.
I watched it nervously.
He had said that if the medium was suitable, he’d come on his own.
So it had to work.
Twitch.
Twitch.
The shadow shifted, and it seemed like the mascot suit might start to move.
Any moment now, any moment...
Twitch.
Twitch.
In the darkness of that shadow.
The massive mascot suit opened its mouth.
"My resort!"
……
Huh?
"My resort called me back! Hahahahaha! Hahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahahaha! My resort! My resort! MYYYYYYYYY RESOOOOOOOORT! Beautiful Flower Golden Resort!"
At the center of the hexagram, the mascot suit convulsed, laughing hysterically. I watched the scene, breath held.
Thunk.
Its upper body sat up.
Its head twisted to look in my direction.
"Give it."
The Happy Coin on its belly sparked and burned away as it was sucked into the mascot suit.
The stench of melting plastic filled the office.
"My..."
"Resort..."
The water in the hexagram trembled as blood began to flow.
Molten plastic-like liquid oozed from the eyes and mouth of the mascot suit.
It stood fully upright over the hexagram.
"Give it."
‘……’
Something was wrong.
I had to end the ritual. Right now!
‘Swallow it.’
I tried to swallow the salt. Meaning, if I could just get it down my throat…
……
Huh?
Why… don’t I have a throat?
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
I looked down at myself.
And realized something horrifying.
‘I don’t have a body.’
The inside of this mascot suit was stuffed with cotton. And the reason why…
I hadn’t returned to my body.
After encountering the blue mascot and rushing back to the resort when Chief Lee Seonghae killed the ladybug, I had temporarily started using one of the budget mascot bodies instead of my original body.
And I kept using it.
So then, so then…
I forgot that I even had a body.
I’m currently using a budget mascot’s body.
‘…!!’
Then… where is my real body?
Don’t tell me… when the Magic Bunny attacked earlier, one of those shredded budget mascots was—
Ah. No.
If my real body had been torn, it wouldn’t have spilled cotton and cloth guts. There’d have been blood and real organs.
There was no yellow mascot like that. My body was somewhere...
……
But then, where the hell was it?
"Hello?"
And the thing that was “invited” through the Kind Friend ritual—just who exactly had it answered?
Then I realized.
My deduction was correct. The mascot suit was an appropriate medium for the summoning ritual.
But there was a flaw.
‘Undefined purpose.’
It wasn’t a souvenir plushie sold at the gift shop.
There was no seal or restriction to bind it as a Kind Friend.
"Hello? Hello? Hello? Answer me. Answer me!"
The mascot suit twisted, transforming into something grotesque.
…That’s not a Kind Friend.
It’s just something from the Reverse World.
"Offer a kind greeting and accept me, hollow one."
……
Wait a second.
Did it just say "my resort"? Don’t tell me that thing is—
"Behold the true mascot!"
……!
The presence inside the hexagram bursts outward from the mascot suit.
Grotesque, flower-like petals glowing with a filthy golden hue rise and fall from its head in a fractal pattern, as if trying to pierce the ceiling.
…Flower Golden.
"Accept it."
That silhouette from the ruined resort sign.
Inside the figure that looked like a golden flower mascot—it was there.
The invitation ritual conducted by a budget mascot had awakened the dead being that once ruled over this resort.
A being whose whereabouts after death had been unknown.
"Accept it."
The documents on the desk began to tremble.
A pen danced across the paper that had once congratulated me on my appointment.
The true owner of the resort had returned.
I was nothing more than a lowly temporary stand-in, a petty caretaker holding his seat. Now was the time to humbly hand over everything I had built to him and step down.
Everything had clearly been leading to this very moment!
The document slid toward me.
The pen scribbled furiously, as if ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) possessed, in my handwriting.
The ceremonial rites would now be conducted by him. The great Flower Golden himself would once again manage the resort as its true mascot!
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.
Until now, I had merely stolen his power! I had shamelessly claimed the glorious role of a stand-in for his rightful position, but now it was all over.
Ah.
I must accept him.
Completely accept him, become part of him, and follow the mascot.
Accept.
"Accept it."
I stepped backward.
The mascot suit approached the edge of the hexagram and stared into me.
"Accept it."
The ritual had failed. I had to escape.
But where could I go?
And until now, I’d followed the wise guidance of the documents. And now that it’s been revealed those documents were influenced by the will of the original mascot… then maybe, maybe it was only right to humbly follow the true mascot!
Yes! That makes sen—
…….
"No!"
I looked at the other documents on the desk.
The employee manual, the employment contract, the resort usage guidelines. All of them had been written while struggling against the will of the mascot who tried to run this place in grotesque ways.
I was…
…….
No.
I looked at the being inside the hexagram.
Here. My. Resort.
I grabbed the document and stepped in front of it.
My head was pounding, but it was bearable.
Because I had realized something.
You. Are. Not. Worthy.
"Wh-what?!"
How dare I—
I crumpled the document.
You. Lost.
"!!!!!!"
Yeah. You’re a ghost. One who was killed by another mascot and lost your territory.
And guess what.
It’s. Coming. Now.
The very being that killed you and turned this resort into a wasteland is right in front of the garden.
It’s come back to this sector. To start hunting again.
And I’ll show you the proof.
Right. Here.
I flung open the office door.
There was a large window across the hallway.
Since it was night, the outside couldn’t be seen clearly—but the reflection from the bright office lights was visible.
Clearly reflected, standing on the hexagram.
The mascot suit.
Red bunny.
Magic Bunny. Is. Here.
You.
"……."
The mascot suit reached up, touched its face, raised a hand to its head, and felt the two tall ears.
Then… it looked at its own hands.
Covered in red fur—rabbit paws.
"Magic Bunny…"
Its hands trembled violently as its limbs twisted in terror.
"Magic Bunny! Aaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaaaagh! Help! Help me!! Don’t pull out my guts! My resort! My resort!"
I quickly poured salt onto the office floor.
‘Erase it.’
The white salt blanketed the blood and melted plastic of the hexagram, wiping the pattern away.
As it disappeared, the mascot suit began to collapse inward, clutching its head and screaming.
"Run! Magic Bunny’s coming! The red mascot is coming! It’s following the red path! Aaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Save me! It’s infiltrating! That red ■■ writhing inside the suit ate me! Only scraps are left in the basement! Save me!"
"Disappear red thing disappear red thing disappearreddisappearreddisappearreddisappearredplease—"
The summoned being, clutching its head, finally—
Thudthudthud.
Tore its own head off.
With both hands, as if desperate to get away, reverent, terrified—it raised the mascot head into the air, holding it aloft.
And then—
Thud, it collapsed to the ground.
……
……
"Haaah."
I slumped to the floor of the office.
"I thought it was over."
I almost got absorbed and met a budget mascot ending. Even though this body was just cotton-stuffed, it felt like my heart could explode.
Still, somehow… I managed to clean it up, and I think I actually got some impressive results out of it. But what’s important now is—
"…Time!"
How much time is left?
I glanced at the clock.
8:11 PM.
"Forty-nine minutes until closing."
All that chaos only took ten minutes. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or exhausted, but one thing was certain.
I failed to summon the Kind Friend.
"……."
No.
There’s still meaning in this.
There were gains.
I found out the true identity of the thing that had been forcing me to run the resort.
And I got rid of it.
I smoothed out the crumpled document and brought the pen to it.
…There was no longer that strange sense of control.
"Looks like I can finally write the rules more freely."
I’d been blocked by the will of the resort so far. Things that might “harm successful operations” from the resort’s perspective could finally be implemented according to my own judgment now.
…The kind of crazy things Magic Bunny does.
"It’ll be useful."
I stood up.
…Still, a part of me clung to the idea that if I’d just had a little more time, maybe it would’ve worked.
Was it the coin? Or the bowtie? Or…
"…Maybe it just decided not to respond."
I hadn’t performed the ritual in my original body. That could have been a fatal flaw.
"Phew."
I gathered the documents, searching for a more secure defense or safety plan. I had to find the blue mascot—
Ding-a-ling-ling—
"……."
I froze.
Ding-a-ling-ling—
I turned my head.
The phone on the office desk was ringing.
Ding-a-ling-ling—
I stared at it stiffly.
In all my time at this resort… had the phone ever rung?
‘No.’
Room service calls came through on a walkie-talkie with a musical tone. Mascot calls came with an actual bell.
But this? This was a classic ring.
…A call. From someone.
Ding-a-ling-ling—
"……."
I approached the desk and picked up the old-fashioned receiver.
Click.
A deep brown, elegant wooden telephone.
And from within, a cheerful and pleasant male voice echoed out.
["Hello! What a lovely evening. Oh, I’d be very grateful if you could connect me to the talented, cheerful mascot of the Flower Golden Resort."]
…!
["Oh, it’s you. Perfect timing. Actually, I wanted to rent your modest and beautiful resort in its entirety for a few days."]
["As you know, famous people need a private place to relax. So I’m thinking of spending my summer vacation at your resort…"]
…….
No.
["Hm?"]
I’m quitting. Right. Now.
["My goodness, and here I was wondering why you didn’t hand the resort over to that other fellow. He seemed so desperate!"]
["Just kidding. Hahaha! The idea of that vulgar creature trying to steal the resort you’ve nurtured—how terribly rude."]
The voice of the Host came through the receiver.
["Mr. Roe."]
"……."
["Trying to summon me was a wise move, but you got too caught up in the show and overlooked a few things."]
Overlooked…?
["Of course, that too is a sign of a passionate entertainer—perfect for the genre. But if it drags on too long, things get dull. What you need now is the perfect advisor to keep the fun going."]
["So from here on, your friend will offer you a few kind suggestions…."]
The voice on the other end of the line dropped in tone.
["Now then, hold the phone close… and let the marvelous Brown’s voice guide you."]
The kind advice of the great Host began to flow through the telephone.
