Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: It's the Weekend!
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27.
…When did I even fall asleep?
But for some reason, my body felt more refreshed than usual.
The morning began with all the built-up fatigue seemingly swept away.
In peak condition, my gaze toward the window revealed the sun already high in the sky.
……Was 7 AM ever this bright?
“…….”
I immediately checked the time on my smartphone.
AM.08:51
……Huh?
Just nine minutes before work.
……Up!
I sprang out of bed like a shot. Rushed straight to the bathroom and did a quick wash-up.
Really just splashed some water on my face.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
I headed toward the sound of chopping from the kitchen and said,
“Good morning, Mas……”
“Ho, is the black suit……!”
“……I ironed it nicely and left it in the living room. But why all of a sudden?”
“Thanks!”
Why?
I'm late!
Just as she said, I grabbed the ironed black suit from the living room and changed into it right there on the spot.
I quickly checked the wall clock in the living room.
AM.08:59
One minute before work.
Luckily, I'd finished every possible preparation in that time.
Panting roughly since early morning, I shoved my feet into the black shoes at the shoe rack. Now all that was left was for Noise to forcibly relocate me.
Ten seconds to go.
“Master?”
But the Ghost Story Woman was staring at me with a puzzled look.
Eight seconds to go.
She was probably reacting like this because she had no idea I was about to vanish from here.
To minimize any potential misunderstandings,
“Even if I suddenly disappear right in front of you, try not to be too startled. Just think of it as a natural anomaly.”
“……Huh?”
Four seconds.
The real countdown to Ghost Story work had begun.
Three seconds.
“But Master.”
Two seconds.
“Today……”
One second.
“Is the weekend.”
“……Huh? The weekend?”
Zero seconds.
……Current time.
AM.09:00:03
Even though work time had passed, Park Yeon-jeong himself was still standing there blankly in front of the shoe rack.
Bzzz-
A vibration buzzed in my left palm. A message had arrived on my smartphone.
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『To Employee Park Yeon-jeong.
Employee Park Yeon-jeong, do you know what day it is today? It's the golden weekend! Aren't you thrilled! ☺ I'm texting for the first time because I'm curious if you had a good night with her last night. ♥ But promiscuous living can lead to decreased efficiency at work, so please keep it moderate. (I'll remind her too.) This is your first weekend since joining, so rest easy and let's meet again next Monday.』
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…What a wall of text.
The letters were crammed so tight it hurt my eyes.
But the key point here was.
This company worked a five-day week.
My gaze, embarrassed as I stared at my smartphone, slowly shifted to the Ghost Story Woman, who was looking at me vacantly.
“…I prepared breakfast.”
“……Thanks.”
I carefully slipped off my shoes at the rack and shuffled toward the kitchen.
The breakfast that followed was, as always, delicious.
After finishing the simple meal,
I checked the grandiose message again.
The lines that caught my eye were.
-Weekend.
-Good night with her.
-Promiscuous living.
The weekend was Noise himself telling me to rest, so spending the next two days like this was fine.
A good night?
Promiscuous living?
I just passed out cold last night.
Clink.
As she cleared my dishes, I asked within polite bounds.
“…Um, by any chance.”
“Yes?”
“Last night……”
Crash!
Flinch!
The Ghost Story Woman, who had been clearing dishes, suddenly dropped one.
It shattered on the floor.
“Ar-Are you okay?”
“……………Last night.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about last night.”
“Ah, no, it's nothing else. I was just wondering if you came into my room last night……”
“No.”
“Ah………I see.”
A firm denial.
Of course nothing like that would happen……or so I wanted to think.
Crash!
“Ar-Are you really okay?”
“No need to worry, Master. Please enjoy your weekend comfortably.”
“……….”
…Crash.
Something definitely happened!
This woman definitely came into my room.
Last night, this Ghost Story Woman entered my room, no doubt!
Thinking back, she had a history of paper terrorism on me the first night as I tried to sleep. A repeat offender.
Crash!
What the hell happened last night to make her react like this!
I'm dying of anxiety here.
I wouldn't be able to sleep in this place tonight.
I was seriously pondering sleeping somewhere else for the weekend when,
“Master.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“……Actually, last night, I did enter your room.”
As expected!
She had come in!
Her reaction had already made it practically confirmed.
But that honesty only ramped up the tension even more.
What on earth happened in the room last night to make so many dishes casualties.
Gulp.
Park Yeon-jeong swallowed dryly, and the secret from that night spilled from the Ghost Story Woman's lips.
“……J-Ju-Just h-held………h-hands…………and sl-slept.”
“………?”
Ah, I see…… You think I'd buy that?!
No way!
You expect me to believe all those dishes were sacrificed just to hear that lie about holding hands?!
This Ghost Story Woman clearly hadn't revealed the real truth yet.
I had to find out.
“……Really. That was it?”
“!!!”
Crash.
Continuous breaking sounds.
Crunch!
As if she could no longer use her hands, the last remaining dish shattered too.
The floor was already covered in fragments.
An eerie silence.
…How many did she just break?
……The stiffened movements and inexplicable killing intent emanating from the Ghost Story Woman's back.
!!
“Ah, ah! I-I see!”
I won't ask anymore.
“Th-Thank you for being honest… th-thanks!”
“…….”
I scrambled to defuse the situation.
Crunch!
But I swear I just heard something else break……
Hoping it was just my imagination, my survival improv sensor kicked in reflexively.
“B-But! Holding hands—just say the word anytime, and I'll hold yours!”
“…………….”
……….
The sound of something breaking stopped.
Did it work…?
More importantly, what did I just say?
I couldn't remember.
My back was soaked with cold sweat; I couldn't even recall what words had come out of my mouth.
No more murderous intent from the Ghost Story Woman's back, but that was plenty to keep the tension high.
“……A promise.”
She finally spoke.
The tremor was gone from her voice. It sounded remarkably steady.
“……You made.”
“Yes! Of course!”
I'd forgotten what it was.
But I'll keep that promise!
Clink.
The normal sound of clearing dishes resumed.
That meant.
Crisis averted, probably?
“Master.”
“Yess!!”
I answered her call on reflex without thinking.
Like watching a well-trained pet.
“It's the weekend for once. Why not go out for a stroll.”
“Ah. Y-Yeah? Since it's the weekend and all!”
Up.
I shot to my feet and headed straight for the front door again.
This time, the Ghost Story Woman didn't even see me off.
“Take care.”
“Yup!”
And so, Park Yeon-jeong bolted out of the house like he was fleeing.
'I just want to go to work.'
He was desperate for work.
I want to see you again, Mr. Noise.
*****
Click.
The front door closed.
Thud.
One woman’s legs, barely holding her up until then, gave out, and she collapsed right there.
She hadn't even had the strength to see him off.
……Haa.
The woman was exhilarated.
Because he had permitted her to hold his hand.
She was overjoyed.
She felt like she was going mad.
From the moment he said those words, she wanted to interlace her fingers with his until she lost her mind.
“……Master.”
Haa……haa.
Her heart hadn't stopped pounding since last night; she could barely breathe.
She didn't want him to see her broken face like this.
Press.
She shoved one hand into her chest, desperately trying to force the pounding to stop.
But the more she did, the deeper her longing for him grew.
The woman once again.
Not anyone else, but him.
He who had inflicted this painful heartbeat echoing from her heart.
Was her master……
And for that, she was grateful.
*****
Shiver.
A chill crept up my spine.
Was someone cursing me?
At most……
The 'R Team employees' from our last encounter and the Ghost Story Woman?
And probably the latter with high odds.
I had come outside chased by her words,
But I had nothing to do.
Intensely so.
I'd only been in this ghost story-infested world for three days, but so much had happened.
Forced into a black-hearted company run by ghost stories.
Chased by bear dolls.
…Well, they're my favorites now.
Encountered a mad conductor who turned people into instruments.
Met a wish-granter who killed people like it was a game.
Naturally, there were good encounters amid all that.
The prime example.
The man with the title of the GRA Agency's one and only normal person.
Section Chief Choi Kang-in.
An employee I wanted to run into again during the next ghost story raid.
Being around him boosted survival rates like he was a human totem.
On the flip side.
Someone from the GRA Agency I never wanted to see again.
Intern Kim Ha-eun.
She was recorded in the [Ghost Story Archive] as a capable employee rising to deputy manager level.
But Kim Ha-eun was a different case from Choi Kang-in—she was a grim reaper who inevitably sent any teammate she teamed up with to their death.
Even among the details listed in Kim Ha-eun's settings,
=======
/Kim Ha-eun
Intern Kim Ha-eun developed deep affection—or more than that—for her kind colleague, Intern Jeong Da-eun. So she confessed her honest feelings to her.
This is her first love story.
=======
Attachment can form regardless of gender, so that could happen.
But such attachments are usually.
Not mutual.
But one-sided.
Intern Jeong Da-eun rejected Kim Ha-eun, who expressed deeper-than-expected attachment.
So what was Intern Kim Ha-eun's next reaction after hearing a bad response from her first love?
1. Cries.
2. Clings.
3. Stabs Jeong Da-eun with a box cutter.
The answer……
Stab!
Number 3.
She plunged the box cutter straight into Intern Jeong Da-eun's heart.
Thanks to the cutter blade's shallow depth and more stabbing force than slicing, Intern Jeong Da-eun survived.
But afterward, Jeong Da-eun enters a ghost story and meets her end.
With Intern Kim Ha-eun on the raid team roster, in the most obvious fashion.
Once you know that much, it should explain why I had no desire to get involved with this woman Kim Ha-eun.
So the top priority was avoiding her……
Grab!
?
I felt a collision, then blankly lifted my gaze from the ground where I'd been walking.
An all-too-familiar station scene.
[Seongsu Station Exit 1]
……Homebody instinct?
But more importantly.
I definitely felt like I'd bumped into something just now.
“Ah! So-Sor……”
Grip.
Suddenly, whatever had bumped into me yanked me into a tight embrace with immense strength.
As my gaze slowly dropped downward,
A glamorous woman was hugging Park Yeon-jeong tight.
“…L-Long time no see. Hehe.”
“………”
With long, jet-black hair and distinctive red eyes glinting from within my arms.
Two people indulging in affection in broad daylight—anyone might mistake them for lovers.
The woman blushing as she clung to the man, and the man enduring her forward contact.
……Help me!!!!