Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Aptitude Test Begins
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03.
*Paam-pabam!*
A corny celebratory sound effect.
A cheerful alert rings out from beyond the speaker. Then comes a second dull thud in quick succession.
*Thud—thud—*
[Alright! Let's check the number of applicants!]
*Humming~♪.*
The announcement broadcast hums a tune that's unmistakably upbeat, no matter who hears it.
It doesn't take long.
The broadcast resumes faster than expected.
[…Is this for real?]
[Thirteen applicants! The most we've ever had since the company was founded!]
[Oh… my eyes are blurring with tears… (sniffle).]
[We'll dedicate this momentous occasion… to applicant 'Park Yeon-jeong.']
*Clap! Clap! Clap!*
Like the star of the show taking the stage, all the lights focus on one man at once, forcibly imprinting his presence.
I don't need this kind of attention…
The man himself was breaking into a cold sweat, grimacing at the unwanted spotlight.
Even as he squinted against the blinding light, his gaze turned to those who couldn't join him here.
'…Eight.'
The eyes of the eight who hadn't submitted resumes despite hearing the dual-personality woman's taunt earlier were now drawn to him.
But it was impossible now.
All he could do was…
"I have a small request."
A modest plea to the woman who had helped him.
"Please look after the female students."
"Huh? What do you—"
She looked puzzled at his request, which seemed to lack an object.
*Zzzt—*
Everyone's attention snapped back to the voice from the speaker.
[Alright! For smooth proceedings from here on, we must bid a regrettable 'farewell' to those who took time out of their busy schedules to visit our company. Thank you for applying!]
Judging by the male voice from the announcement broadcast, everyone here likely thought the same.
This place…
is the wrong answer.
Some glared murderously at the woman who had lured them here.
For a mere five seconds.
That was the case until five seconds ago.
[Sending talent away is always hard…]
[Now, everyone, let's wave our right hands together and say 'farewell'!]
But not a single one of those who had filled out resumes followed the announcement's instructions.
Far from it—they clutched their faces with both hands, sobbing at the despair to come.
In contrast,
the faces of the eight not on our side lit up with relief.
We can get out!
We're finally going home!
You idiots! I'm out!!
Faces filled with hope of escape. And I couldn't bring myself to look at them all.
I bowed my head.
I lacked the confidence to face them.
*Zzzt—*
[See you next time!]
[Our company always welcomes 'courageous' applicants like you!]
*Swoosh…*
"…Huh? Where's this powder coming from?"
Powder fell from the ceiling above the eight in ecstasy.
Those of us watching the scene covered our mouths with both hands, unable to react.
*Boom!*
With a massive crash.
*Crunch—!*
The ceiling collapsed precisely where the remaining eight stood.
Compressed by a gigantic hydraulic press.
A murder scene.
"……"
"……"
"……"
As if they'd forgotten how to scream.
The remaining thirteen gathered here held their breath at the sight before their eyes.
And the screams they'd all forgotten.
*Swoosh.*
As the ceiling rose back up, revealing countless bones, flesh, and blood clots mashed flat beneath it, tangled together.
"Arghhh!"
"Aaahhh!"
"…Urk!"
The woman who had questioned my request moments ago finally understood.
She covered the two female students' eyes.
"I-I want to… go home…"
One girl burst into the tears she'd been holding back.
She had seemed fragile from the start.
The short-haired girl beside her, hearing her friend's sobs, trembled in the woman's arms, trying to hide it.
The quiver of her tiny fists caught my eye.
That's the normal reaction.
Being cold-hearted here would be abnormal.
Even I, who had anticipated this, felt my legs about to give out.
…Ugh!
The stench hitting my nose made me hastily cover it with my sleeve.
*Zzzt—*
[Alright, alright. Let's wrap up this tearful farewell. Remaining applicants, shall we charge toward our company's future!]
*Click!*
All the lights went out again, and before even a few minutes passed, they shone on us once more.
The traces of the library's central hall where we'd stood, and the corpses stuck to the floor like gum until moments ago, had vanished.
We'd been moved to what looked like an ordinary gymnasium.
Park Yeon-jeong knew.
What would happen in this seemingly ordinary gymnasium next.
[The upcoming 'first screening' is a simple 'aptitude test' to see if you're suitable talent for our company.]
[Think of it as basic elementary school-level physical verification.]
Elementary school-level physical test?
Modern elementary kids must be doing life-or-death hell training.
Mr. Announcement?
At that moment, a potbellied middle-aged man cautiously spoke up.
"…Looks ordinary, doesn't it?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Even to me, it just looked like a regular gymnasium.
They'd made it look that way perfectly.
=======
[Exploration Record 3rd Round]
: Deputy Manager Kang Hyeok followed the announcement and filled out a resume.
Survival.
Seeing it as a good start, he declared he'd go first in the second 'aptitude test.'
(Result: Death—skull caved in.)
=======
The additional cause of the skull caving was failing to dodge the falling shot put.
If you're asking why a shot put suddenly fell from the sky.
I don't know.
How should I know?
Don't ask.
If I could analyze and spot such bizarre phenomena, I'd be an elite employee at the [Ghost Story Archive].
Naturally, I have no desire to enter that world.
Since the resume phase already had the second-highest casualties.
The best clear method here is to rank as low as possible in the aptitude test, memorizing the traps the vanguard passes through.
So the key here is 'order.'
And the method to decide that order is.
[The aptitude test will be one at a time, so we'll decide the order fairly with 'drawing straws'!]
[Pretty fair, right?]
With the announcement declaring drawing straws,
a mysterious white glove popped up before us.
The floating white glove approached with a clenched fist, and up close, it held thirteen thin strips of paper.
"……"
"…Is it safe to draw?"
With bizarre phenomena unfolding before their eyes, people's wariness heightened.
Those hesitant to act just eyed each other, and the announcement didn't seem pleased, as noise crackled.
*Zzzt.*
[…Hmm. This is troubling. Very troubling. Wasting time on the aptitude test will make the executives waiting for the next interview unhappy…]
[Trou-bling…]
It's troubling for me too!
=======
[Exploration Record 4th Round.]
: Intern Lee Hyeok inferred from prior events that order mattered and agonized over it.
When the aptitude test didn't proceed smoothly, the announcement blared.
[Due to time constraints, we'll start the aptitude test with all personnel together.]
(Result: Death—crushed.)
(Cause of death: Trampled and crushed by the crowd.)
=======
Not the crushed ending.
I hastily drew a random strip from the white glove.
'Anything but first place.'
Even if I'd read the full guide for this ghost story.
I don't trust my memory.
I roughly remember all the trap locations, but not the very first one.
The 'shot put trap' where our Deputy Manager Kang Hyeok nobly perished earlier.
Please, anything but first!
Not first!
<2>
The number on the paper was '2,' right after '1.'
I'd said anything but first.
But I never imagined it'd be number 2.
'…W-Well. At least it's not 1.'
Think positive.
Confirming no issues after I drew, the others began drawing one by one.
"…10!"
"Damn, 5."
Mine's 2, by the way.
Isn't smacking them legal?
Checking faces as they drew, my gaze lingered on the horn-rimmed woman who'd caught my eye.
'…She looks calm.'
Extremely composed expression.
That woman.
Definitely drew a late number.
No way she'd be that calm otherwise.
Scanning the rest, my eyes fixed on one person.
I knew without asking.
Of all people.
A girl trembling like a leaf, clutching her drawn strip, barely holding herself together.
And her short-haired friend noticing.
"…No way, you."
"…Min-ji… What do I do…"
"……"
An inexplicable tension hung between the two girls for a while.
*Zzzt.*
[The drawing is complete! Thanks again to applicant 'Park Yeon-jeong' for following instructions!]
*Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!*
The now-familiar applause.
More than that, why does the announcement keep mentioning my full name…?
Uncomfortable.
Uneasy.
But I focused on the situation at hand.
[Alright, alright! Straw number 1, please step to the white line!]
[…First place must be nerve-wracking.]
At the call for number 1, everyone turned as if rehearsed.
Toward one girl.
"Stu— Student. You're 1, right."
"Y-Yes! I-I… I'm…"
Kim Hye-seon started stuttering.
She seemed to strain desperately to hide she was number 1…
She was truly an immature liar.
"I…"
And such childish deception was unacceptable for an applicant interviewing at this company.
[Hmm… Number 1 applicant.]
[No number 1?]
The man who'd been cheerful until now sounded irritated to anyone listening.
Feeling the unease, some applicants stepped up.
"Student! Go quick! They're calling number 1!"
"Didn't you see what happened earlier? We'll all die if this drags!"
"N-No… I…"
Surrounded by adults' pressure, the girl looked ready to collapse.
[Num-ber 1… ap-plicant… no■ne?]
As noise corrupted the announcement and tension peaked,
"Fuck! Get out there, you damn brat!"
A middle-aged man lost his temper, grabbing her wrist and dragging her.
"N-No, no! Save… Save me! I don't want to die!!"
Those who'd harassed her now watched pitifully as the man forcibly pulled her.
They just watched.
No one tried to stop him.
"Mi-Min-ji! Min-ji! Hey! Jeong Min-ji!"
"……"
When her desperately called friend Jeong Min-ji avoided her gaze and turned away,
"Mi… Min-ji?"
Kim Hye-seon stopped screaming from that moment.
[…A moment. Seems number 1 got nervous.]
His voice still low.
But confirming the now semi-forced number 1 at the starting line, the announcement brightened again.
[…I understand. Anyone submitting a resume to an excellent company like ours might worry about failing. Of course! We understand!!]
How he spun that situation positively was baffling.
[But we must advance! Without advancing, we can't seize greater authority!]
Soon, the hidden obstacles appeared one after another.
- Average bar where shot puts fall.
- 500m dash with hydraulic press activation.
- Push-ups over iron spikes.
- Time-attack sit-ups where the space shrinks in real-time.
- Long jump over flowing magma.
[Then, starting the aptitude verification test for number 1…]
"I have a question."
[…Yes?]
Raising his right hand boldly to halt the test was none other than Park Yeon-jeong.
Me.
[…Ah. It's our applicant 'Park Yeon-jeong'!]
Luckily, I seemed in his good graces. His slightly sunken tone perked up immediately.
"I'm questioning the need for this aptitude test. Forgive my impertinence."
[…]
The announcement seemed deep in thought.
I hoped so.
That my rude question would get calm judgment, not anger.
"…Sniffle."
After my action, as I met eyes with the number 1 girl swallowing tears and snot,
Everyone here probably thought the same of my move.
Hero complex.
Or hypocrite.
The worst play in a situation that could endanger all.
'They're cursing me plenty right now.'
My ears are itching already.
But no choice.
I was confident this was my best option now.
Hero complex?
Hypocrite?
Think what you want.
I won't waver.
…Why?
Even knowing all the trap locations, that assumes my body cooperates fully.
Me.
With this trash stamina.