The Expanding Cosmos
Veritas. The cutting-edge augmented reality device developed by Director Jeong Yongjin, founder of the Supernatural Research Institute. It bore a striking resemblance to the old Galaxy watches that had been popular in a bygone era. With simple operations, it could project holograms and handle any task that could be done on a computer, anytime, anywhere. Since it had been developed exclusively for Supernatural Research Institute staff, it was strapped to my wrist as well. Even as a 4th class, I was still staff. It was the only electronic device permitted inside the bleak institute, a partner that helped pass the dull hours when Kang Naram wasn't around. Of course, security restrictions made it impossible to access unauthorized sites, but still.
8 a.m. The wake-up siren marked the start of another refreshing morning. As usual, I operated Veritas and opened the messenger window.
1. 0 Area, 5 Area, staff restroom cleaning.
2. [S-O-07] Isolation room cleaning.
...
Replying to Naram's message, complete with its cute rabbit emoticon, mattered more than checking my work schedule. I polished my words like a writer, aiming for humor and wit. When talking to the person you liked, sense was everything.
Not quite. Hmm.
There had been a close call in the middle, but I'd managed to pull through. I smoothed the corners of my upturned lips. Talking with Naram was healing itself. I could do it all day. But she was probably busy getting ready for work, so I sent an emoticon to wrap things up. Knowing when to end a conversation was another kind of sense—one that 18 didn't possess.
After a quick shower, I changed into my staff uniform. Director Jeong Yongjin seemed to like white. Not only the interior of the labs but even the staff uniforms had been coordinated in white. I brushed the name tag bearing the large letters [0_4_138] and headed toward 0 Area.
The institute could be broadly divided into two sections. One was the Alphabet Area, where Hwanjong were isolated and studied. The other was the Number Area, where researchers and staff worked. My main job was cleaning Hwanjong isolation rooms, but today I'd also been assigned the staff restrooms. I could roughly guess why.
I entered the 0 Area restroom. And there, I saw a person. Another 4th class, just like me. He was dangling from the ceiling at a slightly lower height, swaying gently.
"Quite the skill."
I stared blankly at the rope around the 4th class's neck. A suicide. I climbed onto the toilet, took out a thick knife, and cut the rope. It was a practiced motion I'd done many times before. Thud. I dragged the body that had fallen from the ceiling and loaded it onto the cart. Death was fairly common at the Supernatural Research Institute. Living in close proximity to bizarre Hwanjong whose origins were unknown and who defied human understanding was devastating to one's mental health. Every time we entered an isolation room, we gambled our single life, and we repeated that gamble every single day. Few could maintain their sanity in such extreme repetition, never knowing when death might come. The average lifespan of a 4th class was a year and a half. Suicide or death by Hwanjong—those were the only two choices available to them. Of course, none of that applied to me, who could resurrect no matter what.
The 5 Area restroom had another person hanging from the ceiling in the same way. I loaded the corpse onto the cart and covered it with a blue cloth. I cleaned the surrounding area so no stains would remain, then left the now gleaming restroom behind.
Pulling the cart, I walked down the corridor. Once I burned the bodies in the incinerator, the only task left would be cleaning S-O-07's isolation room. S-O-07, commonly called O-chil. Even for me, whom everyone avoided, there were two beings in the Supernatural Research Institute I could call friends. One was the small, cute, pretty, and lovely Naram. The other was O-chil, who looked like a cane toad. Unlike the ill-mannered H-I-01, O-chil never tried to snap my neck or harm me. It only ever greeted me with "Hello, 18!" The only problem was that it painted the walls brown with its dung using a pooper scooper.
"Good morning, Senior Kwak."
While pulling the cart toward the incinerator, I ran into 18. As always, I gave him a precise 90-degree bow. 18 shot me a glare, offered no reply, and walked away. The hurried pace of his steps suggested he had urgent business. I'd thought he would hold me accountable for yesterday's incident, but maybe he'd gotten scared. The idea that the most vicious demon in the institute, 18, was afraid of me was unimaginable. He bowed his head like a sycophant before Director Jeong Yongjin, the institute's leader, yet acted like a natural-born tyrant toward the other staff. I couldn't be certain, but it would be wise to keep an eye on him. The petty 18 would surely seek revenge on me.
Without thinking, I powered on Veritas. A new message from Naram had arrived thirty minutes ago.
Even the driest desert receives rain. Naram was the only rain that fell in this dreary institute. My face, hardened like cement, softened. Perhaps her encouragement—the only affirmation I received in this world—gently moistened the heart that had sunk beneath the bleak routine. The frustration that had filled my mind vanished, and a far more hopeful, brighter future unfolded before me.
The place I lived in would one day resemble the ordinary house Naram had once shown me. The bookshelf in the room would be packed with novels and self-help books, and the bed would be covered with a fluffier, more colorful blanket than the one I had now. I would be attending school. Though I couldn't recall my past memories, judging by my physical age, I was probably a college student. The reason someone as academically poor as me could attend university was likely because of Naram, a perfect scorer on the college entrance exam, who had helped me.
Vrrr. Soon, a noise jolted me awake from that sweet dream. What I saw before me was the research institute's interior, alien from usual. The white corridor was stained red, then darkened. "What the—"
WEEEEEEEEEE! The blaring siren created an atmosphere of tension. Something bizarre and strange that I had never witnessed before in the Supernatural Research Institute—or in my entire life—was unfolding. Researchers were fleeing toward me from the front. Every single one of them ran at full speed, faces twisted in terror as if they had just woken from a nightmare.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
"E-Everyone, run!! Run right now!!"
It was utter chaos. Even though they had built relationships unlike the 4th classes, the researchers paid no attention to one another. I witnessed a female researcher in high heels get trampled after falling, and people shoving those who had slowed down in order to get ahead. Then I understood the reason.
A universe was expanding right in front of me. An infinite space dotted with black and white points was sucking in everything around it. My body was slowly being pulled forward by a powerful gravitational force.
"……"
It was an unprecedented disaster. Had a calamity-class Hwanjong gone berserk? Or had an experiment related to Hwanjong failed? Countless simulations raced through my mind. In contrast to my racing thoughts, my instincts, sensing the threat, ordered my body to move in the opposite direction to survive. I tried my best to flee, taking the lead among the escaping researchers, but eventually, like the others, I was swallowed by the expanding universe.
Goooo. A voice from the dark abyss, one that could not be described by any word in this world, called out to me. In a mysterious space where countless lights bloomed faintly, countless events from the institute flashed by like a revolving lantern. Within my fading consciousness, I thought of the most precious person to me.
"Naram noona……"
The words I had just uttered were the most terminal sound among the countless deaths I had repeated.