It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story Chapter 105

I stared frozen at Isolation Room B14.

Squeak, squeeeeak.

The rusty hinges let out a scream as the door of the isolation room creaked open.

A door that should never open is now ajar. And inside, a black figure…

“Run!”

I immediately turned and sprinted towards the exit of the isolation corridor.

Beside me, I could hear Chief Park Min-seong running like a madman. My instincts urged me to move while my mind was in chaos.

‘What’s happening?’

What on earth is going on?

‘The work rule tips say…’

Rule 4: Ignore sounds from the Isolation Room; Rule 11: If you yell to be quiet, it will go silent.

Did the door just open before I could decide which one to follow?

What could possibly be inside…

“Hey, guys.”

Both Min-seong and I almost stumbled in unison.

It was a voice we both recognized.

But without looking back, we turned the corner and dashed toward the green emergency exit sign at the end of the hallway, throwing aside our cleaning tools. Breathing heavily, our gasps reached our chins.

Just as Chief Park Min-seong caught the doorknob beneath the green emergency light,

[Beeeeeep!!]

“…!!”

[Unauthorized opening of the isolation room confirmed.]

[Blocking the hallway.]

Red emergency lights lit up in the hallway.

With the emotionless machine voice, the sound of a protective shutter began to descend over the doorknob that Min-seong was holding.

We exchanged a glance, momentarily dumbfounded.

“…”

With us trapped inside.

The hallway was sealed off.

‘We’re screwed.’

Damn it, damn it!!

I rummaged through my pockets. I had to check if there were any related rules or work tips…

“Well, well. The dynamic duo is here. Did you guys trade your exploration manual for some toilet paper? Where’s that calmness gone?”

…

‘Huh?’

That voice sounded deflated.

It seemed to be suppressing frustration, but had an oddly everyday feel to it…

Thud, thud.

“I’m really losing it. No, should I praise this as being cautious? Huh.”

A voice followed closely behind me.

But the anomalies I had anticipated didn’t appear.

No chilling laughter, no icy hands reaching out, no eerie actions.

“…”

“Damn. Huh, no. Stay calm… Guys. I know I sounded a bit crazy earlier. But I had no choice; I had to use the escape item. We’re short on time, so let’s just accept it, okay?”

The voice grew a bit anxious.

“Is there anything I can’t say to get out? I was hoping to fish for some information while pretending to be crazy, but suddenly the item activated and I bolted out.”

That voice said,

“Get a grip. You have 10 seconds. Hurry.”

…

…

“…Assistant Manager?”

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t stop Chief Park Min-seong, who murmured beside me and turned around.

To be more precise, I turned around as well.

And there stood a familiar silhouette.

A bobbed haircut.

Clear, bright eyes.

A woman dressed in a cold-looking suit.

Our known Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je was standing in the hallway.

With a slightly disdainful expression, she surveyed the cleaning tools we had tossed aside.

“…Is it alright to leave that there? No, I’ll check that later… For now, let’s just make sense of this.”

“…”

“…”

The strength left Park Min-seong’s hand that was gripping my shoulder.

We stared at each other, dazed.

“Badger, and… Doe.”

A look flickered across Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s face.

“How have you been?”

Calmness, ease, a hint of ennui and fatigue etched on our superior’s face.

And a fierce smile.

“Seriously, this damned company… Huh.”

Assistant Manager Ha-je shook her head and sighed deeply, then gestured.

“Sorry, but could you open the door to the isolation corridor for me? After that, I’ll find my way out.”

Neither Min-seong nor I responded, as if in agreement.

Our heads felt ready to explode.

Assistant Manager Ha-je gave an awkward smile.

“Can’t even respond? Well, that’s a wise decision. I’d do the same…”

What is this?

‘Why does it feel so… plausible?’

Why does it feel so real…?

‘No, that can’t be!’

“Chief.”

I swallowed hard and quickly said to Park Min-seong in a low, hurried voice.

“Remember. The Assistant Manager has resigned. There’s no way she’s here…”

…

‘Wait a minute.’

Is she really not here?

I recalled the strange points that had lingered as doubts.

The last I heard from Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.

Not even meeting her equipment directly, just confirming texts, phone calls that never connected, and only hearing from Team Leader Lee Ja-heon…

Could she be…

‘Stuck here?’

I hastily recalled the conditions under which I was being transferred to the isolation area by the security team.

Emergency contaminants, corporate anomalies, dangerous molecules, spies, disciplinary subjects, and even darkly censored, unnerving conditions…

‘There are many.’

Even I and Chief Park Min-seong had been briefly confined.

If so…

Is there a possibility that Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je applies here too?

“…Doe?”

“Just a moment… just a moment.”

Is there a possibility?

I wanted to thoroughly question and verify the one resembling Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je right in front of me to figure out what had happened.

But I couldn’t gamble on the possibility.

‘For now, I’ll try another method.’

I asked the horror story resident.

‘Brown, about that person up ahead. Is that the Assistant Manager from Group D I worked with a few months ago?’

Brown cheerfully replied.

-Oh dear, unfortunately, this legendary host isn’t an entertainer investigation expert!

-Of course, my observational skills are outstanding, but even with these pebble-hard eyes, there are limits to what I can discern…

-Externally, it looks the same, but who knows? The world has plenty of masters of disguise.

Damn.

I desperately continued.

‘But could you please confirm just one thing? I’m curious about your judgment when looking at her with your own eyes. I trust you.’

-…! If that’s the case, I’ll gladly answer, my friend!

‘Thanks. Then…’

I swallowed.

‘Is the person in front of me, in every sense of the word… human?’

-Ah, that happens to be a question I can answer with certainty.

Brown declared in a cheerful voice.

-That’s correct!

Hah…

‘It is human, for sure.’

This is insane.

I’d rather hear that the being before me isn’t human. Then it would be determined.

…Not Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.

But the familiar-looking figure kept speaking in a familiar tone.

“I would want to persuade you nicely, but we don’t have much time, kids.”

Her complexion had paled slightly.

“The security team will soon be dispatched to assess the situation, and if I want to get out of here, I need to leave before that happens.”

“…”

“I’m not asking for much. I’m just going to hide for a moment, so when the door opens, let me go.”

I acknowledged it.

‘There’s no way I can discern with my eyes.’

Then I had no choice but to take on a bit of risk.

I immediately spoke.

“Chief.”

“Uh, uh?”

To Chief Park Min-seong.

“Don’t you think it’s impossible to meet an Assistant Manager who’s on leave in the security team’s isolation area?”

“That… isn’t possible, right?”

“Oh. Indirect communication. Not a bad idea, Doe.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je briefly marveled before muttering quickly.

“They’re saying I’d be housed here until I change my mind about resigning. Thinking it over now, I shouldn’t have trusted this damned company. Damn it.”

“Chief, what if someone isolated manages to slip out through the corridor door quickly?”

“Am I a fool? I prepared an item. The problem is time. There’s no time. The security team is probably already on their way. I can’t even confirm it. This is driving me crazy…”

Confirmed.

‘…Wait!’

I recalled what I had in my back pocket.

‘The walkie-talkie.’

I pressed my back against the door, sneaking one hand behind me to cautiously pull the walkie-talkie from my pocket.

Then, I slightly turned up the volume…

Beeeeep!

[Now blocking……]

Damn it!

‘The security team leader has been continuously radioing!’

I immediately turned off the walkie-talkie.

But it was already too late.

“I hear the walkie-talkie.”

“…!”

“Well, whatever, feel free to get in touch with it. But I have a question…”

A question?

“Why wouldn’t they give a walkie-talkie to a cleaner?”

“……”

My back felt ice-cold.

“Did someone give it specially? That’s strange. Cleaning personnel typically read the manual, clock in, and come in without needing to interact with other employees. It’s a system where they don’t need to meet someone else.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s voice was mixed with suspicion and tension.

“Is that… really connecting to the security team?”

“……”

“Doe, who did you meet?”

My hand was dripping with sweat.

This was the first time I found myself in such a mad situation.

‘I have no idea what to believe.’

There were no hints. No, even if it were truly Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, how could I let her go? Hiding from the security team? Is that even possible?

‘To gain any more understanding of the situation….’

Oh!

I remembered what I had originally planned to look at.

The second note where work tips were written down.

‘If I read all the remaining tips, I might catch the truth within the context.’

I immediately took the note out and read the next number.

12. If any weird smell escapes from the crack of the door or something starts to ooze out, run away without hesitation.

It’s a sign that must appear before the door is opened. Conversely, if there’s nothing like that, it’s usually safe.

I’ll explain more detailed exceptions in the next number.

I recommend taking some time to read it.

I quickly read the next item…

13. Huh? The door opened?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I reflexively crumpled the paper.

My pulse thudded as if it were vibrating in my hands.

“Doe, what’s wrong?”

Stay calm, stay calm…

“For now, let’s just calm down. The security team is coming, so we can think about the best way to handle this from now on.”

Chief Park Min-seong was patting my back as if to comfort me…

“But we have to find a way out….”

He wrote something with his finger on my back.

대
리
님
아
니
야

…

It’s not the Assistant Manager.

I looked up frozen.

“Wow.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.

No, the one who was wearing Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s face bows toward us.

“How did you know?”

How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know?