‘New merch?’
And if it’s saying it’s unlocked, that means I can use another one of the merch I bought.
‘Based on what criteria, though?’
I wanted to click on the floating notepad immediately, but then I remembered I was still sitting in the middle of the lecture hall.
Not to mention, I could feel people glancing at me since the host had called me out as the top performer.
‘Let’s leave first and check it out later.’
The event seemed to be wrapping up, so I could head home… wait.
I suddenly realized something critically important.
“……”
Do I even have a home here?I quickly pulled out my smartphone and started checking my records.
Just like that, all traces of my previous job and work history had vanished.
Even my family’s contact information was wiped out.
‘Please, no.’
The only records left were from my college days, which at least matched my memories, giving me a moment of relief.
But the problem is… I lived in a dorm during college.
‘And I had a tough time getting my own place after graduation because of some schedule mix-ups.’
As expected, the most recent record I could find was a text conversation about going to see rental apartments and a chat with a friend complaining about staying in a motel because his studio lease fell through.
“……”
I raised my head and glanced at the screen still floating in the lecture hall.
Or rather, I focused on one word at the bottom of the screen.
[Employee Benefit – Miscellaneous]
Company Housing
Benefit, huh… I might as well take full advantage, right?
* * * The ‘company housing benefit’ was processed shockingly fast.
“Ah, hello!”
“Hello.”
In less than an hour after inquiring at the front desk, I was assigned a room number, given a key, and even an address. The location wasn’t bad, either.
Of course, it wasn’t out of the goodness of their hearts to make things convenient for employees.
‘If they want to exploit me around the clock, it makes sense to keep the wage slaves nearby….’
Still, the building looked like a decent officetel. It was clean, recently remodeled, and had solid security.
Considering ‘company housing’ is usually a perk for working in remote areas, this was absurdly generous.
‘This company just made me go through a death survival game, so sure, why not move in.’
But this cynical thought became reality soon enough.
When I bumped into Go Yeongeun outside the officetel, she told me,
“Did you hear? Seven of us got company housing.”
“……?”
That’s over half of us.
It seemed like Go Yeongeun had also come here to move in. They gave me a sheepish look, noticing my stare.
“It’s a bit scary, but since we’re already hired… turning down a free place near the subway would be hard to justify…”
“…Right.”
Exactly. In capitalism, money is the scariest thing.
‘Saving 1.2 million won a month? Anyone would move in, pretending to be crazy.’
(Approx. 900 USD)
Of course, there was a more crucial reason behind this.
“It seems like those who came from outside the city got notified about the housing and signed up as soon as they were hired.”
“That makes sense.”
Now I understand. The new hires had already celebrated and accepted the housing, making it hard for them to back out.
I had wondered how they arranged my room so quickly, but now it made sense.
‘The room I’m getting must have belonged to one of the new hires who didn’t survive the death game…’
The thought sent a chill down my spine, making me feel a little ashamed.
Anyway, after exchanging a few more words with Go Yeongeun, I headed up to the 12th floor, where my room was located.
So far, so good.
The problem?
The officetel unit had two rooms.
And my roommate was Baek Saheon.
“……”
“……”
Baek Saheon was sitting in the living room.
He had a medical eye patch over one eye, suggesting he’d received some sort of treatment—probably from the company, not a hospital, considering the timing.
I quietly nodded to acknowledge him and started heading to my room when—
“Hey.”
What?
“’Hey’?”
I stopped in my tracks.
Baek Saheon flinched when I responded but, fueled by anger, he glared at me and spoke.
“You must’ve enjoyed watching while I had to gouge out a perfectly good eye because of that damn lost item, huh?”
It seemed he thought I’d known about the lost item and just stood by to watch him get his eye taken out.
‘He’s the one who ran off on his own, and now he’s blaming me?’
He was perfectly fine punching someone else’s eye out, but when it came to his own, I was supposed to help him?
What a creative way to twist the situation.
But at that moment, I realized something.
If I responded apologetically, saying, ‘Well, you suddenly ran out, so…’ or ‘Why are you speaking informally all of a sudden, Teacher?’ it would only make him feel more justified and lead to more nonsense.
There’s a term I learned from dealing with difficult clients for people like Baek Saheon.
We call them ‘Creationist Complainers’.
They make up situations in their head and stubbornly cling to them.
With people like this, explanations don’t work.
It’s better to just…
“Oh, I found it pretty amusing.”
“……!”
Going on the offensive is the best strategy here.
I walked right up to Baek Saheon and gripped his shoulder firmly.
“Thanks for that. I had a great time. Is this what they call a dopamine rush?”
“Wh…”
“Make sure to share more good news with me. Actually, I hope we work together.”
“……”
“Work’s going to be a blast.”
That should do it.
‘Now, he probably thinks I’m crazy.’
Given his behavior so far and his performance in <Dark Exploration Records>…
‘Baek Saheon seems like the type who, if he realized the other person was scared, would push them into a corner even more.’
In that case, it’s better to plant the impression of ‘I should stay away from this guy.’
‘Consider it a bit of bluffing, too.’
I patted Baek Saheon’s shoulder a couple of times, then stood up and walked toward my room without looking back.
‘As long as he doesn’t stab me in my sleep, I’ll be fine.’
Of course, I was bluffing a bit just now.
The likelihood of working together with someone from the same squad is extremely low.
What company forms squads of only new hires? They split us up and assign us to different squads.
It’s like a balancing act, similar to that famous ninja manga—assigning people based on their skills.
And besides, I was called first, and Baek Saheon was called second.
‘So, he probably did well in the evaluations too, which makes it even less likely we’ll end up on the same squad.’
We won’t be working together for a while.
Let’s just act like we don’t exist to each other.
Clack.
I entered my assigned room with a sense of relief.
“Huu.”
The clean room had fresh bedding, a desk, and even a private bathroom. There was a guidebook hanging on the door.
“If I apply, they’ll change my bedding and clean the room every week for just 100,000 won a month?”
This company’s over-the-top benefits seem designed to dazzle the new hires, making them forget all about the death game they just went through.
A lot of new hires will likely be confused by the sudden shift to this neat, friendly reality, as if the death survival ordeal had been a lie.
Given what I know about this company’s motivations, it’s all too obvious what they’re trying to do…
‘Yeah, they’re desperate to fill positions in the Field Exploration Team.’
They want to make sure none of the new hires who’ve been deemed capable of doing the ‘work’ decide to quit.
‘Well, might as well take full advantage of what they’re offering.’
I’ve already decided to stay, after all.