Sounds of phone ringing, keyboards clacking, and people bustling with documents filled the air.
Amidst all that commotion, however, neither I nor she garnered any attention.
It was as if we were the only two present, existing in a secluded space like invisible figures.
Up to this point, it was the same as before.
The only difference was that the human-faced monkey guarding the entrance was nowhere in sight.
Though I had never directly experienced its wrath, I understood that its presence at precisely nine o’clock was far from benevolent.
I exhaled softly and nodded.
“From now on, let’s act independently. Assigning our seats is the priority. I’ll go this way. Kang Suji, you go that way.”
She gave a brief nod and headed down the opposite corridor.
If my memory served, her assigned seat was number 27.
If that aligned with the direction the orangutan monster had dragged her, I would find it soon.
I crossed the hall and made my way to the desk bearing my name.
Having already located the seat once, it was much easier this time.
[No. 13. Intern Kang Doyoon.]
As I drew near, I scanned my surroundings, but the replacement who had occupied this seat earlier was nowhere to be seen.
The moment I pulled up the chair and sat down.
As if on cue, the very individuals who had disregarded my presence moments prior began to address me, one by one.
“You’re the new hire, aren’t you?”
“Our department has a mountain of work. Honestly, we desperately needed more staff.”
“Still, you’re lucky. Most new hires these days are too weak to last long.”
I responded with the demeanor of a new employee, blending in seamlessly.
“Yes, I am new… Please take care of me.”
“Ah, I see. I’ll work diligently if you just give me anything to do.”
Just as I was assessing the atmosphere.
Ring-ring-
Ring-ring-
Amidst the office din, a particularly clear ringing echoed in my ears.
My gaze drifted to the corded telephone sitting solitary on my desk.
Ring-ring—
The moment the third ring resounded, the air grew chillingly still.
Everyone’s eyes converged, urging me to ‘answer it’.
I slowly picked up the receiver.
–…It’s too incomplete now.
–…Why, why, why are the body’s proteins… separated into carbohydrates and fats.
–…Soon, when they become one, it will be perfect. Don’t worry.
–…There’s nothing lacking now. So…
A low, resonant breath from beyond the receiver vibrated, scratching at my ear.
It was as if it were whispering not to me, but to my very body.
–…Let’s become one again.
A tickling sensation spread through my body, and I instinctively raised my right hand.
At that moment, I realized.
‘My fingers… they were separating.’
Not just the skin, but deeper layers.
Through the transparent, widening gaps, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and pale bones were distinctly visible, each fragmenting.
Thud-thud—
My living flesh was disassembling like a complex mechanism, revealing its underlying structure.
‘As if it were clay.’
“……!”
I tried to inhale, but even my throat felt as if it were already being broken down into its constituent elements by some unseen force.
The voice from beyond the receiver burrowed into my ear once more.
–…Soon, it will be perfect.
****
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE1.]
[New Employee’s First Day Ghastly Story]
[Type of Death]: Disintegration.
[Tip]: Malicious complaint calls must be handled correctly.
I was stuck again.
A total of 13 times.
That was the number of times I had been reset to this damned hall.
Eleven of those times were all due to the phone ringing at my seat.
After dying and being reset approximately three times, I even hurled curses at the entity on the other end of the receiver.
After more than five times, I forced myself to respond politely, and after more than ten times, I sometimes didn’t answer at all.
And for the eleventh and final attempt, I resolutely ignored the incessant ringing of the phone, despite the piercing gazes of my colleagues.
In that instance, the ringing grew unnaturally loud, escalating to an alarming degree for a mere receiver, until eventually, the human-faced monkey I had encountered at the entrance dashed in like a mad beast and literally tore my body to shreds.
None of these choices had been the right answer.
Furthermore, the voice from beyond the receiver paid no heed to my reactions, always leaving me with that cursed final phrase.
‘It will be perfect.’
‘Let’s become one again.’
This situation was identical to the Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Ghastly Story.
The rules, it seemed, were utterly unpredictable.
The Recorder’s Pen merely documented my experiences.
It was not a tool to reveal rules I was unaware of.
The pen remained inactive.
‘Think.’
‘It’s not over yet.’
This time, I avoided contact with Kang Suji and instead accessed the Ghastly Gallery to search for hints, during which I discovered something peculiar.
No one seemed to know how many times I had entered the ghastly incident.
No.
To be precise.
[Title: Know the Ghastly Story the Newbie Just Entered?]
-Author: Veteran84
‘New Employee’s First Day’ Ghastly Story.
‘They’re really only picking the juiciest ghastly stories.’
[Title: When Do They Go Inside?]
-Author: DarkMatter
‘Why are they sitting there?’
[Title: Seriously, I’m Excited]
-Author: MyCrabHurts
‘Just popped some popcorn lol’
‘How did they know I was bored again?’
It was as if a live broadcast had just begun.
I realized this was the case thanks to gallery users frantically broadcasting my situation in real-time.
Just to confirm, I pressed the broadcast button at the top, which glowed red.
[Ghastly Broadcast: Code 6214][01:42:54]
[Ghastly Broadcast: Code 84214][52:42:54]
[Ghastly Broadcast: Code 120053] [00:05:17]
[Ghastly Broadcast: Code 31][1352:42:54]
[Ghastly Broadcast: Code 2625][252:42:54]
The broadcast time was 5 minutes and 17 seconds.
Yet, I had returned to the office a total of 13 times.
Even if calculated at the absolute minimum of 5 minutes per attempt multiplied by 13.
That is, 65 minutes, which is well over an hour.
[Veteran84]: ‘Seriously, how did they enter the next ghastly story before me, when I’ve been preparing for a month?’
[CryingCatIfYouDontUnderstand]: ‘Meow meow meow meow meow—’
[NoAnswerLife]: ‘Just because they managed one success, they’re getting utterly overconfident, huh, lol. This is precisely why these young punks don’t cut it. They treat ghastly incidents far too lightly. Now, they’ll get beaten senseless and finally come to their senses.’
ㄴ[NotHuman]: ‘Seriously lol, they’ll only come to their senses when half their body is blown off. But, if what you say is true, they won’t clear this round either, will they? That newbie? Well, I’ll bet 10 coins on them winning, considering it a gift to you, hyung (TL Note: ‘Hyung’ is a term used by a male to address an older male friend or brother.).’
ㄴ[NoAnswerLife]: ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Damn. I’ll bet 1000 coins on that newbie failing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘There are crazy bastards gambling here ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is this gallery’s level for real ㅋㅋㅋㅋ’
I shook my head at the damned souls who were gambling on me.
More importantly, NoAnswerLife.
‘I’ll remember this bastard for now.’
‘He’s betting 1000 coins on me failing.’
‘Are they holding a ritual for my demise?’
NotHuman.
‘This one… seems like a malicious spirit who enjoys annoying others for fun, so I don’t want to provoke them.’
Although it was another gallery, I had been active in galleries for a long time, so such comments didn’t bother me much.
I would simply remember and return the favor later.
More than that, it was now clear.
My unique ability, ‘Auto-Save’.
It wasn’t merely rewinding a ‘timeline’; rather, it activated by utterly disregarding the very framework of the world or space itself.
A wicked smile involuntarily spread across my lips.
‘They won’t remember anyway.’
First, I couldn’t ask questions in the gallery without even observing the ghastly incident.
I rose from my seat and headed out of the building.
‘Let’s start over, from the beginning.’
****
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE1.]
[New Employee’s First Day Ghastly Story]
[Type of Death]: Explosion.
[Tip]: To escape the ghastly incident, specific conditions are required. How about focusing on those?
I took a step sideways.
Collision avoided.
Conversation with Kang Suji.
Gained trust in the elevator.
Ran to the office.
Found my seat within the time limit.
The moment I sat down, seeing the employees begin to approach me with conversation, I smiled faintly and inserted wireless earphones into my ears.
‘Newbie essential.’
‘Wearing these creates an absolute defensive barrier.’
While no such effect was explicitly attached, the smiles on the faces of the employees who had been approaching me quickly froze into icy stares.
It possessed a functionality that seemed to grant just such an effect.
Not long after I sat down, the receiver on the table began to ring.
I still had at least a few minutes before the receiver’s ringing intensified and the human-faced monkey came charging.
With composure, I picked up my phone.
[Title: Newbie, Save Me!!!! HELP!!!!!!]
-Author: Newbie120053
‘What do I do about this? What do I do about this? What do I do about this? What do I do about this? What do I do about this? What do I do about this? What do I do about this?’
‘I’ll give you all 200 coins. I swear on my batch number.’
[CoffinFairy]: ‘…The atmosphere seems to have changed a bit?’
[DarkMerchant]: ‘You f*cking ghastly spy, aren’t you?’
[LmaoPpbong]: ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAckㅋㅋㅋㅋ f*ckㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’
[BystanderPossessed]: ‘Did you also just possess Newbie120053’s body?’
[DeadFishEyes]: ‘I can say this, staking my username. That’s a ghastly spy bastard. Seriously lolㅋㅋㅋ’
ㄴ[RealReal]: ‘That’s mine! You bastard!’
ㄴ[OharaDoctor]: ‘You crazy bastardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ A ghastly spy can’t turn on a live broadcast no matter what kind of crazy shit they pullㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m watching the live broadcast right now, are you DeadFishEyes?’
As I had anticipated, the reaction was explosive.
‘Suddenly, the newbie on the broadcast screen is fiddling with their phone and writing a post?’
Naturally, it drew attention.
Soon, the bites began to come in.
[CryingCatIfYouDontUnderstand]: ‘Meow meow meow meow meow—’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Damn this crazy cat bastard is spamming again, get lost already.’
[Bystander1]: ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ HeavenBreaker is starting their sales pitch again. As expected of a veteran.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘It’s not a sales pitch, you idiots, I’m giving tips.’
[MyCrabHurts]: ‘ㅋㅋㅋ HeavenBreaker is scamming the newbie again. Just throwing out one rule and extorting coins?’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Hey, you idiot, if you can tell them, then tell them yourself. Don’t just bark from the sidelines.’
ㄴ[MyCrabHurts]: ‘Nope. Can’t. Eating popcorn right now. Super delicious.’
A veteran user, clearly possessing an unusual camaraderie, took it upon themselves to organize the posts on my behalf.
I had a feeling.
As I expected, a comment appeared shortly after.
[HeavenBreaker]: ‘But seriously? You’ll give coins just for a hint?’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Of course.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Can’t you just ignore it? The end.’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Not that.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘…? Uh… then answer the call and just ignore them.’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘I tried that.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘?????? What the hell.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘…Then, isn’t there some kind of employee regulation?’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Employee regulations?’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Yeah. Usually. Every company has a way of answering the phone, right? If you don’t do it that way, you usually get a lot of flak (TL Note: ‘kusari’ is a Japanese loanword often used in Korean slang to mean being scolded or reprimanded). They’ll say there’s a certain format.’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Oh…!’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Was that helpful?’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Yep.’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘…?’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘…?’
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Now you have to give me the coins.’
ㄴ[Newbie120053]: ‘Ah, right. Just a moment.’
Just then, two minutes passed.
In the distance, I saw the human-faced monkey charging, swinging a file folder.
Accessing the [Ghastly Shop] with the remaining time, I checked.
Amusingly, the coins I had used in the shop were not restored.
The initial statement, that no magic or supernatural abilities would work inside, was clearly no empty boast.
It was a shame, as the coins could have been duplicated.
Just then, my phone screen flashed, and a gallery notification appeared.
I looked at the screen.
[HeavenBreaker]: ‘Huh?! Hey! You bastard! If you’re going to die, give me the coins first!!’
I let out a soft snicker.
‘Why would I give them the coins?’
I deliberately exposed my head to the incoming file folder.
A dull thud resounded, and my vision immediately went dark.
‘After all, if I die, the conversation we just had, my memories, and even the promise will all vanish.’
