Surviving as an Office Worker in Monster Management Bureau

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I looked at Yu Da On and then at the Team Leader.

Unlike her, who was happily dancing, the Team Leader just stared at Yu Da On with a normal yet concerned expression.

“Don’t go out of here. We don’t know what might happen.”

Did Eileen think I was going to run out right away? She grabbed my arm and spoke softly.

“You can go and bring her back!”

“Team Leader?”

The Team Leader shouted loudly.

“She got up and left on her own before, and since there’s nothing, isn’t it… okay…?”

The Team Leader’s voice abruptly grew quieter.

I locked eyes with Eileen.

If what she said was true, the Team Leader should be dead by now.

“It should be fine.”

“…It seems so.”

“Why aren’t you going, Team Leader?!”

“Even if I go, there’s nothing I can do! And right now, it’s hard for me to ignore the sounds too!”

I recalled all my past experiences with the Team Leader.

There are things he can’t do, and there are things he can do.

He was a person with an excellent self-objectivity.

Not only that, but there were also days when the Team Leader and I went through piles of paperwork together.

Surviving means being strong.

“I’ll be right back.”

Suddenly standing up, I got off the attraction and started walking towards her.

She was still dancing joyfully.

In a way, our appearances seemed to overlap.

She was endlessly invincible to physical attacks, but as ordinary as anyone else when it came to mental attacks.

I was strong enough to handle mental attacks, yet no different than an ordinary person when facing physical ones.

“Ms. Da On.”

I softly called out to Yu Da On, but she continued dancing happily, seemingly not hearing me.

“Ahaha!”

“Ms. Da On.”

Her gaze moved towards me.

Her mouth was smiling, and her legs danced with joy, but her eyes were staring at me intently.

“…It’s okay if it hurts a bit, right?”

She couldn’t answer my question, but I felt I could read her eyes.

The most certain method.

I pulled out a gun from my pocket.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t say a word.

I firmly grabbed one of her shoulders while intertwining my legs with hers to prevent her from thrashing about.

Then I pulled the trigger against her smiling temple.

– Bang!

The movements of the dancing Yu Da On stopped, and she slumped into my arms.

“Ms. Da On?”

“…Ugh.”

Supporting herself against my shoulder, she mumbled and buried her face in my chest.

“My head…”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… thank you…”

Mumbling, she pulled her face away from my embrace.

“I’m really… nothing without you, Jae Heon.”

“That might be true. Even when I try to resist a stab, I still end up getting stabbed.”

“What does that mean?”

She chuckled softly and shook her head.

“Let’s get back on. I need to talk to the Team Leader.”

“Oh, by the way, the Team Leader helped me.”

“The Team Leader?”

“Yeah. ‘I feel really bad about this, be careful!’ he suddenly got serious when he heard something, you know?”

“Then why didn’t you be careful?”

“I tried to block my ears… But what could I do about hearing it anyway…”

Yu Da On pouted, her hands balled into fists, tapping her chest.

“It’s a word that transcends eardrums—should I say it reaches the heart?”

How did the Team Leader ignore that?

I glanced over at the Team Leader, who waved his hand when our eyes met.

“Hurry up! I don’t like it here!”

“Ms. Da On, should I go with the Team Leader?”

“Uh…”

Her gaze shifted to Eileen, and she hurriedly shook her head.

“No! Just go with the Team Leader… or… go with Jae Heon…?”

“If I go with you, then both of you would have to switch places.”

That’d be not only inefficient but also a gamble on unknown risks.

“…Alright…”

Yu Da On nodded, looking deflated, and approached the Team Leader to sit down again.

I also sat beside Eileen, and the attraction started moving again with a clatter.

Since the speeds of both attractions were similar, it became a snug fit.

“…This is actually nice.”

“True.”

“We’ll be able to respond quickly no matter what happens.”

“…”

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

Then came the conversation between the Team Leader and Yu Da On.

Do they really need to be this distant?

The Team Leader seemed to genuinely care about Yu Da On, and she appeared to show respect toward him, leading to this kind of interaction.

“So, what’s next?”

“Well…”

Eileen trailed off, unable to finish her thought.

How can one say they don’t know what would happen after Jang Chae Yeon blew up the next attraction?

“Let’s find out… Once we go, we’ll see.”

As I hesitated, Eileen just gave me a brief glance and didn’t say anything more.

– Clatter! Clatter!

The attraction continued to shake and move.

– Clang!

Soon, with a loud noise, the attraction ground to a halt.

[We will now conduct a brief inspection.]

A woman’s voice echoed.

“…This is unsettling.”

As soon as my statement finished, the Team Leader suddenly lifted his head and looked back.

“Team Leader, do you feel something?”

He nodded at my question, a look of worry etched on his face.

“Jae Heon.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Something is coming. It feels very bad.”

“…Da On.”

“I understand.”

Yu Da On straightened her body and hopped over to stand beside me.

It was cramped.

“It’s coming!”

While trying to make space for Yu Da On, I hurriedly looked ahead at the Team Leader’s words.

– Honk!

A loud horn blared.

In the dark space, a red light illuminated us.

“…A train?”

Eileen murmured in response to a massive horn.

A huge train appeared before us.

It looked like something out of an old Western movie.

The difference was that the front of the train was drenched in blood, with what looked like flesh stuck to it.

[Chronos’s Shield: 3 seconds]

“Ms. Da On!”

“Yes!”

Yu Da On reached out.

A translucent, semicircular shield unfolded, and the train crashed into the barrier.

– Bang!

The train halted with a sound of collision.

There was no time to think.

As the train stood still, I momentarily contemplated and looked at Eileen.

“Forward!”

Without a second thought, she sat beside the Team Leader.

[Chronos’s Shield: 1.5 seconds]

I recalled Yu Da On’s shield.

What happened to that big guy from before who attacked?

He couldn’t withstand his own strength and had fallen backward.

In other words, this shield had some reactive force.

I dashed forward, hopping onto the attraction to squeeze in beside the Team Leader.

“Hey!”

“Get on!”

“Okay!”

Just as Yu Da On turned hurriedly, the translucent shield vanished.

The train pulled back as it lost its momentum, and as soon as Yu Da On squeezed in beside Eileen—

– Crash!

The train started moving again, pushing the attraction forward.

The attraction behind us acted as a cushion, starting to push us forward, and speed picked up.

“Ah…!”

“Screech…!”

“It’s dangerous like this!”

Eileen shouted loudly.

“Team Leader!”

“What?!”

“Scream when you think it’s the most dangerous!”

“Got it!”

[Chronos’s Shield: 0.5 seconds]

Just once.

The train began to accelerate with an ominous speed, pushing the attraction.

– Crack, crack…!

The attraction behind us began making alarming sounds and breaking apart.

“To the limit!”

“Ok…!”

The Team Leader closed his eyes and focused.

The exit was still nowhere in sight.

If only we could be just a little late, but—

“Now!”

With a snap, the Team Leader opened his eyes and shouted, locking gazes with Yu Da On before she immediately reached out her hand.

In that fleeting moment, as the train stopped and pushed backward—

[Chronos’s Shield: 0 seconds]

[Next Charge: 30 minutes]

The shield was completely depleted.

The speed noticeably decreased, but the attraction was still moving dangerously fast.

“…I guess I’ll have to block it with my body.”

Yu Da On looked at me.

“Please hold my shoulder.”

“Understood.”

I wasn’t sure how much it would help, but I slipped my hands under her armpits to support her.

“Ugh…!”

She pushed against the collapsing attraction with her legs.

– Crack!

The sound of breaking bones echoed as she furrowed her brow, but her legs quickly returned to normal, and she kept pushing repeatedly.

I wondered how many times she had sacrificed her legs.

By the time her skirt was torn and looked like a mini skirt, she exclaimed,

“…Isn’t that the exit?!”

I glanced back at Eileen’s voice.

A bright light was visible.

Are we supposed to jump out mid-air from here?

“…Team Leader!”

“What now?!”

“Like before! But this time we jump!”

“…Is that right?!”

“Do you have any other ideas?!”

“Geez, just tell me!”

Hastily lifting my body, the Team Leader flailed his arms like he was about to leap.

“One… two…!”

– Rumble-crack!

The attraction began to tear apart with sounds that couldn’t be described.

If this continued, we would all get ripped apart before reaching the exit.

As we entered the light, the Team Leader shouted loudly.

“Jump!”

I shut my eyes tight and leaped.

With a floating sensation, I rolled on the ground, and eventually, once Yu Da On regained her balance, she hurriedly caught my tumbling body.

“Ugh…”

As pain wracked my body, Yu Da On worriedly examined me.

“Jae Heon, are you okay?”

“…Yeah.”

Despite the pain all over my body.

The headless attendant handed two tickets to Eileen and the Team Leader.

“Let’s go.”

As I got down with Yu Da On’s help, Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin were waiting for us right at the exit.

“Are you okay?”

“No. It hurts.”

“Want to rest for a bit?”

After a brief commotion, the six of us began checking our tickets.

“…So with this, there are a total of four.”

There are six of us, but only four tickets.

“…We have one more place to go, then.”

Our gazes shifted to the area with the hidden name.

The place under maintenance.

“…I guess we’ll find out when we go, right? If it’s not good, let’s head to a different land.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The Team Leader hastily interrupted my words.

“That place… doesn’t feel right.”

“If you’re saying that, Team Leader…”

The suggestion of going to a different land was swiftly dismissed.

Our eyes turned back to the hidden-name area.

It was said to be under construction. I wondered if it would even operate properly.

[House of the Ghost.>

Upon seeing the strangely written name, a sense of foreboding surged within me.

“Team Leader…”

“This is… the least ominous one, surprisingly.”

…

I really didn’t want to go.