MFCLE 3

Chapter 3

Baam-ba-ba-bam!

A cheesy celebratory sound effect.

A cheerful notification rang out from the speakers, followed by a second, dull thud.

Thump—thump—

“—All right! Shall we check the number of applicants?”

Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪.

A lively humming tune, unmistakably coming from the announcement system.

It wasn’t long before the broadcast resumed.

“—……No. Is this really true?”

“—There are a whopping thirteen applicants! That’s the largest number of applicants we’ve had since the company was founded!”

“—This……I’m so moved that I can hardly see through my tears……(sniff).”

“—I’d like to dedicate this meaningful moment to Applicant Park Yeonjeong.”

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As though the star of the show had appeared onstage, all the lights simultaneously focused on one man, forcibly drawing attention to his presence.

I don’t……need this kind of attention.

The person in question was sweating profusely and looking miserable under all that attention.

Even as he squinted against the intense light that hurt his eyes, the man’s gaze turned toward those who hadn’t been able to join them here.

……Eight.

Eight people who, even after hearing the provocations of the double-personality woman just now, had refused to fill out their résumés.

But I couldn’t do anything more.

The only thing I could do now was—

“I have a favor to ask.”

A small request for the woman who had helped me.

“Please take care of the female students.”

“What? What do you mean by—”

She looked puzzled by my request, which seemed to be missing its object.

Crackle—

Everyone’s attention was drawn once again to the voice coming through the speakers.

“—All right! Then, for the smooth continuation of today’s proceedings, we’d like to thank all the applicants who took the time to visit our company despite being busy. I’m afraid it’s time for us to say a regretful ‘goodbye.’”

Judging by the man’s tone coming through the announcement system, everyone here must have had the same thought.

This place……

It’s the wrong answer.

Several people glared murderously at the woman who had persuaded them to come here with us.

For five seconds.

That’s how things were just five seconds ago.

“—It’s always difficult to let talented individuals go……”

“—All right! Then shall we all wave our right hands together and say ‘goodbye’?”

But not a single person who had filled out a résumé followed the announcement’s instructions.

Far from following them, they covered their faces with both hands and could only sob at the despair that was about to descend upon them.

On the other hand—

The faces of the eight people who weren’t on our side lit up.

We can leave!

We can finally go home!

You idiots! I’m getting out of here!!

Their faces were filled with hope at the prospect of leaving this place.

And I couldn’t bring myself to look at any of them to the very end.

I lowered my head.

I couldn’t bear to see it.

Crackle—

“—See you next time!”

“—Our company will always welcome ‘brave’ applicants like you!”

Ssssss……

“……Huh? What’s this powder falling from?”

Powder began falling from the ceiling above the eight people standing there in triumph.

The people on our side didn’t even have time to cover their mouths with both hands.

BOOM!

With an enormous crash—

KRRRUNCH!

The ceiling collapsed directly onto the exact spot where the remaining eight people were standing.

A crime scene.

They had been crushed flat beneath what looked like an enormous industrial press.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Perhaps we’d forgotten how to scream.

All thirteen remaining people stood frozen, holding their breath as they stared at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

And the screams we’d all forgotten how to make—

Ssssss.

The ceiling rose again.

The moment we saw the countless crushed bones, flesh, and clumps of blood tangled together beneath it—

“AAARGH!”

“AAAAAH!”

“……Urgh!”

The woman who had questioned my request just moments ago seemed to finally understand what I had meant.

She covered the eyes of the two female students.

“I-I……want to……go home.”

One of the girls finally burst into tears after holding them back until now.

She had looked particularly vulnerable from the beginning.

The short-haired girl beside her, who had been listening to her friend sob, also tried to hide her trembling body as much as possible in the woman’s arms.

The trembling of her tiny fists caught my eye.

That was the normal reaction.

In a place like this, the cold-hearted ones were the abnormal ones.

Even I, who had known this was how things would turn out, felt as though my legs could give out and send me collapsing to the floor at any moment.

……Urgh!

Then a foul stench stabbed at the tip of my nose, and I hurriedly covered it with my sleeve.

Crackle—

“—All right, all right. Let’s end this tearful farewell here. Shall the remaining applicants now run toward the future of our company?”

Tap!

Once again, all the lights went out.

Then, before even a few minutes had passed, they came back on, illuminating us once more.

The central hall of the library where we’d been standing had disappeared.

So had the corpses that had been plastered to the floor like gum.

At some point, we’d been transported to a place that looked like an ordinary gymnasium.

I knew.

I knew exactly what was going to happen in this ordinary-looking gymnasium.

“—From this point onward, the ‘First Assessment’ will be a simple ‘aptitude test’ designed to determine whether the applicants are suitable candidates for our company.”

“—You can think of it as a simple physical fitness test at an elementary-school level.”

An elementary-school-level physical fitness test?

Were elementary school students these days undergoing hellish training sessions where they had to risk their lives?

Mr. Announcement?

At that moment, a pot-bellied middle-aged man cautiously spoke up.

“……It looks normal.”

The others nodded as though they agreed with the middle-aged man.

Even to me, this place looked like nothing more than an ordinary gymnasium.

It had simply been designed to look that way.

[<Exploration Record — Third Attempt>

: Assistant Manager Kang Hyeok followed the announcement’s instructions and filled out his résumé.

Survival.

Considering this a good start, he declared that he would be the first to undergo the second-stage ‘aptitude test.’

(Result: Death_Contused Skull.)

The additional cause of skull crushing was his failure to evade the shot put that fell from above.]

If you’re wondering why a shot put suddenly fell from the sky—

I don’t know.

How would I know?

Please don’t ask.

If I had been capable of analyzing and seeing through such bizarre phenomena, I’d probably have already secured a position as an elite employee of .

Of course, I don’t want to be dragged into that world in the first place.

Starting with the résumé, this place had already recorded the second-highest number of casualties.

So the best way to clear it was to be placed as far back in the aptitude-test order as possible and memorize the locations of every trap the people ahead of me had already triggered.

In other words, the key was ‘order.’

And the method of determining that order was—

“—The aptitude test will be conducted one person at a time. Therefore, we’ll determine the order fairly by drawing lots!”

“—Isn’t that wonderfully fair?”

Along with the announcement that we’d be drawing lots,

a mysterious white glove suddenly appeared in front of us.

The white glove floated through the air with its fingers curled into a fist and approached us.

When I looked closely, I saw that it was holding thirteen thin strips of paper.

“…….”

“……Are we really supposed to draw one?”

As one bizarre phenomenon after another unfolded right before their eyes, everyone’s wariness increased.

The people who were reluctant to act could only glance at one another, watching for someone else to make the first move.

Perhaps the announcement system wasn’t particularly pleased with the situation, because static began to crackle through the speakers.

Crackle.

“—……Hmm. This is troublesome. Very troublesome. If we waste this much time on the aptitude test, the executives conducting the next interviews might complain……”

“—Troublesome……indeed.”

It’s troublesome for me too!

[<Exploration Record — Fourth Attempt>

: Intern Lee Hyeok inferred from the events so far that the order was important and fell into deep thought.

When the aptitude test failed to proceed smoothly, an announcement rang out.

‘Due to time constraints, we’ll begin the aptitude test with everyone at once.’

(Result: Death_Crush.)

(Cause of Death: Crushed to death after being trampled and pinned beneath a large crowd.)]

There was no way I was accepting a crushed-to-death ending.

I hurriedly pulled out one of the scraps of paper held by the white glove.

As long as I’m not first.

No matter how many strategy guides for this horror story I’d read,

I didn’t trust my memory.

I vaguely remembered the locations of all the traps now, but there was one location I couldn’t remember.

The very first trap.

The shot-put trap that had just claimed the life of our Assistant Manager Kang Hyeok because he couldn’t dodge it.

Please, just don’t let me go first.

Anything but first!

[2]

The number written on the paper was 2, exactly one after 1.

I’d said all I needed was not to be first.

But I never imagined I’d actually draw number two.

……W-Well. At least I’m not number one.

Think positively.

Once everyone saw that nothing bad had happened after I drew my lot, they finally began drawing theirs one by one.

“……Number ten!”

“Damn it, I got five.”

I’m number two, by the way.

Isn’t it legally acceptable to beat someone up for flexing like that?

As I checked the faces of the people who drew their numbers one after another, my gaze eventually landed on the thick-rimmed woman who had caught my attention earlier.

……She looks calm.

Her expression was remarkably composed.

That woman.

She must have drawn a late number.

There was no way she’d look that calm otherwise.

I continued studying the faces of the remaining people until my gaze stopped on one particular person.

I didn’t even need to ask.

Of all people—

A female student who was clutching the scrap of paper she’d drawn and trembling like an aspen leaf, unable even to keep her own body under control.

And the short-haired student who noticed her friend’s reaction.

“……Don’t tell me.”

“……Minji. What……what am I going to do……?”

“…….”

An indescribable tension lingered between the two girls for a while.

Crackle.

“—It looks like the drawing of lots has ended successfully! Once again, we’d like to thank Applicant ‘Park Yeonjeong’ for following our instructions so well!”

“—Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!”

The sound of applause had become somewhat familiar by now.

But more importantly, why did that announcement guy keep saying my full name?

It was unsettling.

It made me nervous.

But for now, I focused on the situation in front of me.

“—Now then, now then, now then! Applicant number one, please step forward to the white line!”

“—……You must be very nervous, being the first.”

At the announcement of the first applicant, everyone gathered here turned their gaze toward a single female student as though they had rehearsed it beforehand.

“……Y-You’re number one, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes! I-I……I……”

The student named Kim Hyesun began stammering.

She seemed to be desperately trying to hide the fact that she was number one……

But she was truly terrible at lying.

“I……”

And such an inexperienced lie was something an applicant who had come to interview for a company should never display.

“—Hmm……Applicant number one.”

“—Is there no applicant number one?”

The man who had maintained a cheerful voice throughout the announcement now spoke with unmistakable irritation.

The remaining applicants, sensing the growing anxiety, finally took action.

“Hey, student! Hurry up! They’re calling applicant number one!”

“Didn’t you see what happened to those people earlier?! If you don’t go, we’re all going to die!”

“N-No……I……”

Under the pressure from the adults around her, the girl looked as though she might collapse right where she stood.

“—Applicant number one…… ■pplicant…… isn’t ■■ere?”

Now even heavier static was interfering with the announcement, pushing the situation to the brink.

“Hey! Get your damn self over there, you brat!”

A middle-aged man lost his temper, grabbed the girl’s wrist, and began dragging her forward.

“No! No! I don’t want to! Save……save me! I don’t want to die!!”

The people who had been pressuring the girl just moments ago watched the middle-aged man forcibly drag her away with pity on their faces.

They simply watched.

Not a single person tried to stop him.

“……Min……Minji! Minji! Hey! Jeong Minji!”

“…….”

When Kim Hyesun saw her friend Minji, whom she’d been desperately calling, avert her eyes and turn her head away from her—

“……Min……ji?”

From that moment on, Kim Hyesun stopped screaming.

“—……Wait. It seems applicant number one was simply nervous.”

His voice was still low.

But regardless, after confirming that the first female applicant had been forcibly placed at the starting line, the announcement system once again adopted its cheerful tone.

“—……We understand. Anyone who submits a résumé to an excellent company like ours is bound to feel nervous, wondering, ‘What if I fail?’ Of course! We understand!!”

I could only marvel at how someone could interpret what had just happened that way.

“—But even so, you must move forward! If you don’t move forward, you’ll never be able to seize greater authority!”

One after another, the countless obstacles that had been hidden until now began appearing before our eyes.

“—A balance beam with shot puts falling from above.”

“—A 500-meter run with an operating compression press.”

“—Push-ups with steel spikes embedded beneath you.”

“—Timed sit-ups in which the space available to lie down becomes narrower in real time.”

“—A long jump over flowing magma.”

“—Then, let’s begin Applicant Number One’s aptitude verification test……”

“……I have a question.”

“—……Yes?”

The person who confidently raised his right hand and interrupted the aptitude test was none other than Park Yeonjeong.

Me.

“—……Ah. So it was our Applicant ‘Park Yeonjeong’!”

Fortunately, perhaps because the man behind the announcement had taken a liking to me, his slightly lowered voice quickly returned to its original tone.

“I was wondering whether it’s really necessary to conduct the aptitude test. I apologize for the impertinence, but I’d like to ask.”

“—…….”

The announcement system seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

I desperately hoped it would.

Not anger at my incredibly rude question.

But a calm judgment.

“……Sniff.”

Then, after what I’d done, my eyes met those of the first applicant, the female student who had been swallowing both tears and mucus at the same time.

Everyone gathered here probably interpreted my actions in one of two ways.

A sense of heroism.

Or hypocrisy.

The worst possible move to make when everyone could be put in danger.

They’re probably cursing me a lot right now.

My ears already felt itchy.

But I couldn’t help it.

I was confident that this was the best choice I could make under the circumstances.

Hero complex?

Hypocrite?

They could think whatever they wanted.

I wasn’t going to change my mind.

……Why?

Because even if I knew the locations of every trap, that only mattered if my body could actually keep up.

Me.

I have terrible stamina.