Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Bronze Agent Ryu Jae-gwan stood in one corner of the room without showing any signs of anxiety.
The room where the final successful applicants gathered.
The roll call for those who passed the aptitude test had already gone through several rounds, filling nearly all the prepared chairs.
However...
'Why isn't he coming?'
While successful applicants were being called one after another, the one he had reluctantly passed was still nowhere to be seen.
'Kim Sol-eum!'
His number had already been called three times!
If that announcement repeated for the fourth time, the screening would be put on hold!
They'd deem it as forfeiting the interview.
'What the hell...'
After going through the aptitude test, was he really just going to give up like this?
It was at that moment, when Ryu Jae-gwan's stomach was burning with inexplicable anxiety, that...
Thud!
"S-Sorry... I'm sorry."
The door to the room, now nearly full of successful applicants, burst open, and a man with a beet-red face rushed in.
He seemed to have run here in a hurry, catching his breath, water dripping from his suit sleeves and collar...
[Da-4]
The number that had nearly been disqualified after one more call.
It was Kim Sol-eum.
No matter how you looked at it, he appeared to have splashed water on his face out of nervousness.
...A spy probably wouldn't make such a conspicuous entrance...
'Damn it!'
Don't go easy on him out of sympathy! Ryu Jae-gwan clamped his mouth shut, maintaining a displeased expression.
"Y-Yes... Got it..."
Kim Sol-eum adjusted his glasses and quietly sat in the back corner seat.
He heard another successful applicant next to him cautiously speak up.
"Are you okay? Here, have some water at least..."
"Ah, n-no, I'm fine! Thank you..."
In Ryu Jae-gwan's eyes, who knew the circumstances, the way he flinched at the simple kindness of offered water looked even more specific.
As if, surrounded by employees from that insane pharmaceutical company who had worn away all ethics like some cult, even such a small act of goodwill moved him greatly...
"......"
The agent quietly continued observing the situation.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau's agent appointment ceremony was simple and straightforward.
They registered preferred funeral arrangements in case of line-of-duty death, issued temporary passes, briefed on short training schedules and missions they'd be deployed to.
There were no rigid administrative procedures like for regular civil servants, nor was there heavy emphasis on training like in special forces.
Supernatural disasters.
The ability to respond to horrific, chilling anomalies ultimately came from experience.
And over half the agent applicants were people who had lost family or loved ones to terrifying unknown incidents.
Even if not, the unique sense of mission from those who had glimpsed the secrets of the bizarre underworld permeated the room's atmosphere.
"Th-Thank you."
Kim Sol-eum, receiving his pass amid them, was no different.
He looked timid and gloomy, so one could guess that for someone like him to apply, his resolve must be extraordinary.
Of course, mixed in was a reluctant gaze as if looking at an unqualified dimwit.
This was when the interviewers appeared.
Interviewers became mentors for the new agents they selected, directly guiding and taking responsibility for them.
This was the basic policy of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
Of course, if pairings didn't match, other agents were mobilized, but at least for 'impressive passers,' the interviewer themselves paired as the mentor.
And in Kim Sol-eum's case, due to the subtle support and recommendations from the assistant interviewers...
Ryu Jae-gwan stood in front of Kim Sol-eum.
"...!"
Watching the face behind the glasses pale upon recognizing him.
"Follow me."
"......"
Ryu Jae-gwan heard the quiet footsteps of his assigned newbie, Kim Sol-eum, following behind.
And the moment they entered an unmanaged room in a corner of the chilly aptitude test building, alone together.
Rustle.
"...!"
He heard the sound of the other pulling something out.
'Weapon?'
As Ryu Jae-gwan moved to subdue him immediately...
"A-Agent sir."
"......"
"I was going to return this..."
It was...
A temporary agent badge and pistol.
The items he had given to the temporary agent 'Se-gwang Industrial High School' grape.
He had forgotten about them amid the urgent chaos.
"I should have returned them sooner, but there was no chance until now. Sorry..."
"......"
Ryu Jae-gwan looked at Kim Sol-eum.
He had voluntarily confessed something no one would have known if he'd kept quiet, and now he looked like he'd already given up on everything.
As if he thought the agent before him would immediately report him as a pharmaceutical company lackey.
...Ryu Jae-gwan's heart sank.
"Does that pharmaceutical company know you're here?"
He slowly shook his head.
"No."
How could he possibly believe that...
"To the company, I'm already dead..."
"...!"
What?
"What do you mean..."
"I got caught in a darkness... I mean, a supernatural disaster for over a month and couldn't get out."
Kim Sol-eum's face grew slightly pale.
"After more than a month like that, they treat you as dead, so... the company probably considers me a deceased former employee by now..."
"......"
They just process you as dead without even a rescue?
Momentarily speechless at the unimaginably unethical handling, Ryu Jae-gwan realized the backstory implied in Kim Sol-eum's answer.
"So you were trapped in a ghost story for over a month?!"
Kim Sol-eum nodded slightly, head bowed deeply.
Ryu Jae-gwan felt like he'd been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.
'No way!'
And he examined the other man again.
The once neat and tidy man now reacting so cautiously and clumsily to his surroundings...
It seemed to be the aftereffect of being trapped in a horrific ghost story for so long.
"Did you deliberately..."
"No."
Right.
What lunatic would choose to be trapped in a ghost story for a month on purpose?
Especially someone who had experienced it firsthand on the job...
"But not reporting to the company after escaping... that was deliberate."
"...!"
Ryu Jae-gwan reflexively said.
"So you could quietly 'problem-free' resign?"
"......"
Kim Sol-eum took a deep breath, then finally nodded.
"Yes."
Bullshit.
Daydream Corporation was the kind of place that let you go without a word if you waved goodbye saying 'Dobby is free.'
It just meant throwing away all your hard-earned points in the trash, so no one from the Field Exploration Team did it!
"I don't regret it."
But in the mind of this innocent Disaster Management Bureau agent unaware of that, a typical cult multi-level escape drama played out.
Mental trauma, PTSD, gaslighting so bad he had to fake death to finally escape the company...
"S-So... I know I can't stop you from knowing I was from that company, but please... don't make it public..."
"......"
He was afraid of being tracked by Daydream Corporation.
Ryu Jae-gwan sensed it intuitively but probed further without showing it.
"The wish? Weren't you working there for the wish they granted?"
A hollow, bitter smile spread across Kim Sol-eum's lips, which had been bowed low.
"That... lost its meaning."
"...!"
"Um, there was an issue during my shift, and all the performance I'd built for the wish got reset."
"......"
"That's when I realized something was off."
Daydream Corporation's Wish Grant definitely fulfilled wishes.
But the company could decide not to give Wish Grants to individual employees whenever they wanted.
Completely irrationally and unfairly.
"I thought, 'I'm working endlessly in this hellhole based on some absurd judgment...'"
Ryu Jae-gwan swallowed words like 'I told you not to believe that nonsense about granting wishes.'
"Ah! Don't worry. Since I was processed as dead anyway... I can't earn performance or cash out anymore."
The bitter smile faded from Kim Sol-eum's face.
It was emptiness.
"After that, I had nothing left to do there."
"......"
"So... I remembered the business card you gave me and applied to the Disaster Management Bureau."
And he shrank back again.
"...If that bothers you, I'm sorry."
Suddenly, Ryu Jae-gwan felt like he was interrogating the man over something ridiculous.
A pang of guilt.
Like grabbing a citizen just rescued from an anomaly by the collar and demanding a full explanation of what happened.
The guilt of psychologically pressuring a victim who had struggled to live morally amid unethical company policies and directives, finally escaping!
And he had been overly harsh only toward this man in the interview, and now dragging him aside to scare him more.
Even though the man had lost his desperately desired goal of the Wish Grant and even his affiliation.
Ryu Jae-gwan thought.
...Yet Kim Sol-eum still came here, so there must have been some unconscious expectation.
What the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau did.
Protect citizens from supernatural disasters, ghosts, unidentified lifeforms, unknown phenomena, and threats.
The complete opposite of the Daydream Corporation he had worked for.
From their two previous encounters, if Kim Sol-eum had entered with even a shred of hope and sense of purpose toward this organization...
'Then...'
Ryu Jae-gwan clenched his fist tightly.
'He's not about to hit me, is he?'
I eyed the Bronze Agent's clenched fist with a cold sweat-inducing feeling.
I'd spilled everything.
'Seemed to work, though.'
I had no idea why he was clenching his fist, which made the cold sweat worse.
But after a few seconds of keeping my expression neutral and head bowed...
Beep beep beep beep.
"...!"
The watch on the Bronze Agent's wrist started blaring an alarm.
"...Wait here a moment."
"Yes."
Phew.
'Was that why he clenched his fist?'
Click.
Almost simultaneously as the Bronze Agent opened the door and left, I stuck out my tongue and plopped down on the floor.
Ha.
'The only time in my life I scammed a good person this hard was in Mafia games...'
Now I'm lying to a civil servant to infiltrate as a spy. I'm literally bathing in cold sweat.
Still, the important thing is...
'He seems to buy it?'
That it worked.
I'd noted earlier how the Bronze Agent had suddenly grown quiet, looking at me with pity.
If that pity wasn't toward a criminal headed for permanent lockdown in the Bureau's special glass prison, then applicant Kim Sol-eum was off the suspect list somewhat.
'Good.'
I wiped cold sweat from my temple.
They say a great scam is 90% truth and 10% lie; I'd unintentionally nailed the ratio.
...For reference, my fellow spies who infiltrated the Bureau didn't go through this.
-Director Ho, so the others...
-Ah, they've already entered.
-......
-Last month, there was an irregular recruitment route ready for immediate deployment.
...In short, I was the last spy bus, taking the official exam instead of irregular hiring, hence this ordeal. Haha...
Go Yeongeun, Jang Heo-un... Wherever you are in the Bureau, please enjoy the honey and help me out if things go south... Please.
'I beg you.'
I wondered if it was okay to wish for colleagues' peace so selfishly, but good is good, right?
Of course, the truly urgent matter now was...
'Which department I'll work in at the Bureau.'
Not hard to figure out. I crossed my arms.
Let's see, based on [Darkness Exploration Records].
Official agents who pass the exam get their aptitudes judged over 3 weeks of temporary duty and assigned to...
'One of three main divisions.'
Basically, the three basic stages of responding to supernatural disasters.
First.
1. New Investigation Squad
: Exploration teams that identify newly emerged ghost stories, measure their progression and risk levels, and report.
They track and classify urban legends buzzing online and offline without discrimination.
Unlike Daydream Corporation throwing Field Exploration Teams in raw to make manuals, they gather intel and explore as safely as possible.
'Makes me realize anew how insane my workplace was...'
Though I'm still working there—hell, even spying.
...Sad, so let's stop thinking.
Anyway, next, second.
2. Deployment Rescue Squad
: Mobile teams dispatched on civilian rescue requests from ongoing supernatural disasters and ghost stories.
The rescue squad.
Rushing into peak insanity of a ghost story to save people at the scariest moment. Insane work.
Most dangerous, but the essence of the Bureau, highly respected internally.
'And the Exploration Records entries are the most fun.'
But not what I'm aiming for.
'I've had enough fun.'
Indirect experience was plenty...
'What I'm targeting is the last one.'
3. On-Site Cleanup Squad
: Post-ghost story cleanup, restoring sites so civilians don't notice.
Aka the cleanup crew!
Like crime scene cleaners, they finalize concluded or sealed ghost story sites and draft related documents.
So, they handle registration documents!
Easiest access to files, perfect for reaching data on 'that certain supernatural ghost story' Director Ho mentioned.
'For someone who's already read the Exploration Records, it's pure honey.'
Just like organizing my wiki—relaxed, fun job.
And above all...
'They go in after all the scary stuff is done!'
Least scary.
This means I can finally work a normal job without cold sweats...!
Hear that? The sound of my quality of life skyrocketing!
Assignment method is simple.
'Show passive, brainy behavior for 3 weeks.'
Emphasize analytical, researcher traits in classification and sorting.
Notice? Perfect fit for the character I've built...!
Plus, my mentor knows I'm a ghost story veteran, easy to appeal.
He knows my suspicious background too.
'I talked my way out, but if any doubt lingers, he'll slot me in paperwork.'
Bronze Agent seemed competent.
But who'd expect a deranged pharma ex-employee to save people!
"Whew."
I stood with an inner smile of relief.
Right on cue, the agent returned.
Thud.
"Kim Sol-eum."
Ah, probably telling me to go home now...
"Take this."
Toss.
I reflexively caught what he practically threw at me.
'Pass?'
Looked like a facility access ID. But I already got one at the appointment...
"Normally, new agents get assignments after 3 weeks of two-man duty."
I knew that...
But the next words were new.
"But I've arbitrarily assigned you to my squad."
"......"
What?
"From now on, you're with my squad."
"......"
Hold on.
'If it's the Bronze Agent's squad...'
With a bad feeling, I flipped over the pass in my hand...
"You're now part of Black Tortoise 1 starting this moment."
"......"
No...
No!!
"A rescue call just came in for me, so we'll head into the supernatural disaster immediately to save civilians. Follow."
"......"
The persuasion jackpot exploded in the wrong place!