Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 31. The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing XX
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Song Arin spun around in her chair before looking over at me.
"So, why'd you come here?"
"Yes."
Her eyes shifted to Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon.
Unlike Yoo Daon, who was happily brewing coffee, Jang Chaeyeon stood there with her arms crossed, staring intently at Song Arin.
...
...
Their gazes met,
then Jang Chaeyeon uncrossed her arms, sat down at her desk, and resumed work with her signature two-finger pecking.
...Why?
Song Arin let out a quiet sigh at my question and ruffled her bangs.
"It's nothing. Let's just keep talking."
She must not want to say.
I nodded, and she picked up where she left off.
"The theater incident has been wrapped up for now. The Management Bureau successfully recovered the survivors and sent them all home after memory wipes."
"What about the casualties?"
...
Song Arin wore a fleeting look of pain.
"I thought they'd come back after the musical ended, but they didn't."
Just like that, she switched to a businesslike expression and looked at me.
"Losing so many people at once isn't ideal for the Management Bureau either. But we handled it somehow."
"Somehow?"
"Somehow."
I could feel her resolve not to elaborate on the method.
"...That's a shame."
"Yeah."
She replied in that same businesslike tone, then rolled her eyes.
"But that's not why you're here, is it, Song Arin?"
"Right. That's not the reason."
"So what is it?"
"Temporary reassignment, for starters."
"Temporary reassignment?"
My face naturally twisted in suspicion.
Is she just treating us like a free Containment Team?
She stuck us with Song Arin just to dump work on us on the sly!
"I can tell exactly what you're thinking, and it's probably... probably not that."
"Why the 'probably'?"
"If it's not, then it's not."
Song Arin shrugged.
"HR Team isn't getting shipped off anywhere, at least."
"Then why are you here?"
"They told me to take a break."
"Who did?"
"That uncle you saw back then."
"Why?"
"Guess I earned it after all that hardship! What, you gonna grill me over every little thing?"
"No, you said there was a long story behind it."
If this counts as a long story, then my joining the Human and Containment Incident Response Team would be an epic saga.
"This really is the whole story!"
Song Arin thumped her chest indignantly.
Yeah, real trustworthy.
"...Look, that's just what I heard, okay? I'm just following orders. Staring at me like that won't get you anywhere."
Song Arin glared at me with narrowed eyes.
"Got it. So we're not getting reassigned anywhere, right?"
"Nope."
"You're sure? Team Leader?"
I called out loudly, and Team Leader poked his head up from his phone game to look at me.
"What?"
"No dispatches for us?"
"Probably not."
With that, he dove back into his game.
He hasn't been doing any work lately. He's not seriously just supervising us in exchange for slacking off, is he?
"...Anyway, we're really not going. No deployments."
"Okay, I get it! Even if you tell me that, there's nothing I can do about it!"
Song Arin snapped again, and I could only shrug and return to my seat under her firm insistence.
"Do you know how to do office work?"
"I can handle the basics."
Luckily, this new hire had experience, so there wasn't much to teach her.
"...How do you do this?"
"Here, this is called clicking."
"...You could die messing around like that."
With Yoo Daon back from brewing coffee and teaching Jang Chaeyeon as background noise, I turned on my laptop and got back to work.
*
Believe it or not, a whole week passed without a single incident.
No business trips, no sudden object escapes.
Song Arin had adapted perfectly to office life and was handling her tasks flawlessly, while Yoo Daon and Jang Chaeyeon were doing great at their own stations.
It was too enjoyable. Too happy.
Who knew routine could feel this grateful? You really only appreciate what you lose.
If every day stayed like this, I'd have no regrets.
There were rumors floating around sometimes—like what the hell does HR Team even do to have three beauties working there, or maybe they formed a separate HR Team—but nothing had been proven true so far.
After all, I'd safely finished payroll today too.
In short, nothing had happened yet today either.
Team Leader, who had been typing away at his computer, stood up and called me over.
"Hey, grab some coffee."
"Team Leader, I'm not your subordinate. I don't think it's right to keep making me brew coffee like this."
"I'll give you the card. Get whatever you want, take the others, and chill for an hour."
"Coffee it is. Hot Americano with an extra shot for you, right, Team Leader? I'll take my time."
"Yeah. And you are my subordinate."
Team Leader handed me the card. As I took it and stood, the three women rose to follow.
"Off for coffee?"
...
"HR Team's got it good~ Roaming around for coffee whenever."
If I had to say, the three didn't get along badly, but there wasn't much... camaraderie.
Is women's friendship always this distant?
Not really—watching my little sister on the phone with her friends didn't feel like it.
I opened the office door and stepped out.
Heading to the coffee shop with the three in tow, an announcement blared.
[Announcement: The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing XX is currently unmanageable. Please exercise caution. We advise against traveling alone or with someone you get along poorly or too well with—]
"Here we go again."
"What's that?"
Yoo Daon asked curiously at my mutter.
"There's this thing. The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing XX... It's a Gangseo Branch landmark, right up there with our monkey..."
"What's XX?"
Jang Chaeyeon cut in, and Song Arin snorted.
"You're both older than me, and you don't even know? Sex, dumbass. Sex!"
"Sex-!"
Yoo Daon clapped her hands over her mouth, and Jang Chaeyeon expressionlessly swung her hand, smacking a crumpled paper from somewhere over Song Arin's mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"...Is that right?"
"Uh-"
How do I even answer that?
As I rolled my eyes at Yoo Daon's question, Jang Chaeyeon patted my shoulder with a look that said she got it.
"No need to explain. We all know."
"Yeah... thanks."
Explaining further just felt tiring and annoying.
Accepting her consideration, I headed toward the coffee shop.
Buying the coffee didn't take long.
We'd grab Team Leader's on the way back. The four of us strolled the Management Bureau corridors.
Warm sunlight brushed our faces, and the coffee in my hand wafted a rich aroma, soothing my body and mind.
"Nice."
"Right?"
Yoo Daon smiled at my murmur.
"I don't even know how long it's been since I relaxed like this."
"You deserve it more than anyone, Daon."
She'd been with me from the moment I got dragged into that incident.
"This feels like the most peaceful time in my life."
"Really that good?"
At my words, Yoo Daon just smiled quietly.
"Yeah. The most in my life."
She sipped her coffee with a calm voice.
Something felt off about her tone.
But it passed quickly. I turned to look at Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin behind us.
...
...
The worst atmosphere.
Not a word of conversation, not even looking at each other.
"...Hey."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon met my eyes as I spoke.
"Wanna switch places?"
"Sure."
Jang Chaeyeon came to my side, and I moved back to stand next to Song Arin.
"...Why."
"Try getting along. You joined last—shouldn't you make friends with everyone?"
"I'm trying my best."
"If that's your best, reflect on it."
Song Arin sighed deeply at my words.
"There's a story. A story."
"Can't tell me?"
"Yeah."
She's got secrets overflowing.
"Shall we head back to the coffee shop?"
Gotta get Team Leader's too.
"Yeah, sounds good!"
Yoo Daon nodded and pushed open the glass door ahead—
...Huh?
The four of us stood in a room lit by dangling fluorescent lights.
Dread hit me. I looked up at the door.
A faded sign read:
[The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing XX]
The three followed my gaze to the sign and froze in place.
"This is that room...?"
"...Hey! Did you plan this?"
Yoo Daon and Song Arin stared at me in shock.
"...I'm ready."
What the hell is this woman saying?
Looking at Jang Chaeyeon, who gazed at me with a resolute expression, I had no choice but to say it to the three.
"Check the manual. Everyone. Now."
At my words, they all pulled out their manuals and started reading.
[Employee Manual]
[SX - The Room You Can't Leave Without Doing XX]
1. This room appears randomly in the Gangseo Branch. Until it returns to its place, employees must avoid traveling alone or with someone they get along poorly with.
2. This room is not a lewd facility. Management Bureau staff seeking trysts should find another room.
3. This room will not open until each person's deepest feasible desire is fulfilled.
4. The sign expresses each person's deepest desire.
5. Caution: Management Bureau staff attempting planned murders by exploiting this room's traits have been caught recently. Offenders will be subject to 'termination,' and the Management Bureau bears no responsibility.
Our eyes met.
Soon, the sign's text faded, and new words formed.
[First: Flick Yoo Daon on the forehead until she cries]
...
...
...
Me, Yoo Daon, and Song Arin's gazes turned to one person.
Jang Chaeyeon coughed awkwardly, her face flushed.