Chapter 1

Chapter 1. The Final Question

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

It was the final question of the interview.

It was a little odd and lighthearted for an interview question from one of the most prominent companies in the country, but I did not foolishly ask them to repeat it or laugh awkwardly.

If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do?

It was the most famous of the Jaerae Group interview questions that circulated by word of mouth. Perhaps it was also the most important one.

“With regard to this question alone, we promise in the name of ‘Jaerae’ that no answer you give will place you at a disadvantage in the interview. Of course, if you give a good answer, we will award you points accordingly.”

A valuable question where no answer would lower my score, but the better the answer, the higher the bonus points. A question that could make up for flaws and mistakes.

Although I did not know what standard they used to judge a good answer.

“If I could turn back time.”

What mattered was that my present and future depended on this question.

“I would…….”

And the answer lay in the past.

***

“Ah.”

For a moment, I got turned around and froze, and the elevator slipped away right in front of me.

I was pretty sure the person inside had made eye contact with me. They could have held it for me.

In any case, I had terrible luck today. The interview, too.

Am I going to fail?

Do you have any idea how high the salary is here? If they would just hire me, I could devote my entire life to this place.

Ha. I was about to let out a deep sigh when I remembered I was still inside the company building and shook my head.

Forget it.

It had already passed. There was no way to undo it.

Should I watch a movie before heading home?

3:33 p.m.

It felt like a waste to go straight home like this.

Even if I went home, all I would do was gloomily chew over the contents of today’s interview.

“……Hm?”

What is this?

At the top of the phone screen I had opened to reserve a movie ticket, the word ‘SOS’ was displayed instead of the cellular network icon.

Why did my data suddenly stop working?

The moment I pressed the button to restart my phone.

CLICK―.

The ceiling lights flickered, then all went dark at once.

A blackout?

What are the employees here supposed to do?

As I looked at the four elevator panels that no longer displayed any numbers, I worried less about the people who would soon be rescued and more about the people whose work must not have been allowed to stop.

I should take the stairs down.

I turned and headed toward the emergency stairs.

It was only the third floor anyway, so going down to the lobby would not be difficult.

But seriously, what is going on?

Even after I turned my phone back on, the word ‘SOS’ was still displayed.

For there to be no service in the middle of a city like this, something must have happened to the nearby base stations.

A fire had broken out, or perhaps…….

Had a Labyrinth appeared or something?

If a transmission tower or a utility pole nearby had been damaged in the process, it would also explain why this building had lost power.

Still, since it was the middle of the day, it was not particularly dark.

This building had a hollow square-shaped structure.

Sunlight came in through the windows not only to the offices along the outer edge, but also to the inner corridors.

I suddenly looked down at the first floor through the hallway window.

There was a lush green garden in the center.

From below, it would only look like walls. Only when looking down from above could one finally see the beautiful, enormous maze garden.

BANG!

Just as I was about to sink into idle thoughts, a thunderous crash came from somewhere behind me.

RUMBLE, CRASH, BAM!

A loud sound, as if something had collided hard enough to make the entire building tremble.

BOOM, THUD!

Instinctively, I ran toward the emergency exit and threw myself inside.

“Huh?”

My foot missed the step.

1. Do not run on the stairs.

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“Pardon?”

I blinked blankly.

The interviewer was smiling gently.

“You really do not seem to know this question, Mr. Seon Yuhan. Most people usually come prepared for it.”

It is technically forbidden to share it, though, the interviewer added, shrugging.

“In any case, I will ask you once again. If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

What is this?

What just happened?

What is happening right now?

Déjà vu?

Or did I doze off during the interview and have some kind of dream?

“Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“Ah, yes. I would, if such a thing were possible…….”

***

“Thank you.”

I gave a polite bow, half out of my mind, and stepped out into the hallway.

Somehow, I had managed to give the answer I had prepared.

But I had been so flustered that I stumbled over my words far too much.

Did I overdo the mental rehearsal?

How excessive did it have to be for me to keep imagining things even after the interview ended? And in such an ominous direction, no less.

I must have been very nervous. My body felt stiff, too.

For no particular reason, I rubbed the back of my neck and stood in front of the elevator.

5… 4… 3… DING!

「The doors are opening.」

Fortunately, the timing was perfect, and I was able to get into the elevator.

My eyes met those of the man already inside, so I gave him a moderate nod in greeting.

He was someone I had never seen before, but one never knew how things might turn out between people.

「The doors are closing.」

Hold on.

Feeling an inexplicable chill, I glanced at the man beside me.

Someone I had never seen before…….

No, was he?

Hadn’t our eyes met before?

Earlier, no, last time, no…….

At first?

CLUNK.

The number panel displaying the floor suddenly went dark, and the elevator stopped.

“Hm? What the hell?”

The man, who had been checking his face in the mirror beside me, raised his head.

He looked once at the pitch-black panel, then at me.

“D-Did it stop?”

Perhaps because he was flustered, the man’s voice cracked.

“Yes. It seems―”

“―What the hell. Why isn’t it responding?”

TAP TAP TAP.

I stared silently as the man frantically pressed the yellow emergency call button over and over.

“Damn it. What is wrong with this thing? My phone has no signal either.”

I had a bad feeling about this.

When I heard what the man said and turned on my phone, the word ‘SOS’ was displayed at the top as expected.

No way.

“Huh?”

CLUNK, SCREECH.

“Oh! It’s moving again. Thank goodness. Right?”

Moving?

No. No, it is not.

It is not moving.

This is…….

“Uh, huh? There is something wrong with the speed.”

This feeling.

This feeling, as if I had reached the highest point of a roller coaster track, paused for a moment, and then started moving again, making every hair on my body stand on end.

BANG!

The thunderous crash that had made me run toward the emergency stairs.

RUMBLE, CRASH!

That was the sound of an elevator falling.

1. Do not take the elevator.

“If it were possible to turn back time, what would you do, Mr. Seon Yuhan?”

“Sh—.”

I had almost said “shit.”

“If I could turn back time.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist. For some reason, my entire body felt numb.

“I think, well, I think I would need to stay here and observe the situation for a while…….”

“Hmm. Could you explain a little more what you mean by that?”

Because it really feels like time has been turned back, so I need to observe the situation for now!

I barely suppressed the urge to shout that.

At the very least, I needed to know whether I was currently in a situation where I should enter this company or a hospital.

No, if going into a mental hospital would solve this, that would actually be a relief.

“Mr. Seon Yuhan. Are you all right?”

Since the applicant only kept his mouth firmly shut and trembled no matter how many times the interviewer called him, worry seemed to take precedence over irritation.

“I think it would be best to end things here. There is a clinic on the fourth floor, so if you are feeling very unwell, please go get examined.”

The interviewer signaled with their eyes for me to leave, but I did not want to go.

Even if I received a massive deduction for poor attitude and failed the interview.

Wouldn’t that still be better than tumbling down the stairs or having an elevator drop?

Please let this be a dream. A delusion. An overly vivid imagination. Please let me be a patient with clinically significant difficulty perceiving reality from a psychopathological perspective.

“If you are having trouble getting up on your own, I can hel—”

Silence.

And darkness.

I looked around the empty interview room like a fool.

The interviewer had disappeared.

Where did that person go?

And where was I?

[3:33｜SOS｜87%]

I sat in the chair and stared blankly at my phone screen.

BANG!

Before long, I heard a sound that was not familiar, but not exactly new either.

RUMBLE, CRASH, BAM! BOOM, THUD!

Six times in total.

There were six elevators in total.

Four elevators had been gathered together, and one of them was the one I had taken.

Were the remaining two for emergencies?

But would elevators fall just because the power went out?

The odds of an elevator accident from falling were almost zero.

The safety devices were designed that well.

The kind of movie-like incident where you were inside an elevator and the elevator itself fell did not happen in reality.

Right. That was certainly how it should have been.

“Ha…….”

I let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground.

Still, so far, no absurd accident had occurred, such as the chair tipping over backward and breaking my cervical spine, or the ceiling collapsing on top of me.

Would nothing happen if I stayed here?

Then how long would I have to stay?

It was quiet all around.

I could not hear anything.

Because I hated that silence, I filled my head with thoughts.

Why did you apply to our company, Mr. Seon Yuhan? Because it is the most famous company in this industry and pays well. Why did you apply to the Rival Company Support Department? Because I am an indecisive cowardly bastard who cannot do anything on my own. What do you consider your greatest strength, Mr. Seon Yuhan? My survival instinct, which lets me watch for cues like a rat and survive like a cockroach. If the interests of your assigned rival company and the interests of the company conflict, what will you do as an agent, Mr. Seon Yuhan? I will move in whichever direction makes more money for me. Do you have any final questions? Yes. Why is my life such a mess?

SQUEAK, SQUEEEAK.

How long had I been sitting there like that?

At the sudden sound, I raised my head.

CREEEAK, SQUEAK, SKRITCH.

The uniquely unpleasant sound of a wet shoe sole rubbing against a smooth floor.

Someone was in the hallway.

SQUEAK, SQUEAK.

The unknown footsteps approached until they were right in front of the interview room.

I held my breath.

KNOCK KNOCK!

I did not answer.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“What time is it now?”

I sprang up from my seat.

It was a child’s voice.

“What time? No clock outside.”

Was this a child who spent too much time on the internet? But why would a child be in a place like this? Ah, was there a company daycare here?

Just as I thought that and was about to open the door.

“Do not know time. What time is it now? Want to know time.”

There was something strange about the mischievous voice coming from beyond the door.

“Clock inside. What hour and what minute?”

I held my breath and pressed my ear close to the door.

“Cannot read clock? Short hand is hour. Long hand is minute. Is there hand smaller than hour hand? Seconds. Can read clock.”

Height.

The height was wrong.

It was a child’s voice that should have come up, at most, to around my waist.

“What time? Clock inside.”

I slowly raised my head.

Toward the direction of that bright, lively voice.

“Will read it instead. What minute?”

The child’s voice beyond the door was.

“What hour and what minute is it now?”

Coming from far above my eye level.

As if its head were touching the ceiling.

“Coming in.”

CLACK!

The doorknob moved.