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I have no good memories about water.

Whether it was a cruise or anything else related to water, I have never once seen anything good happen.

-Splash…!

Water bursts forth, and people start reacting all at once.

Some widen their eyes and scream, while others calmly assess their situation.

And then—

-Drip drip drip!

The manual unfolds.

[PLZ – Save the Manual]

1. The manual is delicate. Please handle it with care.

2. No matter how strong the manual is, please refrain from using it as a shield.

3. Treat the manual like an old friend.

4. Do not hit the manual with a honey fist.

5. The first thing you receive upon joining is the manual. Remember that it is the first companion of all Management Agency employees.

6. No matter how flawless and capable the manual is, like any other thing, it feels bad when it gets wet.

It seems like he has no intention of hiding himself now.

Staring at the manual that is flapping like crazy, I shift my gaze.

“What should we do?”

Looking at the rising water, Park Ye Eun calmly looks at me.

This girl really has no fear.

“If I had known, I would have solved it.”

Wait, let’s think about this for a second.

“Can’t we just take the office staff exam?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, isn’t this the field staff exam?”

After all, the Human Resources Team is for office staff. Why do we have to take this kind of exam?

Park Ye Eun looks at me as if to say, what are you talking about?

“This is a common exam.”

“Office staff take this exam too?”

“Yes. You see that person over there?”

She points to a woman trembling in fear.

“That person is from the accounting team.”

“When did you even find that out?”

“I have good interpersonal skills, you know?”

With a mischievous smile, Park Ye Eun makes a peace sign with her hand.

“So, are you going to help me?”

“Me?”

I look at the water soaking my feet.

Is it really right for me to help with this?

Looking around at the others.

People from different teams are talking earnestly.

Everyone stands up from their chairs, sharing serious expressions.

-Thud!

“The door is locked.”

Someone says as they push against the exit door.

I guess it means I should help.

I scan the area.

Let’s see if there’s anywhere we can escape from.

If we can see where the branch chief went…

When I looked at the podium, the branch chief was already nowhere to be seen.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Did the branch chief really leave us behind?

That’s unlikely.

Is it possible for there to be fatalities in a regular employee exam?

In a typical company, casualties would happen during a workshop.

Considering industrial accidents and lawsuits, the costs would be staggering.

Or maybe not? Interns might not have insurance, so it might be okay?

Shaking my head at these useless thoughts.

The branch chief is probably monitoring the exam from somewhere or has prepared to rescue us.

And there would be more regular people, so solutions would be available somewhere within reach.

I look up at the ceiling.

A high ceiling.

With the height of a gymnasium, there’s enough space…

“We could go up and wait it out.”

“Excuse me?”

At my mumbled suggestion, Park Ye Eun turns to me.

“Can we stack the chairs like a mountain?”

“A mountain?”

“High enough to reach the ceiling.”

“Hmm…”

Park Ye Eun furrows her brow.

“I think it might work.”

“Then show me your skills and stack them.”

“Okay.”

Park Ye Eun approaches the chairs and starts stacking them as if it’s no big deal.

She begins simply stacking them, but once they surpass her height, she starts tossing the chairs around.

Yet, magically, the chairs begin to stack like a mountain.

The physics of stacking is being completely ignored.

As Park Ye Eun builds her chair mountain, I glance at the others.

By now, about a third of the people had disappeared.

They must have found an exit and left.

Now the water has risen to waist level.

The increasing water is pushing everyone to leave faster, while those remaining are dwindling in number.

Everyone’s skill at escaping is impressive. As expected from the Management Agency people.

“I’m done.”

“Then let’s go.”

Park Ye Eun steps down and looks at me.

“Over here!”

As I shout, others turn to look at me.

“Let’s use the chairs to climb up!”

Pointing at the chairs, Park Ye Eun looks at me with wide eyes.

“We could just go ourselves.”

“Do you really think sneaking away while leaving the chairs like that is a good idea?”

“That’s true…”

“And you want to leave all these people behind?”

Park Ye Eun glances at the people watching us.

“…We can’t.”

“Exactly.”

And besides, it doesn’t seem like this game rewards simply surviving to pass.

But I don’t mention this to Park Ye Eun. Right now, my thoughts are speculative.

I begin to ascend the pile of chairs slowly.

The chairs creak but hold firm without toppling.

As I look down while climbing the chair mountain with Park Ye Eun beside me, I see numerous people following us.

The water is rising faster now, and swimming becomes necessary.

Upon reaching the top of the chair stack, I look ahead.

Water has risen up to half the chairs, with several people flailing about.

Eliminated.

The monotonous announcement rings out.

“Ahhh!”

“Aaahhh!”

The people struggling in the water are lifted up by something and float away somewhere.

As if drawn by an invisible force.

“..”

It feels like I’ve seen this somewhere before.

“Hey, over there.”

In the meantime, Park Ye Eun pulls on my sleeve.

As if waiting for us to climb up, a ladder rattles down.

“…”

I look at the ladder.

Nothing really stands out.

I grab the ladder and start climbing.

“Is this really safe?”

“The Management Agency wouldn’t set up a device to kill people.”

“That’s true, but…isn’t it a bit reckless to go out like this?”

“You’ll become like me if you see enough hands endlessly popping out of walls and monsters crawling out from the sea.”

I grab the ladder and start climbing confidently.

“Hey, wait for me, big brother!”

Park Ye Eun calls out as she climbs the ladder.

The place we emerge into after cutting through the darkness is…

“…What the?”

An isolation room.

To be precise, the inside of an isolation room.

Soon, numerous people begin to enter the isolation room via the ladder.

“This is…”

“What the…”

Is it because most of the remaining people climbed up by the chairs, but soon the isolation room becomes quite lively.

“This is an isolation room.”

“Senior, why are we here?”

“I don’t know since this wasn’t the exam when I took it.”

As I turn my attention away, tuning out the murmurs from the crowd.

“That’s strange.”

“What do you mean?”

Park Ye Eun looks at me curiously.

“There’s no sense of discomfort.”

“Is that not a good sign?”

Park Ye Eun makes a confused expression.

“Normally, that would be true.”

Not feeling any discomfort is correct in a general sense.

But the isolation room is different.

“The isolation room should feel strange.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it.”

What is an isolation room?

It’s a place for imprisoning things that are not human or things that can cause great harm to humans.

Thus, the isolation room also should never be perfectly fine.

Since it’s a place for things that are not human, it too should be strange.

“But it feels too strange.”

“…So your theory suggests that this place should be more abnormal but is too normal, right?”

“Exactly.”

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t even listen…”

Park Ye Eun lets out a large sigh as she surveys the area around her.

“…”

She freezes as if struck by something.

“What’s wrong?”

“O-over there.”

Park Ye Eun grips the sleeve of my clothing.

“The hospital, the hospital…”

“What?”

A hospital?

From the Management Agency?

I quickly turn my gaze.

I look where Park Ye Eun’s eyes are directed, but I see nothing.

“Where’s the hospital?”

“Ahhh!”

Just before I finish my sentence, a scream erupts from another area.

“A spider! A huge spider!”

“What is this? Ahhh!”

Soon, people start screaming.

“…”

-A chill.

A pain shoots through my temples.

Is it a mental attack?

“O-brother. Help me.”

Park Ye Eun also mutters in a trembling voice while holding onto my sleeve.

Everyone is trembling in fear.

Yet I can’t see anything.

Fear, and something that doesn’t affect me.

Feels like someone’s putting us under a mass hypnosis.

*

“…”

Park Ye Eun was trembling in fear.

After all, she is someone who had been captured by a hospital before.

Regardless, it’s inescapable that the memory, even if short, is intense and fearful for her.

‘It’s a patient.’

‘It’s a patient.’

‘Where should I cut to remove this?’

“Stop, stop…”

Park Ye Eun covers her ears, murmuring.

She wants to hear no more of it.

She just wants to escape.

From behind, someone covers her eyes with both hands.

A warm sensation envelops her.

“…Brother?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

A familiar voice from behind her.

“This isn’t the time to be thinking about the doctor—”

“Focus.”

Park Ye Eun closes her mouth.

“Think again. And stay calm.”

“…”

“When you encounter something beyond your understanding, what you should do is not to succumb to fear.”

“…Huh….”

How can he maintain his sanity while witnessing such hallucinations?

Park Ye Eun takes a deep breath.

“Get a grip. And don’t stop thinking.”

“Thinking…”

“How can we escape from here, or better yet, find a way to win.”

As Park Ye Eun’s breathing calms down.

“…There isn’t one.”

She mumbles.

Feeling the warmth of the male hand, she mutters over and over.

“There isn’t, there isn’t…”

Slowly she opens her eyes.

Upon lifting her head, a man is staring down at her.

“Brother?”

“Yes.”

“I’m…okay now.”

Park Ye Eun murmurs.

“That’s a relief.”

The man lets go of her eyes.

“Brother.”

“Yes?”

“Do you do this with other people too?”

“This kind of thing?”

“No, I just thought I understood why the atmosphere feels so tense.”

No wonder the people on the same team are going crazy.

Park Ye Eun shakes her head.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

*

Park Ye Eun nods and makes eye contact with me again.

“So, what should we do now?”

“It shouldn’t be that hard.”

Since the first exam was about quick thinking, now it’s probably an exam about responding to containment objects.

As I approach the door slowly, grabbing the doorknob, the door opens easily.

“This door was open from the beginning.”

She must have been too frightened by the fear she encountered to even think of opening the door.

“Should we wake the others?”

“Let’s try that first.”

Park Ye Eun and I speak to awaken others as we walk around.

“Everyone, this is…”

“Aaaah!”

“Get a grip…”

“Ugh, ugh…”

Most people couldn’t hear us, but fortunately, some managed to regain their senses by hearing Park Ye Eun’s and my words.

Eliminated.

Then, the eyes of those still dazed become vacant, and they slowly line up against the wall.

Like the parting of the Red Sea in a myth, the crowd of people splits, leaving only the ones who have regained their senses against the wall,

-Click…

The door opens.

“…”

“…”

Park Ye Eun and I exchange glances.

“What do you think, brother?”

“Easy, right?”

Honestly, at this point, after everything I’ve been through, this is nothing.

“As expected…”

“The Team that manages incidents involving humans and containment objects…”

“The team that handles all incidents except those involving humans…”

“The team that controls incidents related to non-human containment…”

People mumble and look at Park Ye Eun and me.

“Is our team called that?”

“No.”

I answer curtly, avoiding the gazes of the others as I step outside the door.

We emerge into the auditorium where the branch chief first gave a speech.

The next exam is a teamwork exam.

Until now, there haven’t been any broadcasts, and only now is it happening?

Please select a partner from the helpers present here.

People walk out into the auditorium.

All of them wear suits and pause awkwardly.

All except for one.

“Haha, hahaha!”

A man with a hearty laugh looks at me.

“Hey, Kim Jae Heon! What a coincidence.”

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, you should be here as a mentor, not just a helper, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Haha! Hahaha!”

Ahn Sang Hyun, who had been rolling around helping us, laughs and crosses his arms.

And the others…

“…”

A man with half his face burned turns away as soon as our eyes meet.

Others I’ve barely seen or met in the corridor line up, looking just as uncomfortable.

“…”

“…”

“…”

A cute-looking woman with black hair,

a beautiful woman with white hair giving off a cool vibe, and

a seemingly aloof woman with purple hair make eye contact with me.

“Why are you here?”

“I want to ask you that.”

Song Ah Rin looks at me on behalf of the three of them.

“You were originally supposed to be called here as a mentor. What are you doing here?”

“Good question.”

“Sigh.”

She exhales,

Please choose someone to go with you.

Three pairs of eyes gaze at me.

Who’s the most necessary to pass this exam?

There was no room for doubt.