It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story, Chapter 005

What happens once a newbie successfully completes their probation period?

Usually, there’s a light celebration along with gift presentations.

I never expected even a corporate giant from a horror story would do that.

[Let’s see… Oh my! We have 22 graduates this time, everyone! Wow, I wonder how the HR team will react to this?]

I’m not curious at all.

And I’m sure the other newbies sitting next to me feel the same.

[No, this is truly an amazing record. If this isn’t a failure in difficulty adjustment, you all are the elite batch! Elite.]

Silence fell over the auditorium.

The host cheerfully shouted without a care.

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

[This year’s Field Exploration Team’s top newbie! One of the fastest to complete evaluations and escape, they scored the highest in overall assessments.]

The host raised their hand.

[Congratulations, Kim Sol-eum!]

Me?

[Kim Sol-eum?]

[If you don’t receive your gift, this event won’t end~ Go on now!]

Is this for real?

‘Why…?’

Anyway, I stood up.

Being trapped in a horror story where you die for not listening to the announcements, it would be foolish to sit still after hearing that instruction.

[Ah, it’s reassuring to see you come up right away. Being quick to grasp the situation makes me feel like you’ll work well in our department; it’s a shame. A shame.]

I guess they were from a different department. They look even more annoying and ridiculous.

I stood before the host on stage.

[Now, receive your gift!]

The host handed over a squared paper bag.

Inside the silver shopping bag stamped with the logo of [Daydream Corporation], a plaque resembling an appointment letter was briefly visible before disappearing.

[Don’t be too disappointed that you didn’t get anything special as the top grad.]

I feel no joy at all.

I took the shopping bag and nodded to avoid glaring at the host as I was about to head down…

“Take a good look inside.”

What?

“What…?”

[Now, I’ll call the next newbie!]

The host had already grabbed the microphone and was calling the next person.

As if they’d never shared a casual remark.

“…”

Hmm.

I no longer delayed and came down from the stage.

After that, Ko Yeong-eun and others from the same group also went up to receive their gifts.

It didn’t mean much, but Baek Sa-heon was called next after me.

“…”

“…”

He still sat next to me but hadn’t exchanged a single word.

To be precise, we didn’t even make eye contact. Given that he’s pressing his left eye, it seemed clear he returned a ‘lost item.’

‘He’ll figure out to go to the hospital himself.’

[Next, I’ll call Kim Ji-won!]

The more people were called from behind, the more their appearances looked odd, or their gait and eyes grew strange as they went to receive their gifts.

‘…It’s like they’ve been trapped in a horror story for a long time.’

It seemed like everyone snapped back to attention simultaneously in the lecture hall, but clearly, there was a difference in escape time within the horror story.

So just how long have I been trapped? It made my spine tingle just to think about it.

Still, in terms of having escaped, perhaps I was better off than the other 78.

[Everyone received their gifts well, right?]

Finally, the presentation ceremony came to an end.

Though there was no answer, a strange tension and anticipation hung faintly in the auditorium.

Perhaps they might let us out now.

To be honest, I was kind of waiting for it too, hoping it would wrap up soon.

But.

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

“…?!”

[There are always those who get through by sheer luck.]

No way.

[Yet, Daydream Corporation never forgets its great social value of fairness.]

[Such probationary employees receive significant deductions in their evaluations.]

The host clearly didn’t do anything.

Typical finger snapping, scanning the audience. Not even a performance where the lights dimmed in the auditorium.

However…

[As mentioned, freeloaders will be detected.]

People started to melt away.

“…!”

Some people’s shapes began to ooze like they were merging into goo.

No screams or movement.

‘Damn!’

Someone in front covered their mouth to stifle a scream.

I hastily turned my head.

But I already saw.

‘They’re gone.’

Half of the people from my group had vanished.

Only me, Ko Yeong-eun, Baek Sa-heon, and the newbie who had been attacked by Baek Sa-heon remained.

“…”

[Congratulations to the remaining 13 newbies! You have all become regular employees with outstanding results!]

Not a single person clapped joyfully.

In the chilling silence, one person panicked and stuttered.

“I.I’ll resign… I’m going to quit.”

But the host remained calm.

[Oh? Leaving such a good job? Hey, just hear about the benefits and then decide.]

Ko Yeong-eun yelled out from behind like she was about to vomit.

“So if I hear about the benefits, can I quit without any drawbacks?”

[That’s right. You can leave without a scratch on you~]

The host spoke smoothly and with confidence.

And that’s when I realized.

‘Here it comes.’

The whip has all passed by.

Now the carrot is coming.

…The ‘benefits’ I know.

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

The reason employees keep working in the Field Exploration Team despite experiencing this insane situation right after joining.

Something appeared on the large screen in the auditorium.

A beautiful, streamlined crystal bottle.

Drip.

Within the bottle swirled a bizarre liquid gleaming in multiple colors.

Rippling.

Every hue and texture, even the ripples created by the waves seemed strangely beautiful and peculiar.

Silence hung in the air.

[Shall we take a closer look?]

As the host pressed a button, the projector screen raised, revealing a table hidden behind it.

On the black table sat the colorful bottle I had seen on the screen.

“…!”

The liquid inside the bottle swirled on its own, radiating such a beautiful light that it lit up the auditorium.

Doubt seeped in – was that a real object?

[You all know our company is famous for being a very successful pharmaceutical company, right? How good must our technology be if we can even create hair loss medicine?]

[However, truthfully, we have a primary product separate from that… and it’s this.]

The host steadied their trembling hands, put on white gloves, and carefully held the crystal bottle out for the employees to see better.

[The potion is called ‘Wish Granting Potion.’]

[Its effects are… quite literally as it sounds. Once you drink it, any wish you have will come true.]

“…!”

[Don’t believe it? But there’s a truckload of seniors and bosses who have used this potion to realize their wishes.]

[Now, let me demonstrate.]

The host ripped open the packaging of the potion on display and swallowed it in one go!

[Today was my wish grant receipt day! Haha!]

And at that moment, everyone in the auditorium instinctively understood what the host’s ‘wish’ was.

The instant he drank the Wish Granting Potion.

The host’s face, previously in his mid-40s, rapidly tightened and flushed with blood.

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

Yes, he came back.

Back to the most vigorous and growing version from his childhood!

[Yay!]

The host, now looking like a high school student, excitedly raised his fist in triumph.

Shocked silence rippled through the auditorium once more.

This silence… it was a silence of excitement.

The host pointed towards the newbies in the auditorium.

[Your team, the Field Exploration Team, always receives high performance evaluations. On average, they used to claim that potion in less than half the time compared to other teams.]

[All 10 individuals who received the Wish Granting Potion in the shortest time are from the Field Exploration Team!]

Gulp.

I could hear the sound of someone swallowing from somewhere.

Of course, it was all just wordplay.

In reality, it was just hazard pay.

‘Before those top 10, how many dozens or hundreds must have perished?’

So it was bait, akin to a beautifully decorated rotten fruit.

But….

‘Someone must have successfully used it.’

It was not a scam.

[So, I’ll take your questions… oh, one of the employees!]

One of the new employees raised his hand quietly and asked roughly.

“Can it bring the dead back to life?”

A tall, brown-haired man.

[Ah. You know that question you always hear in these types of stories? ‘Bringing back the dead is one of those fundamentally impossible wishes’… that’s what you thought, right?]

[… but!]

The host raised his hand dramatically.

[The Wish Granting Potion always grants the wishes of the drinker.]

“…!”

[Of course, if you use it correctly. For detailed instructions, please refer to the employee store.]

“…”

The questioner fell silent again. However, the stir began to spread even more fiercely among the new employees.

The host didn’t miss that moment.

[Now, please check the other benefits on the screen and in the guide included in the gift bag… shall we decide around this point?]

With a swoosh.

With a brief sound, the rear door of the auditorium swung wide open.

[If you wish to give up your employment, please step out and pick up the documents at the desk.]

[But if you want to stay with this company you’ve been accepted to and do your best… then….]

The host gestured.

[You simply have to wear the mask found in the gift bag.]

A mask? Ah.

‘So that’s what was distributed at this point.’

[These days they call it a custom, right? It allows you to express your personality.]

[Well… it has no special functions right now. That’s all there is to it.]

I held onto my smartphone.

Though I couldn’t check it due to too many gazes, if I could confirm the page of [Dark Exploration Records] reconstructed by the ‘Memorial Grip Talk’, it would surely look like this.

———————=

Dark Exploration Records / Daydream Corporation

/ Department

Miscellaneous

Employees of the Field Exploration Team wear a mask during fieldwork, and they are said to be issued after the orientation upon joining.

According to Employee D, the theme of the mask is determined based on the year joining.

For example, an agent with an ant mask and one with a mantis mask are likely colleagues who joined in the same year.

———————=

In short, it symbolizes the Field Exploration Team of ‘Daydream Corporation.’

‘The day I receive this….’

It’s a mixed feeling in many ways.

Of course, 90% of me wanted to dash out right then and there, throwing the mask and yelling about quitting.

Please, just save me.

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

Everywhere you turn, that ‘dark supernatural phenomenon’ is lurking.

It’s a unique opportunity to easily become a background extra in a horror story and end your life.

‘Ha….’

So it might be better to work as an employee with provided goods, a salary, and final compensation while attempting to transfer departments… it might raise my chances of survival.

‘Moreover, if I want to return to my original world, that ‘Wish Granting Potion’ seems like the most promising method.’

Honestly, in this world, a coward like me has no chance of survival. Finding an escape route from the world entirely seems more sensible.

So, rationally, selecting the answer with the highest probability…

‘I must join.’

It’s crazy, but there’s no other option. Damn.

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

And as I reached in to take out the mask…

“…?”

Something stuck to the mask came out with it.

───

For when needed

010-0153-24865

───

A business card?

It seemed like someone took the place where the name and position should be and scribbled a message in white.

‘…Did the host put this in?’

I glanced around, but it seemed like no one else had business cards stuck to their masks.

‘Let’s deal with it later.’

I tore the card off and placed it in the envelope while only taking out the mask.

It was a smooth, basic-shaped mask that would cover just above the nose.

The surprising thing was that everyone around was already trying to wear their respective masks.

Not a single exception.

‘…Isn’t anyone planning to run away, even after experiencing this?’

If there was only one variable, it was the Wish Granting Potion.

‘Were they all drawn here because they’d stake their lives on that Wish Granting Potion?’

I felt an indescribable feeling as I silently looked around the auditorium, where no one spoke of quitting.

I was about to join them too.

‘It can’t be helped.’

I brought the mask to my face.

And indeed, it transformed into a strange shape.

It felt like it elongated and became bumpy on my cheeks and forehead…

“…”

I reached out to feel it.

It was a vivid mask featuring bizarre patterns like tree bark, with horns sticking out.

Wait, horns like a tree?

‘…Reindeer? Deer?’

It looked too peculiar to be a real deer.

I awkwardly examined my surroundings while wearing the mask, and when my eyes met with Ko Yeong-eun, who wore a mask resembling a sheep, she made an awkward expression.

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

Just like the employees managing the horror stories.

[Once again, congratulations on your employment!]

Clap, clap, clap.

As the PPT transitioned, a recorded applause echoed.

[Employment Confirmed]

‘So this is how it turned out….’

Masks and all, it was the moment I realized I’d have to think ahead about the work awaiting me, making my head spin.

Suddenly, a notepad reappeared in mid-air.

“…!”

It was the same notepad that spat out the ‘Memorial Grip Talk’ goods at me.

[Dark Exploration Records Real Goods Box]

-New goods usage rights unlocked! (!)

Oh?