IHWTMN 08

Chapter 08

“Something specialized in healing? Does such a thing really exist?”

“Of course. Whether it’s a missing body part or an incurable disease, as long as there is even a 1% chance that the person is still alive, it can heal them completely.”

W-What…?

There really was a specimen with such a cheat-like ability?

Was that a monster?

Shouldn’t it be worshiped as a god?

“Is it really okay for such a being to exist in a place like this?”

“It is precisely because it is such a being that it is here. It has an inherently good personality, so whenever it sees an injured person, it approaches them like a fish returning to water. Whether that person is a saint or a sinner.”

“Ah.”

I see. So this wasn’t merely a place where they confined and monitored the specimens.

Indeed, if there were a being capable of curing any incurable disease and restoring missing body parts, I could imagine the enormous commotion that would arise in all sorts of ways.

‘When you think about it, maybe not every Anomaly is simply a dangerous monster?’

If a being like that existed, it also meant that unless you died instantly, there was a chance you could survive…

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Perhaps he could read the complicated emotions on my face, because Won-jin continued with his proposal.

“If you become an employee, Seo-young, you will be able to receive regular treatment from it. The injuries from your accident should also be completely healed soon. What do you think?”

“At this point, I’d probably sign even a lifetime contract.”

At my answer, Won-jin chuckled.

“Well, strictly speaking, it is a lifetime contract. It’s not easy to resign from this place, after all.”

A workplace with high risk and high return.

It would be impossible to find a better place for my career than this.

So I curled the corners of my mouth into a smile.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Won-jin held out his hand.

“Welcome. It is a great honor to be working with you. I sincerely hope that we will be seeing each other for a long time to come.”

After shaking Won-jin’s hand lightly, he suddenly said,

“Come to think of it, I heard you were involved in a traffic accident. How did the accident happen?”

Why was he suddenly asking about the accident?

It was somewhat strange, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t talk about, so I briefly explained what had happened to Won-jin.

“Considering his usual behavior, something that should have been impossible happened. How strange.”

“Right? Even when I think about it again, I can’t understand it. Why did Jinwook oppa do that?”

“Perhaps it was the work of an Anomaly.”

What?

At Won-jin’s completely unexpected answer, I stared at him with wide eyes.

“There are Anomalies that parasitize human bodies and take over their sense of self.”

Apparently, humans whose bodies were taken over by an Anomaly had a tendency to murder someone precious to them.

“They eliminate the original personality remaining in the body by killing someone important to them.”

“That can’t be… Are you saying that Jinwook oppa really had his body taken over by an Anomaly?”

“It is only a hypothesis. You said he was heavily intoxicated, so the probability that it was simply drunk driving is much higher.”

Won-jin ended the conversation there, but after hearing the hypothesis that the accident might have been caused by an Anomaly, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling it left behind.

What if it really… really had been an accident caused by an Anomaly, and Jinwook oppa had been a victim?

‘…Even if that were the case, what could I do about it now? He’s already dead.’

For some reason, a corner of my heart felt empty.

As I continued dwelling on depressing thoughts, Won-jin pointed toward the entrance of the lounge and spoke.

“Hoho. It seems Eunwoo, the head of the cleaning team, is arriving right on time. You can hear about your work from him, and once you’ve finished getting familiar with everything, you may leave for the day.”

“Huh? I’m not being assigned to work immediately?”

“If you listen to everything about the job, the entire day will be gone. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be busy working, so please take it easy today.”

Having finished his business, Won-jin said he was going to return to his delayed work and left, promising to see me again.

“Nice to meet you.”

Appearing as if replacing him, Eunwoo, the head of the cleaning team, was a young man who seemed only a few years older or younger than me.

His face was ordinary enough to be found anywhere, but his physique was unusually impressive for someone who worked in cleaning.

With a friendly smile, he accepted the refreshments brought by the Dwarfs and briefly introduced himself before explaining what my work would be like.

For the time being, he would guide me as my mentor, and once I became familiar with the overall duties, I would be free to move to whichever area I wanted, among other things.

“Normally, you would have been assigned to a team with the other people who entered the facility today. Unfortunately, Seo-young is the only new employee left.”

“Ah…”

“You may have a slightly harder time adjusting without any colleagues who joined at the same time, but I’d appreciate it if you could hang in there.”

If I was the only survivor in the cleaning team…

Were there survivors in the other teams?

“Head Eunwoo, um… Are there any other survivors?”

“I heard there are five survivors, including Seo-young. Haha. Considering what you went through on your first day, you’re pretty lucky.”

Was this what he called lucky?

No, more importantly, was it really okay to laugh while talking about people dying?

He didn’t seem like a bad person, but I strongly felt that something human was missing from him.

‘Is he simply the type who doesn’t care about other people? No, perhaps the research institute itself is closer to treating death as something trivial.’

Considering the researchers’ attitudes, the monsters casually wandering around, and the healing Anomaly I had just heard about, it felt as though death had become so commonplace here that everyone had grown numb to it.

Once again, I realized that I had truly entered an utterly unbelievable place.

Of course, if someone asked me whether I wanted to quit…

‘The conditions are simply too good to give up.’

…That might be the only answer I could give.

Perhaps he had decided to skip work since he had an employee to escort around.

He guided me to the residential building just as the sun, which had been high in the sky, was slowly beginning to lose its light.

“This is the residential building. This is where Seo-young will be assigned during the probationary period.”

“Oh…”

As befitting a place equipped with all kinds of living facilities within the research institute, the residential building was packed with various conveniences and additional amenities.

To be honest, it was far too luxurious to be called accommodation for a research institute.

It was closer to a hotel or a huge department store.

‘Well, considering this is a place where an Anomaly could suddenly appear at any moment, I suppose they have to offer this level of treatment for the numbers to work out.’

Following Eunwoo’s guidance, I listened to explanations about the work I would be doing and about the residential building.

Before I knew it, quite some time had passed.

Thinking about the absurd salary and benefits made me wonder why a major corporation like Hwain Group would conduct such dangerous research.

“Head Eunwoo. Can I ask you one silly question?”

“What kind of silly question?”

“Why does Hwain Group research Anomalies even though it’s willing to accept the fact that people will die?”

At my question, Eunwoo’s gaze, which had been looking straight ahead, shifted down toward me.

“What do you think an Anomaly is, Seo-young?”

“What? Uh… They look like monsters to me.”

“That’s right. Anomalies are monsters. They are things that surpass human understanding. But…”

The corners of Eunwoo’s mouth lifted.

“Think about it for a moment.”

He continued.

“If something can do what humans cannot, then it also means that it could become anything if we manage to tame it. Perhaps that is why.”

“Ah…”

Indeed, if Anomalies could be tamed…

Or if humans could figure out a way to extract their powers…

The world would take on an entirely different form from the one it had now.

For a company, investing in something for the profits it could bring in the future was only natural.

That made sense, but…

If that was really the reason, then why was a private company secretly doing something like this instead of the government?

Could the government be involved?

Was that why the deaths were being processed as missing persons?

His answer left me with more questions than answers, but it was unlikely that Eunwoo, a member of the cleaning staff, knew everything about the company.

As we continued talking about this and that, time passed quickly, and before I knew it, quitting time had arrived.

After being shown the room where I would be staying from now on, I said goodbye to Eunwoo and headed inside.

“Wow. This is insane.”

The studio apartment resembled a hotel room and came equipped with a simple kitchen, bathroom, bed, computer, and just about everything else I could possibly need.

After looking around the room for a while, I realized that if I stayed like this, the entire day would disappear.

“Hoo. What a long day.”

After roughly putting away the things I had brought with me, I collapsed onto the sofa and looked out through the uncovered window at the nighttime view of the research institute.

The enormous research institute surrounded by a black forest showed no sign of its lights going out even in the middle of the night.

From tomorrow onward, would I also become part of that sea of lights?

“Will I be able to do well…?”

Eunwoo had said that newcomers were not assigned work difficult enough to the point of losing their lives.

At first glance, it sounded like there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

But didn’t the phrase ‘difficult enough to the point of losing your life’ also mean that I could lose something other than my life?

“Well, if there’s an Anomaly capable of healing me, I probably won’t end up crippled.”

Still, I’d rather avoid pain if possible.

The best thing would be to never encounter an Anomaly at all.

Half worried and half excited, my heart began to pound.