Chapter 150.2

Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

If a passenger tries to join mid-ride, it’s better not to refuse. Let them sit in the back quietly.

Refusals have led to cases where the ghost follows the new passenger off the vehicle.

Knock knock.

A hand tapped on the back row’s window, then awkwardly opened the door.

It’s important to note that there have been cases where the hitchhiking ‘passenger’ will nnot be human.

Remember, agent, the vehicle you’re driving is itself a supernatural entity. It’s possible something strange will attempt to board.

In such cases, you may refuse for your own safety. Always remember, your life comes first.

‘Haa.’

Please, just please don’t get in.

The blood was still pooling all across the front floor.

If this person screamed and ran off, I wouldn’t even need to say a word.

If they were normal, maybe they’d just walk away without me having to refuse…

“Excuse me.”

“……”

A calm voice spoke.

“Um… is this how you do it… Please take me to Seoul Station where I can ride the KTX…”

………

Why is he here.

Reflected faintly in the front mirror, pale complexion, scruffy pale-brown hair, a slim frame, and a face that looked perpetually bored and exhausted.

‘J3.’

A sergeant of the Security Team at Daydream Inc. was trying to board my taxi, his voice full of apathy.

‘What the actual hell.’

Members of the Security Team were allowed out at night after dark, but what was he doing here, in the middle of a mountain road, no less? And what the heck’s at Seoul Station…

Maybe because the taxi had become part of a ghost story, it drew in someone contaminated?

I didn’t know. What mattered most was… this.

—The sergeant must have been told that I died a month ago.

‘…Did he recognize me?’

Did he realize who I was?

No, my head was down, messy hair over my eyes, glasses on, and he could only see the back of my head.

Odds were low.

Stay calm. Stay calm…

“Um, there’s already a passenger. I need to drop her off first.”

“That’s fine.”

His tone was indifferent, even though the car smelled heavily of incense and blood.

“Ohohoho onemorepersonjoinedonemore. I’m so happy.”

“Ah, what a relief… Alright, I’ll hop in……”

The sergeant gently sat in the backseat and closed the door.

“……”

“Um… why aren’t we moving……?”

Haa.

I started the car.

‘I’m going insane.’

I resumed the route in silence.

– Speed-check zone ahead.

I slowed down.

“Please drive faster……”

The ghost’s whisper came from the passenger seat, still flat and lifeless in tone.

I wanted to get out of this nightmare as quickly as possible too, but I couldn’t.

If you break traffic laws, the ghost will clap its hands with delight, then attempt to cause a crash. Afterward, it will try to exit the vehicle. Do not let it.

Haa…

“…We might get caught speeding, ma’am, so please hang in there a little longer.”

“……”

The limp, long hair turned toward me.

I felt her gaze.

“Excuse me.”

“Excuse me… I said hurry up.”

“It’s chasing us from behind, don’t you see it?”

“I can see it. Huh? It’s gonna catch us… Ah, caught.”

THUD.

A red handprint splattered against the passenger-side window.

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthud…

Handprints bloomed on every window.

The windshield. The rearview mirror. Thick, bloody marks streaked and smeared down like dripping blood.

…Inside the car.

Then I realized.

These handprints weren’t being pressed from outside.

They were being stamped from within, as if something inside was slapping the windows, trying to get out.

“……”

A chill of sweat ran down the back of my neck.

The ghost in the passenger seat began to tilt her head… tilting further, unnaturally, until up and down reversed.

Her chin pointed toward the roof, and her mouth came into view…

“I want out. Hurry, or I’ll get out. Hurry, drive fast—”

“Ahem.”

A soft cough echoed from the backse

You are quite rude.

A massive black tongue shot out from behind the passenger seat, dripping saliva as it swallowed the whole seat in one gulp.

“……!”

Crunch. The ghost’s long black hair snapped as a monstrous tongue, jagged teeth jutting in all directions, and a twisted eyeball with a long snout engulfed the entire front seat.

“Rude little lamb… Pig… Red child…”

The beast grew larger.

Its gaping maw started creeping toward the driver’s seat, sharp claws unsheathed.

My hands on the wheel trembled, and then, at that moment.

– Approaching destination.

“……”

“……”

I managed to speak.

“We’re almost there.”

The shadow paused.

Silence.

Stillness.

And then…

“Ah… Sorry……”

Everything vanished.

“……”

The interior of the car was completely empty.

The grotesque, inhuman maw—gone. As if none of it had ever existed. Only a hollow, eerie silence remained.

The ghost in the passenger seat was still there.

“……”

She sat blankly, dazed, staring into space, as if under a spell.

…Which was unsettling in its own way.

Suppressing the crawling sensation up my spine, I barely maintained steady driving.

A few seconds later.

– You have arrived at Sajiyuk Cemetery. This concludes the navigation guide.

The GPS stuttered and shut off.

…In the middle of a mountain road.

The headlights illuminated a sign just ahead.

DANGER!

※ Beware of Falling ※

Do not lean or climb.

There was a cliff ahead.

‘Haa.’

Holding back trembling, I reached to unlock the passenger-side door.

“We’ve arrived, ma’am.”

As I slowly turned my head…

There was no one in the passenger seat.

No pool of blood below, no burnt scent, no eerie laughter.

“……”

If the ghost disappears at the destination, you’ve successfully completed the mission.

Signal the handler waiting at the site, then surrender the taxi to a purification specialist before sunrise.

Thank you for your service.

Huu.

I finally let go of the steering wheel.

Just then, someone gently tapped on the driver’s side window.

Knock knock.

…It’s Agent Bronze!

“Just a moment, uh, um, officer!”

After addressing Agent Bronze as a police officer instead, I hurriedly rolled down the window and stuck my head out, lowering my voice as I glanced toward the back seat.

“There’s… another passenger.”

“…!”

“I’ll drop him off quickly and come right back.”

“…! Understood.”

Fortunately, Agent Bronze seemed to interpret my panic as a rookie agent flustered by civilian involvement, and let me go.

I raised the window and drove away from the strange cliffside.

In the side mirror, I caught a flash of something bizarre gleaming at that Sajiyuk Cemetery……

“……”

Haa.

I did it.

I didn’t pass out…!

I had nearly screamed at the ghost mid-trip, begging her to please kindly get out.

‘My hands are still shaking.’

It had been a nightmare, but at least it was over without a crash or death.

Now, I just had to drop off the sergeant…

Right. He said Seoul Station, right?

I could just babble on about seeing a ghost along the way, play it off like nonsense.

I glanced at the back seat.

Still, that thing earlier… it was terrifying, but in the end, it helped me.

‘If things were still the same, I probably would have stopped by with a thank-you gift or something.’

Like donuts, the kind the sergeant liked.

Now though, he wouldn’t even recognize me, so I should just chatter on about ghosts, play my role as the cab driver, and—

“…So you were alive.”

……!

“What a relief…”

Ah.