Got Dropped in a Ghost Story Chapter 26

After finally escaping that insane theme park—

“Roe!”

“Whoa, holy shit, Roe’s back!”

I received a surprisingly warm welcome from my teammates when I ran into them in the elevator.

Apparently, Squad D had been panicking over my disappearance. They had even considered contacting one of the civilian survivors to see if they could figure out what had happened to me inside the Darkness.

“We were just trying to get some clues from them. Anyway, thank goodness you made it out safely.”

Assistant Manager Eun looked much brighter now.

“So what happened? Why did you come out so late?”

Hmm.

Before answering, I deliberately raised my arm and rubbed the back of my neck, turning my wrist outward so they would have a clear view of the burn mark left by the membership.

: Socius :

“…”

“…”

“Roe?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just… really tired.”

“Ahh.”

Assistant Manager Eun and Supervisor Park both nodded as if that explained everything.

After everything we had just gone through, being exhausted was perfectly reasonable.

And that was when I realized something.

They can’t see it.

Neither of them reacted to the mark.

The tattoo was invisible to them.

That’s not a good sign.

After hesitating for a moment, I answered.

“The reason I was late… well, the exit gate suddenly lost power right in front of me. I waited for a while, but when it didn’t come back on, I had to find another way out.”

“Huh?!”

I deliberately left out the part where my ordinary admission wristband had turned into a membership.

In a company that dealt with bizarre supernatural phenomena every day, casually admitting that some unknown mark had attached itself to me probably wasn’t a great idea.

And I’ll leave out the talking plush doll too.

Other than those details, I explained what had happened as thoroughly as possible.

That should be enough for the Exploration Records and the new manual.

“…Wait. So you found the Yellow Zone, but the gate there was turned off too, and you manually restored the power through the control panel?”

“Yes.”

“What are you…”

“Ehh. I’m just an ordinary roe deer.”

“Uh… sure.”

“…??”

Anyway, the mood became much lighter afterward.

“Your points should be credited tomorrow. And don’t be shocked—I heard the total reward this time could be close to ten thousand points.”

“Pretty amazing, right?!”

Actually, their reward would probably be a little lower now that I had returned alive.

The two of them looked like they had been so busy worrying about whether I would make it back that they hadn’t even had time to wash up.

Seeing them grin at me made me genuinely grateful.

It was almost touching.

A kind of warmth that felt completely out of place in this company.

But someone was missing.

“Come to think of it, where’s the Squad Leader?”

Assistant Manager Eun avoided my eyes.

“…He got called in by the Team Leader.”

Urk.

“It’ll be fine. He’ll probably just get chewed out a little.”

She shrugged.

“And honestly, that praying-mantis guy from Squad A practically brought it on himself, didn’t he?”

Well…

Squad Leader Lee had definitely gotten on Squad A’s leader’s bad side.

I could still remember the teal-duck mask glaring daggers at him.

Even Supervisor Park lowered his voice.

“Assistant Manager… is that rumor actually true?”

“What rumor?”

“That our Squad Leader has the qualifications to be in an elite squad, but keeps getting stuck in Squad D because of his personality…!”

“Oh.”

Assistant Manager Eun crossed her arms.

“Probably.”

“…”

“But he’s been like that his whole life, so everyone’s basically given up trying to change him.”

“…”

“I guess God really is fair. With a face like that and a personality like his…”

“Shhh.”

Supervisor Park glanced around.

“He’s still a good superior.”

A lizard face with a lizard personality?

Well…

After everything I had seen today, I could somewhat understand why they considered him a decent boss.

Especially after seeing what truly terrible superiors looked like.

“Oh, and there’s also Research Team 1’s Section Chief.”

Kwak Jaekang.

The head of Research Team 1 who had impulsively thrown one of his own researchers into the Darkness, only for that researcher to eventually die.

“He seriously crossed the line this time.”

Apparently, Kwak Jaekang was claiming that he had been so startled by the situation that he had accidentally thrown the researcher in as a sacrificial pawn.

Even though anyone who was there could tell it was deliberate…

Every Field Exploration Team employee present had seen what actually happened.

The problem was that nobody seemed particularly eager to speak up in defense of the deceased researcher, who had been notorious for gambling and generally being unpleasant.

Just look at my own seniors.

“Squad A’s leader is so fixated on our Squad Leader right now that she doesn’t even seem interested in Research Team 1’s Section Chief.”

So everyone expected the whole thing to be quietly swept under the rug.

At worst, Kwak Jaekang might take a small pay cut.

In a company where an employee’s life seemed to be valued according to their usefulness, nobody expected a department head to face serious punishment over the “accidental” death of an expendable researcher.

So this is why Kwak Jaekang kept appearing throughout <Dark Exploration Records>…!

One wrong move could put him in serious trouble.

But apparently, he was just slippery enough to escape consequences every time.

Like a snake.

My Squad D seniors clicked their tongues, saying that some of the disturbing rumors surrounding Kwak Jaekang were probably true after all.

“I hate that we still have to work with him, but after causing this much trouble, he’ll probably behave himself until at least next quarter.”

“Right? Otherwise he would’ve been fired ages ago.”

It was exactly the kind of complacency you would expect from a company where people regularly risked their lives inside ghost stories.

I agree to some extent, but…

Honestly, it hadn’t felt like Kwak Jaekang was only trying to kill his researcher.

It felt like he was willing to get all of us killed.

The researcher had simply been one pawn in the chaos he created.

But since the rest of us had survived, that part of the situation had become vague enough to overlook.

I should keep an eye on him from now on.

I decided I would thoroughly review every wiki entry mentioning Kwak Jaekang.

“Phew. What a long day.”

“Seriously.”

The conversation gradually died down.

Since nobody knew when Squad Leader Lee Jaheon would return, we were eventually allowed to leave for the day.

Assistant Manager Eun smiled.

“There’s nothing left for us to do anyway. We hadn’t officially reported you missing yet because we thought there was still a chance you’d come back.”

She paused.

“…I’m glad you did.”

“Yeah! We all knew you’d show up eventually!”

“Go home and get some rest.”

“…Thank you.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t need to thank us for that.”

With one final reminder to look forward to tomorrow’s points, I said goodbye to my seniors.

I returned to Research Team 1’s office to collect my belongings and started heading home.

On the way, I ran into someone familiar.

“Jang Heo-un.”

“…! Soleum-ssi!”

The new recruit from Squad Y.

Since every other member of his squad had died, he had somehow been left forgotten in a corner of Research Team 1’s office.

His shoulder had already been healed, but he was still wearing clothes stained with blood.

“You made it out safely! I’m relieved…”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I sat across from him for a moment and made some small talk.

Jang Heo-un still looked pale, probably from the blood he had lost earlier, but the gloomy atmosphere around him seemed slightly lighter than before.

Though calling him lucky felt strange, considering what had happened to the rest of his squad.

I remembered something my seniors had mentioned earlier.

– That new hire from Squad Y? Management seems to be viewing him pretty favorably after this exploration.

– If he keeps performing like this, he might be promoted to a regular position within three months.

– If he can survive those three months without causing trouble, there’s a good chance he’ll be transferred to a normal squad!

That all sounded great.

The problem was—

Can he actually survive those three months?!

“So… have you thought about quitting?”

I lowered my voice.

“Your current position is extremely dangerous.”

“No.”

The answer came immediately.

Jang Heo-un clenched both fists beneath his bison mask.

“I need the Wish Ticket.”

“I can’t quit.”

“…”

So he had his own circumstances too.

“In that case, I hope things work out for you.”

After hesitating, I added,

“Three months.”

“Pardon?”

“If you can endure for just three months, there’s a good chance you’ll be transferred.”

There was a huge difference between being told to endure something indefinitely and knowing exactly how long you had to hold on.

Even psychologically, having a clear deadline made things easier.

“…!”

A small light appeared in Jang Heo-un’s eyes.

“Y-Yes…!”

“I’ll do my best to survive until then…!”

He took a deep breath and looked toward the ceiling.

Then he lowered his head respectfully.

“You helped me so much today.”

“If I make it through these three months, I’ll definitely repay you.”

“There’s no need.”

I shook my head.

“I survived because of you too. Thank you.”

We shook hands.

And maybe because I genuinely sympathized with him, the next words came out almost automatically.

“You worked hard today.”

“That must have been terrifying.”

“Pardon?”

Jang Heo-un looked confused.

Uh…

“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve almost died a few times before too…”

“No, I mean…”

I clarified.

“You saw some pretty horrible things today too.”

“Oh.”

He gave an embarrassed smile.

“That’s true.”

“I’m really bad with blood and organs…”

“My legs give out, and sometimes I even faint.”

“…I see.”

Wait.

The definition of horrible things had suddenly become very specific.

No way.

“…Heo-un-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Do supernatural phenomena and ghosts… not scare you?”

“A-Ah, no!”

He answered immediately.

“Those don’t bother me at all!”

“…”

“I usually just think, Oh, so that’s what this one does, and move on.”

He hesitated.

“Unless somebody gets seriously injured, I don’t really feel much.”

“…”

So he wasn’t a coward?

“Thank you for worrying about me, though!”

“Oh, right. Soleum-ssi, did you talk to that person in the new-recruit group chat…?”

He stopped.

“Oh.”

“Y-You’re not in it…”

…

There’s a new-recruit group chat?

So he wasn’t a fellow member of the Cowards’ Club.

And more importantly—

There was a rookie group chat that nobody invited me to?!

“Hah.”

I returned to the company dormitory in a complicated mood.

After taking a shower, I came back into my room.

Two shocking truths continued to sting at the back of my mind.

What a long day…

I had gotten the rookie group-chat link from that traitor—

No.

From Jang Heo-un-ssi.

I could check it later.

There was something more important I needed to investigate first.

“The mark on my wrist.”

Several possibilities came to mind.

Fortunately, there was someone I could ask fairly casually.

Good Friend.

I sat on the bed and pulled the plush-doll keychain from the breast pocket of my suit.

Then I called out.

“Braun?”

No answer.

Just as expected.

According to the records, once you returned to reality, [Good Friend] behaved like an ordinary plush toy.

======================

The [Good Friend] will accompany you in everyday life, but it will behave like a shy doll.

Treat it well.

It remembers everything.

======================

So it wasn’t merely staying quiet to avoid attracting attention at the company.

In this state, it genuinely couldn’t speak.

Fortunately, there was still a method for communicating with [Good Friend] outside a ghost story.

…I just have to turn reality into something like a ghost story.

I remembered the method from the records.

======================

Talking with the [Good Friend]

#1 – Use darkness, a lighter, and shadows.

======================

Honestly, it was creepy.

But here goes.

I crouched beside the bed.

Then I propped [Good Friend] against the inner side of the right bed leg.

Next, the light.

I had quit smoking a long time ago, so I didn’t own a lighter.

Instead, I used my phone’s flashlight.

I placed the phone on the floor so that a narrow beam of light struck the bed leg.

Then I switched off the room light.

Click.

The room went completely dark.

I sat on the bed.

…This is pretty creepy.

A chill ran down my spine.

So I pulled the blanket around myself.

There was nothing embarrassing about that.

I was alone, after all.

…Though I might not be alone for much longer.

I looked toward the wall.

The flashlight beneath the bed cast an enormous shadow of the plush doll across it.

“…”

Soon, the shadow of the doll leaning against the bed leg began to sway with the light.

As if it were slowly waking up.

I held my breath and watched.

Then came a voice so faint it almost sounded like an auditory hallucination.

– Friend.

“…Braun.”

The host had awakened.

– Ah! I see you safely escaped from that strange theme park!

– Congratulations!

“Thank you.”

Braun seemed to be going over everything that had happened to me since I left the ghost story, almost as if he were replaying a recording.

So this is what it means when they say he remembers everything.

– Right! You’ve clocked out now, my friend. Are you home getting some rest? Oh, what a cozy place!

“Thank you, sir.”

Technically, this wasn’t my home. It was a company dormitory.

– Hmm. Come to think of it, Mr. Roe Deer, you’re still speaking very formally to me!

– Friends don’t need to be so formal with each other, you know.

“…Braun, you’re speaking pretty formally too.”

– Haha! I can’t help it. Occupational habit!

I swallowed the words, I’m also a rookie at a crazy ghost story company with plenty of occupational habits.

The friendlier my relationship with this plush doll became, the safer and more useful it would probably be.

“…All right. I’ll speak more casually from now on. We’re friends, after all.”

– Oh, wonderful!

The doll’s enormous shadow on the wall bobbed as though Braun were happily nodding.

Good.

Now for the real reason I called him.

“I actually have something I want to ask you.”

– Oh! Then why don’t we take turns asking each other questions?

– But whenever one of us asks something, the other person has to answer!

– It’ll be like a game. Ah, that sounds like so much fun…

Please stop making everything sound like the beginning of a ghost story.

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

I forced myself to play along.

Feels like I’m working overtime…

Stay strong.

“Here’s what I wanted to ask.”

I raised my left arm and lowered it beneath the bed so the plush doll could clearly see the black letters branded onto my wrist.

“When the membership wristband burned away, it left this mark behind.”

For a moment, Braun said nothing.

Then—

– This… is Latin. Hmm.

There was a strange mixture of fascination and concentration in his voice, which had dropped noticeably lower.

– Socius.

– It can mean companion, member, or associate. Ah, the versatility of Latin!

“I know that much.”

I had already looked it up in a dictionary app on the way back.

The connection itself was obvious enough.

The membership wristband had burned away and left behind a word meaning member.

But there was something else I cared about more.

“Other people don’t seem to be able to see it. Why do you think that is?”

– Oh dear. Perhaps they all have poor eyesight!

– I can see it perfectly well.

So beings from ghost stories could see it?

“Good. At least you can.”

I changed the question slightly.

“Then what do you think this mark actually does?”

– It appears to be a mark that grants you a certain qualification.

Braun answered immediately, his voice cheerful again.

– You know how VIPs sometimes appear as special guests on talk shows?

– They’re often given something that distinguishes them from ordinary audience members. A name tag, a badge, something like that!

– Such a distinguished mark might grant privileges such as special seating, access to rehearsals, or even entry backstage!

I instinctively raised my wrist and looked at the inscription.

“…So it’s basically some kind of special qualification?”

– At least as far as those theme park mascots are concerned, yes.

Braun suddenly sounded dismissive.

– Those excessively emotional mascots seem much too fond of you, Mr. Roe Deer.

– Perhaps the next time you visit, they’ll even serve you a welcome drink!

I would rather never visit again.

Still, I nodded along.

– Good, good!

Socializing is exhausting…

Anyway, I still didn’t know exactly what privileges this “qualification” gave me, but it didn’t seem entirely harmful.

Next time I enter a ghost story, I’ll have to see whether this mark does anything.

The plush doll’s shadow swayed several times with apparent excitement.

Then Braun whispered,

– Did you know?

Know what?

– Mr. Roe Deer, you just asked me two questions.

– That’s against the rules.

A chill ran down my spine.

– Haha! Don’t worry.

– Bending the rules occasionally is one of the privileges of being close friends, isn’t it?

Phew.

“Thanks.”

– No need to thank me!

– Now it’s my turn to ask a question.

I swallowed nervously while staring at the enormous plush-doll shadow cast across the wall.

“What do you want to know?”

Braun whispered.

– Who lives in the room next to yours?

That wasn’t the kind of question I had expected.

And the person living next door in this dormitory was…

“…A coworker.”

Baek Saheon.

– Are you close?

Not remotely.

“Just coworkers.”

– Ah, I see.

– Very well…

Braun’s voice brightened again.

– Then, my friend, I think it would be best if you didn’t concern yourself too much with that “coworker” living next door!

“Why?”

– Because he’ll be dropping dead soon!