Chapter 206: Ch 206: A few more goodbyes
The Wish Ticket.
In this world of ghost stories, where bizarre bad endings appear
everywhere, this is the most certain way for me to return home.
For this alone, I endured at Daydream Inc., and endured even becoming a
spy.
And now, at last, with the conditions met to claim my Wish Ticket, Director
Ho in front of me is lightly clapping his hands.
As if applauding me.
Clap, clap, clap...
"I’m genuinely happy to see you finally receive your Wish Ticket."
"..."
"But haven’t you ever thought about this?"
The clapping stops.
"What if Director Ho never intended to give you the Wish Ticket in the first
place?"
"..."
"Even if you did exactly as you promised, Soleum-nim, I could just change
my words. Tell you to do something else, offer the ticket as bait again and
again. Just endlessly string you along like that."
Director Ho smiled gently.
"Have you really never thought about that?"
"I have."
You’d be a fool not to.
How often in society does someone avoid paying after you’ve finished the
work, or delay it, or just never pay at all?
Conversely, how many times does someone take payment in advance and
never do the job right?
And in this situation, the Wish Ticket was Director Ho’s one-sided promise.
And a promise from someone in a position of power can be broken at any
time. There’s no penalty for breaking it.
But...
"I also know that you, Director, take promises very seriously."
"..."
The bindings.
Director Ho was a type of supernatural entity who bound others by the form
of a ’promise’.
Yes, it would be foolish to think of Director Ho as human at this point.
’And for supernatural entities, rules are a crucial element.’
From a semantic perspective on ghost stories, rules exist to foster a context
of uncanny fear, and to dangle hope as a kind of torment for the victim...
In any case, that’s why the rules are actually more trustworthy than if
Director Ho were simply a malicious human.
There’s a much higher chance that he’ll have no choice but to keep his
promises.
All the more so, when I recall how Director Ho would assert—almost
unnaturally—about the trustworthiness of the counselor of the ’Fox
Counseling Office.’
Even if he uses people while hiding other motives or sets traps, he never
makes false promises.
I looked at the expressionless Director Ho.
"So I judged that any promise you made yourself, you would absolutely
keep."
"..."
Clap.
"Of course!"
Director Ho laughed as he clapped his hands.
"I always keep my promises. I never make a promise I can’t keep...
Absolutely."
"..."
"Now then."
Director Ho lifted a briefcase from beneath the table and reached into it.
"It’s time to receive your Wish Ticket."
And something radiant came out.
A small glass vial.
"...!!"
The waiting area of the Fox Counseling Office. In this comfortable place,
an enchanting, otherworldly glow, like an aurora, began to shimmer.
It was hard to believe that such overwhelming mystery could come from a
single small bottle.
The Wish Ticket.
"It’s yours, Soleum-nim."
"..."
Tak.
"Go ahead."
I reached out my hand.
Just as my arm was about to touch the Wish Ticket set on the table...
"Ah, wait a moment."
Director Ho smiled.
"It’s not just one bottle, is it?"
"...!!"
Tak. Tak.
Still smiling, Director Ho took two more dazzling glass vials, shimmering
with pearly light, out of the briefcase and placed them on the table.
Three vials of Wish Ticket potions in total.
’Holy shit.’
On the table, waves of light reminiscent of pearls of the orient glowed,
rippling like the Milky Way Galaxy.
"...These are."
"Yes. These are Wish Tickets for the other two employees who worked with
you. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That the other two also contributed
sufficiently to this assignment."
That’s right.
But... He’s just handing them over like this?
And Director Ho wasn’t finished.
"But since you came as the representative of the team to deliver the report,
it’s only right for you to receive them as the representative!"
"...!"
Wait a second.
"You mean I’m to receive all three bottles...and then give one each to the
other two people?"
"Well, who knows."
...!
"You reported on behalf of the team, didn’t you? Then isn’t distribution up
to the representative?"
"..."
"I don’t mind either way."
A dark flame flickered in Director Ho’s eyes.
But in the next instant, as if nothing had happened, his face returned to a
gentle smile.
"I truly hope this Wish Ticket fulfills the wish hidden deep in your heart,
Soleum-nim."
I spoke.
"Aren’t you going to use one, Director?"
"..."
Director Ho looked at me for a moment.
"That’s an item only regular employees can use."
"..."
"Unfortunately, executives are considered contract workers. That’s the
rule."
Director Ho’s hand reached out as if he wanted to touch the Wish Tickets on
the table... but soon withdrew.
"So."
"..."
"Will you take them now? Or later? Either is fine with me."
Whether to accept all three bottles, or to leave them all for now.
In truth, I only had one choice I could make.
"Yes. I’ll take them."
I nodded.
And then...
"Excellent!"
With a bright smile, Director Ho took a box out of the briefcase and began
packing the Wish Ticket bottles one by one, tying them with a ribbon and
placing them into a bag, as efficiently and neatly as a salesperson.
"Instructions for use are included in the box! I’ll put one bottle in each
compartment."
Director Ho tidied up the box with swift, practiced motions, closed it with a
ribbon, slipped it into a bag, and slid it across the table to me.
"Here you are."
"...Thank you."
I picked up the bag.
For a moment, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
’...I did it.’
It was finally starting to feel real, that I had finally gotten my hands on it.
It’s here, in this black paper bag.
I got my Wish Ticket.
"Get home safely, Soleum-nim. I’ll be in touch."
My mind felt blank.
I rose from my seat.
After politely bowing to Director Ho, who was waving, I left the waiting
area of the Fox Counseling Office.
Creak.
I thought I heard the sound of the door to the Fox Counseling Office
opening and closing behind me...
As if someone had entered.
And when I glanced back from the entrance, there was no one left at the
waiting area table.
All that remained were the three bottles of Wish Tickets in my hand.
"..."
– Oh, congratulations, Friend! Now, do you just make a wish and blow out
a candle?
It would be nice if it were that simple, but the problem is...
’I have two extra bottles in my hands.’
A little while later, at a nearby cafe.
’How am I going to hand these over?’
I sat down, clutching the bag, my mind racing frantically.
It felt like walking around with checks worth millions stuffed carelessly in
my bag.
Every time I was conscious of the Wish Tickets inside, I was seized by the
impulse to take them out and drink one immediately, but first I had to finish
what needed to be done.
First...
’I need to contact Go Yeongeun-ssi.’
All I needed was to come up with some indirect way to deliver the item.
Then, that colleague could fulfill her wish and resign safely. She wouldn’t
have to enter any more ghost stories.
And...
’I can save Jang Heowoon-ssi too.’
If someone just wished for Jang Heowoon to be saved using a Wish Ticket,
that would be enough.
Everything was perfect.
Once that’s done, once I’ve finished distributing them...
’I’m going home.’
My heart pounded with anxiety and anticipation.
I put my hand in the bag, touching the box, running through in my mind
what I needed to do first.
First, find a safe place...
Bzzz!
My smartphone vibrated and a message popped up.
[ today ]
[ Where shud I g o? ]
"..."
The sergeant.
We had planned to meet at sunset today.
’It was supposed to be to get information.’
But now, I no longer needed the information.
Whether it was the Cheerful Research Institute or the source of Daydream
Inc., once I left this place, none of it would matter anymore.
However, leaving this ghost story world...
It also meant I would never see anyone I’d met here again.
"..."
After some hesitation, I sent a message.
[ I’d like to meet here. ]
And that evening.
"Hm..."
I met the sergeant at a corner table in a well-known donut shop that closed
late.
I had already paid for some donuts, ones that were usually sold out by
evening, since people bought them all during the day.
Seeing the donuts, the sergeant’s tired face brightened a bit.
"Thank you..."
"No, it’s nothing. I’ve received a lot of help from you. Honestly, this isn’t
enough to repay you, but..."
"No, it’s more than enough."
The sergeant, looking a little happier, eagerly started eating the donuts.
And then, as if it were nothing, he dropped a bombshell.
"So, about that information... The Cheerful Research Institute... it’s still in
our company’s basement..."
"...!!"
Wait a second.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said... hm."
The sergeant looked at me.
"Um, I actually saw you there once too..."
Me?
"Mmh... when we first met... That thing, when you got sucked into the
scroll... you went to the restroom on basement level 2..."
"...!"
"Don’t you remember?"
I do.
When I went down to the basement to track down the missing Section Chief
Lee Byeongjin...
Strangely enough, the hallway was lined with ordinary offices back there.
I distinctly remember thinking that.
And...
That’s right.
’Suddenly, the ’Good Friend’ could speak to me...!’
That strange Daydream basement, lined with endless offices, was actually a
ghost story.
And that ghost story, in fact... was the Cheerful Research Institute?
"How... did you find out?"
"Hm... We also only knew it by codename... I don’t know, but... I found
some documents that weren’t redacted."
The sergeant shrugged his shoulders and continued.
"Anyway, if you go deeper underground... the same office corridors... just
keep repeating..."
"You mean exactly the same corridor?"
"Yes. The same exact office... the same layout, even the same scratches, so
it must be the same place, but... maybe... each one is a slightly different
time...?"
– Shouldn’t this floor have safety equipment or facilities...? – Mr. Roe Deer?
Voices of people chatting, silhouettes of people in meetings, staff gathering
things, people fighting, even offices filled with dust like ruins...
Every time you take the elevator down, the scenes change as if you’re
playing a hidden picture game.
Endlessly.
"...How many floors underground are there?"
"I’m not sure... Hm. The farthest I went... was basement 23, I think...? If I
try further than that... I just get blocked..."
"..."
"I’m not sure, but... I think there was someone from the Security Team that
went... up to basement 40...? But they died, so... hmm."
"..."
It was a chilling description.
’Those offices...’
A chill ran down my spine.
Why on earth is the Cheerful Research Institute there, why is it a ghost
story, and what is Daydream Inc., which built its building above that, really
doing? All sorts of questions flashed through my mind.
But I soon realized none of it mattered anymore.
Because I... would be leaving.
"..."
"Ah."
And it seemed the sergeant sensed it too.
"So I guess you don’t need this anymore..."
"..."
He pulled his cap down low.
"Well, if that’s the case..."
Then, easily guessing the most likely reason a Daydream employee would
lose all interest in everything—
"Did you... get a Wish Ticket?"
"..."
I hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
A faint smile appeared on the sergeant’s lips.
A pure, sincere congratulations.
"That’s good news..."
"..."
"Um, you know how to use it, right...?"
"...Yes."
The sergeant nodded along with my answer, then seemed to hesitate a bit
before asking,
"Then... this time... are you really quitting...?"
It was a question he could only ask because he knew I wasn’t truly quitting,
but just working undercover under Director Ho.
I nodded.
"I see..."
"..."
The sergeant bowed his head.
"Um, after you quit... would it be possible to... talk now and then...?"
"...I wish I could do that, too."
But I can’t.
I avoided his gaze.
"Depending on the nature of my wish, I don’t know what will happen."
"...Ah."
The sergeant stopped speaking.
"A world-changing... wish?"
"...Yes."
"In that case... there’s nothing to be done."
"..."
He must have already known.
Right. As the squad leader of the elite team, it makes sense that the more
obsessed the Field Investigation Team members are with the Wish Ticket,
the more likely it is they’d know its true nature.
The essence of the Wish Ticket.
You want a tip on how to use it?
There isn’t one. You just drink it and make your wish.
Everything will be granted.
...At least, from your perspective.
– Advice from the Assistant Manager of the Elite Team’s
C-squad
So... this is how it works.
If the drinker wishes to become younger, they’ll become younger.
If they wish for a clean, tax-free 10 billion won to be deposited in their
account, it will happen.
The Wish Ticket potion displays powers no different from a magical genie’s
lamp, changing only the state of the drinker.
But what if.
’What if the wish is on a much larger scale?’
Wishes that go beyond simply changing one’s own personal circumstances.
Let’s say, for example, the time is set in the past.
A wish like, ’I wish I could go back to when I was a child, living happily
with my parents.,’ or ’I wish I could go back to the moment when my
husband got into the car accident and stop him’.
Or, perhaps much grander.
’I want the world to end,’ or ’I wish everyone would become kind,’ or ’I
want a superconductor to be invented,’ and so on...
Wishes that desire to change the world itself.
Of course, even in these cases, the potion still works.
Your wish will come true. However...
It only comes true from your point of view.
In other words...
You will be sent to such a world.
The Wish Ticket is a highly personal potion, its effects are omnipotent, but
only for one person.
The one who makes the wish disappears from this world.
Sometimes they remain, but that only happens if they didn’t wish properly,
made a mistake, or if the wish was unexpectedly small-scale enough for the
Wish Ticket to handle.
At any rate, in no case does the Wish Ticket bring about massive changes to
this world.
Only the person moves.
’That’s why the sergeant knew.’
If the wish is big enough to change the world, he knew that I might leave
this place entirely.
That I might disappear.
"..."
I looked at the sergeant, who had finished eating his donuts.
Time was running out.
"Truly, thank you very much for everything."
"Yeah..."
We stood up from our seats.
I handed the sergeant a box of donuts I’d asked the counter to pack to-go,
along with a leftover paper bag containing only a bread knife.
"By the way, Jay-ssi, what kind of wish did you join this company for?"
"..."
The sergeant stared into the empty bag.
"I... can’t really remember."
"..."
"Don’t worry about it... it wasn’t anything important."
I couldn’t bring myself to ask any more.
In the end, I nodded and parted ways with the sergeant in front of the donut
shop.
He waved his hand.
"...Take care."
That was the end.
Through the shadows, I saw that the sergeant stood alone on the street for
quite a while...
"..."
On the way back, I thought to myself.
...I should say a few more goodbyes.