Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Progenitor of Ghost Stories
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54.
“Noise?”
……….
Noise didn’t respond.
Why?
Wasn’t it him who called me to this place?
Or… damage to the Princess’s mind?
Was this space he was seeing now just an illusion?
One that even the Damage Immunity Glasses couldn’t block.
Was he trapped in a hallucination?
He doubted the glasses’ damage immunity.
Even though he knew it couldn’t be true, Park Yeon-jeong still thought that way.
Rub-rub-
He rubbed his eyes through the gap in his glasses with one hand.
And deep down, he hoped.
When he opened his eyes again.
That it wouldn’t be the slaughter site where the Princess had stood.
Please, let it not be.
He hoped desperately.
Because without any more quill pens for capturing ghost stories, all he could do there was wait for death.
His hand, which had been rubbing his eyes, slowly dropped to his knee.
Blink.
After blinking his eyes several times, what came into Park Yeon-jeong’s view was.
An empty library.
He was still standing in the all-too-familiar space, illuminated by a spotlight shining brightly on him.
‘…Thank goodness.’
A sigh of relief escaped from his throat.
He was really back.
It wasn’t a hallucination or a mistake.
For the first time, he felt a sense of relief in this place.
Crackle-
And right on cue, along with the vibrating speaker voice.
From beyond it.
[…Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
He heard the guy’s voice.
His deep, resonant voice flowed from the speaker, putting him at ease once more.
The voice was so welcome that the moment he heard Noise’s voice, he almost vented his rage without thinking.
About all the things he’d been through in the ghost stories so far.
About all the humiliations he’d suffered at the hands of countless ghost stories.
He was ready to spill everything to Noise, his self-proclaimed boss.
So he wished Noise would just ask.
Ask about what had just happened.
…But.
Crackle-crackle-
The intensity of the static coming from the speaker seemed far from a welcoming reaction.
[Park Yeon-jeong, Employee… I’m sorry.]
His first words were an apology.
An apology to him.
[I apologize again for the confusion caused by the unexpected intruder… It was my oversight.]
He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Noise’s unexpected apology.
But the apology didn’t stop there.
[I never imagined they would act so quickly. Park Yeon-jeong, Employee, the pathway I used to pull you out was twisted so elaborately…]
Crackle-crackle-crackle-
[It was utterly infuriating.]
Noise’s low, gravelly tone was a clear sign of just how displeased he was.
It felt like an absolute red flag not to be touched. Instinctively, staying silent might have been the right call.
But.
Why was that?
At this timing, right now.
It felt like he could get an answer to that question from him.
Was it a sense of ghost stories he’d unconsciously gained through numerous explorations?
“Noise.”
[Yes, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
He opened his mouth in a calm voice.
A question he felt he might not get to ask if not now, very politely.
A question he’d wanted to ask all this time.
Finally, he let it out.
“All the ghost stories keep referring to you as ‘That One.’”
[…….]
“…What kind of existence are you?”
Noise fell silent at his question.
In that brief moment of silence, Park Yeon-jeong swallowed dryly.
His reason kicking in late—would the White Librarian fly over and snap his neck—.
Grip.
One of his hands was unconsciously clutching his throat.
He tried to keep a straight face as if it were nothing, but his fingers tightened around his neck subtly.
Noise’s response that followed.
Was not the White Librarian’s throat-slitting.
It was calmer than he’d expected.
[…If I keep hiding it any longer, it might crack the trust between you and me, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
[Good question, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
Fortunately, Noise began continuing the conversation as if willing to answer his question straightforwardly.
True to form, Noise responded to the question with another question.
[Park Yeon-jeong, Employee. Humans have this thing called ‘ego,’ right? And if you view me through that human standard of ‘ego’…]
Noise paused in thought for a moment.
Crackle-
With a short burst of static, he gave his answer.
[From your perspective, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee, a good example might be Adam and Eve—the ‘primordial humans.’ Something like that?]
……Huh?
P-Primordial?
Not the primordial village he knew.
The ‘primordial’ of all beginnings?
For a split second, Park Yeon-jeong was speechless at the absurd nonsense coming from Noise’s mouth.
“N-No, Noise, are you saying… you’re the ancestor of all ghost stories…?”
[Ancestor… Yes, that’s a fitting way to put it.]
Noise boldly declared himself the ‘Homo sapiens’ of ghost stories.
Crackle-
[No need to be so shocked, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee. I was just giving an example to make it easier for you to understand.]
“Ah… I see.”
But even as an example.
If Noise was truly an ancient ghost story.
‘Why….’
[You’re wondering why I look so pathetic and insignificant?]
?!
‘Noise, you!’
Are you really a mind reader or something?!
And it’s a misunderstanding!
I didn’t think it was that bad!
Though the nuance was somewhat similar.
If he was an ancestral-level ghost story, he’d have been known to countless people by now.
Even at the lowest estimate, he’d be S-Rank.
Or higher, and yet here he was, treated as F-Rank by the Ghost Story Archive.
This was totally.
‘Identity laundering’ or something, Noise?!
Crackle-
[I know. I know exactly what you’re thinking of me right now, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
[But…]
Whoosh.
Soon, the White Librarian, who hadn’t shown herself until now, appeared with a white cloth scrap in one hand.
Swipe-swipe-
As if wiping something down.
[There’s a truly tear-jerking, tragic, and pitiful story behind why I’m treated this way.]
……….
Soon, another White Librarian appeared and handed him the white cloth scrap.
“…Thank you.”
Since it was offered, he took it.
Crackle-
With static brushing his ears again.
[Are you prepared to hear my tear-jerking past?]
Just how grand a tale is he planning to tell, building up the atmosphere like this?
At this point, it’d be weird not to expect it. His curiosity was at its peak.
Tap!
Soon, a light flicked on in front of where Park Yeon-jeong stood, and there appeared the CRT monitor that had recorded his ‘vlog’ before.
[Long, long ago.]
[In the days when tigers smoked, there…]
Noise’s voice signaled the start, and the footage from the CRT began.
[Screen adjusting.]
…Huh?
Beeeeeeeeeep-
!
The deafening static snapped him alert.
He instinctively covered his ears, and the noise dragged on for so long.
For what felt like minutes, huddling on the floor with ears plugged was the best Park Yeon-jeong could do.
How many minutes passed after that?
Crackle-
With a short static burst.
Once more, a deep male voice came from the speaker.
[Oh dear, I got so carried away chattering that I neglected the screen.]
[Hm… That might’ve been information too advanced for a human like you, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee’s █▓▒░ rank ▒░]
Unintelligible static mixed into Noise’s voice.
He let out a short sigh and explained.
[What a shame. I was going to unload my past freely to you, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee, but that’ll have to wait.]
Regret laced Noise’s voice.
But.
Before long, his tone returned to normal.
[But after sharing this conversation with you, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee, I feel a bit relieved.]
[It really is true that bottled-up stress is best released with others.]
“…Glad to hear you’re feeling better.”
Yes, if Noise, you’re feeling better, then that’s what matters.
Beeeeeeep-
My ears feel like they went deaf from that static earlier, though.
Don’t mind me.
If you’re feeling better, Noise, that’s what matters.
Beeep-
…That’s what matters, right?
Red tears seemed to flow from Park Yeon-jeong’s ears, but he no longer cared about such things.
Crackle-
Noise continued brightly.
[Since you didn’t hear my past, I’ll answer one question you’ve been curious about as a special treat today.]
[Honestly, no lies.]
Noise suddenly offered to answer one burning question as payment for listening to him.
“A question I’ve been curious about?”
[Anything’s fine.]
[Of course, within the limits of my own filtering.]
“…….”
The moment he heard that.
As if he’d been waiting for this exact moment, the first question slipped from his lips.
Without hesitation.
His voice flowed low across the space from his throat.
“Why did you hire me here, Noise…? Was it really just coincidence?”
[Curious about the hiring criteria, huh.]
Noise answered without a moment’s hesitation.
[Of course. It was simply a matter of chance.]
“…….”
His answer came out so swiftly and honestly that.
The one who asked, Park Yeon-jeong, ended up flustered instead.
Just coincidence.
Simply bad luck tying him to this ghost story, and Noise luckily snagging someone like him.
Nothing more than simple coincidence.
During his encounter with the Queen this time, when he felt that strange emotion.
When that contradictory pity made him frown, and that inexplicable feeling wrapped around him, he.
Had desperately wanted to ask Noise.
-Why me, out of all the people?
He wanted answers to this contradictory emotion he felt, to his role in Noise’s grand scheme.
But the response he got.
Was just luck.
Just coincidence.
No big reason, just slightly bad luck catching Noise’s eye.
Park Yeon-jeong might have been born unlucky, even before the black skull mark on his wrist.
An indescribable emptiness wrapped around him, making him feel like he’d lost out by asking.
Crackle-
Until Noise’s next words.
[Yes, our meeting was purely coincidental, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee. But choosing you out of that was my decision.]
“…Yes?”
At first, he didn’t understand.
But.
[Park Yeon-jeong, Employee, during your hiring interview. There were two other applicants there who knew about me, just like you.]
…?
It was news to him.
That back then, besides him, there were others who knew about the Ghost Story Archive.
Crackle-
[But they only watched others die.]
[I watched them try to leech off you entirely. And as a result, they successfully escaped my space.]
[To be precise, I let them go. They were no longer needed.]
Swipe-
Soon, the White Librarian’s hand reached out to Park Yeon-jeong, and Noise’s voice continued.
[I chose you out of them. That mindset of saving others without reward isn’t something you show easily.]
[Even if that emotion comes from a ghost story, not a human.]
[While watching your twisted self.]
Countless White Librarians’ hands reached toward Park Yeon-jeong.
All at once, palms facing one man.
[I thought you could realize my ideal.]
[You, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee. No one else.]
“……….”
He was at a loss for words.
And he muttered softly under his breath.
‘Should I… be happy about this, or not?’
Being selected and hired by someone is definitely good.
Of course, if this were a normal company.
Looking at his current reality of risking his life every day, it couldn’t exactly be called good.
And.
He felt indignant toward those two applicants who’d abandoned him and fled.
‘How could fellow applicants do this!’
The more he thought, the more pissed he got.
As Park Yeon-jeong boiled with passion to survive their betrayal in another sense.
Crackle-
Noise didn’t even give him time to compose himself emotionally.
[Still, I’m glad you returned safely, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
You sure pivot fast.
[Now, let’s move on to company matters.]
Just moments ago exchanging greetings, and now straight to business—Park Yeon-jeong’s disappointment only grew.
[The wristwatch I gave you as a gift is unavoidable.]
Flinch!
The moment Noise mentioned the wristwatch.
Park Yeon-jeong’s face paled.
If this followed the usual pattern.
[Damaging company property can’t just be overlooked.]
“…I-It was an emergency, though.”
That’s how he defended himself.
But.
[Yes, I’ll take that into full consideration.]
…Our Noise, making it clear he couldn’t just let it slide.
[It’s a simple procedure, so no need to be so tense, Park Yeon-jeong, Employee.]
“…….”
Company asset damage and loss.
Park Yeon-jeong.
Referred to disciplinary committee.