MFCLE 2

Chapter 2

I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?

I heard it correctly, right?

‘January New Employee Recruitment.’

The scattered words that had reached my ears had been reassembled into a single sentence.

If that announcement really was announcing the recruitment of new employees, then even someone who had genuinely intended to apply would have run away.

Or…

Was this what people nowadays called an MZ-generation way of thinking?

Was using a horror concept for recruitment notices actually popular among young people these days?

Personally, I hated it.

Or maybe… had the stress of job hunting finally driven me insane?

I hoped it was the latter.

It might be better for everyone if I was the only one going crazy.

The specific words that had been clearly audible amid the incomprehensible static.

And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had heard that bizarre announcement.

Step.

The countless people who had come to the library, just like me, cautiously looked at one another before gradually gathering in the central hall where I stood.

“What… is going on?”

Yeah, I wish I knew…

“It can’t be anything serious, right?”

I really hope not.

For some reason, my eyes were drawn back to the flyer that had been stuck at the library entrance.

This sense of unease was partly because of that mysterious flyer whose author was unknown…

?

It was gone.

More precisely, the darkness outside had become so thick that I couldn’t even see the flyer anymore.

Wasn’t it just 11 a.m.?

I hurriedly turned my smartphone back on and checked the time displayed on the screen.

[14515 (hours) 12516124 (minutes)]

“……”

Okay.

I really had gone insane.

Just as I was thinking that I urgently needed to be taken to a hospital right now—

Someone raised an index finger and shouted.

“T-The time is weird!”

“I can’t get a signal!”

“14,515 hours… What the hell is going on?”

“These bastards locked the entrance, too!”

Fortunately, in a situation that seemed destined to end with the conclusion that everyone had gone insane rather than just me—

Bzzzt—

The announcement began again.

But this time, it wasn’t the voice of the woman from before.

A cheerful middle-aged man had taken hold of the microphone and opened his mouth.

—Welcome, everyone!

—Thank you very much for taking such an interest in our new employee recruitment! Now, everyone, give yourselves a round of applause!!

—Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

The sound of countless people applauding came through the speakers.

It almost felt as though all the library staff had gathered in the broadcasting room and were watching this situation unfold.

And the moment the applause ended, the announcement continued smoothly, completely ignoring the people who were falling into panic.

—It’s a wonderful day for an interview!

What? It’s pitch-black in here!

—Since so many people have come to visit us today, unlike other days, let’s skip the boring introduction and get straight to the point!

Bang!

The moment the announcement ended, every light in the library suddenly went out.

“Aaaaaah!!”

“What the hell is this?! Let us out!”

“You’re crazy! What are you trying to do?! Are you seriously trying to take hostages in this day and age?!”

The people’s emotions were gradually growing more agitated.

The library lights going out by themselves might not have been a problem.

But the world outside the building was already covered in pitch-black darkness.

Which meant—

It was too dark.

I couldn’t see anything.

Not even the ground directly beneath my feet.

It would have been a lie to say I wasn’t frightened by the situation.

But one man was currently being dominated by an entirely different thought.

This is a .

‘That flyer… was it real?’

Not just any ghost story.

It was a story from the fictional works created by someone on , a site I had been enjoying reading until just moments ago.

[Ghost Story Log

[New Employees Are Always Welcome!]

: Identification Code Cd-F-1129]

Bang!

Along with another sound brushing past my ears, a single light came on.

Beneath it was an office desk, with a large pile of papers stacked on top.

—I can’t wait to see what kind of applicants have come to visit us this time! Isn’t that right, everyone?!

—Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Every time the man holding the microphone finished speaking, the sound of applause followed at perfectly regular intervals, as though it had been rehearsed.

Everyone gathered here must have agreed that those applause sounds only made the current situation even more grotesque.

—Now! The application form isn’t difficult at all! Those who finish filling it out quickly should put their applications in the box beside you!

—Easy, right?!

—Ah! Those who have already filled out an application don’t need to fill it out again! Please remain where you are for a moment.

Someone already had the nerve to fill out that application?

Was the part of their brain responsible for judgment broken?

There was no way anyone could fill out that resume without being completely insane.

“……You’re going to fill it out?”

“Are you crazy?! Anyone can tell something horrible is going to happen if you do that!”

“……”

I agreed.

If I could help it, I didn’t even want to go near that resume.

Because I wanted to live.

Step.

“……Hey, hey! Look at that person!”

“……What a lunatic. Is he dying to get himself killed?!”

“Hey, young man!”

That’s right.

I wanted to live.

So—

“……”

Where my footsteps stopped, a spotlight was shining down on the desk.

A document and a pen lay on top of it.

I carefully picked up the sheet of paper and the pen.

‘Of all things, why is the pen red…?’

[Name: Park Yeon-jeong

Age: 27.

Blood Type: B.

Physical Defects: None…

Aspiration: I will work hard…]

My hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

It was such a ridiculously simple resume that it was almost embarrassing to even call it an application form.

But I checked it carefully until the very end, just in case I had made a mistake.

If every job application in the world looked like this, there might have been complaints about it, whether for better or worse.

‘This should do it.’

As I said before—

I wanted to live.

That’s why I filled out this resume.

If I refused to fill out the form and simply endured until the end—

[Ghost Story Log

New Employees Are Always Welcome!

<Exploration Record, Round 12>

1. Filling Out the Application.

: Filling out the application is simpler than you might think, so don’t worry too much. Surely there isn’t a fool who won’t fill out an application, right? (Surely there isn’t some piece of trash who would throw away even the slightest chance of survival with their own two feet, right?) Those who do not fill out the application afterward will ……

2. Aptitude Test.

: The aptitude test is simply a physical fitness examination, so there’s no need to worry too much. (The highest number of casualties.)

3. Interview Evaluation.

: Don’t feel so pressured. Everything depends on the interviewer’s subjective judgment anyway. (Try praying to God. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get accepted.)

4. Announcement of Successful Applicants.

: Congratulations on joining us as a permanent employee! When the successful applicant ‘Hansol’ asked whether he could go home now, the announcement replied with a distorted, grotesque laugh.

From now on, this is your workplace and your home.

End of Record.]

That’s right.

To survive, filling out the application was the correct answer.

I wrote my full name on the suspicious application that everyone else had avoided, then placed it in the box beside me.

Bzzzt—

As though responding to that action, the speaker gave off a faint vibration before the announcement began.

—A round of applause for applicant ‘Park Yeon-jeong,’ who filled out our employment application without a moment’s hesitation!

—You may even be the first person to complete the application this quickly.

Fortunately, the man holding the microphone sounded genuinely pleased as he praised me.

With this, at least for now, I was going to live…

—However. I’m afraid we won’t be able to accept this application.

……What?

The announcement had suddenly said they wouldn’t accept my resume.

Had I done something to offend him?

I’m going to die.

Bzzzt—

—There’s no need to be so disappointed.

Bang!

The spotlight that had been shining on the desk moments ago now illuminated the top of my head.

—The application of ‘Park Yeon-jeong’ has already been submitted to our company! We’ve seen your enthusiasm for our company!

?

When did I ever submit an application to a company with absolutely no future like this…?

……Ah.

That was when.

After repeatedly suffering from the crushing reality of the job market, I had been scribbling around on .

And, just to kill some time, I had casually filled out and submitted an application.

With my index finger.

—Then, we ask all the remaining applicants for your prompt cooperation as well!

“……”

“……”

“……That person is crazy.”

Even after I finished filling out the application, not a single person stepped forward.

I understood.

If I were in their position, I wouldn’t have done something as foolish as casually filling out some mysterious document either.

……A lot of time passed.

If things continued like this, everyone remaining here except me would die.

Could the fact that the other two people who had supposedly submitted applications after seeing the recruitment notice on still hadn’t appeared mean—

I was the only pre-applicant here?

—Ten minutes remaining until applications close.

Only ten minutes.

Once those ten minutes passed, everyone remaining here would die.

I wouldn’t go into exactly how they would die…

That would be too unpleasant.

I’ll simply describe it as the most horrifying death imaginable, something no one could bear to watch with their eyes open.

……

Just imagining it made my stomach churn.

……Urgh.

“……”

“……”

—Seven minutes remaining until applications close.

The mechanical voice echoed through the empty silence.

But even that sound would end in seven minutes.

Soon, all of this would be over.

Whether it ended well—

Or badly.

After finishing my resume, I didn’t make eye contact with anyone here.

The others probably thought I was some complete lunatic for filling out the application in a situation where no one knew what was going to happen.

[Three minutes remaining until applications close.]

It was almost over.

The end of life, as defined in the dictionary.

Death.

Even if I somehow survived this, I was bound to die during the next ‘aptitude test’ anyway.

Even if that made me seem heartless, there was nothing I could do about it.

I had to remain coldly—

“……Mom.”

“!!”

A student’s sobbing voice emerged from among the crowd I had been deliberately avoiding by keeping my head lowered.

……Sigh.

Maybe I had simply spent too long trapped in the brutal competition of the job market.

My mind must have temporarily stopped working.

Let’s at least preserve the minimum amount of human dignity, Park Yeon-jeong.

“E-Everyone. Fill out the resumes here!”

“……”

“……”

After several minutes of silence, my voice rang out for the first time in a while.

At first, everyone raised their heads when they heard me.

But the moment they realized that the voice was coming from me—the person who had filled out the resume—they once again covered their ears, shut their mouths, and lowered their heads.

“……If you want to live, you have to fill out the resume!”

“……”

“Don’t you think this is strange?! This situation, this place, the strangely quiet world outside up until now!”

—Two minutes remaining until applications close.

At first, my voice had been awkward and hesitant as I tried to speak loudly.

But each time the announcement informed us that the remaining time was shrinking, the mechanical voice striking my ears—

I put even more strength into my own voice.

“Right now, we need to follow their conditions and observe the situation! We mustn’t provoke them!”

“……”

“You all want to go home safely, don’t you?!”

“Home……”

A female student hesitated and took a step forward at my desperate plea.

But a short-haired student who seemed to be her friend stepped in front of her.

“Are you crazy?! You’re actually going to believe that lunatic? And what if he’s in league with these bastards?!”

“……But, Minji.”

“Wake up, Kim Hye-seon!”

“……”

It was over.

The footsteps of the others, who had been wavering at my passionate plea just moments ago, stopped completely because of that one girl’s words.

You little runt!

—One minute remaining until applications close.

Only one minute remained.

“Everyone!”

“Sh-Shut up!”

“She’s right! There’s no guarantee that filling out that resume will make things better!”

“If you’re going to die, die alone!”

Panic.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

The situation was only getting worse.

In a situation where it seemed impossible for things to get any worse—

Tap.

A woman wearing horn-rimmed glasses strode toward me.

And the words she spoke were—

“……We just have to fill it out, right?”

“……Yes.”

I knew her.

She was the woman who had looked at me with contempt while I had been fooling around in front of the library.

The woman quickly filled out the resume and put it into the box beside her.

Bzzzt—

—Is this our relief pitcher?! Regardless, thank you for submitting an application to our company!

—Applications will close in one minute.

After finishing the resume, the woman met my eyes once again.

Then she whispered softly.

‘If you’re lying, I’ll rip that tongue right out of your mouth, you fucking bastard.’

?!?!?!

Before all the question marks and exclamation points in my head could even disappear—

The woman threw off the horn-rimmed glasses she had been wearing and swept her bangs back with one hand.

“There’s less than a minute left now! Goodbye, you bunch of idiots……! Ah! And those female students over there might fetch a little more money.”

……What?

Where are you planning to sell us?

The woman had suddenly started spouting complete nonsense.

But those one or two sentences, overflowing with insults and slander—

“Y-You tricked us?!”

The fish began biting the bait.

“Fill out the resume right now!”

“Mooom!!”

“Hey! Kim Hye-seon……! Seriously!”

And as though she were enjoying the situation—

—10……

—9……

—8……

The countdown began.

The situation looked almost like a crowd rushing into a supermarket for a huge bargain sale.

—4……

—3……

—2……

—1……

—Applications closed!

—Thank you very much for all your applications!!