Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Right now.
Under the desk where I am.
Something is there.
It's calling me.
The employee from the ghost story resort whom I called.
The polluted Jang Heo-un.
My colleague who died and still hasn't come back to life, now a part of the ghost story, calling out to me.
Calling to me, the one who turned him into a ghost story.
A dizzying sensation.
I realize in an unwelcome way that I've felt the sensation of "chills" again...
Like a spinal reflex, I form letters with smoke and send them under the desk.
Please.
Dragon Spring Fairy Bath.
A representative supernatural phenomenon registered on the wiki, used by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau for pollution treatment and physical recovery.
'So you went there after all.'
My confused brain settles upon encountering familiar knowledge.
The voice under the desk echoes.
But.
...
No.
No. It's only been half a year, so there might be no improvement yet...
Still, hasn't there been even a little change?
Even a tiny bit?
'Yeah.'
In that moment, I grasped a clue.
The title I called him by.
'He reacted to the name Jang Heo-un.'
Because I'd just met another "Heo-un," the strong impression made me call him by his real name, but I definitely contracted with Mr. Jang Heo-un under the nickname "Buffalo."
But reacting to his real name means he's regained some of his human identity, right? So he recognizes his own name...
...
So.
That just confirms even more clearly that he's subordinated to me...
'What about the Wish Grant?'
The one who used the Wish Grant... wait a second.
Question: Go Yeongeun's situation
(Including whether you've met)
...
No.
Something's wrong.
Terribly, deeply wrong.
'What happened?'
If the Jang Heo-un I've summoned now hasn't recovered at all... No, if Mr. Jang Heo-un has just been under management at the Disaster Management Bureau for half a year without any anomalies.
Then.
The one who introduced himself to me as "Heo-un-ssi," the employee who recognized me—who is he?
And where is the Wish Grant?
...
This won't do.
'I need to contact Yeongeun-ssi.'
As soon as possible.
But I don't even have a smartphone, and someone as intelligent and cautious as Go Yeongeun would have changed her number by now. How on earth do I contact her...
...!
...
The voice from under the desk, unnaturally cheerful and polite, ripples with something...
...!
I can feel it.
Anticipation.
The product of spontaneity and desire.
Something unnecessary for a resort employee.
That's right.
'Has something changed?'
Maybe the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau's measures are working.
To confirm more surely, I quickly pulled out a response.
The sound from under the desk stopped.
I continued.
Whew.
I considered giving him the bell I'm holding, but soon realized it would be pointless.
In the first place, the unlock agent took over Mr. Jang Heo-un's affairs. If that worked, I'd have given it long ago.
'More importantly...'
If I dragged this out longer, the agents might track him or go into emergency mode.
'If there's progress, they need to keep receiving him without delay.'
I decided to send Mr. Jang Heo-un back immediately.
And to make his sudden absence natural, I imprinted on him that the mascot called for a "dispatch employee satisfaction check."
And just before ending the summons and sending him back.
...
A bright voice responds.
And the dead one under the desk vanished.
As if the current resort manager, "Lodgekeeper," has confirmed my orders.
'Whew.'
I can't even say thanks...
Huddled in the transfer chamber, I waited for the dully revived sensation of "chills" to subside.
And then I asked.
'In the end, the one who came to the annex earlier... wasn't Buffalo, right?'
Since the Jang Heo-un I contracted with is unchanged.
...
Yeah.
In that case, from now on...
'I need to find basic information on that employee first.'
Right. It could encourage unnecessary interest.
So...
'Just make him mention it himself.'
That day, after work ended and before rest time.
"Wow. Did you enjoy your shift, employee?"
I silently stared at Kwak Je-gang who had come.
"...Hm. Employee?"
And as he started racking his brain about what was going on, I floated letters.
"...Confession? Haha, I do have a lot to confess, but to you especially, employee..."
...
"Ah. Hahaha..."
Kwak Je-gang picks up his binder.
"New hire Jang Heo-un, you're talking about that guy, right?"
I didn't react.
"Wait a sec. I didn't send him. No... I mean it, really? I can't lie to you, employee. I couldn't stop him if he wanted to go himself..."
I stayed silent, as if willing to hear excuses.
As if suspecting he provoked me to extract special data.
Until the fear imprinted from my escape—when I sensed a threat to my life—rose behind Kwak Je-gang's neck.
In the first place.
'There's no way you didn't know.'
Even if you didn't call him directly, you must have cheered and paid attention.
You definitely watched via CCTV, observed the conversation, and recorded it.
So.
"...In what way?"
"...Haha, yes."
Kwak Je-gang's hand trembled slightly—whether from excitement or fear—as he handed me the binder he was holding.
I took the binder with my black-gloved hand.
Flipping past my profile, usage, observation records... I found today's log.
Records of the visitors I interacted with.
Going down to the time matching the interaction with the new hire who called himself "Heo-un"...
02:12 AM
Interaction partner: Employee Kim Heo-un
'......!!'
Kim... Heo-un?
130666 asked the employee if they knew each other.
Estimated to stem from contact during the new hire orientation experiment.
The employee affirmed, and afterward, 130666 issued an annex access pass without further reaction.
...Up to here, it was a well-refined, reasonable description that even "Director Cheong" wouldn't find suspicious.
But the next part.
Special notes: The employee used the name "Jang Heo-un" instead of his real name during the orientation experiment.
...
In the post-experiment interview, he stated the reason as "to gain courage."
He repeatedly claimed to be a long-time acquaintance of Assistant Manager Jang Heo-un (on branch duty) and knew he worked at the company.
"Ah, you read that?"
Interest sparkles in the researcher's voice, suppressed by fear.
"It's a flimsy excuse, but... that's what he said in the interview, at least."
Glancing at me, he added.
"Haha, at the time, I was curious how that name would feel to you, employee. He even looked a bit similar."
Wait.
So, it was just a different-surname namesake?
And an acquaintance of Mr. Jang Heo-un?
That's all?
'...No.'
Something's off.
I clearly remember. After the dead Jang Heo-un was polluted and became a resort employee, he casually told me his past.
-I grew up in an orphanage since I'm an orphan, but three years ago, there was a big fire accident, and all the family I lived with died in it. I survived by sheer luck.
For such a Jang Heo-un to have a close acquaintance—close enough to know about his joining the company—with the same name but different surname?
The very fact that he appeared claiming that felt awkward and suspicious.
Moreover, that person recognized me.
This I could be sure of...
...
Really?
What if it was just showing goodwill to the kind monster he met on basement level 13? What if I misread the context? What if my mangled brain isn't functioning properly? That...
*Jingle.*
Whew.
'...Let's not overthink it.'
I secretly shook the bell once more into the smoke to sort my thoughts.
For now, at minimum, that person showed no sudden actions during our two encounters.
And since he's working in the Field Exploration Team, the Dream Essence Collector judges him human.
I'll just firmly remember these two things.
Yeah. Thanks.
"...Aha, does that person bother you a lot?"
Damn.
"Then shall I, even as special management personnel..."
Don't cross the line.
I added comprehensive restrictions on Kwak Je-gang afterward as well, holding back a sigh.
'...That new hire definitely said he'd come back.'
In that case, just keep access open for me to continue working at the annex front desk.
I had a bad feeling I'd poke somewhere weird if I leaned on Kwak Je-gang rashly.
'And... I don't plan to get info only from there.'
The whereabouts of the Wish Grant.
...No matter how I think about it, talking to Go Yeongeun-ssi is the way.
...I need to figure out a way to contact her.
"Mm. Understood."
Kwak Je-gang wiped what seemed like cold sweat but recovered soon.
As I returned the binder, he seemed a bit disappointed that no special situation would arise anymore.
"It was an intriguing conversation, but..."
Surprisingly, though, Kwak Je-gang showed no excessive interest or scheming beyond slight regret.
I realized why from his expression.
There was a more important matter.
"May I now return to the purpose of my visit today?"
...
"...! Good!"
Excitement glints in his smiling face again.
"Wow, Director Cheong's orders have finally come down!"
...!
"Employee, now... prepare to go excavate Darkness at the Jolly Lab in the main building basement. Hahaha!"