Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Suddenly, It's Quitting Time
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“......What, what is it?”
Quitting time?
Just like this, all of a sudden?
I can’t get a read on what’s going on right now.
That single phrase telling me to go home keeps circling in my head, like I’ve heard the devil’s whisper.
Screeech—
I flinched.
The library’s front gate suddenly swung open so naturally.
The white gloves......were nowhere to be seen.
Was it just a simple breeze?
Flash.
Orange light filtering through the glass windows.
......It was the evening glow.
The faint sunset shining beyond the front gate almost made me believe I’d really returned to my original world.
But no, it couldn’t be.
It had to be another trick from that Announcement Broadcast bastard.
Even so, for some reason, my gaze blankly fixed on the front gate.
The bear dolls that had been hiding in my sleeve just moments ago were gone.
As if they’d never existed in the first place.
Swoosh.
My fingers slowly rose toward my face. The “Top Student Glasses” that should’ve been around my eyes were gone.
......A dream?
It was all......a dream?
Really?
When I was trapped in the ghost story, I’d desperately wished all of this was a dream.
But now that it seemed to be true,
I was more anxious than ever.
What if I’d stumbled into yet another ghost story? Paranoia gripped me, clouding my judgment.
Really.
Is it really okay to walk out that gate?
‘......Ah! This is driving me crazy!’
Park Yeon-jeong paced endlessly around the front gate, unable to make a firm decision, as the sunset faded.
Just as the sun dipped low without resolution—
“......Mr. Jeong!”
“......Hm?”
A voice from somewhere.
Park Yeon-jeong looked up toward the front gate, and beyond it, a woman in familiar horn-rimmed glasses was running straight toward him.
“Park Yeon-jeong!”
“......Why are you here?”
He’d been too busy surviving to keep track of them.
‘......You made it out safe.’
Good.
A moment of relief washed over his anxious heart.
But it was fleeting.
Doubt surged again.
What if this was another illusion conjured by that thing?
Rather than rushing in with warmth, he observed the situation more coolly.
Keep some distance from her, for now......
Bang!
The horn-rimmed woman shoved open the library’s front gate and charged straight at him, ignoring his hesitation.
‘Ah, wait a second!’
Surprise attacks are cheating!
Before he could flee, the horn-rimmed woman threw her arms around Park Yeon-jeong in a tight embrace.
“Wait!..........?”
Huh?
But it didn’t feel like an attack—the embrace wasn’t that forceful.
Not aggressive pressure, but the faint tremor of her body against his.
And the sobbing sounds reaching his ears.
“You’re really back.”
“......Glad you’re safe.”
......Ah.
I’m back.
After that, the two of them moved to a park bench not far from the library.
Night had fallen, and the man and woman sat quietly staring at the ground.
This silence......feels awkward.
Park Yeon-jeong spoke first.
“......I forgot to ask your name.”
“Oh, right. I’m Hansol.”
“Ah, Ms. Hansol......?”
Hm?
Her face was new, but the name felt oddly familiar. As he racked his brain for where he’d heard it—
“Hey! Park Yeon-jeong!”
“Yes?”
Her voice was full of strength.
A forceful tone, like she was about to drop something important.
He pushed stray thoughts aside and focused on Hansol’s voice.
“Yeon-jeong......listen calmly, okay? Calmly.”
“......Yes. Got it.”
What could she possibly say that required this buildup?
......No way.
A possibility flashed through his mind.
Was she about to deliver the tragic news that the other two female students who escaped with her hadn’t made it back?
But.
What came from Hansol’s mouth
was an even more shocking revelation.
“The world we’re in right now......it doesn’t seem to be our original world.”
“.........Yes?”
“It feels like we still haven’t escaped.”
“.........”
Clink.
Something fell from between the folds of his pants pocket.
It was his employee ID with his ID photo.
......Ah. That damn thing.
No wonder it let me go so easily.
*****
Hansol began carefully explaining how she’d realized this wasn’t the Earth they knew.
It started right after they escaped the ghost story.
The moment they stepped out the entrance, they were met by a group in black suits.
They approached Hansol immediately and asked:
-What did you see inside?
“It was such a random question for strangers to grab me with.”
Normally, she would’ve brushed them off as crazies.
But Hansol explained everything that happened in front of the library to these people who seemed to know about the bizarre events they’d experienced.
And their response was:
-Thank you for your cooperation.
No agitation, no special actions.
They reacted with complete nonchalance, as if they’d dealt with phenomena like this countless times.
In that strange atmosphere, as Hansol glanced around, she caught sight of the moon reflected in the window of the vehicle the black-suited people had arrived in.
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Hansol described the eerie moon she saw that day to Park Yeon-jeong.
“There were two moons overlapping in the sky.”
“......”
Black-suited strangers.
Their attitude and demeanor, as if such things were commonplace.
And.
High in the pitch-black sky after sunset.
Two overlapping moons.
Ah, right.
The evidence was undeniable, hanging there so blatantly in the sky.
It was a dead giveaway.
Just as Hansol said, this place looked exactly like the Earth they knew.
But it was a different world.
Simply put, a parallel world—or, to put it harshly,
the world of [Ghost Story Archive] that Park Yeon-jeong had read to death.
In other words, we’re screwed now.
We’d dropped into the worst possible world.
What’s more, Hansol and the two female students had already encountered a core organization in the [Ghost Story Archive] world.
‘GRA.’
GRA was known in this world as a facility researching ‘renewable energy,’ but in truth, it was a secret agency that secretly recorded, explored, contained, and—if necessary—eliminated bizarre phenomena worldwide.
A world setting packed with elements that fans of cosmic horror like me would eat up.
Normally, in [Ghost Story Archive], getting under the protection of the main organization would be an incredible stroke of luck.
The problem was......
This woman named Hansol still remembered him.
She’d even explained her encounter with the agency without hesitation.
According to GRA protocol, civilians who’ve contacted ghost stories have all statements recorded, then their memories erased.
And yet, the agency forgot to erase this woman’s memories and let her roam free?
......Bullshit.
Even a stray dog would laugh.
The other two surviving female students were probably in the same boat.
Not erasing their memories meant
they’d been designated as GRA management subjects.
The reason was obvious.
To them, we were
‘outsiders.’
If they were GRA agents, they’d have already figured out that Hansol and the two students weren’t from their world.
They could be watching us right now from somewhere.
‘Damn it. Of all things, under GRA’s watch......’
The organization he’d fangirled over in his original world now saw him as an enemy.
If they deemed it necessary, they’d view us as targets for elimination.
“Yeon-jeong, you okay?”
“......Yeah. I’m fine.”
He wasn’t, actually.
No way he was.
He felt like he’d go mad from the anxiety.
He couldn’t even sense where GRA surveillance might be coming from right now.
“......Ms. Hansol.”
“Yes?”
The silver lining was that this woman named Hansol hadn’t shown outright hostility toward GRA yet.
The agency wouldn’t make the first move if they didn’t show hostility either.
“Follow whatever they ask as closely as possible. As long as you cooperate well, they won’t harm you.”
He hoped she wouldn’t question his advice.
“......Okay, I will.”
Good.
She accepted his suspicious request without much doubt.
Maybe because her trust in him was still holding.
Shhhh—
Night had deepened a lot.
Cold air pierced the skin.
It was getting late.
He stood first, and Hansol followed suit.
“Take care......and please look after those two students.”
As he turned to leave alone—
“......Yeon-jeong!”
Hansol grabbed him again.
He’d expected it.
“It’s dangerous alone! You should get under the agency’s protection too!”
“......You’re not wrong.”
“Then! Come with me......”
Yes, she wasn’t wrong, Ms. Hansol.
Going solo without GRA protection in this world was like shouting ‘I want to die!’ all over town.
......But.
His situation was different.
Unlike Hansol, he was already entangled with a ghost story.
Another key GRA rule emphasized:
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5. Civilians entangled with ghost stories are subjects for isolation and observation. (Kill if necessary.)
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Ms. Hansol.
‘Going there means death.’
It might not be certain. But if the odds were fifty-fifty,
better to steer clear.
Life-or-death gambles were for munchkin protagonists in fiction.
......Not him.
He needed a line convincing enough for Hansol.
“......I think more options are better right now.”
For my survival, that is.
“I’ll wander the city looking for a way back to our original world. Ms. Hansol, you check with the agency side.”
“......”
“And......don’t push yourself too hard.”
Or it’ll feel like my fault if something goes wrong.
“Also, if possible, please don’t mention me to the agency.”
“......Can I ask why?”
“.........”
Because I might die? He wanted to say it, but
In his brief silence, Hansol didn’t press further.
“......Got it. I won’t tell the agency people.”
“Thank you.”
Now it was really time to part with a final goodbye.
“......Don’t push yourself too hard either, Yeon-jeong.”
“......Yeah.”
With that, they parted.
Night grew deeper still.
He walked slowly, slipping his hand into his pocket.
Thud.
He checked the three items at his fingertips.
His employee ID with his photo.
A smartphone with 17% battery left.
A wallet with cash.
With the sun down, temperatures plummeted. Sleeping outside in this weather
meant death.
He checked the cash in his wallet.
[Cash 120,100 won]
Hm, no roughing it tonight.
‘Tomorrow......’
Achoo!
He’d think about it tomorrow.