Chapter 305
Chapter 305
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Acting the Part
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"..."
Staring at the open manual, lost in thought.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Of course, it wasn't all that surprising that something had gone wrong.
If you were still shocked every time things turned out this way, you'd be the strange one.
"Everyone, pay attention."
"Yeah, I figured it was about time for this."
"Oh man..."
At my words, Song Arin shrugged and walked over, while Team Leader approached with a sigh.
"Yeah. Let me see it."
I look back at the open manual.
[Office Manual for Desk Jobs - World Inside the Video]
1. In the world inside the video, you are a character.
2. Act in a way that fits the character. You must never forget your role.
3. If you act in a way that doesn't fit the role, kneel immediately and say, "Sorry. Let's film it again."
4. If someone keeps staring anyway, stand up, go to a corner, and pick up any object that can be used for filming. Hope they mistake you for staff.
5. If that doesn't work, refer to [T - Suicide Methods].
Staring at the familiar [T - Suicide Methods] after so long—almost nostalgic—Song Arin let out a deep sigh.
"Looks like we've gotten sucked right into this thing, huh?"
"Seems that way."
"Then how do we figure out our roles?"
"...Hmm..."
Yeah, exactly.
You have to know what your role is before you can act the part. Just telling us to play our roles or die without any hints feels pretty underhanded.
"Hey, what are you idiots doing over there!"
Right as that thought crossed my mind, the door swung open and someone stormed in.
It was a man in a suit.
"Which team are you from? Say something! You look like fresh hires—"
"HR Team."
Up until then, Team Leader had stayed quiet, but now he spoke in a low voice.
"Just showing the new hires who started today around the company layout."
"...Ah, could it be..."
"Yes. HR Team Leader Heo Chan."
Team Leader stared straight at the man, and I quickly scanned above the man's head.
[Name: Actor]
[Age: -]
[Talent: Acting]
[Background: Even if tasked with creating a story for a nonexistent person, it's still just a nonexistent human.]
[Weakness: You can kill him. Please consider the fallout afterward.]
I stiffen at the suddenly prickly description, and Song Arin matches my posture, straightening her back.
"Sorry. We figured we should check out the screening room and places like that."
"HR Team? Why?"
The man stared hard at Team Leader, who seemed momentarily at a loss for words and clamped his mouth shut.
Silence.
The man's face, watching us, gradually turned expressionless.
Team Leader broke into a cold sweat.
No helping it.
"Sorry."
I slowly raise my hand, drawing everyone's eyes to me.
"I... It's my first time at a broadcasting station, so I threw a fit with Team Leader about wanting to see the screening room. He was just indulging me."
"...I didn't want to say it like that."
Team Leader, sweating bullets, thankfully played along with my excuse.
"..."
The man stared at me with a blank face, and at the same time, a dull pain throbbed in my chest.
But without showing a hint of it, I met his gaze, until he finally let the blank expression drop and sighed heavily.
"If it's your first time at a broadcasting station, that can happen. Just be more careful."
"Yes, yes. Sorry."
"...You gonna leave or not?"
Team Leader bowed his head, and the man stared piercingly at both him and me.
Song Arin, who'd been standing still until then, tapped my shoulder.
"Sorry about that."
She dipped her head slightly.
"I knocked over a video tape earlier and was just cleaning it up."
"...Well, if that's the case."
The man let out a small sigh at her words.
"Team Leader, you can't spoil the newbies like that. HR Team doesn't get many people as it is..."
"Haha, you're right. I've got nothing to say for myself."
Team Leader nodded, wiping cold sweat from his brow.
"Right, then take care. See you back at the office."
The man smiled and walked off, soon vanishing from sight out the door.
"...Haa..."
Team Leader exhaled deeply, and a single strand of hair drifted down.
"Thought I was done for."
"I'll buy you some anti-hair-loss shampoo when we get back."
"No need."
"Pfft!"
Team Leader scowled at my half-joking remark, and Song Arin burst out laughing.
Seemed like a successful mood lightener.
I look up at the screen.
The red [On Air] light was no longer glowing.
"The broadcast is off?"
"Could be a scene change."
"...Like that time?"
"Yeah, like that time."
Song Arin and I exchanged glances.
Song Arin in her purple dress, the skipping footage and fading consciousness.
"Act Three?"
"Not sure. Honestly, I have my doubts."
"Doubts?"
"It won't happen again."
"...Yeah, fair point."
"Tell me what's going on."
I give Team Leader, who'd been listening to our exchange, a quick rundown.
Theater troupe. Act One and Act Two.
"So this is Act Three?"
"That's what's weird about it."
Song Arin nodded in agreement with me.
"No buildup."
"Buildup?"
"The structure's off too."
A play that only Song Arin and I entered suddenly shifts to video format, and now other people get dragged in?
Doesn't add up.
"..."
I relay that point to Team Leader too, and he shakes his head after listening quietly.
"I agree with you two."
"Yes?"
"From my time at the Management Bureau, anything called a 'group' has a philosophy."
Team Leader looks at us.
"It's drilled into their heads so deep—insane as it is—that they end up hostile to the Bureau and hurting people."
Can't argue with that.
Song Arin and I nod.
"Then a new hostile—"
"What's 'new' about it? Just bad luck getting pulled in by a containment object."
"..."
"..."
Song Arin and I share a look, and Team Leader sighs.
"So let's just hurry up and get out."
"Team Leader."
"What?"
"Be honest. You weren't always with HR Team, were you?"
"Quit yapping and move."
Clearly not in the mood to answer, Team Leader heads out the door.
Song Arin and I exchange a brief glance.
"Not gonna hypnotize him."
"I didn't say a word."
And we follow behind Team Leader.
*
The moment we step out, the manual flares up furiously again.
"Trouble again, more trouble."
Song Arin mutters in exasperation, and I glance at her before checking the newly opened page.
[Office Manual for Desk Jobs - Video]
1. Once you've realized your role, there's something you must never forget.
2. You must escape before the video ends. Repeat: the moment the video ends, you become a character. Escape before it ends.
3. There are various escape methods, but the easiest is to leave with the staff.
4. During filming, everything sometimes stops to swap out equipment like lights, cameras, mics, and so on.
5. At that moment, find an empty spot and take it. If it's a camera, take the cameraman's position; if lights, the lighting director's. No filming skills required, so don't worry.
"..."
"..."
Song Arin and I read the manual and exchange glances.
"If we'd spotted black hair, it probably would've said to smash everything."
"Arin, please don't use Daon as a test subject."
Song Arin shrugs, and at the same time, a sound starts filtering into my ears.
-Click...!
The sound of film advancing.
In that instant, a question hits me.
"Daon..."
"Yeah?"
"How is Daon totally fine?"
What role did she take that lets her be okay right now?
She straight-up smacked people around.
Doesn't that contradict her role already?
"...Yeah, good point."
Song Arin mutters, and Team Leader—who'd been walking down the hall—glances back at us.
"Let's head to HR."
He's drenched in cold sweat.
-Click!
Filming resumes.
*
"Whew!"
Yoo Daon wipes sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and looks behind them.
"Something's off with these people, huh?"
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nods.
Scattered in front of the three of them were countless bodies sprawled out.
Some taken down by telekinesis, some by Yoo Daon.
Park Ye-eun hadn't knocked out a single one. Or rather, she couldn't.
"How does she just... hit people like that..."
"They're not people."
"Yes...?"
Has Yoo Daon finally reached the point where she can't tell humans apart?
Park Ye-eun stares at her in horror, and Yoo Daon meets her gaze with innocent eyes.
"Those aren't people."
"Yes...?"
"They don't smell human."
Smell human?
Park Ye-eun's confusion deepens as she stares at Yoo Daon, who then glances at Jang Chaeyeon—and she nods too.
"Figured it out when I blew them away. Not people."
You can tell even mid-blast? No idea how.
Park Ye-eun nods.
Right. No point trying to understand. Just go with it.
At that moment, sounds reach her ears.
"No cameraman."
"The cameraman..."
Muttered voices.
In that instant, Yoo Daon and Jang Chaeyeon fix Park Ye-eun with blank stares.
"Ye-eun, grab the camera."
"Grab the camera."
The two of them watch her impassively.
Park Ye-eun's legs turn to jelly.