Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

On the day of the appointment.

“Congratulations on your official appointment as Agent Podo~!!”

“......”

“Bwahaha! How about we go out for a meal tonight? We’ve accumulated quite a bit of overtime meal expenses for this month, right? How much was it again? Anyway, it’s on me!”

Wow.

I received the welcoming greetings from the agents of Team Hyeonmu 1 in the break room with eyes that had given up on everything.

Actually, it didn’t even feel like a proper welcome. I had seen them just a few days ago.

It was just that today, I was officially assigned to Team Hyeonmu 1!

“…I look forward to working with you.”

“......Yes.”

By the way, the senior who had promised to try their best to request a transfer to another team is also here.

Agent Cheongdong is avoiding my gaze while shaking my hand.

“......”

I see. Agent. I’m the one who dug this grave….

‘The Destroyer King... let’s try to work diligently and maybe make that nickname disappear.’

Even though I’m a spy, I’m wondering if this is okay.

‘Heh...’

In the end, I nodded to Agent Choi as well.

I’d be seeing them constantly from now on, so it would be foolish to say one more word about how I didn’t want to join Team Hyeonmu 1.

“...Thank you for the warm welcome.”

“Oh, no problem~”

Agent Choi smiled broadly and patted my back.

Anyway, they seem like a decent person….

“We’ll be working together for life, so shouldn’t the welcome be a bit more grand? Haha!”

“......”

The early mission-driven mindset of the agents is a bit scary.

“Let’s work together for a long time, Podo…”

No, a lot…

Anyway, Agent Choi’s suggestion for a meal became a reality that evening.

After finishing their work, the agents of Team Hyeonmu 1 moved together to go eat.

“This is a place we often visit. The owner used to be one of our retired agents. Ah, please bring us a large serving of beef intestines stew! And two bottles of soju.”

And so, at a table in the corner of a popular restaurant, we started eating and chatting casually, with a light drink.

During the meal, I was formally introduced to Team Hyeonmu 1.

“The team number doesn’t really matter much anymore, but when the team was first established, Team 1 had the tougher assignments, you know? So, you can definitely take pride in being part of this team with such senior members!”

I already knew this.

But hearing it directly from the person in charge was new.

It felt new to hear about the current situation.

“Originally, Team Hyeonmu 1 had five regular employees under the team leader… but two of them are on sick leave, and one is… well, on personal leave.”

“......”

They didn’t mention it, but I’m sure many of them passed away in the line of duty.

I recalled the various messages written on the whiteboard in the break room, and looked at the two remaining members of the team.

Agent Choi grinned.

“Finally, we’re back to having three members. It’s nice, huh? Hey, Jaegwan, don’t you think so?”

This person... maybe they were just happy to see a new face.

I suppressed a bitter smile. I just nodded to the two of them, lifting my glass.

“Thank you again for the warm welcome…”

“…!”

Even though they knew I had strongly wished to be assigned to another team, I was grateful they hadn’t scolded me once for joining Team Hyeonmu 1.

And it seemed like they understood what I meant.

“No, we should be the ones thanking you.”

Agent Choi waved their hand casually, saying it as they passed by.

“You didn’t want to join, right? Our team.”

“......”

I stifled a sigh and took a drink of soju.

“I don’t mind the rescue squad, it’s just... I couldn’t trust myself.”

“Solem.”

Agent Choi looked at me.

“It’s okay. There’s no one like that.”

“......”

• You know... I can’t enter the darkness, but... I can still kill people.