Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: First Day at Work
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Coffee brewed from the machine in the corner of the office, filling the air with a rich aroma.
"Escaping the Backrooms in just eight hours... That's incredible, honestly."
The voice of the male boss was filled with genuine admiration. I smiled awkwardly and replied.
"I just got lucky."
In truth, that wasn't me being humble. Without the Talent Shop and the tracking scent, I would still be wandering the Backrooms like the other new recruits. I might have even become food for an entity.
"Luck is a skill too, in this line of work."
The man smiled brightly and extended his hand. The gesture was natural, as if greeting an old friend.
"Ah, I'm late with the introduction. My name is Moon Jin-wook. I'm a chief."
"Baek Jeong-woo. It's a pleasure to meet you."
As we shook hands, Kang Ha-na extended her hand next. I recalled the faint scars I had felt on her hand the last time we met. They were the marks left from facing a ghost story head-on.
"We've met before, right?"
I took her hand and replied.
"Yes. We meet again here."
I remembered the moment we first met in my one-room apartment a week ago. I never thought we'd meet again so soon.
"You two knew each other?"
Moon Jin-wook's eyes widened. The office fluorescent lights made his surprised face even more distinct.
"Yes. The survivor who was the first to escape from the Monkey Dream and the Subway Sleeping Gas ghost stories, remember? That's Baek Jeong-woo."
Kang Ha-na's words brought back a flash of the memory from the subway.
"Ah, that time, that..."
Moon Jin-wook trailed off. His expression shifted subtly. He seemed to know the details of that incident.
"As expected, a rookie is different from the start."
He gave me a thumbs-up. His voice was bright, as if trying to break the awkward atmosphere.
I followed Kang Ha-na and Moon Jin-wook into a partitioned space.
Inside was an old leather sofa and a bulky CRT TV that looked like something from the early 2000s. A thin layer of dust had settled on the TV, and the screen reflected my blurry reflection.
"I explained the basics about ghost stories last time, but there's probably a lot you don't know about the company yet."
That wasn't true.
There were probably few people in the world who knew as much about the Catastrophe Foundation as I did. Especially now that the ghost stories from the Ghost Story Gallery have become reality.
However, I didn't let it show and accepted the thick white binder Kang Ha-na handed me.
The cover read: [Catastrophe Foundation New Employee Training Materials].
"Let's start by familiarizing yourself with the basics of the company."
When I opened the binder, the first page showed the foundation's logo along with a company introduction.
The logo, drawn in white on a black background, was simple in design, but it gave off a strange feeling as if it were sucking your gaze in.
It created the illusion that it was wriggling like a living thing.
Externally, it was a pharmaceutical company named the Siegfried Group.
It was listed as one of the world's top five pharmaceutical companies, specializing in treatments for intractable and incurable diseases.
Colorful graphs and statistics showed the company's achievements.
Cancer treatment rate of over 90%, thousands of cases of rare disease cures...
The figures listed were impossible with modern medicine.
But I knew the truth hidden behind it.
Turning the page, the true nature of the foundation was laid bare.
It was a secret organization that collected and studied ghost stories to create supernatural products.
And it sold those products to politicians and the upper class.
The tasks and organizational chart for each department were described in detail.
The Research Department analyzed the essence of collected ghost stories, the Development Department commercialized them, and the Sales Department dealt with high-ranking officials.
And at the start of it all was the Field Investigation Team.
As I turned the pages, various ghost story cases and lists of products made from them appeared. A drug to resurrect the dead, a elixir to regain youth, a potion for immortality...
All things impossible by science were listed.
'Can these things really be possible...'
The content I had seen on the Ghost Story Gallery was unfolding before me as reality. Things I once thought were just creative works were now actual products.
What was particularly noticeable was 'Hair Loss Treatment - X-102'.
It was known in the market as a revolutionary hair growth tonic, but it was actually a product made from ingredients extracted from the 'Hair Monster' ghost story.
The side effects section chillingly stated, 'In rare cases, hair moves on its own at night'.
After roughly reading through the file and closing the binder, Moon Jin-wook spoke.
"What do you think? Have you got a grasp on our company?"
I fell into thought for a moment.
"It's more... systematic than I thought."
"Systematic..."
Moon Jin-wook chuckled.
"That's right. We're not just a group of mad scientists. We have our own rules and procedures for researching and utilizing ghost stories."
"But I have a question."
"What is it?"
"The materials say you collect ghost stories to make products... What exactly is the process?"
Kang Ha-na stood up from her seat and spoke.
"Normally, we give a new recruit about a day to familiarize themselves with this..."
She hesitated for a moment and looked at Moon Jin-wook. Moon Jin-wook nodded.
"But Baek Jeong-woo is a special case. He seems to have a high understanding of ghost stories..."
"Pardon?"
"Someone who escaped the Backrooms in eight hours couldn't possibly not know about ghost stories."
Moon Jin-wook smirked.
"So, how about going on a field experience right now?"
My heart sank.
"There's a suitable E-grade ghost story about an hour away by car."
Moon Jin-wook dangled the car keys from his finger and spun them.
As we moved to the underground parking lot, the fluorescent lights blinked as if following us. It was an irregular flicker, as if someone were sending a signal.
Moon Jin-wook's car was a typical company car.
It was a clean midsize sedan, but the various receipts scattered on the passenger-side mat hinted at frequent business trips.
As we left the city center and headed for the quiet outskirts, Kang Ha-na showed me资料 on a tablet.
The city's night scenery rushed past the window. The street lights gradually faded, and even the last convenience store disappeared from view.
"It's a building construction site. It's in the middle of a redevelopment district..."
The tablet screen showed the frame of a high-rise building rising from among the old buildings waiting to be demolished.
It looked like a monster growing among dead trees.
"There's a hamburger place there?"
"Yes. It's between the temporary buildings at the construction site. It's strange, isn't it?"
Kang Ha-na swiped the screen. A shabby prefabricated building appeared at the side of the construction site.
And the neon sign on it.
[Jack's Hamburger]
The moment I saw the sign, information related to it flooded my mind, thanks to the Ruminative Thought Enhancement Serum.
'Jack's Hamburger... A ghost story inspired by a horror game popular in the early 2010s.'
A ghost story about the props in the store moving during the three nights you work as a night security guard.
Fortunately, as an E-grade ghost story, you don't die even if you get caught by the props, but you have to start over from the first day.
In the worst case, it means you could be trapped in this ghost story forever.
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Thirty minutes later, the car arrived at a creepy construction site. The concrete skeleton of a high-rise building rose toward the sky, and below it, containers and prefabricated buildings were crammed together in a mess.
And between them, the fluorescent green neon sign I had seen on the screen earlier was twinkling.
Just after getting out of the Backrooms, another ghost story. My head was spinning. I wished I could have rested for a day or so more.
Seeing my pale face, Kang Ha-na opened her mouth.
"There's no need to worry."
Her voice had something that inspired trust in people.
"Most new recruits need an adaptation period, but you've already had two survival experiences, Baek Jeong-woo."
"That's right. And it's better to adapt quickly."
Moon Jin-wook added.
"Ghost story exploration is best when you have momentum. Like now, when your senses are sharp."
The door to the hamburger shop opened, revealing a dark interior.
"Well, from here on, you should go in alone."
Kang Ha-na said. I turned my head to look at them.
"Don't worry. At least you won't die."
Moon Jin-wook said with a smirk, but his words were not comforting at all.
Entering the hamburger shop and closing the door, the two of them vanished, and I was left alone in the darkness.
The operations manual clearly stated my mission.
During the three nights of security duty, I had to make ten 'Jack's Special Homemade Burgers'.
They were special burgers that, once eaten, maintained a feeling of fullness and calories for a month.
They were probably products the foundation sold to the upper class or employees.
I turned on my smartphone's light with a trembling hand.
The white light cut through the darkness, illuminating the direction of the security room.
Every time I walked down the hallway, my footsteps echoed.
I had the illusion that someone was following me from behind.
I arrived in front of the security room door. The moment I grabbed the doorknob, cold sweat trickled from my palm.
The moment I opened the door, a sharp telephone bell began to ring.
Now, it truly begins.