“You’ve already received the reward for the cassette tape exchange… Supervisor Kim Soleum, sir. Isn’t that enough?”
“Oh.”
I smirked.
“That’s funny. You’re bold enough to talk like that to someone who gave up their weekend and even skipped work to save your sorry life?”
“……”
Baek Saheon’s face turned pale before he reluctantly responded.
“…What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“……?!”
“Honestly, this was fun.”“……!!”
I began walking briskly down the mountain path.
From behind, I heard Baek Saheon scrambling to keep up and offering a belated response.
“…Anyway, I admit I ruined your weekend and caused you to miss work.”
“……”
“That’s all.”
Oh?
“I’ll transfer three days’ worth of salary to you, so just wait.”
“Sure.”
But shortly after, as we entered an area with cell service and our data started working, Baek Saheon let out a shout.
“The date’s exactly the same!”
Of course it is.
Don’t you know it’s a rule that that time flows differently in ghost stories?
“Still, I spent three whole days here.”
“……!”
In the end, I got my salary, while Baek Saheon, wearing a mix of indignation, relief, and frustration on his face, quickly avoided eye contact and retreated.
– Haha, regardless of this situation, he seems like the type to live a rough life!
You’re not wrong.
Honestly, there was something I should’ve said earlier.
‘I didn’t expect him to go the entire time without even thanking me.’
What a remarkable guy in so many ways.
Though compared to how he was in the <Dark Exploration Records>, he seemed a bit less ruthless and slightly more human… for what it’s worth.
Earlier, when the civil servant encountered this guy in the basement, he gave me some rather chilling advice after a brief, cold glance at him.
– Some inherit the Silver Heart, while others inherit a cassette tape… like that.
– ……
– Matching them well would be a good thing to do.
– Um. Yes. Thank you, sir.
Well then.
The government had ensured that the cassette tapes ended up in the hands of criminals, people whose guilt was beyond doubt.
Which means… this guy was officially recognized as a criminal by the government.
Even if I tried to think the best of him, at least one person in Baek Saheon’s “inheritance route” had to be a criminal.
– It was just something lying around at home. I inherited it from a relative.
…A relative.
‘I suppose there might be a story behind it.’
But I stopped thinking further.
I didn’t have the luxury to dive into the backstories of characters in the wiki.
‘I need to survive this ghost story company first.’
And before long, this cursed company was back to doing what it does best—bringing bizarre and unpredictable events into my life as if they were the norm.
* * *A few days later—
“Supervisor Kim!”
On my way back from a coffee run, someone familiar called out to me in the hallway.
It was Lee Byeongjin, the section chief in charge of manual revisions who had gone missing.
“Ah~ Congratulations! I knew our Supervisor Kim would go far!”
We’ve only known each other for less than two months, sir…
“Top of the entry class, scouted to the A-squad, saved me, and even connected to the Security Team. And now, a rapid promotion? Ee-yaaah, that’s great.”
“Thank you.”
It didn’t feel great, but I replied politely anyway.
However, instead of wrapping up the conversation and leaving, Section Chief Lee Byeongjin lowered his voice and muttered,
“Director Ho has got an eye on you.”
“……”
“The director is the best superior you could ever have in this company. Don’t miss the opportunity.”
Opportunity…?
“There’s even a rumor that the director runs an external confidential project team. You might get transferred there.”
Haha. You don’t know what you’re saying, sir.
In the world of ghost stories, anything labeled ‘confidential’ cuts your survival odds in half.
Instead of saying that, I politely shook my head.
“I’ve been here less than six months. I’m not seeking out something like that. I’ll just do my best in the position I’ve been given.”
“Ah, modest too! I knew I had a good eye for people. Haha!”
I was just grateful he conveniently forgot his overbearing attitude from when I was pretending to be part of the Security Team. People are truly products of their environment.
Section Chief Lee patted my shoulder a few times, looking proud, and left with these parting words.
“Anyway, I’m curious where you’ll end up, really!”
“……?”
That sounded oddly loaded.
‘Why does it feel like he’s assuming I’ll definitely be going somewhere?’
That question didn’t stay unanswered for long.
Later that afternoon—
“Hey, Roe. Even if you get reassigned, let’s catch up occasionally. I still owe you a meal or two.”
Pardon?
I blinked at my somewhat dejected coworker.
Reassigned?
Wait… did I seriously just get transferred to some strange place?
Was the director’s ‘interest’ just a ploy to lull me into complacency before blindsiding me?
Why would anyone bother to do something so petty and diabolical to an ordinary employee…?!
“I mean, I’d rather you stayed on our squad, but looking at how things are going…”
Fortunately, before I spiraled into panic, Assistant Manager Eun kindly explained.
She said that squads of the Field Exploration Team typically had a three-person quota. Occasionally, they’d assign one or two extra members just to train new hires.
The new members often stayed as extra personnel until they got promoted.
“But you’re a supervisor now.”
Ah.
I was… the exception to the usual case.
“You’ll probably be shuffled somewhere else, but… don’t worry too much.”
Feeling a glimmer of hope, I asked,
“Is there a chance I could be an exception?”
“Not really… It’s just that the squad will likely stay exactly at its three-person quota soon. Keep this between us.”
“Huh?”
Assistant Manager Eun smirked.
“I’m quitting soon.”
“……!!”
A coworker just announced her escape!
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