Mistaken for a Catastrophe-Level Ghost Story Employee 103

Chapter 103

The moment I returned after successfully capturing a ghost story and relieving the stress I had bottled up until now.  

Noise’s first words were:  

[Did something good happen?]  

Was it that obvious?  

I cleared my throat and continued speaking. 

“It’s nothing. Today is just Monday, the start of a new week.”  

After hearing my response, Noise seemed puzzled.  

[“…It feels like a different person has returned.”]  

[“However, a positive mindset is an important factor in improving work efficiency, so I hope you don’t forget that attitude, Employee Park Yeon-jeong.”]  

With Noise’s well-wishes, I finished the day’s work and safely went through the dismissal process.  

And then.  

A thought I had forgotten until now quickly flashed through my mind.  

‘Ah, right…’  

Soi’s safety.  

Come to think of it, I hadn’t checked whether Soi had done well in this test before returning.  

She… did fine, right?  

For now, that was all I could believe. 

I had no choice but to hurry home as quickly as possible.

Carrying a sense of unease in my heart, I returned home. 

The moment I opened the front door, the one who greeted me was…  

Swish—  

A woman with short black hair, wearing a kimono, bowed her head to me.  

“You’ve worked hard again today, Master.”  

…Thank goodness.  

Fortunately, it seemed Soi had safely taken the test and returned.  

And the result was.

“You passed?”

“Yes, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.”  

Hearing that she had completed the GRA entrance test much more easily than I had worried.

While I was relieved…  

‘The GRA, huh…’  

A part of me remained uneasy.  

Though Soi had received a prosthetic body from Noise that would prevent her from being discovered as a ghost story.

The opponent was the GRA.  

I was worried about how long she could evade the organization’s eyes.  

As I hesitated to pick up my spoon in front of the meal Soi had prepared, lost in these thoughts.

“…Master.”  

“Huh?”  

Soi suddenly spoke up, as if she wanted to ask me something.  

“Since I passed this GRA test, may I ask you one thing as a reward?”  

“Uh… Sure, if it’s something I can answer.”  

Soi hesitated for a moment before finally asking the question she had been wanting to ask.  

And it left me completely flustered.  

“Master, did you spend a night with someone named Han-sol?”  

“……Huh?”  

“So you did sleep together.”  

“…….”  

That day. 

I ended up wasting a considerable amount of time dispelling baseless rumors to Soi.  

Why do I always get tangled up in these kinds of things?  

*****  

The next day.  

When the clock struck 9 AM.

Thud—!  

I once again followed my usual routine for going to work. 

Slump—  

In an utterly exhausted state.  

The cause of the problem?  

Last night.  

I had to stay up late clearing up the nonexistent scandal with Han-sol.  

So right now, all I want to say is—  

I’m extremely tired.  

Just as the thought of wanting to sleep soundly like that toy ghost story flitted through my mind—  

Bzzzt—  

As always, a distorted noise crackled from the speaker, followed by a male voice.  

[“Employee Park Yeon-jeong seems to be in quite a low mood this morning.”]  

I couldn’t explain everything, but.

“I didn’t sleep well.”  

Leaving out unnecessary details, I only voiced the reason for my exhaustion.  

The response I got in return was.

[“Employee Park Yeon-jeong, your relationship with her must be truly heartfelt.”]  

[“But as always, I urge you to exercise restraint.”]  

“…Yes, understood.”  

I held back my words.  

Frankly, I couldn’t even be bothered to respond anymore.  

Suppressing an automatic yawn, I asked Noise about today’s tasks.  

“Another ghost story capture?”  

Given my current physical state, I hoped it wasn’t.  

[“Today, we’ll be selling the collected products to our clients.”]  

[“They’ve been waiting eagerly.”]  

Noise explained that today’s task wasn’t ghost story capture.

But product sales.  

He then added that we would be meeting quite a few clients today.  

[“Today, you’ll be handling as many as three clients at once.”]  

Three clients in one go?  

The thought of handling multiple clients at once, something I’d never done before, already made me feel exhausted.  

Afterward, when I received the ghost story booklets to sell to the clients.

Some of the books seemed to contain ghost stories we had captured from the space where the 404 entity resided.  

Among the three books, one familiar ghost story caught my eye the ‘Match  Girl.’ 

For a moment, I stared curiously at the book containing the Match Girl.  

Flipping it open.

Crackle.

The sound of burning firewood pierced my ears first, and on the opened page, a small lump of charcoal came into view.  

[“How dare you lock me up in here!”]  

[“I’ll burn everything to ashes! Just you wait! Starting with your stupid face—”]  

‘So full of energy.’ 

Even after all this time, she was as fiery as ever.  

[“I’ll burn you all to—”]  

Thud—!  

I closed the book immediately.  

It was a wonder anyone would want to buy something so noisy.  

As I passed through the white door, Noise, as always, gave his usual farewell.  

[“As always, I trust you’ll handle our clients well today, Employee Park Yeon-jeong.”]  

*****  

As usual, the moment I arrived at ‘Check-In 666,’—  

This time, the number of keys I received at the counter was three.  

The numbers on the keys were:  

<250>  

<444>  

<612>  

It seemed the ghost stories I’d be meeting today were waiting for me in rooms on different floors.  

‘Would it kill them to book rooms on the same floor?’  

Just one more annoying thing to deal with.  

When I realized that each client was on a different floor—  

My gaze turned toward the decrepit elevator of this place.  

I stared for a while at this establishment’s infamous amusement ride—the ‘Gyro Drop Elevator to Hell.’

Pop—!  

……I hadn’t even stepped inside yet, but a small spark had just flown out.  

Before I could even worry about today’s clients, my first concern was whether I’d survive riding this elevator.  

Thud—  

Feeling the heavy pull of gravity on my ankles, I stepped into the Elevator to Hell.  

And then.  

As expected.  

Just going up two floors made me genuinely think the elevator cables would snap this time.  

-The do█or is█ open.  

The low-quality audio echoed through the cramped elevator space.  

With the thought that I’d survived another day, I stepped out.  

<250>  

The first place I had to go was ‘Room 250.’

It was quite a distance.  

Since it would easily take several dozen minutes to walk there, I checked the state of my items as I moved.  

Glasses—on.  

The first of our three teddy bear siblings securely placed in my coat pocket.  

Just in case of unexpected situations.

Fluffy—  

Even the max-level pillow was ready.  

Good.  

This much preparation should allow me to handle any emergencies.  

Wiggle, wiggle—!  

The first teddy bear also waived its arms left and right, cheering me on.  

Alright… let’s go.  

I slowly made my way to Room 250, where today’s first client was waiting.  

Unlike last time, some rooms had their doors slightly ajar, but—  

I ignored them.  

By now, I knew better than to pay them any attention.  

Before I knew it, I had passed Room 233, and soon, without much trouble, I came to a stop again.  

<250>  

Confirming the room number, I took the key from my pocket and inserted it directly into the lock.  

Click—  

With the sound of the door unlocking—  

I braced myself in case someone jumped out at me again.  

‘…Come at me.’  

I held the pillow out in front of me, but—  

…….  

…….  

Fortunately, no one came rushing at me.  

And perhaps—  

‘This… is normal, right?’  

Awkwardly, I lowered the pillow I’d been holding and slowly stepped toward the inner door ahead.  

What kind of ghost story would be waiting for me this time…?  

Before I knew it, I had stopped in front of the inner door. 

The moment I turned the knob—  

Through the crack of the door, what I saw was—  

Darkness.  

‘…Did I get the wrong room?’  

The inside of the room was pitch black.  

‘Why are the lights off?’ I fumbled along the wall—  

The moment I found the light switch, I flipped it without hesitation.  

[“KYAAAAAAH—!”]  

Jolt—!  

The ear-piercing scream made me flinch instantly. 

When I turned to look in the direction of the sound.

A white… cocoon?  

On the bed inside the room, a large white cocoon-like shape caught my attention.  

To be precise.

It looked like someone had bundled themselves up completely under a blanket. 

I stared blankly at the white cocoon for a while.  

The one who spoke first was—  

Me.  

“Um… Are you the client who wanted to purchase a product?”  

[“……”]  

But only silence answered me.  

At this rate, it seemed impossible to proceed with the sale properly.  

[“…L-lights.”]  

“Huh?”  

A faint whisper came from under the blanket. 

I strained my ears, and the quiet voice that followed was barely audible.  

[“P-please… turn off the lights.”]  

…They wanted the lights off.  

Today’s first client seemed to be a hikikomori-type ghost story.