Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 194
Chapter 194 – 194
Executive Director Ho did not open his mouth.
But the incantation had already begun.
—”Man.”
Countless circular indentations rippled across Agent Choi’s face.
His smiling expression distorted with the wave.
And the moment he leaned back—
Thud.
“…!!”
One side of his face caved in, blood gushing out.
Flesh was torn away in the exact shape of the ripple.
No.
“Don’t move. Please don’t move.”
I held onto Agent Choi.
‘He’s casting it on the face, not the back of the hand.’ It wasn’t like with the spies.
This was a warning: move, and you die.
Cold sweat ran down my neck.
The incantation continued.
—”You will never be able to speak of this.”
That…
—”You will become incapable of speaking it.”
The bleeding grew more intense.
Blood trickled over my hand holding his shoulder.
What could I do?
Executive Ho’s incantation wasn’t spoken aloud. Even if I tried to talk or plead, it wouldn’t stop.
—”Your last form will be as follows.”
If I kept holding on like this, wasn’t I just making Agent Choi die more quickly?
I couldn’t help him run. The incantation had already begun. His gear—his
gear was all stored in my tattoo.
‘If only I hadn’t disarmed him.’
No, if only I hadn’t given him that note.
Even being transferred to the glass prison would’ve been better than this. But that moment had passed. Now, Executive Ho spoke: —”Any accidental hints, behavioral tells, or clues are forbidden in essence. The restrictions on your free will must never appear visible.”
—”All attempts to disclose the presence of the geas will be thwarted. You will behave as if nothing is different.”
—”If you attempt to change that, you will be punished.”
Was… was that the end?
That sounds like the final clause, doesn’t it? So he was just imposing a heavy geas?
I almost sighed in relief.
If we could get past this, maybe I could still find another way. If this was all
— —”And tonight.”
The incantation wasn’t over.
—”You will decide to end your life.”
No.
—”You will despair, and in the lowest alley, take your own life…”
I lunged forward.
I kicked the back of Executive Ho’s seat and grabbed his collar.
Then I slammed him against the steering wheel.
BEEEEEP!!
The horn shrieked wildly under the weight.
The noise drowned out the incantation, breaking his concentration.
The oppressive weight that had filled the space disappeared.
The ripple vanished from Agent Choi’s face.
Panting.
Silence.
…Stillness.
“…”
“…”
“Soleum.”
“…”
“Did you just attack me?”
I let go of him.
My lips barely moved.
“You had to stop.”
“…”
“That was the wrong choice.”
It was insane.
I had just opposed a senior far beyond me, someone who had placed a geas
on me, who could probably kill me at any moment—and wasn’t even
human.
“I see.”
Executive Ho clapped his palms together with a sharp smack.
“You’re saying you know better than I do!”
“…”
“You couldn’t even last a quarter without being discovered by your direct
supervisor, you didn’t tell me a thing, and now you’re meeting with security
agents personally?”
I was going to die.
One misstep, and I would die here.
Executive Ho had never shown such open hostility before.
“But still…”
“This was your mistake.”
“…Huh?”
“The setup was too sloppy. A spy should never have been deployed under
their real name.”
Right.
“If you assumed the Disaster Management Bureau wouldn’t track the records of its hires, that was a dangerously naïve decision for a planner.” I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my own mouth. But I couldn’t stop.
“Why did you send me with such obvious conditions? I thought there’d be safeguards. But there weren’t. Was it intentional…?”
…
Wait a minute.
“I see.”
I looked at Executive Ho.
“You meant for me to get caught. That’s why you let me use my real name.
That’s why you only picked rookies.”
You were hoping we’d make mistakes.
Claiming it was to ‘bypass the Bureau’s detection protocols’ was just a convenient excuse. You cherry-picked rookies who looked the part— sincere, upright, perfectly fitting the Bureau’s values. And that had another effect.
“The agents who discover the spies will be even more confused. Because they’ll be no different in character from the real ones.” Internally, there’d be fierce debate on how to handle them.
No personality test will help. Suspicion will fester.
“You’re trying to sow internal division within the Bureau, aren’t you?” “…”
“You’re slowly unraveling an organization known for tight-knit teamwork.
Planting seeds of distrust toward every new hire.”
“Soleum, your imagination is amazing!”
Is that so?
“But you’re not denying it.”
Executive Ho stared at me silently.
“Can you swear, by the Counseling Room, that you had no such intent?” “…”
“Can you swear it?”
“Soleum.”
A soft, pleasant smile appeared on his face.
“It wouldn’t change anything even if I did.”
“…!”
“There was only ever one promise.”
He raised his index finger.
“If you bring me the document I requested, you’ll be granted your wish.
That condition will never change. It’s a firm guarantee.”
“So…”
My throat dried with tension.
My heart pounded.
But I still spoke clearly.
“So whether I get caught or not doesn’t matter. As long as I bring the document.”
“…”
“As long as you receive that information.”
The kind related to extinction-level supernatural disasters.
“Then I’ll get it. No matter what.”
“The document?”
“The information you want.”
“You’ve already been caught.”
“Even so,”
I met his eyes.
“I’ll retrieve it.”
At the same time, I pointed subtly at Agent Choi and shielded him slightly with my back.
“But if that agent dies or is incapacitated, I won’t be able to.” “And why is that?”
“Because from that point, I won’t be able to cover for it.” “…”
“…”
Executive Ho continued smiling silently at me.
I kept eye contact. I endured it.
Then—
“Go ahead.”
He declared.
“Our promise hasn’t changed. I’m truly looking forward to how you’ll deliver the document, Soleum.”
“…”
As the breath finally left my lungs— “But… punishment is still due, isn’t it?”
…!
“You know what you did was outrageously rude and out of line.” My eyelids twitched.
“You’re the only one who got caught. I don’t know how you can claim this
wasn’t your personal failure.”
A chill crawled down my back.
“Excuses are free, but attacking your superior because they didn’t agree with you? That’s a bit much. So if I had to guess…”
“…”
“You got attached?”
Sweat dripped down my chin.
“You were afraid to see a colleague die? You sure get sentimental easily,
even in unfamiliar places.”
“Director.”
I answered as calmly as I could.
“It’s normal to fear for the death of another person.” “…”
“If my objections upset you, I apologize.”
“Oh, no! Not at all. You’re quite right.”
Executive Ho smiled again.
“But rules are rules.”
“…”
“Please hold out your hand. Time for your punishment.”
…
I slowly raised both hands, keeping them from trembling, palms down.
—”Man.”
A ripple forms.
But unlike the previous one, it isn’t quiet.
A massive, deep indentation sends grotesque pain and sensation through the
back of my hand.
“…!”
I clenched my teeth through the cold sweat. I couldn’t move.
—”You will die in one month.”
…!
—”But if you fulfill your promise with ■■■, the sentence will be revoked.” —”If you try to escape through any other means, punishment will follow.” I stifled a scream.
The ripple faded, and the pain subsided.
“I was worried you might have lied just to buy time. This time, I decided
not to be so naïve.”
Executive Ho grinned brightly.
“Thank you for the tip!”
“…”
I withdrew my hand.
And met Agent Choi’s shaking eyes.
“Oh. I should get going now.”
“…”
“I didn’t expect our chat to last this long.”
“Chat…? That’s what you’re calling it…?”
…!!
“You said… one month… you’d kill…”
Chief of Security!
‘Don’t say that! Please!’
Executive Ho looked at him as if noticing him for the first time.
Then smiled.
“Send my regards to Director Cheong.”
…!
Then he looked away, as if he hadn’t heard anything strange.
He smiled brightly at me.
“Well, have a good night, Soleum!”
And—
He disappeared from the driver’s seat.
“…”
“…”
“Director Cheong…? I’m not seeing him… oh, he’s gone.”
1 survived.
2 nearly collapsed onto the taxi floor.
But realizing I was already seated, I forced my trembling limbs to move.
Agent Choi’s bleeding was still severe.
I opened his emergency kit—which I had taken—and began treatment.
“…”
The bleeding slowed. He calmed.
He didn’t resist.
But he didn’t speak.
“Agent.”
He turned his eyes toward me.
“Don’t think about it.”
“Think about what.”
“Ways to break the geas. Don’t try. Don’t even plan it.” “…”
That first geas from Executive Ho had already taken effect.
He could no longer speak of what happened—or about me.
He had to behave as if nothing happened.
Otherwise—
“You’ll be punished.”
“Punished.”
“Yes.”
I looked straight at him.
“Your most precious thing will face the Director.”
“…”
He silently took back his kit and continued the treatment himself.
Experienced hands, practiced over many years.
“…You said ‘Director,’ right.”
I didn’t answer.
“What kind of geas did they put on you?”
“…”
“Today it’s ‘die in a month if you fail.’ What about before?” I opened the car door.
And nodded toward the street.
“Go home.”
“What’s your plan for getting the info?”
“None of your business.”
He looked at me strangely.
“If you told me, I might help.”
“Don’t need it. I won’t ask you to steal anything.”
“What’s your wish, then?”
I couldn’t hold it in.
“To go home.”
“…!”
“…Your gear is in the trunk.”
I stepped out with the Chief of Security.
I left all of Choi’s equipment in the trunk—and a low-grade regeneration potion.
With a face like that, who knows what he’d hear tomorrow at work.
He didn’t get out of the car.
Click.
I shut the trunk and walked away with the Chief.
Somewhere.
“…”
“Are you… okay?”
“…Yes.”
It was the worst, but I got through it.
1 survived. One month.
That would be enough. I had a plan. I could— I could…
“…Mm.”
The Chief spoke slowly.
“If you really can’t do it… come find me.” “…Thank you.”
Even just hearing it helped.
“I’m sorry. You’ve helped me so much—I should at least buy you something…”
Maybe a bakery nearby? Even if not donuts— But he shook his head.
“Next time… something tasty…”
“…Yeah. Next time. Definitely.”
A weak laugh escaped.
…I felt a little lighter.
“What about the info…?”
“I’ll hear it next time.”
But I was at my limit.
I managed a faint smile as I saw him off.
The Chief looked back several times but eventually returned to Daydream Inc before nightfall.
“…”
—”Whew, that was a breathless suspense!”
I looked down.
There was the plush toy on my chest.
—”Now, where will your journey take you next? I can’t wait to find out, friend!”
….
“Think whatever you want.”
I pulled the plush out.
I felt a brief impulse to chuck it into the street—but it went right back into my coat pocket.
At least I wouldn’t have to hear its voice.
Not tonight.
“…”
I returned to my dingy rented motel.
And five hours later, I went back to work at the Disaster Management Bureau.
As if nothing had changed.
