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What happens when a person is truly terrified?

The knees buckle, cold sweat trickles down the back, and in that instant, the brain seems to freeze.

Usually, it occurs when you’re a kid, goofing off while you should be studying, and your parents catch you, or when you mistakenly wake up a senior soldier on night watch during the military, or perhaps when you accidentally send a grade correction email to the wrong professor in college.

“Jae Heon?”

That feeling was creeping back after a long time.

Yu Da On looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Da On.”

“Yes?”

“How did I end up here?”

At my question, Yu Da On let out an “Oh!” and responded with a smile, “You leaned on my shoulder and fell into such a deep sleep that I secretly moved you!”

How?

She didn’t answer my exact question.

“…Um, by any chance.”

“Yes?”

“Did I… um, do anything while I was asleep?”

“Yes?”

Yu Da On’s eyes widened at my words, and then she shook her head.

“No? Jae Heon didn’t do anything!”

“Oh, really?”

Thank goodness.

I was worried sick that I might have done something ridiculous after waking up.

If only I could remember, it might not have stung as much, but since I had no memory, I felt even more unjustified.

It probably wouldn’t happen, but I’m so relieved that I didn’t act weirdly in my sleep.

“I really slept well, though. I feel like I haven’t had such a deep sleep in a long time.”

“Oh, same here!”

At my words, Yu Da On nodded while smiling.

“I can’t even remember the last time I had a dream-free sleep!”

– Swish!

Just as she said that, a manual unfolded perfectly.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[NB – When vocabulary understanding is insufficient]

1. Sometimes, even a single letter difference can lead to a completely different interpretation of the same sound.

2. In such cases, one must—

– Clack!

I closed the manual.

I always feel like there are so many useless clauses in the manual besides the useful ones.

“Why?”

“Sometimes the manual says nonsense.”

“You often think the manual is alive, don’t you, Jae Heon?”

“…”

Now, I couldn’t distinguish whether this was alive or just a high-performing asset of the Management Agency.

“Still, since you’re staying here, it’s fate.”

Yu Da On looked at me while tying her hair up.

“I’ll take care of breakfast!”

Her smile shone brightly in the sunlight.

“Is there a kitchen?”

“Jae Heon!”

At my question, Yu Da On scowled again and hurriedly dashed off to the corner, retrieving cooking ingredients from somewhere.

“…When did you buy that?”

“Oh, I snuck out last night while you were sleeping to get it!”

“…”

She planned to feed me breakfast from the get-go?

So she must have thought this through somewhat before calling me over.

I wanted to compliment her on her excellent planning, but I also understood her feelings.

Yu Da On is an incredibly unstable person.

Her past is unimaginably dark, and her sense of common knowledge likely differs from that of an ordinary person.

For her, our Human Resources Team might be the first friends she’s made or colleagues she feels comfortable around.

So it makes perfect sense for her to show some level of obsessive friendship towards me, especially since we just met.

She hasn’t experienced proper human relationships.

Yeah, it could happen.

“I’ll help you.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to…”

“I’m just too scared to leave cooking to someone who’s shopping for the first time.”

“…”

At my words, Yu Da On frowned again.

“Did you know?”

“Yes?”

“You’re sometimes so mischievous.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

As she retrieved eggs from the refrigerator, Yu Da On smiled.

“But I think that’s just part of what makes you, you, Jae Heon.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course! I think you’re the smartest and bravest person in the world!”

“Now that seems to be a bit too much.”

I’m the one who has lived a little longer and can guide her through these matters since I have more experience.

“Da On, you just dropped eggshells into the frying pan.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Please fish them out with chopsticks.”

Even though the breakfast I had with Yu Da On couldn’t truly be called delicious, just seeing her reaction made me feel like it tasted better.

“Wow, this is my first time eating breakfast with someone!”

“Next time, let’s do it together again.”

“Really?”

Just that response made the meal worthwhile.

“Yes. Next time, let’s bring Chae Yeon and Ah Rin along.”

“…Ah… okay…”

How nice would it be to eat with others? Warm and cheerful.

Since the big issue was resolved, everyone’s mood should be good. Just thinking about it sounds fun.

“Da On, why are you picking at your food so carefully? Isn’t it tasty?”

“Oh, no. It’s just…?”

*

The branch chief’s summons came sooner than expected.

“Branch Chief, you look a bit tired.”

“Yeah, I am a bit tired.”

The branch chief nodded with a tired expression.

“Was the questioning tough?”

“The questioning? Not particularly.”

The branch chief slowly shook his head.

“First of all, I had to write an incident report about not being properly prepared for this situation…”

“Oh dear.”

It didn’t seem like she did anything wrong.

“And for goodness’ sake, there was so much blood splattered all over the office…”

“Ah…”

Yu Da On’s face flashed through my mind for a moment, but I didn’t say anything.

“It took all day just to clean up that mess.”

“…Isn’t there a cleaning team?”

“Sure, there is an internal cleaning team, but usually they come to empty the trash cans in the branch chief’s office, not to clean up blood stains.”

The branch chief sighed, rubbing his arms.

Honestly, given the strength and power he has, I would think his arms wouldn’t hurt at all.

“Anyway, the resignation procedures are still ongoing.”

“Ah, okay.”

While rubbing his arms, the branch chief continued, “Based on the information we gathered so far… as mentioned, he has the ability to regress.”

“Gathered?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it too much. Anyway, he had the ability to regress, but… it seems Kim Jae Heon has nullified his powers?”

“…”

Her crimson eyes were fixed on me.

“Is that true?”

“Um, that is…”

The moment I answer affirmatively, won’t my life become terribly exhausting?

I’ll probably get caught up in some bizarre team…

“I sort of understand, but…”

“…”

“Should we just forget about it?”

“Yes?”

“Anyway, it doesn’t seem like it’s something that can be used by just anyone.”

“That’s…”

I recall the hourglass I once saw.

It must have been a unique case.

Though I can’t know how hostile we were towards each other, all those choices must have heightened my understanding of him.

Conversely, how much do I really know about the branch chief’s weaknesses? Aside from his age, I know nothing else.

“Exactly.”

The branch chief shrugged.

“Let’s keep this as a secret between us.”

“Ah, um. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Thanks to you, we’ve managed to alleviate one big concern on our side.”

With a smile, the branch chief continued talking.

“And during the extraction, one person was particularly strongly imprinted on him.”

“One person?”

Who could it be? Me? Or someone else?

“Aileen.”

“…”

“That man seemed to have quite a strong emotional bond with someone named Aileen.”

Emotional bond.

Did he have some kind of relationship with Aileen in the past?

“I see.”

“So, we’ve decided to keep a closer watch on her for now.”

“Understood.”

Well, she did exhibit some peculiar behavior.

It’s not that Aileen is strange; it’s just that she has an uncanny ability to dodge accidents whenever I’ve observed her.

Yet, she didn’t possess any special abilities.

“To be honest, I wasn’t able to extract all the information.”

The branch chief sighed.

“I tried to do something, but there was this weird wall.”

“A wall?”

“Yeah. I thought it was a psychological wall and even called Song Ah Rin, but that wasn’t the case either.”

“Did she say anything else…”

“…She did.”

The branch chief nodded.

“She said she heard everything.”

“…”

I was aware of that too.

The words he spoke were that he heard it all.

“There seems to be quite a challenging opponent this time around.”

The branch chief let out a sigh.

“So I also asked everyone to gather as much information as possible, but as I mentioned…”

There seems to be a wall in his mind, I see.

“Maybe that’s why I wasn’t able to obtain much information.”

But over time, we’ll learn more.

“…Then, Branch Chief.”

“Yes?”

The branch chief blinked and looked at me.

“Have you ever heard of the Observant and the Theater Company Chief?”

“The Observant and Theater Company Chief…?”

The branch chief muttered as if trying to recall, then shook his head.

“No, I haven’t heard of them.”

“Is there nothing extracted from there?”

“No.”

“…”

As I closed my mouth, the branch chief looked at me curiously.

“Is there some kind of future that I don’t know about?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Is that regarding our employees?”

“…Yes.”

“Ah, then that’s enough. Don’t tell me.”

“Yes?”

“Knowing something vaguely about an unfulfilled future is worse than not knowing at all.”

“…”

“For example, if I were to be told that a future of destruction is approaching me…”

The branch chief continued as he rested his chin on his hand.

“Then my struggles to avoid that future might actually lead me closer to that destruction.”

The context somewhat mirrored what Song Ah Rin had said before.

“So let’s keep it as something only Kim Jae Heon knows?”

“…Understood.”

“Great!”

With a smile, the branch chief looked at me.

“Please take good care of Aileen. Although I may not fully know her, she has led a difficult life.”

The branch chief mumbled as if feeling pity, then looked at me.

“That’s about it. Once the resignation process is thoroughly completed, you should be able to look for her directly.”

“Directly?”

Isn’t that dangerous?

As if reading my thoughts, the branch chief smiled gently.

“Don’t worry. It’s completely safe. You won’t even have to lift a finger.”

That only made me more uneasy.

“Well, see you later?”

She waved her hand again, bowing her head, and I stepped out of the Branch Chief’s Office.

“…Hmm.”

“You look unwell.”

“Whoa!”

A grumpy voice suddenly pierced through, and when I turned to look, Song Ah Rin was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“Ah Rin, have you actually been resting properly?”

“I haven’t had the chance. I got dragged into the resignation process and saw all sorts of things that I wish I hadn’t.”

Just thinking about it made Song Ah Rin murmur with disgust.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“What can I do? If they say jump from above, you jump.”

Song Ah Rin sighed and then looked at me.

“You did great.”

“Did I suffer alone? You did too, Song Ah Rin.”

“Not as much as you.”

Song Ah Rin murmured as she led the way.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“To the office. Our work is done, right?”

“Oh.”

“It seems you sometimes forget, but we are the Human Resources Team.”

“I haven’t forgotten! We need to get back and sort out the evaluations swiftly.”

At my words, Song Ah Rin chuckled.

The big incident was over, and now all that’s left is to enjoy a bit more comfort in life—

“Love Board Game?”

“Wow, this is a containment object that you can rent? It’s still here?”

“It looks interesting?”

As soon as we entered the office, I heard the sounds of Yu Da On, the Team Leader, and the logistics staff mumbling.

“Team Leader, what are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re back. Chae Yeon borrowed this.”

“…”

From afar, Jang Chae Yeon nodded expressionlessly.

“What is this?”

“We occasionally rent harmless containment objects to employees from the Management Agency.”

“Okay.”

What he showed was a board game.

“This board game is said to make all the events written in it occur while you’re playing.”

“It’s a horror thriller.”

Is this really a text-based board game?

At least from what I remember, all I can think of are horror thrillers and terrifying endings.

“But this one is a romance.”

The Team Leader nodded while replying.

“Six people set down romantic sticks, and three guys and three girls become romantic partners…”

“Right.”

Song Ah Rin, who was next to me, took a step closer to the board game.

Her gaze seemed a bit off.

“I wanna play too!”

“…I wanted to play it.”

Then Yu Da On and Jang Chae Yeon tried to join.

The looks in their eyes were also strange.

“Well, then the male is…”

“You.”

“Jae Heon.”

“…”

The three people’s gazes were fixed on me.

“So, what about the other two?”

Where are we going to find two other men?

Song Ah Rin answered my question.

“Interns.”

“But I’m a girl?”

“You do what the seniors tell you to.”

“No, I meant… huh? My body is moving on its own…”

Suddenly, another male role was added.

Now just one more left.

“Still, where are we supposed to find the last male…”

“…”

The three pairs of eyes turned to a cold sweat-running man.

“Hey guys, I’m a married man?”

“A good chance to confirm your love for your wife!”

“Guys?”

So, there were three male roles: me, Park Ye Eun (female), and the Team Leader (married man).

And there were three female roles: Yu Da On, Jang Chae Yeon, and Song Ah Rin.

The board game began.

“I’ll roll the dice!”

Is this really okay?