Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Join
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"Is that so."
The woman's eyes sparkled at my words. She had been smiling faintly ever since I mentioned that I knew a lot about the Catastrophe Foundation, and now the atmosphere suggested she was ready to begin a proper conversation.
"How much do you know about our company?"
I tensed at her question. I already knew the true nature of the Catastrophe Foundation from the documents I had read.
The Catastrophe Foundation.
A black company that offers great benefits but has a correspondingly惨terrible survival rate.
A company that pushes its employees into ghost stories to create the world's best products.
However, if I revealed that I knew facts not known to the general public, I risked being branded a dangerous man in front of this woman.
So, I only mentioned the common sense knowledge that an average person within the Catastrophe Foundation's worldview would know.
"I've heard it's a company that creates mysterious objects that can't be explained even by scientific principles."
At my answer, the woman nodded calmly.
"So you only know what's publicly known."
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The air in the room changed subtly. The woman's smile became even more natural.
She stepped into the room, navigating through the pile of cup ramen containers and delivery food wrappers that had accumulated over the past week. Yet, her expression remained unchanged, as if she were accustomed to such a sight.
The bedsheets were crumpled, and sleeping pills and Woo-hwang-cheong-sim-hwan were scattered on the desk. She glanced at them and continued.
"The reason our Catastrophe Foundation can create such mysterious objects is, fundamentally, because we utilize ghost stories."
Pretending not to know, I asked her back to avoid arousing her suspicion.
"Does that mean... the employees of the Siegfried Group, no, the Catastrophe Foundation, have many opportunities to encounter ghost stories?"
"Yes, that is correct."
I fell silent at her words.
I knew it, but hearing it confirmed sent a chill down my spine.
Looking at the Woo-hwang-cheong-sim-hwan on the desk, I thought back. The memory from the subway a week ago was still vivid. Every time I fell asleep, that scene would come to mind, tormenting me with nightmares, forcing me to rely on sleeping pills and the heart medicine.
A week of continuous insomnia and nightmares.
Days so filled with fear I was afraid to even go outside.
And now, an employee of the Catastrophe Foundation had come to find me.
Seeming to understand my silence, the woman paused for a moment before speaking.
"By now, you probably have an idea, but the reason I'm here is to make two offers to you, Baek Jeong-woo."
In the darkness of the room, only her voice was clear. I opened my heavy mouth.
"Two offers?"
The woman raised her index finger as she continued. Her nails were clean, without any manicure, but up close, I could see small scars on every joint of her fingers. They were probably the marks left from facing ghost stories directly.
"The first is to receive an amnesiac and return to your daily life before you ever encountered a ghost story."
"Return to my daily life..."
"Yes. I know you haven't been able to sleep properly for the past few days because of that memory. Now, you can just forget everything comfortably and return to the past."
At that moment, the memory of the subway flashed through my mind. The mechanical movements of the dwarves, the sound of flesh tearing, the metallic stench of blood that pierced my nostrils... My whole body trembled as if I were being electrocuted.
Just like last time, I felt a panic attack coming and took a deep breath. A silence fell between us for a moment.
The woman seemed to be watching my reaction. Her expression was calm, as if she had seen this kind of response many times before.
But there was something more important. I calmed myself with deep breaths and asked her.
"And what is the second offer?"
The woman smiled as if she had expected it.
"The second offer is for you to join our Catastrophe Foundation."
"I'll join."
I answered immediately.
The woman's eyebrows went up slightly.
"Think carefully. Facing ghost stories is far more dangerous than you think. In fact, many people die."
But I had already made up my mind.
Even if I lived on with my memory erased, there was no guarantee that I wouldn't encounter another ghost story in this world where all sorts of ghost stories from the Ghost Story Gallery had become reality.
To return reality to its original state, I needed ten billion Talents. To gather that much Talent, I would have to face ghost stories hundreds, even thousands of times.
If I just lived as an ordinary citizen like before, I would only become another victim of a ghost story. It would be better to make it my profession and be prepared.
I pretended to be in thought for a moment, nodding my head, and then answered.
"I've decided. I'll join."
The woman nodded as if she knew it would happen and pulled a business card from her suit pocket. It read 'Deputy Kang Ha-na' of the Catastrophe Foundation, along with a phone number.
I was breathless for a moment.
Deputy Kang Ha-na.
She was a named character, a considerable powerhouse within the Catastrophe Foundation's worldview.
Did not just the ghost stories, but also the characters appearing in them, turn into reality?
I had discovered a new fact.
Just as I was mentally recording that the characters from the ghost stories had also materialized, Kang Ha-na added.
"I'll give you three days to get your affairs in order. You'll hear from the company in three days."
After leaving those words, Kang Ha-na left my self-catering room. As the door closed, my tension eased, and my legs went weak. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared blankly at the business card.
In this era where youth unemployment is so serious, I had been hired by the Catastrophe Foundation.
But more than joy, I felt a greater sense of anxiety.
'Did I really do the right thing...?'
Looking out the window, the sun was setting. For the first time in a week, I felt the urge to go outside.
For the three days I had to get my affairs in order, there wasn't much to do. I just submitted a withdrawal application to my university and packed up the things in my room.
But even for a veteran like me from the Ghost Story Gallery, I needed to prepare my mind.
I swallowed a sleeping pill and went to bed. A new life would begin tomorrow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Three days later.
A public forum located on the basement first floor near Gangnam Station.
'It's convenient since it's right by the station.'
I was tense the whole way on the subway. The nightmarish memory from a week ago was still vivid.
I checked the face of every passenger on the subway, looked for anyone small like a dwarf, and carefully listened for any suspicious mechanical sounds.
Each and every station was like hell.
Luckily, it was just a normal commute. Before I knew it, I had arrived at Gangnam Station. As I took the escalator out of the subway station, I let out a sigh of relief.
I found the forum venue right away. It was a lecture hall in the basement of a large building. A banner hung at the entrance, reading 'Catastrophe Foundation New Employee Orientation'.
When I arrived at the forum, about 100 people were already seated. Most of them were young people with sharp eyes.
A non-commissioned officer in military uniform, a rookie police officer in a police uniform, young people in firefighter jackets... They seemed to have been scouted from various organizations.
Among them were people like me, dressed in ordinary suits. But their eyes were not ordinary. Everyone had a crazed look in their eyes.
'They must be people like me who have survived a ghost story encounter.'
I was a minority among them, an ordinary person. I loosened my tie slightly and sat in a corner seat.
On the screen at the front, the words 'New Employee Orientation' were displayed. Along with the company logo, a fancy animation was playing.
'It looks like a normal big company orientation.'
But I knew very well that this was no normal orientation. If it was a new employee orientation for the Catastrophe Foundation, there had to be something related to a ghost story.
As soon as I sat down, a man stepped up onto the podium. Dressed in a neat suit with a bright smile, he grabbed the microphone and began a typical big company new employee orientation.
"A sincere welcome to all of you who have been hired by our Catastrophe Foundation, having beaten the competition ratio of 300 to 1!"
On the screen, the words 'New Employee Orientation' flashed with fancy firework effects. The new employees around me clapped.
It was a perfectly normal scene.
But that's what made me more uneasy.
The Catastrophe Foundation couldn't possibly be this normal. There had to be something.
"You are all talents who were specially selected among countless applicants."
The emcee continued.
I looked around. The people from the military, police, and fire departments looked relaxed. Some were even yawning.
But I was different. As a veteran who had once devoured every document about the Catastrophe Foundation, I knew exactly how this situation would play out.
"However, before your official employment, there will be a probationary test to assess your practical aptitude and assign you to a department."
At the word 'test', the expressions of the people around me changed. My own expression also hardened coldly.
It couldn't be helped. The Catastrophe Foundation was a black company that ground its employees down with ghost stories. Of course, their test wouldn't be normal.
'Especially in a gathering of this many people...'
Just as I was running through all the possibilities in my head, the emcee shouted.
"Now, we will officially begin the test!"
In an instant, everyone in the forum felt a sensation as if they were falling downwards. Screams erupted.
Some reflexively tried to grab onto their surroundings, while others curled up. But it was all useless.
All sounds grew distant. The screams, the confused shouts, the sound of chairs toppling over, all faded away.
And then, complete darkness arrived.
How much time had passed?
My consciousness returned.
As the surroundings brightened again, a scene unfolded before my eyes.
A room that existed only with the stench of a worn-out, damp carpet, yellow monochrome wallpaper, and the incessant buzzing of a fluorescent light.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
This is the Backrooms.