It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 064

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je was feeling quite complicated.

‘If I’m leaving, I wish it could be a bit more comfortable.’

Maybe it was just a futile hope.

“Hey! Move back! Do you think I wouldn’t know you hit me once?”

“Ahh! Just go back, okay? I haven’t hit anyone even once yet!”

‘Those troll bastards….’

It was pure chaos.

Just moments ago, their individual survival instincts as if watching a game wasn’t a good picture, but now seeing them glaring and fighting amongst themselves was even worse.

Survival and points.

With two goals, the conflicts doubled.

It felt like watching a cart stuck with friction, boiling with heat but unable to move…

‘The doe isn’t your average creature….’

It had been a while since I encountered such shrewd politicking.

‘At least it’s a good guy.’

Seeing that spectacle, I wondered if I could easily buy over an hour’s worth of time with this.

‘Has it been 20 minutes yet?’

But even so, considering they had only barely completed one box…

[Here’s a hint for the 6th empty box!]

[Whose obituary phone call created Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s airplane trauma, I wonder?]

“Eun, who died…?”

“Ugh, shut up.”

But what did it even mean to postpone time?

‘Isn’t it the same whether I get exposed and die anyway?’

I had nothing to protect at this point… but the longer the time dragged on, the more bitter and exhausted I felt.

Moreover, every time I guessed what my two juniors were planning, I became dizzy.

‘They seem ready to do something crazy.’

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je recalled the whisper she’d heard from the doe earlier.

-When you face execution, remember this…

“……”

It was an unmistakable notification that they wouldn’t accept persuasion.

But.

If they really intended to go through with it, shouldn’t she also make an effort to survive?

…Of course, whether those juniors would hold the same resolve later, who knows.

‘Let’s wait and see.’

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je crossed her arms conceptually.

And then 20 minutes,
30 minutes,
40 minutes….

“Yay! I got it! B from Believe!”

[Correct!]

The word began to take shape.

And at this point, some people started to notice.

“Wait a second.”

“Huh?”

The identity of the word.

“This word is….”

“Doe, over there.”

I raised my head.

One hour and 8 minutes passed.

…The letters had formed.

Betrayer.

“……”

[The word that best describes Teacher Eun Ha-je is ‘Betrayer’!]

What?

[Four years ago, when she was a reporter, Teacher Eun betrayed her long-standing superior and went out on her own for an exclusive article, resulting in a failure that cost her a scoop.]

[In the process, misinformation spread, causing the informants to suffer mentally and even neglected to the point of death!]

“……”

[What is the lesson of this incident?]

[The answer is ‘Those who betray their workplace will be punished’!]

Ha.

[Hangman is a wonderful mock game that teaches moral lessons to our ■■ kindergarten students.]

“Really… It’s never felt so frustrating to be unable to curse.”

“……”

“Doe.”

Chief Park gripped my shoulder.

“It might sound strange if you only hear this, but….”

“Before hearing it from her, no one would know, right?”

“……!”

“Because that’s the darkness.”

Psychological pain, isolating the victims, and giving penalties to deter actions from the remaining explorers.

“I think it won’t be too late to talk about it after we all survive.”

Chief Park’s expression brightened.

“Right! That’s it, Doe! So… ah.”

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud…

I turned my head.

“…They’re coming.”

From beyond the open recreation room door, slow silhouettes matched their footsteps as they walked in softly.

There was neither melting black substance nor screams.

Dressed in neat pastel colors, their faces bore smiles. And aprons with name tags.

A brand on their foreheads.

[Sunny Class ■■■]

[Chick Class ■■■]

[Dreamer Class ■■■]

“……Completely corrupted, the people caught here. No, they’re monsters that used to be human… Don’t make eye contact.”

“……”

“If you get scared, you might be affected unnecessarily.”

I turned my gaze away from those silhouettes as much as possible.

[The game is over!]

[Now, let’s hang the hangman!]

“It’s time.”

“……”

Right before that, I recalled the conversation we’d had while preparing.

-Chief, if it’s too burdensome…

-You want me to throw it on you?

-What?

-Hey, that’s a bit much. This is my personal equipment, you can’t even use it at all!

‘What I meant is that I didn’t actually want to do this, but um, thanks….’

And right now in Chief Park’s hands was literally his own personal equipment.

A camouflage cloth.

‘They called it a mimic muffler.’

Anyway, the appearance was just as it had been when I received help at the exhibition, but there was one difference.

“It’s so damp, though?”

It was soaked through.

He had dumped the drink from my [Alice Picnic Set] all over it.

The very one used at the Tuesday quiz show to double the effect of smile stickers.

‘I generously soaked that muffler.’

If I dirtied the floor too much with that foreign substance, that’d be a penalty, so I had thrown down my blazer and nearly discarded it.

And if that drink worked…

‘Then this camouflage gear would unleash incredible power, even if just for one use.’

At least until it dried.

And anyway, we had to do a time attack, so it was just perfect.

“Then I’ll give it a shot.”

“Sure.”

I nodded.

Chief Park glanced at the kindergarten teachers starting to step up and silently pulled the muffler over his face.

And….

He completely became one of them.

[Sprout Class ■■■]

“……!”

-Oh, excellent. Great disguise. I doubt you’ll last long, though…

‘Just have to hold on for a very short while.’

Three minutes at most.

And I also had to start moving.

I waited briefly for Chief Park to blend in among the teachers, and then I began to move in a staggered manner.

‘Now’s the time.’

I had to get as close to Brown as possible so he could use his powers.

And it’d be even better if I could draw a bit of attention to make it easier for Chief Park to move among those monsters.

‘Here we go….’

And it was the moment I raised my head.

“……”

‘Ah.’

I had forgotten something crucial.

That I was a coward.