Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 100

Team Leader Gwak Jaegang of the Research Team.

A mad scientist who once shoved his subordinate into the "Cheerful Theme Park" ghost story.

He had also acted as a consultant during the “Mansion of the Blind” incident, where everyone on the team almost got wiped out.

“I’ve been wanting to have a proper talk with you for a while, Ms. Nohru. Finally, we have the chance to sit down like this.”

The deranged ghost story researcher beamed at me, extending his hand.

“Your remarkable achievements had me curious for so long!”

“Thank you.”

Wow. Truly one of those bosses you never want to shake hands with.

But you do it anyway. That’s corporate life.

“They say Team D will soon become an elite unit at the start of the new year, which means you’ll be busier working in larger teams. It’ll get harder to have these casual chats before diving into the darkness....”

Gwak cracked a few lighthearted jokes, emphasizing how hard it was to call me over.

“And, well, I was just so curious.”

Then, with a sly grin, he got to the point.

“How on earth did you manage to get Team Leader Lee Jaheon on your side?”

“...!!”

“Every time I tried calling for you alone, he immediately cut me off. He’s never been that proactive before~”

Internally, I screamed.

‘Thank you, Captain...!’

But to be honest, I didn’t even "get him on my side."

‘All I had to do was say I didn’t want to do it.’

Lee Jaheon has always been a by-the-book kind of leader who strives to reflect his team members’ requests.

It’s just that no one had ever asked for such requests before!

No matter how sweet a deal something was, I was probably the only person in this ghost story company willing to scream, “I’d rather split it into equal parts than enter a ghost story alone!”

Well, anyone else like me has likely already died or vanished.

Anyway, this time, even Lee Jaheon seemed unable to block it on his own.

Or maybe he couldn’t come up with a strong enough reason to stop it.

“In any case, don’t worry. I don’t hold a grudge for how hard it was to get you here.”

Gwak smiled slyly.

“It’s just... I find it fascinating how there’s nothing you can’t seem to do!”

“What do you mean by fascinating...?”

“You’re great at your job, eloquent, and even maintain a stellar reputation... It’s impressive. But humans are incapable of excelling at everything! Myself included.”

He tapped his chest lightly for emphasis.

“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. So...”

His eyes glimmered with a passion bordering on madness, directed entirely at me.

“What’s your weakness?”

“......”

“And how does that weakness not stand out, even while you’re navigating these bizarre ghostly phenomena? I’m genuinely curious!”

Oh, for heaven’s sake....

“If I could tell you, it wouldn’t be a weakness.”

“Haha, a clever response!”

Save me.

‘Please don’t tell me he’s already guessed I’m a coward.’

I discreetly swallowed a lump in my throat.

Gwak spread his hands wide.

“Anyway, I called you here today for something good.”

“Good, you say?”

“A reason to celebrate! Based on my calculations... Ms. Nohru, you’ve already accumulated more than half the points needed for a Wish Token, haven’t you?”

“...!”

This guy’s sharp.

Yes.

What he said... was true.

I recalled the total points I’d accumulated up to last week.

Accumulated Points: 177,200p

Even that amount was absurd.

A rookie who hadn’t even been with the company for a year managing such a staggering number of points? It was so outlandish I never brought it up in conversation.

Even in a department where it was common to joke about quitting, there were limits.

‘At this level of irregularity, anyone would start drawing conclusions.’

But who could have predicted this?

That, by this week, my accumulated points would reach an even more incomprehensible figure.

Accumulated Points: 277,200p

I was entering a range where people might start accusing me of falsifying records.

‘It’s all thanks to Saekwang Industrial High School.’

Think about the point distribution by grade:

A-grade: 100,000p.

And I had cleared Saekwang Industrial High School on my own with an A-grade ranking.

While others had entered and cleared it with me, I was the sole recipient of the A-grade distinction.

On top of that, the solution I provided had been deemed sufficiently impactful to count as a solo completion.

Thanks to the proactive approvals of Director Chung and Director Ho, both from development, my achievement had been officially recognized without issue.

It was a bizarrely fortunate and haunting development.

‘And just this morning, the points were officially registered.’

Thus, Kim Soleum had officially accumulated over half the points required for a Wish Token.

‘This is happening way faster than I expected....’

Strangely enough, everything had lined up perfectly to bring me this far.

At this pace, if I endured just one year—perhaps even less—on the elite team, I could return to the real world.

A peaceful 21st-century Korea where ghost stories didn’t exist!

This thought flashed through my mind in an instant, but I managed to keep my expression composed... probably.

‘Don’t give him any ammunition...!’

“What changes once you pass half the required points?”

I deliberately furrowed my brow slightly, crafting a subtle reaction—just ambiguous enough that it was unclear whether I felt guilty for having so many points or frustrated for not having enough.

“It’s not so much that anything changes... it’s more like an opportunity opens up.”

Gwak smiled knowingly.

“Have you heard of the Wish Token Simulator?”

A simulator?

...Ah!

From this point on, employees flagged as likely to earn a Wish Token, such as Qterw-D-718, are given access to the simulator.

‘That was mentioned in the ghost story wiki.’

I remembered.

I forced myself to recall the fading details of the wiki with obsessive focus, even as Gwak’s chatter echoed in my ears.

“This company offers employees close to earning a Wish Token a chance to check their wish in advance. To ensure it’s fulfilled in the most ‘appropriate’ way.”

Was the threshold for these “promising employees” set at 250,000 points?

Or was it calculated based on the time remaining until the Wish Token could be redeemed?

Either way, it seemed my turn to experience the simulator had arrived.

...If entering a ghost story could be called an opportunity!

“You could wait and try it later, but who knows when you’d get another chance? That’s why I called you now.”

“......”

I thought it over.

Was this part of some scheme Gwak had cooked up?

‘There’s definitely a catch.’

But outright refusal wasn’t an option.

This man seemed like the type who would relentlessly press for a reason.

“Why would you avoid it? You’re not a coward, are you? Hahaha!”

Yikes.

“Well, there could be other reasons to avoid it.”

I sighed and got to my feet.

Let’s just end this conversation quickly.

‘If I have to go into a ghost story anyway, I might as well give them nothing to work with.’

“Fine. When do I enter?”

Gwak smirked.

“Nohru.”

“......”

“You’ve changed. You’re not a rookie anymore. Don’t you agree?”

Wait.

“No, I mean that as a compliment! You finally feel like a proper employee here. No unnecessary chatter, straight to the point—you’re already fitting in with the elite team.”

Gwak grinned, his eyes gleaming.

“Now let’s have you do something befitting a company employee!”

He placed a document on the table.

‘This is....’

A profile of an employee.

I recognized it.

Employee: Jang Heowoon

It was a photo of a fellow employee, someone with long hair and a gloomy demeanor who was around my age.

“Ah, you know him, right? You went into the Cheerful Theme Park ghost story together. He was part of the cleanup team.”

“He’s no longer part of that team. He was reassigned to Team F.”

“Ah, right. He was reassigned... but technically, his official position is still in the cleanup team.”

“...!”

“It’s just a temporary dispatch to the general team. His formal reassignment won’t take effect until next year, right?”

Gwak tapped the document.

“So... for now, he’s still eligible to be deployed for things like this.”

“......”

Things like this?

A cold dread climbed up my spine.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s simple. Once you finish your business in the darkness, call him into the remaining elevator... and just leave him there.”

“...!”

This crazy bastard.

No, stay calm. I can’t let any agitation show here.

“Hmm. So, this darkness can be entered by two people... or is a sacrifice required?”

“Haha... figuring that out is the very purpose of our research team! Ms. Nohru, all you need to do is follow instructions. Simple, right?”

Thud.

Gwak Jaegang tossed another document onto the table.

The darkness assigned to me this time.

“The elevator ghost story.”

***

"Well then, I’ll leave it to you, Ms. Nohru! Don’t forget to call the cleanup team rookie on your way out and take them with you."

"......."

I read the manual I had already memorized one more time before slipping it back into my pocket.

How did I handle it?

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

Mr. Heowoon, we’re scheduled to enter around 5 PM. Please take it easy until then.

Ah, understood!

I wasn’t going to bring him along.

And I understood one thing.

‘This is definitely grounds for disciplinary action.’

No matter how I spun this, it was going to raise questions.

This wasn’t the kind of issue you could brush off as simple flexibility, even for someone who worked for a ghost story company.

But if I didn’t block this from the start, there would be no point.

‘There’s a high chance Gwak Jaegang has already tampered with Jang Heowoon somehow.’

I needed to prevent him from even showing up.

And I had a reason for taking this risk, a potential benefit worth the disciplinary action—but that would have to wait until the exploration was over.

The important thing now was this:

...I was about to ride a haunted elevator alone.

"Phew."

This was the first time I’d been given the time to mentally prepare myself before entering a ghostly place alone.

‘Honestly... maybe it was better when I didn’t know and just walked right in.’

My hands trembled with fear.

And I had left Braun behind at my station.

‘The elevator in this ghost story is single-passenger anyway.’

I didn’t want Braun to be left right outside the elevator doors... who knows what could happen.

I’d asked Team Leader Lee Jaheon to occasionally check on Braun to ensure he was safe. That would have to suffice.

‘...Let’s go.’

I entered the confirmed entry building for Qterw-D-718, which the company had identified and quarantined.

It was an old rental apartment building. The water supply had long been cut off, but the company had hooked up temporary power.

Inside, the air was cold and smelled stale, heavy with neglect.

The shadowed hallway stretched endlessly before me, a corridor into the unknown.

And then, the only functioning machine.

5F

The elevator doors on the first floor.

"......."

Swallowing hard, I walked down the hallway.

The emergency exit signs and dim lighting revealed the elevator.

"Under Repair. We’ll fix it quickly. Happyland Apartment Security Office."

The note was tattered, the faded paper dangling loosely under yellowed box tape.

This was it.

I pressed the elevator button with trembling hands.

The elevator began descending slowly.

5, 4, 3, 2...

Ding.

I took a deep breath.

As the elevator doors opened, I caught sight of the rusty, dim interior.

The floor was blackened and dirty, as though it hadn’t been cleaned in years.

Still, I stepped forward.

Once inside, I saw them—on the left and right walls.

Dirty mirrors smeared with handprints.

"...Phew."

Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story

Don’t Look in the Mirror

: A ghost story featured in Dark Exploration Records, identified by Baek Il-Mong Corporation as Qterw-D-718.

One of the ritualistic ghost stories circulated online around 200X.

It’s said that if you play rock-paper-scissors with your reflection in the elevator and win, the reflection will truthfully answer any question.

The phenomena were documented in a gamebook-style guide, detailing responses based on each scenario.

The doors are closing.

I pressed my back against the only wall without a mirror, watching the doors close with a growing sense of dread.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.

The doors sealed shut, and darkness fell, bringing with it an eerie silence.

Inside the halted elevator, I stood completely still... alone.

Alone with the mirrors.

"......."

What felt like an eternity passed in just a few seconds.

I had to endure this. If I could just hold out...

The elevator is going up.

Ding.

The elevator began to move, even though I hadn’t pressed any buttons.

...It had been summoned somewhere.

All the floor buttons lit up red, casting an ominous glow throughout the elevator.

This was it.

Once inside the elevator, do not press any buttons. Wait.

If the elevator begins moving on its own, you’ve successfully entered the ghost story.

Play rock-paper-scissors with your reflection until you reach the top floor.

If you win at least once: go to 3.

If you never win: go to 13.

"......."

I swallowed hard, barely managing to move my head to look at the mirror on the left.

In it, a pale version of myself stood in the elevator.

Endlessly multiplied.

My reflection was echoed back from the right-hand mirror, creating an infinite loop of my front and back until the images became a mere dot.

Growing smaller and fainter with each repetition...

"......."

Wiping the sweat from my trembling left hand on my shirt, I slowly raised it.

And muttered softly.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

Scissors.

Countless versions of myself in the mirrors all threw scissors.

Both front-facing and back-facing, perfectly aligned.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

This time, all my reflections clenched their fists.

I repeated it several more times.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Rock, paper, scissors...

"Rock, paper, scissors."

On the fifth round, I threw a fist.

Amid the countless reflections, something strange appeared.

...One of them extended its hand wide open.

Among the sea of clenched fists, a single reflection had spread its fingers, standing out starkly in the mirrored maze.

"......."

Frozen in place, my hand still raised, I stared.

From far within the mirrors, the reflection of Kim Soleum with an open palm slowly turned its head...

...and smiled at me.

Widely.