What happens when a new hire successfully completes their probation period, you ask?
Usually, there’s a lighthearted celebration with a gift-giving ceremony.
I didn’t expect a major corporation inside a ghost story to be the same.
[Let’s see… oh my! We have 22 successful candidates this time, everyone! Wow, I wonder what the HR department thinks of this?]
No one is curious about that.
And I’m sure the other new hires sitting next to me feel the same.
[This is truly an amazing record. If this wasn’t a case of miscalculated difficulty, you all are an elite group. Elites.]
The room fell into silence.
The host cheerfully continued, unfazed.
[Shall we pick out the top elite among our elite employees?] [The top of this cohort from the Field Exploration Team! One of the fastest to complete the evaluation and escape, and the highest scorer in the overall assessment.]
The host raised his hand.
[Congratulations, Kim Soleum-ssi!]
Me?
[Kim Soleum-ssi, are you there?]
[The event won’t end until the gift is presented~ Come up and accept it!]
For real?
‘Why though…’
I stood up, since it would be foolish to stay seated after being given instructions. After all, we had just been stuck in a ghost story where failing to listen to announcements meant death.
[Ah, you’re quick to get up. That quick comprehension will serve you well in our department. What a shame, such a shame.]
Was this a superior from another department? Somehow, that made him even more irritating.
I stepped up onto the stage and stood in front of the host.
[Come on, take your gift!]
What the host handed me was a sharp-edged paper bag.
Inside the silver shopping bag, stamped with the Daydream Inc. logo, I could glimpse a plaque, presumably an official certificate, along with some other items.
[Don’t feel too bad that there’s nothing extra special for being the top scorer.]
I wasn’t happy at all.
I accepted the bag, nodding slightly to avoid glaring at the host, and began to head back down when…
“Take a good look inside.”
What?
“What’s in—”
[Now, let’s call the next new hire!]
The host was already calling out the next person’s name on the mic, as if we hadn’t just exchanged a few words.
“……”
Hmph.
I didn’t waste any more time and quickly left the stage.
After that, Go Yeongeun and the others who had been in our train car also went up to receive their gifts.
It didn’t mean much, but Baek Saheon was called right after me.
“……”
“……”
He remained seated next to me afterward, not saying a word.
He didn’t even make eye contact. Judging by how he was holding his left eye, it was clear he had ‘returned’ the lost item.
‘He’ll figure out how to get to a hospital.’
[Next up, Kim Jiwon-ssi!]
As more names were called, some of the people receiving their gifts looked strangely disheveled, with odd gaits or unfocused eyes.
‘…Maybe they were stuck in the ghost story for too long.’
Even though we all seemed to regain consciousness at the same time in the lecture hall, there had clearly been a time difference between our escape from ghost story and now.
The thought of how long some others might still be trapped made a chill run down my spine.
At least I made it out, which is more than can be said for the other 78 people.
[Did everyone receive their gifts?]
Finally, the gift awarding ceremony ended.
There was no audible response, but a strange tension and sense of expectation hung over the room.
Perhaps we might finally be allowed to leave.
To be honest, even I was hoping for that. It seemed like things should be wrapping up soon.
But.
[However… this company doesn’t hire all of the candidates who pass the probation period.]
“……?!”
[Sometimes, there are people who make it through purely by luck.]
No way.
[But Daydream Inc. is a company that never forgets the social value of fairness.]
[Such probationary employees are penalized heavily in the final evaluation.]
The host didn’t do anything overt.
No dramatic snap of the fingers, no ominous glance, not even the lights in the hall dimmed.
And yet…
[As I mentioned, freeloaders are always identified.]
People started melting.
“……!”
All around, several people began to dissolve, their bodies collapsing as if they were being smeared away.
There were no screams or movements.
‘Damn it!’
The person in front of me pressed their hands over their mouth to suppress a scream.
I hurriedly turned my head away.
But I had already seen it.
‘They’re gone.’
Of the ten people from our train car, only half remained.
Me, Go Yeongeun, Baek Saheon, and the new hire who had been attacked by Baek Saheon. Everyone else was gone.
“……”
[To the remaining 13 new employees, congratulations! You have successfully become full-time employees with excellent results!]
Not a single person clapped out of joy.
In the chilling silence, one person, overwhelmed with panic, fumbled and stuttered.
“I resign, I’ll resign… I want to quit.”
But the host remained calm.
[Oh? Leaving such a great work opportunity? Come on, at least hear about the benefits before deciding.]
Behind me, Go Yeongeun shouted desperately.
“So, can we quit after hearing about the benefits? Without any penalties?”
[Yes, absolutely. You can quit without a single scratch on you~]
The host’s words were smooth and confident.
That’s when I realized.
‘It’s here.’
The stick had passed.
Now comes the carrot.
…The ‘benefit’ I was expecting.
[Let me introduce our company’s top employee benefit!]
The reason why, after going through such a crazy experience right upon joining, employees still stay with the Field Exploration Team.
[Employee Benefit]
Wish Ticket
Something appeared on the large screen in the lecture hall.
A beautifully sleek crystal bottle.
Plop.
Inside the bottle, a strange liquid shimmered with multicolored ripples.
It moved like waves.
The colors, textures, and rippling patterns were so beautiful and strange that they gave off an uncanny feeling.
Silence filled the room.
[Let’s take a closer look, shall we?]
The host pressed a button, and the screen lifted, revealing a table that had been hidden behind it.
On the black table was the same dazzling bottle from the screen.
“……!”
The liquid inside the bottle shimmered on its own, reflecting the light in the room so brilliantly that it seemed otherworldly.
It made you question whether such a thing could even exist in reality.
[You all know Daydream Inc. is famous for being a highly successful pharmaceutical company, yes? I mean, how advanced must our technology be if we even developed a cure for baldness?]
[But in truth, our main product is something else… It’s this.]
The host steadied his trembling hand and put on white gloves.
Then, carefully picking up the crystal bottle from the table, he held it up for the employees to see.
[The name of this medicine is the ‘Wish Ticket’.]
[And its effect is… just as it sounds. When you drink it, any wish will come true.]