Chapter 2: First Day of Work

After the thick metal door opened with a heavy rumble, Sector D of the Extraction Room was revealed.

Following those horrible laughs, I slowly looked around.

One cell, two cells the isolation zones stretched to a point impossible to distinguish, and inside them were things difficult to describe with human language.

‘Is all of this real?’

The first cell.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a formless existence.

It wasn’t black as though it absorbed light, but neither was it transparent.

It was simply something like waves that constantly appeared and disappeared in the corner of my vision.

The reason still remaining inside me desperately tried to interpret it as stains on the wall or an optical illusion.

“It may only be observed. You must not make eye contact.”

Manager Myeon calmly explained beside me.

And just as he finished speaking, I made “eye contact” with that thing.

I don’t even know whether it truly had eyes.

But something inside me knew it with certainty.

At that instant, it felt as though the skin behind my shoulders had been peeled away like a shell.

As if someone had opened my body, inspected it, and then closed it back up again.

The sensation of nausea made me place one hand against the wall while barely turning my head.

My eyes began reddening slightly.

One of Manager Myeon’s seven faces smiled while murmuring.

“At first everyone reacts like this. If you feel like you’re going to vomit, there’s a restroom outside, so don’t hesitate to let me know.”

His tone was kind, but it only managed to churn my stomach even more.

Then they led me to the next cell.

Inside was a group that resembled human beings far too much, but definitely were not.

They burned something covered in smoke, gathered the ashes, crushed them, washed them, and ground them over and over again.

The fact that they repeated the exact same motions with completely expressionless and mechanical faces sent chills down my spine.

It was like watching a gigantic gear.

As though they existed solely to burn, crush, wash, and grind, without any will or meaning whatsoever.

One of Manager Myeon’s faces once again showed a concerned expression as he asked.

“Your expression keeps getting worse. Are you really alright?”

“Ah… yes, I’m really fine. Thank you for your concern.”

I answered with words that even I myself didn’t find sincere while forcing my trembling legs to continue walking behind him.

The next cell.

What was growing inside a tank was mold shaped like a human face.

The mold shook from the roots while letting out a strange giggle.

Something resembling a customer review window hung from the ceiling, where five stars glowed forming a smiling face.

In the cell next to it was a sealed box.

And from inside, the crying of a child with four mouths could clearly be heard.

‘Are all these things those so-called dimensional entities?’

Manager Myeon spoke slowly, following my gaze.

“Dimensional entities are company assets. Storing them, managing them, and extracting them. That is our work.”

His voice was calm, but it concealed a strange sense of pride.

“To put it simply, they are infinite raw materials. Sometimes power, sometimes knowledge, sometimes dreams themselves. A treasure vault from which one only needs to extract what is necessary. And because it is important work, the rewards for employees are also quite substantial, including benefits and prototype distribution.”

One of his faces smiled.

Another wore a crying expression.

And another, panting as though burning with fever, continued speaking.

“But at the same time, they are dangerous. If neglected, this entire place could collapse.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Especially damage to the extraction rooms threatens the safety of the entire company. In other words, employee Jeong. It is directly connected to our lifeline.”

Instead of answering, I simply nodded.

Inside my head, only one thought kept spinning.

‘They call this a company?’

Inside the isolation chambers, impossible forms twisted once more.

Shadows that crawled across the walls before vanishing.

Severed arms floating in midair.

Things that wrinkled and unfolded their own faces dozens of times as though made of plastic.

I forcibly averted my eyes.

If I kept watching, it was obvious I would eventually lose my sanity.

Manager Myeon nodded in satisfaction before concluding.

“Very well. We’ll end the field tour here. Employee Jeong, I hope to see you working at this company for a long time. Let’s do good work together.”

At that instant, the seven faces displayed different expressions simultaneously.

Faces laughing, crying, screaming, and swallowing hollow laughter.

Avoiding all those gazes, I hid myself once again behind a blank expression and forcibly replied.

“Yes. I’ll do… my best.”

***

After leaving the extraction room, I walked following Manager Myeon.

Extraction Team 1.

Toward the department office where I would end up working.

“Go ahead. Employee Jeong, this will be the place where you’ll be trapped until you get tired of seeing it.”

The first thing that brushed against my nose was incredibly typical office air.

The dry wind from the air purifier, the smell of copier toner, and a faint aroma of coffee.

If I had to summarize the office in one phrase, it would be “moderately normal.”

Dual monitors, partitions, a shared printer.

Aside from Manager Myeon standing beside me and a few rather peculiar objects on the desks, the structure was that of an ordinary office.

As I carefully stepped inside and continued observing, I noticed there were a total of six desks.

The one closest to the window, impeccably clean to the point of seeming obsessive, belonged to Manager Myeon.

He sat down familiarly and pointed toward an empty space in a corner.

“That will be Employee Jeong’s spot. All the supplies are inside the drawer, so check them over. I also added a few extra things you might need.”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll take a look.”

As I nodded and walked toward my spot, I quickly inspected the other four desks.

The first one that caught my attention was covered with flowerpots and plants to the point that it resembled a jungle.

It didn’t look like a simple hobby.

The pots were piled up so heavily that there was barely any free space left, and that created a strange feeling of reverence.

The next desk was decorated with gothic ornaments so extravagant they bordered on excessive luxury.

A golden candelabrum, a red velvet tablecloth, and a fountain pen that looked like it belonged to a medieval noble.

Rather than the desk of a modern office worker, it looked like the private study of some aristocrat.

In contrast, the third desk was completely normal and messily disorganized, with post-it notes and parts scattered everywhere.

It either belonged to someone extremely absentminded or incredibly lazy.

And finally, the last desk.

The moment I saw it, I couldn’t help stopping for an instant.

In one corner were unrecognizable bones tossed around carelessly, as though they had just finished butchering something.

And when I noticed the black stains of dried blood stuck between the half-destroyed keyboard keys, I arrived at a clear conclusion.

‘There isn’t a single normal one here.’

Just looking at the desks was already making my temples ache.

“Is everyone out?”

I asked while setting down my belongings, and one of Manager Myeon’s seven faces answered with a kind smile.

“Extraction Team 1 is composed of elites. Everyone is busy with their respective tasks. You’ll meet them soon enough, so there’s no need to be in such a hurry.”

“…I understand.”

“The proper thing would be to explain everything to you personally step by step, but today we’re delayed with the materials that need to be sent to the Refinement Department. That’s why everyone went out into the field. I’ll also have to step out again a little later.”

Manager Myeon’s seven heads looked at the clock simultaneously.

Accompanied by the ticking sound, his voice also began speeding up slightly.

“Well then, for now there should be a document called New Employee Guide on the desk. You’ll also find various additional materials, so it would be a good idea to check the company intranet. Excel templates, report formats, and things like that. I assume there’s no need to explain the basics of office work to you, right?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure to learn it.”

Manager Myeon pointed at the monitor with his pale fingers.

“Perfect. I have expectations for you. Ah, and when you have time, fill a cup with water from the dispenser and pour it onto the plants on that desk.”

As though he didn’t even expect a response, he returned to his seat.

I remained motionless in my spot, watching his back move away.

Suddenly, I couldn’t even remember whether I had been breathing until a moment ago.

Only after taking a deep breath did I confirm it.

Ah. Right, I’m still alive.

‘What the hell was everything I just saw?’

Dimensional entities? Extraction? Management?

I couldn’t even imagine what kind of work I would have here.

I sat in front of the monitor Manager Myeon had pointed at and placed my hand on the mouse.

The cold texture of the plastic transmitted itself into my palm.

The desk was more normal than I expected.

But standing out strangely in the center was a red folder, as though it had been created by dropping a single drop of blood onto the screen.

[New Employee Guide]

When I double-clicked it, dozens of organized documents appeared.
I opened the file located at the very top, titled:

[(Ltd.) Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts — Standards for Identification and Classification of Dimensional Entities]

Dry white letters appeared across the black screen.

==========

Dimensional Entity Classification Criteria

Before carrying out any extraction, new employees must first identify the target’s type and follow the corresponding response manual.

Biological Type: Forms that imitate or parasitize organic structures from existing ecosystems.

Object Type: Forms in which anomalies have been added to inanimate objects, machines, or fixed relics.

Composite Type: Forms where two or more classifications are fused together, displaying irregular properties.

Mutable Type: Forms whose appearance and rules change in real time depending on the surrounding environment or extraction progress.

Incorporeal Type: Forms without a fixed physical body, existing as gas, liquid, shadow, sound, or similar states.

Conceptual Type: Forms that ignore the laws of physics and manifest from faith, fear, disasters, or similar concepts.

Risk Classification and Extraction Guide

The company classifies dimensional entities according to management difficulty and potential threat level as follows.

D-Grade: A level where extraction can be carried out safely by simply following the rules. Primarily used as consumable resources for operating internal company facilities.

C-Grade: A level where physical damage and mental contamination occur frequently. Use of issued equipment is permitted, and for new employees, work under a supervisor’s observation is recommended.

B-Grade: A level where improper management inevitably leads to death. Supervision by at least a department manager or an experienced administrator is mandatory.

A-Grade: A level where the rampage of a single entity can result in a company-wide lockdown. Access to isolation chambers is prohibited without direct authorization and intervention from executives.

■ Grade: [Access to this data has been restricted]

Mandatory General Rules for New Employees

Emotional Synchronization Prohibited: All auditory and visual information from dimensional entities is merely imitation. Block it out.

Private Contact Prohibited: Any unofficial experiment or contact not specified in the manual will result in immediate termination.

Mandatory Reporting: If a dimensional entity displays any previously unseen phenomenon during work, report it immediately and evacuate the area.

==========

I couldn’t keep reading the remaining information.

Even after experiencing several absurd things already, it seemed the human mind simply wasn’t designed to adapt that flexibly.

While rubbing my throbbing head and trying to forget the countless disturbing scenes I had witnessed inside the company, a paper attached to the office wall caught my attention.

[Emergency Notice]

Access to the third-floor storage area is prohibited for this week.

Two cases of dimensional distortion have occurred within the company.

If you encounter an existence identical to yourself, do not smile first.

That is not part of the verification procedure.

— (Ltd.) Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts

“Haah….”

I let out a sigh without realizing it and immediately shut my mouth again.

Then, with trembling hands, I moved the mouse and continued exploring the company intranet.

I wanted to find out what kind of place this really was.

No…
more than that, I wanted to confirm whether something that could truly be called a “company” actually functioned here.

[Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts]

The main page was designed completely normally.

But the contents hidden inside were absurdly far from normal.

[Announcements]

If the vending machine in the fourth-floor break room dispenses a red drink, do not drink it.

Funeral notice for Assistant Manager Mok of Extraction Team 1 (scheduled resurrection date: in 3 days)

I am looking for my left arm. Whoever has it, please contact the Security Team.

Access to the emergency staircase on the 377th floor is prohibited.

‘I’m seriously going insane.’

The farther I scrolled down, the more it felt like my sanity was slipping away.

The cafeteria menu listed something called “Rainbow Energy Jelly.”

And on the internal club recruitment board were groups like the “Abyss Observation Club” and the “Screaming Choir.”

If this were just some absurd comedy forum, maybe I could have laughed it off.

But the image of the extraction room remained so vividly burned into my memory that it proved none of those texts were lies.

“…”

I rubbed my dry face with both hands and looked back at the monitor in front of me.

As I stared at my reflection in the black screen, only one goal began to solidify firmly inside my mind.

‘I need to quit.’