Hiring Taxi Drivers
Go Cheon-su stepped out into the hallway and widened his eyes at the sight before him.
"What the hell."
A sharp, incredulous voice slipped out. Jo Yong-jin was sprawled out in the hallway.
"What happened."
Go Cheon-su scanned the surroundings, but there was nothing—no one else but Jo Yong-jin.
"Hey, what the fuck."
"……Urgh."
Jo Yong-jin, grabbed by the shoulder by Go Cheon-su, slowly raised his upper body and spoke.
"You tripped."
"Tripped?"
"Yeah, by yourself……."
Go Cheon-su let out a sigh and released Jo Yong-jin, his face twisting in irritation.
"Can you not scare the shit out of people? I thought something actually showed up."
"Sorry. But I kept hearing noises from the basement stairs, so I came to tell you……."
"Noises?"
It was highly suspicious. No, it was straight-up dangerous. Something was definitely coming up from the basement.
Go Cheon-su hauled Jo Yong-jin to his feet and dragged him back to the office.
"The keys are probably here, so keep looking. We might have to bolt any second."
Ignoring the viewers' reactions, Go Cheon-su repeated himself to Jo Yong-jin.
"Find the damn keys. Or we're fucked."
"O-okay."
Leaving Jo Yong-jin gulping dryly, Go Cheon-su headed for the infirmary. The basement stairs were right next to it.
"Hoo."
He had no intention of going down. Go Cheon-su stared at the stairwell entrance for a moment before entering the infirmary. If he was going to drag Jo Yong-jin along, he'd need crutches. In that state, the guy might actually have to be left behind.
"What a pain in the ass."
After rummaging through several cabinets, Go Cheon-su finally found a pair of crutches.
"Good enough."
Next up was Yang Min-cheol. To check on him safely, he'd have to go down to the basement from this side. But that could be like poking a hornet's nest, so Go Cheon-su hesitated.
'At least until we find the keys…….'
With clues like this here, there was a high chance this place had its own trial. Go Cheon-su couldn't afford to screw things up by acting rashly. For now, all he could do was hope Yang Min-cheol made it out on his own.
Clang.
A metallic echo rang out from the basement stairs. Go Cheon-su jumped, grabbing the crutches and rushing into the hallway.
The viewers' reactions were suspicious. Go Cheon-su thought it over, then dashed back to the office.
"Jo Yong-jin! Keys?!"
"Uh……? N-not yet."
Go Cheon-su rubbed his face with his hand. He shoved the crutches at Jo Yong-jin.
"Take these and head back to the infirmary."
"H-huh? But it's kinda scary over there……."
"Just yell if something comes up the hallway."
Jo Yong-jin's face paled in horror.
"You're not ditching me, right?"
"What?"
"Using me as a canary and then bailing!"
Jo Yong-jin gripped the crutches tightly, raising them like a weapon.
"Just like those guys……! Keeping watch until we die……!"
"Ha."
There was no time for arguments. Go Cheon-su rummaged through a desk drawer as he spoke.
"Who made you the lookout?"
"Yeah! Monsters were coming, but……! No one sent backup—they all just ran! Leaving me behind!"
Jo Yong-jin trembled all over, reliving the memory.
"No one tried to save me!"
"What are you on about."
Go Cheon-su had no idea what monster had shown up, but there was no obligation to send backup for a lookout.
"You did your job, and they did theirs. Things looked hopeless. No one told you to run?"
"They did, but……!"
"Then it checks out. That was the best play."
But Jo Yong-jin looked aggrieved, his face scrunching up.
"I couldn't run! Not without backup!"
"But you did."
That's why he was still alive.
"Am I seeing a ghost or what, Yong-jin-ah."
"I-I got lucky! I wouldn't have survived otherwise!"
"Yeah?"
Go Cheon-su stopped rummaging and stepped up to Jo Yong-jin.
"You sure got chatty, you little shit."
"W-what?"
"You sent Min-cheol down there, didn't you?"
Jo Yong-jin froze for a split second. Go Cheon-su stared him down. Stammering, Jo Yong-jin opened his mouth again.
"W-what are you talking about? I just said I heard noises. He went down on his own……."
"Why didn't you stop him?"
After going through that himself, he'd let a high school kid go down alone? It didn't add up.
"Why didn't you stop him? Hell, you even told him to check it out."
"……I-I……."
"You got lucky too, huh."
Go Cheon-su muttered.
"Dumb high schooler does whatever you say when you tell him to check."
"No! That's not it!"
Jo Yong-jin staggered, his face twisted in anguish.
"I really didn't think anything of it! Just 'check it out real quick! Nothing down there! You'll be back soon!'"
"Yeah, sure."
"Urgh……!"
Jo Yong-jin couldn't take it anymore. He hobbled off on the crutches.
"I'll find it! Just wait 'til I find it!"
"……."
"That'll fix it!"
Go Cheon-su didn't stop him. He just waited for Jo Yong-jin to limp away, then resumed searching the drawers.
"Reverse pwnage? Nah, just testing him."
Just checking if he could take some pushback and how he'd react. Verdict: he had a conscience.
"No keys anyway, bosses."
No matter how much he searched, no keys. Just taxi driver applications and useless reports.
And despite the tension, nothing had happened in the basement yet.
"A sign we gotta walk out of here?"
Go Cheon-su tilted his head.
"Or do I need to meet whoever has the keys?"
"Yeah, thanks to the clues you dropped."
The viewers' "that guy" had referred to the Myeongseo Elementary villains before. That was his guess.
"Gotta deal with people too, huh."
Go Cheon-su drew his dagger from his pocket.
"You guys aren't spamming warnings, so I can handle it solo, right?"
The moment the responses rolled in, a shout echoed from somewhere.
"Here! Over here!"
Jo Yong-jin's voice. Go Cheon-su bolted out of the office and down the hall. The spot was the basement stairwell entrance. Jo Yong-jin stood in the hallway, staring intently at it.
"It came up."
As Jo Yong-jin said, Yang Min-cheol was at the entrance.
"H-hyung……."
And behind him, a chubby middle-aged man held him with a sharp kitchen knife.
"Hyung, it's dangerous. Just go."
"Ha."
Go Cheon-su sighed. More annoying than monsters.
"Like hell I'm leaving."
Obvious who had the keys. Go Cheon-su raised his dagger.
"Hey, whoever you are—let Min-cheol go."
"Min-cheol? Ahhhh."
The man muttered with slack, unfocused eyes.
"This thief who broke into my building?"
He pressed the knife closer to Yang Min-cheol.
"Can't do that. No one lets thieves go free."
"……."
Thief—fair enough, but the guy was clearly unhinged.
"And you! You're thieves too! We're swamped with calls, and you crawl in! Short on drivers, headaches galore!"
"Th-that guy's dangerous, right?"
Jo Yong-jin swallowed hard beside him.
"He looks crazy. What if he stabs for real."
"Why'd you let the kid go down then."
Jo Yong-jin's face filled with guilt. Go Cheon-su had no plans to pile on more.
The real issue was the man.
'Local bigshot.'
Matched the face from the news. The radio chatter made sense now—basement was probably the main building's generator.
Go Cheon-su pondered.
'Rush him and frisk his pockets?'
But that risked Yang Min-cheol. Ideally, he'd get the keys without violence, but stabbing wasn't off the table if needed. Watching the kid get shanked up close would suck.
"Hey, boss."
Go Cheon-su decided to play crazy too.
"What do you mean thief."
He flashed a bright smile.
"Here to apply as a taxi driver."
The recruitment flyers amid the evacuation mess. Tons of calls, short on drivers—perfect bait.
"Calls piling up? Let me take some. I'm a great driver."
"What?"
"Hire me as a driver."
The chat exploded at the absurdity.
"Boss! I've seen you all over the news! Give me a shot at the interview—I'll prove I'm top-tier driver material!"
"Hmmm."
The man rubbed his chin, eyes darting.
"Interview. Right, gotta do interviews. Need drivers. Short-staffed. Gotta hire a bunch. Short-staffed."
His knife hand trembled. Looked like he might release Yang Min-cheol.
"Ah."
But maybe wishful thinking. The man cocked his head, face serious.
"Your application?"
"Application…… you mean?"
Go Cheon-su's eyes narrowed at the man's unblinking stare.
"Yeah, application. Gotta see it for the interview. Got one? Show me. Can't proceed without. I'm busy, y'know. No app, no dice."
Go Cheon-su gritted his teeth.
'Fuck.'
Seemed promising, but no easy wins.
'Think, Cheon-su…… He said just need the application. Application only…….'
"Ah."
Go Cheon-su faced the man again.
"My application's right here. Of course."
"Really? Where? Lemme see. Desperate for drivers. Gotta fill spots fast."
The man's condition worsened. Go Cheon-su called to Jo Yong-jin.
"Hey, one favor."
"W-what."
"Remember that office we were in?"
They'd seen "Taxi Driver Application" stamped big on papers. Some even filled out.
"Grab a taxi driver application from there."
"Any one?"
"This guy's."
Go Cheon-su glanced at the man, then whispered.
"The most legit-looking one."
Jo Yong-jin nodded, gulping, and limped off to the office.
Go Cheon-su turned back to the man.
"Don't worry, boss. My buddy's fetching my application. Left it in the office."
"Is that so?"
The man bought it, thankfully.
"Good thing there's one. Almost suspected you."
"Haha, really."
"World's gone mad—gotta be careful. People barging in? Scares me. But applying for driver? Lucky break."
The man grinned creepily, touched.
"In this hellscape, applying for a job? What a solid kid. Hurry with that app. Wait—don't tell me you don't have one?"
"No, no. Just a sec."
The guy was fully gone. Go Cheon-su wanted to extract Yang Min-cheol safely, but violence was fine if needed. While waiting for Jo Yong-jin, he scanned the surroundings for something to use against the man.
'Hurry up, Yong-jin-ah.'
Go Cheon-su exhaled shakily.