Chapter 6: Monologue of the Anemone

“Yes, I’ll be under your care.”

I moved my frozen knees and barely managed to straighten my posture as I spoke.

Manager Batory observed me with interest for a moment, then smiled broadly, tearing her lips beneath the corners of her eyes.

Although it still wasn’t clear whether that was a welcome or a greeting before eating.

“Hehe… Your skin tone is quite clear. The faces of those who remain here for a long time usually become dull very quickly. I hope you preserve that initial brightness for a long time.”

“Uh… thank you.”

I felt that I should answer something, so I opened my mouth, but in the end I couldn’t find the proper words.

Seeing me drag out the end of the sentence, Manager Batory covered her lips and smiled softly with her eyes.

Her movements were so elegant that they seemed unnatural.

Her neck, waist, shoulders, and even the tips of her fingers.

She looked like a brushstroke drawn in the air with movements lighter than the wind itself.

“…Well then, Assistant Manager Son. Have you already shown him the other relatives?”

“Director Mok will be returning from vacation soon, and he’ll probably see Supervisor Shik before leaving tonight.”

Her soft and cold voice slid into my ears.

It was like refined ice gently brushing against skin until it finally cut it.

After hearing Assistant Manager Son’s reply, she took a sip of that unknown drink resting on the railing of the isolation chamber and then slowly nodded.

Beneath her long eyelashes, those dark blood-colored eyes shone even more intensely.

“Good, later we should sit down, have a cup of tea, and talk.”

She slowly lifted the tablet she was holding to the height of her face.

Even the slightest movement of her wrist was elegant.

If I hadn’t just seen her tearing apart her own skin while her body grotesquely deformed, she probably would have been the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life.

“Then, I’m busy… you two continue.”

She turned around.

As though her words, footsteps, and movements were lighter than air.

Beyond the enormous isolation chamber, what she was observing was a grayish mass writhing like a heart.

That pulsating thing had a shape, but it was impossible to interpret.

While countless eyes, holes, emotions, or diseases impossible to identify writhed grotesquely, she gazed at it as though it were a work of art.

The moment my gaze tried to follow hers and recognize that thing—

“Well then, Mr. Haeil.”

Beside me, Assistant Manager Son slightly moved his fist-head while speaking.

“Ah, yes, Assistant Manager Son.”

“Let’s begin the first practice. Since the director also gave instructions, it’s better not to start with something too complicated. Let’s first try the tamest among the dimensional entities.”

I slowly nodded.

Assistant Manager Son’s hand, no, the fist on his head, no, his head… I don’t even know anymore.

In any case, that thing made a heavy Tap! as it snapped its fingers once.

“Follow me.”

We began walking down the extraction room corridor.

The hallway was even quieter than before, and the air was filled with machine oil, a faint smell of disinfectant, and something resembling flesh mixed with dust.

It wasn’t a smell that struck directly at the nose, but one that crawled along the spine like a snake.

As we walked down the hallway together, Assistant Manager Son took advantage of a brief moment of silence to make a comment.

“By the way, from how I saw things earlier, it seems Manager Batory became quite interested in you, Mr. Haeil.”

Instinctively, I showed an awkward smile.

“Really? It’s an honor.”

Even though inwardly I felt like burying that “honor” underground.

The image of that woman’s beautiful face appeared in my mind.

The radiant skin, the elegant hands, the calm voice.

And then the face opening, the eyes peering out from inside, and that gigantic mouth tearing open.

‘…Interested in me? Is he serious? Isn’t it more like an appetizer before eating?’

“The manager doesn’t usually speak to just anyone like that.”

Assistant Manager Son slightly tilted his head as he continued.

“When you get used to the way she talks and the atmosphere she creates, she’s actually a good superior. How should I put it she takes pretty good care of her team. Though sometimes she really does seem like a bloodsucking mosquito.”

‘It’s not that she seems like one, she was literally drinking something that looked like blood…….’

I tried hard to maintain my smile.

“That’s reassuring to hear. I’ll work even harder from now on.”

That’s what I said, but inside me the image of her face opening while that enormous mouth appeared and her red eyes seemed to devour me kept replaying.

I followed Assistant Manager Son while taking one step after another.

My stomach felt unsettled, but I didn’t let the faint smile disappear.

Being kind and polite was indispensable for survival.

“To start with, D-7 will be appropriate. D-7 is the dimensional entity’s code. Its name is Monologue of the Anemone.”

As soon as I heard it, the image of an anemone flower appeared in my mind, and it didn’t fit this grotesque place at all.

“Is that… alright?”

“Yes. It’s docile, calm, and responds clearly. As long as you follow the procedure correctly, it’s very efficient.”

Procedure.

That was a word I had already heard many times.

The fact that even in this incomprehensible place there were clearly established rules gave me back a little calm.

“By the way, this dimensional entity reacts when you recite exactly a specific phrase recorded in the documents. It’s a kind of ritual. Well, think of it like going to recite a poem.”

Phrases, poems, rituals.

Words even less appropriate for this place.

When my mind locked up from confusion, Assistant Manager Son lightly waved that hand-head.

“Don’t worry. Just follow the manual. The manual.”

We arrived in front of isolation chamber D-7.

There was a thick glass window in the door, but the interior was covered in dense fog, so it was difficult to see anything.

Even so, I felt as though something behind that door was waiting for me.

That sensation pricked at my skin.

I slowly inhaled.

Beyond that door awaited the first dimensional entity I would face.

“Ah, before going in, read this.”

Assistant Manager Son handed me a sheet that had been sitting on the desk in front of the isolation chamber.

I tilted my head slightly and lowered my gaze to the paper.

==========

[Dimensional Entity Management Profile: D-7]

Dimensional Entity Name: Monologue of the Anemone

Dimensional Entity Code: D-7

Type: Composite (biological/conceptual)

Danger Level: Class D (includes risk of cognitive contamination and unconscious mimicry)

[Details]

Ritual-Based Interaction

This entity only manifests reactions when it enters a state of cognitive connection through a “ritual” in which specific phrases are repeatedly recited.

Cognitive Parasitism

While in a state of cognitive connection, this entity transmits signals directly to the administrator’s cerebral cortex without using vocal organs.

During this process, it tends to synchronize the administrator’s thoughts with certain specific patterns, eventually culminating in complete parasitism.

[Extraction Mechanism]

Immediately after forming a state of cognitive connection through the designated ritual fragment, the energy generated at the instant the entity’s signal resonates with the administrator’s brainwaves is absorbed and extracted.

[Management and Extraction Manual]

During management, minimize visual and physical contact with the entity.

The isolation chamber must be constructed with reinforced glass at least 20 cm thick and maintain a one-way structure that allows observation of the interior only from the outside.

During extraction, any signal outside the “ritual” will be considered “environmental noise,” and any unconscious mimicry is prohibited.

The instant an attempt at cognitive contamination by the entity is detected, immediately suspend extraction and evacuate the isolation chamber.

Time spent inside the chamber must be strictly limited to 2 minutes.

[Special Recommendations]

During extraction conducted by novice administrators, additionally assign a second administrator capable of maintaining linguistic coherence as a preventive measure against cognitive contamination.

If signs of synchronization with the entity are observed (auditory hallucinations, mental confusion, etc.), immediately remove the individual from their duties and conduct a psychological evaluation.

==========

I swallowed hard in front of the door.

Assistant Manager Son added an explanation.

“Did you already read the entire manual? This one is classified as the safest dimensional entity on our team. Though its reaction rules are a bit delicate. You have to recite the established phrases exactly.”

“What are those phrases?”

“Here.”

The post-it he handed me had three simple lines written repeatedly.

You cannot see me.

I do not see you.

We do not resemble one another.

“You just have to repeat that three times. The tone matters too, so try repeating it after me.”

Assistant Manager Son tilted his head, or more precisely the hand acting as his head, and began reciting slowly in a monotone, mechanical voice.

Once again, I suppressed the doubt of how it was possible for him to produce sound without vocal organs, cleared my throat, and repeated his phrases.

However, the way Manager Batory spoke, like a whisper breathing beside my ears, still trembled faintly in my voice.

Shortly afterward, the isolation chamber door slowly opened.

“Go in. Don’t stay inside for more than two minutes. The moment I open the door, you come out immediately.”

I could only nod, tense from the fact that I was truly about to perform an extraction.

The instant I stood before the door, I felt cold sweat sliding down the back of my neck.

And I became certain that something was waiting for me inside.

As though it had been waiting for the arrival of anyone except me.

When I entered, my vision distorted for an instant.

The isolation chamber resembled the inside of a glass sphere where the light had been warped.

Every surface was hazy and undefined.

The ceiling, the walls, the floor, even my own shadow seemed to float.

And then, in front of me, there was a head.

A severed human head rested atop a metal stand.

But what sprouted from it was not pain or screams.

They were flowers.

From the eye sockets and from the mouth grew three enormous flowers resembling anemones.

They had the shape of anemones, but the petals were thinner and longer, and each one was speckled with blood-colored stains.

Although there was no wind inside the sealed chamber, the flowers swayed.

The moment the door closed behind me, all the petals turned toward me simultaneously.

I tightly gripped the tablet Assistant Manager Son had handed me and began reciting the phrases as calmly as possible.

“You cannot see me.”

“I do not see you.”

“We do not resemble one another.”

My voice nearly broke, but I managed to repeat the three lines three times.

When I finished the third repetition, a faint “click” echoed from one of the chamber walls.

“Fuuu….”

I sighed in relief and looked toward the door.

But the isolation door did not open.

Since the chamber glass only allowed the interior to be seen from outside, I couldn’t know what reaction Assistant Manager Son was having.

Then, suddenly, the air inside the chamber changed.

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

There was no sound.

No, there was no voice.

But the three anemones atop the head began twisting simultaneously.

The petals trembled violently, and that face without lips or vocal cords whispered something.

They were not words.

It was a vibration.

It was not thought.

It was sensation.

As though something were slowly piercing up from the deepest part of my subconscious.

There was a phrase.

You are seeing me.

It was a familiar phrase.

I definitely knew it too.

I am seeing you.

We resemble one another.

That was part of the ritual.

But my instincts sealed my mouth shut.

It was definitely trying to “implant” the repetition of those phrases into me.

“Unconscious mimicry is prohibited.”

That warning struck my mind like a hammer.

I became certain that I must not repeat it.

I consciously raised a mental wall against the whisper of that flower.

“No… you cannot…… see me.”

I gritted my teeth and mechanically forced out the phrases.

“I…… do not see you.”

I am seeing you.

“……We do not resemble one another.”

I could no longer be sure that the words coming from my mouth were truly mine.

It felt as though they came from something far deeper.

Not from my brain, but from my organs.

And then, the anemones stopped.

The clustered stamens inside the blossoms stopped writhing like tongues.

The blood-colored stains on the petals watched me like eyes before slowly closing.

I could feel the atmosphere inside the chamber gradually calming down again.

Inside the countless tubes connected to the walls, the reddish liquids began glowing intensely with a blue light.

The entire tubes trembled as though a heart had just contracted violently, and the liquid began flowing much faster, filling the inside of the glass tubes with a dazzling glow.

A mechanical hum echoed throughout the chamber.

And then an artificial voice came from the ceiling speakers.

[Energy extraction completed. Isolation status maintained.]

With the sound of air pressure releasing, the door burst open and I immediately ran out.

I felt the back of my neck burning, but I didn’t look behind me.

As soon as the door opened, Assistant Manager Son’s fist-head opened wide while speaking.

“Oh, for your first time, you did very well.”

I remained outside breathing heavily.

The tips of my fingers trembled and my stomach churned.

He lightly opened and closed the fist of his head while nodding.

Then he let out a chuckle and added.

“Sometimes that little buddy tends to get troublesome.”

“……Huh?”

I was still gasping for breath.

“In the summary manual I made, it only appears in simplified form, but in the original version there are notes and examples explaining what it means when it alters phrases or distorts the administrator’s linguistic patterns.”

So the A4 sheet he showed me wasn’t the original manual?

He made it himself?

“They’re attempts to induce unconscious mimicry. Let’s call it a little prank.”

Assistant Manager Son raised the thumb of his fist-head while speaking.

Within that absurd gesture of praise seemed to mix a strange satisfaction.

More precisely, he seemed amused that even in a situation like that I had followed the manual to the very end.

“Good job, Mr. Haeil.”

Assistant Manager Son slowly approached and patted me on the shoulder.

With his right hand.

Not with the hand-head.

“Lately rookies have quite a bit of common sense and usually manage on their own. So I figured there was no need to give you the complete, heavy manual. I knew I could trust you!”

The fist-head once again lightly opened and closed the fist while speaking.

Behind that absurd praise was unmistakable malice.

What would have happened if I failed?

‘…This son of a bitch.’

I was starting to wonder whether inside that fist-head there was also a skull and a brain.

I suppose that meant I was gradually beginning to adapt to this environment of madness.

The fear toward that irrationality was now beginning to mix with anger.

“You handled it very well. You seem like a veteran.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

“Congratulations. Truthfully, it was only a small test, but with this everyone will recognize you immediately.”

My head was burning and cold sweat ran down my back while beside me a monstrous superior praised my mental fortitude.

A boss whose head was literally a hand.

I closed my dry lips and lowered my head.

“Thank you for your words, Assistant Manager Son.”

And I muttered inwardly.

Quit.

I want to quit.

But I also don’t want to see that Human Resources baby monster again.

I tried hard to maintain a smile and nodded.

“It’s thanks to you, Assistant Manager Son. I’ll work even harder.”

Ah.

Miss Lee Jihyun… are you happy wherever you are?

Because honestly, there doesn’t seem to be much happiness here.