WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 49: Hospital
──────
After work, I headed out for drinks with Yoo Da-on.
“Ugh...”
Yoo Da-on was shaking her head as usual. If this wasn’t déjà vu, then what was?
Still, it was what I wanted.
Watching Yoo Da-on shake her head, I asked in a quiet voice.
“Da-on.”
“Yes?”
“Have things been difficult for you lately?”
“Hmm...”
I fell into thought as Yoo Da-on considered the question.
This really felt like a team leader encouraging a subordinate.
“I think I’ve been happy lately, at least.”
Yoo Da-on smiled faintly, swirled her drink, and met my eyes.
“I told you before. I’ve never been this happy in my life.”
“Why are you happy?”
“Uh...”
Her face reddened from the alcohol as she thought for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.
“Well, it wasn’t like I was that happy before...”
“The Hospital, right?”
“...”
For an instant, it seemed as though Yoo Da-on’s time had stopped.
Soon, her face turned pale. Her hands trembled as she looked at me.
“How...?”
“That isn’t important.”
At my words, Yoo Da-on lowered her gaze and spoke almost in a whisper.
“Are you worried that I’ll cause trouble for you, Jae-heon?”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What?”
“I’m worried about you, Da-on.”
Yoo Da-on fell silent, then looked at me.
“Me?”
“Who else would I be worried about?”
I met Yoo Da-on’s eyes.
“I said this before, but the Human Resources Team doesn’t abandon its colleagues. Would you abandon me if I were in danger?”
“Of course not!”
Yoo Da-on sprang to her feet and shouted. Everyone nearby went quiet and looked at her.
Did she really need to react that strongly?
I quickly gestured for her to sit down before continuing.
“It’s the same for me. I have no intention of abandoning you either, Da-on.”
“...”
Yoo Da-on closed her mouth.
“Whether it’s Chae-yeon or Song A-rin, we’re going to live by helping each other as much as we can.”
“...”
After a long silence, she spoke again.
“How much do you know about the Hospital, Jae-heon?”
“Honestly, everything I just said is all I know.”
They created illnesses and cured them. If they only cured illnesses, they would just be doctors, but anyone talking about creating them was more than crazy enough.
What was the Management Bureau doing, letting people like this run free?
“It’s... um, a dangerous place. Very dangerous.”
“...”
“Creating and curing illnesses isn’t all they do. Everywhere the Hospital exists becomes a place humans shouldn’t enter.”
“You mean it becomes an otherworld?”
“It’s different from an otherworld. It exists in reality. Even the Management Bureau can’t interfere carelessly, so they respond by creating escape routes through the manual.”
“And if you can’t escape...?”
“You become one of their test subjects.”
“...”
“I was what they called a test subject at Gangseo University Hospital.”
Yoo Da-on smiled.
“It was convenient, you know. I didn’t die, so they didn’t need to use all sorts of drugs or antidotes on me.”
She spoke freely, as though we were having an ordinary conversation.
“If I died, they could just throw me somewhere and leave me there until I came back. They didn’t even need to feed me. Even if I starved to death, I would come back when I died.”
“...”
I listened to her in silence.
“And somehow, I escaped... Then the Management Bureau found me.”
“I heard I would be safe if I joined them... But an incident happened on my first day, and that’s how I met you, Jae-heon.”
So safety was what the Management Bureau had offered Yoo Da-on. They had offered me money.
She scratched her cheek with a smile, then looked at me.
“I have a question.”
“Am I helping you right now, Jae-heon?”
I thought I finally understood.
Why Yoo Da-on always threw her life away like it was nothing. Why she did not care about pain at all.
It was because that was the only thing she knew how to do, and the only way she knew how to be acknowledged.
I looked above her head.
[Name: Yoo Da-on]
[Age: 23]
[Trait: Immortality]
[Talent: Regeneration (Pending)]
[Background: The woman who rejected death has experienced far too much in a short time. However, after meeting someone different from the countless people who used her because she could not die, she wishes to stake her life once more.]
[Weakness: -]
My eyes were not very useful at times like this.
Was it really right to tell her she was useful? She was not an object.
“...I’m always in your debt.”
I did not know whether she was satisfied, but she smiled softly.
“...Shall we go now?”
“I’ll walk you home.”
“Really? I always have something to thank you for, Jae-heon.”
Yoo Da-on smiled and nodded.
We left the bar and walked down the street without saying anything.
“I think this is far enough.”
At an empty intersection, she smiled at me.
“Will you be all right if I don’t go any farther?”
“I told you, it’s fine. Honestly, there isn’t anyone on the Human Resources Team who would be in danger walking alone.”
She smiled, humming as she started walking.
With a perfectly steady stride, without even a hint of staggering, she turned back and waved to me before soon disappearing from sight.
The next day, Yoo Da-on did not come to work.
* * *
“Skipping work without notice is crossing a line, no matter what.”
Song A-rin clicked her tongue as she looked at Yoo Da-on’s empty seat.
“It can happen. I’ll mark it as annual leave, so call her. Tell her to let us know if she’s sick.”
Our team leader waved a hand as though it was no big deal, typed at the computer, then turned on the radio. The news began to play.
<Our next story. A gas explosion at an apartment complex in Gangseo has completely destroyed a residential area. There were no casualties, but a missing 23-year-old Ms. Yoo...>
An address came over the radio. An apartment near the Management Bureau.
All four of us turned toward the radio at once.
Before I knew it, I was on my feet.
“I’m going out for a moment.”
Before the other three could even answer, I got up and ran out.
The homes assigned by the Management Bureau were all near the Bureau, and Yoo Da-on’s home was no exception.
I ran until I could barely breathe.
Yoo Da-on’s apartment came into view, and I ran toward it.
The fire seemed to have been put out. There was no smoke, and there were no firefighters or police cars nearby.
There were only a few people in suits standing around.
As I approached, someone walked over.
A young man in a sharply tailored suit and sunglasses.
“No entry.”
“Move.”
“Didn’t you hear me? This area is off-limits.”
“I’m from the Human Resources Team.”
I took out the manual and showed it to him. After looking at it, the man scoffed.
“What is an office worker from the Human Resources Team going to do here?”
“Right now, a member of the Human Resources Team is...”
“We’ll handle it, so stay out of it!”
The man shoved me as he barked at me.
“This isn’t the time for...”
“You’re here.”
A familiar voice came from behind me.
The crew-cut man in sunglasses, who had become familiar by now, was looking at me.
“Hello, sir!”
The man who had shoved me hurriedly bowed. The crew-cut man gave a vague wave, then looked at me.
“One of our team members is...”
“I know.”
“I have to go.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
At his words, the other man stared at him in shock.
“He’s an office worker!”
“He is. But I guarantee he’s far more capable than you.”
The man bit his lip, his pride apparently wounded, but said nothing.
“I’ll follow after you. The Management Bureau will send personnel as well, but it will take time to prepare. We do not want to lose an ability user with Immortality and Regeneration either.”
“...”
“Just buy time. You have the marble, right?”
“I do.”
“Then go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a van slid to a stop.
The window opened, and a familiar person looked at me.
“Get in!”
“Team leader?”
It was our team leader.
Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon were huddled together behind him.
The man in sunglasses gave our team leader a small bow, and our team leader bowed back in greeting.
“You received the location, correct?”
“I did.”
“Please drive us along the safest route.”
“Of course.”
After they finished talking, the man looked at me.
The door slid open with a rattle, and before I had time to think, I climbed into the back of the van.
“I’ll say it again. Just buy time.”
“It would be fine if I just went in and saved her first, right?”
The man smiled as though amused.
“Coming from you, that might actually work. Go on, then.”
As he waved, our team leader stepped on the accelerator and the van took off.
Inside the roaring vehicle, Song A-rin pulled out a gun with a familiar expression.
“Here.”
She handed me the gun.
“You don’t need a big gun anyway, right?”
After handing me the handgun I always used, she looked at Jang Chae-yeon. Jang Chae-yeon shook her head.
“I don’t need one.”
“I wasn’t going to give you one.”
I looked toward our team leader, who was driving.
Sensing my gaze, he looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“What?”
“...How did you know?”
It was a question containing many doubts, and our team leader sighed before answering.
“Hey, I’ve worked at the Management Bureau for over twenty years. Whether I like it or not, experience piles up.”
The van weaved through the alleys with incredible movements.
“...”
Would she be all right?
As I fell into thought, someone tapped my shoulder.
“...It’ll be okay.”
It was Jang Chae-yeon.
“I’ll help you.”
“...Thank you.”
“Seriously! White-Hair is always hitting on you whenever she gets the chance!”
Song A-rin cut in irritably and smacked my back with her palm.
“Don’t chicken out! White-Hair and I have done this more than once or twice.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
“That wasn’t encouragement. You looked way too tense, so I gave you some advice.”
After we passed through the zigzagging roads, a huge hospital soon appeared before us.
When had a place like this been here? I had never seen it even once.
As I stared blankly at the hospital, Song A-rin tapped my shoulder and spoke bluntly.
“Hey. Aren’t you going?”
“I’m going.”
I opened the rear door, and our team leader said confidently.
“They won’t have noticed us.”
“Team leader...”
“I wouldn’t be any help if I went. I’d only make things worse.”
“...”
Our team leader waved to me.
“On the organization chart, you’re the second most powerful person after me. Go do a good job.”
“...I’ll be back.”
“Yeah. I’ll wait here. I’m not leaving until you come back, so if you want me to stay alive, come back quickly.”
I gave our team leader a small bow, then got out of the van.
Jang Chae-yeon stood there unarmed as always, and...
“...What?”
Song A-rin had a shotgun on her back and handguns at both hips.
“Nothing.”
I shook my head and looked at the hospital.
The hospital was bleak and ominous. Beside it stood a sign engraved with the Management Bureau’s symbol.
[Warning!]
[This is the last path from which you can return. Turn back immediately.]
I stepped forward. Another sign bearing the Management Bureau’s symbol appeared.
[From this point onward, it is impossible to go back. Proceed forward at a steady pace. Never turn back.]
Soon, the hospital entrance appeared.
An old sign stood there.
[Welcome to Gangseo University Hospital. Doctors and nurses who will satisfy you are waiting here, fully prepared to help you.]
The manual opened on its own.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[Gangseo University Hospital Manual]
[0. First, we offer our condolences for the misfortune that brought you here. If you came here willingly, we applaud your courage and hope you safely bring back the person you seek.]
[0-1. Gangseo University Hospital is divided into Buildings A, B, and C. Building A contains patient wards, Building B contains training rooms, and Building C is the morgue.]
[0-2. The difficulty of escape, from greatest to least, is B -> A -> C. Therefore, we will begin with Building B. If you are looking for someone, open the section on Building A.]
I did not need that.
I quickly opened the section on Building A.
[2-1. If you have entered Building A, there is a high chance that you came here looking for someone.]
[2-2. First, make it clear to the doctors and nurses that you have come to visit someone. You must never be discovered as a member of the Management Bureau. If you are discovered as a member of the Management Bureau, refer to Section T: Methods of Suicide.]
Building A.
I gripped my gun as I looked at the bleak hospital.
It was time to go.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
