Research Department (2)
In fact, there had been signs of that side of him even last time. When we hurriedly erased the traces of last night’s incident and found ourselves alone together inside the tent, he had clearly struggled to meet my eyes while speaking. At the time I’d been too rattled myself to dwell on it, but looking back now I could almost be certain. In a way, I understood. Between the nature of a hunter’s work and that menacing face of his, there was no way he could ever hold a proper conversation with children even if the chance arose. He seemed like a good person, yet the thought that he was rather pitiful came naturally to me. Up close, his features weren’t actually ugly. The problem was simply that the fierce aura he gave off was far too strong.
He seemed uncomfortable under my steady gaze and let out a small cough. Only then did I pull myself out of my thoughts and answer the question he had asked a moment ago.
“…While we were waiting, that noona and oppa explained a bit about the company. There wasn’t really anything special beyond that.”
The awkward look on his face eased the instant I replied. Seeing right through him, I narrowed my eyes inwardly. To think this same man was a monster capable of clearing mid-rank dungeons by himself. It was hard to picture.
While I was lost in that thought, he cleared his throat once more and spoke again.
“…That’s a relief. I said I’d be quick, but I took too long, didn’t I? I’m really sorry. The ID issuance process took longer than expected.”
I nodded without complaint as he apologized in a rush. There was no reason to believe he had deliberately delayed, so it was fair to assume he’d had his own circumstances. Besides, the matter was already over, and I’d even spent the time productively, so I held no ill feelings. Of course, that was only because I had lived long enough to think this way; a child my age probably wouldn’t have reasoned it out so deeply.
He looked genuinely surprised by my calm response. For a split second I worried I’d slipped up, but it seemed he simply took it as proof that I was a mature child and didn’t press the matter. While I felt relieved, I also sensed the need to change the subject.
“By the way, what happened to Hae-jin noona? She still hasn’t shown up at the office even after all this time…”
When I asked the question, his gaze, which had been fixed straight ahead, shifted toward me. Changing the topic had been part of my intention, but I was genuinely curious as well. From what I remembered, she had been dragged along with us, yet only he had returned.
He seemed to understand my curiosity and answered without hesitation.
“Ah, that kid? She’s probably back at the office by now. I had her start drafting the incident report. She didn’t look too happy about it, but… consider it a small punishment for dragging us around for hours.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he recalled her despairing expression. In contrast, I felt a wave of relief. I had been worried she might follow us all the way here, but it looked like that wouldn’t happen after all. The trauma from before was still too fresh; facing her again would have been far too burdensome.
He must have noticed my expression, because he gave a wry laugh while looking slightly troubled. Then, after a short pause, he relayed what she had asked him to say.
“She told me to tell you she was sorry for being so forceful. You know who sent the message without me saying it, right? She didn’t mean any harm, so don’t hold it against her.”
There was no trace of coercion in his request. He spoke lightly, as if it were an afterthought, and didn’t even check my reaction. It was as though he was leaving the judgment entirely up to me. Since I wasn’t actually angry with her—just uncomfortable—the situation felt awkward. In the end, I stayed silent instead of answering. He seemed to understand and didn’t press for a reply.
The conversation ended there, and the elevator arrived at our destination right on cue. We had been descending for quite a while, so my nerves were on edge. A gloomy thought crossed my mind—would we even be able to return to the surface from here?—but I quickly steadied myself and stared straight ahead.
A moment later the doors slid open, revealing what lay beyond. The sight was nothing like what I had expected. An endlessly long corridor stretched forward with no visible end. Because everything was painted white, the place felt strangely eerie. I had imagined researchers in lab coats bustling about since it was called the research department, but this scene went far beyond imagination and into the realm of the absurd.
While I stood frozen in shock, he stepped out of the elevator without any visible reaction, as if he had anticipated this. He began walking forward in silence. I snapped out of it a beat later and hurried after him.
We walked and walked, yet the corridor simply repeated itself—an infinite loop. That single impression summed up everything I felt about this space. Even after a long time, there was no sign of another person, nor any door leading elsewhere. Only the same endless passage lay ahead. The unchanging view was enough to make me feel nauseous. Even the cave-type dungeon I had entered before hadn’t been this bad. This maze with no exit was genuinely maddening.
Yet the man leading the way showed no change in expression. Just as I was about to voice my doubts at his complete lack of hesitation, something completely unexpected happened.
Weeeng! Weeeng! Weeeng!——
Red warning lights installed throughout the corridor began flashing and blaring from every direction. At the same time, a thick wall descended from above, completely blocking the path ahead. The sudden development caught me completely off guard. Given how many things I had to hide, the impact was enormous. Had my identity already been discovered? Were they trapping me in this maze-like place to observe my reaction? Once the suspicion started, it snowballed rapidly. The situation itself felt so plausible that my anxiety only grew heavier.
“…!”
At that exact moment, he placed a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I flinched as if electricity had run through my entire body. Instinctively, I thought, So it’s finally come to this. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for what would happen next, but nothing like what I feared occurred. His hand wasn’t gripping me to prevent escape; it was simply resting there lightly. It felt more like he was trying to reassure me. Though I couldn’t be sure of his intent, the trembling in my body quickly subsided.
He must have noticed, because he looked up and spoke toward the empty air.
“How about we stop the jokes here? I played along for a while, but it’s starting to get boring.”
I couldn’t understand why he was talking to empty space. Yet the moment he finished speaking, the warning lights stopped. The barrier blocking our path also retracted. What finally dispelled the confusion was a voice belonging to a third party who wasn’t physically present—the very person I suspected of orchestrating everything.
“Haa~ You really are no fun. I went to all that trouble preparing since you were coming after so long, but that stiff personality of yours never changes. You’ve ruined the mood. Still, the kid’s reaction was entertaining, so I’ll let it slide… Hehehe.”
It was a decadent yet somehow sinister female voice. The way she spoke made it sound as if she could see everything here. I quickly scanned my surroundings, but there were no surveillance cameras to be found.
While I stood puzzled, he raised an eyebrow and addressed the mysterious woman.
“…That nasty hobby of yours for messing with people hasn’t changed either. You already received word about why we’re here, right? Hurry up and get rid of this weird space, then lower the ‘door.’”
“Yes, yes~ If it’s an order from our terrifying Team Leader Kwon, I obviously have to obey. Hmm… It was definitely block B-56, wasn’t it?”
The unidentified voice fell silent after that. What happened next made my eyes widen to their absolute limit. The pristine white corridor suddenly filled with noise and transformed completely. The new corridor that appeared was a gloomy passage made of gray concrete. It was divided into neat, repeating sections like a block-style hallway. Numerous surveillance cameras I hadn’t seen before were now lined up in orderly rows along the ceiling of each segment.
Even more astonishing was what lay at the end. The corridor that had seemed to stretch on forever had vanished. Instead of a bottomless abyss, a perfectly ordinary dead-end wall stood not far ahead.
I couldn’t help but be shocked by the change I had witnessed with my own eyes. It was enough to make me wonder if I had been hallucinating for the past few minutes.
Weeeeeeng…
A short while later, a small mechanical sound echoed, and the wall right beside us began to change. The existing wall descended, replaced by a new section containing a suspicious-looking door that lowered from above.
“……”
The escape route that had been invisible until now now stood right in front of us. I couldn’t tell whether this was reality or a dream. He looked down at my frozen figure, seemingly unsure how to explain the situation. Unable to find the right words, he simply patted my shoulder a few times.