Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 193
Chapter 193 – 193
I rolled to avoid the blade.
But the rain of blades had already struck my foot.
“…!”
In that moment, Agent Choi charged at me with frightening speed and pulled something from his hand.
A round glass orb, glittering in the dream solution’s light.
‘A makeshift Glass Prison!’
If that hits me, I’ll be shackled and transported to the infamous Glass Prison
of the Disaster Management Bureau.
That’d be the end of everything.
The spy mission, the wish ticket—gone.
‘No.’
Clenching my teeth, I yanked the blade stuck in my foot and rolled to the side.
Ting, tiding…
The glass orb missed by a hair and bounced aside with a crisp sound.
But the prison had already opened.
“…!”
Criminals
TAKE THE SINNER
From the hollow of the glass, countless hands reached out and grabbed me. I clung to office equipment, but it was useless. I was dragged inside. My hand scraped the floor, and I heard the nails shatter. No time to pull out any items.
‘Braun!’
– Oh, my dear friend is in desperate need of a devoted good friend’s help!
– But unfortunately, I can’t assist you this time.
– It’s a decision made for a more interesting development. I’m sure Roe Deer will understand. Ah, but my heart breaks too! Of course!
– The distress of a friend!
My blood ran cold.
I was trapped inside the glass.
Chalala…
The glass rang with a clear, sharp resonance. I was sealed off from the outside, like staring through a broken mirror. ‘Braun?’
No reply. Sh*t!
‘No.’
I clenched my teeth.
If the agent contacts the bureau now, everything’s over.
And Choi is absolutely the kind of person to do it.
‘He’s already begun.’
In his hand, the orb rotated. A ritual to summon the Glass Prison’s warden.
‘Damn, damn it!’
How do I stop him? How do I talk him down? He’s occasionally emotional enough to hesitate, but only if there’s an opening.
Now that he knows I’m a spy, he’ll definitely throw me into the Glass Prison first….
….
Wait.
I stopped looking at the hand holding the orb—and looked at his other hand instead.
A crumpled note.
‘….’
Found it.
“Is that the note I gave you? Did you come here because you solved that riddle?”
Agent Choi didn’t answer, just kept rolling the orb in his hand. But I kept speaking.
“When you got that note, didn’t you believe that I was genuinely asking for
help?”
“No.”
“…!”
“At first, I assumed it was a trick. Considering your background.” …!!
“Why are you surprised? You joined using your real name from
Daydream Inc Corporation. Did you really think no one would notice?”
The shock slammed into me, hard.
‘It was strange.’
Yes. I had thought it was strange.
When they said C-Team’s Lee Kangheon didn’t exist, and even Lee Seonghae, who was supposed to be his contact, claimed never to have met him.
It was obvious.
They were fabricated identities.
Someone had posed as a Daydream Inc employee to dig up information.
That someone… was him.
So he’d known from the start that I was from Daydream Inc.
“But you know…”
Choi’s voice grew distant.
“You’re… really good at your job. Hardworking.”
“….”
“You go out of your way to help everyone—even the annoying ones. You throw yourself in even when it hurts.” His voice cracked.
“That’s not something you can fake. Normally, Daydream Inc people can’t stand losing. So I started thinking… maybe what you told Jaegwan was true. Maybe you really did fake your death and flee the company.” …!
“I figured if we kept you in our team and managed you well…” He clenched the orb.
“I believed what I wanted to. Damn, can’t believe I messed up this badly with all my experience.”
“….”
“Sure, people only move when there’s something in it for them. I forgot what you guys are like—putting your lives on the line for that wish ticket. But…”
His eyes darkened.
“Roe Deer. Are you even human?”
“….”
“That form earlier—what the hell was that? What even is this place? And
what did you do to the Bureau that Daydream Inc would grant your wish?”
“Answer me.”
I said nothing.
He looked at me for a while, then laughed.
“Pointless, huh?”
“….”
“Fine. We’ll talk all you want… once you’re locked up.” “Locked up?”
A voice echoed from above his head.
“…!”
A dark shadow loomed.
A monstrous wolf-like creature with crooked teeth and eyes.
The Security Chief.
He was back.
I gritted my teeth and shouted.
“Target the glass orb!”
“You son of a—!”
Choi reached for his blade, but it was too late.
The beast lunged.
Crunch.
The blade shattered, and the glass orb was crushed in Choi’s hand.
“Urgh!”
As the orb shattered between the monster’s jaws, the makeshift prison trapping me also broke.
I sprang free. I struck Choi in the spot where his reaction would be slowest
— His neck. “…!”
I intentionally went for the scar.
A chill of guilt or tension crawled up my spine. Thud.
Choi was pinned to the ground. The black muzzle of the beast loomed over him, exposing fangs and a tongue as it looked ready to bite— “Don’t.”
I gasped out. “Don’t kill him.” “….”
The monstrous form receded. The dry, uninterested face of the Security Chief re-emerged.
“I wasn’t… really gonna kill him. Just… scare him a bit…” Whew.
“That kind of scare doesn’t work on this guy.”
I looked down.
My heart pounded.
What now?
Is my mission a failure? What about the wish ticket?
How do I fix this?
“Sol-eum.”
“….”
“K-Kim Sol-eum. Hey.”
Below me, Choi let out a hoarse cough and grinned.
“That blade didn’t hurt much, did it?”
…!
“That thing’s not supposed to let you move once it hits. You saw it, right?
That Daydream Inc elite?”
I did.
Back in the glittery Undersea Palace incident— Assistant Manager Jin Naso had collapsed groaning after being hit. But I… didn’t hurt much.
“That means… you’re not such a bad guy, are you?” “….”
“Roe Deer. You can still turn back.”
…!
“If I don’t report this, if I just take care of it here, you could still live as a rookie who fled a cult and joined the Bureau.”
Choi’s gaze sharpened.
“You can just stay in Team Hyeonmu-1 and keep working with us. Saving people.”
“….”
“I don’t know why you’re still tied to that damned company… but honestly, wasn’t it more fun being with us?”
“….”
“And maybe… just maybe, we could even grant your wish.”
His low voice was warm.
“I’ll help you, Sol-eum.”
….
1 moved.
“Agent.”
“Hm?”
“Please stop lying. It’s not going to work.”
“…!”
I twisted his left arm and pinned it behind his back.
Clatter. A transmitter dropped from under his elbow. I grabbed it and
crushed it.
“Tch…!”
Just as I thought.
“Agent Choi.”
I pinned both arms and spoke firmly.
“I already know.”
“….”
“You always keep a backup transmitter under your left elbow.” His eyes widened.
“And when you can’t reach it, you improvise. You usually use goblin lanterns or books from Leejeong Bookstore.”
“….”
“But those are for rescuing someone. This time, you’d have run. Chief Jae, check his pocket—he’s got a hidden shoelace.” The Chief did as I said.
Choi’s expression paled as I revealed his escape item.
“I know everything about you. Whatever you try, I’ll be ready.” “….”
“Don’t endanger us with reckless stunts.”
“Ha… you bastard.”
His voice trembled.
“What are you?”
“….”
“Who are you really?”
I couldn’t answer.
That was the point—to unsettle him and keep him from doing anything rash.
I stripped him of all his equipment and stored it in my inventory tattoo.
That finished the first stage of disarmament.
Whew.
But I couldn’t relax.
Next, I had to—
‘We need to leave.’
It was too risky to stay here with him.
If the Bureau tracked us—
‘Motel.’
We needed a neutral location.
“Walk. Quietly.”
“….”
“No funny business.”
I stood him up. With the Chief beside me, we looked like two coworkers supporting a drunken colleague.
We left the dream chamber, and I racked my brain for next steps— “Sol-eum.”
“….”
Choi spoke with a cold sweat and a crooked smile.
“You’re gonna dump me somewhere, huh? Or hand me to Daydream Inc?” “….”
“You know better than anyone what monsters they are. You saw what they did to the kids we rescued from the Undersea Palace.” He kept walking.
“You really gonna hand me over to them?”
“….”
“Just tell me what you were doing with the Bureau. I’ll help.” I couldn’t say.
And he wouldn’t help. He was trying to exploit any hesitation to escape or
send a call for backup.
Then it would be over.
Or maybe… it already is?
‘Is it already too late?’
I felt sick.
Like I’d passed a point of no return.
That quiet life I thought I could maintain while slipping documents to Director Ho—that illusion was gone.
I was sinking deeper into a swamp I couldn’t escape.
I wanted to vomit.
‘What do I do?’
No memory-wipe potion from Daydream Inc would work on Choi.
‘He’d detect it in under a week.’
He gets tested weekly for contamination.
He’d catch it.
Maybe…
“Excuse me…”
“….”
“Hey.”
I turned to the Security Chief.
He glanced at Choi and then said:
“This guy… he’s Bureau, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm. I don’t know what’s going on…”
He seemed to realize something.
“But he seemed… familiar. Like you could talk to him.” “…!”
“Maybe… try talking?”
But what do I even say?
I can’t reveal the mission, or what Daydream Inc wants. Director Ho’s curse prevents it.
What I can say is—
Everything not as a spy.
As Kim Sol-eum.
What I want.
Why I worked at the Bureau.
Whether I ever intended to deceive them.
“….”
Should I say it?
‘At least tell them I meant no harm.’
Maybe then there’s a chance at compromise.
Let’s try that.
“…Yes.”
I led us into an alley, then onto the roadside. I saw a parked taxi and turned to Choi.
“We’re taking a cab.”
“….”
“Don’t try anything.”
“Smart move, Roe Deer.”
He wouldn’t make a scene in front of a civilian.
‘This might buy us time.’
It made me feel worse, but I had no choice.
“Let’s go.”
All three of us got in the back seat.
To the driver, it would just look like two people helping a drunk colleague.
“Sol-eum!”
“…!!”
The driver turned around.
Not a driver.
A familiar face filled with regret called my name.
…Director Ho.
‘What the hell.’
How did he get here?
Why is he here?
But the shock overtook everything.
Director Ho declared:
“Ah. So you’ve been found out.”
“….”
No.
“But you secured him quickly! I came to meet you myself to save you the trouble.”
His gaze shifted.
He ignored the Chief like he didn’t exist.
And looked at the one we’d restrained between us— Agent Choi.
“Hello there.”
Not a man. But the thing who once declared hatred and hostility for the Bureau.
A nervous smile crossed Choi’s face.
“…Doesn’t feel like a ‘hello’ to me.”
“Oh no.”
Director Ho smiled, too.
“You’ll be at peace very soon.”
No.
“Wait.”
I desperately stepped into his line of sight.
Cold sweat soaked my back.
“He set up an alert to go off if he dies, disappears, or transforms.” “Oh?”
“It’s true. So a memory curse and letting him return to normal would be
more efficient…”
“Sol-eum.”
Director Ho smiled sadly.
“You were exposed so quickly… I can’t trust your judgment anymore.” Chills swept through me.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“….”
I slowly turned my head.
Over Choi’s face, a round ripple shimmered.
Director Ho’s incantation.
