Chapter 5.2

Chapter 5.2

“......!”

[Don’t believe me? But we have a whole truckload of your seniors and superiors who’ve taken this and had their wishes fulfilled.]

[Allow me to demonstrate.]

The host tore open the packaging of the bottle and downed it in one gulp!

[Today’s the day I was scheduled to receive my Wish Ticket. Haha!]

And in that moment, everyone in the lecture hall immediately knew what the host’s ‘wish’ had been.

The instant he drank the Wish Ticket.

The face of the host, who appeared to be in his mid-to-late 40s, rapidly tightened and gained a youthful, rosy complexion.

His body became fit, and his hair grew back, shiny and thick.

He had returned.

He looked exactly like a young man in his prime, full of energy and growth!

[Yahoo!]

The host, who now looked like a high school student, raised his fist in excitement.

[How about that? To put it simply—rejuvenation!]

Even his voice had grown young and youthful.

A stunned silence fell over the room for an entirely new reason.

It was a silence filled with disbelief.

The host pointed at the new hires in the lecture hall.

[The Field Exploration Team, your team, always gets great performance reviews. On average, they receive the Wish Ticket in half the time it takes other teams...]

[In fact, the ten employees who got the Wish Ticket the fastest were all from the Field Exploration Team!]

Gulp.

Someone swallowed nervously from somewhere in the hall.

Of course, it was all wordplay.

In reality, it was no different from hazard pay.

‘Before those ten, dozens, maybe hundreds of people must have died.’

So, it was more like bait—a shiny, but deceptive promise.

But still...

‘There are people who’ve taken it.’

It wasn’t a scam.

[Now, let’s take some questions—oh, you there!]

One of the new hires quietly raised a hand and asked in a rough voice,

“Can it bring the dead back to life?”

It was a tall man with brown hair.

[Ah. You always hear that question in these kinds of stories, don’t you? ‘The one thing that can’t be wished for’...]

[...But!]

The host raised his hand dramatically.

[The Wish Ticket will grant a-n-y wish the drinker desires.]

“......!”

[Of course, as long as you use it correctly. For detailed instructions, please refer to the employee portal.]

“......”

The questioner fell silent again, but the unease among the new hires grew even stronger.

The host didn’t miss the moment.

───

A business card?

The space where a name and title should be had been whited out, replaced with scribbled text.

‘...Did the host put this in here?’

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

‘I’ll deal with it later.’

I slipped the card back into the envelope and pulled out only the mask.

It was smooth to the touch, covering only until my nose—a basic mask in shape.

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

Without a single exception.

‘...Even after all that, no one’s running away?’

There was only one wildcard.

The Wish Ticket.

‘Did they filter out only those who would risk their lives for the Wish Ticket?’

As I looked around the lecture hall at the silent employees accepting their masks, I felt a complicated mix of emotions.

We’re all about to do the same thing, after all.

‘No choice, I guess.’

I brought the mask to my face.

As soon as I did, the shape of the mask began to change.

I could feel it stretching and becoming more uneven across my cheeks and forehead...

“......”

I reached up and touched it.

A mask with antler-like horns and a bizarre wood-grain pattern had formed.

Wait, antlers?

‘...Reindeer? Deer?’

It looked too strange to just be a deer.

Reluctantly, I turned to look around. Go Yeongeun, who was wearing a sheep mask, made awkward eye contact with me.

Around us, other new hires, wearing masks resembling animals like elephants and goats, sat stiffly in their suits.

They looked just as unsettling as you’d expect from employees working at a company that manages ghost stories.

[Once again, congratulations on joining the company!]

Clap, clap, clap.

The slide on the PPT changed, playing a recording of applause.

[Employment Confirmed]

‘So, it’s come to this...’

Just as I was starting to feel overwhelmed thinking about my future with the company...

Flutter—

The notepad suddenly reappeared in midair.

“......!”

The same notepad that had spit out the ‘Memorial Popsocket’ merch earlier.

[Dark Exploration Records Real Merch Box]

– New merch unlocked! (!)

Huh?