On one occasion, I ran into Lee Byeongjin, the manual reviews officer, in the hallway, who gave me a casual hint: “The company’s ridiculously busy with year-end accounting and audits, which is why things have been so quiet for you.”
He still occasionally brought up Director Ho, which was uncomfortable, but the information was helpful…
“Aiyah. Supervisor Kim, you must have no worries! You clear high-level Darknesses and rack up points so fast. You must be disappointed there aren’t more high-level cases these days, haha!”
“……”
I’m not disappointed at all, actually…
Clearing low-level cases steadily still earned points, allowing me to catch my breath and focus my thoughts.
However, during this quiet time, there was one thing that oddly remained unresolved.
“Uh, Squad Leader, is my disciplinary action still under discussion?”
“Yes.”
– Oh. This is quite, hm. Fascinating… didn’t you expect a swift decision, Mr. Roe Deer?
I did.
I wasn’t hoping to avoid punishment, but I didn’t expect it to take this long.
I thought they’d hand me a simple, swift penalty to knock me down a peg for being a cheeky yet competent newbie.
‘…Why is this so complicated?’
It seemed the Field Exploration Team had even caught wind of this, judging by some curious reactions.
[Kang Yihak : Supervisor! I heard about it haha! You took a bold stand against inefficient tasks not covered by your salary. Kyaah! I respect you!]
“……”
Wait, is that how the story’s spreading?
‘I was trying to come across as a morally principled character, but did that backfire too…?’
Thankfully, it didn’t seem to go that far. The Development Department appeared to be debating how to handle my case—whether to make an exception or follow standard procedure.
Finally, in late December.
“The date for your disciplinary action has been set.”
“……”
Huu.
The official notice had arrived.
——————–
Disciplinary Notice
Task : Perform night cleaning duties with the Security Team.
Duration : 3 days.
This disciplinary measure is intended to improve the employee’s work attitude and prevent similar incidents in the future.
——————–
It was such a quintessentially ghost-story-company type of punishment.
‘Where are the usual corporate disciplinary measures like training, pay cuts, suspension, or demotion?’
So, was three days of punishment not too bad? Did I manage to get off lightly? Sure, but…
“The schedule will be from December 29th to the 31st.”
“……”
Who came up with this?
‘I can feel how much they wanted to make my life miserable with this choice of dates…!’
It was like they wanted me to spend the entire year-end pulling all-nighters at the company and to start the New Year here. I was dying to know who was responsible for this cruelty.
But since I’d already crossed the line once, this time, I had no choice but to comply.
‘Huu…’
So, on the midnight of December 29th, I headed to the basement level 1 of the company, into the Security Team’s area.
And I was greeted by a familiar face.
“Good evening, Jay-ssi.”
“Wow… long time no see…”
It was Security Sergeant J3.
This slender staff member, whom I’d encountered during the Sangun-nim ghost story and the Hungry Hangman escape, raised a hand in greeting, looking somewhat glad to see me.
Of course, the annoyance on his face outweighed any actual joy, so I quickly pulled out the bribe I had prepared.
“My apologies. I’ll be in your care for the next three days.”
“Oh, no need to apologize…”
The security sergeant’s face brightened as he accepted the two large boxes of sugar and cream donuts, each containing a dozen.
“Finally, some payoff for volunteering… thank you… I’ll enjoy these as my snacks…”
“……”
‘I brought two boxes so the Security Team could share, but…’
Since he clearly believed all 24 donuts were his alone, I kept my mouth shut. I figured it was the wise thing to do.
“Alright, follow me…”
The security sergeant led me deeper into the facility, past the CCTV room.
‘This is an area only the Security Team can access.’
I hadn’t expected to return here.
Swallowing hard, I followed him down the hallway. Somewhere here, I’d be doing the cleaning.
“May I ask where exactly I’ll be cleaning for the next three days?”
“Well… it’s a place you’ve been before, so it shouldn’t be too bad. I think… yeah.”
A place I’ve been before?
“Today’s cleaning zone is the Isolation B hallway… you know… the one where they took out that contaminated employee…”
“……!”
Damn.
He was referring to the isolation area next to the Security Team’s storage room.
The hallway lined with sealed rooms, where I’d been briefly held after being rescued from the Hungry Hangman.
‘That place… definitely wasn’t normal.’
I recalled all the strange murmurs and phenomena I’d experienced walking down that isolation hallway and gulped nervously.
‘Cleaning the Security Team’s area, huh.’
The near certainty of encountering something unusual made my heart pound.
“This way… to the locker room.”
I followed the security sergeant to the locker room, swallowing my fear. Along the way, I caught a glimpse of the Security Team’s quarters through an open door.
[Sleeping Quarters]
Through the gap, I could see compact rooms furnished with gray standard-issue curtains, bedding, metal desks, and cabinets.
…Oddly enough, it reminded me of a prison staff dormitory.
‘It looks worse than my dorm.’
The fact that it was underground seemed unhealthy, to say the least.
“Do all the Security Team members live here?”
“No, just the guards… um.”
The security sergeant furrowed his brow slightly, as if deciding how much to share.
Eventually, he gave a vague answer, ending the conversation on this topic.
“The Security Team is… actually a branch of the higher-level Security Management Department. This area is mostly for the guards…”
“I see.”
Finally, we reached the locker room, and I quickly changed into the provided uniform.
It wasn’t the Security Team uniform I’d worn before. This one was bright orange and eye-catching, resembling an engineer’s work suit.
“Cleaning uniforms… not bad… the color’s nice…”
“……”
Was he serious?
In any case, I finished changing and prepared to head to the cleaning site.
‘Huu.’
Feeling like I was being led to the slaughterhouse, I glanced at the security sergeant, who was still lingering in the locker room as if waiting for someone.
“Cleaning… usually requires two people per team.”
Um?
Surely the security sergeant wasn’t going to join me—maybe it was another staff member?
Then, the security sergeant glanced out of the locker room and gestured for me to look.
“There they are… your partner for today.”
I turned to see someone walking down the hallway from the direction of the sleeping quarters.
…A familiar face.
“Roe.”
“……!!”
Supervisor Park Minseong approached awkwardly from the hallway, raising a hand in greeting.
“Long time no see. How’ve you been?”