Chapter 32: A Thrilling Afternoon Tea in the Executive Director’s Office (1)

Executive Director Gu’s office was luxurious and silent.

A space where only the sound of breathing, the faint creaking of the leather sofa, and the ticking of the wall clock’s second hand could be heard.

It was not noise that vibrated there.

It was silence.

At the center stood a heavy table.

The surface of that ostentatious golden table was excessively smooth and shone brilliantly.

Upon that gleaming surface, as though someone had polished it thousands of times, Manager Moon Ara gently set down a cup of coffee.

“I didn’t add any sugar.”

“Thank you.”

I held the cup with both hands.

The tips of my fingers trembled slightly.

I had done nothing more than sit down, yet my heart was still pounding against my ribs.

Seated across from me was Executive Director Gu.

A gray suit perfectly tailored to a figure that seemed to be imitating the shape of a human being, accompanied by a bright red tie.

───Rrrrk… Rrrrk…

The sound coming from beneath the suit was not that of liquid.

It was more like the viscous noise of flesh and joints rubbing against one another.

Something alive twisted inside that invisible body, quietly boiling within its innards.

As I tried to suppress that instinctive revulsion, Executive Director Gu’s strange way of speaking struck my eardrums.

“Mm. Unfortunately, after meeting people like that in a place like that. You must have many questions. Very many questions. Right, Employee Jeong Haeil?”

Had they already been informed of my arrival before I even got here?

It was a terrifying company.

Executive Director Gu’s chilling, grotesque voice vibrated as though speaking from inside an inverted throat, brushing against my ears and gently striking my internal organs.

It was as if he were greeting each of my organs one by one by name.

‘It’s hard to listen to this…’

For a moment, I felt dizzy.

Then I remembered Manager Moon Ara’s words.

— Don’t be surprised or disrespectful. Understood?

Right.

I had to control my expression.

What was sitting in front of me was a monster.

But before that, he was my superior.

‘And an executive, at that.’

I carefully opened my mouth.

Choosing each word precisely.

Without hesitation at the end of my sentences.

Without seeming defiant or intimidated.

In other words, like the perfect rookie employee.

“Yes, that’s right. I have many questions. It’s an honor to be able to hear your explanations.”

At that moment, the sofa vibrated slightly.

Something moved inside Executive Director Gu’s body once more.

Rrrrk… Rrrrkkk…

Manager Moon Ara calmly took a sip of coffee.

A faint smile rested on her lips.

But the eyes hidden behind that smile showed no emotion whatsoever.

She looked like someone who had already anticipated this situation.

Accustomed both to these conversations with Executive Director Gu and to whatever existed inside him.

And perhaps also accustomed to the empty seats of employees who had disappeared from around that table.

I slowly lifted my cup and took a sip.

The coffee was neither hot nor cold.

It was exactly the right temperature to maintain an appropriate level of terror.

Across from me, Executive Director Gu once again produced a sound similar to boiling.

This time it was heavier than before.

As though a mass of greased metal were being crushed from within.

Instinctively, I took another sip of coffee.

And then I had the feeling that there was a mouth somewhere in his abdomen, exactly where his heart was not.

I couldn’t see it.

But I could feel the vibration originating from there.

“Anomalous Disaster Management Department. Yes. I heard that you encountered the Anomalous Disaster Management Department, Employee Jeong Haeil.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“It seems you were dragged into a Distorted Region. You must have gone through a lot, gone through so very much. According to Manager Moon Ara, they threatened you. Right? Yes, they threatened you.”

The moment I heard that name, I remembered that dreadful place.

The endless corridor.

That path without windows, without doors, and without direction.

The Presence that chased me.

The shadow without feet.

And the two people from the Anomalous Disaster Management Department whom I had encountered.

‘I suppose places as absurd as that are what they call Distorted Regions.’

Strangers.

Unknown places.

And now I would never have the opportunity to find out whether they had truly been friendly or not.

I briefly organized my thoughts and nodded.

Perhaps it had not quite reached the point of a threat.

But I had already returned to the company.

And, given that I was speaking to an executive, I decided to show a little corporate loyalty.

“Yes. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. They wanted us to leave together while we talked, and they also spoke badly about the company. The situation was becoming uncomfortable, but thanks to Manager Moon Ara, I was able to return safely.”

At that instant, Executive Director Gu shuddered slightly.

An invisible vibration passed across the surface of his suit.

And then—

“Burp!”

A belch.

Short.

Sharp.

And strangely filled with anger.

That sound momentarily erased the aroma of coffee, as though half-digested remains were rising from his innards.

Executive Director Gu pretended to be surprised and patted his abdomen.

“Oh! How rude of me. How embarrassing. How embarrassing.”

While I hesitated over how to react, Manager Moon Ara simply turned her gaze toward the window.

She had not even finished half of her coffee.

And her face remained completely expressionless.

“In any case… very good. Excellent. Even so, you remained firm. As expected, you are an exceptional employee. The same can be said of Manager Moon Ara. Excellent. Truly excellent.”

Manager Moon Ara smiled softly and inclined her head without replying.

Executive Director Gu continued speaking.

“In any case, yes. Since you encountered them, I should first explain who they are. I must do so, of course. Explanations are the foundation of trust. The foundation. And a foundation, you see, is the most fundamental of all foundations.”

He repeated the word foundation two or three more times.

And once again that internal sound, like a boiling lament, began.

“The Anomalous Disaster Management Department is an external organization. External and completely external. They deal with things that we cannot handle or matters that run too deep.”

“I see. Then it’s an organization that doesn’t have much to do with our company?”

“That’s right. Exactly. We are a company. A company, without a doubt. But they are different. Very different. They are a government institution of this small country called the Republic of Korea.”

Upon noticing my confused expression, Executive Director Gu continued in that elegant yet eerie voice.

“Dimensional instability, structural distortion, temporal fractures, perceptual collapse—I suppose you could say they specialize in preventing things like that. Yes, exactly.”

I nodded as much as possible, maintaining the attitude of a competent rookie employee listening attentively.

The perfect interview smile one uses when one knows absolutely nothing but has to pretend otherwise.

“They operate a little differently from us. A government agency that works in the shadows. An extremely organized institution. Very organized. Organization, order, regulation, control.”

Executive Director Gu paused.

For a few moments, something resembling a breath escaped from somewhere within his body.

“Sometimes they act before we do. Other times, they reseal what we have already resolved. And sometimes… mm. They take our employees away. Every now and then.”

Tap. Tap.

At that moment, Moon Ara lightly tapped her cup with one of her long, white fingers.

A small, delicate sound.

Yet it felt like a cold warning.

Executive Director Gu silently watched her for a few moments before continuing in a gentle voice.

“They have a ‘line’ they must not cross. A line, a line. A boundary that should not be crossed. The ones you encountered may have gone a little beyond that line.”

“When they discovered my affiliation, they reacted quite strongly.”

“It’s inevitable. Of course it is. Just look at the name of their organization and you’ll understand. They consider us anomalous disasters. Yes, that’s how they see us. They’re rather bothersome discriminators.”

If there was a despicable discriminator, there was also one in Extraction Team 1.

Someone whose head was a fist, whose surname was also Son, and who hated humans.

Besides, objectively speaking, our company really did seem to fit the definition of an anomalous disaster.

Suppressing with all my strength that sincere thought that was climbing up my throat thanks to my survival instincts, I displayed an exemplary smile completely corrupted by capitalism.

“They work as the government’s shadow and secretly resolve incidents related to anomalies. Resolve them, without a doubt. If we are a company whose goal is to generate profit, they are an organization whose purpose is to maintain society. Exactly that.”

I nodded slowly.

“I understand. They consider us an anomalous organization that should be controlled by them.”

“That’s right. Exactly. How clever. Very clever. Well done. You’ve done very well, Employee Jeong Haeil.”

This time, it was praise.

Quite terrifying praise.

“If it were up to me, I would swallow them in a single bite—but I can’t. I can’t do that. Because the CEO is a merciful person. Very merciful.”

I nodded while organizing everything I had just heard one piece at a time.

The Anomalous Disaster Management Department.

A South Korean government agency whose existence was not officially acknowledged; a sort of covert operations force.

It made sense.

If it were revealed that the world was truly full of strange, incomprehensible phenomena and monsters like these, the resulting chaos would be immense.

‘Incomprehensible phenomena…’

I pushed those scattered thoughts aside and decided, for the time being, to define them as the opposing counterpart to this company.

That was when I turned my head and met Manager Moon Ara’s eyes.

She slightly raised the corners of her lips in a faint smile.

Her inverted left eye gave me the strange sensation that she was looking directly into my thoughts.

I nodded cautiously once more.

I felt Executive Director Gu watching me silently.

The gaze that passed through that suit.

No.

Something strange was probing at my eyes.

“Is there anything else you’d like to know about the Anomalous Disaster Management Department? Ask with confidence. Complete confidence.”

That question contained more than simple curiosity.

I slowly shook my head.

“No. My questions have been completely answered. Thank you for such a detailed explanation, Executive Director.”

From what I had heard from the other team members, Extraction Team 1 probably also knew certain information about the Anomalous Disaster Management Department.

Naturally, Executive Director Gu, being an executive, knew much more.

But I didn’t need information that deep or detailed either.

Any remaining questions could be resolved by asking Assistant Manager Son, Manager Batori, or Director Mok.

It was then.

From somewhere inside Executive Director Gu’s abdomen came a sound like a metal valve slowly turning through layers of soft fat.

A grotesque, satisfied vibration, as though he were digesting something.

“For now, we plan to observe them. For now. If they continue meddling, then not the CEO—rather, Executive Director Ahn or Executive Director Ho will make a decision. And when that moment comes, it still won’t be too late to swallow them in a single bite. Not at all.” (T/N: This novel has a particular fondness for short names.)

It took me half a second to process the implications of that phrase—swallow them in a single bite.

I displayed the most diligent and polite smile an employee could offer.

“Haha… thank you for your words, Executive Director.”

Exactly three seconds of silence followed.

Then Executive Director Gu’s belly stirred once.

Something boiled and turned inside his suit.

And then came a sound impossible to classify as laughter, flatulence, or a heartbeat.

Grrrrrrrrr.

I wanted to congratulate myself for not reacting when I heard it.

Because I wasn’t supposed to be surprised here.

This was the executive director’s office.

At that moment, Manager Moon Ara set her cup down on the table.

The base of the empty cup softly tapped against the glass surface.

Click.

She looked at me.

Our eyes met.

The brightness of her right eye made the white iris and black sclera of her left eye stand out even more.

The corners of her lips were raised by barely a millimeter.

It was an expression that seemed to say.

‘That was fairly well done.’

Then, slowly and silently, she hooked a finger around the tip of the long white braid draped over her shoulder.

The hair wrapped around her fingers.

One turn.

Two turns.

A strangely slow gesture.

Excessively elegant.

And faintly fragrant.

Watching that, I carefully set my cup down on the table.

As though signaling that everything was over, the base of the cup vibrated lightly against the surface.

And I exhaled silently.

‘I want to go home.’

“Excellent! Then how about we move on to a topic that will be a little more useful for your work?”

However, judging by Executive Director Gu’s strange smile as he clapped his hands, he did not seem to have any intention of letting me leave just yet.