EUIS 17

 Chapter 17

Around the time Field Exploration Team D entered the horror story.

“Section Chief, what class do you think this one will be? Still D-class, the safe bet?”

“Oh, Assistant Manager. Let’s be a little more discreet about that, okay?”

“……”

“It’s fun and all, but let’s keep it quiet within the Development Division. Don’t bring it up when other teams are around. Got it?”

“…Ah, yes.”

The research team’s Assistant Manager, who had been grinning while suggesting the bet to Kim Soleum, finally shut his mouth.

He’d thought Section Chief Kwak Je-gang—cheerful, easygoing, and young—was someone he could take lightly, so being called out on this left a bad taste in his mouth.

And that annoyance made him think of an even easier target to vent on.

The Field Exploration Team newbie!

‘Did you see how they were glaring at their superior?’

That new employee who had immediately declined with a look of disbelief when he tried to include them in the bet.

The way they’d looked at him with that blank expression—as if dismissing him—kept lingering in his memory. The name was Kim Soleum, wasn’t it?

‘You guys are just lab rats, so where do you get off acting tough?’

A Field Exploration Team newbie is already half dead. Yet they were walking around with their head held high just because they’d gotten one good result—it was laughable.

He’d heard that every year there was a newbie who couldn’t read the room, and now he was finally seeing one for himself.

‘Are they going to die? It’d be funny if they did.’

His morality-paralyzed brain anticipated a dopamine hit and made him salivate slightly.

He quickly sent a message.

To the company’s anonymous betting group chat.

-10 on D

-OK

It was also a wish. If it was D-class, the chance of death would be higher!

Just then, his superior threw a task at him.

“Assistant Manager, have the preliminary report organized by the end of the day.”

“…Yes, yes.”

‘The lab rats won’t even be out of the Darkness by the time I leave anyway.’

He was being made to do work that could easily be passed on to a junior during shift change.

‘Why is my luck with superiors so bad?’

Muttering to himself, the research team’s Assistant Manager continued writing the preliminary experiment report.

-3.2 Test Subjects
Adults aged 18 or older who witnessed the 5-second promotional video ‘The Clown Hates You’ played as an advertisement on specific video sites4).

‘After seeing that, if you approach the clown hand that appears, you get dragged in, right?’

Who in their right mind would approach that?

If something’s suspicious, you run away. In my book, if you die from that, it’s natural selection.

‘But apparently, some civilians get lucky and survive.’

According to the testimony records of previously reported civilian survivors, they entered the empty portrait left behind by the clown and returned to reality.

‘The lab rats know that too.’

However, exactly which portrait was the correct answer hadn’t been determined.

The type of corridor, portrait size, frame style, and timing all varied.

It seemed that most people simply stumbled into the empty portrait the clown had escaped from, and only a lucky few returned.

‘To find the answer, you’d have to work your ass off.’

It was a Darkness that required waking up the clowns, shaking them off, and sometimes fighting them—consuming a tremendous amount of stamina.

At the same time, since they didn’t know which portrait was the answer, it must be maddening!

With this, one or two of them were practically confirmed dead, right? They’d probably sacrifice each other while going in experimentally.

‘To escape, at least one day, or if it takes longer, several days…’

“WAAAAH—!”

“Cleared!”

“……”

“……”

…Huh?

The researcher turned his head.

In one corner of the lab, people suddenly poured out from around a corner.

…All the employees of Field Exploration Team D!

“…?!”

“Is the Dream Dew Collector full?”

“Yes! Oh, it’s D-class!”

He reflexively checked the clock.

2:41 PM.

‘Earlier, they entered at 2:15 PM, so…’

26 minutes after entry.

Wait.

‘…26 minutes?!’

Seeing Team D’s four members pop out of a horror story in the time it took to grab a coffee, a heavy silence fell over Research Team 1’s office.

‘Am I dreaming?’

No.

‘Have I been caught in a horror story too?’

No.

“…My goodness! No, how did you get out so early?! Huh? Section Chief, did you just beat it down again?”

Kwak Je-gang’s exclamation was met with immediate responses.

“No.”

“That’s right.”

“He did it.”

At Team D’s superiors’ statements, Kwak Je-gang’s eyes turned.

“…We meet again.”

The new employee standing quietly behind them bowed their head.

It was Kim Soleum.

“…That kid did it?”

At the implied question of “Isn’t he a newbie?” a nonchalant answer came back.

“What’s new.”

“Musk Deer was like this on his first day too.”

“…??”

Team D’s Deputy Manager and Assistant Manager didn’t answer further and began sorting their masks.

Section Chief Lee Ja-heon nodded.

“That’s what they say.”

“……”

“This Darkness is D-class.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Section Chief Lee Ja-heon immediately began reporting. Kwak Je-gang, the research team’s Section Chief accustomed to this stream-of-consciousness style that prioritized efficiency, quickly responded.

“Then what’s the clear mechanism?”

“? I don’t know.”

“……”

“Ah. Would it be okay if I explained?”

The new employee raised a hand from behind.

“Uh, sure… go ahead.”

“First… the name of the clown ad you must witness prior to entering this Darkness is ‘The Clown Hates You.'”

“Right.”

“But Pierrot is not a clown.”

“…??”

“Clowns wear colorful makeup, smile humorously, and perform tricks and skits. They’re a type of traditional entertainer.”

So?

“Pierrot, however, has monochrome makeup and a crying expression.”

“…!”

“There’s a clear difference.”

A faint smile appeared on Kim Soleum’s pale face and then vanished.

“And since it’s called ‘The Clown Hates You,’ I assumed it wouldn’t chase us.”

Entertainers don’t chase after people they dislike.

“To prove this, I looked for a portrait with monochrome makeup and only red lips, and I did not approach any other portraits.”

“……”

“And to be safe, after securing a 3-meter distance, I remotely reached out and touched the portrait.”

He’d considered all of that while clearing a first-time Darkness in 30 minutes?

Moreover, judging from the results…

“The Pierrot did not come out of the portrait.”

“…!”

“Instead, it quietly disappeared from the picture.”

This new employee had found the exact correct answer.

The civilians so far had been too busy running from clowns falling out of various portraits to notice, but Team D, who had only interacted with that one portrait from a distance, had perfectly grasped the situation.

Chills ran down his spine.

He’d even considered other variables.

“Since there were records of clowns popping out of every portrait when light was shined, I didn’t use any light sources.”

“Huh? Then how did you examine the portrait from 3 meters away in complete darkness?”

“Ah.”

Kim Soleum blinked.

“The Team Leader could just see it anyway…”

“……”

Ah.

Kwak Je-gang made an effort not to look at Team D’s Team Leader—the one for whom the phrase “the man himself is just strong” seemed most appropriate.

“From the next entry onward, if they bring night vision goggles, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Ah, I, I see.”

“That’s all.”

Once again, a heavy silence fell.

Kwak Je-gang muttered quietly to himself.

“So you deduced all that from just prior information.”

“Yes.”

The new employee added, as if realizing something:

“It seems none of the previous entrants were familiar with American everyday culture.”

“……”

Was that really something that could be explained so simply…?

“Um, Soleum-ssi, did you study abroad or something?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Kim Soleum answered immediately.

“I just have a lot of random knowledge.”

“……”

The researchers witnessed the rare sight of Kwak Je-gang, normally a smooth talker, at a loss for words!

“Ah, I’ve also drafted a temporary manual based on this theory. Assistant Manager Park Min-seong was kind enough to lend me his notebook…”

“Hey, I didn’t contribute at all~ Musk Deer did everything~”

The researcher watched as Kwak Je-gang received the notebook from the Assistant Manager wearing the badger mask, with his words fading into the background.

He craned his neck to peek.

Inside, the hypothesis Kim Soleum had just explained was clearly organized.

‘…!’

Section Chief Kwak Je-gang skimmed through it, then smiled and closed the notebook.

“…Hmm. Let’s test it.”

“Yes.”

And so, the prototype manual was completed.

By a single person—and a new employee at that.

“……”

The researcher who had placed the bet momentarily doubted if he was dreaming.

Even if he happened to know about Pierrot… could he really build a theory so smoothly in an extreme situation and escape in 30 minutes?

No. Does that make any sense?

‘Is he secretly a monster pretending to be human?’

But that couldn’t be—how would such a thing get hired in the Field Exploration Team?

The Dream Dew Collector is supposed to only react to humans, isn’t it?

“Team Leader, the research team says it’s different if you brought that out of the Darkness.”

“Yes.”

In the meantime, Section Chief Lee Ja-heon returned a piece of fabric they’d been holding in their grip.

“That’s…”

“Ah, the Team Leader rushed over as soon as the Pierrot in the portrait tried to escape, so they…”

It was a torn piece of clothing from when they’d reflexively sprinted 3 meters and grabbed the Pierrot by the collar to stop it from escaping.

“……”

‘Birds of a feather flock together.’

Were they cousins or something? Now that I looked at them, they even looked somewhat similar. Both had that sleek, slippery look.

The researcher almost had an absurd delusion for a moment.

And that new employee, who had brought him this shock and horror…

‘I… I survived.’

Having acted without thinking about the consequences, my heart was still pounding!

‘Why do the clowns have teeth! Why are they wearing human skin! Why do they suck people into drains like balloons!’

Having witnessed all sorts of moving ghost portraits in real time, I developed a new clown phobia today!

‘Additional insomnia reason accumulated…’

In the midst of it all, I was amazed at myself for somehow pulling my teeth together and getting through this situation plausibly.

‘I did get through it okay, right?’

I didn’t seem too suspicious, did I?

I’m not going to get dragged to the sentient being lab in Daydream Corporation’s basement because they found out I have the answer key, right?!

Just as Kim Soleum was about to hand the controller to his inner anxiety, Section Chief Kwak Je-gang, who had been silently flipping through the notebook, spoke up.

“…New employee Kim Soleum-ssi, did you receive a business card or something?”

Snapping back to his senses, Kim Soleum answered dutifully.

“No. New employees haven’t received business cards yet…”

“Oh, stop playing coy. You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“……”

For a moment, Kim Soleum’s anxiety stopped.

Something came to mind.

The business card the host had handed him at the welcome party.

───

In case of need

010-0153-24865

───

The Research Team 1 Section Chief grinned.

“If you want to earn points faster, contact that number.”

“……”

“I have a feeling Soleum-ssi will be contacting them soon.”

It sounded like a tempting offer.

However.

“No, thank you.”

Kim Soleum answered without a flinch.

“…Hmm. Suit yourself.”

Section Chief Kwak Je-gang shrugged it off lightly.

“Is there a reason not to contact them? Haha.”

“……”

It was simple.

‘I’d like to decline any more terrifying events…’

The heart of a coward who’d been through another ordeal.

Kim Soleum had decided to settle for this 3x points easy-mode event!