Chapter 3 – Recruitment of New Employees (3)
Bam bam bam!
A tacky celebratory sound effect.
A cheerful notification sound echoes through the speakers, followed by a second, dull thud.
Thud-thud.
[Alright! Shall we check the number of applicants?]
[Hmm hmm hmm~♪.]
The broadcast hums with a lively tune, clearly in high spirits.
Not long after, the broadcast resumed faster than expected.
[…Wait. Is this for real?]
[There are a whopping 13 applicants! This is the largest number of applicants we’ve had since the company’s founding!]
[Oh my… Tears are clouding my vision… (sniff).]
[Let’s dedicate this meaningful moment to… applicant ‘Park Yeon-jeong.’]
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Like a protagonist stepping onto a stage, all the lights suddenly focus on one man, forcibly highlighting his presence.
This kind of attention… I don’t need it.
The man in question was sweating profusely under the spotlight, his face twisted in discomfort.
Despite squinting under the blinding light, his gaze shifted to those who hadn’t joined him here.
‘……8 people.’
His eyes lingered on the 8 who hadn’t submitted their resumes even after hearing the provocative words of that dual-personality woman.
But there’s no point anymore.
All I can do now is…
“I have a request.”
A small favor to ask of the woman who helped me.
“Please take care of the female students.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
She showed confusion at my request with a missing object.
Static—
Once again, everyone’s attention was drawn to the voice coming through the speakers.
[Alright! For the smooth progress of this event, we’d like to express our gratitude to the applicants who took the time to visit our company amidst their busy schedules. And now, it’s time for a bittersweet ‘farewell.’]
Judging by the tone of the male voice on the broadcast, everyone here must have thought the same thing.
This place…….
Is the wrong answer.
Some glared at the woman who had lured us here with murderous intent.
Just 5 seconds ago.
That’s how it was.
[It’s always hard to let talented people go…….]
[Now, let’s all wave our right hands and say ‘goodbye’ together!]
But not a single person who had submitted their resume followed the broadcast’s instructions.
Far from it, they covered their faces with both hands, sobbing in despair at what was to come.
On the other hand,
The 8 people who weren’t on our side had hopeful expressions.
We can leave!
Finally, we can go home!
You fools! I’m outta here!!
Their faces were filled with the hope of escaping this place. But I couldn’t bring myself to look at them.
I lowered my head.
I didn’t have the courage to face them.
Static—
[See you next time!]
[Our company always welcomes courageous applicants like you!]
Whoosh….
“…Huh? Where’s this powder coming from?”
Powder began to fall from the ceiling where the 8 jubilant people stood.
Those of us on our side, witnessing this, quickly covered our mouths with both hands.
Boom!
With a loud noise.
Crash-!
The ceiling collapsed precisely where the remaining 8 stood.
Crushed by a massive hydraulic press.
A murder scene.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
As if they had forgotten how to scream.
The remaining 13 of us held our breaths at the sight before us.
And the screams they all seemed to have forgotten.
Slowly
Bbam-bbappam
As the ceiling rose back up, revealing the flattened remains of bones, flesh, and blood beneath it.
“Aaaah!”
“Aaah!”
“…Ugh!”
The woman who had questioned me earlier seemed to finally understand.
She covered the eyes of the two female students.
“I… I want to go home…”
One of the students finally broke down in tears.
She had seemed fragile from the start.
The short-haired girl next to her, hearing her friend’s sobs, tried to hide her trembling body in the woman’s embrace.
The trembling of her small fists caught my eye.
That kind of reaction is normal.
Here, the calm ones are the abnormal ones.
Even I, who had anticipated this situation, felt like my legs might give out at any moment.
……Ugh!
The stench that followed made me hastily cover my nose with my sleeve.
Static—
[Alright, alright. Let’s keep the tearful goodbyes to a minimum. Now, let’s move forward toward the future of our company with the remaining applicants!]
Thud!
All the lights went out again, and within minutes, they came back on, illuminating us.
The traces of the library hall where we had been standing and the corpses that had been stuck to the floor like gum were gone.
We had been moved to a place that looked like an ordinary gym.
Park Yeon-jeong knew.
What kind of events would unfold in this seemingly ordinary gym.
[The ‘first test’ we’ll be conducting is a simple ‘aptitude test’ to see if the applicants are suitable for our company.]
[Think of it as a basic elementary school-level physical fitness test.]
An elementary school-level physical fitness test?
Do elementary school kids these days go through life-and-death hell training or something?
Mr. Broadcast?
At this point, a middle-aged man with a protruding belly cautiously muttered.
“…Ordinary, huh?”
The others nodded in agreement with the middle-aged man’s words.
Even to me, this place just looks like an ordinary gym.
They’ve done a great job making it seem that way.
=======
<Exploration Record, #3>
: Assistant manager Kang Hyuk submitted his resume as per the broadcast.
Survived.
Considering this a good start, he declared himself the first to take the ‘aptitude test’ during the second round.
(Result: Death_Skull fracture.)
=======
The additional cause of the skull fracture was failing to dodge a falling shot put.
If you’re wondering why a shot suddenly fell from the sky.
I don’t know.
How should I know?
Please don’t ask.
If I could analyze and understand such bizarre phenomena, I would have been an elite employee at the <Ghost Record Storage>.
Of course, I have no desire to enter that world in the first place.
Given that, starting from the resume submission, this is the second location with the highest number of casualties.
The best way to clear this is to memorize the locations of the traps after the aptitude test and secure a good position.
So, the most important thing here is the ‘order.’
And the method to determine that order is.
[The aptitude test will be conducted one by one, so the order will be decided fairly by ‘drawing lots’!]
[Is this really fair?]
Along with the broadcast announcing the drawing of lots.
A mysterious white glove suddenly appeared before us.
The white glove, floating in mid-air, approached with a fist, and upon closer inspection, it was holding 13 thin pieces of paper.
“…….”
“…Can I draw one, right?”
As bizarre phenomena continued to unfold before our eyes, everyone’s wariness grew.
Those hesitant to act quickly just exchanged glances, and the broadcast host, seemingly displeased with the situation, let out a noise.
Static-
[Hmm. This is troublesome. Very troublesome. If we waste this much time on the aptitude test, the executives waiting for the next interview will be displeased…….]
[Troublesome… indeed.]
It’s troublesome for me too!
=======
<Exploration Record, #4>
: Intern Lee Hyuk, based on the previous situations, realized the importance of the order and fell into deep thought.
As the aptitude test failed to proceed smoothly, the broadcast rang out.
[Due to time constraints, we will begin the aptitude test with all participants at once.]
(Result: Death_Crushed)
(Cause of death: Crushed by a crowd of people.)
=======
I can’t end up crushed.
I hurriedly drew one of the pieces of paper held by the white glove.
‘As long as I’m not first.’
No matter how much I’ve read the strategy guide for this Ghost story.
I don’t trust my memory.
I vaguely remember the locations of all the traps, but the one I can’t recall is the first trap.
The ‘shot put trap’ that our assistant manager Kang Hyuk failed to dodge and died heroically in.
Please, just don’t let me be first!
Just not first!
<2>
The number written on the paper was exactly ‘2,’ following ‘1.’
I said I just didn’t want to be first.
But I never expected to draw number 2.
‘…Well, at least it’s not the first.’
Let’s think positively.
After I drew my lot without any issues, the others began to draw theirs one by one.
“……I got 10!”
“Damn, I got 5.”
I’m number 2.
Isn’t it legal to punch someone for this kind of trolling?
As I checked the faces of those who had drawn their lots, my gaze fell on the woman with glasses.
‘……She looks calm.’
A very composed expression.
That person.
Definitely drew a late number.
There’s no way she could be this calm otherwise.
I continued to observe the remaining applicants until my gaze fixed on one particular person.
I didn’t need to ask to know.
Of all people.
A female student, trembling like a leaf, clutching her drawn piece of paper, unable to control her body.
And her short-haired friend, seeing her like this.
“…Don’t tell me it’s you.”
“……Minji, what do I do…….”
“…….”
An unspoken tension hung between the two students for a while.
Static.
[It seems the drawing of lots has concluded successfully! Once again, we extend our gratitude to applicant ‘Park Yeon-jeong for following our instructions so well!]
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
The sound of applause, now somewhat familiar.
More than that, why has the broadcast been mentioning my name so much since earlier…?
It’s uncomfortable.
It’s unsettling.
But for now, I focused on the situation at hand.
[Alright, alright, alright! Applicant number 1, please step forward to the white line!]
[………Being first must be nerve-wracking.]
At the call for the first applicant, everyone here, as if by some unspoken agreement, turned their gaze to one female student.
“…Hey, student. You’re number 1, right?”
“Yes! I, I… I am…….”
The student, Kim Hye-sun, began to stammer.
She seemed to be trying her hardest to hide that she was number 1, but…
She was really bad at lying.
“I……”
And such an immature lie was not the behavior expected of an applicant interviewing at a company.
[Hmm…… Applicant number 1.]
[Is applicant number 1 not here?]
The male voice on the broadcast, which had been cheerful until now, now clearly sounded annoyed.
Feeling the tension, the remaining applicants quickly urged her on.
“Hey, student! Hurry up! They’re calling for number 1!”
“Didn’t you see what happened to those people earlier? If we don’t do this, we’ll all die!”
“No, I… I can’t……”
The student, pressured by the adults around her, looked like she might collapse at any moment.
[Number 1… ■applicant…… not ■here?]
As heavy static began to interfere with the broadcast, the situation escalated to a critical point.
“Damn it! Get out there, you bitch!”
A middle-aged man, unable to contain his anger, grabbed the student’s wrist and began to drag her forward.
“No, no! Please… save me! I don’t want to die!!”
The adults who had been pressuring the student now watched the middle-aged man drag her away, their expressions pitying.
They just watched.
No one tried to stop the middle-aged man.
“…Min, Minji! Minji! Hey! Jeong Minji!”
“…….”
When Kim Hye-sun called out desperately to her friend Minji, only to have Minji avoid her gaze and turn away.
“…Min…ji?”
At that moment, Kim Hye-sun stopped screaming.
[……Wait. It seems applicant number 1 is nervous.]
The broadcast voice, still low.
But regardless, seeing that the first applicant had been forcibly brought to the starting line, the broadcast resumed its cheerful tone.
[……We understand. Applicants who have submitted their resumes to our esteemed company might feel nervous, thinking, ‘What if I fail?’ Of course! We understand!!]
How could anyone interpret the situation like that? It was baffling.
[But you must move forward! If you don’t move forward, you can’t achieve greater authority!]
Immediately after, numerous obstacles began to appear before our eyes.
-A balance beam with shot puts falling from above.
-A 500m run with a hydraulic press in operation.
-Push-ups with iron spikes beneath.
-Timed sit-ups with the space to lie down shrinking in real time.
-A long jump over flowing magma.
[Now, let’s begin applicant number 1’s aptitude test…….]
“…I have a question.”
[……Yes?]
The one who boldly raised their right hand to halt the test was none other than Park Yeon-jeong.
Me.
[……Ah. It’s our applicant ‘Park Yeon-jeong’!]
Fortunately, perhaps because the broadcast host had taken a liking to me, his slightly subdued voice quickly returned to normal.
“I have doubts about the necessity of this aptitude test. I’d like to ask, if I may.”
[…….]
The broadcaster seemed to be deep in thought.
I hoped it would be.
I wanted a calm judgment, not anger, in response to my incredibly rude question.
“……Sniff.”
After my action, I made eye contact with the crying applicant number 1, who was wiping away her tears and snot.
At that moment, everyone here must have thought one of two things about my actions.
Hero complex.
Or, a hypocrite.
A desperate move in a situation where everyone could be in danger.
‘They’re probably cursing me a lot right now.’
My ears are already itching.
But there’s no other choice.
I was confident that this was the best decision I could make in this situation.
Hero complex?
Hypocrite?
Think what you want.
I won’t harden my heart.
……Why?
Even if I know the locations of all the traps, that’s only useful if my body can keep up.
Me.
With my terrible physical fitness…
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