Episode 271 Tick,
tick, tick.
A quiet office where the only sound is the sound of a clock.
“….”
Noh Yeon-seok, who was sitting in his seat staring at the monitor without doing anything, quietly moved his gaze.
‘…When will everyone return?’
In Kang Min-ah’s place, where his eyes landed, there was only a mannequin in her likeness.
Of course, that wasn’t the only thing. In the seats of Jeong In-ho and Kwon Yeon-hee, there were also mannequins that imitated their appearances. There were employees here and there who had once been eaten by the underworld and turned into mannequins, but the difference between their facial features and their non-existence was huge.
“…greatness.”
Feeling like his throat was closing up, Noh Yeon-seok cleared his throat slightly. Although I tried not to show it, my fingertips were trembling.
‘They said I could come back if I caught one monster…’
Even though I tried to have hope, I kept having bad thoughts.
‘…What if I can’t come back for the rest of my life?’
Although the word was ‘a monster,’ it was actually difficult to find and kill the monster. The problem was how to find one of the many monsters in the other world, and the problem was that that one monster was much stronger than the other monsters. If one of the survivors dies while killing the monster, not just one, but
if
…
“Yeonseok, are you okay for a moment?”
“…Ah yes! yes!”
“Can I just get a copy of this? “10 pieces is enough.”
“I’ll get it done right away.”
Noh Yeon-seok stood up and received the document handed out by the employee. Since there was very little work assigned to me as an intern anyway, it was actually less boring to have people do these odd jobs. Especially in the current situation, having something to do made me feel less distracted.
As he approached the copier, another employee called out to him.
“Ah, Mr. Yeonseok! “Can you bring me a printed version when you come?”
“…Yes, I will bring it to you.”
“thank you.”
After speaking, the employee turned his attention back to the monitor. Judging by his red and bloodshot eyes, he must have been behind a lot of work. Actually, I thought it might be more because I am someone who doesn’t work overtime as much as possible. Did you say that you tend to get home quickly because you have young children at home?
“….”
Well, it was still a mannequin.
‘…I feel like I’m going to throw up.’
Even though I wasn’t in the other side, I felt nauseous.
He wasn’t a very friendly employee. Even if Noh Yeon-seok’s friendliness was good, he couldn’t be oblivious even in an office with such a heavy atmosphere, and most employees were so focused on their own work that they didn’t even have time to pay attention to the interns. His narrow network included Kang Min-ah, who always comforted and encouraged him, and Jeong In-ho, who constantly talked to him.
“Yeonseok, I’ll bring you this.”
“Thank you…”
“You look tired these days. Let me know if you’re sick.”
Noh Yeon-seok smiled awkwardly at the sight of the mannequin talking to me.
“all right.”
Didn’t Jung In-ho, who was close to him, become a mannequin like this?
Noh Yeon-seok looked at Jeong In-ho’s mannequin heading towards another mannequin holding a printed document, then looked away and started copying. My hands were shaking, but I couldn’t make a fuss anymore because I had screamed a few days ago when I saw Kang Min-ah turned into a mannequin. In the eyes of other employees, he was acting like a crazy person even though nothing had happened.
‘I understand why the manager was criticized so much.’
In fact, it would have been much better to look like an old man than a crazy person. Noh Yeon-seok, who was in his shoes, understood a little how Lee Jae-heon must have felt.
‘…what should I really do…’
I felt like I was going to burst into tears.
My friends kept contacting me, asking me to have a drink with them, but I couldn’t meet them because I was afraid that there might be a mannequin among them. At least it wasn’t difficult to confirm when I went down to my parents’ house with Kang Min-ah. Fortunately, my parents were still the same, so I remember shedding tears as soon as I saw them. Perhaps because I felt so relieved at that time, I didn’t have the courage to endure my fear one more time and check it out, so I couldn’t meet my other friends.
‘…If there was no one left in reality with me, I might have really cried.’
The good news was that CEO Choi Jeong-man was running a soup business near the headquarters. I often went here for lunch or occasionally stopped by after work. Choi Jeong-man, who was blaming himself for sending his son to that world alone, seemed to welcome the meeting with Noh Yeon-seok.
“….”
Noh Yeon-seok, who was looking at the people left in reality like him, soon left holding the document.
“Here’s a copy… and the original.”
“Thank you, I have to go to a meeting soon.”
“It’s really good, so please order it anytime.”
I wouldn’t have felt this anxious if I were super busy, but due to the nature of being an intern, there wasn’t any work that I could focus on that much. In particular, the planning team did not have much work to entrust to interns, so Noh Yeon-seok had no choice but to wait in his seat with his legs shaking.
‘Do those mannequins really think they are human?’
For Noh Yeon-seok, who ate lunch with mannequins of Jung In-ho, Kang Min-ah, and Kwon Yeon-hee, it was a question he couldn’t help but harbor. The mannequin he was currently working on had a mouth, but the mannequins of the meal members were able to speak even though they had no mouths. However, there was nothing he could do with the food, so the rice and side dishes fell down the patter, but no one looked at it strangely… The whole situation was extremely difficult for Noh Yeon-seok to bear.
More than anything, the phenomenon he feared happened to none other than Lee Jae-heon.
“The manager is quiet today.”
“Sometimes there are days like this… Let’s be quiet before we offend anyone.”
“I’d rather just keep my mouth shut.”
The ‘manager’ that the employees were talking about did not exist anywhere. Even mannequins.
‘…What the hell is going on?’
Kang Min-ah, Jeong In-ho, Kwon Yeon-hee, and Woo Joo-young were at least mannequins, but the manager’s position was empty. Nevertheless, the employees acted as if they could see Manager Lee Jae-heon, and even the situation was like that.
Manager Lee Jae-heon dropped the document on the desk as if he had received it, and the document was approved and delivered to the employee the next day.
Who on earth makes that payment? When was it delivered? Why is there no one pointing out the fine documents flying in the air? Where did the manager’s mannequin go in the first place?
“Yeonseok, you should get off work soon.”
“…Manager….”
“Manager? It looked like he was going into the bathroom… but it was about time. Yeonseok, go quickly too.”
“thank you.”
“Okay, good job today.”
Seeing the employee calmly waving his hand as he left work, Noh Yeon-seok packed his luggage and left the office as casually as possible. The word ‘toilet’ mentioned by an employee who was leaving work was lingering in his mind.
“….”
Noh Yeon-seok looked around the empty office after all the employees had left work and headed toward the bathroom.
“…ah.”
The light was on in the bathroom.
Noh Yeon-seok blinked blankly as the light went out for a moment and then came back on as if to indicate that there was someone there. Could it be that Manager Lee Jae-heon perceives this as if it were in reality, just like the situation Noh Yeon-seok has seen so far?
‘…I need to check…’
It was when I moved my foot that wouldn’t fall into the bathroom.
“Yeonseok?”
“Ugh…!”
Craddangtang!
Noh Yeon-seok was startled and fell backwards.
“Who who who…!”
Even as he hesitated to step back, Noh Yeon-seok could not take his head off the man.
“….”
Eyebrows drooping in a nasolabial shape and an impression as thin and slender as a snake. The two vertical dots at the corners of the mouth certainly looked unusual. Her pale lips were tightly closed as if she had no emotions, but the gray eyes staring at her had an unusual power to attract attention.
So, it was the first time I saw him.
“…who are you…?”
In response to Noh Yeon-seok’s question, the man put an unlit cigarette in his mouth and tilted his head.
“…ah.”
“…yes…?”
“okay.”
In an instant, a sinister smile spread across the man’s face, which was wearing an expressionless expression.
“You were definitely a survivor of the underworld, right?”
There was cruel interest in his gray eyes.
“Ah, this is embarrassing… How embarrassed will our Lee Jae-heon be when he sees me? “Isn’t that right?”
“Who are you really….”
“What did our Noh Yeon-seok do instead of going with Kang Min-ah? “That delicate chick must be very lonely, so be kind to her.”
“….”
Chick….
“…Chick?”
“Why do you want me to swallow it in one gulp? “Can’t you even scream?”
“Yes yes yes…?”
“Hiss!”
“Hi…!”
Noh Yeon-seok, who instinctively felt a great threat, got up and took a step back, although the sight of him smiling brightly while imitating grabbing something with both hands while making an inarticulate snake sound was clearly a joke. My back suddenly touched the wall, but the feeling of wanting to escape somehow was stronger.
“Please don’t kill me…!”
Because I thought that that person could really kill me.
“Please help me, I’m scared…!”
“Ahahahahahaha! Wow really. “What you’re doing is like that of a newborn chick.”
“It’s not a chick!”
“If you are afraid of dying, you are a chick. “He seems like a cute friend.”
The man, who had slightly bent his back while imitating a snake, let out a low laugh. Seeing that, Noh Yeon-seok felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but also flinched at the man’s stern gaze.
“What should I really do about this?”
I think this is what it means to have a perspective that does not see humans as humans.
My body trembled.
“…Ugh….”
“Don’t cry like this. “Because I didn’t mean to kill you.”
“Please help me…”
For the first time in my life, I realized that there are people in the world with eyes like this.
“It doesn’t taste good to me….”
“It looks tasteless. Since ancient times, meat has to have a reasonable amount of fat, but this isn’t even a piece of muscle… Isn’t that right?”
“Huh…!”
When the man made a crying sound at the serious tone of his speech, which I couldn’t tell whether he was serious or joking, the man took the cigarette he wasn’t even smoking out of his lips and flicked it between his fingers.
“I guess you don’t like things that scare our friend.”
“That’s right…”
“Don’t worry, I can’t harm you.”
“….”
“Because he’s already dead.”
Those were scary words, but Noh Yeon-seok kept his mouth shut.
“…Who are you…”
“That’s right. I’m not even sure what I’m doing. “What do I look like in the eyes of our Noh Yeon-seok?”
“….”
At those words, Noh Yeon-seok, who was leaning against the wall, glanced at the man with trembling eyes.
“…Police?”
A uniform so dark it was almost black, and a club at the waist. black belt. Although it was thin and long like a rag, its overall muscular body made it look like a person who had been professionally trained.
The man narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“Yes, police. “It is also called the people’s staff.”
“…But why… like this….”
“I can come out this way when Lee Jae-heon is not here. I don’t know if I’ll see you often in the future, but are you still going to be so scared? Ah, this is disappointing…”
“…the manager…”
“Your manager was originally a being who did not exist in this world.”
“….”
When Noh Yeon-seok pursed his lips, the man let out a frivolous laugh as if it was funny.
“Hehehe, it’s true. So Jaeheon Lee doesn’t even have a mannequin, right? Originally, the second generation was the last of the four generations of the Idang group… “He was created in a hurry because I failed.”
“…is it made…?”
“Oh, right. How anxious must Noh Yeon-seok be as he has a boss who may die at any moment? “Oh my god, I can’t be this pitiful.”
“What… do you mean…”
“….”
At Noh Yeon-seok’s question, the expression disappeared from the man’s face.
“…Are you telling me not to harass you?”
The man’s mouth closed.
“….”
“…there…?”
The man’s body stiffened.
“hey…?”
“…Yeah, I guess so.”
“yes yes?”
“I wanted to bother you more.”
The man with a sullen expression, as if he had been scolded by someone, smiled slyly.
“I also hate Lee Jae-heon.”
As soon as he said those words, the man’s appearance disappeared.
Left alone, Noh Yeon-seok sits idly in the empty bathroom. Only when the bathroom light goes off does he come to his senses. He waved his arm toward the motion recognition sensor, turned on the bathroom light again, and muttered in a trembling voice. I cried.
“…What is this….”
I felt like I had seen a ghost.
Since they said he was dead, you could have guessed that he was a ghost.
* * *
That time.
A hidden world where time flows differently from reality.
“…I feel dirty.”
“Damn, you must feel bad because you got hurt!”
“Oh, no, that’s not it…”
Lee Jae-heon was in a state where his bones were completely broken.
Plan success.
