The sun begins to set at 6 PM.
The twilight casts a dim glow on the entrance of a building in Seoul.
A cold, clean first floor space with a modern structure.
Daydream inc, Ltd. Annex Building
This building is restricted to authorized personnel only.
This is the lobby of Daydream Inc’s annex building.
However, this typically desolate and eerie space is now filled with the bustling chatter of people.
“Wow, what an atmosphere.”
“Hello. Yes, nice to meet you…”
Several dozen young professionals in black suits were gathered, greeting each other.
Their faces are bright with anticipation and nervousness.
It couldn’t be helped.
“Congratulations on joining the company.”
“Haha, thank you. You too!”
After all, they had just successfully joined Daydream Inc, a famous pharmaceutical company that had been a hot topic in the stock market for the past few years!
And so, the company had gathered them at the annex building next to the Seoul headquarters via email.
New Employee Orientation Guide
Today was the first day of orientation.
“A 2-night, 3-day orientation at the Seoul annex? Seems a bit extravagant, doesn’t it?”
“You’re right. Wow, this lobby looks like an art museum.”
“Ah, as expected of a big company… Oh, are we all sales representatives here?”
“Seems like it. From what I’ve heard, everyone’s in sales.”
“Then new hires in other departments might be gathering at different nearby locations.”
People elated with the joy of being hired chatted and laughed with each other.
There was no reason not to be in good spirits. After all, these were the fellow new hires they’d be seeing as victors who landed jobs at this big pharmaceutical company!
As such, some even went out of their way to strike up conversations with those left out, as if doing them a favor.
“Excuse me, are you a new hire too?”
“…”
Among the noisy new employees, someone who had been quietly observing the annex interior alone raised their head.
A peer with a haggard complexion.
So the new employee who had been leading the conversation continued to speak to them somewhat condescendingly.
“Congratulations on joining! Let’s do well together!”
However…
“Thank you.”
That was it.
“…”
“…”
Silence.
‘What’s with them.’
What kind of new sales employee has so little sociability?
How did they even pass the interview?
Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, the new employee who had spoken up quickly babbled on.
“Haha, actually… I have a friend who already works at Baekil.”
“Wow.”
“Really?”
“Wow, which department?”
“Yeah. I think they said research team?”
There was an explosive reaction from the others!
The new employee inwardly sighed in relief at reviving the mood, and continued speaking in a subtle tone that was both boastful and not.
“But you know what, they actually told me not to come here? Said I’d regret it if I joined or something.”
“Haha!”
“Friends who got jobs first always say things like that.”
“Exactly!”
“…”
People laughed as if they had heard about the typical overwork struggles of modern office workers.
However…
“…Department.”
“Pardon?”
The person who had been silent opened their mouth.
“That friend’s department…”
At that moment.
[Ah, mic test.]
“…!”
Everyone’s heads turned at once.
[Oh my, you’ve all gathered nicely. Then let’s begin~]
A speaker installed in the corner of the wall.
A rather cheerful voice began to come out of it.
A smooth male voice.
[Welcome to the new employees who have made it through a 142:1 competition! I’m Kwak Jegang, manager of Research Team 1, in charge of your orientation today.]
[Shall we start with a round of applause?]
Waaah!
The new employees all clapped happily, but were also slightly puzzled.
“Why through a speaker…?”
Why wasn’t he showing himself, that is.
“Hmm, maybe it’s something just for us?”
[Oh. Correct!]
“…!”
He, he’s listening…!
[That’s right. From now on, you’ll be doing some very fun activities, just among new hires! To build teamwork and company loyalty~]
[It’s just a light mission, more like recreation really. There are even prizes!]
The new employees quickly took it positively.
“I guess it’s meant for us to get to know our fellow new hires quickly!”
“That’s even better. Haha.”
These days, big companies and famous startups sometimes conduct orientations in very creative or unique ways.
“I heard some places even do murder mystery board games set in the company.”
[…Aha, that sounds fun. This is similar. Of course~ Well then…]
The tone of the voice from the speaker rises as if excited.
[We will now begin the new employee orientation!]
Simultaneously.
Tadadadadak.
The lights in the annex entrance came on.
“…!”
Things that were not visible under the bright incandescent lights begin to appear.
The iron doors lining the dark corridor ahead.
“…”
How to put it, rather than maintaining security, they seem heavy and alien… as if isolating and confining something.
‘Why are there such things in a company annex…?’
But before they could even wonder, their attention is drawn to where the lights shine brightest.
The lone entrance desk.
The eye-catching object placed on top of it.
“Ah…!”
The new employees blinked as they confirmed it.
A black cylindrical box.
“A lottery box?”
It was large and worn.
Shabby and crumpled in a way that didn’t match the modern, clean marble lobby of the annex.
The top of the black paper lottery box was covered so the inside couldn’t be seen, but from the silhouette of the cover, it was clear there were 3 holes.
Each round cover was numbered.
⓵ ⓶ ⓷
[Now, let’s come up one by one and draw lots. Draw the next number in order, and keep going around like that.]
[Ah, let me show you an example. Our three people standing closest right now! Let’s draw one number each in order!]
“Oh, yes!”
Amidst the murmuring, the three people called out came forward, looking a bit hesitant but unable to refuse.
And they drew lots.
Flap.
The contents written on each slip were as follows:
⓵6th floor
⓶322
⓷Recited a lullaby
“This is…”
[Now, let’s look at the desk again. Do you see the whiteboard behind the lottery box?]
People’s gazes turn to the whiteboard.
There is a printed sentence on it.
I go down to basement ⓵___
At room ⓶____
⓷______________.
[If you fill in the whiteboard according to what’s written on each numbered slip, the sentence is completed!]
[Carrying out that sentence is the mission. Too simple, right? Haha!]
As people fill in the numbers on the whiteboard… the sentence is completed.
Like this:
I go down to basement 6th floor
At room 322
Recited a lullaby.
“…”
“…”
An inexplicable eerie feeling comes from the completed sentence.
‘Basement?’
It was at that moment.
[Oh right. There’s an amazing prize waiting for teams with good mission performance.]
As if sensing something, a cheerful motivation comes from the speaker.
[It’s 100p that can be used like cash at the employee mall!]
One hundred points?
“May I ask what we can buy with that?”
[Of course. You can even buy a robot vacuum with this amount!]
“Ooh!”
If you can buy a robot vacuum, it must be a considerable amount!
The mood brightens considerably.
Reason and sense of reality return along with calculations.
‘At worst, it’s probably just a courage test.’
‘The company’s not stupid, they wouldn’t make us do anything truly dangerous.’
Moreover, with so many people here and in groups of 3, it’s an environment where it’s hard to be scared.
Even if they’ve prepared some surprises, it must be at a level that even the most timid person can endure!
The new employees looked at each other, nodded, and smiled.
“Excuse me, do we need to use the stairs?”
[Oh my, wouldn’t that be too tiring? You can use any elevator that’s currently operating to move around. Hahaha!]
[Alright, form teams as you like and let’s begin!]
“Yes!”
They talked to each other and, with excited faces, reached into the black box to draw.
The lots that would determine their fate.
“Fighting!”
“The three of us will go first. We use this elevator, right?”
“Let’s go. Basement 6th floor!”
The atmosphere couldn’t have been better.
Until 34 minutes later, when the returning elevator doors opened to reveal colleagues with only their lower bodies remaining.
“Aaaagh!”
“Aagh!”
And it continues.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
The sound of elevators arriving.
With each sound of doors opening, people’s tearing screams become a cacophony echoing through the annex lobby.
Screams, terror, panic.
The steadily arriving elevators are filled with ‘what used to be bodies’ in every other one.
Horrific appearances never imagined to be encountered in reality. Blood, filth, organ fragments, sometimes ash and ice, skin fragments densely covered in writing done with ballpoint pens.
Even employees who died from excessive bleeding after writing bizarre phrases or symbols on the elevator mirrors with their own blood.
“Uwaaaaagh!!!”
Even those who return alive from within are not in their right minds.
“We have to escape! Run away! Run away!”
“I’m, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for knocking on the door…”
Those muttering in a daze.
Then, some relatively normal people appear.
“This, this person is fine!”
“…”
“What on earth happened?! What is this?!”
The new employee who had been using the dead employee like a shield in front of the elevator door said with a pale face.
“There’s someone there.”
In the basement they went to, beyond the door.
“Who?? Who exactly?!”
…
“A, a strange employee.”
And the survivors’ eyewitness accounts burst forth.
The quiet and desolate corridor in the basement revealed when the elevator doors open.
The numerous iron doors there, and the strange markings only on the door they were visiting. The sounds, fishy smells, lights coming only from that door…
And the scene inside glimpsed through the small hole above the number plate.
The employee.
“They were wearing employee uniforms… but it was strange. Strange…”
One that looked like a child, one wearing a doctor’s gown, one with an oxygen tank, one holding lots of balloons, one wearing a cowboy hat with wooden hands, one wearing a North Korean lion mask…
People’s spines freeze at the descriptions of bizarre appearances.
And.
“They, they reacted.”
“…!”
“They react to our actions! Ch-chasing, and… like that!”
People’s heads turn.
To the body parts filling the elevators.
“…”
“…”
The new employees realize.
The mission of ‘doing as the sentence says’.
It was a kind of horror movie-like suicide act.
That they’ve been caught up in an unrealistic disaster.
“No!”
About half of the new employees who hadn’t yet gone down to carry out the mission looked at each other with pale faces and ran to the main entrance.
However, the annex’s only door was already sealed shut.
People clung to the door with the shutter lowered.
“Help us!”
“The, the phone’s not working. What do we do?”
“This… this must be a variety show. Yeah, there must be cameras and stuff…”
“Open the door! Please open the door!”
Bang bang bang!
There is no response even as they pound on the entrance shutter until their hands bleed.
Some new employees noticed another way to communicate.
“The speaker!”
They all rushed to cling to the speakers where ‘Manager Kwak Jegang’s’ voice had come from, and began pouring out requests for help, pleas, and terror.
However…
[(Beep-) The automatic response system has been activated due to the absence of the person in charge.]
‘Manager Kwak Jegang’s’ voice is no longer heard from the speakers.
Instead, a recorded cheerful voice repeats.
[The main entrance will open after all participants have attempted the mission. In 30 seconds, any attempt to forcibly open the shutter will result in death by security protocol.]
[Orientation participants, hang in there!]
Beep beep beep beep- Beep!
“Aaaagh!”
Two employees who tried to break the shutter die with their heads exploding.
Pandemonium.
“Uh, uhhhhh…”
“Heuheuk.”
They don’t know what principle or what is happening.
The commotion among people rather subsides at the sight that is hard to believe as reality.
From then on, the people in the lobby gathered in front of the desk, trembling and huddling together for over half a day.
There were occasional whispers and movements trying to find a way to escape somehow, but at least no one went near the elevators.
There are no signs of the mission being carried out.
Then an unbelievable encouragement is given.
[We inform you that due to mission execution being delayed for over 6 hours.]
[If the next participant does not board the elevator within 5 minutes, death by security protocol will occur.]
“…”
“…”
The new employees look at each other with trembling eyes.
Someone.
They have to send someone.
They have to put someone on the elevator.
Who should they send?
“F*ck…”
The new employee who had bragged about ‘having a friend who works at this company’ a few hours ago tried to burrow into a corner, avoiding those gazes as much as possible.
And sweating coldly, he looked again at the sentence his team had completed.
I go down to basement 13th floor
At room 666
Knock and enter inside.
He’s going to die.
There’s no way he can survive with such ominous numbers.
‘Escape…’
At that moment.
“The people who drew the next order! Those people!”
Damn it!
“They’re over there, those people!”
“…!”
People rush over and roughly push his team into the elevator.
He resisted like crazy but couldn’t overcome the numerical superiority. There were no weapons either.
“No!”
[The doors are closing.]
Just as he was about to get up and frantically try to press the open button in a panic, it happened.
Someone from the same team grabbed his hand and pulled it down.
“…!”
“It’s already too late.”
Thud.
The doors closed.
“Hik!”
Unable to even feel anger, he turned his head in fear to see his haggard-looking peer looking at him.
The one who had been unusually quiet.
But now he speaks calmly, as if explaining.
“People have died by security protocol. So we would have died anyway if we stayed in the lobby…”
“…”
“Given the situation, we have to do it.”
“N-no…!”
“Calm down and think. Quite a few people came back fine.”
As if telling him to come to his senses, the other grabs his shoulders.
“Surely, about one out of three teams testified that ‘nothing happened’, right?”
“…!!”
Indeed they had.
-Nothing special happened…
-There was just a person in strange… like, special agent uniform clothes silently staring at us.
-I’m telling you there was really no one inside!
“Half of the teams where something happened still had people return alive. So this way has a higher chance of survival than just dying in the lobby.”
“…”
“Let’s move carefully based on the previous people’s testimonies.”
Breathing heavily, the two new employees slowly nodded.
It was thanks to a calmness that made one wonder if he might be experienced.
The boastful new employee found himself opening his mouth without realizing.
“Your name, by any chance…”
“…”
The silent other opened his mouth.
“It’s Jang Heoun.”
Ding.
The elevator arrives in the basement.
The new employees step out onto the old-fashioned corridor lined with iron doors, trembling.
And they found the room they were looking for.
666
Taking a deep breath, they put their hand on that door.
Knock knock knock.
I had a dream.
It was a really strange and bizarre nightmare.
A dream of entering into the creepy urban legend wiki I liked.
In the dream, I became an elite employee of a terrible pharmaceutical company that pushed employees into urban legends to make potion ingredients.
And I also worked as a spy infiltrating a special agency that rescues people from urban legends, the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
The numerous wiki urban legends I entered in the process.
A convenience store playing hide-and-seek with ghosts, a quiz show where you die if you don’t get the right answer, an ink painting where ghosts lurk, an exhibition that collects organs as admission fees, a strange theme park…
Intense and creepy days that crossed the line between life and death.
And yet I also met unforgettable people.
-Ms. Kim Sol-eum. Can you hear me?
-Noru, I heard seventeen employees escaped thanks to your broadcast!
-I hope your wish comes true.
-It’ll be okay, Grapes.
A terrible afterimage remains.
You know, those dreams where even if you forget most of the details upon waking, intense impressions and lingering feelings remain like a shock.
Especially when the ending is horrific and shocking, isn’t it?
I survived near-death experiences, endured terror, and worked at a horror story company, and the moment I drank the wish-granting ticket I so desperately wanted…
In fact, I, ■■■■■■, didn’t crash-land in another world, but was invited, and my body isn’t human, and I realize ■■■■■■■.
No!
I don’t want to realize it.
I don’t want to know the reality.
I don’t want to realize that I’m still at Daydream Inc.
….
And then, in the next moment, I realized.
I can’t sleep.
“Huk.”
Dawn.
I gasped and sat up in bed.
No, there must have been a ‘breathing’ sound.
If I had a functioning vocal cord.
“….”
I reached for my throat.
A strange hissing sound of vapor.
A hand encased in a glossy glove, a part of the rubbery work suit that covered my neck instead of skin, was felt.
I groped around. A human silhouette.
But when I touched the bizarre, countless rib-like horns that connected from there to above my head, I dropped my hand.
“….”
I realize again.
I can’t sleep.
-Weeeeee!
-It’s your work time. Wake up. It’s your work time. Wake up….
I got out of the iron bed and started today’s work.
As contracted.