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It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 087

The high-rise of Daydream Corporation headquarters.

Knock, knock, knock.

I carefully tapped on the luxurious door with the back of my hand.

Then, the door slid open automatically…

“You’re here.”

The figure of the Director inside became visible.

An executive with dark blue hair, age indeterminate.

Director Cheong Dal-rae.

“You didn’t waste time or fall for any tricks. Children who can make wise choices tend to live long.”

What a chilling compliment…

“I’m flattered.”

Anyway, I had made my choice.

I decided to accept Director Cheong’s suggestion to make Group D into an Elite Team.

Of course, there was a reason, but I’d think about that later. Right now, I needed to face this imposing executive before me.

Director Cheong smiled as he scanned me with a satisfied expression.

“Your affiliation will be restructured within a necessary timeframe, so I trust you won’t cause any unnecessary commotion while waiting.”

“Yes. I will work harder so I won’t feel ashamed of my promotion.”

I shook hands with Director Cheong, maintaining a very polite demeanor.

And beside me…

“You’ll certainly do so, Assistant Manager Lee Ja-heon.”

“Yes.”

Team Leader Lizard was accompanying me.

…By the way, Assistant Manager Lee Ja-heon reacted to my choice like this.

-I see.

The end.

‘Is this really… right to say it’s convenient?’

I couldn’t believe how quickly Lizard accepted it, considering he once advised me to “reject it.”

‘No, he needs to be aware of the same boat he’s in…!’

Thanks to that, I didn’t have much curiosity and instead held on to Lizard, listening to “I see” and “yes” about ten times as I explained my reasoning and justification for my choice.

And also how I would minimize the ‘risks’ posed by Director Cheong.

“So, have you settled on the final member of the team?”

That topic came up.

Group D currently has 2 members actively on duty, so Director Cheong’s suggestion was to bring in anyone I wanted for the other member.

“I’ve thought of one idea regarding that.”

“What idea is that?”

I spoke as calmly as possible, laying it out plainly.

“I’ll make it so that anyone can join.”

*

[The third member of Elite Team D remains vacant.]

It was more of a new trial operation than just incorporating Group D into the existing Elite Team structure.

The biggest advantage is this.

‘It prevents Director Cheong from blindly placing his people in.’

Didn’t he say to bring whoever I wanted?

If I could trust that blindly, it wouldn’t be a company.

‘If he were unhappy with my choices, wouldn’t he ask if there were other candidates?’

Thus, he gradually steers the candidates towards the ones he wants.

‘Once I bowed my head to enter his line, there’s nothing to be disappointed about.’

He would place his people or at least persuade the newcomers to join his side.

From where I stand, as Assistant Manager Lee Ja-heon said, it seems to become ‘dangerous’ from that point.

‘The person who sticks around with you shouldn’t be Director Cheong’s henchman.’

It’s better if the team members change with each expedition.

And there’s a convincing justification for it.

‘Since we’re trying something new anyway, let’s use the vacant spot on Group D for Elite Team interns, shall we?’

Something like that.

Of course, Elite Team positions are limited, and only a few from the general team get promoted.

So unless one shows outstanding performance early on and plays the line well, most just give up and pursue cost-effective measures, becoming lower-tier employees.

However, from the executives’ standpoint, it seems they look down upon employees who aren’t actively securing resources with ownership.

Well, it’s like saying, ‘You’re only focused on points and have no loyalty to the company.’

‘Why would I join in the first place if there’s no point to it?’

It was a ridiculous expectation… But still, seeing how the company operates this way, I thought it might just work.

– I considered whether this might serve as a new motivation for junior employees in the Field Exploration Team, who don’t have operational motivation other than wish rights…

I presented it to Director Cheong earnestly like that.

To be honest, I wondered if employees would actually be swayed by this.

At best, wouldn’t only a few competent chiefs or assistant managers experience the Elite Team and re-evaluate their work plans?

However, the words sounded plausible, and it wouldn’t be entirely ineffective, so it was fine.

‘At least it should create a decent atmosphere.’

And at the very least, it… worked with Director Cheong.

– Not bad.

…Somehow, it felt like a response indicating he was letting it slide, which made me feel a bit uneasy, but what’s important is that it got approved.

Sure enough, within a few days, rumors about the Field Exploration Team had sparked interest amongst colleagues on the group chat, as the activity returned after a long time.

[Does anyone know if a new group is being formed in the Elite Team?]

[Is it true they’re picking someone from 1-3 year employees?]

[I’ve heard about the Elite Team internship; I’m curious what others have heard! ^^]

[The welfare details of the Elite Team…]

What’s funny is… no one talks to me anymore.

Even though the news broke about my clearing A-rank again, not a single “congratulations” or question came up.

‘Am I being ostracized…?’

I couldn’t respond to the group chat questions without revealing my thought process, and before I knew it, the questions themselves had vanished.

‘When I think back, I was also the last one invited to the group chat in the first place.’

Bitter…

[Heard the news! Congratulations, Sol-eum! You really made it with that method!]

[Thank you, Ko Yeong-eun.]

I should be grateful to have colleagues who continually send their congratulations.

I took the opportunity to settle the help I received from Ko Yeong-eun during the last horror story.

‘Since Ko Yeong-eun is a person of integrity, it’s better to keep building trust.’

I shared how I cleared the stage and offered to give her a portion of the ‘boss battle rewards.’

‘Thanks to her, I didn’t die while clearing.’

…As in, knowing where to keep my vital organs clear of danger.

It was thanks to Ko Yeong-eun that I learned which parts of my body I had to protect to avoid instant death.

Of course, when I thought about it again, it was pretty reckless, so I shuddered for a moment.

‘Let’s be careful with the tattoo stickers.’

The effect was clear, but it was no ordinary choice…

[Uh… um. Yes. I’ll gratefully accept it.]

Ko Yeong-eun seemed slightly conflicted but accepted, and I met her in front of the staff quarters to hand her a few protective charms.

During our chat, the topic of the ‘newly established Elite Team’ rumor came up…

“Um, are you considering aiming for the Elite Team, Yeong-eun?”

“No. I’m really fine with where I am.”

“……”

Please breathe and talk, Yeong-eun…

Somehow, she seemed to have already strongly suspected I would be involved.

‘Actually, I had considered her as a candidate… I’m glad I didn’t push it.’

Anyway, this situation felt like the best answer I could think of…

Though there were others who disagreed with this view.

*

“Really, you became part of the Elite Team…”

“……”

“Why would you take such a dangerous choice?”

There was a tone of deep concern in her voice.

I held my forehead while sitting in front of the Group D office desk.

“…Director Ho.”

“Yes?”

“Then, if I acted rudely, I sincerely apologize.”

Why are you here?

Why are you casually sitting here in the Group D office, which will soon be vacated, as if a colleague from the next office just dropped by!

“Huh? Sol-eum, you’ve never been rude… I think you should have a bit more confidence.”

“……”

He’s an extraordinary person…

Director Ho looked slightly disappointed, as if someone had just rejected his invitation to lunch.

That was even scarier.

‘Either he’ll annoy me or ignore me; I expected one of those two.’

Why is he being so amicable?

To be honest, it was more correct to say that Director Ho holds more power, and he offers me bolder proposals, making it easy to harbor a grudge if I declined.

‘A sensible person would have chosen him.’

Of course, I had leaned more towards him.

Except before this question.

– Director, if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask how many iterations this project has gone through?

– Iteration? Oh, are you asking which one it is?

– Yes, that’s correct.

– In that regard, there’s not really been a prior situation. It’s a new attempt.

– …I see. Thank you.

At that moment, I made a decision.

‘Let’s cut ties.’

Normally, a project comes out from a horror story company?

Nine times out of ten, it’s due to a high-level unknown horror story.

‘It must be at least A-rank.’

From here on, the horror increases in proportion to the rank, which goes beyond levels a person can handle, with despair being the basic theme rather than simple terror.

Things more complex than death or disappearance come crawling near…

And then, they even dangled wish rights as a reward that could make any employee’s eyes spin?

‘S-rank… wouldn’t you say?’

This feels like the Field Exploration Team is going to get the top-level rating.

Plus, it’s the first attempt, with no prior information?

‘That’s suicidal.’

No matter how good the treatment might be, this is fundamentally flawed from the start.

It might be different if I was guaranteed to be the Team Leader… No, even as Team Leader, that title could just be for show.

‘Can the dream team staff appointed by the Director really take orders from a newbie like me?’

Besides, with the Director around, being Team Leader would just make me a middle manager. I’d only end up suffering while trying to survive, picturing myself alone in either scenario.

‘I don’t want that.’

I had already amassed about a third of the points. Thanks to the wish rights, I didn’t think I needed to take such risks.

…Furthermore, there was another reason I chose to stay in Group D.

‘If I do this, if Park Min-seong or Eun Ha-je return, it would be natural for them to join Group D…’

It would be much easier for someone to fit in where there was already a vacancy.

So… it was a complex choice.

But since I couldn’t say all that, I simply said this:

“I thought it would be better for more people this way, so I reluctantly chose this. My apologies.”

“……”

At that moment, Director Ho’s kind expression seemed to waver.

And his voice.

“Good people can be hard to understand…”

“……”

Wait, just now……!

Tap.

“Even so, if you change your mind, please feel free to contact me, Sol-eum.”

His voice faded away.

Director Ho casually bowed his head towards me again, smiled, and left the office.

“……”

Something about that just now felt off…

– Doe, I sense an aura of pestilence from the author.

Pestilence?

– It might be wise to take precautions against contagions when inviting to a studio or personal space!

“……”

‘Infection…?’

For a moment, I tried to deduce Director Ho’s identity, but ultimately shrugged it off.

‘Let’s handle urgent matters first. Prioritize urgent tasks.’

I began recollecting what needed to be done before becoming part of the Elite Team…

“Sol-eum.”

Ahhh!

“T-Team Leader.”

Just as Director Ho exited, Lizard burst through the door, presenting me with some documents.

“Director Cheong told me to ‘check this over once’ and have it passed to you.”

“Okay. I understand…”

‘Please give me a heads up next time…’

I internally sighed as I took the documents and read the title on the first page.

Qterw-C-1603

Unregistered Exploration Testimony #21

Security Certification Complete [C]

…Oh?

“Is it okay for me to read this…?”

“Yes.”

Hmm.

It seems this is an exploration report that can only be viewed with C-level security clearance, which Director Cheong has chosen to share with me…

‘That’s even scarier!’

But refusing to look at it also felt scarier. So, ultimately, after taking a deep breath, I received the document and began reading.

What kind of exploration record could it possibly be…

……

Huh?

I found an advertisement flyer stating that a new product had been launched from Qterw-C-1603.

Product Name: Good Kid Chocolate Bar (Cinnamon Churros flavor)

Features: The wrapping features a child’s face in formal attire sporting tree branch-shaped horns, drawn as a caricature.

※ The character on the wrapping is reminiscent of the attire worn by field exploration employees from the headquarters.

Ensure to verify the identity of employees with similar mask shapes.

“……”

Wait a minute.

Is this… me?
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