READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 221
The first thing to do was wake everyone up.
“…”
I carefully moved my feet, trying not to wake the others.
“…ugh.”
As I quietly approached Song Ah Rin and shook her gently, she groaned and gazed at me.
“…What? You’re awake?”
“…”
I placed a finger to my lips to signal her to be quiet, and Song Ah Rin fell silent.
Since the Theater Company Chief hadn’t awakened yet, it was best to keep it that way.
Others were starting to rouse as well.
“…”
Jang Chae Yeon sat up, her sleepy eyes scanning the surroundings.
“Are you okay, Chae Yeon?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
Jang Chae Yeon smiled faintly and looked at the collapsed Theater Company Chief.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Jang Chae Yeon took a moment to observe and then replied slowly.
“A little. I feel sorry for her.”
“Ugh…”
And then, Yu Da On groaned as she woke up.
“Da On, you’re up.”
“Yeeah…”
Yu Da On pressed her temples, looking as if she had a headache.
“Are you okay?”
“Umm…”
She rubbed her temples for a moment before smiling faintly.
“I’m fine.”
Was that smile forced? Maybe it was just my perception.
I turned to glance at the Branch Chief.
The Branch Chief was still leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
Should I wake him? If I woke him wrong, and he swung his arm, it could lead to at least a fracture or worst-case scenario, death.
“Should I wake him up?”
Did Yu Da On read my mind? She looked at me.
“…I, I’m really sorry, but could you please do it?”
“Since it’s a request from Kim Jae Heon, I’ll do it.”
Yu Da On smiled and approached the Branch Chief.
“Wake up.”
“Umm…”
“You’re getting older; sleeping on the cold floor will warp your back.”
“Umm…”
“It’s bad for your bones too.”
“…”
“Kim Jae Heon, are you sure your pelvis isn’t already deteriorating?”
“…It shouldn’t be.”
The Branch Chief was glaring intently at Yu Da On.
“Yu Da On.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to spar with me, or rather, do some special training together?”
The Branch Chief smiled broadly, and Yu Da On returned the smile and nodded.
“As long as your back is okay, I’d love to! Thank you!”
Once again, it seemed like an innocent comment had pierced the Branch Chief.
The Branch Chief took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and stood up to approach the still-lying Theater Company Chief.
Soon, he pulled out a wire from his pocket and began to tie her up.
“Is that really okay?”
“It’s not ordinary wire, so it’ll be fine.”
The Branch Chief answered while securing the Theater Company Chief, letting out a sigh.
“Well, I guess that settles it.”
Great, then.
“A-Rin.”
“Yes.”
“What on earth happened?”
At least, it was hard for me to catch up with my common sense.
When I woke from hypnosis, Song Ah Rin had won.
This fact itself wasn’t that surprising.
I didn’t think she would lose.
However, it was hard to understand why Song Ah Rin had a bump on her head after winning, while the Theater Company Chief laid there with a busted lip.
“…Well, you see…”
Song Ah Rin hesitated before speaking.
She recalled that she was weak in hand-to-hand combat, fought with her, and somehow won.
“…”
I was at a loss for words at the unexpectedly childish victory.
Wait, maybe it was a strategy that she could only choose because she was Song Ah Rin.
What we always fear is the terror of the unknown.
Because it is unknowable, we prepare and we are afraid.
But on the contrary, for Song Ah Rin, the Theater Company Chief was already someone she knew well. Because it was herself.
Knowing someone means that you can strategize against them more easily than anyone else.
If I were suddenly told to fight the Theater Company Chief one-on-one, would I think about dragging her into hand-to-hand combat to win?
Not a chance.
I’d probably try to look away and find a way to take her down.
“But.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you not take hand-to-hand combat class?”
“…”
At my words, Song Ah Rin fell silent.
For Management Agency staff, the hand-to-hand combat class is optional.
I hadn’t taken it, of course. I’m office staff.
Of course, thinking back on recent events, I probably should have taken it now.
“I took the hand-to-hand combat class very well!”
Yu Da On raised her hand high.
“I was probably second in class!”
“No way, was there someone that good?”
Out of all of us, Yu Da On would be the best fighter.
“There was one.”
Yu Da On nodded.
“I don’t know what they would do now, though. Their skills were amazing.”
“…”
I looked at Jang Chae Yeon.
“…”
Jang Chae Yeon avoided my gaze.
“Chae Yeon, you…”
“I wasn’t suited for fighting due to my body structure.”
Jang Chae Yeon mumbled, and Song Ah Rin sighed.
“She failed the class.”
People who didn’t take the class, someone who was second, and someone who failed. What a mess.
“Well, I also failed the theoretical class.”
The Branch Chief nodded as well while tying up the Theater Company Chief.
“…”
Come to think of it.
“What are we going to do about her, the Theater Company Chief?”
“…”
The Branch Chief’s gaze turned toward the Theater Company Chief.
“To be honest, I’m a bit uncertain too.”
She sighed.
“Since she looks just like Song Ah Rin, it feels wrong to do something to her, but at the same time, it doesn’t seem right to just kill her…”
“…”
“I’ll table it for discussion. Should we dispose of her or isolate her instead?”
Unlike when Yu Da On came into another dimension, this time the responsibility of dealing with the Theater Company Chief was ours.
Song Ah Rin stared hard at the Theater Company Chief.
“Why?”
“…Just.”
Song Ah Rin mumbled.
“I feel like I could have learned something if she’d stayed a bit longer.”
“Really?”
“Nothing much.”
Song Ah Rin shook her head.
“…I’ll tell you later.”
“…Okay.”
Since she said she would tell me later, she would probably tell me someday.
I pushed that thought aside and looked around.
A simple stage.
Did the Theater Company Chief really perform on this stage?
And did she kill a lot of people like what happened to Song Ah Rin and me?
I had no way of knowing.
“By the way, how do we get out of here?”
“There is a way.”
The Branch Chief replied to my mumbling.
“…The Headquarters Chief sent us here, so we should be able to leave soon.”
The Headquarters Chief?
Then why didn’t he just come directly?
“The Headquarters Chief is busy.”
As if reading my mind, the Branch Chief said.
“But, we do need to write an incident report…”
The Branch Chief muttered as if she was fed up.
“Seriously working with me is-”
“No thanks.”
I was already quite worn out.
“…Then.”
The Branch Chief hesitated for a moment before clapping her hands as if an idea had struck her.
“I’ll think about alternative methods.”
“Really?”
“Just trust me. I’ll even suggest this to the Headquarters Chief, so don’t worry too much.”
It wasn’t that I wasn’t worried; on the contrary, I began to worry even more, but the Branch Chief seemed to have made up her mind and nodded repeatedly.
“…ugh.”
And in the meantime.
The Theater Company Chief groaned as she opened her eyes.
“…”
We all froze.
Jang Chae Yeon raised her hand, and the Branch Chief clenched her fist while Yu Da On stood in front of me.
“…”
However, the Theater Company Chief just stared at us silently.
More precisely, she was staring at me.
With a face just like Song Ah Rin’s and violet eyes, she looked at me intensely.
“…I see.”
“…”
However, she merely nodded as if to agree.
“…You’re right.”
The Theater Company Chief looked at Song Ah Rin, who let out a sigh.
“Right.”
“…”
The Theater Company Chief closed her eyes again.
And she didn’t say a word until we left. No, until she was trapped in the containment truck, she kept her eyes closed and said nothing.
Thus, the Theater Company Chief’s incident came to a conclusion.
However, for Song Ah Rin, it didn’t seem that way.
“I feel like I’ll see her again.”
“Seriously, don’t say such terrible things.”
Seeing something like that again? A definite no from me.
“…That might be true.”
Song Ah Rin mumbled as she gazed out the window.
Her eyes were very serious.
“Should I take hand-to-hand combat class again?”
“Bring Chae Yeon along.”
“No, I’m fine…”
*
“Did you cause trouble again, Oppa?”
“I got caught up in something again.”
“My classmates keep asking. What in the world does the Human Resources Team do that causes so much trouble?”
Hearing my story, Park Ye Eun mumbled, visibly shocked.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Seriously, though, it’s not odd to say that we need to isolate the Human Resources Team at this point, right?”
It was ridiculously unfair. Who wants to do this in the first place?
“Moreover, how come all the incidents we encounter are so significant?”
“Seriously.”
“I heard that even the Isolation Team’s junior investigated an anomaly that automatically removes tomatoes from hamburgers.”
I want to investigate something like that too.
Wait, I’m part of the Human Resources Team, right?
I shouldn’t want to encounter anomalies. I should be thinking about how to avoid them.
Wait, let’s compromise a bit.
“Is there an anomaly or containment object that would be healing and restful if I do encounter it?”
“Have you finally gone mad, Oppa?”
Park Ye Eun looked at me as if to say stop talking nonsense,
And thus, a few days passed quietly.
Until Ahn Sang Hyun showed up with a weird box.
“Hahaha! Excuse me!”
He burst in with a hearty laugh.
“What brings you here?”
“Oh, I’m not exactly the kind of person who gets welcomed anywhere, you know.”
Who would like the Isolation Team? he replied with a laugh.
“The thing is, the Branch Chief told me to give this to Kim Jae Heon.”
“…”
I looked at the box Ahn Sang Hyun was holding.
The white box was wide open and looked like a board game box.
“…Don’t tell me…”
“The Branch Chief said,” Ahn Sang Hyun cleared his throat, “‘Since you seem to get entangled with anomalies and containment objects anyway, I recommend getting involved with some safe things instead.’ That’s what the Branch Chief said.”
“…”
It’s not entirely incorrect.
“Kim Jae Heon.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the love board game?”
“…I know.”
Isn’t that the game where my relationship with the Team Leader got a perfect score?
“It’s a newly released game from the company that created that one, and this time, it arrived at the Management Agency as an unidentified package.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“It’s already been played and logged by the Isolation and Management Teams, so it should be fine.”
He said it was fun while looking at me.
“Seeing is believing. How about enjoying it yourself?”
He smiled as he placed the box down.
I checked the name written on the box.
[The Game of Life]
I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.
“This one, they say allows you to live a second life.”
Nodding his head at me, Ahn Sang Hyun continued.
“I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s the fun of living through a different life. A chance to check your heart.”
“…Isn’t this just a waste of time?”
Song Ah Rin raised an eyebrow at Ahn Sang Hyun.
“Are you going to make us a bomb disposal squad again…?”
“I don’t think that’s likely. When Kim Jae Heon causes an incident, the Branch Chief becomes really hysterical.”
Got it.
Ahn Sang Hyun shook his head.
“I really think the Branch Chief might’ve given this to you wishing for you to stop getting entangled in incidents.”
“Incidents?”
“This is a letter from the Branch Chief.”
A letter?
I read the letter handed to me by Ahn Sang Hyun.
[As the weather is gradually getting colder, I feel like it’s time to start preparing for the harsh winter.]
[I think Kim Jae Heon has a certain quota of encountering these phenomena.]
[So, I recommend first meeting with a safe containment object.
<@---->—>—– I leave you with a single rose ^^>
“…”
“I know. It feels… weird, right?”
Ahn Sang Hyun laughed heartily.
“But hey, why not think of it as a fun experiment while enjoying yourself?”
“It feels suspicious…”
“Umm…”
“…”
The three of us, who had been frowning beside me, were one thing, but I looked back at Ahn Sang Hyun again.
“To explain this game…”
Ahn Sang Hyun pointed at the lid of the box.
“It’s an immersive life simulation.”
“Yes.”
“Enjoy different lives while players flirt, get married, and stuff like that.”
Flirting and marriage.
He did it last time, and he’s doing it again this time.
Is the CEO of this board game company unable to experience genuine love or what?
“It also gives bonuses in-game when you marry, so the one with the most points at the end of life wins the game.”
“Oh, really.”
“Actually, after playing this, the atmosphere of our team has become quite strange…”
Ahn Sang Hyun laughed heartily.
“It’s definitely fun!”
“I think… it sounds fun?”
“Yup. Me too.”
“…Well, it’s not a bad idea.”
And before I knew it, the three people had begun to respond positively.
Was I the only one against this?
“Well, they said we’d log our work hours for just playing the game. That alone optimizes it for salary theft.”
That much is true.
And the Branch Chief’s opinion seems to make sense somehow.
If I’m going to get entangled, it’s better to be with something at a smaller scale.
“Thank you.”
I decided to take the box. After all, since it was given by the Branch Chief, I couldn’t refuse.
“And the more people, the more fun it is. So, I brought along someone you’re close to, Kim Jae Heon.”
“…….”
As he spun around with a flourish, a dark blonde hair appeared before my eyes.
“…”
Aileen was looking at me.
“It has come to this.”
“…You’ve worked hard.”
“I think so too.”
“With this, there will be a total of eight people playing the game, including six from the Human Resources Team and the two of us.”
“…Well, that doesn’t sound bad.”
At least as long as Ahn Sang Hyun and the Team Leader were there, I didn’t feel worried.
At my words, Ahn Sang Hyun grinned widely.
“Great! Then let’s begin!”
“What? Wait a minute—”
Before I could finish, he opened the box—
*
“…”
I stood at the university entrance ceremony.
“…”
Turning my head to look around, I saw everyone else standing too.
Even the Team Leader.
“…I’m a university student…?”
The Team Leader mumbled in disbelief.
And at that moment.
[The wheel of fate is turning!]
A board appeared brightly before my eyes.
Numbers ranging from 1 to 9.
What is this?
I looked around.
It seemed like it wasn’t just me seeing it.
Everyone participating in the game was staring vacantly into space.
[Participant, Yu Da On's turn is coming up.]
The number spun and settled on 3.
An announcement flowed out.
[In her university life, Yu Da On will become a member of the tennis club.]
“I don’t know how to play tennis…?”
Yu Da On mumbled, and the board spun again.
[Participant, Song Ah Rin's turn is next.]
The number landed on 8.
[In her university life, Song Ah Rin will be a model student. She is likely to become a graduate student.]
“A modern-day slave called a graduate student?”
Song Ah Rin mumbled.
[Participant, Jang Chae Yeon's turn is coming up.]
Jang Chae Yeon’s board began to spin too.
The number was 2.
[In her university life, Jang Chae Yeon will be the ultimate social butterfly.]
“…”
Jang Chae Yeon? A social butterfly?
Yu Da On, Song Ah Rin, and I looked at Jang Chae Yeon in disbelief.
“Chae Yeon being a social butterfly…?”
“People like her only after she opens her mouth…”
[Participant, Kim Jae Heon's turn is coming up.]
Wheeeeeee-!
My board started spinning.