Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

“Excuse me…”

“Excuse me.”

I snapped my eyes open.

A familiar face came into view.

“…Sergeant?”

“Yes…”

Dressed in a security uniform, with a slender build, light-colored hair, and a name tag reading ‘J3’.

The very same security officer who had been involved with me in the Changgwi Darkness!

I tried to get up in a hurry, but a massive headache struck me—wait, what?

Jingle.

I froze.

The red yarn tied tightly around my hands, dangling little silver bells, caught my eye.

‘Yarn?’

The look and purpose felt oddly familiar… Oh.

‘This is one of the Security Team’s equipment…’

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Dark Exploration Records / Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau

/ Items

Nostalgia Kitty

A red yarn with silver bells attached, classified as an equipment-type item.

Temporarily reverts the subject to their physically and mentally healthiest state within the past ten years.

The more severe the subject’s mutation, the faster the yarn breaks.

※ Health criteria determined based on usage records.

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

A device that allowed anyone to temporarily ‘return’ to a better state from their past.

Knowing this calmed me down a little.

I relaxed, and…

No, wait.

Why am I restrained??

I quickly raised my head.

The sergeant, looking mildly annoyed but also slightly amused, met my gaze. He gave a small wave.

“We meet again…”

“Yes. But…”

I raised my bound arms as high as I could.

“What is this about?”

“You said… you rescued a contaminated employee…”

“Yes, but why am I…”

The sergeant pointed at me.

Ah.

“…Are you saying the Security Team thinks I’m the one contaminated?”

“Looks like it… yeah… There’s no one else.”

He raised his hands slightly, his expression an odd mix of anticipation and embarrassment.

“Uh… welcome to the Security Team…?”

N-No.

Is this some kind of initiation for me as a new recruit…!

“It’s not me.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s not me.”

I emphasized this twice, then finally managed to steady myself and take in my surroundings.

‘…Is this a isolation room?’

The interior was an empty space surrounded by gray walls, with even the lighting recessed seamlessly into the ceiling.

‘It seems like the Security Team responded properly.’

I must’ve made the call correctly.

[Security Team Equipment Rental Facility]

This was a facility I’d been authorized to use after my promotion to supervisor—a storage space where equipment from the Security Team could be borrowed via phone or in person.

However, if the Security Team deemed a situation required ‘containment’, they could intervene directly, as they had here.

‘Lucky me.’

Seeing as I was now detained in a Security Team facility, that must’ve been the case.

I slowly nodded.

“This must be the company building, given that you’re here, Sergeant.”

“Yes… sharp observation…”

I swallowed nervously.

If I wasn’t mistaken, my tattoo still held the contaminated Supervisor Park Minseong.

‘I need to hand him over so the contamination can be contained.’

But wouldn’t officially registering the existence of my tattoo with the Security Team be an incredibly stupid move long-term?

Testing the waters, I cautiously asked,

“Is there a CCTV system installed here by any chance?”

“I don’t think so…”

Right.

It was likely that no recording devices had been set up, considering this was the first time someone contaminated by the <Hungry Hangman> ghost story had escaped into reality.

Even CCTV footage could become contaminated.

‘Especially since Hungry Hangman was an ghost story with exceptionally strong psychological contamination…’

In any case, it seemed no one knew that the fully contaminated Supervisor Park Minseong was currently inside my tattooed wrist.

I swallowed nervously.

“…Sergeant.”

“Just call me Jay. I’m the only ‘J’ left in the Security Team…”

“All right, Jay-ssi.”

I spoke with a serious expression.

“Can you promise to keep what happens next a secret?”

Naturally, I expected him to refuse. Or, perhaps he’d act conflicted, agree to keep it a secret, and then promptly report everything.

Either way, I was prepared to offer some form of persuasion—

“Sure, why not…”

“As long as it’s not about blowing up the company… No, even that might be okay… Just keep it a secret that I even heard anything…”

Was this the confidence of someone in a lifelong position?

‘What kind of company is this…’

I shook off the dizziness creeping into my head and firmly stated,

“It’s not about blowing up the company.”

“Then…?”

“Actually, I’ve rescued a contaminated employee, and I’m currently containing them on my own.”

The sergeant looked at me like I was speaking nonsense.

“Are you delusional…?”

“I’m perfectly sane. I’m even wearing contamination-suppression equipment, am I not?”

I raised my arm.

“These yarns with bells—this is contamination-suppression equipment, isn’t it?”

“Um… yes, it is.”

“Then you can see that I’m speaking with a clear mind.”

The sergeant stared at me.

I swallowed again.

“When you’re ready, I’ll bring out the contaminated employee.”

“Oh.”

He blinked, clearly unconvinced but willing to humor me, and slowly replied,

“Fine… go ahead…”

“Do you need any special preparations? I only have one chance, as I’m using a disposable item.”

“Well…”

He tapped his chest lightly.

“I’m enough.”

Though his words might have sounded arrogant, his tone was straightforward and wearied, giving no impression of boasting.

‘And he’s a sergeant.’

I’d seen his capabilities in the changgwi ghost story. He was a professional in ‘Darkness suppression’.

Good.

“All right.”

I took a deep breath.

Then, I reached directly into my tattoo.

I didn’t have to search. My hand immediately grasped the target.

Keeping fellow teachers locked away is against the rules!!

‘Pull!’

As my hand emerged from the tattoo, it dragged something along with it.

Riiiip.

With grotesque sounds, the ‘teacher’ began to emerge from the tattoo.

And then—

Thunk.

The yarn snapped from the strain.

Blood spurted from my forearm like a fountain—the wound inflicted by the blood-sucking knife earlier had reopened.

“—!”

Fuck!

I wanted to scream from the pain, but I held back. The contamination was creeping back as well.

But more pressing than that was—

“Teacher Soleum! Such mischievous behavior is a punishable offense at ■■ Kindergarten…”

Flinch.

Supervisor Park Minseong—or rather, ‘the teacher’—paused mid-sentence, smiling softly.

Then, he stopped entirely, glancing around blankly at his surroundings.

“This is not the kindergarten!!”

Damn it.

“This is not the kindergarten! This is not the kindergarten! I left without permission, unauthorized—I am not a perfect teacher. I… I broke the rules…!”

There was no way to respond. I could only feel the guilt crashing over me.

I’m so sorry, teacher. I made the wrong decision. I shouldn’t have done this. I’ll take your punishment and read the handbook aloud instead. I’ll grab the handbook of ■■ Kindergarten and—

“Up you go.”

Grab.

Someone seized my face.

Then something was inserted into my ear.

“Some kind of… sleep sedative.”

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