Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel (End Part 1) - Chapter 206

The Wish Coupon.

The most certain way for me to return home in this ghost story worldview, where bizarre bad endings abound everywhere.

For this alone, I endured at Daydream Inc., and even endured becoming a spy.

And now, finally, having met the conditions to claim the Wish Coupon, Director Ho in front of me gently claps his hands.

As if applauding me.

Clap, clap, clap….

“I’m truly happy that you’re receiving the Wish Coupon, Mr. Soleum.”

“……”

“But have you ever thought?”

The clapping stopped.

“What if Director Ho never intended to give you the Wish Coupon?”

“……”

“If Mr. Soleum completes the promised task, he changes his words. Like, ‘I’ll give it to you if you achieve something else.’ That’s how he subtly keeps using it as bait.”

Director Ho smiled sweetly.

“Have you really never thought that?”

“I have.”

I’d be a fool not to.

In society, how many times do people delay or withhold payment even after the work is done?

Conversely, there are countless cases where people receive upfront payment and then don’t do the work properly.

And in this situation, the Wish Coupon was Director Ho’s unilateral promise.

And the promise of the strong can always be broken. Because there’s no penalty for breaking it.

But….

“Still, I know that the Director places great importance on promises.”

“……”

The taboos.

Director Ho was a type of monster that bound others through the ‘promise’ as a form.

Yes, it would be foolish to think of Director Ho as human now.

‘And for monsters, rules are an important factor.’

If we speak in terms of ghost story grammar, it might be to create a bizarre atmosphere of horror and to give the victim a glimmer of hope, like torture by hope….

Anyway, because of that, rules are more trustworthy than if Director Ho were just an evil human.

Because there’s a high probability he’ll have to keep his promises.

Especially when I recall Director Ho’s unnaturally emphatic attitude when talking about the reliability of the counseling teacher in the ‘Fox Consulting Room.’

Even if he uses others while hiding another purpose or lays a trap, he doesn’t make false promises.

I faced the expressionless Director Ho.

“Therefore, I judged that you would definitely keep what you promised with your own mouth.”

“……”

Clap.

“Of course!”

Director Ho clapped his hands and laughed.

“I always keep my promises. I don’t make promises I can’t keep… never.”

“……”

“Now then.”

Director Ho picked up the briefcase he had placed under the table and put his hand inside.

“It’s time for you to receive the Wish Coupon.”

And something shining emerged.

A small glass bottle.

“…!!”

The waiting area of the Fox Consulting Room. A mesmerizing, surreal aurora-like glow began to shimmer in that cozy place.

An overwhelming sense of mystery, unbelievable to come from such a small bottle.

The Wish Coupon.

“It’s yours, Mr. Soleum.”

“……”

Click.

“Hurry.”

I reached out my hand.

Just before my arm touched the prepared Wish Coupon on the table….

“Oh, wait a moment.”

Director Ho smiled faintly.

“It’s not just one bottle, is it?”

“…!!”

Click. Click.

With the same smiling face, Director Ho took out two more glass bottles of dazzling colors from his briefcase and placed them on the table.

A total of three Wish Coupons.

‘My goodness.’

A pearlescent, orient-like light rippled across the table, like waves made of the Milky Way.

“…These are,”

“Yes. These are the Wish Coupons for the other two staff members who worked with you. You clearly said it, didn’t you, Mr. Soleum? That the other two also contributed sufficiently to this matter.”

That’s right.

But… he’s just handing them over like this?

Moreover, Director Ho’s words weren’t over.

“However, since Mr. Soleum came as the team representative for the report, it seems fitting for you to receive them as the representative!”

“……!”

Wait a minute.

“Are you saying I should receive all three bottles… and give one each to the other two?”

“Well…”

…!

“You reported it as a team. So, isn’t the distribution up to the representative?”

“……”

“I don’t mind.”

A dark flame flickered in Director Ho’s eyes.

But the next moment, his face returned to a faint smile, as if it had never happened.

“I hope this Wish Coupon fulfills the deepest desires in Mr. Soleum’s heart.”

I opened my mouth.

“Director, won’t you use it?”

“……”

Director Ho looked at me for a moment.

“That’s something only full-time employees can use.”

“……”

“Unfortunately, executives are contract workers. That’s the agreement.”

Director Ho’s hand reached out slightly over the table as if wanting to touch the Wish Coupon… but soon retracted.

“So.”

“……”

“Will you take them now? Or it’s fine if you take them later, I don’t mind.”

To receive all three bottles.

Or to hold all of them back.

In fact, I only had one choice.

“Yes. I’ll take them.”

I nodded.

And….

“Excellent!”

A broadly smiling Director Ho took a box out of his briefcase and began to wrap the Wish Coupon bottles one by one that were on the table.

“Instructions on how to use the Wish Coupon are enclosed in the box! I’ll put one bottle in each.”

Director Ho, like a salesperson, neatly and quickly organized the boxes, even tied ribbons, put them in an envelope, and pushed it towards me.

“Here you go.”

“…Thank you.”

I took the envelope.

A strange sense of déjà vu flickered for a moment.

‘…I did it.’

The fact that I finally had it in my hands was beginning to feel real.

It’s in this black paper bag.

I had the Wish Coupon.

“Farewell, Mr. Soleum. I’ll contact you again.”

My head felt numb.

I stood up.

And after politely bowing to Director Ho, who was waving, I left the Fox Consulting Room’s waiting area.

Creak.

Behind me, I seemed to hear the door leading to the Fox Consulting Room open and close….

As if someone had entered.

And when I turned my head at the entrance, there was no one left at the waiting area table.

All that remained were the three bottles of Wish Coupons in my hand.

“……”

“-Oh, congratulations, friend! Now do you make a wish and blow out the candle?”

I wish it were that easy, but the problem is….

‘I have two more bottles in my hand.’

A moment later.

A nearby cafe.

‘How do I hand these over?’

I sat down, holding the bag, and my mind raced wildly.

It felt like I had gone out defenselessly with a check worth hundreds of millions in my bag.

Every time I became aware of the Wish Coupon in the bag, I felt an urge to take it out and drink it immediately, but I had to finish my task first.

First of all….

‘I should contact Ms. Go Youngeun.’

I just need to figure out a way to indirectly deliver the item.

Then that colleague too can achieve their desired wish and safely resign. They won’t have to enter ghost stories anymore.

And….

‘I can save Mr. Jang Heoun too.’

Someone just needs to wish for Mr. Jang Heoun to be saved with a Wish Coupon.

Everything was perfect.

Then…, once the distribution is over…….

‘I’m going home.’

My heart pounded with anxiety and anticipation.

I put my hand into the bag, feeling the boxes, and quickly recalled what I needed to do first.

First, a safe place….

Buzz!

My smartphone vibrated, and a message appeared.

[Today]

[Where should I go?]

“……”

The Security Chief.

We were supposed to meet this evening after sunset.

‘It was to hear the information.’

But now I don’t need the information.

Whether it was the Pleasant Research Institute or the origin of Daydream, it wouldn’t matter once I left this place.

But leaving this ghost story worldview…

Also meant I would never see anyone I met here again.

“……”

I hesitated, then typed a message.

[I’d like to meet here.]

And in the evening.

“Hmm….”

I met the Security Chief in a corner seat of a popular donut shop with late closing hours.

I had paid for donuts that usually sell out by day, receiving them now.

The Security Chief’s tired face brightened slightly at the sight of the donuts.

“Thanks, but….”

“Not at all. I’m the one who received a lot of help. In fact, this isn’t much of a repayment, but….”

“No… it’s enough.”

The Security Chief, with a slightly pleased expression, shoved donuts into his mouth.

And then casually dropped a bombshell.

“Anyway, about the information… The Pleasant Research Institute… it’s still in our company’s basement….”

“……!!”

Wait.

“What do you mean?”

“Just what it sounds like… Hmm.”

The Security Chief looked at me.

“Hey, you’ve seen it too….”

Me?

“Um… when we first met… when we were sucked into that scroll… we went to the second basement floor restroom, remember…?”

“…!”

“Don’t… you remember?”

I do.

When I went down to the basement, I was chasing the whereabouts of the missing Section Chief Lee Byeongjin….

Strangely, there was a corridor lined with ordinary offices.

-Shouldn’t there be safety equipment or facilities here…?

I clearly remembered thinking that.

And….

-Mr. Roe Deer?

Right.

‘Suddenly, my good friend could talk…!’

The strange Daydream basement lined with offices… was inside a ghost story.

And that ghost story was actually… the Pleasant Research Institute?

“How… did you know?”

“Well… we only called it by its code name… and didn’t know… but we found an uncensored document.”

The Security Chief shrugged and continued.

“Anyway, even if you go further down into the basement… the same office corridor… keeps repeating….”

“…Completely the same corridor?”

“Yes. The same offices… the structure, even the scratches are identical, so it’s the same place, but… it seems like… the time period… is slightly different?”

The sounds of people chatting, shadows diligently holding meetings, employees packing things, fighting, even dusty, ruined offices….

Every time the elevator went down, the scenery changed as if in a hidden-picture puzzle.

Endlessly.

“…How far down does the basement go?”

“We don’t know that… Hmm. The furthest I’ve personally been… was the 23rd floor, I think…? They blocked off anything below that….”

“……”

“There was a security team that said they went down to the 40th floor…? But they died… Hmm.”

“……”

The descriptions were chilling.

‘Those offices…’

A shiver ran down my spine.

Why was the Pleasant Research Institute there, why was it a ghost story, what was Daydream, which built a company building on top of it, doing? Various questions flashed through my mind.

But soon I realized all of it was meaningless.

I… was leaving.

“……”

“Ah.”

And that realization seemed to have reached the Security Chief as well.

“This, it’s not needed anymore, huh….”

“……”

The Security Chief pulled his cap lower.

“Hmm, if that’s the case…”

And he easily deduced the most plausible reason why the Daydream employee had lost interest in everything.

“Did you… get the Wish Coupon?”

“……”

I hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

A slight smile appeared on the Security Chief’s lips.

Pure congratulations.

“That’s good….”

“……”

“Hey, you know how to use it, right…?”

“…Yes.”

The Security Chief, who nodded along with my affirmation, pondered for a bit and then asked.

“Then… this time… are you really resigning…?”

This was a question the Security Chief, who knew that my resignation wasn’t real but a disguise to work under Director Ho, could ask.

I nodded.

“I see….”

“……”

The Security Chief lowered his head.

“Hey, later… even if you resign… maybe sometimes talk…?”

“…I wish I could, but.”

I can’t.

I averted my gaze.

“Given the nature of my wish, I don’t know what will happen.”

“……Ah.”

The Security Chief stopped speaking.

“A wish… that changes the world?”

“……Yes.”

“Then… it can’t be helped.”

“……”

He seemed to have known.

Yes, if he was the leader of an elite team, it would be much more natural for someone in the field investigation team, who was strongly obsessed with the Wish Coupon, to know.

The essence of the Wish Coupon.

Do you have any tips for drinking the Wish Coupon?

No. Just drink it and make a wish.

Everything comes true.

…At least, from your perspective, that is.

-From the advice of Elite Team C’s Deputy

So… it’s like this.

If the user wishes to become younger, they will become younger.

If they wish to have 10 billion won deposited in their account without tax issues, it will happen.

The Wish Coupon potion showed the same efficacy as a magical genie lamp, only changing the state of the user.

But here’s the thing.

‘What if the wish is very macroscopic?’

Wishes that go beyond changing my personal state.

For example, let’s say the point in time is the past.

Wishes like, ‘I want to go back to my childhood when I lived happily with my parents,’ or ‘I want to go back to the moment my husband had a car accident and stop him.’

Or it could be large-scale.

Things like, ‘Please let the world end,’ ‘I wish everyone were kind,’ ‘Please let superconductivity be invented’….

Wishes that desire the alteration of the world itself surrounding me.

Of course, in such cases, the potion still had an effect.

Your wish comes true. However….

It only comes true from your perspective.

That is…

It sends you to such a world.

The Wish Coupon is a highly personal potion, and its efficacy is omnipotence for one person.

The person whose wish comes true disappears from the world.

Sometimes they remain, but that’s a case where they didn’t make the wish properly and made a mistake. Or perhaps, through an unexpected loophole, the wish wasn’t macroscopic enough for the Wish Coupon to handle.

Anyway, in any case, the Wish Coupon doesn’t bring about massive changes in this world.

Only people move.

‘That’s why the Security Chief knows too.’

That if it’s a wish big enough to change the world, I might just leave this place altogether.

That I might disappear.

“……”

I faced the Security Chief, who had finished eating his donuts.

Time was running out.

“Thank you very much.”

“Yeah….”

We stood up from our seats.

I handed the Security Chief the donuts I had separately asked the counter to package for takeout.

Even an extra paper bag with just a bread knife inside.

“By the way, Mr. J, what wish did you enter this company for?”

“……”

The Security Chief looked into the empty bag and said.

“I… don’t quite remember.”

“……”

“Don’t worry about it… It’s not that important anyway.”

I couldn’t ask any more.

I eventually nodded and parted ways with the Security Chief in front of the donut shop.

The Security Chief waved.

“…Go back safely.”

That was the end.

Through his shadow, I knew the Security Chief stood idly on the street for quite a while….

“……”

On the way back. I thought.

…I need to say more goodbyes.