What happens when a rookie successfully completes their probation period?
Usually, there's a small celebration along with the presentation of gifts.
I didn't expect a large corporation within a ghost story to do the same, though.
[Let’s see… Oh my! There are as many as 22 graduates this time, everyone! Wow, I wonder what the HR team will think?]
I wasn't curious at all.
And the other rookies sitting next to me probably felt the same.
[No, really, this is an incredible record. Unless this was a failure in difficulty adjustment, you all are an elite class. Elite.]
Silence fell over the lecture hall.
The Host shouted cheerfully, unbothered.
[Then, shall we pick the top elite among our elite employees?]
[The valedictorian of this Field Exploration team rookie class! One of those who completed the evaluation and escaped in the shortest time, recording the highest score in the comprehensive evaluation.]
The Host raised a hand.
[Congratulations. Kim Soleum!]
Me?
[Kim Soleum?]
[This event won't end until the gift is delivered~ Come and get it!]
Is this for real?
'Why…'
Regardless, I stood up from my seat.
I had been trapped in a ghost story where you die if you don't listen to the Announcement Broadcast; I would be an idiot to just sit there after hearing that instruction.
[Ah, seeing you come up immediately is very reassuring. Your quick situational judgment makes me think you'd work very well in our department too. What a shame. Truly a shame.]
He must have been a manager from another department. For some reason, he seemed even more spiteful and obnoxious.
I climbed onto the stage and stood before the Host.
[Now, take your gift!]
What the Host held out was a square paper bag.
Inside the silver shopping bag embossed with the <Daydream Corporation> logo, I caught a glimpse of a plaque that looked like an appointment certificate and some objects before they vanished from view.
[Don't be too disappointed that you didn't get a special gift just because you're the valedictorian.]
I wasn't happy at all.
I took the shopping bag and was about to nod my head and head down to avoid glaring at the Host...
"Look inside carefully."
What?
"What do you—"
[Now, I will call the next rookie!]
Before I knew it, the Host was holding the microphone and calling the next person.
As if he had never spoken a word of small talk.
“……”
Hmm.
I didn't delay any longer and stepped down from the stage.
Afterward, the people who were in the same train car, including Ms. Go Yeongeun, went up and received their gifts.
Though it didn't mean much, Baek Saheon was called right after me.
“……”
“……”
He was still sitting next to me, but we didn't share a single word.
To be precise, we didn't even make eye contact. Seeing him pressing down on his left eye, it seemed certain that he had returned the 'Lost Item.'
'I'm sure he'll go to the hospital on his own.'
[Calling the next person. Kim Ji-won!]
As the names further down the list were called, people whose appearance was somehow strange, or whose gait or gaze had become odd, came out to receive their gifts.
'…Were they in the ghost story for that long?'
Though it seemed like everyone regained consciousness in the lecture hall at the same time, there was definitely a difference in escape times within the ghost story.
Just imagining exactly how long they had been trapped made a chill run down my spine.
Still, in the sense that they did escape, they might be better off than the other 78 people.
[You all received your gifts well, right, everyone?]
Eventually, the presentation ceremony ended.
There was no answer, but a strange tension and a sense of anticipation subtly filled the hall.
The hope that they might be let out now.
To be honest, I was also waiting a bit. Thinking that it was about time for this to end.
However.
[The thing is… this company doesn't hire all the graduates.]
“…?!”
[No, it turns out people who passed by luck always show up.]
No way.
[However, Daydream Inc. is a company that never forgets the great social value of fairness.]
[Such probationers receive a huge penalty in the absolute evaluation.]
The Host certainly didn't do anything.
No cliché snapping of fingers, no staring with his eyes. He didn't even perform a stunt like turning off the lights in the lecture hall.
However…
[As I said, we catch all free-riders.]
People began to melt.
“……!”
From all directions, the human figures of several people began to melt away as if they were being crushed.
There were no screams, no movements.
'Fuck!'
The person in front of me covered their mouth to stifle a scream.
I also hurriedly turned my head away.
But my eyes had already seen it.
'They're gone.'
Half of the people who were in the same train car had vanished.
Leaving only me, Go Yeongeun, Baek Saheon, and the rookie who had been attacked by Baek Saheon.
“……”
[Remaining 13 rookies. Congratulations! You have become regular employees with excellent grades!]
There wasn't a single person who clapped for joy.
In the chilling silence, one person only stammered in a panic.
“I quit, I’ll quit…. I’m resigning.”
But the Host was relaxed.
[Oh? Leaving such a good job? Come on, at least hear about the benefits before you decide.]
From behind me, Go Yeongeun cried out as if she were vomiting.
“Then can we be processed for resignation after hearing about the benefits? Without any disadvantage?”
[That's right. You can all resign without a single hair on your head being harmed~]
The Host's words were smooth and full of confidence.
That's when I realized.
'It's here.'
The sticks had all passed.
Now comes the carrot.
…The 'welfare' that I knew about.
[Now, let me introduce our company’s representative welfare!]
The reason why employees continued to work in the Field Exploration team even after experiencing this crazy situation as soon as they joined.
[Employee Welfare]
Wish Ticket
Something appeared on the large screen in the lecture hall.
A beautiful, streamlined crystal bottle.
Drip.
Inside the bottle, a strange liquid shimmering in five colors was creating ripples.
It swayed.
All the colors and textures, even the ripples created by the waves, were so beautiful and strange that they felt oddly uncanny.
Silence fell.
[Shall we take a closer look?]
When the Host pressed a button, the projector screen went up. And the table hidden behind it revealed itself.
On the black table sat the actual iridescent bottle we had seen on the screen.
“…!”
The liquid inside the bottle shook on its own, scattering light beautiful enough to illuminate the entire lecture hall.
That strange thing, which made me doubt if it was even an object that existed in reality, was……
[You all joined the company knowing that our company is famous as a very high-performing pharmaceutical company, right? Our technology is so good we even made a cure for hair loss.]
[But in reality, our main specialty is a different medicine… and it's this.]
The Host steadied his trembling hands and put on white gloves.
Then he carefully picked up the crystal bottle on the table and held it out so the employees could see it better.
[The name of the medicine is the ‘Wish Ticket’.]
[The effect is… just as it sounds. If you drink this medicine, any wish will come true.]
“……!”
[You don't believe me? But there's a whole truckload of your Seonbaes and superiors who actually took this medicine and had their wishes granted.]
[First, let me give you a demonstration.]
The Host tore open the packaging of the medicine on display and… poured it into his mouth all at once!
[Today was the day I was scheduled to receive my Wish Ticket. Haha!]
And the people in the hall immediately sensed what the Host’s ‘wish’ had been.
The moment he drank the Wish Ticket.
The face of the Host, who looked to be in his mid-to-late 40s, rapidly tightened and a rosy complexion began to return.
His body became firm, and his hair regained its luster and thickness.
Yes, he had returned.
To his appearance during his youth, the time of his peak strength and growth!
[Yahoo!]
The Host, now looking like a high school student, raised his fist in excitement.
[How is it? To put it simply, rejuvenation!]
Even his voice had become young and youthful.
Silence fell over the lecture hall again, but in a different sense than before.
It was the silence of agitation.
The Host pointed at the rookies in the hall.
[Your department, the Field Exploration team, always receives good performance evaluations. On average, they used to take home those Wish Tickets in less than half the length of service of other teams….]
[All ten of the people who received the Wish Ticket in the shortest amount of time were members of the Field Exploration team!]
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard from somewhere.
Of course, it was all wordplay.
In reality, it was nothing more than hazard pay.
'Before those ten people in the shortest period, dozens or hundreds must have died in the line of duty.'
So it was closer to bait, a hollow promise.
But…
'There are definitely people who took it.'
It wasn't a scam.
[Then I'll take questions… Oh, Agent!]
One of the rookies quietly raised a hand and asked in a rough voice.
“Can it also bring a dead person back to life?”
It was a tall man with brown hair.
[Ah. You usually hear this in these kinds of stories, right? ‘In principle, that is the one wish that is impossible’….]
[…is what you thought I would say!]
The Host raised his hand sharply.
[The Wish Ticket unconditionally grants the wish of the consumer.]
“…!”
[Of course, that is as long as you use the correct method. For detailed instructions, please refer to the employee mall.]
“……”
The questioner fell silent again. But the agitation among the rookies began to spread more intensely.
The Host did not miss this moment.
[Then please check the other benefits on the screen and the information included in your gift bags… and shall we decide at this point?]
Whish.
With a short sound, the back doors of the lecture hall swung wide open.
[Those who wish to give up their employment can go out and receive the paperwork at the desk.]
[But for those who want to try working at the company they've finally gotten into….]
The Host motioned.
[You can put on the mask found inside your gift bag.]
A mask? Ah.
'So that's when they're distributed.'
[Don't they call it ‘custom’ these days? It's said to allow you to express your individuality perfectly.]
[Well… the current ones don't have any special functions. That's all there is to it.]
I gripped my Smartphone.
I couldn't check because there were too many eyes on me, but if I could see the page of the <Dark Exploration Record> reconstructed by the 'Memorial Pop Socket,' it would surely have appeared like this.
Dark Exploration Record / Daydream Inc. / Department
Trivia
Employees of the Field Exploration team wear masks while on field duty, and these masks are said to be provided after the new employee orientation.
According to Employee D, the theme of the masks is determined by the year of joining.
For example, an Agent wearing an ant mask and an Agent wearing a mantis mask are likely to be colleagues who joined in the same year.
In short, it is like a symbol of the Daydream Corporation Field Exploration team.
'To think the day would come when I'd receive this.'
I felt strange in many ways.
Of course, 90% of me wanted to run out of here right now, throw the mask, and shout that I was giving up on joining.
Please, just let me live.
'But… even if I quit, this world itself is a sewer.'
Those 'dark anomalies' are already scattered everywhere.
One could very easily have the rare experience of becoming an extra in a ghost story and ending their life.
'Sigh……'
So, it might be that working as an employee with provided equipment, a salary, and even a final reward while aiming for a department transfer… has a higher survival rate.
'Besides, that ‘Wish Ticket’ seems like the most likely way for me to return to my original world.'
Anyway, a coward like me is doomed in this world. It's only right to find a way to escape the world entirely.
So rationally, choosing the most likely answer with the highest probability…
'I have to join.'
It’s driving me crazy, but there’s no other way. Damn it.
In the end, I swallowed my tears and opened the envelope.
I reached in to pull out the mask.
“……?”
Something came out along with the mask.
───
If needed
010-0153-24865
───
A business card?
It looked as if the place where the name and position should be had been whited out, and the message scribbled in.
'…Did the Host put this in?'
I looked around, but it didn't seem like anyone else had something like a business card attached to their mask.
'I'll check it later.'
I peeled off the business card, put it back in the envelope, and took out only the mask.
It was a basic-shaped mask with a smooth texture that would only cover above the nose.
The surprising thing was that others around me were already attempting to put on their respective masks.
Without a single exception.
'…After going through that, is there really no one running away?'
There was only one variable.
The Wish Ticket.
'Did they only filter for people who would risk their lives for the Wish Ticket from the start?'
I felt an indescribable feeling as I looked around the hall where everyone was silently accepting and wearing their masks without a word about resigning.
Since I was going to join them too.
'It can't be helped.'
I brought my mask to my face.
When I did, the shape of the mask actually began to change.
I could feel it stretching and becoming bumpy on my cheeks and forehead….
“……”
I felt it with my hands.
It was a vivid mask with horns and a bizarre, wood-grain-like pattern.
Wait, wood-shaped horns?
'…Velvet antlers? A deer?'
It looked too bizarre to be a deer.
I looked around with the mask on, feeling reluctant. When I made eye contact with Go Yeongeun, who was wearing a sheep-like mask, she had an awkward expression.
Besides her, the sight of rookies in suits wearing various masks, from elephants to goats, sitting in their seats was extremely strange and eerie.
Just like employees of a company that manages ghost stories.
[Once again, my sincere congratulations on joining the company!]
Clap clap clap.
The PPT flipped, playing recorded applause.
[Employment Confirmed]
'So it's finally come to this…'
Regardless of the mask or anything else, just as the thought of my future work started making my head spin.
Suddenly, a notepad appeared in the air again.
“…!”
The same notepad that had spat out the 'Memorial Pop Socket' merchandise for me.
[Dark Exploration Record Merch Box]
–Access to new merchandise unlocked! (!)
Eh?
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