Crossing the Point of No Return
The blonde woman smiled at me from across the table.
"Congratulations, Yoon Seung-woo. You've been accepted."
"...Excuse me?"
Her posture—legs crossed while seated—was hardly appropriate for a company interviewer. Still, as the candidate, I had neither the right nor any desire to complain.
After all, those long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings showcased a breathtaking line, and her crisp white shirt strained tightly against her full breasts. It was a feast for the eyes any man would appreciate.
If I were being completely honest, I wanted to ask her to stay exactly like that.
Get a grip.
I shook my head internally, snapping out of the trance induced by her seductive pose and voluptuous figure, and recalled how I'd ended up here.
One day I woke up to find myself saddled with twenty billion won in debt.
It was my father.
That bastard had taken out loans in my name to gamble. Even for illegal lending, I still couldn't fathom how he'd managed to borrow that much.
What made it worse was that the son of a bitch sent me a single text before killing himself.
Thanks to him, my life had plunged into an inescapable hell.
The days after his funeral were a blur of chaos. My mother had passed away long ago, and there was no one to help. The loan sharks swarmed like wolves, hurling every threat imaginable to demand their money.
Of course I had no way to repay twenty billion won. Statistics showed that the average lifetime earnings from salary at a small-to-medium company came to around five hundred million won.
For someone in his mid-twenties like me, paying it off was impossible—even over an entire lifetime.
I'd honestly considered giving up entirely, killing myself, or fleeing the country. But I lacked the courage to die, and leaving while still obligated to creditors wasn't easy.
If death wasn't an option, only life remained. Even if it was a life I'd been forced into, I couldn't simply give up.
So I started blindly submitting resumes to every company I could think of. But with no college degree, no skills, and no experience, no one was willing to hire me.
After months of desperate effort that led nowhere, I was on the verge of suicide when a single company contacted me for an interview.
Searching online revealed almost nothing about them. It was suspicious, but it was my only offer, so I showed up anyway.
The interview room held only the blonde woman sitting across the desk from me. I knew nothing about her position, her rank, or even the bare minimum about the company, yet the interview proceeded.
It was strangely simple. She asked me to introduce myself—honestly.
She emphasized the word honestly.
I knew that honesty wasn't usually the best policy in interviews, but something told me that if I held back, I'd fail.
So I told her everything about myself, without filter or exaggeration. She nodded occasionally, jotting notes, and when I finished, she gave a satisfied smile.
"Starting today, you'll be an intern with our company for three months. You can begin work immediately, correct?"
That was how she delivered the results of my interview.
Stunned by the acceptance and the immediate start date, I blurted out in a panic.
"W-wait a moment!"
"Yes, go ahead. But before that... how about a glass of water? We can talk slowly."
She smiled leisurely, her eyes filled with unexpected warmth as she looked at me. Her gentle, attentive demeanor made me feel guilty for raising my voice.
To calm my racing heart, I decided to follow her suggestion and drink the water on the table.
Wait... when did that get there?
The question flickered through my mind, but I dismissed it as unimportant and lifted the paper cup to my lips.
"Gulp... gulp..."
After finishing the water, I felt my nerves settle somewhat.
...Though my stomach did feel strangely upset.
"This is... a bit embarrassing to admit, but... honestly, I don't really know what this company does or what I'd be doing here. I tried looking it up on my own and checked the job description, but... I couldn't find anything at all..."
My voice trailed off into a near whisper by the end.
I knew this wasn't the sort of thing a candidate should say during an interview, but I couldn't just let it slide without asking the basics.
"It's perfectly natural that you don't know about our company. There's no need to blame yourself, Seung-woo."
She gently placed her hand over mine as my fingers fidgeted on the table.
The unexpected physical contact made me flinch, and I tried to shake off the faintly suggestive feeling it stirred. Yet I couldn't ignore the strange unease beneath her warm, soft touch.
It was as if... there was no human warmth in the skin pressed against mine.
"The purpose of our company is to control this world. To be precise, it includes not only this world but others as well. As an employee, you'll be helping with that work, Seung-woo."
"...Pardon?"
Had I misheard her?
"Before we get into the details, shall we take a look at the employment contract first?"
She slid a single sheet of paper across the table. The words Employment Contract were printed boldly across the top.
My name was already neatly written at the bottom.
"You can read the full terms later at your leisure. What you're most curious about is probably the salary, right? As an intern for three months, you'll receive five million won per month after taxes. As I mentioned, you'll work as an intern for those three months. Depending on your performance, you may be promoted to regular employee. Of course, if that doesn't work out, then unfortunately our relationship with you ends there."
Her earlier bombshell had left me so dazed that the rest barely registered.
"F-five million won? Even as an intern?"
And after taxes, at that?
"That's right."
She smiled brightly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Staring at her, I felt my mind go blank.
Anyone who'd worked in an office would understand. Even with rising wages, landing a job that paid three million won a month was no easy feat.
People joked about "two-hundred clubs" or "three-hundred clubs," mocking those salaries, but reality was brutal. You had to endure endless pressure, read the room constantly, and sacrifice large parts of your life just to earn two or three hundred.
Knowing that all too well, I couldn't help but be shocked by the amount she offered—even if it was only for three months.
But shock was inevitably followed by suspicion.
Why would they pay someone like me—with nothing to offer—five million won a month? What kind of work could they possibly want from me?
Was it illegal? Would I get dragged into something shady?
My mind screamed that I should refuse, but when I thought of the twenty billion won debt, the words stuck in my throat.
"Gulp..."
I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling lips to move.
"Exactly what kind of work would I—"
"The manual will explain everything."
"The manual?"
Surely she didn't mean... the company manual?
I glanced around, but aside from the employment contract, there wasn't a single other document in sight.
"Where is it?"
"It's inside your body right now, Seung-woo."
"Huh?... What?"
As she smiled sweetly, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness crashed over me.
Thud!
I couldn't fight the sudden exhaustion. My head slammed onto the desk.
My eyelids drooped rapidly. I couldn't think of anything else.
"The manual will explain it all. So I'll see you next time, Seung-woo. I hope we can continue working at the same company. It's been a while since I've met a human who seems this entertaining. I'm looking forward to it."
Her affectionate voice reached me as my consciousness faded.
My blurring vision distorted her appearance into something else entirely.
The moment I saw it, every bit of common sense I possessed shattered. I instinctively knew I'd crossed a river with no way back.
My stomach hurt.
That was the first sensation I felt upon regaining consciousness.
My head throbbed like a hangover and my insides felt queasy, but at least I could open my eyes.
Through my hazy vision, I saw the floor—no, the surface of a desk—and realized I'd passed out with my face planted on it.
I also remembered losing consciousness during the interview.
"Ugh..."
"Ahaha—"
As I clutched my aching head and slowly lifted it, a woman's laughter burst out.
Startled, I reflexively turned toward the sound. There, perched on the desk I'd been slumped over, was a woman around my age looking down at me.
Her hair was jet-black, cascading all the way to her waist, and her eyes were a deep ruby red.
Those crimson eyes that held my gaze carried an irresistible pull that made it impossible to look away, yet they also radiated a dangerous aura that warned me not to get any closer.
Her smile was the same—seductive, yet demonic. The curve of her lips perfectly matched her true nature.
She wore a white shirt with every button undone, revealing her bare skin. The sheer fabric clearly showed not only the shape of her breasts but even the pink tips beneath, yet she didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Ah..."
As my returning consciousness pieced together what I was seeing, a low gasp escaped me.
What surprised me wasn't her stunning beauty or the provocative way she displayed her chest.
It was the white shirt paired with a vivid red skirt.
Her outfit resembled a school uniform—one I'd seen many times before.
It wasn't just the clothes. Though her atmosphere and eye color were different, her face was one I knew all too well. One I could never forget.
"You're awake?"
She smiled again at me as I stared in stunned silence at the impossible situation. Placing a hand on her ample chest, she introduced herself.
"I'm the company's manual. You can call me Guide if you want. I'll tell you everything about the company. And not just that... many other things as well."
Her ruby eyes narrowed into sly crescents.
Looking at me with that fox-like gaze, she added in a suggestive, meaningful tone.
"You... how are you here—"
Still reeling from the shock, I opened my mouth to demand answers regardless of how she'd introduced herself, but—
"Shh—"
She pressed a finger gently to my lips, silencing the flood of questions.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind, but first..."
She slowly leaned in toward my ear.
Her forward movement caused her long black hair to slide down like silk, draping over my shoulder.
A pleasant scent washed over me, gently soothing my confusion-filled mind.
"Shall I start by teaching you how to brainwash women and fuck them?"
Hehe... hehehe...
Her laughter clung to my ear like a parasite, impossible to shake off.
Even though I knew the words it carried were dangerously alluring, I couldn't push them away.