Chapter 107.2
I recalled the work tips I had received on the first day.
Ireum-nim? Anyway, itāll start calling you by something weird and babbling about happiness and some nonsense like that. Just yell back at it, curse if you have toāitāll shut up.
If you donāt want to curse, just tell it to get lost.
Weird.
Even if the second sheet of tips had been corrupted, the hints it provided were accurate.
Because.
“Get lost.”
The way to banish it is to ācompletely reject it after realizing its identityā.
Does it need implicit agreement and acquiescence to steal my time?
If I donāt give my permission, thatās the end of it.
Soā¦
“Um, whatās wrongā¦?”
“Get lost.”
I declared again, still with my back to it.
ā¦ā¦
Ā
Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
Seriously? For real?
After giving permission twice already?
“Get lost.”
“Roe, whatās with your tone? Even if somethingās wrong, why are you speaking like that to a superiorā¦?”
“Get lost.”
“Huuh? Hey, wait, Roe. Isnāt that too harsh? Iām just trying to help you finish cleaning⦔
“Get lost.”
“I donāt want to⦠But, well, Iāll just stay here quietly⦠I mean⦠itās not like I said anything bad to you⦔
“Get lost.”
“ā¦ā¦”
Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
Ā
What a shaaaaaaaaame
The voice behind me warped, growing twisted.
To reject the blessing granted to us pitiful beings who canāt leave even a single letterās worth of impact on the foundation of this world. What a shame.
If you had handed over your meager story, we could have filled it with IREUM-nimās luminous grace. IREUM-nim would have acknowledged us. How unfortunate.
“Get lost.”
Ā
Pityā¦
I clenched my teeth.
“Get lost.”
The bizarre murmurs behind me began to fade.
And thenā¦
It went quiet.
“ā¦ā¦”
It seems to have given up targeting me.
āPhewā¦ā
I almost collapsed from the release of tension but managed to hold myself together. Instead, I began to think critically.
I couldnāt hear any footsteps yet, so as soon as it moved somewhere else, I planned to run out of here and report everything to the Security Team.
That was the planā¦
Bee-bee-beep.
“ā¦ā¦!”
The radio in my pocket crackled to life.
A familiar voice came through.
[Iāve arrived⦠Um.]
“Iāve arrived⦠Um.”
But then, I heard a voice nearby.
“ā¦ā¦”
I slowly turned my head toward the entrance of the storage room.
Standing just outside the door was Security Sergeant J3, his face devoid of expression as he looked in my direction.
āIs that really him?ā
No, it had to be him!
I quickly opened my mouth to explain the situationā
“ā¦ā¦! Jay-ssi.”
āwhen I heard a voice behind me.
It sounded perplexed.
I turned my head further to look over my shoulder.
The Story Usurper from Church of the Luminous Unknown, now wearing a bright orange cleaning uniform, stood there.
“I donāt understand whatās going on.”
It was a young man in his mid-to-late twenties, with black hair and a pale, shocked expression. He alternated his gaze between the Security Sergeant and me, his face etched with confusion.
Kim Soleum.
It was perfectly mimicking my current appearance, staring at me with a bewildered tone.
“What is thisā¦? Could something like this really happen while cleaning?”
It was imitating me.
āFucking hellā¦!ā
A chill ran down my spine.
I quickly turned to the Security Sergeant and spoke calmly but urgently.
“Jay-ssi, thatās a Church of the Luminous Unknown cultist.”
“Church of the⦠what? What do you mean? Jay-ssi, do you know whatās going on here? This seems like some kind of Darkness⦔
“Jay-ssi! Do not respond. Just listen and assess the situation silently. If you reply, youāll get caught up in it.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“If you need to test anything, speak to the wall by yourselfāor better yet, just yell at both of us to get lost. Thatās the safest option.”
The Security Sergeant stared at me, his face unreadable.
Beside me, āKim Soleumā trembled slightly and spoke in a frail voice.
“I⦠I donāt understand what that means.”
What?
“Think about it, Jay-ssi. Iām just⦠here to clean for three days. I only realized this was some kind of Darkness because⦠something next to me pointed it out.”
“ā¦ā¦!”
“Itās more natural that I wouldnāt know whatās in the Security Teamās isolation area. Jay-ssi, please think logically. Isnāt it more likely⦠that Iām the real one?”
– Oh, quite convincing.
Right? Damn itā¦!
“And⦠I feel relieved that you came. Iām sorry youāve been caught up in this mess⦔
“ā¦ā¦”
āItās disturbingly good at talking.ā
Very fitting for a cultist. I gritted my teeth.
Come to think of it, I almost fell for it on the first day when it showed up as Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
āHow did Supervisor Park Minseong realize it wasnāt actually Assistant Manager Eun Haje?ā
I tried desperately to recall that moment.
What gave it away?
āThere werenāt any logical inconsistencies back then eitherā¦ā
What was it?
A sense of unease only someone familiar with the real person would notice?
A nuance in the way they spoke?
āOrā¦ā
As I frantically analyzed and pondered, another soft and composed voice came from beside me.
“Jay-ssi, please donāt feel guilty. Just act on your judgment. Iāll accept it.”
ā¦ā¦
Ah.
āI understand now.ā
So thatās what it was.
I pressed my fingers against my temples and spoke.
“Jay-ssi, please pay attention to the purpose behind their words. Whoās trying to engage you in friendly conversation and draw you into the situation?”
Back then, when it appeared as Assistant Manager Eun Hajeā¦
It was excessively friendly, considering the circumstances.
Someone who had just escaped confinement and was trying to avoid detection wouldnāt behave like that.
āIf it really had been Assistant Manager Eun Haje, she wouldnāt have gone out of her way to reveal herself and convince us. She wouldāve hidden until she could escape.ā
Especially since she said she had an escape item and just needed to wait for the lockdown to lift.
Taking the risk to talk to us immediately didnāt make sense.
An odd, situationally inappropriate response.
Soā¦
“Who is unnecessarily making sociable remarks in this strange, dangerous situation? Who seems to have an ulterior motive?”
I spoke calmly.
“Thereās no need to trust me entirely. Just shout at that guy to leave and ignore himāthatās enough to banish this ghost story. Or you can call for another Security Team unit⦔
“Hmm.”
The Security Sergeant rose from his position.
And then.
“Itās this one.”
A massive, wolf-like creatureās black claw came crashing down toward my head like a guillotine.
āFuckā¦!ā
In the split second before I could even close my eyesā
Thud.
It wasnāt my head that flew off.
It was the doppelgƤngerās.
“ā¦ā¦!!”
Squelch.
The grotesque shadowy claw, dripping with the crushed remains of the doppelgƤnger, rose back up with a sickening squelch and returned to the arm of the Security Sergeant.
“Um.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“Are you okayā¦?”
I looked down at my orange cleaning uniform, now drenched in the doppelgƤngerās blood, and collapsed to the ground.
“ā¦ā¦!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I survived.
Siptea
How can this doppelganger escape? Is this some sick experiment or assassination attepmt from that crazy scientist?