Chapter 9: When Your Superior Doesn’t Speak Your Language

Supervisor Shik is an excellent employee.

That was the conclusion I reached after watching him carry out extraction work with the dimensional entities inside the containment chambers.

The problem was that the employee who wasn’t very excellent was me.

As we toured Zone B of the extraction room, I realized something.

Dimensional entities truly came in all kinds of forms.

From things that looked like simple monsters, to completely ordinary objects, and even some that looked exactly like humans.

“Hello?”

If that human hadn’t started crying tears of blood the moment it spoke to me, I would have thought it wasn’t a dimensional entity, but an innocent person unjustly imprisoned.

[It is lunchtime.]

After how many extractions had I already observed?

From the end of the hallway came a dry and monotonous mechanical voice.

Supervisor Shik adjusted his clinking chains once and then lightly pushed me with a touch.

Was that affection? A way of hurrying me along to leave? A warning?

I nodded purely on instinct.

“Yes. Let’s… go eat.”

The hallway was silent.

The sound of Supervisor Shik’s chains dragging across the hard concrete floor echoed at constant intervals.

Clank— clank—

I adjusted my footsteps to the rhythm of that sound.

I didn’t want to walk ahead of him or lag behind and create some strange misunderstanding.

Supervisor Shik said nothing.

Well, yes, he did speak.

The problem was that it wasn’t human language.

“Grrrrrrrr… hrrrng…”

I felt a tingling sensation at the back of my neck.

Supervisor Shik slowly turned his head toward me.

Between the rough mane, those burning golden eyes stared fixedly at me.

By reflex, I straightened my posture and smiled with a face completely devoid of soul.

“Yes. I learned a great deal again today.”

I said whatever came to mind based on assumptions.

Smiling wasn’t even my decision anymore; my muscles simply moved on their own.

Then Supervisor Shik bent his knees.

Thud.

That body over two and a half meters tall bent halfway at the waist and brought its enormous face closer to me.

His breath carried a smell like rotten meat mixed with metallic dust.

“Grrrrrrrr…”

The deep growl made my ribs vibrate.

I didn’t understand what his intention was, but after staring at me for a while…

Suddenly.

Supervisor Shik.

Lightly bumped his forehead against my head.

Thunk.

“……”

Did he really just bump his head against mine? Did I imagine it? Did I lose consciousness for a moment?

And then that enormous beast, like a giant wolf or hyena, stuck out its tongue toward my face.

And licked my forehead once.

“……Mm.”

I tried to inhale, and the air caught in my throat.

The tongue was warm and viscous, leaving behind a thin layer of saliva with an unpleasant smell.

I stood frozen, blinking.

Supervisor Shik looked down at me and emitted a wordless sound.

“Grrng.”

Then he nodded in satisfaction and began heavily walking again.

I remained motionless for about five seconds before following him with a body stiff as a machine.

A chill ran through my entire body as my brain finally processed what had just happened.

‘Did my supervisor just lick my forehead?’

The moment I thought that, cold sweat ran down my back.

Denying reality already felt like an impossible luxury.

‘It was probably… a sign of affection…’

My supervisor, trying to learn how to interact with me.

‘Good work, rookie.’

That must have been what it meant. Of course.

It’s not like he marked his food with saliva or anything.

I pressed my lips together and lowered my head.

I decided to believe that the sticky substance still on my forehead was simply a gesture of affection from my monster supervisor to commemorate the day.

We continued walking silently down the hallway toward the office.

Our shadows covered the wall side by side.

The height difference was more than seventy centimeters.

One shadow completely swallowed the other.

When the office door opened, the now familiar smell of terror spread through the air.

“Oh, you’re back already.”

Manager Batori smiled softly while her red eyes gleamed.

It was a truly beautiful smile.

Of course, if you ignored the mouth protruding from her torn right shoulder.

It seemed she still hadn’t had lunch, because she was slowly taking a tumbler out of her bag.

I had absolutely no desire to find out what the liquid sloshing inside was.

“You have a good complexion again today, Jeong Haeil.”

“Yes, Manager Batori. You also look very well.”

“It seems Employee Jeong is starting to adapt a little. Even Supervisor Shik’s face looks more relaxed.”

Manager Myeon’s seven faces smiled one after another.

One pair narrowed their eyes, another showed a gentle smile, and the others merely raised the corners of their lips slightly.

“Grrrng.”

Supervisor Shik nodded heavily.

In this space, he was the one speaking the most.

And yet, I couldn’t understand a single word.

“Shall we go have lunch?”

“This body will go get a little fresh air.”

“Grrrk, grrng, grrrrrng.”

“Haha, Employee Jeong, if it’s too salty, please let me know. We’ll adjust it.”

Today, just like always, I nodded with the brightest smile possible and spoke carefully.

“Ah, I don’t have much of an appetite today.”

I had no appetite.

My digestive system still hadn’t returned from the extraction room.

At my words, Manager Myeon’s seven faces showed different expressions.

Manager Batori crossed her arms and looked at me with a meaningful smile.

Assistant Manager Son slowly opened the fist he had for a head and asked.

“Could it be indigestion?”

“No, I’m fine. I think I ate ramen too late last night.”

I smiled as naturally as possible.

It was a lie.

Last night, I had fed on nightmares, rattling chains, and the sounds of flesh tearing apart.

Supervisor Shik stared at me for a moment and then rattled his chains with a movement before leaving first.

One by one, my superiors left the office.

And I was left alone.

Clack.

The moment the door closed, I felt the strength leave my knees.

“Ha……”

I returned to my desk, the farthest one in the empty office, and collapsed into the chair.

With the feeling that the office was finally safe, I leaned my body backward.

When my head touched the sunken backrest, the tension gripping the back of my neck slowly faded.

‘Just a little… just five minutes…’

My eyelids slowly closed and my entire body seemed to melt into the chair.

I didn’t know whether it had been fainting or simply sleep.

And then, something cold touched my cheek.

I opened my eyes on reflex.

“Uah!”

There was a fist in front of me.

No, rather…

Between the bent index finger and thumb of the fist serving as a head was holding an iced americano.

It was Assistant Manager Son.

More precisely, Assistant Manager Son’s head.

I desperately bit my tongue to suppress the scream.

“You shouldn’t skip lunch. At the very least, you need caffeine to stay awake.”

“…Thank you, Assistant Manager Son.”

I took the cup with both hands while fiddling with the straw.

The moment I drank a sip, a reality colder than ice slid down my throat.

‘The problem is that this is coffee from the company vending machine…’

I had no idea what kind of ingredients they used there, so I preferred not to consume anything inside the company.

But even so, I couldn’t forget to thank him.

After all, I knew perfectly well that to my superiors, I was literally just a snack.

In one corner of the office, Manager Myeon and Manager Batori, who had already returned, were conversing calmly.

While listening from the side and watching Supervisor Shik growling while crouched in the opposite corner, several words began dangerously catching my attention.

“The control in the restricted zone of the Heterogeneous Disaster Management Department has become stricter. We won’t be able to go on missions for a while. We’ll have to work harder to meet the quota.”

“You mean the new one with mismatched eyes? He seemed to have excellent blood.”

“The Withered King stirred things up too much. It ended up becoming troublesome for us.”

“Deputy Director Mok extended his vacation. I heard he’ll continue absorbing nutrients for a little longer.”

The coffee got stuck in my throat.

Even so, deep down I wished they were talking about office romances or where they would hold the next company dinner.

What the hell was the Heterogeneous Disaster Management Department? What was that about mismatched eyes? And who the hell was the Withered King?

And besides, nobody seemed to find it strange that Manager Myeon outranked Manager Batori.

“Haeil-ssi, you still haven’t met Deputy Director Mok, right?”

Suddenly, Assistant Manager Son looked away from the tablet and asked.

“You still haven’t met Deputy Director Mok?”

I set the cup on the table and nodded.

“Yes. I heard he’s on vacation.”

“Correct. He’ll return soon. He’s the last person left for you to meet from our Extraction Team 1.”

He nodded with his fist-shaped head.

I spoke carefully.

“What is he like?”

“Mmm, he has a very meticulous and strict personality. He always makes sure to perfectly finish any task assigned to him. He’s kind, considerate, takes great care of the team members, and always helps.”

“I see.”

He sounds like the ideal superior.

Well, at least just from hearing about him.

Although I no longer know exactly what “good superior” means in this company.

Come to think of it, Manager Myeon is also a good boss… if you ignore the fact that he has seven faces.

Manager Batori is also a good superior… if you ignore the fact that her skin sometimes splits open.

And Supervisor Shik would also be a good boss… if the issue of him not speaking an understandable language didn’t exist.

“Especially you, Haeil-ssi. Since you joined, you’ve shown a very good attitude. Deputy Director Mok values that kind of thing a lot.”

“Yes. Thank you. It’s all thanks to you and the other superiors, Assistant Manager Son.”

“Ah, how modest.”

If I weren’t modest, I feel like I wouldn’t leave here alive.

I muttered that inwardly.

And then, suddenly, I imagined something.

Deputy Director Mok.

If his surname is “Mok,” then maybe.

‘Doesn’t he have a neck?’

Instantly my brain began automatically completing the image.

Funeral clothes.

No head.

With the neck severed and open atop the shoulders.

The voice resonating from the abdomen.

Speaks perfectly, but has no mouth.

The moment I imagined that, the coffee tasted far too bitter.

“Cough.”

When I awkwardly coughed, Assistant Manager Son tilted his fist curiously.

I quickly shook my head.

“I-I’m fine. The coffee… is strong.”

“The stronger it is, the better. You have to keep your mind awake.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

Either way, when I meet Deputy Director Mok, I’ll have to stay completely sane or I’ll end up rolling beneath the blankets all night again.

‘What will Deputy Director Mok be like…?’

I took another sip of coffee while continuing to think.

After my experience here, I naturally began suspecting that the employees’ surnames might be related to Chinese characters or puns.

Manager Myeon surely uses the character for “face.”

After all, he has seven faces.

With Supervisor Shik, honestly, I have no idea.

If I had to guess, maybe it would be “eat.”

Or perhaps, like Assistant Manager Son, it’s simply an absurd pun.

Although from the very beginning, I had thought Manager Batori’s name sounded suspiciously out of place.

‘And considering how much she talks about blood, she’s probably some kind of vampire.’

Then…

“Could Mok be tree?”

The sentence slipped out of my mouth before I realized it, and I shuddered on my own.

But thinking about it carefully, it wouldn’t really be impossible either.

In this company, the chair I’m sitting on could be an employee and the bathroom sink could be a manager.

Deputy Director Mok could be a tree-based parasitic life form.

With eyes growing from the trunk.

Typing with tender branches.

Speaking through vibrations transmitted by roots.

And feeding through photosynthesis.

My mind had already begun slipping toward very strange directions.

Sluurp.

I silently drank the rest of the coffee.

And shortly afterward, accompanied by the familiar sound of chains, Supervisor Shik’s shadow appeared once more.

It was time to return to the afternoon work.

‘I guess resigning before Deputy Director Mok’s vacation ends won’t be possible.’

Thinking that uselessly, I rose from my seat.

Supervisor Shik’s heavy footsteps once again echoed throughout the office.

Those burning golden eyes glanced at me sideways.

He still didn’t speak, but somehow I felt that he had just said.

“Let’s go.”

I smiled.

The twisted corners of my mouth had been functioning automatically for a long time now.

“Yes, let’s go, Supervisor Shik.”

Over a reality more bitter than coffee, Supervisor Shik’s footsteps and mine overlapped.

The now familiar sound of chains and the vibration of the hallway.

Let’s go to the extraction room.

Let’s go to the containment chambers.

Let’s go toward the dimensional entities.