With trembling hands, I checked the work tip note.
11- Are you doing this for two nights in a row?
Sometimes they give you a day off after a night cleaning shift, but doing consecutive nights? That's rough… Anyway, here are the tips. During the wee hours of the morning, Wait, no!
'I gotta stop reading.'
The last section of the previous note had clearly seemed corrupted somehow. While the first note might have been reliable, starting from the second sheet, the notes themselves could be traps.
I firmly folded the piece of paper and shoved it back into my pocket. Then, I raised my head to glance at the tightly shut doors of Isolation B, my gaze eventually landing on one particular door.
[Isolation Room B14]
"..."
Just what the hell is going on?
'Stay calm.'
I needed to organize my thoughts.
I had clearly been in the middle of my first shift.
It was around 3 a.m., nearing the end of cleaning when the door to an isolation room suddenly opened, and Assistant Manager Eun Haje… no, something that looked like Assistant Manager Eun Haje appeared. And the moment Supervisor Park Minseong realized its true nature…
'It immediately did… something horrific.'
From then on, my memory went blank.
But why had an entire day disappeared, and why had it suddenly become the second night with the story ending as, 'We finished cleaning safely'? The way events were structured, it almost felt like I had regained consciousness just before this all happened…
Wait a second.
I glanced at the digital watch on my wrist.
Just before 3 a.m.
...
"Supervisor, come with me immediately!"
"Huh? Wh, what?"
After shouting at Supervisor Park Minseong, I immediately bolted down the corridor.
Reaching the metal door at the far end, still glowing faintly under the green emergency exit light, I opened it and ran outside.
"What's going—"
Bang.
I shut the door the moment Supervisor Park Minseong stepped out, cutting off his confused voice.
"Roe, what are you doing? We haven't even finished cleaning yet—why are you suddenly—"
[BEEEEEEP!!]
[Unauthorized opening of Isolation Room detected.]
[Corridor lockdown initiated.]
As if on cue, red emergency lights flared, and containment shutters began descending over every door.
Including the one leading to the corridor we had just escaped from.
"...!"
Supervisor Park Minseong's expression stiffened.
"…Wait a minute. Roe, you knew this would happen—"
"Hold on."
I immediately pulled out my walkie-talkie, turned it on, and cranked up the volume. Then I pressed the button.
If the thing wearing Eun Haje's face said not to trust the walkie-talkie, it was all the more reason to believe this was reliable.
"Jay-ssi. Something came out of the isolation room."
Crackle.
The response was instant.
[From the corridor?]
"No. We left the isolation corridor just before. But…"
I glanced toward the door leading outside from the storage room. The shutters had also descended there.
"We're trapped in front of the storage room's entrance. The containment shutters have sealed this door as well."
[Um okay… That means the first-level containment has been activated. Don't panic… Just stay put. I'm on my way.]
[By the way… which door opened? Room 12? Room 6?]
I took a deep breath and answered as steadily as I could.
"…I believe it was Room 14."
Silence.
[…B14?]
"Yes."
An unsettling stillness hung over the walkie-talkie.
I felt sweat trickling down my back.
Crackle.
[Don't speak to anyone. Stay quiet and hide. Move away from Isolation B.]
I swallowed hard.
"Understood."
[There's a hold time on containment shutters. Even if they're unlocked immediately, the system keeps them sealed for a while… Ten minutes.]
Ten minutes.
[Hold out for ten minutes until I get there. …And don't speak to anyone from now on.]
Click.
The transmission ended.
Silence settled over the dimly lit storage room, bathed in the red glow of the emergency lights.
"..."
I glanced to my side. Supervisor Park Minseong, who had overheard everything, looked pale and was carefully stepping away from the door leading to Isolation B.
Then—
BANG!!
The door rattled violently.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Something was pounding on the door from inside the sealed corridor, hard enough to shake the containment shutters.
And faintly, I could hear a voice.
…Hey! What the hell…!
"..."
Someone from the corridor we'd just escaped shouted out. The voice… was starting to sound strangely familiar.
"Roe, don't listen!"
"...!"
Supervisor Park Minseong covered my ears and pulled me further toward the front of the storage room, away from the isolation corridor door. Only when we were a safe distance away did he lean in and whisper urgently,
"There's no way we should be able to hear that sound through the containment shutters… That's not real. That's not…"
He swallowed nervously.
"…It's really something. Just like you said—something came out."
"..."
"Someone from the Security Team would arrive in ten minutes, right? Until then, let's not respond to anyone, no matter who tries to talk to us. Don't speak first, no matter what…"
I slowly nodded. Supervisor Park let out a sigh of relief and sank to the floor.
"By the way, Roe, how did you know? That the isolation room door was going to open…"
"It's complicated, but first, I need to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"What exactly happened on our first day here?"
Confusion spread across Supervisor Park's face.
"Huh? On the first day?"
"Yes."
"We just cleaned normally and… well, sure, a few things from the work tips happened, but we handled them and then went home, didn't we?"
The examples he listed matched everything we had experienced—up until the chaos with the isolation room.
Then…
"Do you remember giving me the second tip sheet during the early hours?"
"…Roe."
Supervisor Park's face hardened.
"There is no second sheet."
"..."
"Are you sure you're okay? Could you have been… affected when the isolation room door opened? Hang on, let me check today's work tips—"
What?
I stopped Supervisor Park from pulling the note out of my pocket.
"Wait a moment. How did you even get that work tip sheet in the first place?"
"Huh? I got it as part of the tips that circulate in the Security Team."
"And who exactly gave it to you?"
"..."
"Can you describe the person who gave it to you?"
"Of course… uh, actually,"
Supervisor Park Minseong's face turned pale.
He opened his mouth as if to answer, but closed it again, repeatedly struggling to speak.
Eventually, he admitted,
"…I don't know."
"...!"
"I mean, I'm sure it was… huh? Was it left in the dorm room? Or maybe a fellow Security Team newbie gave it to me… Wait, was there even another newbie here? What? Huh? What's going on?"
Damn it.
"It's fine! Don't think about it anymore. Let's just stay still for now."
"…Yeah."
Supervisor Park curled up quietly, lowering his head.
"Let's just focus on getting out of here. When the door opens, we leave immediately. No looking back."
"Yes."
Huu…
'This is insane…'
My head was spinning.
With our accounts conflicting like this, I couldn't tell what was real or fabricated.
I couldn't discern reality from falsehood, nor did I know what to believe. All I had was the oppressive weight of fear in this situation.
'Am I… under some kind of spell?'
But no—my silver ring was still on my finger. That should have offered strong resistance against illusions, hallucinations, or brainwashing. In that case…
'Let's think logically.'
I forced myself to focus.
1- My mind is intact.
2- Everything I'm experiencing is real.
3- This is an external phenomenon unrelated to my mental state.
For an objective perspective on this phenomenon…
'Braun.'
The plushie in my pocket might hold the answer.
'Braun! I need to ask you something. Can you help?'
...
Silence.
No way.
'…Braun!'
I frantically searched my pocket. Even when I called again, there was no response—
– Ah! Here I am, my friend!
Relief washed over me as I clutched the soft, plush figure in my hand.
– Apologies for the delay in responding! It took me a moment to catch up, I must admit.
"..."
'Catch up?'
'…Why did you need time to catch up with me?'
– Oh, because you jumped straight to the 30th, Mr. Roe Deer!
The cheerful voice made an incomprehensible statement.
– But I'm not blaming you. Finishing the disciplinary work quickly is a valid approach! Avoiding wasted effort and welcoming the new year early —it sounds like a splendid plan, don't you think?
'Wait, wait!'
I hastily interrupted.
'Sorry to cut you off, Braun, but I need clarification.'
– Oh, I get complaints from guests as well, so as a friend, this is nothing! I'm all ears! Ask away, Mr. Roe Deer!
Right, here goes.
'Are you saying I skipped directly from the 29th to the 30th? How?'
– Hm. You entrusted that part of your story to someone else, didn't you?
"...!"
No. Wait. What?
'To someone else?'
– Yes, indeed! Why, that someone is sitting right beside you at this very moment.
'...'
– They've done a marvelous job blending in, haven't they? Truly a master of disguise, Friend.
Barely managing to move my stiff neck, I turned my head toward the figure Braun had mentioned.
The person sitting right next to me.
"Um… Roe? You've gone quiet. I'm starting to feel uneasy. Should we talk?"
Earlier.
When I had fled the isolation corridor, I'd assumed I had called out to Supervisor Park Minseong, prompting him to follow me.
But now that I thought about it, I hadn't grabbed his hand or even looked back to check.
Which meant.
'That voice could have lured something other than Supervisor Park out with me.'
If so, then the thing pounding on the door earlier, still inside the corridor, was…
"..."
"Roe, are you okay? Say something."
And then there was the advice from Security Sergeant J3 over the walkie-talkie.
– Don't speak to anyone. Stay quiet and hide.
That included the person who'd come into the corridor with me, didn't it?
"Roe? Roe… Oh, you've figured it out again, haven't you?"
Thud.
In an instant, the face of 'Supervisor Park Minseong' dropped to the floor.
Shall I tell you about Ireum-niiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmm
The melting figure's mouth opened grotesquely, its distorted body leaning closer.
Closer to my face…
[BEEEEEEEEP!!]
The red emergency lights flickered wildly.
Mechanical whirring echoed around us.
The sound of shutters rising.
[Lockdown lifted. Shutters opening.]
Ah.
Thanks! It's open!
The faceless entity drew nearer, its voice brimming with elation.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHA
The grotesque laughter exploded in my ears, rattling my brain until everything blurred and my mind began to fade.
Reality itself…
…went black.
"...Heuuuuhp!"
I jolted awake.
A dimly lit storage room.
The red emergency lights still flashed, sealing us inside this confined space. Shutters locked tightly in place.
I stood there, clutching discarded cleaning tools, looking as if I had just escaped Isolation B.
The scene before me seemed to rewind slightly to an earlier moment. In my pocket was another work tip sheet—for Day 3 of my shift. I immediately crumpled it up and threw it aside.
Crackle.
[Hello? Are you alright?]
The walkie-talkie buzzed, but I ignored it.
This time, I remembered.
'Ireum-nim, they said.'
My hands trembled as sweat dripped from my brow.
"I understand now."
The lost story.
The entity that took the form of someone I knew.
The one that cried out about Ireum-nim.
Its true identity was…
========================
Dark Exploration Records / Factions
[Church of the Luminous Unknown]
: One of the three great factions in the . They worship an otherworldly deity referred to as Ireum-nim, and their doctrine centers around becoming a significant existence in this world to survive the end times.
Their practices involve antisocial, supernatural fanaticism, rituals, and laws.
The sect divides into six branches, each devoted to a different divine principle, which results in bizarre paranormal phenomena.
The ultimate truth about them is… [Spoilers].
========================
It's the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
T/N: By the way, ireum = name. It feels a bit weird to translate it as Namenim, Lord Name, Almighty Name or some other variation… so I just left it alone. Hope that's alright~