Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 141

Nostalgia Candy restores me to my prime state.

In other words, it makes me who I was before—no smarter, no more perfect.

It’s a reminder that if I rely too much on the condition the candy provides, I’ll end up letting my guard down.

I knew that.

“...!”

I gritted my teeth, feeling the searing pain in my right arm—or rather, where my right arm used to be.

I missed the timing.

Damn it.

‘I was too impatient.’

With the safety zone disappearing within the hour and the sudden plan to force the mart’s doors open, my attention had been completely absorbed.

And the price was now being paid—in the form of unbearable pain.

The severed arm, cauterized to stop the bleeding, seemed to claw back every letter of its description as raw, cutting agony.

“Huff.”

My legs buckled, and I nearly collapsed to the floor. Instinctively, I tried to brace myself with my right arm, only to stumble when I remembered it wasn’t there. My left hand caught me, though awkwardly.

But I could endure this.

“Agent...!”

“Just... a moment,” I said.

The Bronze Agent lifted me from behind, supporting me as I struggled through the waves of pain.

Ko Yeongeun rushed over in a panic, checking my condition and demanding something from me.

“What about the candy? Where is it?”

Ah.

“Hurry!”

I fumbled with my remaining arm, trying to search my jacket pocket. Ko Yeongeun was quicker, pulling out the candy, unwrapping it, and shoving it toward me.

‘If I eat that, I’ll be fine.’

Surely... that was true.

“...”

“Agent Grape?!”

But maybe it was the endorphins kicking in, or something else entirely, that made me hesitate.

There were only two candies left.

Who knew what other ghost stories we’d end up trapped in?

‘...Do I really need it right now?’

Couldn’t I just endure this with the Happy Maker?

My arm was already cauterized.

And my plan had accounted for the loss of a limb—it was designed to ensure we could escape even if I were missing an arm.

The mart’s doors had already reopened.

‘Considering the versatility of items...’

Wouldn’t it be better to save this candy for later, instead of wasting it now?

“...”

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I took the candy, rewrapped it in the packaging, and slipped it back into my pocket.

“What—what are you doing...?”

Ignoring Ko Yeongeun’s startled voice, I reached into my pocket again, pulling out a small, stick-shaped item.

The Happy Maker.

This was the better choice.

‘Yeah.’

I tried to inject it myself but quickly realized I couldn’t roll up my sleeve—not when there was no arm to roll it up on.

“Agent... I’m sorry, but could you inject this for me?”

“...”

“It’s a painkiller.”

The Bronze Agent’s hardened gaze told me they understood the dangerous origins of this item—products from the infamous Delusion Home Shopping Network.

In situations like this...

“Please. I’m begging you...”

“...!”

Thankfully, the Bronze Agent didn’t waste time arguing. With a deep breath, they rolled up the sleeve on my remaining arm and administered the Happy Maker.

Click.

A soft sound, and the drug coursed through my veins in an instant.

‘Ah.’

The pain ebbed away, replaced by an overwhelming calmness.

Tranquility.

Anxiety and panic shattered like fragile glass, leaving nothing but emptiness in their wake.

‘Ha.’

I stood up without stumbling, my movements steady and normal.

“Thank you.”

But the air around us was heavy with silence.

“Why...”

“I can still move for now. I’ll endure this,” I said.

“...”

The truth was, I didn’t want to waste the candy.

Ko Yeongeun seemed to pick up on this from my expression.

“Sigh.”

The colleague who had worked with me at Baekilmong Co. had a complicated look on her face, choosing to turn ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a blind eye to my situation.

...I figured she could somewhat understand.

But not everyone felt the same.

“...You’ve been walking around like this?”

“...”

The Bronze Agent stared at my injury with a blank expression before something seemed to click in their mind.

“That drug.”

Ah, they realized.

They understood the true purpose of the regeneration potion I had handed them earlier.

“...”

“Are you insane?!”

“I’m not insane.”

Thanks to the Happy Maker, my mind was calm.

I took a deep breath, even managing a faint smile as I tried to explain.

“It was a rational decision.”

“What?”

“Right now, I can survive without immediate treatment, but you were in a life-threatening situation.”

“...”

“And if a veteran like you hadn’t joined us, the civilians we’re trying to rescue would’ve been in even greater danger.”

That’s right.

From the start, I hadn’t counted the two high school students under the Bronze Agent’s protection as part of the escape plan.

My original plan was based on three people holding out at the stairwell:

Me, Ko Yeongeun, and the high school student I was responsible for.

‘...While sacrificing the Bronze Agent.’

But when I found the signs left behind by the Bronze Agent, the situation changed.

Instead of an unpredictable stranger or a broken-down survivor, we gained the Bronze Agent and the two high school students.

‘It was difficult.’

If they had been adults, I might’ve been able to abandon them without hesitation.

But they were just 15- and 16-year-old kids. It was hard to justify cutting them off with a clear conscience—at least, with modern sensibilities.

So, the best option was clear.

Rescue the Bronze Agent.

‘And since I couldn’t just burn through the Nostalgia Candy indefinitely, the regeneration potion was the right choice.’

Overall, even if I set aside my personal grand strategy, it was a rational decision as a disaster management agent dealing with the supernatural.

“So... I believe my choice was reasonable.”

“...”

But the Bronze Agent’s face darkened.

They opened their mouth, as if struggling to speak.

“...Why—”

Just then—

Crash.

"...!"

The heads of the three agents turned sharply.

"Ah, crap."

Someone, hiding behind the tent, fumbled nervously as they tried to gauge our reactions. They had accidentally dropped a camping cup, hurriedly picked it up, and returned it to its spot.

It was one of the high school students the Bronze Agent had been looking after.

‘Great.’

I adjusted my jacket to properly cover the area where my arm used to be.

"...Let’s discuss this once we’re out of the mart."

"..."

The Bronze Agent hesitated, their lips parting as if to say something. But then, with a regretful look, they lowered their head and quietly walked to the far end of the camping section.

Ko Yeongeun sighed, glancing between me and the Bronze Agent, before following after them.

"..."

The high school student, who had been nervously glancing around, hesitated before shuffling closer to me.

"Um, I’m sorry..."

"...I know you weren’t trying to eavesdrop. It’s fine."

"No, it’s not that..."

The student hesitated, then spoke more clearly.

"About what I just did."

"..."

"The way I acted earlier."

From overhearing our conversation, they seemed to have realized just how much the agents were risking their lives to save them. Enough to reflect on their mistakes or impulsive behavior.

"..."

Sigh.

Even adults act emotionally in extreme situations, so expecting more from a teenager was unrealistic.

The fact that they apologized at all was more than I had expected—even if part of that apology came from fear.

Fear that we might abandon them and escape without them.

"Alright. Apology accepted."

"..."

"Let’s hang in there a little longer, okay?"

"Um..."

The student hesitated again before blurting out,

"When we leave this time, I’ll make sure to steal the stuff properly."

Ah.

"It’s fine."

I patted their shoulder with my remaining hand.

"This time, we won’t need to steal anything."

"...?"

Because we wouldn’t have to take that risk anymore.

The student looked puzzled for a moment but eventually nodded and quietly returned to their friend.

That left me in a brief moment of silence.

"..."

It felt a little awkward.

Maybe I’d gotten too used to having friends who perfectly understood and empathized with my position back in the day.

Anyway.

Sigh.

Now, only the final steps remained.

And I could pull this off.

‘Even with the extra people, we’ve got two types of escape items.’

It was doable.

Reaching into the inside of my jacket, I carefully retrieved the most securely stored items I had.

Two white envelopes.

Gift certificates.

I quietly sat down and reviewed the enhanced version of my plan one last time while waiting for everyone else to finish their preparations.

A little later.

"Everyone has the candy in their mouths, right?"

"Yes! We both have ours!"

"Good."

I checked on the high schoolers, ensuring they were looking after one another, then glanced at the other agents.

The two of them had cleaned up the camping section and were now standing with grim faces, locking eyes with me.

All the briefings were done.

Now...

‘It’s time to leave.’

The six of us left the third floor and began calmly descending.

Outdated pop songs, laughter, and the sound of carts being pushed around surrounded us.

"Ha-ha!"

"That’s way too expensive. Put it back."

The lively voices of shoppers filled the air. Even though it had only been a few days, hearing such sounds felt bizarrely comforting.

Of course, these were just ghosts from the past—shoppers who neither saw us, heard us, nor acknowledged our existence. The eerie undertone lingered.

And so did the tension.

"..."

"..."

"Um..."

One of the high school students broke the silence.

"Behind us..."

"Shh."

I quickly hushed them and sent them forward. I’d already seen what they were talking about.

At the bottom of the escalator, someone stood there, staring blankly at us.

Bloodshot eyes, filthy clothes, lips mumbling incoherently.

Once, they might have been a normal person—someone who had stepped out to shop in casual clothes in the middle of the night. Now, they were wearing the same outfit for what seemed like months.

A long-term missing person.

I gently pulled the high school student closer.

"Don’t smile or show fear."

If you smile, they think they can leave with you. If you show fear, they think you’re weak and follow you.

‘...We can’t save them.’

There was no point in imagining impossible solutions, no need to subject ourselves to the agony of false hope or terror.

The high school student swallowed nervously and nodded, keeping their head low and staying close behind me.

"..."

The long-term missing person, their tangled hair and broken leg dragging behind them, stepped onto the escalator as if they were trying to leave too.

But they weren’t the only one.

I felt eyes on us.

Behind the butcher section, near the event stands, next to employees—there were others.

Murmuring, crying, laughing, staring blankly.

And now, they were stepping onto the escalator to follow us.

‘...The first floor will be crawling with them.’

Eventually, they’d get caught by employees and turned into "supplies," disappearing in the process.

By evening, the lower floors would be "cleaned" that way, leaving new victims wandering around, thinking they were the only ones trapped in the mart’s past.

"..."

Even with the painkillers keeping me steady, a chill ran down my spine.

Not too fast, not too slow—we continued down the escalator. And soon, we returned to where we had entered.

First Floor.

Checkout Area.

"Let’s start quickly."

I led the high schooler I was responsible for toward the checkout counter—skipping the exit doors entirely.

Each of us picked up a snack and a can of soda.

The high schooler beside me was breathing heavily, trying to stay calm.

We reached the cashier without any delays, the mart still quiet during the weekday.

"..."

I pulled out a gift certificate, lightly tapped the counter with it, and called out,

"Excuse me."

"Huh?"

The cashier snapped their head toward me, meeting my gaze.

Yes.

They recognized me.

"Oh! You’re a customer!"

"...!"

This was the power of the gift certificate.

It made the mart recognize us as legitimate customers.

[If you use a gift certificate, you can simply walk out.]

There was no need to trick the mart anymore.

"Please ring these up."

"Oh, sure!"

Beep, beep.

The cashier scanned our items cheerfully and took the gift certificate.

"If you add six hundred won in cash, I can round it off to the nearest thousand for your change."

"That’s alright. Just proceed."

"Alright then~"

The cashier handed me my change—four 10,000-won notes and eight 1,000-won notes.

I passed a few of the 1,000-won notes to the high schooler, who repeated the process.

Their voice trembled slightly as they spoke.

"Oh, wait—this too!"

I ensured that their total wouldn’t raise suspicion or result in excessive change compared to mine.

And then...

"Thank you."

"Thank you~ Please visit Lucky Mart again!"

We made it through.