IHTBN 06

As we talked, we quickly made our way down the hallway and entered through a door at the very end.

Contrary to my expectation that there would be another hallway beyond the door, there was an enormous garden inside.

No, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a greenhouse?

The moment the door opened, warm air spread around us, carrying a cozy warmth that did not match the season at all.

The greenhouse, with its beautifully maintained flowers and trees, seemed to double as a lounge.

Simple refreshments were placed beside the entrance, while tables, chairs, beanbags, portable game consoles, books, and other things created an atmosphere that seemed genuinely dedicated to relaxation.

‘Wow. This is insane.’

Even the hallway from earlier had felt like a hotel lobby, but the garden was on another level.

This was why people continued working here despite the danger.

They say that the more demanding a company is, the better its employee benefits tend to be.

Maybe that was actually true.

‘Come to think of it, who takes care of a garden like this?’

Could it be the cleaning team?

As I continued thinking about this and that, Won-jin and the researchers naturally walked toward one corner of the greenhouse and began sitting down wherever they felt comfortable.

“Excuse me. This is the lounge, right?”

“It’s a multipurpose greenhouse that also serves as a lounge. Some people, like us, use it for meetings, while others come here to rest or bring their work with them.”

“Then does the cleaning team take care of cleaning this place?”

“The cleaning team is one of the groups that takes care of it.”

If it was a maintenance team, then it was a maintenance team, and if it wasn’t, then it wasn’t.

What did he mean by saying they were one of the people who took care of it?

Just as I tilted my head at the answer, which somehow seemed like I understood it and yet didn’t, and was about to ask again, I saw something approaching from one corner of the garden while carrying a tray.

It was about the size of a small dog and resembled an expensive ball-jointed doll, but unlike an actual doll, each of them had such varied expressions that they looked almost alive.

‘What is that?’

The refreshments on the tray were the same ones I had seen near the entrance earlier.

Because the creatures were so small, carrying the tray looked incredibly precarious.

I stared blankly at them for a while.

Eventually, the creatures reached us and stretched out their arms, handing the trays to the researchers.

“Ah, thank you. I was just getting a little hungry.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

At the researchers’ greetings, the doll-like creature curved its enormous eyes into crescent moons and giggled before running into the thick bushes.

The remaining dolls were also handing refreshments to those who had not received any yet.

Among them, I noticed one looking around near me.

Hmm. Was it trying to give me something?

“Are you trying to give that to me?”

The doll was startled by my question and stared straight at me with its enormous eyes.

It was an unbelievably beautiful doll.

Its large eyes were black, while the curly hair falling over its forehead flowed in soft waves.

I couldn’t help but smile just from looking at how such delicate features could fit so perfectly onto such a tiny face.

When I tilted my head with a smile, the doll finally seemed to regain its senses and hurriedly held out the tray it was carrying.

It had extended it so quickly that the coffee filled to the brim in the cup spilled over onto the tray.

The doll blinked in embarrassment.

Apparently, I had startled it by speaking to it.

“I’m sorry. I spoke to you too suddenly, didn’t I? I’ll enjoy this.”

In response, the doll pointed toward the coffee that had spilled onto the tray.

“It’s okay. You didn’t spill that much. Actually, it smells even stronger now, so that’s nice. Thank you so much for bringing this to me.”

To show it that there was nothing to worry about, I took a wet tissue out of my bag and wiped the tray before lifting the cup and drinking the coffee.

As the coffee, filled with a deep flavor, spread throughout my mouth, I could truly feel that I was alive.

Hoo… This is what life is.

After confirming that I was happily drinking the coffee, the doll finally gave me a bright smile before running toward the bushes where the other dolls had disappeared.

Even that sight was incredibly adorable.

It made me feel as though I might end up opening a door that I absolutely shouldn’t open.

I spent a moment calming myself while staring toward the bushes, then turned my gaze toward Won-jin.

I saw him watching me with narrowed eyes.

“Um… Director?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“What are those children?”

“They are one of the contained specimens within the research institute. Their common designation is Dwarf. They are extremely friendly toward humans, but become highly hostile when someone attempts to conduct experiments on them.”

‘Come on. Their name is Dwarf? Why is their naming sense so terrible?’

At first glance, I felt that calling them BJD Dolls would have been more appropriate.

Then again, when it came to being intuitive, perhaps Dwarf made more sense.

Still, it was difficult to understand that such beautiful and adorable creatures could become hostile.

If creatures like those became hostile, wouldn’t that just mean the researchers were the bad guys?

I pushed that instinctive question into the back of my mind and continued asking.

“Since they’re friendly toward people, do you use them like employees or something?”

“No. They are merely friendly. They are not beings that obey commands.”

“Then what do you do with them?”

“Dwarfs are specimens that appear everywhere no matter how strictly we confine them. Since they’re difficult to manage, we simply leave them alone.”

Oh.

So as long as no one bothered them, they were friendly enough that the research institute simply let them do whatever they wanted?

‘Should I call that convenient or inconvenient?’

I swallowed the words that nearly escaped my mouth along with my coffee.

Seeing me like that, Won-jin traced a finger around the cup he was holding and spoke.

“Seo-young. Do you have any additional questions?”

“Additional questions?”

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

Why were we suddenly having a question-and-answer session?

I was puzzled, but since he told me to ask, I brought up the question that came to mind.

“Come to think of it… the people named Hwiryeong and Gyeon have disappeared. Weren’t they here with us just a moment ago?”

The two of them had still been walking with us when the Dwarfs appeared, but while I was distracted for a moment, both of them had disappeared somewhere.

Won-jin nodded at my question and answered.

“They are special specimens even among the other specimens, so they are free to move anywhere within the research institute.”

“Yeees…”

It was still an explanation I couldn’t understand at all.

Well, I would probably hear about it again later, so I could just let it go for now.

“Then, is it really okay for me to be sitting here drinking tea like this? I thought today was my first day of work.”

“The head of the cleaning team will be arriving soon. You’ve just been through a major incident, so I arranged this meeting so that you could rest while I explained anything you might be wondering about.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand why Won-jin had brought me to a place like this.

However, most of my questions had already been answered while we were walking here, so I had no idea what else I should ask.

Should I perhaps start discussing philosophy, such as what the world itself was?

As I made a subtle expression while thinking of something to ask, Won-jin narrowed his eyes.

“Seo-young, you really don’t have many questions.”

“Is that so?”

Wasn’t I asking whatever came to mind?

I had asked all sorts of things earlier, too.

Perhaps Won-jin had been too busy spouting complicated explanations to hear the conversation I had with the other researcher.

As I blinked and looked at Won-jin, he continued.

“Normally, people ask a much wider variety of questions.”

“For example?”

“Such as what kind of research you conduct on the monsters. Why you protect them. Where you brought them from. What happens to people who die, and so on.”

Ah.

So those were the kinds of questions he meant.

To be honest, I was curious about those things too.

But what if I started digging into this and that and ended up hearing something I really shouldn’t?

For example, perhaps there were employees who had confronted the monsters and ended up retiring after losing their limbs.

Or perhaps people who died were quietly processed as missing persons and simply disappeared without a trace.

If I heard things like that, there was no doubt I would lose the courage to join this company.

I had nothing and desperately needed a job.

Wouldn’t I only be hurting myself if I scared myself away by listening to things I didn’t need to know?

‘If I had been that worried in the first place, I would have run away when people were dropping dead one after another. But still…’

For the sake of my mental and physical safety, I didn’t want to ask dangerous questions.

However, it was also true that asking absolutely nothing made me uneasy.

So I decided to ask about the thing that was most important to me right now.

“I am curious about the monsters, but more than that, I’d like to know more details about the salary and benefits.”

“Is that what you’re curious about?”

“Yes. I was told it was cleaning work at a research institute. I wasn’t told it was a job where I’d be living alongside monsters.”

Won-jin stared blankly at me for a moment before giving a small laugh.

“You really are a suitable candidate for our research institute. Excellent. Is there anything in particular you want regarding salary or benefits?”

Anything in particular I wanted?

If he put it that way, I could only be honest.

“Even if I’m a low-ranking employee, as long as I’m working at the research institute, I’ll probably have frequent encounters with the monsters, right? Then, first of all, I’d like hazard pay.”

I would also need to negotiate for a somewhat higher salary.

Considering the nerve-racking date I had just had with that monster earlier, I wanted to make sure there was proper healthcare coverage as well.

Won-jin quietly listened to my proposal before nodding decisively.

“I will approve all of the conditions you want. And as for your health… I heard you were recently involved in an accident, Seo-young.”

“Yes. I’ve gotten much better now, but if you ask whether I’m healthy, I suppose the answer would be no.”

“Then you have even more reason to work for our company.”

“Here?”

Why?

Did they hire people with missing body parts as long as they had the courage to stay around monsters?

At my puzzled expression, he continued with a deep smile on his composed face.

“Among the specimens we manage, there is one that specializes in healing. It can heal even scars without leaving a trace.”