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Chapter 3
A terrifying silence once again descended upon the exam hall, which had been chaotic with people packing their things.
Those who had gathered their writing utensils, put on their bags, and stood up to leave joyfully now looked up at the speakers with hardened faces.
Then, a voice laced with static echoed through the room.
- Anyone who leaves the exam hall during the test period will be considered a cheater. Any examinee who leaves their seat during the test period will be considered a cheater.
"No. Oh, no!"
Despair filled faces that had been relaxed with hope and relief. Distorted expressions and hoarse voices.
Someone shoved their desk away violently, the legs of the desk letting out a sharp screech against the classroom floor.
An examinee collapsed beside the pushed desk, pressing their fists tightly against both ears. Eyes clamped shut, head shaking from side to side. Murmurs leaked from trembling lips.
"No, no, no. This can't be real."
The broadcast continued.
- Cheaters will be immediately failed from the Human Qualification Exam. Those who fail are no longer human.
Simultaneously, the howls of beasts erupted all at once. A chorus of beasts that was difficult to describe. An unpleasant noise that felt like an insult to humanity.
Then, thirteen beasts rampage through the area as they escaped the exam hall. Crash, bang, chairs tumbled over. Desks were knocked out of alignment. Question sheets and answer sheets dropped by the beasts were trampled indiscriminately, leaving clear footprints behind.
The once orderly exam hall became a complete disaster.
As the procession of beasts passed by, examinees who had been gripping their desks with both hands, eyes shut tight, and heads pressed against the wood, trembled as they looked up.
Their shaking gazes drifted toward the hallway.
The hallway where the beasts were running wild.
"Graaaaagh!"
A feast of beasts running, screaming, leaping, and smashing nameplates and water dispensers.
A beast that had been a long-term exam student burst out of the central hallway restroom with wet hair, blending into the herd of beasts.
A horrific mess.
The sounds of supervisors rushing out in a panic could be heard from everywhere.
"What on earth is happening? Is this a terror attack? How did beasts get into the third-floor hallway like this? Did someone release them on purpose?"
"They don't look like pigs, but how many got in? Of all days for this to happen."
"The exam headquarters said they contacted 119 and requested support. Everyone, please handle the examinees."
Voices that treated them as beasts, without a second thought that they were humans who had been examinees just moments ago.
They hadn't noticed the anomalous phenomenon at all.
"Whew."
Lee Yeon-woo took a deep breath, trying his best to stay calm. Stroking the head that hurt from being hit by a beast, he pulled his scattered focus back together.
Fortunately, since this was the second time he'd seen this, it was better than the first. He even felt a sense of relief.
'13 people. Including the long-term student, 14 failed. I don't know how many they're picking, but this is good.'
Fifteen minutes had passed during this.
Seventy minutes remaining. Ninety-nine questions left.
Lee Yeon-woo began answering from the second question.
The clicking of ballpoint pens, faint sobbing, the sound of shaking legs, and violent coughing were no longer distractions.
They were positive signs that his competitors couldn't concentrate. It actually put him at ease.
'...Number 2. ...Number 2. ...Number 2. Is this right? Three in a row? No, no time. Just move on.'
Even when things seemed odd, he read and answered without stopping. His eyes scanned the questions and passages, and he immediately marked the answers with a V. He worried if these were truly human-like answers, but he was out of time.
His pen flew across the paper, and he finished all 100 questions before time ran out.
He must have spent about 30 seconds per question. Fifty minutes had passed, leaving twenty minutes left.
Pop—
Lee Yeon-woo checked his digital watch, set down the ballpoint pen, and pulled off the cap of the computer sign pen.
'I'll mark the certain ones first. The confusing ones can wait.'
Scribble, scribble—
The black marker moved back and forth three times across the firm texture of the answer sheet. He checked the question numbers and marking spots multiple times, carefully filling in the correct answers.
Ensuring he didn't drift outside the circles. Not too light, filling them in completely.
'I didn't misalign them, right? Correct. Number 30, option 1. Number 31, option 4. 32 is confusing, so I'll do it later. Number 33...'
With that, the first round of marking was complete.
After verifying that his personal information was marked correctly, Lee Yeon-woo quickly spread out his exam paper. He scanned the pages rapidly, looking for the questions he had marked with triangles.
The confusing problems he had pushed back after the first round.
'Ten minutes left. Hurry up.'
He had spent ten minutes being too cautious with the marking. There wasn't enough time to think deeply about the confusing questions.
Tick-tock—
The second hand of the wall clock raced. A momentary hesitation meant the hand made one full circle and a minute passed; a long deliberation meant three circles and three minutes gone.
By the time he reached the final question, there was less than a minute left.
Checking the time, Lee Yeon-woo agonized until the very end.
'My gut says 2, but 1 feels slightly more human. Should I change it? No, if I change it, I'll be wrong. Going with 2. But then again, 1... Ah, just guess.'
The moment he marked the last question in desperation.
Static—
The clock barely hit 11:40. The 100-minute exam that started at 10:00 was over.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell that announced the start of the exam now announced its end. Lee Yeon-woo left his marker haphazardly on the desk.
He gazed down at his answer sheet with vacant eyes. A wave of exhaustion crashed over him, as if every ounce of his physical strength had been drained. It felt as though he had just woken from a dream.
'Really? Is it over? Was it real?'
A sudden sense of disbelief and unreality washed over him.
He slowly looked around the exam hall. Everyone was staring into space with glazed eyes.
Scribble-scribble-scribble—
However, some people were still using their markers even after the final bell. Perhaps having failed with their time management, their hands moved hurriedly to mark the answer sheet. Their disheveled hair swung wildly as they darted between the answer sheet and the exam paper.
"Number 1, 3, 3, 2."
A small, rapid mutter.
A voice laced with static flowed from the speakers.
- Any act of marking an answer sheet after the exam has ended is considered cheating and will result in immediate failure.
"No! I finished them all! The broadcast was late—!"
The examinee who had been marking their sheet despite the end of the exam suddenly sprang up from their seat. Then, they bolted toward the hallway.
"Graaaaaagh!"
The examinee who failed to follow the regulations became a beast. The beast fled the exam hall, indiscriminately shoving other examinees leaving from different classrooms.
"Ack! What is that!"
"Isn't that the thing that was being loud earlier?"
"What kind of animal is that? Since it's wearing clothes, couldn't it have an owner?"
A noisy commotion broke out, but it was happening outside the classroom.
"...."
"...."
Even though the exam was over, the classroom where Lee Yeon-woo was remained silent. The examinees who had taken the Human Qualification Exam did not dare leave their seats. The test seemed to be over, but they didn't know what other regulations might exist; they were terrified of becoming beasts by making a mistake.
Thirty minutes passed in silence.
12:10 PM.
A considerable amount of time had passed since the end of the exam. It was time for lunch. Stomachs began to growl loudly from all over the room.
Only then did it feel as if they had awakened from a dream.
The examinees glanced at one another, and one by one, they began to stand up and leave the classroom. They exited without issue. A tide of departures began. Lee Yeon-woo also blended into the crowd of departing examinees with a blank expression.
'Over? It's really over.'
The events following that didn't remain in his memory. Everything was just a blur. It felt as if he had wandered away from the high school and walked unsteadily back to his room at the exam study house.
"Ah."
He suddenly remembered as he stood before the door. He had finished the exam. He had answered every single question.
Lee Yeon-woo reflexively opened the door to his room at the exam study house and walked in.
A cramped room without even a single window.
In front of a desk dimly lit by a white desk lamp, Lee Yeon-woo turned on his mobile phone. A schedule app popped up with a flashing reminder that today was the exam date, and a text from his mother sent around 9 a.m. appeared small at the top.
[Son, it's exam day. Eat well, and it's okay if you fail—]
He turned off the screen, unable to read any further.
He set the phone down almost like he was throwing it, knocking over a tower of textbooks.
2025 Local Government Level 9 Civil Service Exam Study Guide.
2024 Local Government Level 9 Civil Service Exam Study Guide.
2023 Local Government Level 9 Civil Service Exam Study Guide.
The years Lee Yeon-woo had lived as a civil service exam student flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern. The vision ended with the things he had done each time he failed an exam.
'Since I couldn't even take the exam this time, I guess I'll have to buy the 2026 study guide...'
Lee Yeon-woo slumped into his chair, resting his elbows on the desk as he gripped his head. He hadn't even been able to take the civil service exam in the first place.
Even though he had somehow survived the Human Qualification Exam, he didn't know the results.
'When do the results even come out?'
Would he have to live in constant terror, shivering and wondering when he might turn into a beast?
Just as Lee Yeon-woo's face distorted from the horrific thought, an envelope appeared in the corner of the desk as if it had been there all along.
'What is this...?'
Lee Yeon-woo slowly reached out and tore open the envelope. Inside was something about the size of a child's palm. Something that looked like a passport or perhaps a small notebook.
'No way?'
His hurried hands flipped open the leather cover.
Inside was Lee Yeon-woo's ID photo, and listed were his name, date of birth, the date of passing, and the date of issuance.
Lee Yeon-woo's eyes stopped at the sentence written in the center.
- This individual is certified as human.
It meant he had passed the Human Qualification Exam.
His vision blurred, and a faint sob leaked from his lips.
"Huu. Huuuu."
The relief of having survived. The relief that he no longer had to tremble in fear.
Then, looking at the certification, a thought occurred to him.
'Human. I'm human.'
He couldn't control his emotions. Until someone in the next room tapped on the wall and his mother called to check on him, Lee Yeon-woo let his tears flow freely.
That was four failed civil service exams. Lee Yeon-woo, having survived, began preparing for his fifth.