Chapter 1: The last question

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

It was the last question of the interview.

For a question from one of the most important companies in the country, it was a bit strange and light, but I didn’t respond foolishly or let out an awkward laugh.

If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do?

It is one of the most famous questions passed around by word of mouth in the Jaerae Group’s hiring interviews. Perhaps the most important.

“We promise you, in the name of Jaerae, that whatever your answer to this question, it will not negatively affect your evaluation in the interview. Of course, if it is a good answer, that will be reflected in your score.”

A key question where you are not penalized no matter what you answer, but the better the answer, the more points you get; an opportunity to make up for mistakes or shortcomings.

Although there is no way to know what the criteria for a “good answer” is.

“If I could turn back time.”

The important thing is that my present and my future depend on this question.

“I……”

And that the answer lies in the past.

***

“Ah.”

For a moment I went the wrong way and, because I froze, I missed the elevator right in front of me.

I think it even made eye contact with me. I could have stopped it.

Anyway, today I just wasn’t lucky. The interview too.

Did I fail?

With that salary, seriously, if they accepted me, I could stay there for my entire life.

Ah. I was about to let out a deep sigh, but I remembered that I was still inside the company and shook my head.

That’s it.

What’s done is done. It can’t be changed.

Should I go watch a movie before going home?

3:33.

It’s a bit of a waste to just go back like this.

Besides, if I go home, all I’ll do is brood pessimistically over the interview.

“…Huh?”

What is this?

At the top of the phone screen, which I had turned on to buy a movie ticket, instead of the cellular network icon, the message “SOS” appeared.

Why do I suddenly have no signal?

The moment I pressed the button to restart the phone.

Click—

The ceiling lights flickered and then all went out at once.

A blackout?

What will the employees here do?

Looking at the panels of the four elevators, where no number appeared, instead of worrying about the people who would be trapped, I worried about those whose work could not be interrupted.

I’ll have to take the stairs.

I changed direction and headed toward the emergency stairs.

Anyway, I’m on the third floor, it’s not hard to go down to the lobby.

But seriously, what’s going on?

Even after turning the phone back on, the message “SOS” still appeared.

For there to be no service in the middle of the city means something must have happened to the nearby base stations.

A fire, or perhaps.

Could a maze have formed?

If in the process a transmission tower or a nearby utility pole was damaged, then the building’s blackout would also make sense.

Even so, since it was broad daylight, it wasn’t too dark.

The building had a “ㅁ”-shaped structure, with the center open.

Not only the offices along the perimeter, but also the inner hallways received sunlight through the windows.

Suddenly, I looked toward the first floor through the hallway window.

In the center there was a green garden.

From below it just looks like a wall, but seen from above it reveals its beauty—an enormous maze-shaped garden.

Booom!

Just as I was about to lose myself in my thoughts, a roar echoed from somewhere behind me.

Boom! Crash! Baaang!

A huge noise, as if something had collided, strong enough to shake the entire building.

Crash! Thud!

By instinct, I ran toward the emergency exit and threw myself inside.

“Huh?”

Stepping wrong.

**

Do not run on the stairs.

**

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“Huh?”

I blinked, not understanding.

The interviewer smiled gently.

“It seems you really don’t know this question, Mr. Seon Yuhan. Normally everyone comes prepared.”

“In principle, sharing it is forbidden,” he said, shrugging.

“Anyway, I’ll ask you again. If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

What was that?

What just happened?

What is happening right now?

A déjà vu?

Or did I fall asleep during the interview and dream it?

“Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“Ah, yes. I, if that were possible……”

***

“Thank you.”

I stepped out into the hallway after bowing politely, half dazed.

I managed to get out the answer I had prepared somehow, but due to nerves I stumbled over my words too much.

Did I overdo the mental training?

To what extent did I go overboard to keep imagining things even after the interview? And on top of that, in the worst way.

I must have been very tense. Even my body felt stiff.

I rubbed the back of my neck for no reason while standing in front of the elevator.

5… 4… 3… ding!

「The doors open.」

Luckily, I managed to get in just in time.

I met eyes with the man who was already inside and gave a slight nod as a greeting. It was the first time I had seen him, but you never know how things might turn out.

「The doors close.」

Wait a moment.

For some reason, I felt a chill and glanced sideways at the man next to me.

A stranger.

Or not?

Hadn’t I made eye contact with him before?

Just a moment ago… no, before… no, wait…

At the beginning?

Clack.

The panel showing the floors suddenly went out and the elevator stopped.

“Huh? What is this?”

The man, who had been looking at himself in the mirror, raised his head.

He looked at the black panel once, then looked at me.

“I-it stopped?”

His voice cracked, clearly shaken.

“Yes. It seems—”

“What’s going on? Why isn’t it responding?”

Tap, tap, tap.

I watched in silence as the man repeatedly pressed the yellow emergency button.

“Damn it. What’s wrong with this thing? On top of that, there’s no signal on the phone.”

This doesn’t feel right.

I turned on my phone when I heard that, and at the top, as expected, “SOS” appeared.

No way.

“Huh?”

Clack, creak.

“Oh! It’s moving again. Thank goodness. Right?”

Moving?

No. No.

It’s not moving.

This is…

“W-wait… isn’t it going too fast?”

This feeling.

Like when a roller coaster car reaches the highest point, pauses for a moment, and then begins to descend.

That moment when your whole body bristles.

Bang!

The crash that made me run toward the emergency stairs.

Boom! Craaash!

It was the sound of the elevator falling.

**

Do not run on the stairs.

**

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“If…”

I was about to say “if I could.”

“If I could turn back time.”

I opened and closed my fist. It felt as if my whole body was tingling.

“I… I think I should first observe the situation a bit…”

“Hmm, could you explain a bit more what you mean by that?”

Because it seems like time has really reset and I need to see what’s happening!

I wanted to shout it, but I barely managed to hold myself back.

At the very least, I needed to know whether right now I should go into the company or to the hospital.

Or better yet, if everything could be solved by going into a psychiatric hospital, that would already be a relief.

“Mr. Seon Yuhan. Are you alright?”

After calling him several times without getting a response, seeing that the applicant only remained silent and trembling, the interviewer seemed more concerned than annoyed.

“I think it would be best to end here. There’s a hospital on the fourth floor; if you don’t feel well, go get checked.”

The interviewer gestured for me to leave, but I didn’t want to go.

Even if they lowered my score for a bad attitude and I failed the interview.

It’s still better than falling down the stairs or having an elevator collapse.

Please, let it be a dream. An illusion. An imagination too vivid.

Please, let me be a patient with a serious problem in perceiving reality.

“If it’s hard for you to get up on your own, I can help—”

Silence.

And then, darkness.

I looked around, stunned, at the emptiness of the interview room.

The interviewer had disappeared.

Where did he go?

And where am I?

[3:33｜SOS｜87%]

Sitting in the chair, I stared fixedly at the phone screen.

Bang!

Not long after, I heard a sound that was not familiar, but not entirely new either.

Boom! Crash! Bang! Crash! Thud!

A total of six times.

There are six elevators in total.

Four are together, and one of them was the one I took.

The other two must be emergency ones.

But do elevators fall during a blackout?

The probability of an elevator falling is practically zero.

They are designed with extremely robust safety systems.

That thing about the elevator collapsing while you’re inside is something from movies; it doesn’t happen in reality.

Yes. It’s not supposed to happen.

“Ha…”

I let out a heavy sigh.

Even so, for now nothing absurd has happened like me falling off the chair and breaking my neck, or the ceiling collapsing.

If I stay here, won’t anything happen?

Then how long should I stay?

Everything is silent.

Nothing can be heard.

I hate that silence, so I filled my mind with thoughts.

Mr. Seon Yuhan, why did you decide to apply to our company?

Because it is the most famous in the sector and pays a lot of money.

Why did you apply to the field support department?

Because I am an indecisive coward who can’t do anything alone.

What do you consider your greatest strength?

My survival instinct to live like a rat and survive like a cockroach.

If the client’s interests and the company’s interests come into conflict, how would you act as an agent?

I will move toward the side that gives me more money.

Do you have any final question?

Yes, why is my life like this?

Creak, creak.

How much time had passed like that?

I raised my head upon hearing a sudden sound.

Screech, squeak, screech.

That unpleasant sound of wet soles rubbing against the smooth floor.

There’s someone in the hallway.

Squeak, screech.

The unknown footsteps came right up to the front of the interview room.

I held my breath.

Knock, knock.

I didn’t respond.

Knock, knock, knock.

“What time is it?”

I stood up abruptly.

It’s the voice of a child.

“What time? There’s no clock outside.”

A child who uses the internet a lot? But what is a child doing here? Ah, was there a daycare in the company?

Thinking that, I was about to open the door when.

“I don’t know the time. What time is it now? I want to know the time.”

There was something strange in that mischievous voice on the other side of the door.

“The clock is inside. What hour and what minute?”

I held my breath and pressed my ear against the door.

“Don’t you know how to read the time? The small hand is the hour. The big one is the minutes. Is there an even smaller one than the hour hand? Those are the seconds. I know how to read the time.”

Height.

The height is strange.

It’s the voice of a child who should barely reach my waist.

“What time? There’s a clock inside.”

I slowly raised my head.

Toward where the cheerful voice was coming from.

“I’ll read it for you. What minute?”

The child’s voice on the other side of the door.

“What time is it right now?”

It was coming from above.

Higher than my line of sight.

As if his head touched the ceiling.

“I’m going to come in.”

Clack.

The doorknob moved.