Got Dropped Into A Ghost Story Still Gotta Work Chapter 240

[ … words ]

Inside this place were six individuals, each holding enough “stories” to satisfy the Box-Seated Seeker.

Which of them should be cast into slow, inescapable suffering on the road to death—an average of twenty-seven years of it?

That absurd choice was now staring us in the face…

“Roe Deer.”

I lowered my head.

Deputy Eunhaje—currently in the form of an old woman—was tapping me lightly on the shoulder.

“Let me down. I might look like this, but I’m not really elderly, am I?”

But—

“Let me spit the bead and get some mobility back. Looking at how things are going, this doesn’t seem normal.”

……

I set Deputy Eunhaje down. He spat out the glass bead and began returning to his original form.

Agent Cheongdong’s expression changed.

“You are…”

“Well, long time no see, old man.”

Deputy Eunhaje grinned.

By coincidence, the two of them had already met here in Jisan Village before, and now they were crossing paths in a similar place again.

“Oh, hello, Deputy-nim! Been well since you resigned?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As he greeted Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, the mosaic-blurred face of Agent Cheongdong twitched as he glanced between Eunhaje and Ho Yuwon—

Realizing the nature of the being inhabiting Eunhaje’s body.

“Are you currently under threat to your life or being subject to undue pressure from a supernatural entity?”

“Something like that, but let’s skip over my situation for now—it’s not urgent.”

Tap tap.

The deputy tapped me.

“Roe Deer, you seem to know that strange darkness well. Give us an explanation first. If we don’t know, we might end up pushing some dangerous button without realizing it.”

……

Dangerous Box of the Mumyeongchanran Church

The Box-Seated Seeker

I explained to everyone as quickly as possible.

The danger of this box, the uniqueness of this location, and the fact that we were fleeing from this cult in the first place—all plainly.

Finally, I added the most basic method of breaking it.

Victims recorded as “Garden Quota”

Current quota: 2

A brief silence fell among these veterans of ghost stories as they read the letters I shaped in smoke.

“So basically, if you put two in there, they get tortured for decades before dying, and the rest pass through safely.”

Correct.

“If you extracted a B-grade dream from just one of those, the company would be thrilled.”

Speculation: If not placed in the box, dream extraction not possible.

“Ah, as I thought. If you just avoid entering the darkness entirely, it counts as bypassing it.”

Casting a glance at Ho Yuwon, Deputy Eunhaje murmured as if it were a relief.

In any case—

Request: Do not move.

Don’t provoke it needlessly.

Reason:

▶ Movement may cause you to be selected as a suitable target.

▶ Chance of escape from inside the box extremely low.

(Item usage possibility unconfirmed.)

Once the Box-Seated Seeker identifies a suitable target for the quota, it will keep following them.

And that pursuit will last—

Until the quota is filled and the box fully closes.

If there is still an empty slot in the quota, the Box-Seated Seeker will never give up trying to fill it with an appropriate person.

That is its faith.

As time passes, the box will appear ever closer to the victim, offering its outstretched hands to “invite” them into the Garden; eventually, it will appear directly in front of them each time they turn their head.

At that point, any attempt to move will inevitably make them touch the box.

▶ Once identified as a suitable target, there is no escape until the box closes.

If we’re not careful, someone here could end up in exactly that state…

If my salivary glands and esophagus were in their normal positions, my mouth would have gone dry.

I need to confirm.

Whether the box is currently tracking someone here as its basis—exactly which of the six it is getting closer to.

Or else…

I could take the initiative and provoke it myself.

If it’s chasing me instead, that might be easier to handle.

If necessary, before the box could swallow me, I might even be able to “read” it and erase the setting entirely.

…Though the thought of what kind of fatal side effects that might cause, and how long they might last, was chilling—still, better than decades of suffering on display inside that box…

“Hold it, Podo.”

……

“…You said not to move. That includes you.”

Agent Choi made sure I had stopped moving, then looked around.

“All right, you all heard? Anyone here absolutely desperate to go to the bathroom? No? Well, unlucky for you—but lucky for us.”

Next to him, Agent Cheongdong pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Let’s buy ourselves a little time. From what I’m hearing, we might have a bit of leeway.”

Agent Choi, sweating, still smiled and spoke calmly, lowering himself.

“It’s not right in our faces yet.”

His eyes stayed on the strange black hands inside the box.

“For now, let’s all sit down, don’t provoke the box… and think of a way to break it. Sound good, Podo?”

……

I nodded slowly.

However—

Recommendation: Everyone keep checking the box’s position.

Because it will keep getting closer as time passes.

And so, the six of us sat down with the underground bunker’s entrance between us.

Three inside.

Three outside.

And… the black box with its outstretched hands, close beside the entrance.

A little closer now.

…Its position has shifted.

The guillotine’s blade was drawing near.

Already another half step closer.

“Agent Podo.”

I turned my head with effort. As soon as I sat down, Agent Cheongdong casually tossed something to me.

“You forgot an issued item. Take it.”

I caught it reflexively before realizing what it was.

…My agent’s jacket.

…Why?

I couldn’t wear it right now anyway. And besides, why bother returning an industrial spy who had already handed in his resignation?

My stomach felt queasy. I just held it, unsure what to do.

For now… maybe store it in the tattoo.

So I reached for the bottom hem to fold it—

Something was in the pocket.

I sent black smoke into it, carefully feeling around until I knew what it was.

Colorful cords.

Five-colored shoelaces.

[Oh, isn’t that an escape item?]

Correct.

It was an item that let you escape a supernatural disaster immediately, bypassing the usual clear procedure—usually, each field agent was issued one.

Exactly the kind of thing I’d been asking Ho Yuwon about earlier. But…

…Why this, now?

In this tense moment?

I looked back at Agent Cheongdong, but his mosaic-blurred face avoided my gaze, speaking with Agent Choi instead—

Clearly wanting to gloss over what had been in the jacket.

Surely not…

Is he telling me to use it now?

If I used it, I’d be sent to a Bureau-designated extraction point, and my identity would naturally be transferred to them.

But then what about the others left here?

What was his intention? Was this Cheongdong’s solo decision?

“All right, let’s begin.”

And before I could untangle my thoughts, Agent Choi was moving the situation forward.

“First, the box’s quota condition is an intelligent lifeform…”

“Excuse me!”

Flash.

Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae was the first to raise her hand.

“I’ve got it—the fastest and simplest method!”

The kind of statement only she would make.

“You said this was a cult, right? Then why not find the two worst people here and shove them in?”

“……”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s go first, before it picks from among us.”

Right.

Agent Choi [N O V E L I G H T] had been proceeding logically—“let’s brainstorm options within the time limit.”

But there was a problem.

With this group, I could already guess how the story would end.

This isn’t a lineup you can drag things out with when the blade’s at your neck…!

Seonghae would, without hesitation, find the worst people in this base and throw them in.

She wouldn’t care if they were her own section’s staff. And with the cult setting, she’d be even less restrained.

“Oh, that’s actually a good idea. And the box has already swallowed one cult executive. Another one’s passed out back there.”

“Ooh, even better! Easier to throw in.”

Seonghae beamed; Ho Yuwon smiled too.

But—

“Cheongdong, did I just develop hearing problems? I swear I heard someone propose throwing civilians into a supernatural disaster in front of government agents.”

And there were those here who couldn’t tolerate that.

Agent Choi tossed it out like a joke, but then sighed and spoke.

“Look, I get the sentiment! But something like that should only be considered at the very last…”

“Why? We’re short on time. No need for good people to get hurt or scared trying new ideas.”

“…!”

“Hoo…”

“And it’s not just any believers—I mean cult executives. Honestly, them dying would probably be better for society! It’s not like they’d get serious punishment even if arrested…”

Seonghae propped her chin on her hand, nodding seriously.

“Might as well take this chance to punish them!”

A short silence.

“…That’s a pretty personal judgment.”

“I won’t make you agents choose. I’ll go find the other one myself, so wait here! If the box follows me, I’ll just slip past nearby and toss them in.”

“No…”

“Wait a moment.”

Agent Cheongdong spoke.

One might think he was going to join in stopping Seonghae.

But—

“We’ll be the ones to select them.”

“…!!”

In today’s Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, it was an organization that could say, “If someone has to die, let it be that person.”

Through the Scale of Evil, they could select an evildoer for death to block a greater sacrifice.

And the one speaking was an agent who had played the murderer’s role in the Mountain Lodge incident.

Gesturing toward the box that had drawn another half-step closer, he spoke quickly.

“Has anyone here directly witnessed that cult executive causing mass casualties?”

“Well, yeah.”

The deputy spoke up.

Deputy Eunhaje was a realist who could accept a reasonably moderate choice in the given situation.

“Killed at least a few dozen just to make his liquor.”

“Confirmed.”

“Cheongdong.”

“Agent-nim.”

Cheongdong cut off his senior’s words.

“Rules are rules.”

–An agent’s life always comes first.

And if there was a confirmed evildoer, then that person dying was the right thing.

“Continuing discussion based on speculation instead of taking a verified method just makes it harder to decide.”

…It was logical.

“And if time passes, we might not be able to choose the verified option even if we want to.”

Because the cult executive might regain consciousness—

Or the box might get too close.

“We need to act while we still can.”

Even Agent Choi had no answer to that.

The consensus had already passed majority.

[Hmph. It’s coming together surprisingly neatly. Sacrificing a third party—slipped right out, didn’t you.]

[The guilty twin will suffer decades of torture to death in the box. Swapping out an extra hardly matters.]

Brown’s voice sounded deflated.

Agent Choi stayed silent, and I saw Ho Yuwon smiling as he watched the others talk and the situation settle.

And I stayed quiet.

…Is this really okay?

The truth of the Happy Ending Sect weighed on my mind.

I couldn’t subdue everyone here, people who were bound to act unpredictably, and force them to listen to me—and even if I could, I didn’t have a particularly special alternative. But still…

I could maybe buy some time for other attempts by drawing the box’s aggro myself…

“Podo.”

I turned my head.

Agent Choi, who had been staring at the ground, then at the box, deep in thought, calculating something…

Had picked up the goblin lantern from where he’d set it down.

“…You were originally planning to move and lure the box, weren’t you? Until everyone else got out safely.”

…!

“Same as ever. Hah, nailed it again.”

A grin.

“But that’s not something the rookie does. It goes by seniority.”

Wait.

Agent Choi smiled at me—eyes of someone who had made up his mind.

“Still, you’ve got to try at least one thing you can only do as an agent. …Thanks.”

Hey!

Agent Choi stood up and moved. The sudden motion made Agent Cheongdong rise late—but it was too late. The box sensed an agent full of stories and followed him…

“That one’s a little less hypocritical. Not very Bureau-like. Don’t you think so too, Roe Deer-nim?”

Get lost!

“So I’ll make my own selection, Roe Deer-nim.”

Thud.

“The one more fitting for the Bureau.”

Agent Cheongdong shoved Ho Yuwon’s hand—

And his body hit the box.

Thud.

二

—

Agent Cheongdong—

Was gone.

……

I saw Agent Choi’s eyes widen. Ho Yuwon’s smile, Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s blinking eyes, Deputy Eunhaje’s frown, the flashes of prediction running through my mind…

No.

Request: Hold position.

I shot myself toward the box in a burst of smoke.

And was gone.

Inside.