'New merchandise?'
And if it meant the usage authority was unlocked, it seemed like I could use another one of the items I had bought.
'Based on what?'
I wanted to click on the notepad floating unrealistically in the air immediately, but I realized I was still sitting in the middle of the lecture hall.
There were even people glancing my way because the Host had called me the top recruit or whatever.
'Let's leave first and check.'
Since the event seemed over, I should head home... Wait.
I realized a very fatal fact.
“…….”
Do I even have a home here...?
I hurriedly opened my Smartphone and began checking my records.
As if it were a lie, all records of me getting a job and working had completely vanished.
Even my family's contact information was gone.
'Wow, please.'
The only things left were records from my college days, and I felt a momentary sense of relief because those were similar to what I remembered.
The problem was... that I lived in a dormitory during college.
'That's why I had a hard time with my schedule when I was looking for a studio apartment after graduation.'
Sure enough, the most recent records were text messages about making appointments to look at rooms at real estate offices, and KakaoTalk messages with a Friend saying I was staying at a motel because my studio contract got messed up…….
“…….”
I instinctively looked up and checked the still-active screen in the lecture hall.
To be precise, one line of text at the bottom.
[Employee Welfare – Others]
Company Housing Support
Welfare… I should make sure to take full advantage of it, right?
And this 'company housing support' was processed with surprising speed.
“Oh, hello!”
“Hello.”
Only an hour after inquiring at the desk, I was assigned a room number and handed the keys and address. The location was even decent.
Of course, I’m sure it wasn't out of a kind intention to provide convenience to the employees.
'I guess even an off-site servant has to be nearby if they want to work you day and night on a 24-hour standby basis….'
At any rate, the building was a fairly nice-looking officetel. It was clean, as if it had been recently remodeled, and the security was good.
Considering 'company housing support' is usually a benefit that follows when working in the provinces, it was an incredibly good perk, but….
'The company just made us do a Death Survival; as if anyone would actually want to move in.'
But that sarcasm turned out to be reality.
When I greeted Ms. Go Yeongeun, whom I met in front of the officetel, she said this to me:
“Did you hear? They said seven people received company housing support.”
“……?”
That was more than half of us.
Come to think of it, it seemed Yeongeun was here to move in too.
She must have noticed my gaze, as she wore an embarrassed expression.
“It is a bit scary, but since we’ve already joined the company, it’s a bit much to refuse living for free in an officetel near the station….”
“……Yes.”
Right. In capitalism, money is always the scariest thing.
'You save about 1.2 million won a month; it's worth acting crazy and moving in.'
Of course, there was a more fatal reason than that.
“It seems those who came up from the provinces were informed and registered as soon as they passed.”
“I see.”
Now I understood the situation. The rookies who had cheered and said okay couldn't back out now.
I had wondered how they cleared a room for me so quickly, and now I could guess.
'Was the room I got owned by a new recruit who just failed the Death Survival…?'
Thinking that made me feel ashamed of the chill running down my spine.
Regardless, after finishing my greetings with Yeongeun, I went up to the 12th floor where my room was.
Everything was fine up to that point.
The problem was that the officetel was a two-room unit.
And my company housing roommate was Baek Saheon.
“…….”
“…….”
Baek Saheon was sitting in the living room.
Seeing him wearing a medical eyepatch over one eye, it seemed he had received some treatment. Based on the timing, it looked like the company had provided some kind of treatment rather than a hospital.
I tried to enter my room after giving a slight nod without bothering to strike up a conversation….
“Hey.”
What?
“Hey?”
I stopped in my tracks.
Baek Saheon flinched when I actually responded, but perhaps his anger was greater, as he glared with wild eyes and spoke without hesitation.
“It must have been fun watching them gouge out a perfectly good eye while you left the Lost Item behind, huh? Well?”
It seemed he thought I had intentionally let his eye be taken even though I clearly knew the Lost Item existed.
'No, you were the one who ran out on your own.'
He had smashed someone else’s eye with his fist, yet where did he get the novel idea that someone else should have looked after his own eye?
But I knew at the same time.
If I took a submissive stance like, 'No, it's just that you left so suddenly…' or 'Why are you suddenly speaking informally, sir…', he would only get more arrogant and talk more
nonsense.
In the method of identifying nuisances developed over years of dealing with clients, there is a term for types like Baek Saheon.
The so-called 'World-Creation-Type Nuisance.'
The type that imagines a situation however they want and stubbornly insists on it.
Explanations don't work on this kind of person.
Rather….
“Yeah. It was fun.”
“…!”
Going strong would be the answer.
I walked up to Baek Saheon without hesitation. Then, I pressed down firmly on his shoulder.
“Thanks. It was enjoyable thanks to you. Is this what they call dopamine?”
“Wh-...”
“Keep bringing me good news in the future. No, I hope we work together.”
“…….”
“Company life is going to be fun.”
That’s it.
'I must look like a total madman now.'
Evaluating based on my behavior so far and my performance in the <Dark Exploration Record>….
'Baek Saheon seems like the type of person who would push me into a corner the moment he finds out I'm a coward, right?'
In that case, it would be better to leave an impression like, 'Ah, I shouldn't get involved with this guy!'
'Both as a bluff and just in case.'
I patted the now-silent Baek Saheon’s shoulder a couple of times, then stood up and headed for my room without looking back.
'As long as I don't get stabbed in my sleep, it's fine.'
Actually, I just lied a bit.
At this stage, the probability of working with a fellow recruit is extremely low.
What workplace would group new recruits together to form a team? They split them all up.
Furthermore, it’s an assignment system that balances things out according to grades, similar to a certain ninja manga.
And either way, I was called first and Baek Saheon was called second.
'Since he must have been judged to have good results as well, it's even rarer for us to be placed on the same team.'
So, there won't be any reason to work together for a while.
Let's just treat each other like we don't exist.
Clack.
I entered my assigned room with a light heart.
“Phew.”
Inside the clean room, there was bedding that looked brand new, a desk, and even a door leading to a private bathroom.
There was even an information booklet hanging on that door.
“They provide bedding changes and cleaning services every week for 100,000 won a month if you apply?”
Seeing the 'is the company crazy?' level of welfare, I could feel their intention to daze the new recruits with a barrage of carrots.
As if the Death Survival so far had been a lie, many new recruits would be confused by this neat and kind reality.
From my perspective, knowing why the company was doing this, their intentions were far too transparent….
'Right. It's hard to find usable personnel for the Field Exploration team.'
Since we were recruits judged capable of doing 'work,' they wanted to make sure no one deserted.
'Well, if they're giving it, I'll use it well.'
I had decided to attend, anyway.
On the desk, there was even a small welcome gift bundle. Expensive snacks and office supplies with the company logo.
Furthermore, inside a half-open drawer, there was a diary.
The company logo was also on the diary cover, so it seemed to be a distributed item.
'But it was made with last year's date.'
Did the person who lived in the company housing before me leave it behind? I flipped through the diary.
And there, on the first page, in giant letters….
-RUN AWAY
'Oh boy.'
I appreciate the Seonbae's life-saving advice, but I'm already doomed.
It wasn't even that scary.
'Isn't this just… the cruelty of office life?'
A bit of humanity welled up in me. I closed the diary and put it back carefully in the drawer.
Since it seemed I had checked everything worth seeing, should I get to work?
[Dark Exploration Record Merch Box]
-Usage authority for new Merchandise unlocked! (!)
Now that I'm alone, I can check it!
'Whew.'
With a racing heart, I sat on the bed in a comfortable position and reached out toward the notepad.
Plop.
Just like when it spat out the Pop-socket, the notepad opened and something fell out.
An OPP transparent film packaging.
Inside that bag, commonly used for packaging stationary items, was a bundle of stickers.
“This is….”
I picked up the plastic bag.
Stickers with a typical smiling emoticon drawn inside a yellow circle.
The so-called 'bribe item.'
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Daydream Inc.
/ Item
Smile Sticker
A salesperson's friend! :)
When attached to an intelligent being, it makes them feel a slight sense of friendliness toward the user.
Item usage condition: Regular employee or higher at Daydream Inc.
(ps. Disciplinary action will be taken if used for inappropriate private purposes such as pick-up.)
==========
“Whoa.”
These stickers, which were crudely packaged and poorly finished, were surprisingly iconic items used in several <Exploration Records>.
Invoking friendliness? It was essentially manipulating favorability.
'Was it when they were persuading people from other organizations to collaborate?'
And I knew exactly why this of all things was unlocked.
Item usage condition: Regular employee or higher at Daydream Inc.
“Is it because I successfully joined as a regular employee?”
In the <Dark Exploration Record>, most items created by agencies or specific groups were restricted so that only certain grades or affiliations could use them.
In terms of world-building consistency, it was to prevent indiscriminate smuggling.
'And from the perspective of the people making ghost stories, it was to prevent 'Mary Sue' nuisances where excited beginners barge into all sorts of ghost stories and use all sorts of tools.'
Anyway, the fact that I satisfied those conditions now….
'Does it mean this <Merchandise Box> spits out one piece of Merchandise every time I get promoted or my affiliation changes?'
It certainly seemed like it would help with survival.
But it would have been really nice if they hadn't dragged me into this world in the first place. Thinking about it that way, even this itself felt like a ghost story.
'Ugh.'
Feeling unnecessarily uneasy, I looked up at the glowing notepad a few times before finally turning my thoughts away.
“Well, at least I gained something.”
Smile Sticker. Attaching it directly to the opponent is a bit burdensome, but being able to gain favor when things are really urgent is definitely an advantageous condition.
However, there was a problem.
'…This was definitely discontinued after only a few releases.'
The authors had fought like they were going to kill each other over the power of the stickers, and after opening a Colosseum of words, the item itself had vanished into the mists of history…….
I didn't know exactly at what point it happened, but to think that what was in my hand might be the only set of stickers remaining in this world.
I looked down at the packaged Smile Stickers anew.
Hmm.
I must never get caught.
Still, just in case, I put five of them separately into my front suit pocket.
That way, I wouldn't forget to bring them on my first day of work.
'……Work.'
I started to feel sentimental, but for now, I had to sleep.
After experiencing such spectacular and nonsensical events, both my body and mind were completely exhausted.
'I need to recover.'
I changed into the provided robe for the time being and went to bed after locking the door.
It was my first rest since falling into the ghost story.
To be honest, I didn't sleep well.
The sight of people literally exploding and the bizarrely transformed subway station used my imagination as fuel to play in my brain in surround sound.
I thought I had purchased speakers specifically for a home theater.
Still, I was just lucky that after about two days, I recovered to the point where I could sleep despite the nightmares.
And so, a few days passed.
I checked the small balance in my bank account, and somehow managed to split it up to buy clothes and daily necessities to prepare for my daily life.
Of course, I didn't forget the most important thing.
'I have to memorize everything.'
Through the 'Memorial Pop Socket', I continued to read all the <Dark Exploration Record> Wiki Pages I had read before, memorizing them until they would come out with just a poke.
Because this was my lifeline.
And then Monday returned.
The very first day of work at <Daydream Inc.>.
“…….”
Monday morning.
I headed to the <Daydream Inc.> headquarters building with a face that didn't look particularly pleasant.
It was to the point where Ms. Go Yeongeun, whom I met while going down from the officetel, was surprised.
“Oh, Soleum, are you okay? D-Did you not sleep well?”
“…A bit, yes. I’m fine.”
“Oh dear….”
The two new recruits shared a short conversation as they walked to the headquarters building, which was about a 15-minute walk away.
Besides us, we encountered several other new recruits of the Field Exploration team with very tense faces, but we only exchanged nods.
And then we swiped our employee ID cards and boarded the elevator.
“I heard the Field Exploration team uses floors 10 to 15…. Ah, I’ll get off here. Soleum, let's do our best We Help….”
“Yes. Fighting.”
I saw Yeongeun off as she got off on the 10th floor and looked at the floor number of the elevator button I had pressed.
Floor 13.
'It feels like even the number is foretelling the future….'
I only hoped it was my imagination.
I rechecked the assignment text message that had arrived the day before yesterday.
[New Employee (Field Exploration)_Assignment.pdf]
Kim Soleum / Group D
Ding.
When the elevator doors opened at the 13th floor, a hallway divided into sections labeled with letters appeared.
Among them, I looked for the automatic door printed with 'D' and pressed the automatic door button.
And at the same time, I greeted them.
“Good morning.”
“Oh!”
“He’s here, he’s here.”
Several adult men and women sitting in a fairly spacious office looked up and welcomed me.
One man among them stood up and reached out a hand to me.
“Welcome to the 15th class, Group D.”
A bob-haired woman with an expressionless face standing behind him nodded and continued.
“For your information, our nickname is Group D because all the rookies died off.”
“…….”
“It’s a joke.”
Should I quit right now?
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