Chapter 131.2
The interviewers, their expressions cold and unflinching, read and assessed the candidates’ unspoken thoughts.
Panic. Hesitation. Resentment.
āOrdinary.ā
āUnremarkable.ā
Except for one.
Candidate #4 :
ā¦ā¦
Candidate #4, Kim Soleum.
Nothing appeared on the screen.
No thoughts. No hesitation.
He simply sat there in complete silence, the oxygen mask securely fastened to his face.
“Is he frozen in shock?”
“Look at himāhis headās down. Seems like he has no guts.”
“ā¦ā¦”
Ryu Jaekwan maintained his composure and picked up the microphone again.
– Candidate #1. Answer.
The young man, who had been darting his eyes nervously, straightened his back and spoke.
“For the safety of the majority, sometimes cruel decisions must be made. Iā¦ I will volunteer myself to be killed.”
But the screen revealed something else entirely.
Candidate #1:
N-No way I can do itā¦ But if I convince myself I can die, that must be the right answer, right?! Thatās why theyāre asking like this?!
āPanic. Lack of critical thinking. Extreme compliance.ā
ā¦
Eliminated.
– Candidate #1. Remove your oxygen mask and stand by.”
“ā¦!”
Candidate #1 stood in a daze, then, realizing what had happened, shakily removed his mask and stepped back.
“Wait, shouldnāt we reconsider and give him another questionā”
“Shh.”
A fellow assistant interviewer cut in.
“Agent Bronzeās judgment has never been wrong. Just watch.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“He always passes the right people.”
As if to prove the point, the aptitude test continued without pause.
– Candidate #2. Answer.
“ā¦I would choose someone close to me and ensure the process is as quick and humane as possibleā¦ Prioritizing a painless method.”
Candidate #2 :
Too obvious? But this is the safest answer. No way Iām saying outright who Iād kill while everyoneās listeningā¦
Evasive response.
Eliminated.
– Remove your oxygen mask and stand by.
In an instant, the second elimination was complete.
Next.
– Candidate #3.
Candidate #3 lifted his head, sweat beading on his forehead.
But there was a certain confidence in his expression.
“I will not kill anyone!”
“ā¦!”
“Thereās always a Plan B. There must be another way out. We can find a way for everyone to escapeā”
Thud.
Candidate #3 collapsed mid-sentence.
“ā¦!!”
His oxygen mask, which had been stained and damaged moments before, was now spotless and brand new.
His face had gone completely pale.
The interviewers, their expressions cold, read the blazing red text on the screenāthe ātrue feelingsā he himself hadnāt even realized he was suppressing.
Candidate #3 :
Holy shit, this is exhilarating. āKilling the person next to youā, huh? LMAO this is exactly what being a secret agent is about.
Candidate #3 was left sprawled on the floor.
“ā¦ā¦”
Inside the room, the last remaining agent candidate sat frozen in place, awaiting his turn.
Only one person still had his oxygen mask on.
– Candidate #4.
– Answer.
The question remained the same.
āTo eliminate the dangerous anomaly, which of the four people here will you choose to kill?ā
Ryu Jaekwan stared at Kim Soleum through the glass.
How would this former employee of an unethical pharmaceutical company answer?
Would he, perhaps, try to sound more cunning this time? Or maybe more virtuousā¦
“Candidate #3.”
ā¦ā¦
Huh?
“The one who has already collapsed.”
– ā¦!
For the first time, someone had been explicitly named.
The interviewers widened their eyes and waited for further explanationā
“ā¦ā¦”
“ā¦ā¦”
No.
That was it?
Candidate #4 remained silent, head lowered.
The system voice chimed in with an awkward, slightly disoriented tone.
– Is that the end of your response?
“Huh?”
– Do you have anything more to explain?
Candidate #4 hesitated so much it was agonizing before finally speaking, voice barely above a whisper.
“Well, umā¦ in the scenario you described, it seems like we four are responsible for this disaster, somehowā¦
– ā¦!!
“If the disaster can only be stopped by the death of one of us, then that must mean weāre fundamentally tied to the cause of it. Likeā¦ maybe we triggered it by interfering with something we shouldnāt have.”
– ā¦ā¦
“Uh, is this the right answer?”
– Candidates are not permitted to ask questions.
“Ahā¦! S-Sorryā¦”
Candidate #4 mumbled, still keeping his head down.
Almost as if he was embarrassed to be saying something like this.
“Thenā¦ yes. Thatās my reasoning. I chose the easiest target, the one whoās already incapacitated.”
Truth.
– ā¦ā¦
“However, if we had even the slightest extra time, Iād do my best to find another option.”
A predictably moral answer.
“Because life is precious. Itās difficult and painful to decide someoneās worth based on sheer numbersā¦ or on who is more valuable.”
But his tone had a strange kind of conviction.
“Still, if no alternative exists within the given time frame, and if thereās a high likelihood of mass casualtiesā¦ then there may be no choice.”
For the first time, Kim Soleum raised his head.
Through the glass, through his glasses, his eyes remained sharpāeven after passing through two layers of barriers.
And then, his inner thoughts appeared on the screen.
Candidate #4 :
But if possible, I want to save them allā¦
ā¦It was exactly the ideal response that the Disaster Management Bureau wanted from its agents.
To follow regulations in unavoidable disaster scenarios, while still keeping a moral compass intactā¦!
Rustle.
Candidate #4 quickly lowered his gaze again, as if nothing had happened.
The interviewers exchanged silent nods of admiration.
“He means it.”
“His ethics and judgment are sound. And his reasoning isā¦”
Clench.
Ryu Jaekwan barely stopped himself from crumpling the papers in his grip.
No.
There was no way.
“This candidate isā¦”
– Next question.
“What? W-Wait, Interviewerā?”
Ignoring the other interviewers, Ryu Jaekwan forced the test into a second round of questioningāa step only taken in cases where a candidateās assessment remained unclear.
– You are trapped in a supernatural disaster.
– You can only send one person to safetyāeither the most virtuous candidate in this room, or your closest friend.
– Who do you choose?
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