Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

The Elder.

The leader of Team Hyunmu 1.

The one who had granted the agents a goblin trick through that window in the lounge, allowing them to enter the shimmering palace of the Dragon King as children.

‘They’re probably not human.’

I was nearly certain.

So, I assumed we’d go through some magical ritual at that very window to visit the Elder.

But that’s not what happened.

"Alright, let’s go carefully."

Click.

We got into a car.

“…??”

"It’s not that far, about forty minutes?"

I supposed I should be grateful we weren’t taking bicycles.

The three agents, as if it were completely normal, used regular transportation to travel through Seoul toward our destination.

And that place was—

[Blue Hope Hospital]

"……."

A white building in a quiet location.

A nursing hospital.

Judging by the friendly staff and the steady flow of visitors, it seemed to be well-maintained.

The agents, unfazed, walked straight through the entrance.

"We’re here to visit Park Honglim."

"Ah! This way…."

We took the elevator to the fifth floor, arriving at a sunlit private hospital room.

And there—

In the hospital bed, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, lay a peaceful-looking elderly woman.

If her eyes had been open, she would have given the impression of someone wise and kind.

She truly looked like an Elder.

"Podo, let’s introduce you. This is our Elder."

"……."

On the bedside table sat a framed collection of messages, much like the one in Team Hyunmu 1’s lounge.

— Honglim unnie, we really, really love you!
— Thank you always.
— For the loyalty of Soju Clan’s leader, I personally tracked down and rescued a master of Andong soju.
— A great leader, our Team Captain.

Traces of people.

"Grandma, I—huh?"

At that moment, a student hurried into the room, stopping abruptly when they saw us.

"Oh! Hello, Agents…!"

"Hey, Yeji. Good to see you. How’ve you been?"

"The same as always. Let’s see, how’s our lady doing…?"

The high school girl—clearly the Elder’s granddaughter—gently touched her grandmother’s forehead as if checking for fever. Then, she looked up and smiled.

"She seems to be in a good mood."

"Yeah. Her complexion looks clear."

"Haha. Oh, has Uncle Jaegwan been well?"

"…Yeah."

It seemed like they were familiar with each other. The two agents casually chatted with her before introducing me.

"This here is our newbie."

"Oh… Nice to meet you."

"Ah, yes, same to you…!"

This wasn’t the time to stand there awkwardly. I quickly bowed to the student, and she bowed deeply in return.

Then she said,

"…Please take care of my grandmother."

"……."

For some reason, my chest tightened.

"I should be the one saying that… The Team Captain has helped me a great deal."

"……I see."

Her expression wavered between holding back tears and forcing a bright smile.

"Then I’ll step out for a bit while you say your hellos!"

"Alright. Thank you."

Click.

The hospital room door closed, and silence settled in.

Agent Choi reached out and gently adjusted the Elder’s hair.

But still, she did not move.

"There was… an incident."

"……."

"Podo, you know how in supernatural disasters, a single mistake can lead to someone dying in the most absurd way, right?"

His voice grew quieter.

"Our Team Captain’s last supernatural disaster was a bizarre, labyrinthine, completely deranged kind of place…."

He took a deep breath.

"Her upper body was nearly obliterated."

"…!"

"I heard that especially her head… almost half of it was gone."

Instinctively, I looked at the Elder lying in bed.

…At her perfectly intact, unharmed form.

"Yeah. But she looks fine now, doesn’t she?"

Agent Choi trailed off, staring at the bed just like I was.

Then, Agent Bronze finally spoke.

"The Team Captain passed the goblin’s trial and received her personalized goblin-fire lantern."

Ah.

I reflexively looked down at my own right arm.

Or rather, the goblin-fire that replaced it.

— They make it custom, you know? You can’t just get it through shortcuts. Agents have to go through the goblin’s trial… It’s strong, but it’s a tough process.

Could it be…

"So, currently, more than half of the Team Captain’s head and upper body… are replaced by goblin-fire."

"…!"

"She remains unconscious because the goblin-fire is already exerting such an immense, sacred power that she cannot withstand the causal interference of directly manifesting in reality."

"……."

I gazed at the peacefully sleeping Elder.

…Perhaps eternally sleeping.

"…And that’s how she became the Elder."

Not just a person anymore—a supernatural entity. A goblin Elder.

Agent Choi finally lifted his head, smiling faintly.

"But we always know she’s watching over us! In our dreams and illusions."

"……Yes."

"Alright, let’s greet her. Elder! We came to give our thanks and introduce our newbie!"

Agent Choi patted my shoulder.

"See? I told you this kid would be good. And they really are. I’m sure you already noticed."

…At this moment, I couldn’t bring myself to say that I never planned to join this team.

Maybe Agent Choi had anticipated this. But judging by his warm smile, it didn’t seem like a scheme.

"……."

With Agent Bronze guiding me, I stepped up to the bed.

"…Hello, Elder."

And I respectfully bowed my head.

At that moment—

[Podo.]

"…!"

I lifted my head.

The hospital room was empty.

Somehow, all the people had disappeared.

And instead of the sunset, a brilliant full moon illuminated the room through the window.

There—

[You did well.]

A warm, gentle fire stroked my hair.

No… A presence as warm as fire.

A fragment of the Elder.

A moment of warmth and imagery.

I blinked.

"Am I… dreaming?"

[Yes. Your weary journey has exhausted you, and you've dozed off for a moment. Now, come, sit here….]

A comforting hand took mine.

My eyes closed.

Before I knew it, I was leaning against the bed, feeling the Elder’s hand patting my back softly.

"…Do you really think I did well?"

The words spilled out.

[Of course!]

[You did your best, and because of you, the children returned home alive and smiling. That was all your effort, your blessing.]

"……."

[Don’t be too hard on yourself. No one else could have done better than you. Even if you went back, you wouldn’t have done better than you already did.]

For some reason, I felt like crying.

Receiving such emotional validation had a way of stirring an exhausted heart.

But…

Doubt flickered.

‘They seem to know my real identity.’

Even during our previous conversation, I had sensed it.

The Elder was well aware of my possessions.

‘Is it because this is a dream?’

Had they already known about me from the start?

Then… was this all just a way to pry information from a spy?

It was less suspicion and more disappointment.

Like the feeling of realizing that a grandmother who had always been kind to you only did so because she had ulterior motives.

And an undercurrent of unease.

But—

[Who in the world has no secrets? And who exists without flaws?]

The hand patted my back again.

[The important thing is to always keep a small light within your heart. And when you realize you’ve strayed from the right path, to stop and look at the ground beneath your feet.]

"…Thank you."

I steadied my breath.

[I’m just an old soul, tired of keeping track of people. I don’t concern myself with the tangled affairs of the world.]

A subtle indication that they would not reveal my affiliation to the Bureau.

…And my suspicions.

"……."

The hand that had been patting my back withdrew.

With a faintly amused gesture.

[But an old soul has their own kind of wisdom. And—]

[They also have rewards.]

Before I knew it, I was sitting up, perched on the edge of the bed.

As dreams always did, the sequence skipped over the in-between. But it wasn’t jarring. This was a dream, after all.

And then came the gentle request.

[Take out your trinket from your pocket.]

"……."

I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out the object that had been resting there all along.

A round accessory with an X mark drawn on it.

Memorial Griptok.

The item that had once allowed me to read Records of Darkness Exploration, displaying past memories in neatly arranged text.

But it had cracked, rendering it unusable.

[Ah, I remember this.]

[Young folks these days stick these things on everything. The Goblin Workshop had an entire eight-day celebration just trying to figure out how to make one after the Bureau official teased them about it.]

A hearty, kind laughter.

[But this one seems… a little different. Let’s see now….]

The Elder put on their magnifying glasses and examined my Griptok.

The cracks still bore traces of the adhesive applied by that Bureau employee pretending to be a goblin at the Goblin Workshop.

"Hmm, they told me the adhesive would fully set within a month… but despite the time that’s passed, it hasn’t changed at all."

[Hmm? Ah… I see. That fellow wasn’t truly a goblin, just a human in disguise, so they might not have known.]

[This one, though, is much closer to a true spirit. They were simply imitating our Workshop’s work.]

[But if we treat it like some cheap knockoff, it’ll never function properly.]

The Elder infused the Griptok with fire.

"…!"

Flames roared briefly, but instead of burning, the item shimmered as if a layer of grime had been cleansed away—until the crack vanished completely.

[There. Now it’s properly set.]

"…! Thank you…."

[But the important part isn’t over yet.]

[Now you must make a wish—what form should it take?]

"…!"

Come to think of it, I had heard something similar at the Goblin Workshop.

"You have to wish for the form you want! That way, it’ll become a truly great trinket!"

Back then, everything had been happening so fast, and I was barely holding it together. I hadn’t really given it any thought.

‘This time, I should be mindful of it.’

I carefully placed the Griptok back into my pocket.

"Thank you."

[You’re such a polite child, Podo.]

A warm gaze settled on me.

A gentle hand ruffled my hair again.

The warmth of the flame seemed to seep into my entire body, burning away exhaustion and lingering corruption.

[This old one would love to give you some dried persimmons as well, but alas… our time is up.]

Huh?

[Your drowsiness is fading away!]

"……."

I opened my eyes.

I was nearly about to slam my head into the hospital bed, jolting upright at the last second.

Like someone who had dozed off and startled awake.

"…!"

I looked up in a hurry.

Two agents were watching me with amused smiles.

And—

The Elder lay there peacefully, still deep in sleep.

"Did you say your greetings properly?"

"…Yes."

I checked the clock in the hospital room.

It was exactly the same as when we had entered.

I had, quite literally, just dozed off for a moment.

And yet, in that short slumber, I had dreamed.

"……."

I looked down at myself.

The tumors and ulcers that had boiled over on my body—they were completely gone.

"…Thank you."

I bowed deeply toward the still-sleeping Elder. The agents chuckled and patted my back.

"Alright, we’ll be back again soon, Elder!"

Following the two agents, I left the hospital room.

Even with her eyes closed, the Elder seemed to be silently seeing us off….

"So? Amazing person, right?"

"……Yes."

"Told you so. Our team is blessed with good fortune~ Looks like you’ve got great career luck too, Podo!"

For once, Agent Choi’s blatant optimism didn’t feel annoying.

I slipped a hand into my pocket. The fully repaired Griptok was solid beneath my fingertips.

"……."

"Anyway, get some rest first. We can think about reports tomorrow. The cleanup team is already handling things, and the kids are all asleep."

"Take care on your way back."

"Yeah…. Thanks."

I bowed to the two agents as well.

They hopped onto their bikes and pedaled away, disappearing beyond the road.

Only after they had vanished did I lift my head.

"……Haa."

It was amazing.

‘Still… I actually gained something.’

I never thought I’d be able to repair my Memorial Griptok here.

‘So now I just have to make a wish before it activates again.’

And now, what I had to do next was—

"…Call Director Ho."

I needed to clean up the disaster that had just unfolded at Hundred Dreams Corporation.

‘God, I want to cry.’

Didn’t Agent Choi just say I had great career luck?

I highly doubted that.

‘Please, just let this get resolved quickly.’

I shut my eyes tightly and pulled out my smartphone.

Please let this clean up smoothly…!

Meanwhile.

"Hey, this rumor isn’t gonna die down anytime soon."

Agent Choi smirked, slapping his junior’s back.

Ryu Jaegwan sighed and dodged the hit as best he could.

"It’s dangerous."

"Come on, I’m a bike master."

After sending Podo off to rest, the two of them were returning to headquarters, casually chatting as they pedaled through the city.

"What do you mean by an uncontainable rumor?"

"What else? Podo."

"…!"

A supernatural disaster that should have claimed every child… ended with all of them saved.

Even more absurd—

It seemed that Podo had actually ended the supernatural disaster itself.

And all of this had happened right after a new recruit had joined the team.

"If a coincidence happens twice, people start calling it skill."

And if that same recruit had already wrapped up another supernatural disaster during their field training?

It wasn’t a question of rookie probation.

Their aptitude evaluation had just shattered the ceiling.

"Congratulations on your official assignment to Team Hyunmu 1! Hahahaha!"

"……."

Ryu Jaegwan rubbed his temple.

At least one good thing about this—the Bureau was generous with funding equipment for top-performing personnel.

‘…At least they’ll be safer.’

At this rate, a customized goblin-fire lantern was probably inevitable. If not that, then some powerful new gear was definitely coming.

What worried him now was…

‘…Will the rumors spiral out of control?’

He would have to keep an eye on it.

With a sigh, Ryu Jaegwan pressed down on the pedals.

"Let’s go, Jaegwan~"

And meanwhile, at that very moment—

Inside Hundred Dreams Corporation, in one of its offices.

"Cat-sama!"

BAM!

A field exploration team employee, wearing a pony mask, slammed their hands on the table, passionately recounting their experience to the research team.

"The Great Cat was there! The Omniscient Cat!"

The research team was in chaos.

Originally, the "Mermaid Grave" had only produced C-grade dream essence.

Now?

B-grade or higher.

A disastrous irregularity.

And just to make things worse, the Bureau had stolen all the mermaid juveniles—and their agents had fled at top speed.

With too little left to study, the research team had no choice but to extract every last testimony from the field agents.

And those reports…

They all had something in common.

"It was a MONSTER! A monster! SAVE ME!"

"I… I don’t know. The writing I saw? Was it real? Maybe I imagined it… I was too scared, but I did my best to clear it."

"The Great Cat watches over us! The Great Cat let us escape! We must rescue the children!"

Multiple employees testified to witnessing a strange entity in the form of a black cat (hereafter referred to as “Black Cat”).

Effects included: panic, madness induction, brainwashing, physical transformation, causality distortion, reality manipulation, and mass control of intelligent beings.

"Yes, it did help clear the mission… but I have no idea what it will do next."

With no clear motives discerned—

A new designation was issued.

The entity, Black Cat, was now assigned its own classification:

Designation: Qterw-A-1845.

Thus began… a complete disaster.