Chapter 10
When I opened the door, a spacious lobby appeared.
It looked like the first floor of a big hospital in some major city. The lights were blazing bright, and it was so spotless that it seemed thoroughly cleaned.
But.
There was no one there.
Not a single person.
"..."
How could there not be a single person in such a large, spotless hospital? On top of that, there wasn't even the faintest sound, to the point that I could hear my own heartbeat.
An utterly silent space.
It was an unbelievably alien sight.
It was so bizarre it felt like everyone in the world had vanished in a single instant... No. It was beyond that. If people had suddenly evaporated, at the very least something they were carrying would have been left behind.
But it was too clean.
How could they operate such a huge hospital with neither patients nor nurses? Don't tell me wasted tax money is being poured into this place? These days, there are cases where some kind of center gets built neatly in the provinces for hundreds of billions of won and then left vacant.
I was taking a few steps around the desk when it happened.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
Ah, damn.
I jumped when the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
Was it a call summoning the nurse who was supposed to be stationed here? If so, that would mean there had originally been a nurse at this post.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
I waited quietly, but...
The phone kept ringing.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
The nurse never appeared.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
The phone just kept ringing endlessly.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
The blaring ring felt like it was stabbing into my ears and boring into my brain. That asshole calling, too. If no one had answered by now, he should've hung up already, but he just keeps going.
ㅡRing-ring-ring!
It's ringing like this and still nobody shows up.
Fine.
I did have some questions about the interview anyway, so I picked up the receiver. If I explain that no one was here, they'd probably get the gist. It's the person who left their post that's at fault.
Hello?
-...
Should I just pretend to be the nurse and mess with them here?
The thought lasted only a moment.
-Come up to the 9th-floor office. Hurry.
"Pardon? Wait a second, I'm not the nurse."
ㅡClick.
The call disconnected.
"The 9th-floor office? Who exactly do they think I am, telling me to come up there?"
Well, at least it seemed certain that someone was there... Still, this is weird. A hospital with no one in it, yet it has a 9th floor.
Let's go check it out first.
I headed straight to the elevator and pressed the button. It was parked right on the 1st floor, so the doors opened immediately. I got in and pressed 9.
ㅡBzzz.
The elevator rose slowly.
"..."
Having a mirror in here makes it creepier for no reason. Especially since there isn't anyone in the hospital. Maybe because I'm already sensing something suspicious. This feels strange.
I arrived at the 9th floor.
After getting out and walking a little to the right, I found the office.
Is anyone there?
I knocked lightly a couple of times, opened the door, and went inside. What I saw the moment I entered was human skin. Skinned human flesh was spread out neatly and hanging across the wall.
"Aaaagh?!"
Skin?!
Skin, you say?!
Not one of those anatomical models you usually see in a hospital exam room, but actual skin hanging on the wall? While I was reeling in shock, I wondered if I was hallucinating again under some kind of madness.
So I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
"Fuck!"
It was unmistakably human skin!
Yellowed skin. Empty eye sockets and a mouth hole. It had been stripped straight off a human body. Spread out neatly and hung on the wall.
I need to run.
Right now.
"Don't go out."
The door in front of me suddenly swung open, and something came out.
"Y-you! You! You!"
A monster?!
It's a human without skin!
A being with its skin peeled off, leaving only muscle, had come out and was talking!
"Hiiiik!"
I collapsed to the floor, then struggled and got back up. I had to run as fast as I could. This hospital was definitely not normal. The skin hanging over there had to be that bastard's.
"Quiet. Please, stay quiet. I'm begging you. If you want to live, please. Don't go out."
"Huh...?"
But...
He wasn't as frantic as I'd expected. The skinless person spoke in a human tone, as if trying to calm me down.
He sat down naturally.
"We don't have much time for the interview... Ah, ah! It's already time!"
"What? What?"
"The rulebook! Work according to the rulebook! Please! You must not run away!"
"W-wait! Your skin!"
"Get out! Hurry! Quickly! Go to the security office right now! Right now! Before it's too late, hurry!"
ㅡSlaaack!
His mouth split open wide up and down, and a shriek-like voice burst out. By then, I had already lost all judgment from the extreme terror.
I sprang up as ordered, opened the door and got out, then rolled and crawled across the floor. Then I flailed and ran, scrambling into the elevator.
"Uh, uh! Aah!"
What the hell is this?
What the hell is it, seriously!
Who is that skinless person, and what the hell was he doing in there?!
"W-we have to run!"
The moment I reached the 1st floor, I kicked off the ground and ran. Whatever else, I couldn't stay in this insane hospital for even a single second. As I thought that, I shoved the door open hard, and the security office attached right beside it came into view.
'You must not run away!'
At that moment, I remembered the words shouted by the skinless person.
I must not run away...?
If I run straight over there and into the fog, I could probably escape this hospital. But those words telling me not to run away keep bothering me far too much.
If I run away... will I end up like that person? No, can I even trust the words of that monstrous skinless thing in the first place?
I didn't hesitate long, and with cold sweat running down me, I went into the security office.
"Huhh! Huhh!"
I locked the door as soon as I got in. I was able to make that choice because I'd already run into that guard earlier. If he could've simply run away, that bastard wouldn't have fled in such a crazed state.
Let's stay here for now.
I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone.
"Why, for fuck's sake...!"
Out of service.
"Bullshit! Why?!"
In horror movies, the phone always dies whenever something happens, and now again?! I feel like I'm going insane. Still, I forced down my fear and decided to take stock of the situation.
"Am I caught up in another fucking mess?!"
So it's this bullshit again!
I ended up in a place like this insane hospital, just like when I ran into that crazy vampire bitch and those bastards from the Administration!
"What the fuck...!"
Why the hell do I keep getting dragged into shit like this, huh?! And who the hell even posted the job ad on the part-time site in the first place?! And they just let a godforsaken hospital like this operate in South Korea?!
I couldn't stay frustrated and venting for long.
"Ah. The rulebook."
Because the words telling me to work according to the rulebook suddenly came back to me.
"That crazy shift handover bastard."
He was overjoyed to see me and left. He also told me to follow the rulebook. Does that mean I need some sort of replacement to get out of here?
There was no time to mutter any more. I yanked open the drawer and took out the rulebook.
"Let's see. The rulebook."
---Cheongak Mary Hospital Security Guard Duty Rulebook---
[Duty Assignment Rules]
1. Please comply with the rulebook.
ㄴ 1-1. This rulebook must always be kept in the security office.
2. Work hours change every day, and you will be informed by the landline phone in the security office. You must strictly observe your working hours. Unauthorized resignation and absenteeism are prohibited.
3. Before being assigned to security duty, you must change into the security uniform.
ㄴ 3-1. After changing, attach the name tag in the drawer to the right side of your chest.
ㄴ 3-2. The name on the name tag must be 'Lee Seung-cheol'.
ㄴ 3-3. If anyone inside the building asks your name, you must answer only as written on the name tag.
ㄴ 3-4. The reason you do not use your real name is to protect your privacy and personal information. If someone calls your real name, ignore them.
ㄴ 3-5. After your shift ends, before changing back, be sure to remove the name tag and put it in the drawer. If you skip this step, a name tag bearing your real name will be issued.
ㄴ 3-6. If you clear out the locker in the security office, you can enter the living quarters. Live there.
4. After starting duty, never scream.
ㄴ 4-1. After starting duty, under no circumstances may you make or answer any phone calls.
[Work Rules]
5. Cheongak Mary Hospital consists of a total of 9 floors. You must patrol every floor from the 1st floor onward and perform the security guard's duties.
ㄴ 5-1. The 10th floor does not exist.
The duties are as follows.
6. Collect the black boxes placed in front of the patient rooms and load them into the storage room beside the 1st-floor desk. Organize every box on each floor before going up to the next. This must be done within 30 minutes per floor. Be careful that no boxes remain before you go up.
7. If you have checked the contents of the box, immediately answer the landline phone at the 1st-floor desk.
8. If a patient is walking around, immediately usher them into the room at the end of each floor and lock the door. That room is designed to be locked from the outside.
ㄴ 8-1. If a patient is bleeding from the mouth and stuck tight to the wall, do not touch them; ignore them.
ㄴ 8-2. If a patient appears asking for help and begging to be saved, persuade and support them carefully and have them follow Rule 8. It is fine to use somewhat forceful methods.
ㄴ 8-3. Be careful not to let a person with no whites in their eyes and pitch-black eyes grab your wrist.
[Other Rules]
10. Sometimes a red liquid may flow out of the walls, but it is paint, not blood, so ignore it.
11. If you see a mannequin standing there, do not look at it and ignore it. It is used as practice surgery material, and because it is very sensitive, the person in charge will handle it.
12. If you hear a siren, check your surroundings. If you hear an announcement summoning the security guard, ignore it and keep doing your work. The security guard is never called over the hospital PA system.
13. If someone asks for help, ignore them. Your job is not to help the patients in the hospital.
14. Never laugh in dark spaces.
15. Ignore everything that happens outside the windows.
16. It's dangerous, so do not keep your eyes closed for more than 10 seconds.
17. If you feel like killing yourself, go up to the 10th floor.
18. If you cannot go to the 10th floor, call the hospital counseling center.
19. Never follow Rule 6.
20. If someone grabs your shoulder from behind, turn around. There will be nobody there.
21. If you encounter children playing an incomprehensible game, immediately stop working and go back to the security office.
22. You are the only security guard. Even if someone wearing a security uniform comes down from the 10th floor, he is not a security guard, and this hospital does not have a 10th floor.
23. If a call comes from the director's office, it takes priority over all other rules.
ㄴ 23-1. The director's office is on the 10th floor.
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