It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story Chapter 109

In that moment, I wondered if I was still caught up in the Unnamed Radiant Church’s horror story.

However, a fully awake mind was able to assess the situation accurately.

‘This is different.’

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je in front of me was no longer the neat, suit-wearing workplace superior from my memory.

Rather, he resembled a detective who’s been on stakeout for about three days… or perhaps, he looked more like a reporter.

And so, the sense of reality crashed back in.

‘What on earth is going on?’

I immediately got out of bed.

“Assistant Manager.”

“Yeah.”

Eun Ha-je nodded.

“First off, I’m really sorry for barging into someone else’s house like this. I shouldn’t be seen right now, but I have something important to tell you.”

He continued speaking while glancing out the window as if he were on guard against someone.

As if he was being chased by someone.

“…You mean I shouldn’t be seen?”

“Something like that. Just listen to me first.”

Eun Ha-je stammered, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

“You, on the day after tomorrow. So, on January 2nd, when you go to work, a darkness will be assigned to you. …It’ll sound normal enough. It’s C grade, with all the manuals intact, and others are going as well. But…”

But.

“Don’t step foot in there.”

“……”

“Do whatever it takes to avoid it. No, better yet, just quit or take a leave of absence. Because…”

The assistant manager bit his lip and then loosened up again.

“If you go in there, you’ll die.”

“……!”

“Don’t ask how I know. Just do as I say…”

“Is it Manager Lee Ja-heon?”

“…!”

Seeing Eun Ha-je’s expression, I guessed I was right.

‘No way, waking up to a death warning right from the start….’

I pressed my forehead as I stood up from the bed.

“Why is Manager Lee doing this to me…?”

“We all knew that guy was a psychopath.”

I couldn’t refute that.

Eun Ha-je spat out the words.

“But since you’re so competent and always pull off crazy stunts, I guess he wants to throw you in a deadly situation this time. To see how you get out of it.”

That meant my MZ power had just backfired.

‘Damn.’

Yeah, if it was that guy, he’d jump at the chance to put me in some bizarre horror story with weird conditions because I was a rare specimen.

However….

“Assistant Manager, there’s got to be a chance I can survive this, right?”

“…….”

“And if he really wants to see how I’ll ‘get out of it,’ he’d probably send me to a darkness where survival is at least possible instead of a guaranteed death situation.”

I hate to say it, but I’m an elite in rapid promotion.

I’m in favor with high-ranking officials, and for some unknown reason, Directors Cheong and Ho look kindly upon me.

‘No matter how you think about it, I can’t see a project where the team leader would recklessly shove me to a death spot just for fun.’

Sure, I could end up somewhere dangerous, but the very nature of a horror story is risky.

‘After all, even Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je said it’s a C grade horror story with complete manuals.’

That logically didn’t make sense.

“So how can you be so sure? That I’m going to die.”

I looked at Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je with pleading eyes, and he pressed his brow as if holding back a sigh.

“The only thing I know is.”

His finger pointed at me.

“You’ll be classified as deceased on January 2nd.”

“……”

“I confirmed that… in a future-seeing darkness.”

“…!”

Oh my gosh.

A horror story that can peek into the future? There were even a couple of Wiki articles that came to mind.

However, it was a stretch to wonder how Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, who had taken a leave of absence, gained access to such a darkness…

‘This is odd.’

“So I just checked which darkness you’ll be thrown into on the 2nd. Since you saved my life, I figured I could at least do this much for you….”

“Hold on. Assistant Manager, that’s still strange.”

“What?”

“I also peeked into the future. You remember the horror story I managed? The Tarot Card?”

“…Yeah.”

“I drew a really good card recently. And it hasn’t come into play yet.”

I recalled the Sun card I had drawn.

In the upright position. A card that guarantees happiness.

“I can’t be happy after I’m dead.”

“You could die after being happy.”

“…….”

Something about it still felt off.

But since Eun Ha-je looked so anxious, and there wasn’t any reason for him to lie to me, I nodded for now.

“Understood. I’ll come up with some countermeasures.”

“Damn right, do that.”

Eun Ha-je seemed to relax a bit and looked up at the sky before sputtering out an excuse.

“Doe, I originally didn’t plan on appearing in your house like this, but I had to rush, so I’m sorry for the intrusion. It just stresses me out to see someone leave the team.”

“It’s fine. I was surprised, but still, it’s nice to see you looking healthy.”

“……Phew. Doe, how are you planning to survive in this company with that personality of yours….”

“Haha.”

My personality is average; it’s the staff’s personalities here that are like a horror story….

‘I mean, if I acted this rude towards a former boss who came to save their junior, wouldn’t I be the crazy one….’

And I’d better say nothing about my bigger problem (cowardice).

Anyway, Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je gave a nod of relief with a tired expression and motioned for me to rest.

“Well, I’ve got to go now. Take care.”

“Wait a second.”

“What?”

“That… about the hand.”

I carefully eyed the empty sleeve on his left hand.

Eun Ha-je waved his arm dismissively.

“What? Are you still worried about that? Doe, you said you weren’t going to take a Healing Potion. So you can keep it for yourself.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I had recently come up with an idea.

“Assistant Manager, you handed me communication equipment, right?”

“Oh, right. But I didn’t really need it, so….”

“So I want to introduce equipment to you too.”

And I flicked my specialized equipment, the Coin.

If you give 500 won to the gloves that appear in the air, you can use it…

The Third Hand.

In other words, equipment that adds an extra hand.

“Why not insert this as Parent Equipment and customize one for yourself, Assistant Manager?”

“…!”

Then, on the evening of December 31st.

I met Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, wearing a hat, in front of the Annex, where we approached the Twilight Grade Darkness storage for creating custom equipment.

[Kind Seed Kit / Qterw-E-99]

A massive, rusty machine standing tall among fake weeds.

A custom equipment-making Twilight Darkness, which is almost exclusively used by the Field Exploration Team.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen it.

However, Eun Ha-je had a displeased expression.

“I feel like I disrupted your break for no reason…”

“No, I was going to make some new custom equipment anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Using this. I have something that I got from Team Leader….”

I took out what I had prepared. Right away….

-Please return after use. Limit is once.

The equipment I received as Parent Equipment from Manager Lee Ja-heon, which boosts physical strength!

However, before I could explain, Eun Ha-je was flabbergasted.

“You got that?!”

“Oh, do you know about it, Assistant Manager?”

“Uh, that’s the item of the retired guy… No, Team Leader is seriously hilarious. We weren’t that close, but I really don’t know how he got it for you.”

I looked down at the item.

The bizarre bracelet, which appeared to be made from braided human hair, was already more than half broken and looked like it had been woven from straw.

“Apparently, it temporarily grants super strength, but the more you use it, the more the hair breaks off.”

Seriously.

“Even considering it’s consumable, it’s not bad equipment. Look at Team Leader. He’s living proof that being in good shape saves your brain from hard work.”

“…….”

That’s an undeniable truth…

Anyway, I had planned to let Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je use it first…

“It’s fine, you go first.”

“……Alright.”

I accessed the worn LCD screen attached to the machine.

[Please give me plants 0/2]

I inserted the bracelet I received from Team Leader Lee Ja-heon into the rusty machine.

[Plant information saved successfully]
[Please give me plants 1/2]

The next item to put in is….

‘Now, I’ve got quite a few useful items.’

Hmm.

Considering the attributes of the equipment borrowed from Manager Lee Ja-heon, I had about three decent options.

1. Durability reinforcement as a consumable.

2. Preservation of the effect of physical strength enhancement.

3. Combination of different functionalities.

‘Is that it.’

Well, since the inheritance of plant genetics is random, there’s a high chance it will mess up and not attach the options I want….

‘Alright.’

After some thought, I placed one of the items I had in and authenticated my genetic information to operate the machine.

[Combining genetic information]
[Creating the kit….]

[Seeding complete]

Clunk.

The front drawer of the machine opened, revealing an item.

It looked like a simple bracelet, resembling a thin wire.

‘Hmm.’

I carefully took out the metal bracelet and stored it. I’d check its power as soon as I got the chance.

“Think it turned out well?”

“For now, yes.”

I gathered the items I had put in and stepped back, while Eun Ha-je stood in front of the machine and started customizing his equipment.

First off, he placed his own item in.

Eun Ha-je’s specialized equipment.

A power bank-shaped communicator, which, when plugged in, allowed external communication even in horror stories through his smartphone.

As it turns out, the button-shaped item he had previously given to me was something produced by inserting it in this machine.

“That was an unexpected upgrade. I suppose I can say this is the luckiest moment in my life.”

Though Eun Ha-je grumbled about spending his luck in useless places, his hands handling the power bank-shaped custom equipment were surprisingly cautious.

And….

“Here.”

I inserted my specialized equipment, the Coin, as the next item.

Pip.

The glove-printed coin vanished into the drawer.

[Combining genetic information]

“…Doe. The likelihood of getting something that fits perfectly on the first try is low.”

Eun Ha-je said quietly, as if to reassure me.

“So don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. Just trying is enough to be grateful. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

I looked at the machine’s screen.

[Creating the kit….]
[Seeding complete]

The creation was finished.

The front drawer of the machine opened, and the item appeared. That was….

“Gloves??”

It was literally a semi-transparent glove.

The squishy material gave it a strange feel.

“Hmmm.”

But when Eun Ha-je extended his right hand to grab it, sparks flew towards him.

“…!”

“Ooh. Look at this. …Did it fill up quickly?”

Eun Ha-je smirked and placed it against his empty left hand.

“Well then, I’ll just give you the empty spot.”

As that happened, the glove adhered to the empty area like skin.

Like a hand made of electricity.

“…!!”

And… it took on the complete shape of a hand.

“……”

An emotional flicker crossed Eun Ha-je’s face, but it soon vanished like a lie.

Instead, he slowly lifted the hand and began to move the fingers.

Zap zap.

Thin currents flickered.

“Hm. It feels oddly tactile… Is it due to the electric signal? Really nice. Just put on gloves for the outer look.”

Eun Ha-je turned to me and smiled.

“Thanks, Doe.”

“…….”

“All that talk earlier was just nonsense. It came out perfectly on the first try, right? Thanks to you… my luck seems to have held up in the needed moment.”

As I looked at Eun Ha-je, now equipped with both hands, I simply nodded.

“Anything for you.”

I thought it was quite a nice scene for the last day of the year.

However, just as I was about to conclude it somewhat emotionally.

“And… I’m sorry, but do you have any need to use points from the welfare mall? I can go ahead and buy up to 1500 points for you, as I want to keep a record here of you using it two times.”

Huh?

-Oh, a desperate attempt to erase your traces… almost looks like evidence destruction! Friend, isn’t it? What kind of hidden agenda could you have? Shall we worm it out slowly?

…….

‘That doesn’t seem necessary.’

-Oh?

I already roughly guessed.

“…Assistant Manager, are you working in another department?”

“…!”

As expected.

“This darkness is almost used exclusively by the Field Exploration Team. If you’re hesitant to leave a record here, could it be that your affiliation has changed?”

“…….”

After a heavy pause of contemplation.

“…Well, I can’t fool you. Doe, you sure are using your head.”

Eun Ha-je chuckled.

“Yeah. The Field Exploration Team’s Assistant Manager is on leave, and I’m working on another job in the company…”

“…Can I ask what kind of job? Or at least the department?”

“…….”

It seemed Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je was mulling it over for a short moment again, but he eventually opened his mouth.

“Well, since it’s come to this… Um. Doe.”

A name I didn’t expect was followed up.

“You know the project team of Director Ho, right?”

“…!”

“I’m working there now.”

What did you just say?