The Tower That Pierced the Sky
The morning air carried a biting chill. I sat on the bus, yawning so wide my jaw nearly cracked, blinking the sleep from my eyes. It was still early, so most of the passengers wore exhausted, haggard expressions. The student nodding off in the front seat, the middle-aged man beside me scrolling through morning news on his smartphone—everyone looked drained. Even the bus driver was no exception.
Screeech!
Maybe my yawn was contagious. The driver, who had been letting out a long sigh, misjudged the traffic light and slammed on the brakes.
“Whoa!”
The sudden inertia shattered the silence. Sharp gasps erupted from every corner of the bus. People clutched their chests, trying to calm their racing hearts. The man sitting next to me wore a troubled look—he must have dropped his phone.
“Excuse me… kid, sorry to ask, but could you pick that up for me?”
“Ah.”
The phone had rolled just far enough under the seat in front to be annoying to reach. I leaned forward to grab it.
The colossal towers that appeared across the world. A quiet year has passed.
As I reached out, the phone’s screen lit up with an article about the towers—the very topic that had dominated the internet for the past year.
I handed the phone back without a word.
“Thanks, kid.”
I turned my gaze out the bus window toward the towering structure that pierced the clouds. No one knew exactly when these mysterious towers had first appeared. They were so immense they seemed to defy measurement, yet strangely, not a single person had witnessed their actual arrival.
According to rumors online, the first person in Korea to discover one had been an ordinary facility manager at Gyeongbokgung. Something about walking in to clean and finding it already there. After that, towers began appearing not just in Korea but all over the world. Famous scientists, internet conspiracy theorists, and self-proclaimed prophets argued endlessly, but none of them had uncovered a single real answer.
“Hmm.”
I turned away from the tower. Right now, that giant pillar wasn’t what mattered to me. Today was my interview day at Sky Games. I had finally gotten into a major company—being late as a mere entry-level employee was simply not an option.
I arrived at the company right on time and stepped into the massive building that looked like it could easily clear forty or fifty floors. The entrance reminded me of the temples you’d see in fantasy games. Though once you got closer, the fact that the entire first floor was made of glass made it feel a bit less impressive.
Whirrr.
The automatic doors slid open. Inside, men in suits hurried about, all here for interviews. The lobby was already packed. Just looking at it made my head spin.
“Welcome. Those here for interviews, please come this way…”
The woman at the information desk gestured to guide the crowd. As I walked past her, she started to repeat the same line, then noticed my employee ID and smiled awkwardly, waving me through.
“Oh, go right ahead. It’s been so long since we’ve had this many people—I’m a bit scattered.”
“It happens. Still, it’s pretty early and they’re already packed in here.”
“That’s what happens at big companies.”
She smiled and answered naturally. I nodded in agreement. Wanting to be perfectly prepared for an opportunity that could change your life was only natural. I had been the same way once, and I was sure the woman at the desk had been too.
“Um… Seo Seyeong?”
I glanced at her name tag and awkwardly spoke her name. I had seen her face every morning for a year, but this was the first time I’d actually called her by name.
“Yes?”
I frowned slightly as I looked at the crowd gathered in front of the elevator. Just seeing them made it feel hard to breathe.
“Has the stairwell renovation been finished?”
Seo Seyeong tilted her head for a moment, but when she saw the swarm of interview candidates clustered around the elevator, she nodded quietly.
“It was completed two days ago. You should be fine to use it. Though I believe HR is on the twentieth floor—will you be okay?”
More than okay. I’d rather climb forty floors on foot than squeeze into that mess.
“It’s better than that.”
“R-really?”
Seo Seyeong’s eyes quickly scanned me up and down. Maybe I should have done more leg workouts. But there was no point regretting it now.
“I’ll head up first. If I’m later than the manager, the scolding gets intense.”
“Ah, wait…”
She looked like she wanted to say something else, but I quickly walked toward the stairs.
Damn it. I should have just taken the elevator.
“Interviewees, please come this way… Huh? Kim Siin?”
The first person I met after pushing open the emergency stairwell door was Oh Geumseok, the assistant manager, who greeted me with a half-rotten expression.
“Why’d you come up the stairs?”
He looked me up and down, already loading up a lecture. I gave him a stiff smile.
“I don’t really like crowds.”
“Wow, Siin, you must have energy to spare. I’m jealous. Some of us have been running around since dawn and we’re already losing our minds.”
Oh Geumseok. A parachute hire who got in through connections to the HR manager’s family. My direct superior, and someone who was exceptionally good at kissing up to those above him.
“Anyway, go follow those people over there to the auditorium. Don’t even think about loitering around the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
It was ridiculous to hear the biggest loiterer of all tell me not to loiter. Still, I had no desire to stir up trouble, so I let it slide.
Following Oh Geumseok’s instructions, I moved along with the other employees who had arrived earlier. As a low-level employee, my job was basically just guiding people around. There was no need to overthink it.
The hallway stretched on as long as the building itself. When we reached the end, the staff member leading us gave out instructions.
“Interviews will begin at nine. Seat the candidates according to their numbers and assigned spots. If you see anyone suspicious, contact security immediately.”
Once the briefing ended, we naturally filed into the auditorium.
Doesn’t look that busy, though?
Inside the spacious hall, quite a few people waited with stiff expressions for their interview turns. But that was it. It didn’t seem like there would be enough work to justify Oh Geumseok’s over-the-top nagging.
Then—
“Excuse me… sir?”
“Oh. Yes?”
The sudden deep voice from right beside me made me turn my head as naturally as possible, pretending I hadn’t been startled.
“Sorry if I surprised you. You work here, right?”
Neat, short pomade hair and sharp, well-defined features. Even though his suit covered most of it, I could tell he kept himself in excellent shape. The man was looking straight at me.
“It’s fine. What can I help you with?”
“Sorry to bother you, but could I borrow your phone for three minutes? I had to turn mine in for the interview…”
“Ah… sure. Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
The man bowed slightly, took my phone, and quickly dialed a number before pressing it to his ear. A moment later, when no one picked up, he looked back at me with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. They’re not answering… By the way, you must be working hard.”
“Not at all. I only just got here, so it’s not like I’ve been working that hard.”
The man fiddled with the interview pass hanging around his neck and continued.
“I didn’t expect there to be this many people here for the interview. I’ve wanted to work in the gaming industry since I was young, but with this much competition…”
“You’ll be fine. Still, it’s impressive. Not many people actually pursue the exact career they dreamed of as a child.”
“Impressive? Hardly. I used to work in education, but I quit recently. It just wasn’t for me. Haha.”
That explained it. The way he had called me “sir” earlier must have been a habit from his teaching days.
“Thanks for letting me use the phone.”
He handed it back with a slightly bitter look, having failed to reach anyone.
“You can use it a little longer if you need. It looked like you couldn’t get through.”
“It’s okay. It wasn’t that urgent.”
I felt a bit uneasy and considered offering it again, but his face showed no real attachment to the call, so I let it go. The man smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. When I kept staring at him, he extended his hand first.
“Ah, my name is Park Jocheol.”
Park Jocheol. The name somehow suited his appearance perfectly.
“I’m Kim Siin.”
“Oh, Siin? Like poet… That’s unique.”
“I hear that a lot. It’s not a very common name.”
Contrary to his quiet first impression, Park Jocheol turned out to be quite talkative. Maybe conversation was his way of relieving tension. He asked a lot of questions, and before I knew it, our talk stretched on and on.
It was a peaceful conversation. For someone like me who was usually buried in work, this kind of ordinary chat seemed like a surprisingly good way to relieve stress.
“Anyway, I should get back to work. If I stay in one spot too long, the old-timers start giving me the eye.”
Our rather enjoyable conversation was coming to an end.
“I see. Well, if I get hired, maybe we can talk again later…”
But just as Park Jocheol was about to finish his farewell—
Beeeeeeeeep—!
The phone in my right hand suddenly let out a loud, unpleasant noise along with a violent vibration.
People’s attention scattered as they tried to locate the source of the sound. But that effort quickly became meaningless.
Beeeeeeeeep—!
Beeeeeeeeep—!
Beeeeeeeeep—!
The exact same noise that had started from my phone now rang out from every employee in the auditorium. It was a familiar warning tone that signaled danger. Park Jocheol, standing in front of me, suddenly looked anxious, as if he had realized who might have been trying to call him earlier. He stared at me.
“Is it an earthquake?”
“Doesn’t feel like one…”
Since there was no separate evacuation broadcast inside the building, I quickly read the text message I had just received.
National Disaster Situation (Level 4 - Severe)
- As of this moment, the national disaster crisis warning has been raised to Severe.
- Citizens are advised to remain in a safe location until the situation is fully understood.
“National disaster…?”
This wasn’t a regular safety alert. It was a national disaster warning. Whatever was happening, it clearly wasn’t an ordinary natural disaster.