Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 109
For a moment, I wondered if I was still caught up in the Nameless Radiance Cult’s ghost story.
But my fully awake mind quickly assessed the situation.
‘No, this is different.’
The Eun Haje in front of me was no longer the neatly dressed boss I remembered.
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.
Instead, he looked more like a detective who had been undercover for three days... or maybe a journalist.
Reality came crashing back.
‘What is going on here?’
I immediately sat up straight in bed.
“Deputy Manager.”
“Yes.”
Eun Haje nodded.
“First of all, I’m sorry for barging into your place like this. I can’t let myself be seen right now, but I had something I absolutely needed to tell you.”
After two months of being missing, he suddenly showed up in my room like a thief, glancing cautiously toward the window as if he were being hunted.
“...Why can’t you let yourself be seen?”
“It’s complicated. Just listen to what I have to say first.”
Eun Haje avoided the question and took a deep breath.
“You, on the day after tomorrow—January 2nd—when you go to work, you’ll be assigned a Darkness. It’ll sound ordinary. A C-grade, with a fully prepared manual, and other people going with you. But....”
But.
“Don’t go in there.”
“.......”
“Do whatever it takes to avoid it. No, better yet, resign or take a leave of absence. Because....”
He clenched his teeth before continuing.
“If you go, you’ll die.”
“......!”
“Don’t ask how I know. Just do as I say....”
“Is it Gwak Jaegang?”
“...!”
His expression gave him away.
‘What the hell, a death notice the moment I wake up....’
I pressed my forehead with my hand as I got out of bed.
“Why does that Manager have it out for me...?”
“Because we all know that psycho’s true nature.”
Hard to argue with that.
Eun Haje spat out his words with contempt.
“Still, since you’re so capable and always coming up with clever solutions, he probably wants to toss you into a place where you’re bound to die just to see how you’d handle it.”
So, my tendency to show off my ingenuity ended up backfiring.
‘Damn it.’
Yeah, that guy would absolutely love to throw me into some bizarre ghost story under strange conditions, treating me like an interesting specimen.
But....
“Deputy Manager, isn’t there at least a chance I could survive? Even if it’s slim?”
“.......”
“And if his goal is to ‘see how I handle it,’ then he wouldn’t pick something with no chance of survival. It’d be a Darkness where there’s at least a way to make it out alive, right?”
Say what you will, but I’m a rapidly climbing elite.
I’ve got connections with higher-ups, and even Executive Cheong and, for some reason, Executive Ho seem to think highly of me.
‘I can’t imagine some random research team manager getting approval to throw me into a completely hopeless situation.’
Sure, I might be assigned to a dangerous place, but ghost stories are inherently dangerous anyway.
‘Besides, even Eun Haje himself said it’s a C-grade Darkness with a full manual.’
Logically, it didn’t make sense.
“Then how can you be so sure I’ll die?”
I looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Eun Haje pressed his temples, as if trying to hold back a sigh.
“I only know one thing.”
He pointed directly at me.
“On January 2nd, you’ll be declared dead.”
“.......”
“I confirmed it... in a Darkness that shows the future.”
“...!”
My god.
A ghost story that glimpses the future? A few entries from the wiki came to mind.
Still, I couldn’t figure out how Eun Haje, who had taken a leave of absence, managed to access such a Darkness. Setting that aside for now....
‘This is odd.’
“I checked what Darkness you’d be assigned to on the 2nd. You saved my life, so I figured I owed you this much....”
“Wait a second. Deputy Manager, this still doesn’t add up.”
“What?”
“I’ve seen the future too. Remember the ghost story I was managing? The tarot cards.”
“...Yes.”
“Recently, I drew a very good card there. And it hasn’t come to fruition yet.”
I recalled the Sun card I had drawn.
Upright. A card that guarantees happiness.
“I can’t exactly be happy after I’m dead, can I?”
“You could be happy first and then die.”
“.......”
No matter how I thought about it, something felt off.
Still, Eun Haje looked so anxious, and he had no real reason to lie to me, so I nodded for now.
“Alright. I’ll come up with a plan.”
“Damn it, good.”
Eun Haje glanced up at the ceiling, visibly relieved, then muttered as if making excuses.
“Sorry again for intruding like this. It wasn’t my original plan, but things got urgent. I know it’s unsettling seeing a former colleague like this.”
“It’s fine. I was a bit surprised, but... it’s good to see you’re doing alright.”
“...Hah. You’re too nice, Nooru. How are you even surviving in this company with a personality like that...?”
“Haha.”
My personality is average. It’s everyone else’s personalities in this company that are ghost stories....
‘Anyway, if I acted any ruder to a former boss who came to save my life, I’d be a total lunatic.’
And let’s not even mention the fact that my bigger problem is being a coward.
Eun Haje finally relaxed a little and gestured toward the door.
“Alright, I’m heading out. Get some rest.”
“Wait a moment.”
“What now?”
“About your... hand.”
I carefully glanced at his empty left sleeve.
Eun Haje waved his arm dismissively.
“What? Still hung up on that? Nooru, I told you I’m not taking any regeneration potions. Use them for yourself.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Recently, I’d come up with a new idea.
“You gave me your old communication equipment, right?”
“Yeah, but only because I didn’t need it anymore....”
“Well, I’d like to introduce you to a piece of equipment of my own.”
I flipped a coin.
From the air, a glove appeared, ready to be used for 500 won.
The Third Hand.
In other words, a device that grants you an extra hand.
“Why not set this as the parent equipment and have a custom one made for yourself?”
“...!”
***
And so, on the evening of December 31st.
I met Eun Haje, who had a hat pulled low over his face, in front of the annex building. Together, we gained access to a twilight-grade Darkness archive designed for crafting custom equipment.
[Friendly Seed Kit / Qterw-E-99]
A giant, rusted machine standing amidst fake weeds.
This was a twilight-grade Darkness almost exclusively used by the Field Exploration Team for crafting custom gear.
It had been a while since I’d seen it.
However, Eun Haje didn’t look particularly thrilled about it.
“Feels like I’m interrupting your break for nothing....”
“No, not at all. I was actually planning to craft some new custom equipment myself.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Using this.” I pulled out what I had prepared, adding, “It’s something I got from Team Leader Lee....”
Before I could explain further, Eun Haje’s expression turned into one of shock.
“You got that?!”
“Oh, you recognize this item, Deputy Manager?”
“Yeah, it belonged to someone who retired... I swear, that Team Leader is something else. We weren’t even that close, so how did he manage to borrow it?”
I looked down at the equipment in question.
A strange bracelet that seemed to be woven from strands of human hair. Most of it was already frayed and broken, looking like brittle straw.
“That thing temporarily gives you superhuman strength, but the more you use it, the hair strands snap.”
I see.
“Even as a consumable, it’s excellent equipment. Just look at your Team Leader. A prime example of how having a good body means your brain doesn’t have to work too hard.”
“.......”
Hard to argue with that logic.
Still, I offered to let Eun Haje use it first.
“It’s fine. You go ahead.”
“...Alright.”
I approached the machine’s rusted screen.
[Please provide me with plants. 0/2]
I inserted the bracelet I had received from Team Leader Lee into the machine.
[Plant information recorded successfully.]
[Please provide me with plants. 1/2]
Next, I had to decide what else to insert.
‘I’ve got a decent number of items to work with now.’
Hmm.
Considering the properties of the bracelet from Team Leader Lee, I had three main options:
Enhance its durability as a consumable.Retain the strength-enhancing effects.Combine it with entirely different functionality.‘That should cover it.’
Of course, since plant gene inheritance is random, there was always the risk of it going completely sideways....
‘Alright.’
After deliberating, I chose one of the items I had and inserted it, along with registering my genetic information to the machine.
[Combining genetic information.]
[Kit generation in progress....]
[Sowing complete.]
Thunk.
The front drawer of the machine opened, revealing the item.
A simple bracelet, thin and metallic, almost like a wire.
‘Hmm.’
I carefully retrieved the bracelet and decided to test its effects later.
“Think it turned out well?”
“For now, yes.”
I collected the remaining items I had inserted and stepped back. Eun Haje stepped up to the machine next.
He first inserted one of his own belongings.
Eun Haje’s personal equipment—a communication device shaped like a portable battery. Once connected, it allowed a smartphone to communicate with the outside world, even within a ghost story.
Apparently, the button-shaped device he had once given me had also been crafted in this machine.
“It was an unexpected upgrade. Probably the luckiest moment of my life, I’d say.”
He grumbled about wasting his luck on something so trivial, but his hands handled the portable battery-shaped custom equipment with surprising care.
Then....
“Here you go.”
I inserted my own equipment next—a coin.
Ting.
The coin, engraved with the image of a glove, vanished into the drawer.
[Combining genetic information.]
“...Nooru, you know the chances of getting something perfect on the first try are pretty low,” Eun Haje said in a calm, instructive tone.
“So don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. Just the attempt itself is worthwhile, okay?”
“...Understood.”
I watched the machine’s screen.
[Kit generation in progress....]
[Sowing complete.]
It was done.
The front drawer of the machine opened, revealing the item inside.
“A glove??”
It was, quite literally, a translucent glove.
Its flexible, almost flimsy texture gave it a strange appearance.
“Hm.”
But when Eun Haje reached out with his right hand to grab it, a spark leapt toward him.
“...!”
“Whoa, look at this. ...I guess the slot’s already taken?”
With a smirk, Eun Haje brought his empty left sleeve forward instead.
“Let’s fill the vacancy then.”
The glove adhered to his empty sleeve as if it were merging with his skin.
It formed a complete hand.
“...!!”
A flicker of emotion crossed Eun Haje’s face but disappeared just as quickly.
He slowly raised the new hand, moving the fingers experimentally.
Zap.
A faint electric current crackled.
“Hm. The sensation’s a bit odd... must be the electrical signals. But it works. And if I wear an actual glove over it, no one will notice.”
Eun Haje turned to me with a grin.
“Thanks, Nooru.”
“.......”
“All that nonsense I was spouting earlier? Forget it. You nailed it on the first try. Guess my luck shows up when it really matters.”
I looked at Eun Haje, now with two hands, and simply nodded.
“No problem.”
It felt like a fitting image to end the year on.
But just as I was about to wrap up this slightly sentimental moment....
“And... sorry, but do you have any plans to use your welfare mall points? If not, I could buy something for you up to 1500 points. I just need the record to show you used this machine twice.”
...Huh?
—Oh, an attempt to erase traces of his presence. Like covering up evidence! Friend, isn’t this fascinating? Shall we coax him to reveal his true motives?
‘No need for that.’
—Hmm?
I could already guess.
“...Deputy Manager, are you working in another department?”
“...!”
As expected.
“This Darkness is almost exclusively used by the Field Exploration Team. If you’re reluctant to leave a usage record here... it must mean your affiliation has changed.”
“.......”
After a moment of contemplative silence, he finally spoke.
“...You really can’t be fooled, huh. Nooru, you’ve still got that sharp brain of yours.”
He gave a wry smile.
“Yeah. Officially, Field Exploration Team Deputy Manager Songolmae is on leave. But I’m working elsewhere in the company now....”
“...May I ask what kind of work? Or at least which department?”
“.......”
After another brief pause, he opened his mouth again.
“Well, since it’s come to this... Nooru.”
An unexpected name followed.
“You’ve heard of Executive Ho’s project team, right?”
“...!”
“I’m working there now.”
What?!
