It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 032

The manual manager has gone missing.

My fifty million won is missing.

And the gift Bloodlust Bath (planned) is also missing.

“………”

The bigger problem is that Brown, the one who asked for the gift, is in my bag pocket right now….

‘You must be listening, you jerk….’

It feels odd to leave it at home, and since I never know when I’ll fall into another horror story, I kept it with me, but instead, it feels counterproductive.

It’s like promising a gift to a nephew on Christmas Day, only to find all the shelves at the department store say ‘out of stock.’

But that nephew is Annabelle.

“Ha….”

A sigh escaped me.

‘The manager has been absent without notice in this world for a week….’

It’s obvious.

This means they’ve gone missing because they were entangled in a horror story.

“Just wait patiently. That’ll be good for your mental health.”

But if I wait patiently until someone buys the Bloodlust Bath from the alien store, I’ll fail to keep my “promise” to Brown!

I don’t want to mess with a stuffed doll that can burn A-rank darkness with a snap of the fingers…!

‘I’m really going to die.’

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je patted my shoulder and returned to her desk, while I sat in silence, drowning in my thoughts.

What should I do?

Should I wait anxiously for two months and, if the bathtub gets sold in the meantime, bash my head and apologize?

Should I rush for a loan?

Or……

‘…Should I at least investigate why they went missing?’

It’s not just an excuse to say, “I did my best.” Maybe I can find the manager without any major troubles or dangers.

The [Dark Exploration Records] were still in my head and on my smartphone.

‘Let’s just check it out.’

Since the theme park day, things have been rather quiet. Plus, I finished the paperwork for a horror story exploration yesterday.

This means, as long as I don’t blatantly escape from the company, I can afford to goof off a little.

‘The superiors only come and go from the office.’

Of course, since I’m the lowest in rank, I decided to move for about an hour after lunch.

The first place to visit is…

‘It must be the manager’s desk.’

Ding.

The elevator doors opened.

Naturally, I prepared an excuse for this visit.

– “Doe wants to visit the manager’s office? Ugh… Well, take this along!”

Because my easily manipulated chief let me pass along the “Oh, it’s not needed now, but you can deliver this training certificate with you.”

‘Thank you, Chief Park Min-seong….’

What a warm gesture in a horror story filled with psychos.

I walked into the administrative support office, searching for an employee to hand over the document. Just right next to the empty desk of the manual manager, there they were.

“Chief Park Min-seong from Group D, here are the documents.”

“Ah? Just leave it there.”

“Yes. Oh, and this…”

I politely extended the envelope filled with donuts, still warm, to the staff who was tapping away on the computer, hardly looking at me with bored eyes.

Inside were donuts generously stuffed with vanilla cream and sprinkled with sugar.

And an iced Americano as well.

‘For these kinds of things, bribes are essential.’

“I bought some food for us as well. I thought it would be nice for you to have something to snack on.”

“…! Oh, why did you bring all this?”

Yet, the hands eagerly accepted the Americano and donuts. Truly a coworker.

“Chief Kang, this is for you to return.”

“Ah? Donuts?”

“The person over there bought them.”

“Wow, thank you! Are you from Group D?”

I watched the administrative staff take bites from the donuts as the mood in the office turned oddly into a tea time.

Casual chit-chat vibes.

It’s a good time for a stranger to fit in. Especially when you’re a snack provider.

I chose my timing wisely and decided to speak up.

It was about the absent manual manager, ‘Lee Byeong-jin.’

“Um, can I just leave a coffee at Lee Byeong-jin Manager’s desk? It seems he’s not in…”

“Ah, just take it with you. He hasn’t come to work.”

“Oh, he’s on vacation then.”

“Vacation? Nah, he’s missing.”

Gotcha.

As if it didn’t bother them, the coworker next to me said it casually while exchanging glances with another colleague.

“Honestly, I knew it would turn out like this.”

“Hey, hey.”

“Why, aren’t you gonna avoid saying that anyway? That D group newbie, what’s your name?”

“I’m Kim Sol-eum.”

“…! Oh, you’re the one who almost got into Group A?”

“Um, thankfully, it seems they viewed me favorably.”

“Wow.”

From somewhere nearby, whispers like “So, that’s the newbie from Group D” reached my ears.

The coworker next to me regarded me with a scrutinizing glance, faintly hiding a nonchalant expression.

“Well, since we’ll probably get to know each other by working here, I’ll let you know…”

Hmm.

“I’m not saying this to scare you, but occasionally, there are people who pick up strange things and end up going missing in this company, you know?”

“Excuse me?”

I feigned confusion, squinting as if deep in thought.

“Could it be… that’s why that person hasn’t shown up?”

“Yeah, that… what was it called? A scroll?”

“A tapestry, a tapestry.”

As the person across the desk said it, the other coworker chuckled.

“Oh right, a tapestry. They were bragging about getting rich after buying some magical tapestry, saying they even won second place in the lottery.”

Oh.

Buying a suspicious tapestry and braggart about fortune and then going missing?

‘A classic secondhand horror story….’

The setup is totally a cliché.

‘Hmm, good.’

I made a quick decision.

‘Let’s back out.’

It’s very likely that inserting myself into this mess to receive money quickly will lead to me becoming a corpse.

So I was preparing to say something like, “Well, that’s scary! I’ll be going then….”

“Anyway, it’s rather unfortunate for that person.”

For me?

“Hey, hey, don’t say such things!”

“I mean, it’s true. If it’s related to the manual revision review, that darkness is definitely contingent on them.”

Yeah.

“That’s going to be hard to pass without the missing manager, after all.”

…?!

W-What does that mean…?

“That manager used to be pretty friendly with Group A. You know, what they call… ‘same line’.”

“…!!”

Same line.

The essence of office politics.

Relationships based on who’s on friendly terms with which upper management!

And the missing manager was someone tightly connected, or simply ‘same line’ with Group A…?

It struck me like lightning.

‘So that’s why the Group A team leader spoke so confidently!’

No wonder they seemed so sure about the speed of the manual revision!

“Honestly, it’s uncertain how the new person will turn out, but it’s less likely they’ll align with the same line. So, someone from Director Cheong’s side will probably come in.”

“…….”

“Because those bonds with Group A are… well.”

Did I just hear the sound of fifty million won disappearing?

It’s not a matter of being late; it’s completely vanishing…!

‘No way!’

I opened my mouth without realizing it.

“Do you happen to know where that manager went missing…?”

“Oh, that one’s interesting, actually.”

The coworker leaned in and whispered to me.

“There are rumors they vanished somewhere in the company.”

“…!”

“A person claimed to have seen that manager in the lobby on their way to work that morning. But they never came into the office.”

“…So they went missing in the middle?”

“Well, to be honest, no one really knows. No one can testify they actually saw the disappearance.”

“…….”

No one saw it… huh.

‘Even if there aren’t people, there could be something else.’

I lifted my gaze.

In a corner of the office, the red light of the CCTV was glowing.

CCTV.

If they truly went missing within the company, then that device must have recorded something.

‘Typically, a security CCTV of this size company probably keeps recordings for about two weeks.’

If that’s the case, then it might still be possible to check.

In order to secure my fifty million won promptly, tracking down the missing person was urgent.

…But here’s the problem.

‘The management of CCTV recordings in this company… is the Security Team.’

And the Security Team is… well.

———————=

Exemption from lethal action. (All employees)

———————=

That’s right.

So, naturally, I wanted to avoid encountering them… but

‘Since I’ve joined, it’s impossible to avoid them entirely.’

Given the situation, I should take the opportunity to gather information and check it out.

I headed toward the first floor while keeping Brown in my pocket in the back of my mind.

Right to the Safety Management Office where the Security Team is located.

“From here, I just need to go down to the basement.”

There was an access door leading to a separate underground space at the outskirts of the first floor, and just by following down the stairs a bit, I could see the thick iron door.

[Safety Management Office]

I raised my hand.

Knock knock.

-…….

Knock knock.

-You can come in if you want…….

“…??”

I cautiously opened the door.

Inside was a cramped space that looked like a typical utility office, with an old couch in the center.

On it lay one security staff member sprawled out.

……?

“Hello….”

I quickly scanned the name tag on the uniform of the person.

[Security Team Leader J3]

“Excuse me, Team Leader. Is it possible to check the CCTV recordings from a week ago? There’s a missing person…”

“…….”

A slow reply finally came.

“You want to see the CCTV….”

“Yes.”

“Ah….”

The other person appeared utterly fatigued and disinterested.

Skipping even a self-introduction, the Team Leader of Security Team 3 lazily opened their mouth while slumped on the old couch.

“Normally, if you want to see it, you should submit a CCTV access request….”

Ah.

“This company hasn’t cared about such things in how long… Just go ahead and look at it.”

“…….”

Should I call this kindness or dereliction of duty?

Nevertheless, as I was the one asking for a favor, I slid the remaining snacks over as a bribe.

“I thought it would be nice to share a snack….”

“Oh, donuts.”

Suddenly, their lifeless face brightened up as they sprang up from the couch to snatch the bag.

“I love donuts, but there’s no delivery service to the office… I can hardly go out during the day, so I don’t get to eat them often…”

I see.

‘Surprisingly, they don’t look that violent.’

But in a horror story, there’s always that cliché where they don’t look scary but are actually ghosts.

I maintained my wariness and spoke gently.

“Well then, may I move into the CCTV room like this?”

“Yes……. But….”

The staff scratched their head and, after staring at the donuts for a while in silence, they slowly started speaking.

“There’s one security guard remaining; you should take them with you… it can be dangerous……”

“Oh, thank you.”

I waited for them to call over a security guard with a walkie-talkie or something.

But there was no movement.

“…?”

“…?”

“You’re going to assign me a guard…?”

“That’s me…….”

…….

“Oh… okay.”

‘Let’s not get involved.’

I just need to see the CCTV and get out of here.

“About a week ago, you said….”

“Yes, yes.”

Anyway, I entered the CCTV room with the Security Team Leader and checked the recording.

Although they hardly seemed skilled in operating the equipment for a security leader, what mattered was something else.

“I found it.”

I located the footage of the missing manager.

I confirmed a middle-aged man entering the lobby and riding the elevator.

The face of the registered manager, Lee Byeong-jin, matched perfectly.

And the elongated object he was holding.

‘Could that be the tapestry stick?’

It certainly wasn’t something to bring to the company. There was something eerie about it.

“Great find. You’d make a good security guard….”

Please don’t say such scary things.

“Thank you. I was concentrating on finding the missing person, so I guess I was focused.”

“……A missing person?”

“Yes.”

The other person seemed a bit taken aback and fell silent.

It seemed they had just realized, based on my earlier statement, that they were unaware someone had disappeared within the company.

“Missed this, huh….”

“Is that a big problem for you?”

“No… It wasn’t my shift anyway.”

“…….”

“They’ll figure it out on their own….”

Yes….

A clear-cut worker logic, well noted.

Anyway, I followed up by checking the elevator CCTV. I managed to find out where the missing manager got off.

Surprisingly… the manager hadn’t gone up to the higher floors.

“…He went down to the basement.”

To a lower floor than this safety management office.

[B2]

The CCTV clearly caught the manager stumbling down to the basement floor.

…It’s unsettling.

‘What on earth happened?’

Why did an administrative employee suddenly go down to the basement, as if bewitched?

‘That place is only authorized for security management department entry.’

I heard the security management department only patrols too, so what’s going on here?

Sweat started to bead on my forehead.

I hurriedly turned my gaze away from the empty elevator.

‘From now on, watching CCTV might be dangerous.’

So far, I was okay managing to sneak a look, but this place feels impossible.

A basement of a bizarre pharmaceutical company that gathers materials from horror stories.

A place where normal employees have no access and neither know what takes place?

‘In [Dark Exploration Records], it was described like a Neapolitan horror story!’

No, that’s it. I’m shaking it off.

I nodded respectfully to the Team Leader, avoiding looking back at the CCTV.

“Thank you for showing me. I’ll be going now….”

“……The restroom.”

“…?”

“The person you’re looking for. They entered the unused male restroom in the basement….”

“…….”

“They haven’t come out. Not for a week.”

I desperately tried not to look at the CCTV.

But it seems the security leader had already checked the basement’s fourth floor where the missing person went in and out on their own accord.

“Are you going to check the restroom…?”

“I don’t have access to the basement floors.”

“I’m going to go….”

Yes, I guess that’s your workplace anyway.

If you could find the missing person, I’d be really grateful…

“Let’s go together… I’ll say I’m a new recruit in the security team and whatnot.”

Excuse me?!

“I don’t need you to go that far,”

“Let’s go….”

No!!

How did things come to this?

‘I even received a uniform.’

I’m riding the maintenance elevator in the typical dark blue uniform of a security team ordinary employee.

What is going on, my mind feels hazy.

‘I was persuaded….’

-It’s okay. The Field Exploration Team sometimes gets assigned for support duties too…

Isn’t that a disciplinary issue?

Anyway, the fact that I entered the basement has been certified; it won’t likely escalate into a serious matter.

I managed to contact Group D fiercely and made arrangements for it to be treated as formal support duty, so there should be no disciplinary issues…

Should I be thankful that my social relationships with my superiors have worked out?

‘Still feels hazy.’

I came all the way here just to buy one Bloodlust Bath.

At this point, even if I can’t get my fifty million back, Brown should acknowledge it.

Ding.

With the sound of the elevator, the door opens.

B2.

Even though it was clearly the same sound, somehow it felt eerie. What appeared was….

A hallway lined with ordinary offices.

“……”

Why… are there offices in the basement?

‘Shouldn’t there be safety equipment or facilities down here…?’

The dimly lit office hallway was very quiet, with opaque glass doors on all sides.

Offices A, B, C… nameplates were attached.

The security team leader whispered.

“Don’t open the door….”

“Yes.”

Even if they hadn’t said that, I had no intention of lifting a finger.

I kept my eyes on the back of the security team leader and walked slowly behind them.

Then it happened.

-Doe?

“…!”

-You’re wearing such old clothes just to give this gift to Brown! I’m truly touched, but it also hurts my heart. Does my friend have to do such trivial work?

What a kind sentiment.

But the thing is.

‘…How are you speaking?’

‘Good Friend’ could only speak and move within the horror story…. Which means…

I was already within a horror story.

“Oh, we’ve arrived.”

The security team leader stopped in front of a restroom door with pale light seeping through.

“I’ll open the door….”

“Wait,”

However, before I could finish, the restroom door swung open.

Bang.

Amidst the flickering light, the space beyond the door revealed itself… .

“……”

‘This is insane.’

The restroom was smeared with dark red ink.

As if a blade had been plunged into an artery, the splattered ink completely covered the restroom mirror, resembling blood.

I froze completely.

Not even a scream came out.

But in the next moment, my sense of smell snapped me back.

‘There’s hardly a scent of iron.’

That can’t all be blood.

Yet it doesn’t smell like ordinary ink either. This is….

‘…Squid ink?’

Tap tap.

Brown nudged me in my pocket.

‘Warning.’

I snapped back to reality.

The security team leader reached out, looking over the restroom.

“Don’t touch….”

Squelch.

“Excuse me…?”

I panicked.

At the moment the security team leader dipped a finger into the ink, the red liquid in the restroom began to surge like a wave.

“…!!”

I was about to turn and run, but the thick black liquid flowed like many hands, sweeping up my feet and pulling me down.

Aaaah!!

‘Damn it, damn it…!’

I barely managed not to fall and curled up. The liquid splattered against my chin as I struggled, making me feel nauseated.

In the moment I turned my head, trying to grasp the situation, its source came into my sight.

“Tapestry!”

In the restroom mirror, a tapestry was being slashed in the middle.

With knife wounds pulling the ink, the inside of the hollow tapestry sucked in the liquid like blood.

Which meant my feet were being dragged toward that direction.

It felt like a living thing was pulling me… Wait, was it alive?

Like blood?

‘A blood-sucking utensil…!’

I pulled out a fork and plunged it into the ground.

The pristine silver fork quivered, and then it began to greedily absorb the surrounding ink.

“Ah!”

Something was happening!

But the tiny dessert fork was insufficient to hold back the tide.

Ting.

The cutlery bounced off.

‘Damn it!’

I was sucked straight into the tapestry.

“Huff!”

I lifted my head.

Amidst the dark and hazy view, I spotted wallpaper with an old, wrinkled pattern.

An unfamiliar place.

‘…An abandoned house?’

I took a breath and waited for my vision to adjust to the darkness.

And, then….

I realized what I was seeing wasn’t wallpaper.

It was talismans.

Tattered talismans made of decayed wood were stuck all over the walls.

“……!”

It’s heavy.

The air feels like it’s pressing down on my shoulders; a strange sense of oppression dominated this dark and chilly room.

……Something’s wrong.

I felt like a rat hiding in the wrong place, the wrong way.

“……”

I clenched my trembling hands tightly.

But there was nothing to grasp.

‘…It’s gone.’

The blood-sucking utensil had vanished.

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back as I tried to breathe slowly, slowly….

“Hey…!”

I thought I was going to faint.

“Are, are you a police officer…??”

I lifted my head.

I wasn’t the only one in this dark abandoned house.

In a corner, small shadows were peering at me.

They were… kids.

‘Middle school uniforms.’

The sobbing students cried out.

“Help us! We touched some strange painting, and now we can’t get out of here!”