WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 31: A Room You Can't Leave Unless You XX
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Song A-rin spun in her chair, then looked at me.
“So, you’re asking why I came here?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze shifted to Jang Chae-yeon and Yoo Da-on.
Unlike Yoo Da-on, who was happily making coffee, Jang Chae-yeon was staring intently at Song A-rin with her arms crossed.
“...”
“...”
Their eyes met.
Then Jang Chae-yeon uncrossed her arms, returned to her desk, and resumed working with two-finger typing. That brought the situation to an end.
“...Why?”
Song A-rin let out a low sigh at my question and ruffled her bangs.
“It’s nothing. Let’s continue.”
She apparently didn’t want to talk about it.
When I nodded, she began speaking again.
“The theater incident has been resolved for now. The Management Bureau managed to recover all the survivors and sent them home after erasing their memories.”
“What about the victims?”
“...”
For a very brief moment, Song A-rin looked pained.
“I thought they’d return after the musical ended, but they didn’t.”
As if nothing had happened, she looked at me with a businesslike expression.
“The Management Bureau doesn’t particularly welcome a situation where so many people disappear at once. Still, we handled it somehow.”
“Somehow?”
“Somehow.”
I could feel her determination never to explain how.
“...That’s unfortunate.”
“Yeah.”
She answered with the same businesslike expression, her eyes shifting away.
“But that isn’t why you came here, Song A-rin.”
“That’s right. That’s not why I came.”
“Then why did you?”
“For now, it’s a temporary assignment.”
“A temporary assignment?”
My expression naturally turned suspicious.
Were they just thinking of us as a Containment Team now?
They were going to attach Song A-rin to us and quietly keep throwing work our way!
“I can see exactly what you’re thinking, and probably... probably not.”
“Is there a reason you had to say probably?”
“I guess it isn’t.”
Song A-rin shrugged.
“For now, the Human Resources Team isn’t getting assigned anywhere.”
“Then why are you here?”
“They told me to take a break.”
“Who did?”
“That man you saw before.”
“Why?”
“I must have worked that hard! Why are you interrogating me over every little thing?”
“No, you said there was a long story behind it.”
If this was a long story, then my joining the Human and Contained Entity Incident Suppression Team would be an epic saga.
“This really is the end of it!”
Song A-rin said indignantly, thumping her chest.
That was very believable.
“...Hey, that’s just what I was told, okay? I’m doing what I was ordered to do. Looking at me like that won’t get you anything.”
Song A-rin glared at me.
“Fine. So we’re really not getting assigned anywhere?”
“No.”
“We aren’t, right, Team Leader?”
When I shouted for the team leader, who had been playing a mobile game, he poked his head out and looked at me.
“What?”
“We aren’t getting sent anywhere, right?”
“Probably not.”
After saying that, the team leader went back to focusing on his game.
It didn’t seem like he’d been working much lately. He wasn’t really doing nothing in exchange for managing us, was he?
“...Anyway, we really aren’t going anywhere. We aren’t.”
“Ah, I got it! Even if you keep telling me we’re not going, it’s not like I can do anything about it!”
Song A-rin got angry again, and in the end, I could only shrug at her firm response before returning to my desk.
“Do you know how to do office work?”
“I know the common-sense stuff.”
Fortunately, this new hire was an experienced new hire, so it didn’t seem like we would need to teach her much.
“...How do I do this?”
“Here, this is called clicking.”
“...Keep teasing me and you might die.”
With the sound of Yoo Da-on, who had returned with coffee at some point, teaching Jang Chae-yeon as my background music, I turned on my laptop and went back to work as well.
* * *
Believe it or not, an entire week passed without anything happening.
There were no business trips, and no objects suddenly escaped.
Song A-rin adapted perfectly to office work as though nothing had happened, while Yoo Da-on and Jang Chae-yeon each handled their own duties well.
It was so enjoyable and happy.
So this was how grateful people could feel for an ordinary life. You really only learn the importance of something after losing it.
I would want for nothing if every day could be like this.
Sometimes I heard rumors asking what exactly the Human Resources Team did to have three beautiful women working there. There were also rumors that a separate Human Resources Team had secretly been created. But so far, none of them had been proven true.
After all, we had safely completed payroll processing today as well.
In conclusion, nothing had happened yet today either.
The team leader, who had been typing away at the computer, stood up and called me.
“Hey, go buy some coffee.”
“Team Leader, I’m not even your subordinate. I don’t think you should keep making me get you coffee.”
“I’ll give you my card. Buy whatever you want, take the others, and go rest for about an hour.”
“Coffee sounds great. You want a hot Americano with an extra shot, right? I’ll take my time.”
“Sure. And you are my subordinate, you know?”
The team leader handed me the card, and when I took it and stood up, the other three stood up to follow me.
“Are we going to get coffee?”
“...”
“The Human Resources Team has it nice. You can just go out for coffee whenever you want.”
One thing I had noticed was that the three of them didn’t get along badly, but they didn’t seem particularly close either.
Was female friendship always this distant?
But when I watched my younger sister talking to her friends on the phone, it didn’t seem that way.
I opened the office door and stepped outside.
As I walked toward the coffee shop with the three of them, an announcement rang out.
<Attention, please. The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You XX is currently beyond management control, so everyone is advised to be careful. We recommend that you avoid traveling with anyone you get along with too well or too poorly...>
“Here we go again.”
“What is that?”
Yoo Da-on asked in confusion at my mutter.
“It’s this, uh... Room You Can’t Leave Unless You XX. Along with our monkey, it’s one of the Gangseo Branch’s famous attractions...”
“What does XX mean?”
This time, Jang Chae-yeon cut me off, and Song A-rin snorted before answering.
“You’re both older than me, and you don’t know that? Sex, you idiots. Sex!”
“Se...!”
Yoo Da-on covered her mouth with both hands, and Jang Chae-yeon expressionlessly waved a hand, making a crumpled piece of paper appear from nowhere and cover Song A-rin’s mouth.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“...Is that right?”
“Uh...”
How was I supposed to answer that?
As I searched for an answer to Yoo Da-on’s question, my eyes darted around. Jang Chae-yeon suddenly patted my shoulder with an understanding look.
“You don’t have to say it. I understand.”
“Yes... Well. Thank you.”
Explaining further would only be exhausting and bothersome.
I decided to accept Jang Chae-yeon’s consideration and headed toward the coffee shop.
It didn’t take long to buy coffee.
We decided to buy the team leader’s coffee last on the way back, and the four of us walked through the Management Bureau’s halls together.
Warm sunlight brushed against my face, and the coffee in my hand gave off a rich aroma that put both my body and mind at ease.
“This is nice.”
“Right?”
Yoo Da-on answered my mutter with a smile.
“I don’t even know how long it’s been since I got to rest.”
“That must be even more true for you, Da-on.”
After all, she had been with me since the moment I became involved in these incidents.
“I think this is the most peaceful time of my life.”
“Your whole life?”
At my words, Yoo Da-on merely smiled quietly.
“Yes. The most peaceful time of my life.”
She answered in a calm voice and took a sip of coffee.
There was something strangely unsettling in her voice.
But it only lasted for a moment before I turned to look at Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin walking behind us.
“...”
“...”
The atmosphere was terrible.
They weren’t even looking at each other, let alone speaking.
“...Excuse me.”
“Yeah.”
Jang Chae-yeon looked up and met my eyes.
“Should we switch places?”
“Sure.”
Jang Chae-yeon came to my side, while I moved to the back and stood next to Song A-rin.
“...Why?”
“Try to get along better. You’re the newest one here, right? You should make friends with people.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“If that’s your best, you should reflect on yourself.”
Song A-rin let out a deep sigh at my words.
“There’s a story behind it.”
“A story you can’t tell?”
“Yeah.”
There were certainly plenty of things that couldn’t be discussed.
“Should we head back to the coffee shop soon?”
We still needed to buy the team leader’s coffee.
“Yes, sounds good!”
Yoo Da-on nodded and took the lead, opening the glass door.
“...Huh?”
The four of us were standing inside a room lit by dangling fluorescent lights.
With an ominous feeling, I raised my head and looked at the door.
An old sign read:
[The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You XX]
The other three followed my gaze to the sign and froze in place.
“Is this really that room...?”
“...Hey! Did you bring us here on purpose?”
Yoo Da-on and Song A-rin looked at me with shocked expressions.
“...I’m ready.”
What was this woman talking about now?
Looking at Jang Chae-yeon, who was staring at me with a solemn expression, I could only say one thing to the three of them.
“Open your manuals. All of you. Now.”
At my words, the three of them took out their manuals and began reading.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[SX - The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You XX]
1. This room appears randomly at the Gangseo Branch. Until the room returns to its proper place, all employees must avoid traveling alone or with people they do not get along with.
2. This room is absolutely not an obscene facility. Management Bureau employees seeking a tryst should find another room.
3. This room will never open until each person’s deepest achievable desire has been fulfilled.
4. The sign expresses each person’s deepest desire.
5. Caution: Recently, Management Bureau employees have occasionally been found attempting premeditated murder by exploiting this room’s characteristics. Once discovered, those personnel will be subjected to “resignation,” and the Management Bureau bears no responsibility for this.
The four of us exchanged glances.
Soon, the words on the sign vanished, and a sentence began to appear.
<First: Flick Yoo Da-on’s forehead until she cries.>
“...”
“...”
“...”
Yoo Da-on, Song A-rin, and I all looked at one person.
Jang Chae-yeon cleared her throat, her face red.
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