6
Chapter 6
'I think I've ruined my first impression.'
He had been hit with a taser by the guard. There was no way his first impression could be good. As Lee Yeon-woo broke into a cold sweat, it finally struck nine.
Right on the dot, the front door opened and a woman walked in. She had dark circles reaching down to her cheeks and was wearing a suit stained with ramen broth.
Dragging her slippers across the floor, she stepped up to the podium and gave the new employees a cursory glance.
"Quite a few rookies joined us. Great. The more manpower the better. We're losing people left and right, and we can't keep up with the replacements."
Those who had been sitting upright and listening intently slumped in their seats, their eyes filled with bewilderment. Those were not the kind of words a trainer should say.
Regardless of their shaken expressions, the woman simply continued with what she had to say.
"No need for me to explain who I am. Just call me Dr. Kim. Now, as for you all... right, let's start with introductions."
Rustle—
She placed a stack of documents on the podium and flipped them open. These were the resumes the company had compiled. Dr. Kim skimmed through the pages, glancing briefly at the names and backgrounds.
"Some of you accepted the job offer after hearing only the basics, and we even have two survivors. Let's start with Lee Seo-yeon. Step forward."
"I've prepared a presentation; how should we handle that? I couldn't upload the file because the computer's security is locked."
"Just say it."
She gave a half-hearted wave, gesturing for her to come forward.
Lee Seo-yeon, wearing a well-fitted suit, stepped in front of the whiteboard and spoke with confidence.
"I am Lee Seo-yeon. I worked at the NIS and accepted an offer from the Humanity Protection Company. I'm not entirely sure what this company does yet, but since we work for the safety of humanity—"
"Right, enough. Just tell us your name and where you worked. Next. Staff Sergeant Kang Yeol?"
She cut her off mercilessly. Lee Seo-yeon gave an awkward smile and swapped places with Kang Yeol.
"Hello! I was in the Special Forces—"
"Yes, next. I already said the name, so let's move on."
"I'm Han Chang-seong, formerly a police officer—"
"And I'm Song Si-woo, from the fire department—"
The introductions passed by in an instant.
While the police officer in uniform and the firefighter in a t-shirt stood briefly and then stepped down, Lee Yeon-woo felt a surge of panic.
It wasn't because of Dr. Kim's absurd way of handling the proceedings.
'What? They're all veterans?'
And highly skilled ones at that. Compared to him, who had struggled just to pass the 9th grade civil servant exam—
"Lee Yeon-woo?"
"Ah, yes."
Called before he could even finish his thought, he stood before the whiteboard. Seeing his messy clothes and hair, Dr. Kim laughed as if amused.
"I heard from the Security Team Leader. That someone got hit by a taser on their very first day."
"Haha."
When he laughed it off, Dr. Kim nodded.
"It's rare for someone to encounter two Anomalies before even starting work."
Anomalies. Things like the Human Qualification Exam. Or the blue snake from the taser.
Those words gave him a boost of confidence.
'I went through the Human Qualification Exam and passed. An anomalous experience! That's definitely an asset in this company. In that regard, I'm the veteran here.'
Straightening his posture, Lee Yeon-woo spoke confidently.
"I'm Lee Yeon-woo. I experienced an Anomaly while taking the civil servant exam for the fourth time, which led to my hiring."
The reaction was not good. The eyes that had been curious about the Anomaly shifted to indifference, inexplicable disappointment, and a hint of superiority the moment they heard he was on his fourth attempt.
His surging confidence evaporated like smoke.
Dr. Kim spoke in a businesslike tone.
"Right, next. Mr. Park Sang-jun."
Lee Yeon-woo's shoulders slumped. His footsteps were heavy and lifeless as he walked back to his seat.
'Then again, it's not like I'm some veteran who survived a hundred or a thousand Anomalies. I just happened to survive one by chance. Calling it an asset is a bit of a stretch.'
Those experienced hires would probably pass the exam if they took it. It was true that he was lacking in terms of ability.
Lee Yeon-woo flopped into his chair, blankly waiting for the next introduction.
Finally, it was the last person's turn.
Wearing a worn-out suit, Park Sang-jun spoke in a tight, nervous voice.
"I... I also experienced the same Anomaly as Mr. Lee Yeon-woo and joined after receiving an offer. I will do my best!"
"Good. To have two survivors join us. Now, what should we do next?"
Dr. Kim rummaged through the documents. As Park Sang-jun stepped down from the podium with stiff movements, Lee Yeon-woo forgot his disappointment and stared intently at his face.
A clean-shaven jaw. But sunken eyes. Eyes that held desperation despite the nervousness.
A face he had glimpsed at the testing center flashed through his mind.
'An exam wanderer?'
Not the aggressive long-term student who ended up becoming a beast.
But the one who first informed the supervisor about the Anomaly on the exam paper.
As Park Sang-jun passed by Lee Yeon-woo, he gave a slight nod of recognition. He had recognized Lee Yeon-woo as well, and Lee Yeon-woo nodded back slightly.
'There's someone like me here.'
An indescribable bond formed between two civil servant exam candidates—two survivors of the same test.
Thump!
In the meantime, Dr. Kim, who had finished scanning the documents, pushed the stack to the corner of the podium as if throwing them. She then grabbed a board marker. The black marker screeched across the white board.
Anomaly
"I'll start by explaining what this is."
The chaotic atmosphere of the classroom shifted. The new employees straightened their posture and focused their attention on Dr. Kim. Lee Yeon-woo and Park Sang-jun, who had both experienced the Human Qualification Exam, were no different.
It wasn't a performative gesture; they were genuinely curious.
They wanted to know exactly what "that thing" was—the thing that turned humans into beasts, the thing that defied common sense, the thing that shouldn't scientifically exist.
"It's not complicated. It's the same as the definition in a dictionary."
Dr. Kim pulled out her mobile phone and tapped the screen. Then, she spoke in a tone that sounded like she was reading from a script.
"A state differing from the normal. Something peculiar or unique, contrary to previous experience or knowledge. Something suspicious or unknown."
Perhaps she had just found the sentence online, as Dr. Kim tucked her phone back into her pocket the moment she finished speaking. That was the end of her explanation.
Dr. Kim moved the board marker again and wrote six characters beneath the word Anomaly.
Humanity Protection Company.
"And our company exists to protect humanity from such Anomalies. Well, there's nothing more to explain. You'll only understand once you experience it yourself."
A puzzled expression crossed Lee Yeon-woo's face. The definition of an Anomaly was far too vague.
'So anything weird is just an Anomaly?'
Not just Lee Yeon-woo, but every new employee was confused.
Dr. Kim glanced around at the new hires and sighed, as if she had expected this. With her rumpled suit fluttering, she walked out of the classroom.
"Seeing and experiencing it for yourself is best. Follow me. That goes for the survivors, too. I'll show you a part of what our lab does, which is a fraction of what the company handles."
There was a brief silence. It was very brief.
The new employees' eyes sparkled, and they pushed back their chairs to stand up. The sound of scraping chairs filled the small room, followed by the footsteps of six rookies heading into the hallway.
The brisk walk led through the corridors of the two-story building, past the Main Gate and outside, eventually arriving at a three-story building.
***
As they moved, the new employees split into two groups.
The four veterans, including Lee Seo-yeon and Kang Yeol.
The two former civil service exam students, Lee Yeon-woo and Park Sang-jun.
Dr. Kim led the way at the front. Divided to the left and right, the groups chatted as they walked.
"Mr. Han Chang-seong, when did you pass the police exam? You look quite young."
"I passed right after graduating high school."
"Oh, the youngest successful candidate? You must have been in the news!"
"Which unit were you in, Mr. Kang Yeol?"
"Since Ms. Lee Seo-yeon is from the NIS, were you like a secret agent—"
Conversations aimed at building rapport.
Lee Yeon-woo and Park Sang-jun, unable to join in, remained silent. They walked a few steps behind to the rear right before finally starting a conversation of their own. Lee Yeon-woo spoke hesitantly.
"...You survived."
"It's a relief. I heard that besides the person who stood up midway, half of the others failed and turned into beasts at home."
"Half of them."
The conversation died.
An awkward silence followed. Park Sang-jun repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, glancing between the doctor's back as she pushed through the glass doors of the three-story building and the busy activity around it.
"If we're going to see something like that exam, do you think it'll be dangerous?"
"I don't think they'd show us anything too risky... but I think we should be prepared."
Since working for the company would inevitably lead to encountering Anomalies anyway.
'Maybe this is a kind of test. To see how we react.'
He had been hired without even an interview. This training might actually be an evaluation of the new employees. If he fell short of their standards, his employment could be revoked.
Lee Yeon-woo grit his teeth and steeled his resolve.
'I lack ability. I'm old. I have no experience. I can't afford to look disappointing here. I have to show them I fit into this company during training.'
While lost in thought, they arrived at the center of the first floor of the three-story building, in front of the stairs leading underground.
Bare concrete stairs. The gloomy staircase, lit by sterile white incandescent lights, seemed to descend indefinitely.
Ttap-ttap-ttap—
They descended the stairs. For a long time.
Kang Yeol, without a single bead of sweat on his face, glanced upward.
"It's deep. We've already descended to the fifth basement level. What kind of facility is this? Or rather, what's down here that they didn't even install an elevator?"
"It's the Baekbeom Culture Research Institute. There are cultural things here."
Dr. Kim descended the stairs quickly, her slippers scuffing against the concrete. She seemed completely accustomed to the path, stepping down confidently without even looking.
Lee Seo-yeon hurried to Dr. Kim's side, leaning in with her pale face.
"What exactly is this culture research institute? I looked it up before coming, but I couldn't find anything specific."
Dr. Kim leaped down three steps at once.
Thud!
Finally, the stairs ended.
A desolate concrete corridor. Narrow corridors, still unfinished, stretched long to the left and right. Nameplates spaced sparsely along the upper walls indicated Laboratories, Storage Rooms, or Research Labs.
Stopping in the hallway, Dr. Kim looked up at the rookies still on the stairs.
"Kim Gu once said, 'The only thing I desire boundlessly is the power of a high culture.' What do you think this power of culture is?"
A phrase that appeared whenever Korean works—be it idols, movies, or dramas—became a global trend.
Kang Yeol looked awkward, as if he didn't know, while Lee Seo-yeon waited for the answer like a diligent student. Han Chang-seong and Song Si-woo were also unable to respond.
Lee Yeon-woo quickly grasped the implication behind Dr. Kim's words, as if deciphering the intent of an exam question.
'Cultural Anomalies? Is this a place that researches those things? For example...'
A horror movie he had seen once flashed through his mind.
'A movie that makes you commit suicide if you watch it. A novel that drives people mad. Things like that actually exist? Here?'