Chapter 5: Jangsanbeom Works at the Haunted House
“Have you ever worked at a haunted house or done anything similar?”
As expected, the question about experience came up.
But don’t worry. My life has stacked up all sorts of experiences......
“Th-that, during the courage training, I scared the students.”
It’s not a lie. In the old days, those without official positions were referred to as students.
In ancient times, when tigers didn’t know about tobacco, it was written as my great-great-grandfather (70) student. Like that.
Moreover, I’ve tasted many yangban who were going up to Hanyang to take the civil service exam.
So, I have the experience of [Courage Training (Life Not Guaranteed)].
Still, the interviewer scanned my body like prey with suspicious eyes.
“The work at the haunted house is one that requires staying in a dark and eerie place for a long time. It might be mentally tough a little, but........”
“That’s why I applied! I prefer places darker than under the sun.”
“Hmm......”
In the dark, as a predator switching to prey, I feel primal fear.
If humans are prey, who is the predator......!
It’s me! The phantom beasts who hide their bodies in the dark and live.
A dark and eerie place is my territory, just like for me.
I only answered honestly, but the interviewer looked at me with an expression as if seeing a madman.
“Do you follow rules well?”
“Yes.....?”
“The haunted house is a place where events and accidents occur a lot because it’s dark. The previous employee who didn’t follow the rules ended up in a sad accident.”
“Yes! I never forget rules and follow them well.”
“Then that’s fortunate. Please remember that all responsibility for incidents caused by not following rules is on your own, and start working at Rutdae World from tomorrow.”
“Did I get accepted....?”
“Yes.”
Just as I was about to burst out in exclamation at the interviewer’s one word, I held it back and left the interview room.
.
.
.
At night, convenience store part-time. In the morning, haunted house part-time.
Even ghosts say they eat well attached to food vtubers, but as a phantom beast like me, what hardship is this...
It’s 4 AM, the Yin hour, and I’m handling household chores like washing dishes and cleaning.
Why do it at this early hour? There’s a reason.
At that time, the sensor light at the entrance turned on by itself.
Another one came.
“Hey you. Yeah, you. You came into the entrance, thinking I wouldn’t know?”
It walked unsteadily towards me.
“From here to there, sweep, and clean the bathroom too.”
It expressed its unique way of saying it’s aggrieved and wronged.
But what can you do about it.
There were already about 3 others like me in my house.
Some were folding laundry, others cooking rice and soup for tomorrow.
Since each specializes in what they do best in life, it would achieve the highest efficiency.
“Once you’ve assessed the situation, start.”
“What? The Netherworld Bureau doesn’t allow this? Entering someone else’s house arbitrarily is allowed? Go to King Yeomra right now and get a judgment? You get 10 years added to your reincarnation period. I think I’ll end up peeling garlic and leeks for a day.”
In the end, it picked up the broom and dustpan and started cleaning the one-room apartment floor.
These, the Japgwi, using them to do household chores is a popular method among phantom beasts settled in the human world and famous ghosts.
The time between 3 AM and 5 AM is when the yin energy is thickest, and the Netherworld Bureau can’t control the Japgwi, so their autonomous behavior starts.
At this time, it’s a very reasonable method to process household chores by using the power to suppress the Japgwi that entered the house and make them do chores.
As the Japgwi said, the Netherworld Bureau doesn’t allow it, but what if they don’t allow it themselves?
At this time, despite the Netherworld Bureau not being able to control the Japgwi, I control the Japgwi a little and should be grateful!
To prevent the Japgwi from becoming a Jikryeong, it’s an implicit rule to use it for only one month.
Because if it becomes a Jikryeong, the punishment won’t end with just garlic and leeks.
When the sun rises, I eat the rice, soup, and side dishes prepared by the Japgwi and prepare for my first work.
Since the Japgwi only interfere in the human world when there’s no sun, they won’t see my appearance now.
Is the person who thought of this method not at least Zhuge Liang? It was a completely flawless method.
Rutdae World is a theme park that takes about 30 minutes by subway.
The loud music and noisy conversations of people entered my ears, messing up my head.
As someone who dislikes noise, I wanted to enter the interior of the haunted house right now.
“First, follow the rules and bring a flashlight......”
I was trying to bring a staff flashlight according to the rules on my smartphone, but I felt something weird.
An abnormal amount of yin energy was emanating from the flashlight.
Assuming things that naturally produce yin energy are sun, fire, and biological body temperature, an electric flashlight couldn’t have that much yin energy.
The Japgwi would naturally avoid it, and even as a phantom beast, I felt discomfort from the yin energy.
I picked up the flashlight and examined it from all sides.
“No matter how I look, it’s a normal flashlight, but......”
Rule 1 was to bring a flashlight, and rule 2 was not to disassemble the flashlight, so......
Squeak, squeak, click.
I ignored rule 2 and disassembled the flashlight. Inside, there was only a small amulet the size of a fingernail.
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
I removed the amulet, blew on it, and sent it flying somewhere.
Now I could carry this flashlight.
My duties were to be a safety officer who inspects the interior before operating the haunted house and to scare customers by disguising as ghosts.
By the way, there were no other staff in the haunted house; it was just me.
As expected for a haunted house, the yin energy inside was quite thick. About twice as much as 4:44 AM.
The amulet inside the flashlight was probably to protect the staff from this yin energy.
If a human doesn’t have a high-level immortal’s mentality, working long hours in this environment would cause mental strength to be drained in real time.
“You there, check if there’s anything abnormal in the other room. You, go there and sweep up the dust.”
The Japgwi, whose appearances shouldn’t be visible during the day, could see me here thanks to the yin energy.
And I could make them do my work like making them do chores.
BEEP! This is the haunted house. Inspection complete.
Since I finished 20 minutes earlier than the given time, I could slack off until work time.
While looking for a place to rest, I found an empty chair.
Exactly, it wasn’t empty; several Japgwi were piled on it, sitting there......
“Get out.”
At my one command, the Japgwi jumped up from the chair and scattered.
Sitting on the chair, the 6th rule came to mind.
Do not sit on any chair inside the haunted house. Sitting on a chair that someone has pre-claimed is an impolite act.
Since those who pre-claimed it made way for me, it was irrelevant.
For 20 minutes, I made the Japgwi hold the smartphone and watch videos.
Then, a thought came to mind.
Do I really need to do ghost disguise?
The answer is NO!
There are so many real ghosts, I didn’t need to do ghost disguise at all.
“Here, take it.”
I gave a strand of my hair to the female ghost with long, disheveled hair.
If the Japgwi has my fur, it will be visible to people.
That is, this one became a substitute to do my work for me.
“When a person comes, hihihi! Chase them a little while they scream. Got it?”
The Japgwi shook its head.
“Can’t? Why?”
The Japgwi twitched its mouth like a goldfish.
“I can’t talk. Got it. I’ll provide the laughter sound instead. You just chase.”
Nod.
Finally, the haunted house started business.
Hearing footsteps, it was the first customer......
Kyaaahhh!!!
With a scream, the customer’s footsteps faded away.
Even though it wasn’t that far, it ran to the entrance without reaching.
The ghost who was preparing to chase the customer looked dejected like a puppy.
“That customer must be a coward. The next one will come this far.”
The ghost clenched both fists in motivation at my words.
But the next...... The next customer also didn’t reach this far.
The ghost was already curled up in a corner of the room like a silkworm, in despair.
“Hey! Where are you?! It’s strange, I definitely went this way.....?”
At that moment, a man’s voice was heard from outside.
It’s someone looking for a lost lover in the haunted house. If I can lure that guy here.....!
I cleared my throat and prepared to mimic voices.