MFLE 2

Chapter 2. New Employee Recruitment (2)

Did I hear that wrong?

I heard that correctly, right?

‘January New Employee Recruitment.’

Scattered, piecemeal words had reassembled into a single sentence.

If that announcement was truly advertising job openings, even someone who genuinely intended to apply would have run away.

Or else…

Is this what people these days call “MZ-style thinking”?

Is it trendy among the younger generation to frame hiring notices with a horror concept now?

If so, count me out.

Or maybe I’ve simply gone insane from job-hunting stress…

Honestly, I hoped it was the latter.

Going crazy on my own might actually be better for everyone involved.

Clear, distinct words echoing through incomprehensible static. And I couldn’t be the only one who had heard that bizarre announcement.

Step, step.

The crowd of people visiting the library, like me, exchanged wary glances before trickling into the central hall where I stood.

“What… what is going on?”

“Search me…”

“It’s probably nothing serious.”

I pray to God it isn’t.

For some reason, my eyes drifted back to the flyer posted at the library entrance.

Part of this gnawing anxiety was definitely stemming from that mysterious flyer—

Huh?

I couldn’t see it.

To be precise, a darkness so absolute that I couldn’t see an inch ahead had swallowed the outside world whole, completely obscuring the flyer.

Wait, wasn’t it 11:00 AM just a minute ago?

I turned on my smartphone again to check the time displayed on the screen.

[14515 : 12516124]

“…”

Okay.

I really have lost my mind.

Just as I began thinking I urgently needed an ambulance to haul me off to a psychiatric ward—

Someone thrust an index finger into the air and shrieked.

“T-The time is weird!” “My phone has no signal!” “14,515 o’clock…? What the hell is happening?!” “These bastards locked the entrance, too!”

Fortunately, in a situation that seemed poised to conclude with everyone being crazy rather than just me—

Crack–

The PA system hissed to life again.

This time, however, it wasn’t the woman’s voice from before. A cheerful, middle-aged man took the microphone and spoke.

—Welcome, everyone! —Thank you so very much for showing such tremendous interest in our new employee recruitment! Now, a round of applause, everyone!! —Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap!

A chorus of clapping echoed through the speakers.

It created the uncanny illusion that all the library staff had gathered in the broadcasting booth, watching this unfold.

As soon as the applause died down, leaving the panicked crowd reeling, the announcement glided forward effortlessly.

—It’s a perfect day for an interview!

Excuse me? It’s pitch black out there.

—Since so many of you have graced us with your presence today, let us skip the tedious introductions and get straight to the point!

Snap!

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

“Aaaaahh!!” “What is this?! Let us out!” “Are you people insane?! What are you pulling?! Holding hostages in this day and age? Is that it?!”

Emotions flared dangerously high.

The library’s lights cutting out might not have been a disaster on its own, but the world outside the building was currently shrouded in pitch-black abyss.

Which meant…

It was terrifyingly dark.

Truly, nothing could be seen.

An absolute darkness that swallowed even the floor beneath my feet descended upon us.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t terrified. Yet, one particular thought commandeered my brain amidst the chaos.

This is a Ghost Story.

‘That flyer… was real?’

And not just any story—it was an anomaly created by someone within Ghost Story Records Archive, the very website I had been browsing casually until moments ago.

[Ghost Story Log] [New Employees Are Always Welcome!] : Identification Code Cd-F-1129

Snap!

Alongside another sharp sound cutting through the air, a single spotlight flickered on. It illuminated an office desk stacked high with papers.

—I’m already bursting with anticipation to see what kind of applicants we have today! Wouldn’t you agree, everyone?! —Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap.

Every time the man on the mic finished a sentence, a rehearsed, rhythmically precise burst of applause followed.

Everyone gathered here would surely agree that the eerie, scripted clapping rendered the situation ten times more sinister.

—Now then! The application form is not difficult at all! Those who finish filling it out quickly may place their applications into the box beside the desk! —Simple, isn’t it! —Ah! For those who have already submitted a resume beforehand, there is no need to write a duplicate! Please remain in your places for a moment.

There’s already a lunatic who filled out an application that practically screams ‘DO NOT TOUCH’?

Did their brain’s executive functioning suffer a total meltdown? Who in their right mind would fill out that resume unless they were completely insane?

“…Are you gonna fill it out?” “Are you out of your mind?! Anyone with eyes can see doing that will fuck you over! Who would do that?!” “…”

I couldn’t agree more.

If I could, I wouldn’t go anywhere near that application.

Because I want to live.

Step, step.

“…H-Hey. Look at him!” “…What a freak. He’s begging to die!” “Hey, young man!”

Yes, I want to live.

Which is precisely why…

“…”

I brought my footsteps to a halt right before the desk illuminated by the spotlight. On top lay a stack of documents and a pen.

I carefully picked up a single sheet of paper and the ballpoint pen.

‘Why did it have to be a red pen…’

[Name: Park… Yeon-jung] [Age: 27] [Blood Type: B] [Physical Defects: N…one] [Aspiration: I will work… hard.]

My hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

It was an application form so embarrassingly brief it felt ridiculous to call it a resume.

Even so, I checked every line until the very end to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake.

If all the job applications in the world looked like this, it would have sparked an uproar—for better or worse.

‘This should do it.’

As I said before:

I want to live.

And that is why I filled out this resume.

Because if I stubbornly refused to fill out this form until the end…

[Ghost Story Log] New Employees Are Always Welcome!
<Exploration #12 Record>
1. Filling out the Application. : Filling out the application is simpler than expected, so do not worry too much. Surely, no idiot would refuse to write an application, right? (Surely no trash would kick away their only chance at survival with their own feet?) Afterwards, those who failed to fill out the application were… .
2. Aptitude Test. : The aptitude test is a simple physical assessment, so do not worry too much. (Recorded the highest number of casualties.)
3. Interview. : Do not feel too burdened. After all, everything depends on the interviewer’s personal subjective judgment. (Pray to God. Who knows? They might pass you.)
4. Announcement of Successful Candidates. : Congratulations on joining as a regular employee! When the successful candidate ‘Han-sol’ asked if he could go home now, the PA system answered with a cracking, uncanny laugh.
“From now on, this is your workplace and your home.”
[Record End.]

Yes. To live, filling out the application was the correct answer for now.

I wrote my name on the suspicious form everyone else avoided, then dropped the resume into the box beside it.

Crack–

As if reacting to the action, the speaker vibrated slightly and the broadcast resumed.

—Without a moment’s hesitation! Let us hear a round of applause for applicant ‘Park Yeon-jung’, who has completed the application forms for our company! —You might very well be the first person to complete the paperwork this quickly.

Fortunately, the man behind the mic praised me in a delighted voice.

With this, I would survive for the time being—

—However, I do not believe we can accept this paper application.

…What?

An abrupt announcement stating they couldn’t accept my application.

Did I do something to offend him?

I’m dead.

Crack–

—You need not be so discouraged.

Snap!

The spotlight that had been illuminating the desk suddenly shifted, bathing the crown of my head in bright light.

—Because Applicant ‘Park Yeon-jung’s’ application has already been received by our company beforehand! We have taken good note of your passion for our company!

…Huh?

When on earth did I apply to a dead-end company like—

…Ah.

It was then that I remembered.

Exhausted by constant reality checks in the job market, I had been idling on Ghost Story Records Archive and casually filled out a mock application for fun.

It was the work of my own index finger.

—Now then, we ask for the prompt cooperation of the next applicants!

“…” “…” “…That guy’s insane.”

Even after I filled out my application, not a single person stepped forward.

I understood.

If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t commit the foolish act of recklessly signing an unknown document either.

…Time was slipping away.

At this rate, everyone left here—excluding me—was going to die.

Wait, if the remaining two people who had submitted applications on the Ghost Story Records Archive site after seeing the notice hadn’t stepped forward yet…

Does that mean I’m the only pre-applicant here?

—10 minutes remaining until application deadline.

Just 10 minutes.

Once those 10 minutes passed, everyone left here would die. As for how they would die… due to stomach-churning reasons, I won’t go into details.

I’ll simply describe it as the most gruesome, eye-searing death imaginable.

…

Just imagining it made me nauseous.

…Ugh.

“…” “…”

—7 minutes remaining until application deadline.

A mechanical voice echoed through the hollow silence. But even this sound would cease in seven minutes.

Soon, this entire situation would come to an end.

Whether in a good way…

Or a bad way.

Ever since I finished my application, I avoided eye contact with the crowd.

They undoubtedly viewed me as a complete lunatic for filling out a form when no one knew what consequences it might bring.

—3 minutes remaining until application deadline.

This was truly the end now.

The literal end of life.

Death.

Even if they managed to save their lives here, they were bound to die in the upcoming ‘Aptitude Test’ anyway.

It might sound cold-hearted, but it couldn’t be helped.

I needed to remain pragmatic—

“…Mom.”

From within the crowd I had been desperately ignoring with a lowered head, a student’s sob broke through.

…Sigh.

Had I spent too long drowning in the fierce rat race of job hunting?

I must have lost my mind for a moment.

Let’s preserve at least a shred of human dignity, Park Yeon-jung.

“E-Everyone! Please fill out the applications over here!”

“…” “…”

It was the first voice to break the minutes-long silence.

At first, everyone snapped their heads up at my call.

However, the moment they realized the voice belonged to the lunatic who had filled out the application, they covered their ears, clamped their mouths shut, and hung their heads lower than before.

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

“…”

“Doesn’t this feel strange to you?! This situation, this space, and how unsettlingly quiet it is outside!”

—2 minutes remaining until application deadline.

My voice, which initially stammered from the unfamiliarity of shouting, grew firmer and louder with every announcement hammering home the dwindling time.

I put everything I had into projecting my voice.

“Right now, we need to follow their rules and observe! We shouldn’t provoke them!”

“…”

“Don’t you all want to go home safely?!”

“Home…”

At my desperate plea, a female student hesitated, her feet trembling as if about to step forward.

However, a short-haired girl who seemed to be her friend blocked her path.

“Are you crazy?! You believe that lunatic? What if he’s working with them?!”

“…But, Min-ji.”

“Get a grip, Kim Hye-sun!”

“…”

It failed.

The passion I had poured out moments ago collapsed under that single girl’s words, causing even the hesitant feet of others to freeze back in place.

That little brat…!

—1 minute remaining until application deadline.

Only one minute remained until the cutoff.

“Everyone!”

“S-Shut up!”

“She’s right! There’s no guarantee things will get better just because we fill out that form!”

“If you wanna die, die by yourself!”

Panic.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

The situation was spiraling downward fast.

Just when it felt like things couldn’t possibly get any worse—

Thud.

A woman wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses strode toward me with long, purposeful strides.

And the single line she uttered was:

“…I just need to write it, right?”

“…Yes.”

I recognized her face.

It was the woman who had looked at me with disdain when I was acting weird in front of the library earlier.

She swiftly filled out the application and dropped it into the box beside the desk.

Crack–

—Is this a savior stepping up?! Regardless, thank you for submitting your application to our company! —The application deadline will close in 1 minute.

Having finished her application, the woman locked eyes with me once more.

Then, she whispered under her breath:

‘If you’re lying to me, I’ll pull your fucking tongue out, you little shit.’

?!?!?!

Before the storm of question marks and exclamation points in my head could even settle—

The woman whipped off her horn-rimmed glasses, threw them to the floor, and swept her bangs back with one hand.

“There’s less than a minute left! So long, you fucking idiots…! Ah! And those schoolgirls over there might fetch a pretty high price!”

…Excuse me?

Where are we being sold to?

The woman had suddenly started spouting utter nonsense.

Yet, at that single sentence dripping with curses and malicious taunts—

“W-Were you fooling us?!”