Free Web NovelChapter 32: Ch 32: Section Chief Lee Byungjin ^^
The missing manual evaluator.
The missing 50 million won.
And the soon-to-be-missing gift, the Bloodbathtub (pending).
"..."
To make matters worse, Braun—the one who requested the gift—is
currently in my bag pocket.
’He’s probably hearing all of this, shit...’
I’d been bringing him along just in case we entered another creepypasta
scenario. Leaving him at home made me antsy, but now it seemed to be
backfiring.
This felt like promising a Christmas present to my niece only to find that
the store shelves were empty when I got there.
Except, in this case, my niece was Annabelle.
"Huu..."
A deep sigh escaped me.
’An employee in this world taking unauthorized leave for a week without
notice...’
It’s obvious.
This means they’re likely tangled up in a creepypasta and have gone
missing.
’Just relax and wait. It’s better for your sanity, they say.’
But if I wait too long, someone else might grab the Bloodbathtub on the
Alien Shop, and then I’ll fail to keep my ’promise’ to Braun.
I really don’t want to tick off the plush toy that once burned down an A-
Class Darkness with a mere snap of his fingers...!
’I’m gonna actually die.’
Assistant Manager Eun Haje gave my shoulder a few encouraging taps
before returning to her desk, while I sat there, silent and lost in thought.
What should I do.
Should I wait twiddle my thumbs anxiously for two whole months, and if
the tub sells in the meantime, swallow my pride and apologize?
Should I take out a loan?
Or...
’...First, maybe I should at least find out why the person went missing.’
It’s not just to save face with, ’I did my best.’ Who knows, maybe I’ll find
the missing person without much risk.
I still had the <Dark Exploration Records>, both in my memory and on my
phone.
’Let’s at least scope things out.’
Since the theme park incident, work had been relatively slow, and I’d
wrapped up the paperwork for a recent exploration just yesterday.
Today, I had a bit of freedom to kill time as long as I didn’t actually run off.
’Plus, my superiors are in and out of the office today.’
Of course, as the lowest on the ladder, I decided to wait until after lunch to
briefly sneak out.
The first place to visit...
’The manual evaluator’s desk, of course.’
* * *
Ding.
The elevator doors opened.
Of course, I’d prepared a cover story for this visit.
– Ah, you want to check out the evaluator’s office? Huu... Sure Roe, just
take this and just drop it off!
My squad’s kind-hearted supervisor handed me a certificate of completion
for a training session. It wasn’t urgent, but it gave me an excuse to be there.
’My humblest thanks, Supervisor Park Minseong...’
In a creepypasta world full of psychopaths, his kindness felt like a rare
warm gesture.
I entered the admin support office, looking for someone to give the
document to. Luckily, there was an employee seated right next to the
missing evaluator’s desk.
"I’m here to drop off some paperwork for D-squad Supervisor Park
Minseong."
"Huh? Just leave it there."
"Yes. And also..."
Without even glancing my way, the employee kept typing away at their
computer, looking rather bored. I politely handed over an envelope I’d been
holding.
Inside were warm, sugar-dusted donuts filled with vanilla cream and an iced
Americano.
’Bribes are essential for this sort of thing.’
"I picked these up while getting something for myself. Thought you might
enjoy them."
"...! Ah, you didn’t have to, really!"
Still, their hand shot out to take the coffee and donuts. A true office worker.
"Supervisor Kang, pass these around."
"Huh? Donuts?"
"They’re from him."
"Wow, thanks! You’re from D-squad, right?"
I watched as the office atmosphere subtly shifted toward a casual tea-time
atmosphere, with the admin staff biting into the donuts and chatting.
It was a friendly setting, perfect for gently prying information. And even
better, since I was the one providing the snacks.
I picked the right moment to bring up the missing manual evaluator,
glancing over at the empty seat of ’Lee Byeongjin’.
"Um, should I just leave this coffee on Section Chief Lee’s desk? He
doesn’t seem to be in..."
"Oh, no need. Just take it with you—he hasn’t been in at all."
"Oh, he’s on vacation?"
"Vacation? No, he’s missing."
Gotcha.
The employee sitting nearby replied nonchalantly, barely glancing my way,
and exchanged a look with the person across from him.
"Honestly, we kind of saw this coming."
"Hey, hey."
"Oh, come on. Everyone’s heard about it by now, haven’t they? You’re a D-
squad rookie, right? What’s your name?"
"It’s Kim Soleum, sir."
"...! Oh, are you the one who nearly made it to A-squad?"
"Um, I suppose so, sir. They seem to have a good impression of me, which
I’m grateful for."
"Wow."
Some murmuring began to ripple through the room: ’So that’s D-squad’s
rookie...’
The employee at the adjacent desk looked me up and down, now with a bit
more interest, subtly hiding their initial indifference.
"The thing is, you’re probably going to find out about it sooner or later if
you stick around here anyway."
The employee gave a slight smirk.
"See, we’ve had cases of people who work here, clueless as ever, picking
up strange stuff and then going missing."
"Pardon?"
I asked, furrowing my brow as though I was thinking hard.
"Wait... do you mean that’s why he hasn’t shown up?"
"Exactly. That... What was it again?"
"The scroll, the scroll."
Another colleague chimed in, seemingly giving up on reminding him as he
was snickering.
"Right, the scroll. He was boasting about buying one that supposedly
boosted his luck, claiming he hit second place in the lottery after getting it."
Oh.
So he bought some sketchy vertical scroll, bragged about his newfound
luck, and then vanished?
’Classic haunted thrift store story...’
A setup straight out of a cliché.
’Alright, I know what to do.’
I made a swift decision:
Retreat.
Let’s not get caught up in this. Staying would be no different to saying,
’Me! Me next! I’ll be the next missing person just because I want to get my
money a bit faster!’
I was about to make some excuse like, ’Wow, how eerie! Well, I’ll be on my
way...,’ when—
"Anyway, looks like this situation is a bit unfortunate for you, huh?"
Me?
"Hey, hey, don’t say that much!"
"Come on, it’s true, isn’t it? You’re the one waiting for the evaluation on a
manual revision, right?"
Yes.
"Well, if it’s that missing section chief’s evaluation, it’s going to be tough to
get it approved without him."
...?!
What do you mean...?
"That section chief was close with A-squad. You know, like... ’on the same
line’."
"...!!"
Line.
The foundation of office politics: people’s allegiances based on who they’re
close to higher up the chain!
And here the missing manual evaluator had been especially close to A-
squad, or to put it bluntly, was ’on the same side’...?
An epiphany hit me like a lightning strike.
’So that’s why A-squad’s leader was so confident!’
No wonder she seemed so sure about how quickly the manual revision
would be approved!
"The new person they bring in might be... who knows, right? But it’s
unlikely it’ll be another one of the same line. Probably someone from
Director Cheong’s side."
"..."
"And that line doesn’t exactly get along with A-squad you know, so...
yeah."
Hear that?
The sound of my 50 million won disappearing?
Not just delayed—but completely out of reach!
’No way!’
Without even realizing it, I spoke up.
"Do you know where Section Chief Lee disappeared?"
"Oh, there’s an interesting rumor about that."
The employee leaned in conspiratorially.
"People are saying he vanished inside the building."
"...!"
"Apparently, someone saw him in the lobby in the morning, but he never
made it up to the office."
"He... vanished somewhere along the way?"
"Well, no one really knows. No one actually saw him disappear."
"..."
No one saw it happen...
’Even if there weren’t people around, there could’ve been something else.’
I lifted my gaze toward the corner of the office, where a CCTV camera
blinked with a red light.
* * *
CCTV.
If he really did disappear inside the company, there could still be a record of
it.
’For a company of this size, they’d likely store security footage for about
two weeks.’
That meant I still had a chance to check.
Figuring out where he went was crucial if I wanted to secure my bonus on
time.
...The issue was this.
’In this company, CCTV records are managed by... the Security Team.’
And the Security Team was... um.
========================
Authorized to use lethal force. (No discrimination against all
employees)
========================
That’s right.
For multiple reasons, it was best to avoid them...
’But since I’ve joined the company, I can’t realistically avoid them forever.’
Given how things had turned out, I might as well gather some intel while
I’m at it.
With Braun subtly reminding me of his presence in my pocket, I headed to
the first floor.
Directly to the Security Team’s office.
"So, down here to the basement?"
A door marked ’Staff Only’ led down a narrow set of stairs to a heavy metal
door.
[Safety Management Office]
I lifted my hand and knocked.
– ...
Knock, knock.
– Just come in already...
"...??"
Cautiously, I opened the door.
Inside was a cramped room that looked like a stereotypical facilities office,
with an old sofa in the center.
Sprawled out on it was a person.
A security officer in a worn, dark blue uniform.
...?
"Good afternoon..."
I quickly glanced at his name tag to make out his title.
[Security Unit 3, Sergeant J3]
"Excuse me, Sergeant. Could I look at some footage from about a week
ago? We have a missing person..."
After a long pause, he finally responded.
"You want to see the CCTV..."
"Yes."
"Ah..."
The sergeant seemed exhausted, exuding a distinct air of reluctance.
Still slouched on the sofa, he responded in a slow, dragging tone without
even introducing himself.
"You’re technically supposed to submit a request form to view the CCTV
footage, but..."
Oh.
"Like anyone here actually cares about that stuff... just go ahead and watch
it."
"..."
Was this pure kindness, or just plain negligence?
Either way, I was in no position to complain, so I offered the remaining
snacks as a bribe.
"Maybe you’d like some of these while you work..."
"Oh, donuts."
His previously weary expression brightened, and he promptly got up from
the sofa, snatching the bag.
"I like donuts, but there’s nowhere around here that delivers to the office...
and I can’t go out during the day, so I hardly ever get to eat them..."
Is that so.
’He doesn’t actually seem all that intimidating.’
But then again, in creepypasta fashion, the scariest characters often look the
least threatening at first.
Keeping my guard up, I asked with a mild-mannered voice,
"Then, sir, would it be alright if I moved to the CCTV room, then?"
"Yeah... but."
The security guard scratched the back of his head, looking at the donuts as
though he was conflicted. He was quiet for quite a bit before he finally
added,
"Only one guard is on shift now, so I’ll go with you... just in case, you
know... might be risky."
"Oh, thank you."
I waited, expecting him to call another guard over on his radio. But he
didn’t make a move.
"...?"
"...?"
"Weren’t you going to send someone to escort me..."
"That would be... me..."
He pointed to himself.
"Yeah... that’d be me..."
...
"Ah... Of course."
’Better keep this short and get out.’
"So you want to look at footage from about a week ago, right..."
"Yes, yes."
With the security sergeant leading the way, we headed to the CCTV room to
review the recordings.
His handling of the equipment wasn’t exactly smooth, which made me a
little wary, but I tried to stay focused.
"Here."
I found the footage of the missing section chief.
There he was, a middle-aged man entering the lobby and heading to the
elevator.
I could confirm this to be Section Chief Lee Byungjin, his face registered in
the company directory.
And in his hand, a long, rolled-up item.
’That must be the scroll.’
Certainly not the kind of thing you’d typically bring to the office. There was
something unsettling about it.
"You’re pretty sharp, could make a good guard yourself..."
Please don’t joke about that, sir.
"Thank you. I guess I was just focused since I’m trying to help find him."
"...You mean he’s missing?"
"Yes, sir."
The guard seemed taken aback.
It’s as if this was the first he’d truly registered my words.
He probably hadn’t been paying attention earlier and was only now
processing that someone had vanished right under the Security Team’s
watch.
"We missed this..."
"Is this going to be a problem for you?"
"Not really... it wasn’t during my shift, anyway."
"..."
"Someone else’s issue, I guess..."
Uh-huh...
The classic logic of shift work. Duly noted.
At any rate, we continued watching the footage, and I was able to track the
missing manager’s movements.
The surprising part? He didn’t go up to the upper floors.
"...It seems he went down instead."
Further down than even the Safety Management Office.
[B2]
The CCTV showed him staggering as he got off on the second basement
level.
...Creepy.
’What on earth happened?’
Why did an administrative employee head down there as though in a
trance?
’That’s an area only the Security Team supposedly has access to.’
And even within the Security Team, they were only authorized to patrol, so
what was he doing down there?
Cold sweat broke out. I quickly looked away from the empty elevator on
the screen.
’It’s starting to feel risky even watching this footage.’
So far, I’d managed to skate by, but this might be too much.
The underground levels of this pharmaceutical company were rumored to
house the raw materials from creepypastas.
A place shrouded in mystery, where regular employees had no access and
no knowledge of what went on?
’Even in the <Dark Exploration Records>, it was described like some
haunted basement tale!’
Nuh-uh. I should just nope out of this while I still can.
I avoided looking directly at the CCTV screen and gave a polite nod to the
sergeant.
"Thank you for allowing me to see this. Then, sir, I’ll be on my w—"
"...Restroom."
"...?"
"The person you’re looking for. He went into an old, unused men’s
restroom down there..."
"..."
"And he hasn’t come out. Not in the whole week since."
I did my best not to peek at the CCTV screen.
It seemed the security sergeant had already skimmed through the footage
showing the abandoned restroom on B2 on his own.
"That restroom, want to check it out...?"
"I don’t have clearance to enter the basement levels, sir."
"I’m going though..."
Of course. Because it’s your job, sir.
Wouldn’t it be great if you just went and found him on your own...
"Come on, let’s go. Let’s just say you’re a new hire in the Security Team."
Sir?!
"No, really, you don’t have to—"
"Let’s go..."
Nooo!!
* * *
How did things get to this point, I wonder.
’He even got me a uniform and everything.’
Now I was in the maintenance elevator, wearing the navy-blue Security
Team jacket used by regular guards.
The absurdity of the situation was making my head spin.
’I let myself get talked into it...’
– It’s fine. People from the Field Exploration Team pitch in for support
work sometimes too...
That’s punishment duty, isn’t it?
Anyway, I somehow verified that entering the basement wouldn’t cause any
big issues, even if this got out.
And I’d even contacted D-squad to officially process this as support duty,
so I shouldn’t get in trouble...
Guess all that polite socializing paid off.
’Still, this is so disorienting.’
All this just to get my hands on a Bloodbathtub.
After going this far, even if I don’t manage to pull the full fifty million,
Braun had better recognize my efforts.
Ding.
The elevator door opens.
Basement 2.
It sounds like any other elevator ding, but for some reason, it has an
ominous ring to it. And as the doors opened, what’s revealed was...
A hallway lined with ordinary office doors.
"..."
Why... were there offices down here?
’Shouldn’t this floor have safety equipment or facilities...?’
The hallway was dimly lit, eerily silent, with opaque glass doors all around.
Offices labeled A, B, C... nameplates marking each door.
The security sergeant whispered,
"Don’t open any doors..."
"Yes."
Even if he hadn’t said so, there was no way in hell I’d touch anything here.
I just kept my eyes on the security sergeant’s back, following him slowly.
And then—
– Mr. Roe Deer?
"...!"
– To think you’d wear such a worn outfit just to bring this Braun a gift! I’m
deeply moved, but it pains me as well. Does my friend have to do such
menial work?
Touching words, really.
But, hold on a second.
’...How are you even talking to me?’
The ’Good Friend’ could only talk and move within the boundaries of a
creepypasta... which meant only one thing.
I was already inside a creepypasta.
"Ah, we’re here."
The security sergeant stopped in front of a door with a faint, pale light
seeping out from it.
"I’m going to open it..."
"Wait—"
But before I could say anything, he opened the restroom door.
Ka-chak—
With a burst, the flickering light inside revealed the room beyond...
"..."
’This, crazy—’
The restroom was smeared with dark red.
It looked like an artery had been sliced open, spewing deep crimson all
across the mirror like blood.
I froze completely, unable to even scream.
Then, the smell hit me, and my mind jolted back to awareness.
’There’s barely any metallic smell.’
That’s not all blood.
And it doesn’t smell like regular ink, either. This is...
’...Traditional ink from an inkstick?’
Tap, tap.
Braun was tapping from my pocket.
’Warning.’
My senses snapped back to attention.
The security sergeant, scanning the restroom, reached out his hand.
"Don’t touc—"
Poke.
"Huh...?"
Oh no.
The moment his finger touched the ink, the dark red liquid began surging
like a wave within the restroom.
"...!!"
I tried to turn and run immediately, but the thick, dark liquid shot out like
countless hands, grabbing my legs and pulling me down.
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!
’Fuck fuck fuck...!’
I barely managed to keep from falling, landing awkwardly as the ink
splashed up to my jaw. Bile rose in my throat.
I turned my head, desperately trying to grasp the situation, and caught sight
of the source.
"The scroll!"
A vertical scroll was stuck to the restroom mirror, its center slashed open,
with blood-like ink being sucked into the hollow center.
In other words, my feet were being dragged toward it as well.
As if something alive was pulling me... Wait, alive?
And blood-like?
’The Bloodsucking Cutlery...!’
I pulled out a fork and jammed it into the floor.
The gleaming silver fork trembled, then hungrily began absorbing the
surrounding ink.
"Ah!"
It’s working!
But, a small dessert fork couldn’t hold back this much ink.
Ting—
The utensil was flung away.
’Fuuuck!’
And just like that, I was dragged into the scroll.
* * *
Gaaasp!
I lifted my head.
Through the darkness and blurred vision, I saw wallpaper with an old,
cracked pattern.
An unfamiliar place.
’...An abandoned house?’
My breath got caught in my throat, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the
gloom.
And... and...
I realized something.
What I was looking at wasn’t wallpaper.
Talismans.
The walls, all made of rotting wood, were covered in crumbling, worn-out
talismans.
"...!"
The air was heavy, pressing down on my shoulders, with an eerie tension
filling the dark, cold room.
...Something’s wrong.
I felt like a rat that had crawled into the wrong place, in the wrong way.
"..."
I clenched my trembling hand.
But there was nothing there.
’...It’s gone.’
The Bloodsucking Cutlery had vanished.
Cold sweat broke out as I took slow, deep breaths to avoid
hyperventilating...
"Excuse me...!"
I nearly passed out.
"There, over there! Are you... the police??"
I lifted my head.
I wasn’t alone in this dark, abandoned house.
Small figures huddled in a corner were staring at me.
They were... children.
’Middle school uniforms.’
The trembling students called out,
"Please save us! W-We touched this weird drawing, and now we can’t get
out!"
T/N:
With the recent change to Braun’s name spelling, I was also thinking of
making a minor change on Soleum’s name. I thought about this early on,
(like literally Chapter 1) but I doubled down on it and now it’s just bothering
me.
So basically, the Korean ᄅ consonant is both R and L—kind of in the
middle—but our MC’s name pronunciation is closer to R than it is to L.
Is it okay with you guys if I change our MC’s name spelling to Soreum? Or
should we just commit to Soleum given that we’re 30+ Chapters in lol
Let me know in the comments!
