Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work Novel - Chapter 5

What happens when a new employee successfully completes their probationary period?

Usually, there’s a small celebratory event with gift-giving.

Even the rumored large corporation wouldn’t do that, though.

[Let’s see… My goodness! There are 22 graduates this time, everyone! Wow, I wonder what the HR department thinks?]

I’m not curious at all.

And the new employees sitting next to me probably feel the same.

[No, it’s a truly amazing record. Unless this is a failure of difficulty adjustment, you are an elite group. Elite.]

Silence fell over the auditorium.

The emcee, unfazed, cheerfully shouted.

[Then shall we pick the top elite among our elite employees?]

[The top of this field research team’s new recruit group! One of those who completed the evaluation and escaped in the shortest time, and recorded the highest score in the overall evaluation.]

The emcee raised their hand.

[Congratulations, Kim Soleum!]

Me?

[Kim Soleum?]

[This event won’t end if the gift isn’t delivered~ Please take it!]

Is this real?

‘Why….’

Anyway, I stood up.

I was trapped in the rumor where not listening to the announcement means death, and if I stayed seated after hearing that instruction, I’d be a fool.

[Ah, it’s truly reassuring that you came up right away. Your quick grasp of the situation makes me think you’ll do very well in our department, it’s a shame. Such a shame.]

They must have been a supervisor from another department. Somehow, they look even more annoying and unpleasant.

I went up on the stage and stood in front of the emcee.

[Now, please take your gift!]

What the emcee offered was a square paper bag.

Inside the silver shopping bag with the <Daydream Corporation> logo, an award that looked like an appointment letter and an object were briefly visible before disappearing.

[Don’t be too disappointed that you didn’t get any special gifts for being the top performer.]

I’m not happy at all.

I took the shopping bag and, to avoid glaring at the emcee, nodded and started to go down….

“Check the inside carefully.”

What?

“What…”

[Now, I’ll call the next new employee!]

The emcee had already grabbed the microphone and was calling the next person’s name.

As if no casual conversation had ever taken place.

“…….”

Hmm.

I didn’t delay any longer and went down from the stage.

After that, including Go Youngeun, the people in the same row went up and received their gifts.

It didn’t mean much, but Baek Saheon was called next to me.

“…….”

“…….”

They were still sitting next to me, but didn’t say a word.

To be exact, we didn’t even make eye contact. Judging from them pressing their left eye, it was clear they had returned the “lost item.”

‘They’ll go to the hospital themselves.’

[Next, Kim Jiwon!]

The more people who were called later, the more some of them had strange attire, or strange gait or expressions, as they came up to receive their gifts.

‘…Were they trapped in the rumor for a long time?’

While it seemed to have happened simultaneously in the auditorium, there were clearly differences in escape times within the rumor.

If I were to guess how long they were trapped, it sent shivers down my spine.

Still, having escaped, I might be better off than the other 78 people.

[Did everyone receive their gifts well?]

The ceremony ended soon.

There was no reply, but a strange tension and anticipation hung subtly in the auditorium.

The anticipation that they might let us go.

To be honest, I was also waiting a little. I wondered if it was almost over.

However.

[But… this company doesn’t hire all the graduates.]

“…?!”

[You see, people who passed by luck always show up.]

No way.

[But Daydream Corporation is always a company that never forgets the great social value of fairness.]

[Such probationary employees receive significant deductions in the absolute evaluation.]

The emcee clearly did nothing.

The stereotypical finger snapping, staring. Not even a performance like the lights in the auditorium turning off.

However….

[As I said, we catch all the freeloaders.]

People began to melt.

“……!”

From all directions, several people began to melt like their figures were blurring.

There were no screams or movements.

‘Damn it!’

The person in front covered their mouth to suppress a scream.

I quickly turned my head.

But I had already seen it.

‘Gone.’

Half of the people in the same compartment disappeared. Everyone except me, Go Youngeun, Baek Saheon, and the new employee who was attacked by Baek Saheon.

“…….”

[The remaining 13 new employees. Congratulations! You have become regular employees with excellent performance!]

No one clapped in celebration. Only one person stammered in panic in the chilling silence.

“I… I quit… I’ll quit.”

But the presenter was relaxed.

[Oh? Giving up such a good job? Hey, at least hear about the benefits before you decide.]

Behind me, Go Youngeun shouted as if vomiting.

“Then, after hearing about the benefits, can I quit? Without any disadvantages?”

[Yes. Everyone can quit without a scratch~]

The presenter’s words were smooth and confident. That’s when I realized.

‘It’s here.’

The whip is over. Now comes the carrot.

…The ‘benefit’ I know.

[Now, let me introduce our company’s representative benefit!]

The reason why employees continue to work in the Field Exploration Team even after experiencing this crazy situation right after joining. Something appeared on the large screen in the lecture hall.

A beautiful, streamlined crystal bottle.

Drip.

Inside the bottle, a bizarre liquid shimmering in various colors was creating ripples. It undulated. Every color and texture, even the ripples created by the waves, were strangely beautiful and bizarre, enough to feel an unsettling sense of unease.

Silence fell.

[Shall we take a closer look?]

As the presenter pressed a button, the screen of the beam projector rose. And the table hidden behind it was revealed. On the black table was the dazzlingly colorful bottle from the screen.

“…!”

The liquid inside the bottle swayed on its own, scattering beautiful light that illuminated the entire lecture hall. It was something so strange it made one doubt whether it was a real object…

[Everyone knows that our company is famous as a very successful pharmaceutical company, right? How good is our technology that we even make hair loss medicine.]

[But in reality, we have a main product… this is it.]

The presenter steadied their trembling hands and put on a white glove. Then, carefully picked up the crystal bottle on the table and held it out for the employees to see better.

[The name of the medicine is ‘Wish Granting Pill.’]

[The effect is… exactly as it sounds. If you drink this medicine, any wish will come true.]

“……!”

[Don’t believe it? But in fact, there are tons of your seniors and superiors who fulfilled their wishes by taking this medicine.]

[Let me show you a demonstration.]

The presenter opened the packaging of the medicine on display… and swallowed it in one gulp!

[Today was the day I was supposed to receive my Wish Granting Pill. Haha!]

And the people in the lecture hall immediately sensed what the presenter’s ‘wish’ was. The moment they drank the Wish Granting Pill.

The presenter’s face, which looked to be in their mid-to-late 40s, rapidly became taut, and a rosy complexion returned. Their body became firm, and their hair regained its shine and thickness.

Yes, it returned. To the appearance of their most energetic and growing years as a child!

[Yahoo!]

The presenter, who now looked like a high school student, raised their fist in excitement.

[How about that? Ahem, simply put, rejuvenation!]

Even their voice had become young. A shocking silence fell over the lecture hall in a different sense. This… is a silence of unrest.

The presenter pointed to the new employees in the lecture hall.

[Your team, the Field Exploration Team, always receives good performance evaluations. On average, you get this Wish Granting Pill in less than half the tenure of other teams….]

[Ten people with the shortest Wish Granting Pill receipt period are all from the Field Exploration Team!]

Gulps. A swallowing sound was heard from somewhere.

Of course, it’s all a word game. It’s really just dangerous duty pay.

‘Before the ten people with the shortest period, tens, hundreds of people must have died.’

So it’s more like bait, a gilded trap.

But….

‘There are definitely people who have gotten it.’

It wasn’t a scam.

[Then I’ll take questions… Oh, employee!]

One of the new employees quietly raised their hand and asked in a rough voice.

“Can it revive the dead?”

A tall man with brown hair.

Ah, the usual line in stories like this, right? ‘A single wish that is fundamentally impossible’…

…But I bet you didn’t expect this!

The presenter threw their hands up.

The wish grant is unconditionally granted to the user’s wish.

…！

Of course, if you use the correct method. Please refer to the employee portal for details.

……

The questioner fell silent again. But the unrest spread more fiercely among the new recruits.

The presenter didn’t miss this opportunity.

Then, please check the other benefits on the screen and the guide enclosed in the gift bag… Shall we decide now?

Whizz.

With a short sound, the back door of the lecture hall swung open.

Those who wish to give up their employment can go out and receive the documents at the desk.

But those who want to try working at a company they’ve already joined…

The presenter gestured.

Put on the mask inside the gift bag.

Mask? Ah.

‘That’s what was being distributed at this point.’

They call it custom these days, don’t they? It allows you to express your individuality perfectly, you see.

Well… this one doesn’t have any special features. That’s all it is.

I gripped my smartphone.

I can’t confirm because there are too many eyes on me, but if I could check the page of <Darkness Exploration Record> reconstructed by the ‘Memorial Popsocket’, it would definitely say this.

———————
Darkness Exploration Record / Daydream Co., Ltd.
/ Department

Anecdote

Field exploration team members wear masks while on field trips, and these masks are provided after the new employee orientation.

According to employee D, the mask theme 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’s the symbol of the Daydream Co., Ltd. field exploration team.

‘The day I receive this has come.’

It felt strangely surreal in many ways.

Of course, I was 90% tempted to run out right here, throw the mask, and shout that I was giving up my employment.

Please, just save me.

‘But… even if I quit, this world itself is a cesspool.’

Those damned ‘darkness anomalies’ are already widespread everywhere.

I could very easily have the rare experience of becoming an extra in a ghost story and ending my life.

‘Ha…….’

So, it might be better to work as an employee with benefits, salary, and final compensation, and aim for a department transfer… to increase my survival rate.

‘Besides, to return to my original world, that ‘wish grant’ seems to be the most promising method.’

In this world view, it’s hopeless for a scaredy-cat like me to survive. I should just find a way to escape this world.

So, rationally, choosing the most likely answer…

‘I have to join.’

It’s crazy, but there’s no other way. Damn it.

In the end, I swallowed my tears and opened the envelope.

And I reached in to take out the mask.

“……?”

Something came out along with the mask.

───
If necessary
010-0153-24865
───

A business card?

The place where the name and position should be seemed to have been whited out and a phrase scribbled in.

‘…Did the presenter put this in?’

I looked around, but no one else seemed to have a business card attached to their mask.

‘Later.’

I peeled off the business card and put it back in the envelope, then took out only the mask.

It has a smooth texture, a basic mask that would only cover the nose.

The surprising thing is that everyone around me is already trying to put on a mask.

Without a single exception.

‘…Even after experiencing that, there isn’t a single person running away?’

There was only one variable.

The wish grant.

‘Did they only pick people who would bet their lives on the wish grant?’

I looked around the lecture hall where everyone silently received their masks without a single person saying they would quit, and felt inexpressible emotions.

Because I was going to join them.

‘No choice.’

I put the mask on my face.

Then, the shape of the mask really changed.

I felt it stretching and becoming bumpy on my cheeks and forehead…

……

I touched it with my hand.

It was a striking mask, with horns jutting out and bizarre, wood-grain-like patterns revealed.
Wait, tree-shaped horns?

‘…Reindeer? Deer?’

It looked oddly shaped for a deer.

I awkwardly looked around while wearing the mask. Go Youngeun, wearing a sheep-like mask, made an awkward expression when our eyes met.

The sight of other new employees in suits, wearing masks ranging from elephants to goats, was quite bizarre and unsettling.

Appropriate for employees of a company that manages ghost stories.
[Congratulations again on your hiring!]

Clap clap clap.

The PPT advanced, playing a recorded sound of applause.

[Hiring Confirmed]

‘So it came to this…’

Mask or not, thinking about the work ahead, that moment when my head swam.
Suddenly, the notepad reappeared in mid-air.

“…!”

That notepad… that had spat out the ‘Memorial Popsocket’ goods to me.

[Dark Exploration Log Real Goods Box]

– New goods usage rights unlocked! (!)

What?