Chapter 306
Chapter 306
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Back Door
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"Are they doing okay out there?"
"Worry about us first."
Song Arin let out a small sigh in response to my mutter.
Team Leader, taking the lead, opened the office door with a face full of tension.
-Tap tap... Tap tap...
In the quiet office, only the sound of typing echoed.
Our three pairs of eyes turned forward,
and met the sight of countless people pounding away at their keyboards.
They kept tapping at their computer keyboards without even acknowledging our arrival.
"Team Leader's here, and not one of them even says hello."
Song Arin muttered as she walked through the crowd of people, and I began scanning their semitransparent windows one by one.
They all had the title "Actor" attached to their names.
There were three of us humans.
For a moment, I wondered if these people were victims too, but honestly, there was nothing I could do right now.
All I could do was hope for a good outcome after this video incident wrapped up.
"Follow me."
Team Leader, still not letting his guard down, led us to his office.
A nameplate reading [Heo Chan] was attached to the door, and he stared at it with a complicated expression before stepping inside.
-Clunk!
The door closed, and Team Leader turned his gaze to me and Song Arin.
I slowly shook my head as I watched him open his mouth as if to say something.
It meant the filming was still going.
"...For now, I'll explain the basics of the job, so come to my computer."
Team Leader paused for a moment, glanced at us, and we all moved in unison to his desk.
Fortunately, his computer was backed against the wall.
That meant, even if we couldn't tell where it was, at least the camera—wherever it might be—couldn't capture the screen.
It also meant that right now, in this scene, was our chance to exchange thoughts.
Team Leader hurriedly started typing on the computer.
Soon, text began appearing on the white screen.
[Is it filming?]
"Ah, yes."
I nodded, and Team Leader began typing something else on the screen.
[Sometimes, I feel something terrifying to an extreme degree.]
"I'm not sure about that part. Could you explain it once more?"
[When entering the office or just now when I saw my nameplate, it felt like there was something terrifying enough to make cold sweat pour down.]
"...Hmm."
I pondered Team Leader's words for a moment.
Something terrifying, when entering the office or seeing the nameplate.
Team Leader's Crisis Detection triggered when his life was in danger.
But those two situations didn't seem to have much to do with his life being at risk.
If anything, didn't they fit the scenario of the film perfectly? Exactly what part—
"Ah. I understand."
Team Leader stared at me blankly at my words, and Song Arin turned her gaze to me as well.
Our goal from the start wasn't to complete the video.
Our goal was to get out before the video was finished.
Because once the video was complete, we couldn't leave.
In other words, the reason Team Leader felt threatened was precisely because the video was nearing completion.
...
Maybe someone would say they needed a cameraman.
I looked around, but I didn't hear exactly what I was hoping for.
First off, I needed to know what genre this even was—
-Bang!
The door flew open, and someone entered.
"Team Leader Heo Chan."
"Ah, uh."
Team Leader hurriedly turned off the computer, looked ahead, and took a deep breath.
One person stood there.
Where a face should have been, there was nothing—like an egg ghost.
The bizarre part was that the voice came out normally.
Of course, from Team Leader's perspective, it was a sight that could make him faint.
"There's something. Follow me."
"Uh, uh..."
Team Leader looked at us as if pleading for help.
The moment I stepped forward, the egg ghost with only hair on its head turned toward me.
Or at least, it felt like it was looking.
"Can a newbie butt in on Team Leader's business?"
...
I shut my mouth, and Team Leader did the same.
I wondered if hypnosis would work on this thing.
I glanced at Song Arin, and she looked back at me.
We were definitely thinking the same thing.
Arin,
I get it without you saying.
Really?
Why's this one picking a fight? If you get it, then just watch.
We probably exchanged something like that with our eyes.
In any case, it seemed Song Arin understood what I meant.
A brief silence.
"Team Leader?"
It called out to Team Leader, and at the same time, Song Arin furrowed her brow slightly as she stared at the egg ghost.
No way—
The egg ghost's face area rippled, and it stared straight at Song Arin.
-Thud!
-Thud!
At the same time, sounds started coming from the window.
I turned to look at the window, and countless hands were pounding on it.
And Song Arin's reaction was swift.
She quickly dropped to her knees.
Then, with her hands clasped together, she kept muttering in a low voice.
"I'm sorry. Let's reshoot once. I'm sorry. Let's reshoot once..."
Quietly, but persistently, she muttered on, and soon the hands clinging to the window vanished, leaving handprints behind. The faceless man looked at her and whispered.
"There's no second chance. Team Leader, come quickly."
And with that, the man stepped out the door.
-Rustle...
At the same time, a sound like film running out echoed, and Team Leader grabbed the door handle.
"I'm going. Jaeheon, take good care of Arin."
"Team Leader, let's go togeth—"
"It called for me. You two don't need to follow."
Team Leader muttered quietly and looked at me and Song Arin.
"While it's filming me, it probably won't film anyone else. Use that time to find an exit fast."
...
Team Leader stared at me intently, and I met his eyes for a moment.
...
Team Leader slowly shook his head.
In that case.
"Got it."
"Yeah. I'm off."
At my words, Team Leader grabbed the handle and left.
...
I looked down at Song Arin, still kneeling, and she slowly stood up, muttering.
"Hypnosis did work."
"Really?"
"The problem is, it realized it was being hypnotized, and at the same time, we got caught breaking the rules."
"So it ultimately means nothing."
"As much as I hate to admit it, yeah."
Song Arin muttered with her brow deeply furrowed at my words.
At the same time, the manual unfolded.
[Office Manual]
"Why do you think this manual splits things up like this when it could just tell us everything at once?"
"Isn't that more convenient?"
It felt like even if it dumped everything on us at once, we wouldn't remember it anyway.
"You always seem to take the manual's side?"
"What side? It just fits my personality."
...
With Song Arin wearing a dissatisfied expression, we checked the manual together.
[Video Survival Guide]
1. If you fail once, there is no next time. Refrain from any further actions that go against your role.
2. If the previously mentioned escape method is not visible, you must find a new one.
3. The fact that you're reading this alive means you understand exactly when the camera is rolling and when it's not. Find the exit when the camera is off.
4. This is the world of the video. Don't look at things through your own eyes—look through the camera's eyes. Then, the back door will become visible.
5. In that process, you'll see people who failed to escape and countless failures. Do not feel sympathy for them. There is nothing you can do for them. No matter what they say to you, it's just a string of meaningless characters, a cunning trick to provoke your sympathy—do not forget that.
6. If you find the back door, be careful not to let anyone see you enter. This area is restricted to authorized personnel only, and if you enter, you will become one.
"So that's what it says."
"...Back door..."
Song Arin muttered back at me, furrowing her brow slightly.
"Got any ideas?"
"Not quite an idea, more like a question."
"A question?"
"That egg ghost."
"Yes."
Egg ghost was a perfect description.
I nodded, and Song Arin looked at me.
"Why an egg ghost?"
"Pardon?"
"Does it have to be an egg ghost specifically? It feels a bit off."
...
"No, just a random thought, ignore—"
"No. It's not a wrong observation."
I cut her off and nodded, and Song Arin stared at me.
"The egg ghost, the people—there's something different about them."
The people who didn't greet Team Leader when he arrived, and the egg ghost with no face.
It was as if...
"...Minimization...?"
"Huh?"
Song Arin stared at me at my mutter.
"In filming, isn't the most important thing getting maximum results with minimal effort?"
"That... yeah, probably."
Song Arin nodded and quickly opened the door to the office Team Leader had left through.
Team Leader was already gone from his seat, and the countless people were still typing away without so much as glancing at us.
Then, I quickly approached someone working at a computer.
"Hey, what are you...!"
Song Arin widened her eyes and hurriedly followed behind me.
Sure enough, the computer was off, and the expressionless person kept pounding the keyboard without caring whether I was there or not.
...
I looked up at what was in front of it.
Nothing was visible.
This time, someone typing at a computer on the opposite side.
"Hey, what are you doing...!"
Song Arin followed me with that impressive act of whispering loudly, but ignoring it, I checked the computer on the other side.
Nothing was on the screen here either.
"Arin, find a place where the screen is actually on."
"...What?"
"Quickly."
"Ah, got it."
Hearing me, Song Arin hurriedly headed elsewhere, and after glancing at her, I started checking the screens again.
Soon, Song Arin looked at me.
"Here."
I went over and looked at the screen.
This time, it was on.
...
Looking behind it, I saw a room labeled [Break Room], and Song Arin looked there too.
"Arin."
"Yeah?"
"The screen only needs to show what's supposed to be shown."
If they needed the image of someone using the computer, they didn't need to actually turn it on.
That's why Team Leader and I could talk freely.
Faces were the same.
If they were only shooting the back of the head, there was no need for a face.
It would be a waste of resources.
Thinking that, I headed to the break room,
...
and an old, worn door came into view.
...
...
I exchanged glances with Song Arin for a moment and grabbed the door handle.
"What about Team Leader?"
"There's a way."
"...Okay."
Song Arin nodded, and I opened the door handle.
A scream rang out.