Chapter 27

Baek Saheon.

["You idiots. If one eye gets you out, hurry up and do it!"]

The fellow recruit who had caused that whole scene on the subway.

He was also a Named Employee in <Records of Dark Exploration>, and he was supposed to keep leaving his mark as he rose all the way to section chief...

"He's going to die?"

A stuffed doll from a ghost story had suddenly slapped Baek Saheon with a death sentence. There was only one question I could ask on reflex.

"Why?"

But I knew the future where that bastard made section chief...?

"Ah, it's a classic. An absolute classic... Mr. Roe Deer, have you ever seen one of those films?"

"... Films?"

"Yes. Films featuring serial killers."

Oh, please.

"In popular entertainment, certain targets become their victims. Recognizable markers, you see: blondes, college students, hitchhikers, or perhaps someone wearing red shoes."

"Do you know the most classic way of choosing a victim, the one that leaves absolutely no doubt who's next?"

The stuffed doll's shadow whispered.

"Picking up something belonging to the killer."

"..."

The enormous black shadow on the wall pointed beyond it.

"Your 'coworker' picked something up, Mr. Roe Deer, and now he's about to die a gruesome death!"

"..."

God, seriously...

"Well, thanks for telling me."

"Not at all!"

I explained as gently as possible that I needed to sleep because I had work tomorrow. Fortunately, Good Friend readily understood my situation.

"Oh dear, you must have had an exhausting day. Sleep soundly, and sweet dreams!"

That ship had probably sailed.

'And you're partly responsible for that....'

"Adios!"

My phone's flashlight switched itself off. The enormous shadow cast on the wall vanished too.

After some consideration, I made a reasonably soft bed on the desk with a clean towel and settled the stuffed doll onto it.

'This should keep you from chasing me through my dreams with a knife, demanding to know why I'm treating you so badly.'

Of course, first I probably needed to worry about whether I could fall asleep and dream at all.

"Hmm."

I turned my mood lamp up to its brightest setting and lay down.

Baek Saheon.

He was probably asleep next door right now...

'What the hell did you do?'

Just how vicious a ghost-story object had he picked up for a stuffed doll to sense it through the wall?

Was this the butterfly effect? Or had this always happened, and he'd overcome it?

I recalled everything Baek Saheon had done in <Records of Dark Exploration> and even searched the wiki, but nothing relevant came up.

Perhaps that was only natural, if this had happened in his private life rather than at work.

Sigh.

"..."

'He'd probably have a fit if I knocked on his door this late, wouldn't he?'

Besides, I didn't want to voluntarily approach some scary-as-fuck ghost story that could make me a serial killer's next target...

Honestly, my roommate wasn't the kind of person worth risking my life for, either.

'Still, now that I know, the decent thing would be to warn him.'

A way to approach him indirectly...

'There is one.'

It even tied in with what I'd been planning to do next.

Lying in bed, I checked my phone's messaging app.

[Jang Heoun: This is the new recruits' group chat. You can join through here. Thank you! (Link)]

My fellow recruit from Team Y had sent it.

With a sigh, I tapped the link.

[17th Intake Field Exploration Team Group Chat]

It was a KakaoTalk Open Chat.

I'd wondered why they had specifically chosen this format, but apparently they'd kept it disconnected from their contacts to soften the blow when news of someone's death arrived.

Anyway, everyone used their name on their profile, so telling them apart wouldn't be a problem.

'I'd better set mine to my name before joining too.'

[Kim Soleum has joined.]

I was typing a greeting when...

[Wow]

[Whoa]

[Are you really Kim Soleum?]

[Nice to meet you ^^]

[Is this for real? Who invited you?]

"...??"

Enthusiastic reactions poured in before I'd even finished typing.

'Surely they don't mean, "What clueless idiot invited this guy?"'

On a more positive reading, perhaps my recent results had made them curious, or word had gotten around.

I posted a simple greeting.

[Good to meet you. I look forward to getting along with everyone.]

As though they'd been waiting for it, someone asked:

[Kang Ihak: Is it true you received 40,000 points? haha]

Hmm.

[Yes.]

[Kang Ihak: I'm jealous! I'd love to know how you got them haha]

[I did my best.]

Rather than answering any further, I simply sent a bowing emoji.

'It's a jungle in here.'

I'd wondered whether this might be a warm, friendly group where fellow recruits shared tips and information and enjoyed their hobbies together. Apparently not.

'It's like an interns' group chat where only ten percent get full-time positions.'

In other words, everyone was trying to scrape together any advantage they could while pretending otherwise.

'Right. With people dying left and right, and that desperately needed Wish Coupon still so far away, I suppose they can't help it.'

Getting attached to this group would only leave you depressed whenever another death notice came in.

It left a slightly bitter taste, but I could understand.

[Go Youngeun: (Cheering emoji)]

[Go Youngeun: (Applause emoji)]

Besides, some of my fellow recruits still seemed genuinely nice.

'Looks like she's doing well....'

I nodded at the tidy emojis from the medical-school escapee who had wholeheartedly backed my opinion on that deadly subway.

'All right, shall I get down to business?'

By which I meant following my conscience.

I found Baek Saheon's profile in the group chat and opened a one-on-one Open Chat.

Then I said:

[Watch out for serial killers]

The unread indicator disappeared within a second.

But no reply came.

Hmm. Maybe that had struck a nerve?

'If it struck a nerve, he'll be careful.'

That seemed like a decent enough warning.

"I should send him this every morning from now on."

A week should do it, before the impact wore off.

Giving myself a passing grade, I turned off my phone.

'... Time to sleep.'

I didn't know whether I could, but I had to try. I had work tomorrow too... Sob.

'I wish the company would explode.'

Bitterly dwelling on the sad fact that, given the nature of this company, I'd still have to go to work, I lay awake all night...

When I briefly drifted into a light sleep around dawn, I dreamed of offering churros to a stuffed doll while theme park mascots chased me, swinging intestines.

'Someone save me.'

Just another night for an ordinary office worker suffering from trauma.

The news I heard the next day, however, was far from ordinary.

* * *

"Roe Deer. You hit the jackpot."

"...?"

"You... earned twenty thousand points."

What?

I looked up at the points credited this morning.

[Employee Kim Soleum / Points Credited: 20000p]

It was true.

'But yesterday they definitely said I'd only get ten thousand...?'

The supervisor pounded my shoulder.

"Apparently Deputy Jin from Team A filed a report insisting you had to receive extra points!"

Deputy Jin...!

You recognized all my hard work trying to save you, even with a hole through my palm!

I bumped my internal assessment of the butterfly-masked deputy, whose obsession with work had bordered on psychopathic, up about three notches.

From now on, she was a capable superior: good at her job, quick on the uptake, and fair with rewards and punishments.

"Originally, our team leader was in the running as a Major Contributor to the clear too, but Team A's leader is throwing a shit fit..."

Ah.

Well... honestly, from his perspective, he did have reason to throw a fit...

'Did I profit from their squabble?'

I wasn't sure whether I should be pleased, but I'd gratefully take it.

"Anyway, this is huge, Roe Deer. You're beyond just setting records for the fastest new hire now, you know?? This is insane."

"Thank you."

Though perhaps it was time to give up on staying under the company's radar...

'Still, those points are sweet.'

But it didn't end there.

Before the morning was over, I got a call.

"... Deputy Jin?"

"Yeah."

Having finished a B-grade Darkness exploration yesterday, I was supposed to be enjoying a somewhat leisurely day filling out paperwork.

Instead, Team A's deputy had called me over the internal network.

I thanked her immediately.

"Um, thank you. I heard you recommended me as a Major Contributor to clearing the theme park Darkness..."

"Things only run properly if the people who do well get more points. Why thank me for that?"

Ah, right.

"Anyway, come upstairs."

"...?"

"Our team is entering a Darkness today, but we're short on people. Come help us out."

"..."

"Don't want to?"

Correct!

Would it kill you to let the new hire who nearly fucking died yesterday rest today?!

"Please hold for a moment. ... Um, Deputy Eun. I've received a call."

"Yeah, what is it?"

Help me, my own team's superior!

I called over my superiors and handed off the phone, hoping to gloss over the request and get out of it.

It didn't work.

"A vacancy on Team A? This was a call to fill a vacancy on Team A?"

"...!"

Oh.

Even the supervisor, who'd had his head down on a desk across the room, suddenly came flying over in his chair and whispered:

"Wait, Team A called Roe Deer to fill their empty slot today?"

I don't know either, Supervisor. My shoulders hurt, so please stop shaking me.

"Understood for now. Yes."

Meanwhile, the deputy hung up.

Then, eyes gleaming, the deputy pumped a fist at me.

"Hey. Go."

... What?

"Exactly! With Team A as it is now, this is a great opportunity! It's safer and you can earn more. You can't miss this!"

"It's all points. Points, Roe Deer."

"..."

... In other words, this was the situation.

'First, Team A gets extra points per assignment because it's an Elite Team.'

Apparently, those were pretty sweet.

And since they hadn't called in a Cleanup Team like Team Y, this wasn't a Darkness that required sacrificial lambs.

Besides, if they'd called a new hire like me to fill in, it probably wasn't all that difficult either.

In short, extra work, but easy money with a generous bonus!

"They've got a vacancy and need to bring someone along. You must have made a good impression yesterday, so they're taking you this once. Go on!"

"..."

'I have no excuse....'

Now I couldn't say I wanted some rest because I'd been too scared to sleep, not even if someone tore my mouth open.

'A field explorer saying that when there's a hefty reward on the line in a relatively safe situation? That would be way too suspicious...!'

Unless I wanted to be certified a coward and shipped off to a Cleanup Team, I had to shut up.

And so I forced my reluctant feet into motion and headed for the fifteenth floor...

"Fantastic! That's the spirit of a new recruit!"

This felt less like spirit and more like defeat.

Trying not to trudge, I made my way to the elevator.

And when I reached the fifteenth floor, the Field Exploration Team's highest floor, and the doors opened, I was rather surprised.

"...!"

There were none of the tightly packed desktop computers or partitions you normally saw in an office.

Instead, I saw an elegant reception lounge worthy of a hotel. Beyond it were individual spaces separated by frosted glass.

They were all private offices, each bearing an employee's name.

'Good lord.'

One office per person.

That was the sort of perk you'd expect only for a director.

'Some kind of incentive?'

Apparently, joining an Elite Team in the Field Exploration Team earned you a private space like this.

'It is an office worker's dream, but...'

Just then, a familiar face emerged through the glass door right beside me.

A superior already wearing her butterfly mask.

"Good morning, Deputy Jin."

"Yeah."

Team A's Deputy Jin seemed a little more human than she had inside the ghost story.

"The team leader wanted to see you again."

Team A's leader emerged from the larger office opposite, coffee in hand.

"Mr. Roe Deer."

"Good morning, Section Chief."

The middle-aged team leader smiled affably and patted my shoulder, looking like a kindly fellow.

He was acting as though he'd never glared murderously at Team Leader Lee Jaheon in the theme park.

"Deputy Jin isn't one to praise people, but it seems you made quite an impression on her, Mr. Roe Deer. I've heard a lot of good things."

That much...?

"So I thought I'd invite you along today. I've never seen her go on about how good an employee is like this."

I reflexively turned toward Team A's deputy.

The butterfly-masked deputy gave a snort and smiled.

"I merely reported the facts."

"Oh, there you go again."

She frowned when our eyes met, but her voice remained softer.

"What? You did do well."

"... Thank you."

"Yeah. Do well today too."

"My, you young people get along so well."

Having watched the exchange with an easy chuckle, Team A's leader put on his mallard mask.

"Welcome to Team A, Mr. Kim Soleum."

"..."

"Then let's get to work."

* * *

Honestly, I was a little curious too.

'Do Elite Teams tackle these things differently?'

I was hoping their entire work process might be different.

Surely they were different from regular teams, who got assignments sprung on them that day, read the manual, and were tossed into the Darkness to suffer!

And they were different.

"Collectors checked, recording device checked, masks checked, equipment checked, basic supplies checked. Thirty-one minutes until the 11:00 entry into Identification Code Qterw-C-402. As of this moment, I declare the readiness inspection complete."

Hmm... Intense.

The atmosphere was entirely different from Team D, who would casually gather on the sofa for a briefing and toss around jokes the team leader didn't understand before trudging into the Darkness.

Even with only two members left after one had died, their hierarchy and procedures were firmly in place.

They'd made me give an equipment-check briefing the moment I arrived, after all.

"... That is all."

"Good. Let's head in."

"Yes, sir."

Temporary replacement or not, I had to perform the duties of the lowest-ranking person on the team.

'Come to think of it, Deputy Jin isn't exactly easygoing, but she was addressing the team leader with textbook formality....'

Right. I would have ended up experiencing a team like this sooner or later.

Getting a taste of it in advance might not be a bad thing.

'I just can't let them find out I'm a coward....'

If I knew which ghost story we were entering today, I could at least prepare myself mentally.

Holding the manual, Team A's leader addressed me.

"Oh, Soleum, you haven't read the manual, have you?"

"No, sir."

Trying to think positively, I respectfully held out both hands.

But just before he handed me the printed manual for the Darkness we were entering, his hand stopped.

...?

"That's right. Soleum, why don't you go in without this and experience it firsthand?"

What?

"I hear figuring things out without a manual is your specialty."

I snapped my head up.

Beneath the mallard mask, I could see the team leader's lower face smiling.

"I'll give it to you right away if things look dangerous. All right?"

"..."

That... didn't mean he'd give it to me if I asked.

'It means he'll decide whether it's dangerous.'

In other words, he might not give it to me until I died.

"..."

They knew everything, and I was supposed to enter the ghost story knowing nothing?

"Shall we head in, then? Ah, work's going to be fun for the first time in ages!"

Wait. Was this possibly...

'Workplace bullying?'

It was so textbook it felt like a joke. My head was spinning.

But why would a section chief from another team, whom I'd only met yesterday, do that... Ah.

'... Lee Jaheon!!'

Had our Section Chief Lizard really pissed him off so badly that he was taking it out on me, that team's new recruit?!

Was I on his shit list too?!