WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 116: [KnowledgeiN] Q. Can Humans Be Tamed?

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If it were possible to turn back time, how would you do it?

The most important common question in Jaelae Group's hiring interviews.

The final question, one where no answer would lose you points, while a good answer could earn you extra points.

Usually, it was no more than a chance to make up for small mistakes in the earlier questions.

"Oh my, you passed on that alone...? What did you say...?"

Just how good an answer had it been?

...And just how disastrous had everything else been?

"As I said, I'm strictly forbidden from telling you my answer...!"

"But this is a Labyrinth, isn't it? An invasive-type one. Is there really anything to worry about in this situation...? Couldn't you tell us?"

"I can't..."

I could roughly imagine what Hyeon Je-won's interview had been like.

An interview didn't just assess someone's ability to do the job. It also assessed communication and social skills, which made it a poor fit for people like Hyeon Je-won.

People born unable to lie, who couldn't properly meet another person's eyes, didn't pick up on social cues, lacked flexibility, and could only pour out words like mad when it came to a field that interested them...

They would need to put in more effort.

"Then don't tell us the exact answer. Um, could you at least tell us how you approached it?"

Yun Geon-min kept talking smoothly, apparently genuinely curious.

"Honestly, the company knows ordinary applicants like Seon Yu-han share answers among themselves to some extent, so as long as they don't cross the line, they don't come down too hard on them. But technically, Seon Yu-han is prohibited from sharing too, and told Hyeon Je-won anyway. Isn't it unfair if only Seon Yu-han has to reveal their answer?"

"That..."

The researcher's eyes wavered.

It seemed Yun Geon-min's logic had struck home.

"Um, I..."

With Hyeon Je-won's eyes darting around, Hyeon Je-won slowly opened their mouth. Everyone listened in silence.

"I told them how time could be turned back..."

"...What?"

"Hm?"

When we asked again blankly, unable to understand what Hyeon Je-won meant, Hyeon Je-won looked at us as though we were the incomprehensible ones, then avoided our eyes again and continued.

"They asked how I would do it, not what I would do."

If it were possible to turn back time, how would you do it?

"So I only talked about how it could become possible to turn back time."

"...Ah."

"If it were possible to turn back time."

Hyeon Je-won had interpreted that premise in an entirely different way.

Not, "If it were possible to turn back time and you knew how."

But, "If you didn't know how to turn back time, but it were realistically possible."

That completely changed the direction of the question.

From, "What would you do by turning back time?" to, "How would you turn back time?"

"Hah."

It was an interpretation worthy of someone who studied Labyrinth artifacts.

"...Wow."

"How do you even think of something like that...? That's completely different, different."

"It wasn't a question with a correct answer, and I wasn't the first applicant to focus on the word 'how,' but they said they liked my answer the best."

If Hyeon Je-won had passed despite not being the first applicant to shift their perspective, it meant not only that their change in perspective had been good, but that the answer itself had been excellent.

"They said I was special... Representative Mi-rae did."

Why was Yu Mi-rae coming up again?

"Representative Mi-rae liked my answer... A lot. Really. They came to find me. Right after the interview ended, the Interview Administrator told me to wait a moment, and then Representative Mi-rae came...! To the research institute! They were at headquarters, but they received my interview details and came right over...!"

Hyeon Je-won fidgeted with their fingers as they looked at me.

They looked like a child who had been praised by a teacher and was checking a friend's reaction.

"Ah."

So that was why Hyeon Je-won had asked whether Representative Yu Mi-rae had called for me earlier.

Hyeon Je-won thought someone who had filled in every blank in the Artifact Management Ledger correctly at a glance couldn't have given an ordinary answer to the final question, and that Yu Mi-rae would have called me in after hearing that answer.

"That never happened to me."

"Really?"

"Yes. What would I gain by lying about something like this?"

The Labyrinthification had happened while I was being asked the final question, so there hadn't been time for anything like that anyway.

Even if there had been, I couldn't have given an answer remarkable enough to summon a representative.

"...But does Representative Yu Mi-rae receive interview details immediately?"

Someone in that position?

'You thought that was unexpected, didn't you?'

Come to think of it, Representative Yu Hyun-jae had also known all about the Red Thread Liaison Department's interview schedule today.

'I take an interest in people. Especially people who will become ours.'

It was strange enough to be frightening.

"Ah, that's only for the final question."

The answer came from the Human Resources Team employee.

"Normally, they gather all the answers to the final question from that day and send them over through the Human Resources Team at once. But if there's something really unusual? I heard they send that one separately first."

Could Yu Mi-rae also believe it was possible to reverse time inside a Labyrinth?

I stared blankly at Hyeon Je-won for a moment, then at the ceiling, then finally into empty space.

The two representatives of this company were both out of their minds.

'Then isn't there a moment you'd want to return to, Seon Yu-han?'

Right.

Not that I had any right to say that.

"...Then how about we all go upstairs now? Seeing that they're marked as 'Shipment Complete,' we might be able to move to the next floor..."

"But then how did you know all of this and get it right?"

"Right. Honestly, I've been wondering that too. Right?"

"Mm-hm. How did you know all the answers, Seon Yu-han?"

Yun Geon-min and Kim Hee-sook joined in on Hyeon Je-won's question.

I considered how I should answer...

"..."

Then I simply stood there and looked at the three of them.

"..."

I let the silence stretch, moving only my eyes as I looked at each person in turn.

"..."

Without saying anything. Without making any expression.

"Why are you looking at people like that...?"

"Oh, Seon Yu-han, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I got carried away again, asking without any tact..."

Until they finally grew uncomfortable and gave up on their own.

Just because you wanted to know something didn't mean you had to know it.

People often forgot that obvious truth.

As though everything they were curious about had a correct answer, and they were entitled to know it.

"Hyeon Je-won."

There was still one person who hadn't quite given up.

Hyeon Je-won might not have been able to meet my eyes, but they weren't intimidated by me.

If Hyeon Je-won couldn't understand something, they would keep dwelling on it and bring it up again someday.

"People lie."

I lowered the hand I had unconsciously reached out to grab Hyeon Je-won's shoulder.

I could see their startled body gradually relax.

"I don't want to lie."

Naturally, that was a lie.

I simply couldn't think of an excuse that would completely satisfy this type of person.

"So I can't tell you. Can you understand that?"

"...Yes."

Their black hair bobbed dejectedly as they nodded.

Right. It was easier to coax Hyeon Je-won like this.

"I understand too...! You don't want to lie, but you have to, but you don't want to, so you end up not saying anything at all..."

The artifact researcher suddenly grew excited and began talking through their troubles.

Unless Hyeon Je-won was talking about artifacts, their speech lost all coherence.

"Because of the nature of my job, there are times when I absolutely have to lie for security reasons, and it's very, very difficult."

From what I'd seen last time, Hyeon Je-won really was bad at it.

"I understand how you feel, Hyeon Je-won. If you lie, you're deceiving the other person, but if you don't say anything, they feel hurt. Even though they don't tell me all their secrets either."

"Yes, exactly! That's what I..."

"You don't understand it, right? It's like a Labyrinth."

At that moment.

The black eyes that had been wandering between the tip of my nose and my brow met mine exactly.

"Do you like people too, Seon Yu-han?"

"Pardon?"

That was the first time in my life anyone had asked me something like that.

"Are you close to Representative Mi-rae?"

I couldn't follow their train of thought.

I also had no idea why Hyeon Je-won was suddenly looking at me with such shining eyes.

I looked at Kim Hee-sook and Yun Geon-min, wondering whether I was the only one who didn't understand, but they seemed much the same.

"You're different, but similar! You understand me well. And, and... Representative Mi-rae said that too. They said people were like Labyrinths. That's why they were interesting, and that's why they liked them."

"...I'm not close to them at all. Let's go upstairs now."

"Yes...!"

At least Hyeon Je-won listened well.

I decided to think of it positively.

* * *

27. Every artifact below has a rightful owner.

(1) Nectar - Kim Saseum

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* * *

Clunk.

We opened the emergency exit door above the eighth floor.

The instant it opened, a delicious smell brushed against my nose, enough to make me hungry on its own.

"Ah! What? It's basement level one."

I had still been worried about the Equipment Management Team office we hadn't visited yet, but fortunately, it seemed we could move to the next floor once we dealt with the artifacts.

"When are we ever going to see the first floor...?"

B1. Basement level one.

I was secretly surprised after checking the floor number.

It was the first basement floor I'd seen where the lights worked properly instead of being blacked out.

"Oh, don't be like that. If it smells like food, there should be something to eat. We can have a bite, get our strength back, and keep going."

"Ma'am, this is a Labyrinth... Who knows what it could be like in here..."

Basement level one was entirely Jaelae Building's employee cafeteria.

[Haruda Dining]

Unlike the food court on the fifth floor, where outside brands had moved in, I knew this was run separately by Uiwi Guild.

It even had vending machines.

"..."

The moment we turned out of the elevator area, I saw countless tables and chairs stretching far beyond the desk where meal tickets were purchased.

Unlike the aboveground floors, the basement level wasn't open in the middle, so it was correspondingly more spacious.

I quietly stared toward the serving counter at the very back.

"Ah, right. Seon Yu-han, you haven't been here before, have you?"

I could feel Yun Geon-min looking at my face as he spoke smugly.

He really was more admirable than the accountant who exchanged business cards inside a Labyrinth.

"Our company is famous for serving really good food. There's Korean, Western, Chinese, Japanese, all kinds. So outsiders come here all the time too. They have to pay more than employees do, though. Hm? Anyway, at lunch it's seriously packed... No, why do you keep poking me, ma'am..."

"Ugh, seriously."

Smack.

"Over there...!"

Kim Hee-sook smacked Yun Geon-min's arm and pointed toward the direction everyone except him had been watching.

"No, what, wha... Ugh, what is that now?"

Yun Geon-min finally looked closely toward the serving counter in the distance, then hurriedly stepped back.

"A camera?"

That was right. There was a black camera mounted on a tripod.

"But is that... a person?"

The camera was filming someone near the serving window.

"...They might have been a person."

That someone, only barely visible from behind, had their head buried in a large bowl at the serving counter.

Footnotes:

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