Chapter 9
Okay. Skip the Bureau info. Absolutely do not look it up.
It was such a ridiculous death that I came to my senses pretty quickly.
No, I'm just completely dumbfounded.
Seriously.
At the very least, I figured that if I searched for something like the Bureau, they'd track it and come looking for me. But it turns out even focusing on specific keywords in the World Politics board counted as something they tracked.
You bastard, Eoltangcon. Six times? Does that make any sense?
The number of deaths shown on my status window was six.
Is this seriously too much? How long has it even been, and I've already died six times? It's not like I only have ten lives or something, is it?
Enough.
Let's move on.
First I washed up, scrubbed away the garlic smell soaked into my body, and cleaned the room. It looked like whenever I regressed, this was the first thing I'd have to do. Of all things, the return point had to be when I was caked in garlic. There was no joke worse than that.
After finishing the cleanup, I turned on the computer.
I had to do what needed doing.
Let's just look for a job in the provinces, like I'd originally planned. No need to poke around the World Politics board again. If I hadn't done even that, I wouldn't have died. People saying that searching things brings the black-suited men to you—now that's a real ghost story.
Gnash.
Just thinking about it made my molars clamp down hard as anger surged up.
What? An organization that serves humanity?
Bullshit doesn't get more bullshit than that.
As far as I could tell, those Bureau bastards were nothing more than lackeys of the true puppet masters—controlling information about the hidden side of the world and eliminating civilians who learned its secrets.
If that weren't the case, they wouldn't have needed to kidnap me like that and take out my brain, and they wouldn't have tried to kill me just for reading a few posts on the board last time.
If the Bureau were really an organization that worked for humanity, they'd have protected me and asked for cooperation regarding my ability. Even if I didn't know much, wouldn't someone who could see the future be exactly the kind of talent a special organization like that had to have? If I were in charge of the Bureau, I'd have gone, 'Kim Geunhong, you bastard, you can see the future? Congratulations, you're the boss starting today!'
But they didn't.
The powerful people pulling the Bureau's strings... those who had swallowed the hidden side of the world probably thought abilities like precognition would threaten their own vested interests, so they ordered me eliminated.
Vampires and the Bureau alike were my enemies. Beyond that, I had to watch out for the shadow powers that controlled the Bureau as well.
I've got more than a few enemies.
In truth, that probably wasn't all there was to it. The fact that there was a Men in Black–type secret organization like the Bureau meant there were other dangerous beings out there too.
I should be as careful as possible.
With those thoughts in mind, I searched job sites. If I lived like an ordinary nobody, there'd be no reason for their detection to catch me.
For now, I had about three conditions: it had to be in a province far from here; room and board had to be provided; and since I'd need to move elsewhere to avoid being tracked, it had to be a short-term job.
Pay? If I thought about that too, I might not have any options left... Still, I'll manage somehow. Salary isn't what matters to me right now. The only thing that matters is survival.
As I scrolled through the listings, one post caught my interest.
[Cheongak Mary Hospital Temporary Security Guard Recruitment Notice]
A hospital security guard? Let's see.
It's in the provinces. Room and board provided. And temporary? This fits my conditions perfectly. See? If you dig around long enough, you find everything.
But what about the pay?
Why is the pay this high? It looks like they pay even more than some factory running a six-day, two-shift night schedule.
...
It matches my conditions, and the pay is good too?
This is suspicious.
Looking at the hours and everything else, it's obviously a scam. In this day and age, what kind of world is this where a boss pays like this? Conditions that are so good they tempt anyone are usually scams, traps that can spell ruin the moment you believe them.
The
world
is
just
the
way
it is.
Chadham wasn't wrong about a single thing.
But it was also true that I was tempted.
Even if I went there and lowballed the pay a little, it wouldn't matter. With conditions like these, whatever the salary turned out to be, it would still fit the policy I'd set for myself.
Good. Apply.
Temporary security guard work? I've never done anything like that, but it said anyone could learn it quickly and that first-timers were fine.
If the job is weird, I'll just quit and go somewhere else. I never planned to settle down in one place for long anyway, so I'll just go in with the mindset that if it comes to it, I can always walk away. But if I get there and they really start spouting ridiculous nonsense, they'll have to deal with the stress that's built up in me from all those repeated deaths.
Can you handle that?
After submitting a few more applications, I lay down and slept.
* * *
I did get accepted by a few, but in the end I chose the hospital security job. It matched my conditions best, and if things went well, I could make good money too.
Now, let's go for the interview.
Ah.
I was a little tired, but basking in the morning sunlight made me feel like my energy was recharging. A brilliance those vampire bastards could never savor.
...
To be honest.
Right now, I could feel an urge boiling up to arm myself specifically for anti-vampire use. A dark delusion was driving me to think that at the very least, it would be good to have a cross and some garlic to protect me in a moment of crisis.
I recognized that this was madness. The thought that I had no weapons was making me overly anxious, my breathing shallow, my heart pounding.
Yeah... no need to go overboard.
Even if I went overboard, I'd just get tagged as a vampire hunter and tracked down. As for garlic, well, if you're religious, carrying a cross or two shouldn't be strange at all.
Anyway, to interview for the hospital security job, I'd have to go down to the provinces. Since the interview is tomorrow, I can stop by a Christian shop on the way.
I went to the Christian shop I had used last time.
I had bought a number of vampire-hunting crosses there. The look on the cashier's face was something else. Of course, thanks to the regression, none of that happened anymore.
Surprisingly, if you look around a neighborhood, there's usually at least one Christian shop like this. It makes sense, since there are a great many Christians. Buddhist shops are the same, too.
Ah, a holy place.
The distinctive smell tickled my nose.
I went straight to the cross section and picked out one cross necklace I liked and one wooden cross to keep in my bag.
Checkout, please.
That'll be 12,000 won.
The middle-aged man with his hair slicked back... last time he'd given me a look of shock, but not today. He just rang me up normally.
Yes.
Good.
Now that I had my gear, there was no problem with setting out on the journey.
Let's go and see.
To the fantastical Cheongak Mary Hospital, overflowing with dreams and hope!
* * *
The bus heading down to the provinces.
I sat down and read the job posting again. From a quick look, it didn't seem like something I couldn't do.
Ah, shit. But...
Do I really have to come all the way down here to work?
Should I just dabble in crypto a little? No matter what, if I only make a small amount, it doesn't seem like that would all get exposed too. Last time I got rich off crypto, so of course it would get flagged—but what if I only won a small sum?
Phew.
I shook my head.
No.
If I did that for no reason, I'd end up dead again like yesterday. With no way of knowing how far the Bureau's claws might reach, the right thing was to stay as conservative as possible.
And if I got into the habit of messing around with crypto for nothing, I could die again from some unexpected place. I need to recognize that crypto is a trap leading to death.
Thinking that way, I took a nap, and when I woke up, we had arrived at my destination.
Let's see.
It said I'd take a taxi for a bit, then walk the rest of the way, right?
I caught a taxi at the stop.
Where to?
Please take me this way.
Uh... yes? Ah, you're going to a pretty secluded place.
Yeah, it's pretty remote. But they said the interview is here.
Was there even anything out here? Anyway, off we go.
After riding the taxi there and getting out, I walked while looking at the map.
Seriously, how is there even a hospital in a place this remote?
What's more, it's in the provinces. It seemed like a fairly large hospital if they were hiring security guards too—does that even work out here?
There can't possibly be enough foot traffic for this place.
Ah, what, maybe it's a convalescent hospital or something?
But why is there so little information about it?
Ugh, what terrible weather.
The fog was thick.
The whole world looked gray.
It's creepy for no reason.
At this rate...
Even so, having already dealt with vampires and the Bureau, there was nothing left for me to fear, and I pressed forward without hesitation.
Oh.
As I went on, the fog lifted, revealing a large hospital building on the other side.
How many floors is that? It's high-rise?
Is there even a major hospital like that out in the provinces? When I got closer, there was no sign of anyone in particular. A place like this would need some foot traffic to stay in business... Ah, there are parked cars, at least.
Huh?
Why don't the cars have license plates?
Clunk.
As I tilted my head in confusion, the door to the security office right next to the hospital entrance opened.
A pale-looking man with hollow eyes walked out from inside.
Ah, ahh...!
Yes?
Are you the one who came after seeing the job posting, by any chance?
Yes, that's right. I came because I was told to interview. Where should I go?
Here! Come this way!
He had clearly looked hollow-eyed, but in an instant his expression changed into something like an excited hamster. What was that? Was he really that happy to see me? Welcoming me so warmly, I became happy too, and in my heart I started to hold him in fond regard. We could be good coworkers.
I immediately followed him into the security office. He reported that I had arrived on the landline phone, then hurriedly stripped off his security guard uniform.
Wait!!!!
You're way too excited to see me!!!!
Was this not a hospital, but a gladiator training facility?!
N-no! Why are you stripping off your clothes like that?!
Ha, haha! Hahaha!
It wasn't just taking his clothes off. He was laughing loudly as if he were genuinely overjoyed to meet me. This is dangerous, hey! This guy is seriously dangerous! If he starts saying some crazy shit like, 'Lie down and crawl over here,' I'd have no choice but to kill him.
After changing into casual clothes, he suddenly looked at me with a blank expression.
Thank you. Really.
For what...?
Here. This is the work manual. Make sure you follow it. Absolutely. If you don't, no one knows what might happen.
A manual?
The man handed me the clipboard as if dumping it on me, then left the security office.
Hey, what the hell? Excuse me! Hey!
What?
You're just leaving like this?
I could see the man's back as he ran off. Soon his figure disappeared into the fog, and I was left alone in the security office.
What the... wasn't he the one welcoming me?
Wasn't he welcoming my arrival, but his own quitting time? No, even if that were the case, what kind of handoff is this? Doesn't he do a proper handover or anything?
Even if the replacement had arrived, I hadn't even formally gone through the interview yet. But seeing him leave work in that kind of way made me think that bastard wasn't normal either.
Well, what am I supposed to do?
For now, I need to go through the interview.
I can just go in, right?
I put the manual in the drawer and headed into the hospital.