The Parasitic Welcome
Yoon Seung-woo stood frozen before the towering skyscraper, its glass facade gleaming under the sunlight. A nervous gulp escaped him.
[Aha-ha―! Look at you, all tense! You're adorable!]
Guide's laughter rang in his ears, but he brushed it aside, straightening his rarely worn suit and steeling his nerves.
So this is the company I work for? This massive building?
He had to crane his neck just to take in its full height. The structure was so enormous it defied belief that such a building even existed in this country. Its sleek design and pristine exterior made it look brand new. Simply working in a place like this would have filled any ordinary salaryman with pride.
[The entire building belongs to the Company. More precisely, it's just one of many the Company owns across different worlds.]
Really?
[Aha-ha―!! Your reactions are too cute! I could just eat you up!]
Guide's words left him reeling. So I've been hired by a massive corporation. Of course, he had already begun to suspect that this "corporation" was no ordinary entity operating openly in this world. That only made the revelation more shocking. A company like this owned an entire skyscraper right in the middle of the city—and the whole building was theirs. Just what kind of organization had he joined?
Honestly, he had never felt any real sense of belonging to the Company until now. The only person from the Company he had ever met was the interviewer, and he had simply followed the instructions that appeared on his phone. There had been no direct communication with anyone else.
Until today.
The day after he had completely brainwashed Lee Ji-ah and handed her over to the Company, he received an official summons to report for work.
[Let's go in. How long are you planning to stand out here?]
Ah, right…
Urged on by Guide, he stepped inside with stiff, mechanical strides.
Whoa…
The interior was just as pristine and sophisticated as the exterior had suggested. Countless employees in business attire streamed through the lobby, heading to their desks. Watching these ordinary-looking people, he felt a strange mix of awe and unease.
I can't believe it… All these people are involved in brainwashing humans?
The Company had multiple departments. Some employees, like him, handled the actual brainwashing in the field, while others managed the aftermath and processing. There were also administrative divisions and teams developing specialized equipment to keep operations running smoothly. It was hard to believe that these seemingly normal people were carrying out such terrifying work—and doing so openly in the heart of the city.
[Not all of them.]
What do you mean?
[Most of them are just ordinary office workers. The majority of this building exists for their sake.]
I don't quite follow… Are they a cover?
[Aha-ha―. Smart boy! Want a kiss as a reward?]
Then do those people know the Company's true nature?
[Of course not. They're all just puppets the Company has brainwashed. Tools to maintain the facade. Don't worry—they genuinely believe they're working for a legitimate trading company. The pay and benefits are excellent. They simply don't realize they're being used as a smokescreen. Other than that, they live perfectly normal lives.]
I… see.
At the very least, he couldn't bring himself to pity them or call the situation unfair. After all, he himself had spent yesterday brainwashing a human being under the pretext of "company work." Feeling any moral outrage now would have been nothing but disgusting hypocrisy.
"How may I help you?"
"Ah…"
While he was looking around the lobby, a man who appeared to be a security guard approached him. Though nervous, he followed Guide's earlier instructions and presented the business card he had received from the Company. The guard's wary expression instantly melted into a smile.
"If you hold the card up to the security gate over there, the door will open. Then take the elevator straight ahead and press the button for the twentieth floor."
"Ah, thank you…"
"Of course. Have a pleasant day."
The guard bowed a perfect ninety degrees. Caught off guard, Seung-woo returned the bow before hurrying through the security gate toward the elevators.
The elevator ride was silent. Dozens of employees stood motionless as the floors ticked by. He was one of them, lips pressed tightly together in the awkward atmosphere, trying to calm his racing heart.
God… I'm so nervous.
[Aha-ha―!!]
Guide burst into laughter again at his tension.
Ding!
When the elevator reached the designated floor, he was the only one who got off. The moment he stepped into the hallway, the atmosphere changed completely. Dim lighting and an eerie silence greeted him.
The mood is completely different up here.
Unlike the bustling lobby below, this floor was deathly quiet—almost as if no one worked here at all. He walked forward with cautious steps.
Creak―
At the end of the corridor, he carefully opened the door to what looked like an office. To his surprise, a woman was already standing there, waiting for him.
She had wavy black hair and a sharp, attractive face. Her first impression was quite favorable.
"Hello. You must be Yoon Seung-woo?"
Her voice was soft and gentle. She seemed like the kind of superior who would take good care of her subordinates.
"Ah, yes!"
His voice came out stiff with tension.
Amused by his reaction, she chuckled softly and extended her hand.
"I'm Han Na-rin, from the same department. Nice to meet you."
"It's a pleasure. I'm Yoon Seung-woo, the new intern who starts today."
He shook her hand and bowed politely.
"You're not an intern anymore, are you? As of today, you're a regular employee, just like me."
Ah, so I've been promoted to Regular Employee.
Her demeanor had suggested a higher rank, so the revelation surprised him.
"Haha… I still have a lot to learn. I'll be counting on you, Senior."
He kept his expression neutral and remained as respectful as possible. Even if they held the same rank now, this was his first day, and she was clearly his senior in both age and experience.
"I'll be counting on you too, Junior."
She winked playfully, and the atmosphere between them felt warm and friendly. It was a good start—the kind of ideal first day a new employee might fantasize about.
What was I even worried about?
Before coming here, Guide had warned him that the Brainwashing, Corrupting, Parasitic Department had no normal people in it. He had taken the warning seriously, but now it seemed like unnecessary anxiety.
[Kekeke…]
Even though Guide clearly knew what he was thinking, it only laughed.
Something about the reaction felt off, but he pushed the thought aside and focused on Han Na-rin.
"Since it's your first day, I'll give you a tour of the Company, just like a guide would. But first—there's something I want to ask you."
"Yes, go ahead."
"What do you think of me?"
"…Excuse me?"
The sudden question caught him off guard.
"Hehe, why so flustered? I'm just asking about your first impression. Or were you thinking something else?"
She smiled, and he answered honestly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"You seem like a kind person. You've been warm to me on my first day… and you give off the impression that you're very good at your job. Ah, and like you'd be great at leading people."
"Is that so?"
She smiled faintly, but the corners of her mouth slowly began to rise.
"Kihik―."
Her lips, which had been trembling as she tried to hold back laughter, gradually parted. A strange sound escaped her throat. Her once calm and gentle expression twisted into something grotesque. Her face hadn't changed shape, but it now radiated an entirely different, clownish energy.
"Kya-kya-kya-kya-kyak―!! A 'kind person,' huh…?! Kya-kya-kya-kya!! That's hilarious―?! So this is why they let me greet the newbies―!! Kya-kya-kya-kya!!"
She threw her head back and cackled, the sound grating and vulgar. Her tone had shifted completely, now resembling that of a crude, arrogant man.
"You must be shocked, right? The truth is―"
In the blink of an eye, her expression returned to normal. She leaned against the wall with one hand and grinned at him.
Then something began to slither out from within that smile.
It wasn't just from her mouth. Tentacle-like creatures started emerging from all over her body.
"This isn't my real personality."
Her sharp features and gentle voice stood in stark contrast to the vulgar persona she had just displayed. A single word surfaced in his mind.
"…Brainwashing?"
The moment he spoke in a stiff voice, her face twisted back into that crude grin.
"Kya-kya! Wrong!! I'm a parasite. Don't you know the name of our department? Brainwashing, Corrupting, Parasitic Department! While doing my job, I took this woman as my host."
Her grin turned into a scowl of rage. She jabbed at her own forehead with her finger, irritation flashing across her face.
"She was a fucking bitch…! A goddamn arrogant whore! Just thinking about her pisses me off! You know how our work goes, right? We have to turn the targets the Company assigns into puppets. This bitch kept getting in my way the whole time!! She was sharp as hell, arrogant, and way too smart. On top of that, she was popular with both her subordinates and superiors. Do you have any idea how hard it was to break her?"
"Urgh…"
She leaned in close, her face twisted into a vulgar smirk. Though her appearance was that of a cool, composed woman, her expression was nothing short of crude.
"But in the end, I succeeded. I managed to devour her brain! Kihihihit―."
She grabbed her own ample breasts with both hands and let out a laugh that didn't match her appearance at all.
"These tits! This pussy! These hands! These feet! This voice! These memories! And that arrogant personality!! All of it—belongs to me now."
A thin line of drool trickled from the corner of her mouth as her eyes rolled back. She kept kneading her breasts, and a wet stain began to spread across the inside of her stockings. Her body trembled as if she were climaxing. She looked nothing like a normal human being.
Watching her, he finally understood why Guide had said there were no normal people in this department. And that "normal" meant something entirely different from what he had imagined.
"Are you even human?"
"What? A moment ago you were calling me 'Senior.'"
She reverted to the polite, feminine voice of the original Han Na-rin, but he only responded with a cold sneer.
"Once I saw your real face, I lost any desire to keep up the act."
"Kya-kya, you're an interesting little shit. You're not human either, you know."
"What are you talking about?"
"Aaaang―?? What's with that reaction? That 'I have no idea what you're talking about' face!"
"I'm human."
When he answered firmly, the parasite leaned in even closer, studying his face from every angle. Its brow furrowed.
"…You're serious. You really are human?? Ah, I see. You're not a normal human, are you? Well, that explains why you're working in the most infamous department in the Company. No normal person would ever end up here, right??"
"What do you mean—"
"Ah―. Whatever. If you don't know, then you don't know. Anyway, we still have work to do, so follow me. It's a pain, but I have to at least give you the basics about the Company. You probably joined without knowing a damn thing about it. Security around that kind of information is ridiculously tight. Annoying as hell…"
Grumbling, the parasite started walking ahead, speaking to him in a completely dismissive tone. He couldn't help but retort.
"Guide already told me most of it."
"Guide? What guide?"
The parasite stopped and turned to look at him, clearly confused.
He rephrased his words.
"I mean the Company manual."
At his casual reply, the parasite's expression shifted into something strange.
"Manual? There's no such thing as a manual in this Company. What the hell are you—"
Mid-sentence, its face suddenly filled with shock and terror. Its eyes stared blankly into the air, trembling. Fear spread across its features, draining all color from its face.
"……??"
Its bizarre reaction left him puzzled. After a few rapid blinks, the parasite seemed to regain its senses and quickly turned away from him.
"R-Right, the manual…! S-So it told you that much? Kya, haha… F-Follow me!"
Its voice was flustered as it hurried forward, almost as if fleeing. He watched its retreating back with growing suspicion.
* *
[Shut up.]
A powerful voice struck his mind.
Before that absolute, undeniable command, his entire body froze and the blood drained from his face.
In that instant, an unbearable chill pierced through him. He didn't know exactly what the voice was, but he knew one thing for certain: it was not something he could ever defy.
Was there anyone in this Company who could ignore that voice?
No—did such a being even exist in this world?
He wanted nothing more than to scream and run, but the absolute command echoing in his mind suppressed even his most primal instincts.
[Shh.]
[Keep your mouth shut.]
[Pretend you didn't hear anything.]
[Pretend you didn't see anything.]
[Pretend you don't know anything.]
[This is just how company life is, isn't it?]
[That's right.]
[Good.]
[Yes, yes, just like that…]
[That's how you survive…]
[Understand?]
[Aha―.]
[You look so much better when you're quiet.]
…
……
………
If you don't want to die, just play along. Got it?
