Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work

Home.

Destination.

The reason I’m striving for a Wish Ticket.

I had shortened my strong desire to escape from this world and return to my original home into that single phrase.

‘I want to go back home.’

…But only internally!

Yet now, this private matter that I never openly spoke about suddenly emerged during interrogation.

‘Where is my home?’

I deliberately forced my hands to relax so as not to grip the chair.

“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“…I was told you value your home greatly.”

Who told him that? Wait…

……

I remembered.

– So what’s the wish you’re trying to fulfill?

– I just want to go home.

Agent Choi must have told him.

I recalled that hellish night when we encountered Director Ho in the taxi.

And the conversation with Agent Choi that followed.

“……”

Home.

Had that been judged as unrelated to me being a spy and just personal talk?

‘But even then, why even bother bringing that up in this place?’

Wasn’t it too dangerous?

And knowing this didn’t change anything for Agent Bronze.

I changed the subject.

“Should I just tell you where I commute from?”

“No. That’s not your home, is it?”

…!

Agent Bronze watched me silently.

“I know you’re living in a motel.”

“……”

“I’ve also confirmed that your room has almost no personal belongings, let alone furniture you could call your own. …All you have is a few sets of clothes.”

It felt like the things I’d kept hidden deep inside myself were being exposed.

“A place like that can’t possibly be called home. Or rather, you’ve intentionally left it as such a place. You haven’t even applied for the bureau-provided dormitory for agents either… Why is that?”

A question I couldn’t answer.

“Agent Grapes.”

“……”

“You don’t need to answer what I’m about to ask you next. However, please understand this.”

Agent Bronze spoke without hesitation from beyond the glass wall.

“This conversation is just between you and me.”

“……”

“It’s neither recorded nor documented. I’m the only one who will hear it.”

I raised my head.

Our eyes met. Agent Bronze nodded slightly, lowered the documents he was holding, and spoke.

“I’ve never had a home from the very beginning.”

“……!”

“My parents divorced when I was young, and after my mother passed away, I grew up in an orphanage.”

Wait a second.

“Even though I ate and slept there, I never really thought of it as home. Rather, whenever I thought of home, I recalled the apartment where I lived with my mother. Even though it’s more a feeling than an actual memory.”

Someone’s personal history poured into my ears. The past of a person not recorded in the wiki.

No, rather…

‘Agent Bronze.’

…the story of someone I knew.

“Then, while heading to school one day, I encountered a supernatural disaster for the first time and learned about the Disaster Management Bureau. When I asked how I could work there, they smiled.”

After hearing his circumstances, the bureau introduced him to a safe, student-appropriate job.

A strange bookstore affiliated with them.

“I worked there and attended night classes. Immediately after finishing university, I took the exam… and passed.”

Agent Bronze looked at me.

“And now, I’m here.”

“……”

“Now, when I hear the word ‘home’, I think of the waiting room of Black-Tortoise Team 1. I think of my room in the bureau dormitory, and I see people’s faces.”

Ah.

“That’s why I want to ask you this.”

Agent Bronze asked quietly.

“…Agent Grapes. Is your home… no longer in this world?”

“…!”

“Did you originally have one, but lost it?”

I could almost hear the unspoken words that followed.

‘Like me.’

“……”

Unlike my previous interrogations, I wasn’t bound.

I could freely evade his question.

However…

“Yes.”

“……!”

“It’s gone.”

A spark lit in Agent Bronze’s eyes.

“Is the reason you worked at Daydream. Is it because you wanted to get that home back?”

“It’s a bit different.”

I slowly shaped my words.

“I want to return to my home.”

“……”

Agent Bronze was silent, seemingly chewing over the meaning of what I had said.

But soon.

“Agent Grapes.”

A firm statement came back.

“You cannot return to a place that no longer exists.”

“……”

“There will only be those who try to use you by deceiving you into believing you can return. …Don’t let yourself be used in that way. You are stronger than that.”

No.

I know that’s not true.

The Wish Ticket is real.

I understand what you’re trying to say, but that doesn’t apply to my situation…

“You can create a new home, can’t you?”

“……!”

“Just as I did.”

I looked at him with a stunned expression, as if I’d just been struck.

“If you go out from here, meet good people, find a place that feels right to you… and create a place where you can rest comfortably and sleep with peace of mind.”

Agent Bronze declared,

“That will become your home.”

Just as he thinks of the Disaster Management Bureau’s main building—its cozy waiting room, like a clubroom—as his own home.

The advice from someone with experience came across refreshingly clear.

And so.

“I’m not saying you have to be completely convinced of this, Agent Grapes. But… I do hope you’ll at least consider it.”

“……”

“Can you do that?”

Very slowly, I nodded my head.

And the glass wall reflected nothing at all.

Truth.

A faint smile of relief spread over Agent Bronze’s face.

“Very good. That concludes today’s interrogation.”

“……”

“I hope you’ll get some real rest tonight.”

I can hardly believe myself.

What did I just say I’d consider?

But the atmosphere was surprisingly gentle, and my heart felt calmer than expected.

As if I hadn’t made a bad choice.

And Agent Bronze didn’t press me for further details about my situation.

“And please make sure to eat and sleep well. For the next week, I’ll be assigned as your interrogator, so there won’t be any harsh interrogations. Please don’t worry and think of this as a time to rest.”

He added that he could provide anything I needed, as long as it wasn’t a prohibited or dangerous item.

There was no sign of falsehood in those words.