Section Chief Kwak Jaekang of the Research Team.
A mad scientist who once threw his subordinates into the ‘Cheerful Theme Park’ ghost story.
He also served as a consultant for the ‘Manor of the Blind’ incident, which had near-catastrophic results where almost everyone met their end.
“I’ve been wanting to have a long talk with you, Mr. Roe Deer. Finally, the opportunity has come!”
That crazed ghost story researcher grinned and extended his hand.
“Your exploits have been extraordinary! I’ve been dying to hear your thoughts!”
“Thank you, sir.”
What a boss you’d hate to shake hands with. But I did it anyway—such is office life.
“I heard that once the new year begins, D-squad will become an elite squad. With that, we’ll all get so busy working as a unit that even idle chats like this before heading into darkness might be impossible…”
“And I was just too curious.”
Then, with a cheerful face, he got to the point.
“How did you manage to win over Section Chief Lee Jaheon?”
“……!!”
“He always cuts me off when I try to call you over. That’s not like him—he’s not usually that proactive~”
Internally, I screamed.
‘Thank you, Squad Leader…!’
But honestly, I didn’t actively try to win him over.
‘All I had to do was say I didn’t want to.’
Section Chief Lee Jaheon was already a stickler for the rules and made every effort to reflect his squad members’ requests.
No one had made such a request before!
After all, in this ghost story specialist corporation, I’m probably the only one who’d rather split the workload into N parts than venture into a ghost story solo, no matter how cushy it might be.
And if anyone like me did exist, they’re probably long gone—dead or disappeared.
This time, however, it seemed even Lee Jaheon had difficulty stopping it on his own.
Or perhaps there simply wasn’t any justification to do so.
“Anyway, don’t worry. I don’t hold any grudges about how hard it was to bring you in, Mr. Roe Deer.”
Kwak Jaekang smiled.
“It’s just… isn’t it fascinating how there seems to be nothing Mr. Roe Deer can’t do!”
“’Fascinating’… I don’t quite understand…”
“You’re good at your job, articulate, and you manage your reputation well… very impressive. But humans are creatures who can’t excel at everything! Myself included.”
He lightly tapped his own chest.
“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So…”
His eyes, gleaming with a passionate obsession for ghostly exploration, fixed on me.
“What’s your weakness?”
“……”
“How does it remain so hidden, even while you’re diving headfirst into bizarre paranormal phenomena… I’m genuinely curious!”
Hah, fuck, seriously…
“If I could tell you, it wouldn’t be a weakness.”
“Haha, a clever answer to a foolish question~”
Kill me now.
‘He’s not predicting that I’m a coward, is he?’
I discreetly swallowed hard.
Kwak Jaekang spread his hands wide.
“Anyway, I called you here today for good news.”
“What kind of good news, exactly?”
“Something worth celebrating! By my calculations… Mr. Roe Deer, you’ve already earned more than half the points needed for a Wish Ticket, haven’t you?”
“……!”
This guy’s scary sharp.
And he’s right.
That’s the truth.
I recalled my accumulated points up until last week.
[Accumulated Points : 177,200p]
Even this number alone was staggering.
It was a figure unimaginable for a rookie who hadn’t even been with the company for a year, so I’d never bragged about it.
Even in a department where everyone openly talks about their resignation dates, there are limits.
‘When someone’s this much of an outlier, people inevitably start thinking differently.’
But who could have guessed?
As of this week, my accumulated points had entered an entirely new, outrageous realm.
[Accumulated Points: 277,200p]
At this point, people could start claiming it was rigged.
‘It’s all thanks to Sekwang Technical High School.’
Let’s break down the base points per grade.
A-grade : 100,000p
And I cleared Sekwang Technical High School solo at A-grade.
Though multiple people entered and cleared it together, I was the only one officially ranked A.
Moreover, the solution I concocted was just intense enough to be recognized as a solo effort.
Thanks to the ‘enthusiastic’ approval of Directors Cheong and Ho, the Development Department’s two powerhouses, my reward passed without issue.
It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
‘And this morning, the registration was finalized.’
Officially, Kim Soleum had now accumulated more than half the points needed for a Wish Ticket.
‘I’m progressing absurdly faster than I expected…’
Everything had strangely aligned, leading me here.
At this rate, if I could endure just one year—or perhaps even less—as part of an elite squad, I might return to my original world.
A peaceful 21st-century Korea where creepypastas aren’t real!
This all flashed through my mind in an instant, but I managed to keep my expression steady… or so I hoped.
‘Don’t give anything away…!’
“Does earning more than half the points change anything?”
Instead of a direct reaction, I intentionally furrowed my brow slightly, giving an ambiguous response. Was I unsettled because I had earned that much, or annoyed because I hadn’t earned enough? I kept him guessing.
“Well, it’s not about change… but it opens up opportunities, doesn’t it?”
Kwak Jaekang smiled slyly.
“Have you ever heard of the Wish Ticket Simulator?”
Simulator?
…Ah!
From a certain point, Qterw-D-718 offers a simulator tailored for promising employees with strong potential to secure a Wish Ticket.
‘Right, that was one of the ghost story entries.’
I remembered.
I forced myself to recall the increasingly blurry wiki entries while Kwak Jaekang’s voice buzzed in my ear.
“This company gives employees close to earning a Wish Ticket a chance to test their wish—to ensure it’s granted in the most ‘appropriate’ way.”
The threshold for being a ‘promising employee’ was likely 250,000 points… or it could have been calculated based on the remaining time needed to claim a Wish Ticket.
Either way, it seemed I’d been given the opportunity to try the simulator.
If entering a ghost story can be called an ‘opportunity’!
“You could always do it later, but Soleum-ssi, who knows when your turn will come up again? I figured it’d be good for you to do it now, so I called you over.”
“……”
I thought for a moment.
Kwak Jaekang, specially arranging a ghost story entry for someone?
‘There’s definitely a trap.’
But refusing outright wasn’t an option either.
This man would hound me for reasons, no doubt.
“Why avoid it if you’re not a coward? Right? Hahaha!”
Hiieek—
“Well, there could be other reasons to avoid it.”
I sighed and stood up, eager to end the conversation.
‘If I have to face a ghost story anyway, I might as well avoid giving him any leverage.’
“Alright, I understand. When should I enter?”
Kwak Jaekang smirked.
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
“……”
“You’ve really changed. You’ve shed that rookie aura, haven’t you?”
Wait.
“No, no, that’s a compliment! You’re finally starting to feel like a proper employee here. No pointless chatter, straight to business~ Like a real elite team member.”
His eyes crinkled as he laughed.
“Let’s get you doing some proper company work!”
He slapped a file onto the table.
‘This is…’
A staff profile.
One I recognized.
[Employee : Jang Heo-un]