Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: First Assignment
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06.
This guy....
This guy knew from the very start.
But if he knew from the beginning... then why has he kept me alive until now?
Chijik-
A piercing screech stabbed into my ears like an attack.
[...Heh, ahem. My apologies, I've shown an unbecoming display for a superior.]
[I'm sorry.]
The tearing noise faded, and with a throat-clearing sound, the white glove moved.
Druruk.
The white glove politely pulled out a chair in front of the ornately set table.
The Announcement Broadcast's voice echoed at the same time.
[Since this will take a while, why don't we sit and talk comfortably.]
[We'll need to have a frank and radical discussion about our company's future.]
[^^.]
“......”
Comfortably?
About the company's future?
In a situation where I can't even see my own immediate future, you're telling me to worry about someone else's company?
Especially now that my identity's been exposed, and I have no idea what'll happen to me next?
Am I crazy!?
“......Yes. Understood.”
I swallowed the urge to scream from deep inside and sat in the chair they'd pulled out.
Calm down.
Think rationally, Park Yeon-jeong.
It's too early to give up. There's still a chance.
The fact that they haven't killed me yet is proof enough.
[Go ahead and eat the food in front of you.]
Like hell I will!
I'm not hungry enough to eat food I don't even know how it was made.
Even if I starve to death, I won't touch this stuff.
And right now, there's a more pressing issue than food.
“...W-what do you plan to do with me?”
To my blatantly direct question, the Announcement Broadcast replied with utter nonchalance.
[What else? You'll work with us to revive the company.]
[And don't forget! Employee Park Yeon-jeong is now one of us! No need to be tense anymore!]
Telling me not to be tense is making me even more tense.
I've witnessed people dying in front of me over and over with my own eyes.
Is “don't be tense” really the right thing to say here...?
What a conscienceless bastard.
But they just kept rambling on about future company business.
[As long as Employee Park Yeon-jeong performs the tasks assigned well, there won't be any major disadvantages.]
[You don't think I'd kill you, do you! Hahaha! Ah, just kidding. A joke.]
“......”
That didn't sound like a joke at all.
I'd reached a mindset where I'd let go of everything.
Maybe that's why I could stay somewhat coldly rational about the bizarre situation.
“What... do I have to do?”
[!! So motivated on your first day!]
[Excellent... truly excellent!]
I have no intention of contributing—just spare me, please.
Park Yeon-jeong inwardly vented his regrets about his life leading up to catching the eye of this ghost story.
Chalang.
...?
Employee ID?
The white glove had approached me at some point and held out what looked like a standard company ID card.
[This is Employee Park Yeon-jeong's employee ID. Please keep it safe.]
“...Thank you.”
It looked like a perfectly ordinary employee ID.
......No, more than that—this photo on the ID...
It's really my ID photo?
The face on the ID was exactly the one I'd used on my resumes.
I didn't bother asking why they had my ID photo.
......I just didn't want to feel any more creeped out.
The Announcement Broadcast continued with miscellaneous explanations about the company.
[Employee Park Yeon-jeong. Your job here is simple!]
[Specifically...]
Dugudugudugudugudu.
The outdated sound effect from the speaker again. After hearing it a few times, it was starting to feel familiar.
[Procuring the unique 'items' that will become our company's specialty for selling to customers!]
[From now on, Employee Park Yeon-jeong will handle item procurement. It's not as hard as you think.]
......
“Those... items. What exactly are they?”
Of course, they're not ordinary goods. A ghost story wouldn't want normal stuff.
And since I have to get them myself...
'It should be okay to at least ask what they are.'
Fortunately, the Announcement Broadcast didn't hide the sales items from me.
[The products our company will sell are... 'stories'!]
[I figure Employee Park Yeon-jeong already knows about this. Just like you knew about me.]
A barrage of incomprehensible talk about stories.
But frustratingly, I understood exactly what they meant right away.
“No way... ghost stories.”
Bam bam bam!
[Correct! Correct!]
[As expected, quick on the uptake! We're planning to sell stories from other 'ghost stories'!]
[Of course, not boring documentaries or their resumes.]
Tak!
Once again, all the lights in the room went out.
When they came back on.
Dozens of white gloves clapped, drawing eyes to a single banner.
[Our Ghost Story Has Changed?!]
...........?
I had no idea how to react.
I couldn't make sense of the banner's text at all. As if sensing my confusion...
The Announcement Broadcast kindly continued the explanation.
[Oh dear, it seems you still don't grasp the essence of our product. Let me explain simply so Employee Park Yeon-jeong can understand.]
And the explanation really was simple.
[Capture ghost stories. Turn them into books. Sell them.]
!?!?!?!
[Genius, right!]
Ghost stories... capturing ghost stories?
It's not entirely unprecedented.
I'd read that the agency captures and manages some safe ghost stories.
But a ghost story capturing other ghost stories?
[This product will definitely attract lots of customers. Guaranteed! Whether they're ghost stories or humans like you.]
[Of course, it depends on how many items Employee Park Yeon-jeong secures.]
...Insane. Completely insane.
What the hell are they asking me to do?
Capture ghost stories?
No way. I can't! I can't do it!!
Just kill me here!
They're telling me to capture ghost stories that toy with people like playthings as casually as breathing.
Without even association-issued ghost story suppression items.
In other words...
It's like telling me to catch an elephant barehanded.
'This guy...'
They planned to kill me from the start.
Otherwise, they wouldn't make this proposal. Just a ghost story that sees humans as mere tools.
[No need to tense up that much.]
Anyone can say that!
[I don't want to lose a talented person like Employee Park Yeon-jeong easily either.]
[Our company has great employee benefits.]
Bulbok.
A cluster of white gloves flew over and handed me two items.
No way... ghost story suppression items?
“......Glasses?”
...My vision's already 2.0.
I got my hopes up again.
I thought they were giving me something to subdue ghost stories.
Fine. Time to give up.
This ghost story just has a sick hobby of watching me get sliced up by others.
Chizik-
[I sense you just had some very rude thoughts.]
...Does this guy have mind-reading too?
[Anyway, try them on quickly.]
[They'll suit you perfectly.]
“......”
I stared at the glasses in the white glove's palm for a long time. Since I didn't want to die to the Announcement Broadcast right then, I swallowed my tears and grabbed the frames.
Suk.
They fit perfectly, like they'd been custom-made.
But the moment I put them on.
Jigeun!
Ah... I'm dying.
“Kuaaaah!!”
A pain like thousands of needles stabbing started.
An indescribable agony.
I crawled on the floor, feeling like my mind would fly away any second from the insane torment.
Fortunately, the pain didn't last long.
When it finally subsided...
My face and body were drenched in sweat and drool.
[Employee Park Yeon-jeong... the glasses suit you perfectly!]
Who the hell says that right now...?
Haa... whatever.
No point talking.
I never want to feel that pain again.
On the other hand, surviving without shock death was a miracle in itself.
But...
My whining didn't last long.
The moment I looked at the white glove in front of me, a flood of information raced through my mind.
=======
/Ghost Story Log
[White Librarian]
:Identification code Cd-F-1129-1.
F-Rank.
Another variant observed alongside Cd-F-1129.
Commonly known as 'White Librarian'.
Seems to handle all miscellaneous tasks in the library. (What it does best is breaking necks.)
No physical form, but it reacts strongly to Cd-F-1129's emotional changes, so best not to upset it. (If you don't want to die.)
=======
A bizarre sight of information about the white glove pouring into my view.
In that moment...
Park Yeon-jeong realized the glasses he was wearing weren't ordinary.
'No way this is those glasses.'
Park Yeon-jeong knew about these glasses too. An extremely rare item that had appeared in the [Ghost Story Archive].
=======
/Item List
Top Student Glasses.
(Perfect for cram-study friends.)
The wearer can remember everything they've ever seen for life. (Only while wearing.)
Intense obsession with academics. Never swayed by other temptations.
Use effect: Severe headache / Loss of social relationships.
*Don't worry if relationships cool off. They're not the only friends anyway.
=======
One of the items from the [Ghost Story Archive].
It doesn't appear often in stories, but I knew it offered some mental damage resistance.
But more than that, how does a ghost story like this have this item?
Kkeunik.
......?
A sticky feeling between my fingers that had touched the frames.
I checked what was on my fingers.
A dark red something on my thumb and index finger.
“......”
I just figured out where these glasses came from.
Enough investigating.
To shake off the needless thoughts, I checked the remaining item.
The other item was a quill pen straight out of a medieval Western movie.
I stared at the quill pen for a while, and my conclusion was...
'This one's totally new to me?'
It was truly something I'd never seen before.
Even I, who'd diligently studied the [Ghost Story Archive], had no record of it.
And as if waiting for my puzzled expression, the Announcement Broadcast finally made its presence felt.
[It seems this quill pen hasn't been recorded in your world yet.]
[I'll explain it.]
A brief pause, like building suspense. Then the quill pen explanation followed.
[That quill pen is for capturing ghost stories. It'll activate automatically once you neutralize one, so carry it on you whenever you enter a ghost story.]
“This quill pen... for capturing ghost stories?”
This tiny thing?
I wondered how it could contain a ghost story, half-excited, half-worried.
[That covers the basic explanation.]
[Any questions?]
Plenty.
A mountain of them.
Like the process of capturing ghost stories, or even if successful, how and to whom we'd sell the captured ones.
So many questions!
...But for now, set them aside.
What I'd wanted to ask since earlier—no, since the beginning.
“...If I meet all your conditions... will you send me back to where I was?”
[...Of course. Though it's a shame for the company when a capable employee wants to resign so soon.]
After a short silence, their cheeky reply.
“...Got it. I'll cooperate.”
[...You're more understanding than I thought. Haha, excellent. Employee Park Yeon-jeong, the more I see you, the more charming you are.]
Blab all you want.
For now, I'll play along with this ghost story, but if an escape chance comes...
I'll take it and run.
I have zero intention of sticking around this evil corporation long. Not even in my next life.
[Then, shall we evaluate our enthusiastic new employee Park Yeon-jeong's abilities on his first task!]
[Since it's your first, it'll be simple.]
Clap clap!
Two claps from the speaker.
And suddenly, a door appeared in front of Park Yeon-jeong.
No way...
'An X-Door?'
It reminded me of doors from kids' animations.
Kkiiik.
The white glove kindly turned the knob and opened it, revealing pitch-black emptiness beyond.
I don't want to go in even if it kills me.
It looked like a grim space I'd never return from if I entered.
But the Announcement Broadcast urged me on as if prodding my feet.
[Go get 'em, Employee Park Yeon-jeong!]
......
Surprisingly, it didn't motivate me at all.
Still, I had to go in now.
To escape this absurd ghost story.
Ttubuk.
Thus, new employee Park Yeon-jeong's first task began.
*****
Ttubuk... ttubuk.
How long do I have to walk?
How many minutes had passed since passing through the library door? No matter how far I went, no destination appeared.
Would I end up isolated in the dark, dying in an accident instead of an honorable discharge on day one?
As anxiety started creeping in...
Sabak.
The feel of the ground underfoot changed.
I looked up.
What I saw was...
A massive mansion standing starkly amid dense trees in the pitch-black night.
Mansions are a common ghost story backdrop.
Especially the lone one in a mountain valley—perfect for mystery and horror tropes.
'...I already want to go back.'
For real.
Normally, I'd bolt, but now my feet slowly headed toward the mansion.
I hoped it was an easy ghost story.
Pushing open the mansion's front gate with my palm.
A eerie voice echoed right beside my ear.
『Did you know?』
The ghost story had begun.
『It only appears in houses where kids are home alone without parents.』
It felt like the opening of a horror movie.
『It watches the kid shivering alone in the dark after all the lights go out. Scary, right?』
Only then did I realize what ghost story I'd landed in.
=======
/Ghost Story Log
[I Hate the Dark!]
:Identification code Cd-A-11
Rank A.
Trespassing without permission is a crime!
Physical suppression impossible. (There's a reason they tell you not to.)
Very high mental damage.
Last recorded casualties: 443.
=======
......Yeah, let's head back.
New employee Park Yeon-jeong wanted to quit on his first day.