It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story Chapter 102

After winning a rock-paper-scissors game against the ghost in the elevator mirror, I was given a single chance to ask a question as a reward.

Naturally, the truth revealed by the horror story isn’t always pleasant.

It might not align with my desires.

Or it might be completely useless.

Either possibility could apply.

For instance, if I asked when humanity would go extinct, the response might be something like, “Long after you’re dead.”

“That’s also a truth.”

So if I were to ask, “What’s the way back to the place I originally lived?” it could respond with a very extreme and terse answer.

In that case, it was better to find out if the method I was currently aiming for could certainly send me back to my original world.

“The wishing potion from Daydream Corporation.”

My heart raced.

The answer, which promised to reveal any truth, slowly presented itself like a clear glass window.

It was…

You can go back. Definitely.

A very certain affirmative statement.

“……!”

I collapsed in relief.

“Wow.”

It felt like all my tension released.

…To be honest, I was worried about receiving a very vague or negative answer…

Even though I tried not to think about it, doubts occasionally crossed my mind.

-What if I can’t go back even with the wishing potion?

-What if I set the terms incorrectly and it results in something bizarre?

But I tried to suppress those thoughts.

No matter how much I doubted, the wishing potion was still my best hope.

‘No matter how anxious, this remains unchanged…’

I had to believe that I could return with the wishing potion, or else I couldn’t bear working through this horrendous fear…

“……”

But with this, I could work with more certainty.

“Let’s do this.”

I can do it.

I’ll do my best to quickly and safely gather the remaining wishing potions!

I steeled my resolve and stood up.

‘My work motivation is rising…’

Very rarely, indeed.

However, I hadn’t yet escaped from the horror story.

‘There’s still the final stage of consciousness remaining.’

If I successfully received the answer, it was now time to conclude my consciousness and return.

What I needed to do for a safe return depended on whether I won rock-paper-scissors starting from number one or six.

If I came from number 1: to number 10.

If I came from number 6: to number 11.

Number 1 was the case where I smoothly won rock-paper-scissors and reached the top floor.

If I head to number 10, it would conclude with something like, “Go down the stairs and go home, and for three days, do not use the elevator fitted with mirrors on both sides.” But…

‘…I had failed.’

In that case, the task becomes eerier and more painful.

“…Huh.”

I was getting a bit confused, so let’s read the manual the company provided.

11.

11. In the case where you win rock-paper-scissors led by “someone in the mirror” and reach the top floor, how you respond to the questions will determine the countermeasures.

First, you need to take the elevator.

I swallowed and turned my back, standing again at the elevator door.

Since the elevator was still stopped at the 12th floor, as soon as I pressed the button, the door opened.

Ding.

With a short sound, the tattered interior of the old elevator, with the right mirror shattered, was revealed….

At this stage, you must keep pressing the open button while staying inside the elevator at all times.

Never release your hand from the button.

And as you go up to the top floor, face the mirror on the opposite side, not the one where you played rock-paper-scissors.

I turned my gaze to the left mirror.

Due to the broken mirror on the opposite side, the infinite-looking repetitive space was absent.

Reflected in the dark elevator interior, only the chaotic reflections from the shattered mirror danced, and there…

Something strange will be visible.

It is me.

I had my head lowered at an odd angle.

Dressed in a completely worn-out suit.

Peculiarly motionless.

The ghost who had played rock-paper-scissors with me.

…….

The mirrored figure slowly lifted its head.

Its expressionless face stared at me, drawing closer.

Closer.

As if sticking to the mirror.

I had to hold out until a sound emerged from the elevator. I mustn’t move or flee. I had to keep watching until it was over.

The more questions you responded to, the longer this time extends.

I held my ground.

But there is a limit. Even with the glass window in the way, it was getting closer, little by little, endlessly…

My hand pressing the open button trembled.

I had to think of something else…

‘Is that… a response to the doodles I wrote on the glass window?’

Yeah, that must be it…

Bang!

I almost dropped the button.

The ghost had its head pressed against the mirror, glaring at me.

And with its mouth.

I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out, I want to get out.

I hastily shifted my gaze downward, avoiding eye contact. Cold sweat gathered on my chin and dripped.

Yet, piercing through the fear, the effect of the silver ring shone through.

You want to get out?

‘…Because you’re trapped in the mirror?’

My thoughts raced.

‘Now that I think about it, that ghost couldn’t make the scissor hand gesture… could it?’

Why?

The reason it couldn’t make the scissors.

I recalled the hand gesture used in rock-paper-scissors.

Whether the thumb was raised, or the middle finger…

Regardless, the image that came to mind was that it would always raise the index finger prominently.

And when I envisioned the hand shapes raised in the elevator, one action instantly came to mind.

When pressing a button.

‘…Could that ghost not press the button?’

Of course, it could physically push it with a fist or even its head, but this was a matter of concept and imagination.

A ghost trapped in the infinitely reflected world of the elevator.

A completely enclosed space created by the two facing mirrors.

And the warning written in the manual, should you lose in rock-paper-scissors and fail the ritual.

From now on, I need to be cautious whenever I ride the elevator. That thing in the mirror will try to find and meet you.

Is it perhaps…

‘…Wanting to get out?’

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang!

Damn it…!

I continued to think while trying my best not to look at the ghost bashing its head against the mirror.

…What if?

‘Is that ghost trapped in the elevator?’

That was when.

Beep-beep-beep—

A signal rang.

It was the sound when the elevator had been held too long.

If you hear a sound, immediately exit the elevator and move to the stairs.

Do not use that same elevator again. As much as possible, it is recommended to put a sign indicating so that others cannot ride until tomorrow morning.

And from now on, do not look at the mirrors in the elevator for more than 5 seconds.

It will come for you.

Then…

I hesitated, then left the elevator, releasing my hand from the open button.

And at the same time, I pressed one more button.

[1F]

Naturally, since it was a mirror, the elevator inside also illuminated the 1st floor button.

Without looking at the ghost that bore my face, I quickly leaped out of the open door.

Swish.

Without the compulsion of the open button, the door closed, and the elevator began to move.

[Going down….]

I descended from the 12th floor down to the 1st via the stairs.

As I rushed down the old stairs, I think I heard the cheerful sound of the elevator announcing, “1st floor…”

*

“Phew.”

By the time I emerged from the derelict apartment building, it was already well past sunset.

‘They said time flows oddly inside, and they were right.’

It was already 7 o’clock.

I immediately called someone.

[Ah, Sol-eum!]

It was Jang Heo-woon, who I was supposed to meet at 5.

However, my apology flowed smoothly for having left her waiting for two hours.

Because…

“I’m sorry. I thought there would be an issue, so I gave you a heads-up, but you must have waited too long.”

[Oh, no. It’s all right. It’s a nice cafe! If something urgent came up, there’s nothing you can do. I’m fine with it!]

That’s right.

I had deliberately asked Jang Heo-woon to meet at 5.

‘What if the research team, having noticed that I went in alone, decided to abduct Jang Heo-woon into some other bizarre horror story?’

That insane psychopath researcher could very well do that. Saying something like, ‘Oh, since we’re here, I’d prefer we take a detour,’ for example.

‘This company life truly sucks…’

Anyway, after that, I apologized to Jang Heo-woon, who was sitting at the cafe.

And explained the situation.

In a way that wasn’t too shocking, I conveyed that the research team had recklessly planned a dangerous task for both of us, which I had declined.

But Jang Heo-woon focused on something else.

[Wait a minute. Then wouldn’t that put you in trouble, Sol-eum? You violated a company order without permission!]

“Oh, it’s fine.”

I replied warmly.

“If you keep it secret, I’ll have it all worked out.”

[…??]

And a little while later.

As soon as I returned to hand in the Dream Collection Device, I was urgently summoned by Gwak Je-gang.

And brazenly explained the situation.

“…So, you just left the people from the finishing team there… is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

Gwak Je-gang looked at me for a moment as if he couldn’t find the words, but eventually let out a sigh and burst into laughter.

Of course, it wasn’t a good laugh.

It was a bewildered one.

“No way, Doe! This is grounds for punishment…! This isn’t a school, do you think you can just act on your own like that? Manager Lee Ja-heon said it was okay?”

“No, Manager Lee Ja-heon always recommends adhering to the company regulations and field exploration manual.”

“Ah, if you knew that, why did you do it? I can’t believe this…”

And then, in a subtle tone, he asked.

“Are you really that resistant to your colleague being sacrificed during the exploration? Since you know them, after all.”

I knew you’d say that.

I responded bluntly.

“…? It’s frustrating.”

“……??”

“Why should I carry around, um, excuse me, yes, a useless burden, when I could clear a place quickly by myself?”

“…!”

Gwak Je-gang looked at me with an astonished expression and quickly opened his mouth.

“No, you can just leave it in the elevator after clearing, right?”

“Then why the hell should I worry about something like that while exploring the darkness?”

I pleaded, slightly furrowing my brows, as if I couldn’t hold back.

“Will the staff waiting underneath the elevator run away, or can I time it perfectly to send them? None of that helps shorten exploration time or increase solution concentration, does it?”

“……”

“Isn’t the existence of an exploration worker to extract highly concentrated solution quickly to secure the raw material for the wishing potion? Why should I engage in work unrelated to my duties?”

“No, this is still work…”

“Isn’t that your job, manager?”

Gwak Je-gang fell silent.

It seemed my crazy MZ skills had left him speechless.

Though it must be said, actual MZs are fresh graduates torn between their jobs; I’m just playing a character!

“So, I reasoned that it would be better to be punished.”

“…Is that more efficient for you?”

“Yes.”

I answered as though it were obvious.

“At least they’ll likely give me punishment during the period when I’m not exploring the darkness.”

“……”

Gwak Je-gang looked at me as if I was something new, like a novel substance.

You can see how ridiculous it is, right?

Yeah.

‘This is exactly the weakness you were longing for…!’

An overly meticulous efficiency junkie who sticks to his own principles!

Thanks to that, he seems morally right, but in fact, he engages in socially dysfunctional behavior if it deviates from the principles he set for himself.

‘Such extreme tendencies are originally weaknesses.’

If I could keep Gwak Je-gang from his unnecessary probing, then tolerating punishment would indeed be manageable!

“Then I’ll wait until the punishment decision is made.”

I maintained my crazy character to the end and left the laboratory.

‘I need to find Brown.’

I felt quite proud.

In the now-quiet office of Research Team 1 after Kim Sol-eum left.

As all the other employees had already clocked out, Gwak Je-gang sat silently at his desk, organizing the events from yesterday and today…

“Hahaha!”

He burst into laughter.

“You left them behind because you were frustrated? Hahaha!”

How could it be this entertaining!

If it were any other employee, they would’ve collapsed completely.

In that overwhelming state, caught up in her extreme remarks and overwhelming achievements, everything sounds plausible.

But…

“I have observed many, many people!”

Actions speak louder than words.

And one of the joys of this work is predicting patterns of behavior based on those actions…!

“Ah, what a joy.”

Gwak Je-gang smiled brightly, finishing up his notes and rising from his desk with a cheerful step as he headed home.

Thud.

His soft humming briefly echoed through the office before fading away with the sound of the closing door.

Only a few documents remained on the desk he had left.

[Manager Kim Sol-eum / Field Exploration Team]

It was Kim Sol-eum’s profile file.

Below it, a memo hastily scrawled by Gwak Je-gang was visible…

Characteristics (Predicted with meaningful probability)

1. Kindness.

2. Cowardice.