Translator: Nox

Chapter 5

Even After Falling into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work

Even After Falling into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work, Chapter 5

Even After Falling into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work, Episode 005

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

Usually, there’s a small celebration and some gifts.

I didn’t expect a conglomerate inside a ghost story to do the same, though.

[Let’s see… My goodness! We have twenty-two graduates this time! Wow, I wonder what HR is going to think about this?]

I wasn’t the least bit curious.

And the other new recruits sitting next to me likely felt the same.

[No, really, this is an incredible record. Unless this was a failure in difficulty adjustment, you guys are an elite class. Elite.]

Silence filled the lecture hall.

Ignoring it, the emcee shouted cheerfully.

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

[The valedictorian of this Field Exploration Team’s new recruit class! One of those who completed the evaluation and escaped in the shortest time, recording the highest score in the comprehensive evaluation.]

The emcee raised a hand.

[Congratulations, Kim Sol-eum!]

Me?

[Mr. Kim Sol-eum?]

[This ceremony won’t end until the gift is delivered~ Come and get it!]

Is this for real?

‘Why me…’

Regardless, I stood up.

I had been trapped in a ghost story where you died if you didn’t follow the announcements; it would be foolish to stay seated after hearing those instructions.

[Ah, seeing you come up immediately is very reassuring. Your quick situational awareness makes me think you’d do great in our department too. What a shame. What a shame.]

He must have been a manager from another department. For some reason, he seemed even more obnoxious and detestable.

I stepped onto the stage and stood before the emcee.

[Here, take your gift!]

The emcee held out a rectangular paper bag.

Inside the silver shopping bag embossed with the logo of , I caught a glimpse of a plaque that looked like an appointment certificate and an object before they vanished from view.

[Don’t be too disappointed that the valedictorian didn’t get a particularly special gift.]

I wasn’t happy at all.

I took the shopping bag and gave a slight nod, trying my best not to glare at the emcee, preparing to head back down—

“Take a good look inside.”

What?

“What do you—”

[Now, I’ll call the next recruit!]

The emcee was already back on the mic, calling the next name.

As if he had never spoken to me privately.

“…….”

Hmm.

I didn’t linger and headed back to my seat.

After that, Go Young-eun and the others who had been in the same subway car went up to receive their gifts.

Though it didn’t mean much, Baek Sa-heon was called right after me.

“…….”

“…….”

He sat next to me again, but we didn’t exchange a word.

To be precise, we didn’t even make eye contact. Judging by how he was pressing down on his left eye, it was clear he had returned the ‘lost item.’

‘He’ll find his own way to a hospital.’

[Next name, Kim Ji-won!]

As the names went on, people with disheveled appearances, strange gaits, or hollow eyes stepped up to receive their gifts.

‘…Did they stay in the ghost story for a long time?’

While it seemed like everyone had regained consciousness in the lecture hall at the same time, there was clearly a difference in their escape times within the ghost story.

The thought of exactly how long they had been trapped made a chill run down my spine.

Still, they were probably better off than the other seventy-eight people, considering they had at least escaped.

[Everyone received their gifts, right?]

Soon, the presentation ceremony ended.

There was no verbal response, but a strange mix of tension and anticipation hung faintly in the air.

The hope that they might finally be let out.

To be honest, I was waiting for it too. I figured it was about time for this to end.

However.

[The thing is… this company doesn’t hire every single graduate.]

“…?!”

[I mean, there are always people who pass by sheer luck.]

No way.

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

[Such probationary employees receive a major point deduction in their absolute evaluation.]

The emcee did absolutely nothing.

There was no cliché snapping of fingers or piercing gaze. There wasn’t even a dramatic performance like the lights cutting out.

And yet…

[As I said, we catch all the free riders.]

People began to melt.

“……!”

From all directions, several figures began to dissolve as if their silhouettes were being smeared away.

There were no screams, no movements.

‘Shit!’

The person in front of me covered their mouth to stifle a scream.

I hurriedly turned my head away.

But my eyes had already seen it.

‘They’re gone.’

Half of the people who had been in the same subway car had vanished.

Everyone except for me, Go Young-eun, Baek Sa-heon, and the recruit who had been attacked by Baek Sa-heon.

“…….”

[To the remaining thirteen new recruits. Congratulations! You have become regular employees with excellent marks!]

Not a single person clapped in celebration.

In the chilling silence, only one person stammered in a panic.

“I quit, I’ll resign…. I’m resigning.”

But the emcee remained composed.

[Oh? Leaving such a great job? Come on, at least listen to the benefits before you decide.]

Behind me, Go Young-eun cried out as if she were about to vomit.

“Then can we be processed for resignation after hearing the benefits? Without any penalties?”

[That’s right. You can all resign without a single hair on your head being harmed~]

The emcee’s words were smooth and full of confidence.

That’s when I realized.

‘Here it comes.’

The whip had passed.

Now comes the carrot.

…The ‘welfare’ I knew about.

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

The reason why employees continued to work in the Field Exploration Team even after experiencing this madness the moment they joined.

[Employee Benefits]

Wishright

Something appeared on the large screen in the lecture hall.

A beautiful, streamlined crystal bottle.

Drip.

Inside the bottle, a mysterious, multicolored liquid rippled.

It swayed.

Every color and texture, even the ripples made by the liquid, were so beautiful and strange they felt uncanny.

Silence fell.

[Shall we take a closer look?]

When the emcee pressed a button, the projector screen rose. The table hidden behind it was revealed.

On the black table sat the actual multicolored 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 could exist in reality…….

[You all joined knowing our company is famous as a very high-performing pharmaceutical firm, right? Our technology is so good we even made a cure for hair loss.]

[But in reality, our main product is something else… It’s this.]

The emcee steadied his trembling hands and put on white gloves.

Then, he carefully picked up the crystal bottle from the table and held it out so the employees could see it better.

[The name of the medicine is ‘Wishright.’]

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

“……!”

[You don’t believe it? But there are truckloads of your seniors and superiors who have actually taken this medicine and had their wishes granted.]

[First, let me give you a demonstration.]

The emcee tore open the packaging of the medicine on display… and downed it in one go!

[Today was my scheduled day to receive a Wishright. Haha!]

And the people in the hall immediately sensed what the emcee’s ‘wish’ had been.

The moment he drank the Wishright.

The emcee’s face, which had looked to be in his mid-to-late forties, rapidly tightened, and a rosy complexion began to return.

His body became toned, and his hair regained its luster and thickness.

Yes, he had returned.

To his most powerful and vibrant self from his youth!

[Yahoo!]

The emcee, now looking like a high school student, raised a fist in excitement.

[How is it? To put it simply, rejuvenation!]

Even his voice had become young and fresh.

A silence born of shock, different from before, swept through the hall.

It was the silence of agitation.

The emcee pointed at the new recruits in the hall.

[Your department, the Field Exploration Team, always receives excellent performance reviews. On average, employees there have taken home that Wishright with less than half the tenure of other teams….]

[All ten of the people who received a Wishright in the shortest amount of time were from the Field Exploration Team!]

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard.

Of course, it was all wordplay.

In reality, it was nothing more than hazard pay.

‘Before those ten people got it, dozens or hundreds probably died in the line of duty.’

So it was bait, a hollow promise.

But….

‘There are people who actually got it.’

It wasn’t a scam.

[Now, I’ll take questions… Oh, yes!]

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

“Can it bring a dead person back to life?”

It was a tall, brown-haired man.

[Ah. You usually hear the same thing in these kinds of stories, don’t you? ‘It’s the one wish that is theoretically impossible’….]

[…Is what you thought I’d say!]

The emcee thrust his hand into the air.

[The Wishright unconditionally grants the consumer’s wish.]

“…!”

[Of course, provided you use the correct method. Please refer to the employee mall for detailed instructions.]

“…….”

The questioner went quiet again. But the agitation began to spread more fiercely among the new recruits.

The emcee didn’t miss this opportunity.

[Then please check the other benefits on the screen and the notice included in your gift bags… and shall we decide now?]

Whoosh.

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

[Those who wish to decline employment can leave and pick up the paperwork at the desk.]

[But for those who want to give this company a try, now that you’ve been hired….]

The emcee gestured.

[You just need to put on the mask found inside your gift bag.]

A mask? Ah.

‘So that’s when they distribute them.’

[In modern terms, you could call it ‘customization.’ It’ll allow you to express your unique personality.]

[Well… the current one doesn’t have any special functions. That’s all it is.]

I gripped my smartphone.

I couldn’t check it with so many eyes on me, but if I could see the page reconstructed by the ‘Memorial Griptok,’ it would surely show this:

======================

Darkness Exploration Records / Baekilmong Corporation

/ Department

Trivia

Employees of the Field Exploration Team wear

masks

while on field duty, and these masks are said to be issued after the

New Hire Orientation

.

According to Employee D, the theme of the masks is determined by the year of entry.

For example, an Agent wearing an ant mask and an Agent wearing a mantis mask are likely

colleagues who joined in the same year

.

======================

In short, it was the symbol of the Baekilmong Corporation Field Exploration Team.

‘To think the day would come when I receive this.’

I felt strange in many ways.

Of course, ninety percent of me wanted to run out right now, throw the mask, and scream that I was quitting.

Please, just let me live.

‘But… even if I quit, this entire world is a shithole.’

Those damn ‘darkness anomalies’ were scattered everywhere.

It would be a rare and easy experience to become an extra in a ghost story and end my life.

‘Sigh….’

So, perhaps my survival rate would be higher if I worked as an employee with issued gear, a salary, and a final reward while aiming for a department transfer.

‘Besides, if I want to return to my original world, that ‘Wishright’ seems like the most plausible way.’

A coward like me was doomed in this world anyway. It made more sense to find a way to escape the world entirely.

So, rationally—choosing the most logical answer with the highest probability….

‘I have to join.’

It was driving me crazy, but there was no other way. Dammit.

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

I reached in to pull out the mask, but then.

“……?”

Something else came out with the mask.

───

If needed

010-0153-24865

───

A business card?

It looked like the area where the name and title should be had been whited out, with a message scribbled in its place.

‘…Did the emcee put this in?’

I looked around, but it didn’t seem like anyone else had a business card attached to their mask.

‘I’ll check it later.’

I peeled off the card, put it in the bag, and only took out the mask.

It was a basic mask that would only cover the area above the nose, with a smooth texture.

What was surprising was that everyone around me was already attempting to put on their masks.

Without a single exception.

‘…After going through all that, not a single person is running away?’

There was only one possible variable.

The Wishright.

‘Did they only pick people who would stake their lives on a Wishright from the start?’

I felt an indescribable emotion as I looked around the lecture hall, where everyone was silently accepting and wearing their masks without anyone saying they would quit.

Because I was about to join them.

’Nothing for it.’

I brought the mask to my face.

Then, the shape of the mask really began to change.

I felt it stretching and becoming bumpy against my cheeks and forehead….

“…….”

I felt it with my hands.

It was a vivid mask with protruding horns and a strange pattern like tree bark.

Wait, tree-shaped horns?

‘…Antlers? A deer?’

It looked too bizarre to be a deer.

I looked around with a grimace while wearing the mask. My eyes met Go Young-eun’s, who was wearing a mask that looked like a sheep; she wore an awkward expression.

Aside from her, the sight of new recruits in suits wearing various masks, from elephants to goats, was incredibly strange and eerie.

Just like employees of a company that manages ghost stories.

[Once again, a sincere congratulations on your employment!]

Clap, clap, clap.

The slides changed, accompanied by recorded applause.

[Employment Confirmed]

‘So it’s come to this….’

The moment I felt my head go faint thinking about the work ahead, regardless of the mask or anything else.

Suddenly, the notepad appeared in the air again.

“…!”

The same notepad that had spat out the ‘Memorial Griptok’ merch for me.

[Darkness Exploration Records Real Merch Box]

• Permission to use new merch unlocked! (!)

What?