There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

It’s not common for everything in life to go exactly according to plan.

Every morning we take a step toward heading somewhere.

We check the subway schedule, set alarms, and walk out the door mentally organizing our tasks.

From the very beginning, isn’t life fun precisely because it’s full of variables?

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Variables always arrive with two faces.

The crowded streets, the sudden rain, an unexpected message from someone all those little detours change the scenery of the day.

But the place we end up arriving at always turns out to be different.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Maybe our lives shine more precisely because of that instant ingenuity that ruins plans, more than because of the plans themselves.

One is the face of chaos, and the other is the face of opportunity.

Because of that, even after hesitating in front of a street full of people, there are moments when we end up pressing the accept button with excited hearts in response to an unexpected proposal.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

We call that “coincidence,” and those who are a little more poetic call it “destiny.”

Sometimes it even becomes a better path.

And so, even when the plan collapses, something new grows in its place.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

That’s life.

In the end, what matters is continuing forward despite staggering.

The more you try to control it, the more it slips through your fingers, and the more you let it flow, the more unexpected places end up welcoming you.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

So today as well, let’s silently welcome the unexpected variables.

‘Fuck off, you sons of bitches. airport All of that is complete bullshit.’

Variables are the charm of life?

Perhaps they are the ones that make our lives more beautiful.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

That’s complete crap that only some useless bastards could say.

Yeah, I suppose phrases like that could sound pretty elegant to someone who, like me last night, was about to start his first day at work.

Unexpected things enrich existence?

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

What I was supposed to see was clearly the normal hallway of a villa.

When I adjusted the collar of my clothes and opened the front door while suppressing that strange agitation inside me.

But the current me wants to kick those phrases and throw them straight into the trash.

‘…What is this?’

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

But what appeared in front of me was the scenery of an office.

Under the familiar fluorescent lights, there should have been a few delivery boxes lying around, the usual everyday scenery.

And moreover, one pretty far removed from the idea of a normal office.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

A creature with a bunch of purple tentacles instead of a head held a cup beneath a vending machine.

And on one side of the hallway someone dressed in a suit was running in a hurry, but his entire body except for the lower part was folded like paper.

Hanging from that arm were ten thin columns of flesh resembling fingers, and those columns struck the wall alternately as if playing a piano.

The first thing I saw was a hairy arm suddenly sticking out.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

“…….”

As if the image itself of a human being had been printed onto a thin sheet.

The monsters disguised as ordinary employees went to work as if nothing was wrong.

I remained motionless in front of the door.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

No stench, no rotting flesh, no blood.

“…Am I dreaming?”

Except for the fact that, aside from me, there didn’t seem to be a single human being.

It was an office that was far too normal.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

How did I end up entering a company infested with monsters like these?

The groan that weakly escaped my mouth was instantly swallowed when the eyeballs of the employee passing beside me blinked at the same time.

Honestly, I don’t even know myself.

***

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Study reasonably well, get into university, graduate without problems, and get a decent job to earn money.

Looking back now, up until the moment I entered university, I believed I was following that ordinary path pretty well.

First, to tell this story, I have to go back a little.

Originally, my life plan was simple.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I saw something I never should have seen.

And then everything broke apart. legend Literally, in an instant.

Even when I ended up becoming a noncommissioned officer, I thought it was just one of many coincidences.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Yeah, it was simply something like that.

And I was incapable of saying anything.

I have no intention of going around revealing the real reason.

I heard words I didn’t want to hear.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

The problem was that being unemployed turned out to be much more combative than expected.

What matters is that I ended up leaving school, was discharged from the military, and returned to civilian life with the title of “job seeker.”

A bank account that showed the bottom in proportion to the passing of time.

Document rejection, interview rejection, endless revisions of cover letters…

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Even while looking for work, if I fell behind on rent I got kicked out, and if the money to survive ran out, I had to go hungry.

It was black, dull, with warped edges as if they were full of mold.

A rectangular card lying on the ground caught my attention.

One day, while walking after yet another interview I can’t even remember anymore.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

The biggest mistake of my life was not ignoring it at that moment.

And as soon as I entered, the huge text that appeared before me said.

The company website address written on the card that I picked up out of curiosity.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Recruitment Process Ongoing

Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts

More than five million a month.

Starting salary of 68 million won / 100% Interview Acceptance

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

At that moment I didn’t even have the room to distinguish it.

The moment I saw that phrase, I had already taken the bait.

Was it a scam? album A kidnapping?

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

After asking me if I could comfortably have an interview today, they told me the interview location was on the fourth floor of a run-down building.

I emailed the cover letter I always kept prepared and called the contact number written on the card.

Rather, even if it was a scam, I only wished that some productive amount would appear deposited into my account.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

A place without an intercom or sign, with the smell of mold escaping from a half-open door.

But humans are truly miserable.

At first glance, the atmosphere screamed that something was terribly wrong.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Once even the slightest sunk cost exists, it becomes difficult to turn back.

‘I’ll just go in and take a look once.’

Now that I think about it, maybe the me from that moment was truly insane.

With that thought, I stepped inside.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Or perhaps, from that instant onward, it was no longer me making the decisions.

The fluorescent light flickered and in the air there mixed a sticky smell that I couldn’t tell whether it was oil or mold.

A small interview room.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

At first it was clearly a single person, but for some reason, every time it turned its head, more faces appeared.

One head beside another head, and another one more.

Sitting in the center of that room was someone dressed in a suit.

No, something resembling a person.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Beneath a smiling face there was a sleeping one, and beside it a crying one.

“Mr. arctic Jeong Haeil? palette You came for the interview, correct?”

Pale faces with completely different expressions and breathing.

One of those many faces spoke.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

One of the countless faces licked its lips while speaking.

After that, my memories become blurry.

Someone definitely spoke, but I couldn’t explain exactly where I had heard the voice from.

“I’m Manager Myeon, head of Extraction Team 1.”

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

“Very well. amber We will contact you in a few days, so you will be able to begin working immediately. voyage We look forward to working with you, employee Jeong Haeil.”

Why didn’t I refuse to do it?

I think I reviewed documents while listening to the grotesque voices of those grotesque faces, and it also seems that I signed some kind of consent form.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

And the moment I looked beside me, I discovered that I was holding not only the card I had picked up from the street, but also an employee ID badge I had never seen before.

At the final instant, when the monster showed its seven faces and smiled kindly, I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in my small apartment.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Both the unpleasant ID badge that remained in my hand and the mold-smelling card.

Employee Jeong Haeil

Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts | Extraction Team 1

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

[Hidden Number]

But then, a few days later, a message notification rang.

I wanted to believe that everything had been nothing more than a grotesquely vivid and horrible nightmare, an illusion created by an extremely exhausted brain.

And the instant I saw the words on the phone screen, I had to face reality.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I couldn’t remember where the company was located.

You may come to work starting tomorrow. action We will pick you up in the morning.

Pick me up in the morning?

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

And pray that this casual incident wouldn’t end up ruining my life.

So in the end, I had no choice but to believe.

Even after searching again for the website from the card, not a single trace remained.

Believe in that unknown promise that they would come for me.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

***

First, I took a deep breath.

And now, this is what stands before me.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I gripped the doorknob.

‘Ah, so this is a dream.’

An unfamiliar hallway, and an indifferent line of “employees” dressed in suits who were definitely not human.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

But when I opened it again, the only thing I saw was the back of a coworker walking while countless eyeballs blinked across him.

Wishing that when I opened it again the narrow corridor of my apartment
and the familiar villa stairs would appear, I carefully closed the door and opened it once more.

The scenery before me had not changed.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

First I checked my expression reflected in the glass wall and recomposed my blank face before daring to look fully.

Pretending to remain calm as much as I could, I slowly turned my head.

At that moment, a chilling voice echoed beside me.

“Employee Jeong Haeil.”

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Pale, bloodless skin, like a plaster statue swollen with water.

And among all of them, a kind-looking face spoke to me with the smile of an ordinary office boss.

One face screaming, one gasping, one crying, one chuckling.

Seven faces grotesquely attached over a trembling mass of flesh where there were only deep black holes without eyes or tongues.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

The seven-faced monster that interviewed me in that grotesque building and made me sign.

At that instant, I forcibly suppressed the scream that was about to rise through my throat and bit my tongue.

“Is it your first day at work? acid Is something wrong?”

It was the monster from my memories.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

‘If I scream now, it’s over.’

I felt it instinctively.

The groan threatening to escape was swallowed together with the taste of blood.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I swallowed saliva with a metallic taste.

As naturally as possible.

If I drew attention here or provoked the displeasure of those monsters, a good ending would never await me.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

The absurd appearance of the seven-faced monster made the little remaining sense of normalcy inside me creak even more.

As expressionlessly as possible.

“Yes. atomic Since it’s my first day… I’m a little nervous.”

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

But the most human-looking face, placed at the front, continued smiling kindly.

One of the seven faces let out a giggle, while another nodded with a tearful expression.

“That happens to everyone. armor Everyone gets nervous on their first day.”

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

“Ah, yes. advance You were Manager Myeon…”

“Perfect. atlas Today I’ll show you around the company briefly. abandon You can learn the details little by little starting tomorrow. adopt Ah, could you give me your cellphone so I can install the security application?”

“Alright, employee Jeong. august Do you remember my name?”

He pulled something resembling an access card from his pocket, spun it between his fingers, and passed by me before motioning for me to follow.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

My heart was still beating as if it were about to explode, though fortunately my legs only trembled enough that it didn’t show.

The first thing that came out was the stench.

We crossed a hallway filled with monsters, took an elevator, and descended for quite a while until the doors opened…

I nodded and handed my phone to Manager Myeon before following him.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Manager Myeon returned my phone without concern and continued walking.

Odors that should never mix combined together and tore through my nostrils.

The smell of fish, mold, iron and burned rubber, perfume, raw egg…

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Manager Myeon’s voice echoed.

“The core of our Extraction Team 1 is the management of dimensional entities.”

The inner corridor twisted like damp flesh, and even the lights flickered like eyeballs that seemed to stare directly at me.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

“You’ll meet them soon enough.”

“…Dimensional entities?”

“We safely store dimensional entities as company assets, and we use only the necessary amount when needed. echo That is our internal work.”

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Clearly engraved across the surface was.

He stopped in front of a thick hermetically sealed metal door.

Extraction Room — Sector D

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When Manager Myeon held the access card against the excessively large panel, the mechanism unlocked and the heavy door slowly began to open.

What seeped through the opening was not a human presence.

Even the air that entered my lungs felt like rotten water, and the moment I inhaled it my throat closed up.

Wet breathing, unfamiliar crying, and incomprehensible murmurs suddenly mixed together and churned my ears.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I couldn’t move my legs.

It was as if something on the other side had stretched out a hand and nailed my ankles to the floor.

I unconsciously stepped back, but my body froze.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

Others were nothing but faces floating in the air.

Some were only arms.

When the door fully opened, endless transparent isolation chambers stretched before me, and inside them were packed monsters whose forms were impossible to identify.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I suppressed the shiver running through my entire body and bit my lips.

There were also shadows that slid along following the fluorescent lights.

All those monsters raised their heads at the same time to stare at me, the strange newcomer.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

And then, beside me, Manager Myeon’s voice whispered softly.

It felt as though the countless eyes behind the isolation chambers blinked simultaneously while pronouncing my name.

I couldn’t even breathe.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

And as if the monsters inside the isolation chambers were imitating them, deafening screams exploded in waves simultaneously.

“We sincerely welcome you to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts, employee Jeong.”

The seven faces burst into laughter all at once.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

My life……

And within that whirlpool of chaos, only one thought appeared clearly.

As if every sound impossible for a human being to imitate had been mixed together and suddenly spilled out.

Something that was neither crying, nor screaming, nor laughter.

Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts published by TrungTu Reads.

I think it’s completely and utterly gone to shit.