“……”
I didn’t press further and let him change the subject.
“Oh, by the way, Sergeant Jay from the Security Team asked about you sometimes. I didn’t say you got lost in a Darkness or anything… but a few days ago, he seemed to have figured it out already.”
“…I see.”
I had intended to simply nod along—
But then, a realization hit me.
Wait a second.
“Are you saying the company already knew I wasn’t just skipping work, but that I had gone missing inside a Darkness?”
“Uh, yeah. They decided that you’ve just disappeared on the ‘Tamra Express’.”
“Then—does that mean the company hadn’t actually given up on finding me this whole time? Or at least… they still officially considered me missing?”
“……”
“……”
My two superiors suddenly avoided eye contact.
‘…They already declared me as dead, didn’t they?’
What a phenomenal company.
Well, not that it really mattered. I fought the urge to pinch my temples and nodded.
“Understood. Then I’ll just report that I’m alive, that I cleared the Darkness, and—”
“R-Roe! About that…”
“You can’t.”
“…?!”
Eun Haje cut me off.
“…Assistant Manager?”
“Listen, Roe. The company put an unusual amount of effort into searching for you these past few weeks.”
Park Minseong quickly jumped in to elaborate.
“And if the auditors determine that you weren’t lost due to company work but were just absent on your own…”
“……”
“…They’re going to charge you for all the costs.”
“……”
…Excuse me, what?
“I didn’t make the rescue request myself, so wouldn’t that mean there’s no justification for covering my expenses?”
“Justification is just a matter of framing.”
“……”
“The points we earn aren’t salaries—they’re ‘welfare points’. If the company really wants to penalize you, it’s not like they don’t have ways to do it. …At minimum, they could suspend your point payouts as a ‘disciplinary action’ for a few months.” ʀ₳Ꞑǒ₿Ɛs
A chill ran down my spine.
“So, if they find out this wasn’t a work-related accident, but rather just you getting caught up in a random Darkness incident? The company would realize they’ve suffered a loss.”
Eun Haje spoke with a sharp, almost biting tone.
“They’ll argue that this was a personal accident, that you were absent for personal reasons—so your absence caused them damages.”
“…!”
“If you never came back, there wouldn’t be much they could do. But if you return as an employee…”
It’s complete bullshit.
But the problem is—this kind of corporate nonsense happens in regular companies too.
“What if we just the escape method into an official manual? If we can frame what we did as a documented escape method, it could be considered as work. That way, the company can’t penalize Roe for it, right?” Supervisor Park asked.
“That’s impossible.”
“……”
The way I entered was already an exceptional case. And the method I used to escape?
There was no way that could be turned into a manual.
Not to mention, spending an entire month working as a staff member inside a creepypasta talk show before escaping wasn’t exactly a normal case either.
‘If I could just submit the Dream Essence, I’m sure this would all get smoothed over…’
The fact that I couldn’t was frustrating.
‘…Should I just accept the point loss and move on?’
No way. No matter how I looked at it, that was unacceptable.
Not just frustrating—it was infuriating.
‘I collected over half the points I needed.’
I worked so hard throughout those months, dancing to the tune of the higher ups the entire time… But now, the company wanted to take them away just because they could? There was no way in hell I was going to accept that.
And the problem didn’t stop there.
“In any case… Let’s say you describe how you escaped. If you mention that you spent an entire month as part of the ghost story…”
Park Minseong swallowed hard.
“They might decide you’re contaminated. You could end up… going through the same process I did.”
“……”
Right.
Normally, if someone spent a month inside a high-grade Darkness, there would be no way they’d be considered mentally fit to return to the Field Exploration Team.
Instead, they’d be analyzed, reassigned, or even quarantined.
“In that case, you might never be able to return to the Field Exploration Team.”
“……”
At this point, anyone else would be screaming ‘Screw this company! I quit!’
But I couldn’t afford to quit out of frustration.
I needed a Wish Ticket.
I had already confirmed it during the Elevator Creepypasta. A Wish Ticket could send me home…!
‘Besides, if I’m going to keep my promise and call Braun again… I need to get my hands on a plush from the Cheerful Theme Park creepypasta.’
I had barely secured a stable friendship with him. If I broke that promise now… I had no idea what an Otherworld entity, summoned under a contract for ‘eternal companionship’, might do.
I gritted my teeth. I could still feel the weight of the coin in my jacket pocket.
‘The situation has turned into a mess, but… No. There’s definitely a way out.’
I had a high-grade Dream Essence in my hands.
I had escaped the ghost story in one piece.
Things weren’t worse than before.
There had to be a solution…
“……”
As I looked at the worried expressions of my superiors, a thought suddenly came to me.
Maybe.
“Assistant Manager.”
I turned to Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
She was someone who had changed departments.
“Could you get me in contact with Director Ho?”
“……!”