Mistaken for a Catastrophe-Level Ghost Story Employee 120

Chapter 120

“A dream… you mean this is a dream?”  

This place?  

“Yes! How many times do I have to say it? If this weren’t a dream, how could I even be standing in front of you right now?”  

“……”  

That… made sense.  

Putting aside Eve’s unusually sharp tone for a moment, I carefully sorted through the situation.  

Eve had just told me that this place was inside my dream.  

If what she said was true—if this really was a dream—then everything fell into place.  

The missing temple mark, the vanished skull tattoo on my right wrist, Noise’s lack of response—it all made sense.  

But one question still gnawed at me.  

Why?  

Why had Noise pretended to grant my wish, only to trap me in a dream world that perfectly mirrored reality?  

He couldn’t have been unaware that Eve would eventually show up and expose everything.  

After making such a grand show of granting my wish, the truth was absurdly simple—he’d just recreated my wish inside a dream.  

‘If he was going to do this, he shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of it.’  

…Sigh.  

Now that I knew the truth about the ‘wish,’ I couldn’t help but feel drained.  

As I lay back on the bed, exhaling in frustration, Eve only grew more agitated at my calm demeanor.  

“More importantly, we don’t have time for this! You need to go back! There’s no time to just sit around like this!”  

“Huh?”  

“Go back to the real world! Now, Yeon-jeong!”  

Eve had been acting strange from the start.  

She was visibly restless, pacing back and forth in front of me.  

What was she so frantic about?  

Genuinely curious, I asked, “What’s the rush? If this is a dream, I can leave anytime I—”  

“Then go back! Right now!”  

“No, I mean—explain first—”  

“There’s no time! Just go back!”  

“……”  

‘What’s gotten into her today?’  

No matter what I asked, Eve refused to answer, just repeating the same demand over and over.  

With no explanation, just an obstinate insistence that I “go back,” I had no choice but to comply.  

Besides, if I left this place, I had more than a few things to settle with Noise.  

Once I woke up from this dream, I planned to get to the bottom of this so-called “S-grade reward.”  

I closed my eyes gently.  

To meet Noise, who had lied to me with that grand promise of an S-grade reward.  

After a brief moment of darkness—  

When I opened my eyes again…  

What greeted me was…  

……?  

A pair of round, innocent eyes staring straight at me.  

A young girl’s gaze, fixed on mine.  

…Huh?  

I was sure that when I opened my eyes again, the person in front of me should’ve been Noise.  

But instead, it was still Eve.  

Before I could process my confusion, Eve—standing in front of me with her arms crossed—raised her voice again.  

“You can’t go back, can you?! That’s it, isn’t it?! It’s not working!”  

“……”  

The moment Eve realized I couldn’t wake up, her expression turned deadly serious.  

She looked frantic.  

But now, I really needed answers.  

“What the hell is going on?” I pressed.  

“What do you mean ‘what’?! That kid has taken over your body! We have to stop him now, or else—!”  

“What?”  

Noise… had taken over my body?  

For a moment, Eve’s words didn’t fully register.  

If Noise had thrown me into this dream just to possess my body…  

Why?  

I couldn’t think of any real benefit for him.  

Even if he took control of my body, nothing would really change.  

As I stared at Eve in confusion, she clenched her fists, her voice rising in urgency.  

“He’s going to use your body to meet ‘him’!”  

“Him…? Who’s ‘him’?”  

Eve’s answer echoed through the small studio apartment as she shouted:  

“He’s going to meet ‘Adam’!”  

“……”  

Adam?  

As in…  

That Adam?  

*****

WOOOOOOOO—!  

A deafening siren blared across Seoul.  

Citizens moved in unison, following military instructions, though none of them knew what they were running from.  

War? Natural disaster? Or… an alien invasion?  

Amid the chaos, wild theories spread—until one man walked against the fleeing crowd.  

“Hey! You, sir!”  

A soldier spotted him and immediately called out.  

“The evacuation route is the other way! Follow the instructions and evacuate immediately!”  

The soldier reached out, gripping the man’s shoulder—  

BZZZT—!  

A burst of static crackled in the soldier’s ear, making him flinch.  

Despite the emergency, the man remained eerily calm, his voice almost playful.  

“How kind of you. But you needn’t worry about me.”  

“What? What are you—?!”  

The man turned his head, locking eyes with the soldier.  

BZZT— 

A grin stretched across his face—a face now covered in shifting, visual static.  

“I just have somewhere to be.”  

The soldier froze.  

The man before him was not human.  

“So don’t mind me. You just have to keep doing your part. Play your role, like a good extra. Stick to the script.”  

The soldier, face-to-face with something clearly not human, didn’t hesitate.  

“D-Don’t move!!”  

He immediately raised his gun.  

“Oh my. That’s not a recommended choice. But if this is your role… I’ll accept it graciously.”  

CLICK—  

BANG!  

The gunshot echoed through Seoul.  

“KYAAAAAAH!”  

“R-Run!!”  

“Who the hell fired?! No one gave the order! Are you insane?!”  

Panic erupted instantly.  

Amid the smoke from the gun barrel, the scent of gunpowder filled the air—  

But the soldier’s blood ran cold as he saw the figure still standing before him, completely unharmed.  

“Tsk tsk. That was dangerous. Very dangerous… Firing in a crowded area like this is highly inappropriate.”  

“M-Monster…!”  

“Monster? Oh, I have a proper name, you know. A bit late for introductions, but… I am ‘Noise.’”  

Noise leaned in closer, his static-filled face inches from the soldier’s.  

“But since we’ve met like this, I have a favor to ask.”  

“……”  

“Run to your superior and deliver a message for me: ‘The Primordial Ghost Story has come to meet an old acquaintance.’ Feel free to embellish it. Make it dramatic.”  

The soldier just stared, dumbfounded.  

Noise sighed.  

“Still not convinced? You need a clearer demonstration of how dangerous I am, don’t you? Very well.”  

TICK—  

He flicked his finger.  

BZZZT—  

In an instant, hundreds of fleeing civilians vanished, swallowed by static.  

“Was that enough?”  

The soldier’s face paled.  

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I trust you’ll perform your role well.”  

With that, Noise continued walking.  

Against the flow of the crowd.  

Absorbing anyone in his path into his static as he moved leisurely forward.  

Eventually, the streets around him emptied.  

No more civilians in sight.  

“Tsk.”  

Then—a man in a black suit stepped into his path.  

“…Hmph. It seems my message wasn’t delivered properly.”  

“Thanks for making such a flashy entrance, you static-headed bastard… What’s with the noise? Do ghost stories care about fashion now?”  

Noise’s static flickered.  

“Such vulgar language right from the start. That’s very improper behavior.”  

The man blocking his way was none other than—  

Team B’s Captain of the GRA.  

Kang Tae-sik.  

WHOOSH—  

In an instant, flames erupted from Tae-sik’s fists as he equipped his knuckles, unleashing an impossible heat.  

The asphalt beneath them began to melt.  

Noise’s response?  

“That looks useful for incinerating trash.”