Surviving as an Office Worker in Monster Management Bureau

Episode 2

It has that kind of feeling.
Rather, when I go to a place that’s too quiet, I get uneasy.
I felt the same way.
“Ugh, this is…”
An instinctive fear. Like something invisible was pressing down on me.
If I had to express it, it felt like pressure.
“What the…”
Before I could finish my sentence, I was pushed by an unknown force, and in the time it took me to be stunned, the elevator doors quickly closed.
“…”
Is this right?
I opened the manual again.
[Manual for Office Staff]
2-1. Move forward. No matter what, you must keep moving forward.
“…”
Actually, isn’t it a bit unsettling that the manual seems to have a will of its own? Honestly, if I were a regular office worker, I’d probably laugh it off as nonsense, but unfortunately, I live a life far from ordinary.
But just as I had that thought, I began to slowly move forward again.
Soon, the scene before me began to twist slightly. I was clearly walking ahead, but my feet and body were inexplicably turning to the right, and yet I was aware that I was walking straight.
It was undoubtedly a bizarre situation, but even being an office worker, I am still a human working for the Management Agency. I also have a few things that set me apart from others.
I walked a few times with my eyes closed. Opening them would just make my senses feel weirder anyway.
Bang!
“Ah!”
How long had I been walking? I bumped my forehead against something solid.
As I opened my eyes a bit groggily, I found that the twisting path had vanished, and before me stood a heavy-looking iron door.
I quickly opened the manual again.
[Manual for Office Staff]
2-2. Only those recognized as members of the Management Agency through legal procedures may pass through this door. Those not recognized as members may not open it.
*If forced open, irreversible consequences will occur.
“Find the idiot who wrote this damn manual.”
Why couldn’t they just say that only legitimate people can open it? Why add such a ridiculous warning that only raises anxiety?
I began to worry unnecessarily.
What if I’m not a legitimate member of the Management Agency?
What if, unlike field workers, office staff are treated as consumables and aren’t even registered properly, making it worse than death?
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to just wait here until the job’s done? After all, no one would come down to the basement.
-Ding.
Then, from afar, I heard the sound of an elevator arriving, and a sudden ominous feeling washed over me.
I glanced back, but of course, I couldn’t see the elevator because I had walked quite a distance.
But why did the sound seem so loud? My unease grew.
“…Oh no…”
No, but I’m a Management Agency employee with an employee ID; there’s no way I’m not legitimate, right?
Of course, I must be.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed, and a bright light shone on me.
“Uh…?”
Wait, have I messed up? Am I going to become a test subject in the Management Agency’s rumored paradise experiment?
Just as I thought that, what unfolded before me was a normal office, feeling very different from a corridor.
“Urrgh…”
“Are you okay…? Oh, a person…?”
The only difference was the blood-soaked man collapsed on the floor and a woman with long black hair, staring at me in shock.
“…!”
Before I could react, the black-haired woman drew a gun from her waist and aimed it at me.
“I’m a person! I’m a person!”
Naturally, I didn’t have any weapons since I was just office staff. I quickly raised both hands to signal harmlessness.
“Stop it, newbie.”
“Team Leader…!”
“Anyone who can get in here is, by design, human.”
The man clutching his side took a deep breath and continued speaking. At that moment, the woman hesitated and lowered her gun.
“I’m sorry…”
“No… I didn’t know either.”
Actually, it was my first time coming down to the basement.
After an awkward greeting, I observed the man clutching his side. The sight of blood seeping out suggested he had been hit or shot by something.
As I focused on the man, a translucent window popped up in my vision.
[Name: Park Woo Joo]
[Age: 37]
[Trait: Quick Reflexes]
[Skill: Marksmanship]
[Background: This man, living as the Security Team Leader of the Management Agency, is dying after a fierce battle.]
“…”
He is dying.
At least, I’ve never seen anyone escape that fate when it was stated in their background.
From my repeated experiences with my abilities, I’ve concluded that the background allows one to contemplate the past and a very near future.
For example, looking at the Human Resources Team Leader, his background states, [Living as the head of a family, he is working overtime today for one meal for his family.]
The facts that he is working overtime and has a family all intertwine to create this [background].
In reality, I couldn’t predict what those… monsters would do to the Team Leader. I don’t know if he’ll survive, die, or be replaced by them.
In contrast, this man has a clear statement that he is [dying], so he probably doesn’t have much time left.
“Listen closely.”
Lost in such thoughts, I turned my attention back at the sound of the struggling man’s voice.
“I don’t know how many of us have survived in our branch right now. I don’t even know exactly what happened.”
He took a deep breath.
“If we assume the worst-case scenario, you and two others are the only survivors capable of acting within the Management Agency in this situation.”
“Team Leader, please…”
The woman beside him tried to interject, but he continued undeterred.
“Then the two of you must proceed with the isolation protocols. If that’s not possible, at least you need to relay instructions to those who are off duty and have gone home, so they can resolve the situation from the outside.”
Isolation protocols.
It’s the only job among field workers that strictly considers seniority and experience. Even when people are dying daily, this team is the only one whose standards never get relaxed, and they also have the highest salaries.
The Isolation Team.
Are they asking me to do the job of the Isolation Team?
“Um… I’m just an office staff member, you know.”
“…I know.”
He met my gaze.
“I know.”
“…”
“But if you don’t do it, there’s no one else who will. At least, not so far.”
“Team Leader, if you say more…!”
Pffft, blood gushed from his mouth, but he continued to stare at me.
“Please. I beg you…”
His gaze shifted to one wall, and mine followed.
[The Last Bastion of Humanity]
“Please…”
“…Understood.”
I nodded in agreement, and soon, his body slid down.
“Team Leader! Team Leader!”
And then he never opened his eyes again.
The woman repeatedly shook the man’s shoulder, but silence returned.
In fact, no window appeared above his head anymore.
“…He’s dead.”
As I said that, the woman finally stopped shaking his shoulder and stood up.
“…Will you help us?”
“Isolation, you mean?”
The woman and I locked eyes.
And only then did my gaze fall upon her translucent window.
[Name: Yu Da On]
[Age: 23]
[Trait: Immortal]
[Skill: -]
[Background: Unable to die, she was recognized for this ability and joined the Management Agency, but what awaited her from the first day was a major incident.]
“…”
“Um, excuse me?”
“Oh, yes.”
I froze without realizing it.
Immortal? That kind of immortal? Not dying?
“…I’m Yu Da On. What about you?”
“I’m Kim Jae Heon.”
She looked at me with a dubious expression.
“…So, uh, we have to go, right?”
But as if forgetting that, she quickly dusted off her knees and reached for the iron door.
“…Just like that?”
“…The Team Leader requested isolation protocols.”
“Even so, we can’t just set off right away.”
The isolation protocol isn’t that easy.
It literally means using any and all means necessary to achieve isolation. To do that,
“Let’s share the information we have.”
At my remark, she hesitated before starting to speak.
“…First of all, they…? They can transform into humans. So it’s designed in a way that prevents us from knowing who is an ally and who is an enemy, and then they suddenly attack from within.”
She bit her lip tightly.
“The problem is… we have no way of knowing that. That’s why many people have died. The Team Leader and I barely managed to escape.”
“…I see.”
They’re wearing the skins of humans. That’s what it meant.
“So if we knew who they were, we could deal with the problem?”
Contrary to my hope, Yu Da On shook her head.
“Not exactly, but at least if we know who the enemy is, it should make things a bit easier, right?”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
Yu Da On looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I was confident.
“I’m good at reading people.”
So much so that I can distinguish between humans and those who aren’t.