LNCrawler

207 Chapter

Got Dropped Into A Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Light Novel) — novelight.net · All chapters

207 Chapter

"Ah—right! Please send that to the team lead’s desk, Agent Bakha."
"Yes…!"
Ko Yeongeun carried the freshly organized stack of documents over to her superior’s desk.
They contained information on a newly observed supernatural disaster.
Feels strange that I'm more used to the term ‘disaster’ now than I am to ‘darkness’...
Hoo.
Ko Yeongeun sat back down at her desk.
She could faintly hear agents sharing small talk out in the hallway.
"…That’s how it happened. Hyeonmu Team 1…."
"But honestly, if I were that rookie, I think I would’ve done the same thing…."
"……."
Her nerves immediately shot up.
Even just that much was enough to know who they were talking about.
It had been two weeks since field agents at the Disaster Response Agency began speaking cautiously—but frequently—about one particular person.
Agent Podo.
Specifically, her spy colleague.
Kim Soleum’s incarceration, release… and disappearance.
Yes.
Ko Yeongeun’s colleague had failed in his spy mission and vanished.
…Though maybe it was lucky he hadn’t been captured.
Judging from the situation, something had happened when Director Ho’s Taboo Seal was exposed. But given the hush-hush atmosphere, it was hard to ask directly.
She knew it had gotten pretty serious during his imprisonment, then seemed to have stabilized again.
And even after his disappearance, the field agents didn’t seem particularly hostile toward Kim Soleum.
…News from Hyeonmu Team 1 had dropped off dramatically, too.
That was about all Ko Yeongeun could confirm from her position as a rookie agent.
Of course, once Kim Soleum had vanished without a trace right after being released from the Glass Prison, there was no realistic way to find out more.
He really… did escape, right?
Her mind tensed with worry again, but she could only end the train of thought with a sigh.
If she recklessly tried to dig into his whereabouts and ended up leaking information, it could be bad.
If Kim Soleum had successfully escaped, interfering now would only be a nuisance. Worse, it might expose her own identity.
It was a lose-lose situation.
Given her somewhat familiar relationship with Kim Soleum—and the fact that they were both rookies—if someone were monitoring her for safety reasons, it would only make things worse.
…I think they suspect me of being a spy too.
She didn’t know for sure.
The Disaster Response Agency people were clearly kind, but they also had a way of casually digging at you without showing it—and sometimes hitting the mark dead-on.
Well, I mean. They are agents, after all.
Still, despite her tightrope-walking nerves, the agents hadn’t changed their attitude toward her.
She hadn’t been dragged off to the Glass Prison or anything like that.
That’s a relief, but…
…Honestly, it felt hopeless.
Of the three rookies who’d joined, one had been quarantined due to contamination, one had disappeared.
She was the only one left—and for a single rookie to extract an extinction-level disaster document on her own? That was practically impossible.
…If she were Director Ho, she would’ve cut her losses by now.
But I have to endure.
And get the job done.
Ko Yeongeun steadied herself, keeping panic at bay by calmly calculating her next steps.
Stay cool. One thing at a time.
First, she needed to clean up any remaining traces.
She’d only ever contacted Kim Soleum through a separate phone, registered under a different name, one she had set up herself.
It was time to deal with that, too.
That evening, after getting off work, she returned to her officetel and immediately went looking for the burner phone.
Rather than hide it in an overly elaborate way, she’d carelessly tossed it in a drawer among other worn-out junk—just like an old phone.
That way, it was easier to overlook.
And the moment she powered it on—
Spam texts poured in, just as planned.
Even the messages from Director Ho disguised as “counseling invitations” looked indistinguishable from junk mail.
"Hoo…"
She began methodically deleting them one by one.
[Stop sitting there calmly—get off now! At this stop ★Special Discount★ Gangnam Station…]
Her hand froze.
"...Wait a second."
“Calmly,” “get off,” “this stop”...
“…!”
Like a lightning bolt, it hit her.
Shin-Yeon Transit Corporation’s subway.
This was a coded message only someone who’d survived that insane recruitment urban legend would understand.
And there was only one person who would send such a thing at this point in time, disguised as spam—
Only one.
Ko Yeongeun immediately opened the message.
[Stop sitting there calmly—get off now! At this stop, only until 21:00 on the 17th—★Special Discount★ Gangnam Station Discount Phone Shop Left Counter (Free Unsubscribe)]
"……."
A place. A time.
Ko Yeongeun quickly searched online.
A discount phone shop near Gangnam Station.
An hour later.
Ko Yeongeun stood near a coin locker next to the phone shop.
"……."
At first, she wondered if they were just going to meet in front of the store.
But even after the stated time—9 PM—no one showed up.
Then, she remembered the “left counter” mentioned in the message. She looked to the left side of the shop—
and suddenly, a hallway leading to the coin lockers revealed itself, as if it had been hiding in plain sight.
Is this it?
She hesitated briefly, then scanned the locker numbers.
There it was: locker 17.
Just like the number specified in the message.
"……."
In the password field, she entered the numeric combination from the message: 1721.
Beep-beep-beep-beep—click.
"……!"
The locker unlocked.
Ko Yeongeun hastily grabbed the payment receipt card and peeked inside the compartment.
Inside was a small paper bag.
Attached was a jagged, awkwardly written note, clearly scribbled with an unfamiliar hand:
Open at home.
"……."
Ko Yeongeun clutched the envelope and rushed back home.
Her heart pounded.
What is this?
All signs pointed to one person—it had to be Kim Soleum.
But what on earth was he trying to give her?
Had the spy mission protocol changed to involve this kind of drop-off communication? Her mind swirled with theories as she sat at her dining table and opened the bag.
Two boxes?
There were black boxes inside.
Perplexed, Ko Yeongeun opened one.
A brilliant rainbow-colored light spilled out.
"…!!"
As if electrocuted, the Baekilmong employee snapped the lid shut again.
A—A Wish Ticket!
That insane holographic aurora-like glow—
there was no mistaking it. It was a Wish Ticket!
Kim Soleum-ssi!
Did he actually complete the spy mission by himself and secure the Wish Ticket?!
How? Was this real? Was any of this even real? There was a Wish Ticket in a subway locker—hold on.
...There were two boxes.
She could hear the sound of her heartbeat ringing in her skull.
She reached for the other box and opened it—
Again, that dazzling, shimmering light spilled out.
Oh my god.
And between the two glowing boxes, a small note slipped out.
“…!”
She quickly picked it up.
Yeongeun-ssi.
Our work is done.
Do what you want.
There’s no need to return.
 
"……."
A shock so heavy it left her dazed.
But the note wasn’t over yet.
P.S.) If possible, please deliver the other box to its intended recipient.
If not, I ask you to keep it safe until then.
"What the…!"
What if I just take it for myself?—was he seriously handing over two full bottles of Wish Ticket with just a note like this?!
...But even as she thought that, this kind, clever spy knew—
That she would keep her word.
"……."
A whirlwind of gratitude, guilt, joy, and pressure stirred through her head.
So—
Ko Yeongeun made one more quiet decision.
Then she grabbed something and ran out of the house.
Delivered safely.
***
I saw that the drink I’d been sipping at the café had reached the bottom.
This was a coffee shop in Gangnam Station’s underground mall.
It had already been an hour and a half since I’d watched Ko Yeongeun pick up the phone from the subway locker.
Nothing out of the ordinary had happened since, so I figured it was time to head out.
That takes care of that.
...If it was Ko Yeongeun, I was confident she wouldn’t steal the Wish Ticket and would get it to the rightful owner.
And since she was still working at the Disaster Response Agency, she’d probably have more chances to access people than I would.
...It did seem like the job suited her better, too.
Now that the spy work was over, if she wanted to stay on at the agency, she probably could.
Luckily, there hadn’t been any tailing agents either.
...It all wrapped up pretty cleanly.
Now, only one Wish Ticket potion remained in my hands.
So if I just drink it now...
That’s what I was thinking when—
A familiar figure came running back toward the locker.
"…!"
...It was Ko Yeongeun.
Did something go wrong?
But she calmly reopened locker 17—the one where the Wish Tickets had been—and put something inside, then shut it tight.
After that, she walked away like nothing had happened.
"……."
What did she put in the locker?
Wait… did she return Jang Heoun’s Wish Ticket?
That could be. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame her—
asking someone to pass a Wish Ticket to a quarantined person they might never see again was asking a lot.
Yeah.
It was an unreasonable favor to begin with.
I waited long enough to confirm Ko Yeongeun was fully gone and that no one was tailing her. Then I quietly left the café and headed to the locker.
I opened locker 17.
...Sure enough, there was a box inside.
Can’t be helped.
I picked it up.
But... something felt off about the weight.
"……?"
I quickly slipped into a restroom stall and carefully opened the box.
Instead of a shimmering rainbow, a soft blue light emerged.
A pale green hue, like a newborn sprout.
A Class C Regeneration Potion.
"……."
I stared blankly at it.
There was a note inside the box.
Written just like I’d done.
I’ll do my best.
Thank you.
Take care of yourself.
An emotion I couldn’t describe stormed inside me.
She probably only had enough points to buy one bottle.
She must have thought about the fact that I didn’t have an arm anymore…
and that I couldn’t use foxfire prosthetics after leaving the Disaster Response Agency.
…Thank you.
I carefully packed the box and tucked it close to my chest.
That night.
I drank the regeneration potion.
And with both arms fully restored, I sent my goodbyes.
Scheduled messages, set to be delivered the next morning.
To my former D-Team supervisors… and to a few people I owed a debt to.
Let’s send one more to the Guard Captain too.
Most of the messages said the same thing—
that I was leaving safely, so they didn’t have to worry.
Writing the message to Section Chief Lee Jahaeon gave me cold sweats, though.
The alien shop installment plan...
I’m truly sorry. I ended up skipping town just after the first payment.
In return, I’d put every piece of equipment I owned into a subway locker, then sent Jahaeon the location and password.
I could only hope he’d forgive me with that.
Hoo.
And with that, everything was sorted.
All that remained... was the foxfire.
I lifted my newly-regenerated arm and showed it to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the small blue flame that had been floating near me, watching what I did with curiosity.
"It’s okay now. Look, I’ve got both arms again. You can go back."
But the foxfire flickered sharply and sat itself down in front of my desk, as if refusing.
It was inconvenient... but not unpleasant.
"Then stay for a little while longer. …Once I disappear, go back to the agency. Got it?"
The foxfire bobbed gently, like a small nod, its glow slightly dimmed.
Then now, truly—only one thing remained.
The last.
I pulled out the soft, fuzzy, pink rabbit plushie.
"……."
I took a deep breath and placed the “Nice Friend” doll at the foot of the bed, casting its shadow under the lamplight.
So it could speak, even in reality.
—Oh, friend!
That familiar host’s voice, cheerful as ever.
That slick, drawn-out tone that had become so familiar by now addressed me smoothly.
—This hotel isn’t bad at all tonight. A small, cozy space—makes me think of the room we shared with Miss Roe. Is this a night of wish-fulfillment celebration?
"Something like that."
I didn’t need to save money anymore.
And...
"……."
—Friend?
"Are you okay?"
—What do you mean?
"I mean… about me using the Wish Ticket."
It had been weighing on me for a while. But I was afraid of what kind of answer I’d get, so I hadn’t asked.
"You know what my wish is."
The host already knew.
If he’d peeked into my thoughts and knowledge even a little—no, at the very least, after listening to my conversation with the Guard Captain, he’d have figured it out.
That I was going to wish to leave this world.
"And yet you never once asked."
I kept talking, watching the silhouette of the giant plushie.
"It was weird."
—Oh…
"I wondered if maybe… you thought I’d fail, and were just quietly waiting for the catharsis."
—My word.
As I’ve said before, friend, I do not wish for your failure…! I merely refrain from interfering inappropriately and ruining the flow and staging of the scene!
And in this case, well…
A faint tapping sound, like gloves patting gently.
—It’s such a perfectly clear situation that no question is needed.
You want to go home, do you not? And yet you refused even Brown’s offer to introduce you to a newer, better home….
A chill ran down my spine.
But the host’s tone was still pleasant and serene.
—So as the host, I believe it’s only right to sit back and see where your choice leads this show.
"……."
—Do as you please, friend.
You’ve worked for this, after all. Now it’s time to see what comes of it.
The rabbit doll’s shadow swayed slightly, as if gesturing toward something with its hand.
The Wish Ticket potion on the table.
...Hoo.
—Let’s go, then. To the finale, and the ending!
I picked up the Wish Ticket.