It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 075

The public official and I leaned against the wall, staring down the hallway ahead.

At the end of that hallway, where we had escaped, was Class 1-5.

Finally, I was about to see it.

Flicker.

A figure, like a mannequin, appeared from the other end of the hallway.

‘…Three people?’

One more had shown up.

Two male students and one female student.

The two who came out of the classroom were covered in blood, grinning this way, while the remaining one stood still in a clean school uniform.

When the lights were on, it resembled a grotesque and lifelike wax figure, or a person preserved in a photograph.

But every time the lights went out—

Flicker.

They appeared closer ahead.

Continuously.

Even if we moved back—

Flicker.

Only as far as the emergency flashlight’s beam reached.

They revealed themselves again, standing closer, still.

They wouldn’t distance themselves.

Flicker.

“……”

I could only imagine how it would all end when the flashlight battery died…

‘Hah.’

Cautiously glancing back, my imagination gripped the nape of my neck.

We ultimately came to a stop at the end of the hallway, in a dead end.

And then, at that moment.

[Ding— Dong— Ding— Dong]

“……”

[A death incident has occurred in Class 3-2.]

Damn it.

[The deceased student is Park Chae-a of 3rd grade.]

[Everyone, let’s observe a moment of silence for 5 seconds.]

“Prepare yourselves.”

I gripped the flashlight tightly and pressed my back against the wall.

[5]

I swiftly shook the flashlight and illuminated all three of them.

As the light brushed past and returned, they grew closer.

[4]

The public official and I simultaneously shone the light on two entities.

…What about the other one?

[3]

Where did the other one go?

No matter how much I turned the flashlight left and right, even illuminating the corners, there was nothing.

[2]

Anxiety accelerated time.

Where, where on earth, where…

Ah.

Whoosh.

I lowered the flashlight.

[1]

The light brightly illuminated my foot and—

A bloody white hand that was about to grab my ankle.

A hand in a school uniform.

“……”

The student from Seokwang Technical High School, lying on the floor, looked up at me and grinned.

[The moment of silence has ended. May the deceased rest in peace.]

“……”

Slowly, I pulled my foot back.

‘Hah.’

Crazy, insane!!

If my reflexes had been just a bit slower, I would’ve been a goner.

‘I’ve never even played a VR horror game in my life…!’

I never expected to experience something like this in reality.

I made sure not to blink both eyes at the same time, alternating my gaze slowly, stepping back.

My limbs were shaking.

The public official stared intently at the other two student entities and spoke.

“It seems that once we leave the floor, the students of that grade don’t tend to pursue us actively.”

I know that.

If there are still prey left on that floor, they’ll likely head that way…

“Let’s go up the stairs.”

“…We’re not going to the 1st Floor, but rather up?”

“Yes. This mission is for the 5th Floor, aiming to enter the auditorium as much as possible.”

What popped into my head immediately was the school broadcast I heard first.

– Students of Seokwang Technical High School! The graduation ceremony will begin shortly. Please gather in the auditorium.

“…What’s in the auditorium?”

“I currently have no information. That’s precisely why we need to investigate.”

Naturally.

‘Up to this point, the accumulated exploration records are still in the early to mid-stage according to the [Dark Exploration Records].’

I doubt many people would have taken the broadcast that said “Please gather here” in a nightmare school literally.

The few who tried to go up would have probably all died from encounters with the other students.

As we go higher up, the students will be bolder and hunt us down in unpredictable and intelligent ways…

And the bigger problem is,

Never go up to the 5th floor!! It’s better to die from below than come up!!

– The last recording of the 12th Exploration Record

…That occurs when you finally reach the 5th floor while avoiding all of that.

‘Hah, I really don’t want to go….’

But it’s the most heartbreaking point that I have to go anyway.

Still, should I take solace in the fact that I have a companion?

However, I can’t just go like this, so let’s tweak our plan for thorough preparation.

“If it’s okay with you, could we stop and check on the 3rd and 4th floors for a moment?”

“Is there a reason?”

“Well, this structure feels somewhat like a horror game.”

“…!”

“In games, obtaining important items for progression is essential.”

I spoke slowly as I climbed the stairs backward.

“I’m not sure, but if it were me, I’d check special classrooms first… like the music room or science lab or teacher’s office. Also the graduation album and student records.”

“…….”

“I think there might be hints or keys in props and items.”

I continued ascending the stairs.

As we distanced ourselves from the ‘students’ that had surrounded us, the flashlight beam permitted a wider view of our surroundings.

And finally, at that moment, the public official spoke.

“Our analysis team has come up with similar responses. …It feels like a game-based horror story.”

Oh.

“It’s said that the name of the fictional high school and the structure of running away from monsters is very similar.”

“Oh, I thought so too.”

“However, it’s the first time I’ve been given such a suggestion. Investigating objects rather than monsters or people…”

Somehow, the public official’s eyes seemed to light up.

In high school, his eyes didn’t have dark circles, so he didn’t appear strange.

“That’s fine. Let’s examine the spaces as much as possible. Once more agents join us, we’ll report…”

More agents… I’d rather not, though.

But the public official seemed excited, stepping it up a notch by saying,

“Oh, since you’ve officially become a temporary agent, it’s better we refer to each other by code names. Do you have a preferred code name?”

Goodness.

“Oh, we usually use historical references. It’s easier to differentiate with less common terms.”

‘They’re letting me use code names too?’

It seems they’ll allow me to indulge in any fantasy.

…Oh. Did I have a code name I wanted to use for the Disaster Management Bureau’s named agents in [Dark Exploration Records]?

I do.

However, I know well enough not to bring it up in this situation to avoid embarrassment…

“…I’ll go with Grape.”

“A fruit name. Simple and nice.”

I momentarily imagined what Brown might have commented.

‘Kind of nostalgic.’

I continued the conversation, shaking off the absence of my ‘Good Friend.’

“How should I address you, Agent?”

“My code name is Bronze.”

“Okay, Agent Bronze.”

The hazy smile of Agent Bronze bobbed his head happily, as if he was pleased, quite like he was mentoring an intern.

‘I feel like I’ve been receiving a lot of welcomes like this lately; is that my imagination…?’

In any case, we persisted, crouching down as we completely exited the stairs, checking if any students were following us.

Of course, one person kept an eye upward.

And finally, we arrived at.

[3F]

3rd Floor.

The floor for the 2nd graders.

“…It’s quiet.”

The students from the lower floor had naturally slipped out of our sight, but they didn’t show up from the stairs. Someone seemed to have found someone else and headed that way…

Still, not to be sure, we kept glancing at the stairs as we entered the 3rd floor hallway.

Under the bright lights, it was surprisingly clean.

No blood, no filth, no corpses, and no one desperately gazing at a student crying.

“……”

There were no students around either.

And I thought I knew the reason.

‘They’ve sealed all the doors.’

Someone had already locked all the classroom doors.

A steel chain and padlock hung in front of them.

‘…! These must be the Daydream Corporation staff.’

This was included in our manual.

Students in Seokwang Technical High School displayed a certain aversion to destroying school property.

When left undisturbed, students would quietly close and lock doors, returning to an inactive state while seated at desks.

Moreover, by doing that, it would inevitably make noise when coming out from inside.

They could perceive the sound and turn back immediately.

‘It’s a primary safety measure.’

With still plenty of people around and constraints on the mannequins’ movements, sneaking around this way might just be feasible.

“……”

But since the hallway was quiet, we had to remain silent.

Those students draw attention with noise.

‘The 2nd-grade teacher’s office is just around the corner.’

‘Should we crawl there?’

Nod.

We concluded our very light whispering conversation and silently moved, pressing against the wall to avoid being seen.

Nonetheless, we never stopped observing corners like the end of the hallway or the stairs where someone could silently appear.

Cold sweat drenched my back.

‘Just a bit more, just a bit more.’

Slowly.

As long as we don’t push ourselves too much, we’ll get through.

When we had covered more than half the distance,

Aaaah!

…….

From beyond that hallway, someone screamed.

‘No way.’

Once there’s noise…

Click.

Clickclickclickclickclickclick.

I couldn’t bear to lift my head.

The sound of doorknobs being turned was echoing from every locked door.

…The students had heard it too.

Clickclickclickclickclickclick.

The public official and I crawled frantically through the hallway, still crouched.

And then we looked back.

Click……

“……”

“……”

Phew.

Fortunately, the scream only happened once; thus, the sound of doorknobs turning had ceased.

However, a few figures with shadows peered from outside…

“……”

It’s unbelievably terrifying.

The fact that they’re not looking this way is a miracle.

I swallowed my saliva.

Still, the silver lining is that we’ve arrived at our primary destination.

[2nd Grade Teacher’s Office]

It appeared just after turning the corner.

However, every door in this teacher’s office was locked, and the windows were boarded up with what looked like newspapers, obscuring the view from the inside.

It was oddly chilling, but I couldn’t be happier at this moment.

“Please wait a moment to be vigilant.”

The agent fitted a thimble-like item on their finger and started probing the teacher’s office’s lock.

Then, the thimble entered the oddly sized hole, and the lock disengaged smoothly.

‘Wow.’

Disaster Management Bureau items definitely have their charms.

“Be careful, as there may be students inside the teacher’s office as well.”

And when the door opened.

“…!”

“…?!”

An utterly unexpected scene unfolded.

“Close the door quietly.”

“….”

“Quickly.”

I closed the door behind me.

There were no students inside.

Instead, about seven individuals were facing each other in a standoff.

Suspicious high school students wearing animal masks and others brandishing transparent pistols.

Disaster Management Bureau agents and Daydream Corporation employees.

‘They’re fighting!’

In the middle of the standoff, a fountain pen sat on the table.

‘…An item.’

I knew that much.

2nd Grade ■■■’s Fountain Pen

It seemed they were trying to hold off each other just to get their hands on it.

‘No way, are they wasting manpower for something like this instead of doing the horror story investigation…?!’

It seemed they noticed we had arrived a beat late.

“Agent Bronze.”

Some of the individuals who appeared to be agents greeted my partner warmly.

But the situation was one to which a rational person like my partner would not relate…

“Let’s join the fray.”

“…?!”

Please wait a moment.

But the agent had already stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the other agents.

And I was…

“……”

Receiving burning gazes from our company’s members wearing animal masks.

Especially from the two colleagues who knew my face.

“??”

“??!”

It’s a wonder that I’d see Baek Sa-heon and Jang Heo-woon making the same expressions.

Those eyes, alternating between the Disaster Management Bureau’s iron badge and the translucent pistol, seemed to say—

‘Why are you here…?’

Meanwhile, the public official once again called me.

“Agent Grape.”

“G-Grape?”

The public official replied coldly.

“The company’s personality shines through even in this; mocking code names.”

“……??”

This is maddening.

“Come this way. It’d be better to stay away from the door.”

“……”

‘What to do.’

I heavily weighed the situation.

And then I made my decision.

‘I can’t betray them.’

Ultimately, I walked out and stood next to my acquaintance.

“Yes, Agent.”

Right beside Agent Bronze.

“What’s going on? What is…!”

“……”

Yeah. I can’t betray them.

‘I absolutely can’t betray my own safety…!’

And so it went down, my colleagues.