Chapter 1
1. Welcome to Sa Phil Gwi Jeong LLC
It is rare for everything in the world to go according to plan.
Isn’t life enjoyable precisely because it is full of variables?
Every morning, we take a step out to go somewhere.
We check the subway schedule, set alarms, organize tasks in our heads, and leave the house.
But where we actually arrive is always different.
Crowded streets, sudden rain, an unexpected message from someone—these small deviations change the scenery of the day.
Variables always come with two faces.
One is the face of chaos, the other is the face of opportunity.
Because of them, we sometimes hesitate at a crowded intersection, and sometimes we press “accept” on an unexpected offer with excitement.
Perhaps our lives shine more because of those moments of sudden decision that ruin our plans, rather than the plans themselves.
In the end, plans collapse—but something new grows in their place.
Sometimes, it even becomes a better direction.
We call that “chance,” and those a little more poetic call it “fate.”
That is life.
The more you try to control it, the more it slips away from your fingertips; the more you let it go, the more unexpected places welcome you.
What matters is continuing forward even while being shaken.
So today as well, let us quietly welcome the unexpected variables.
They might just make our lives more beautiful.
‘Fuck that. It’s all bullshit.’
Life’s “variables are the spice of life”?
Unexpected events make life richer?
Only pathetic idiots would say something like that.
Yeah, maybe those lines sound pretty nice to someone like yesterday’s me, a guy about to start his first day at work.
But the current me wants to kick those sentences into a trash can.
“…What is this.”
When I opened the front door while straightening my collar and suppressing the strange boiling feeling inside me,
what I expected to see was a normal apartment hallway.
A familiar fluorescent-lit corridor, a few delivery boxes lying around—nothing unusual.
But what was spread out in front of me was the scenery of a company.
And not just any company.
A very, very abnormal one.
The first thing I saw was a hairy arm that suddenly jutted out.
On that arm were ten thin flesh-like protrusions that looked like fingers, tapping the wall like piano keys in alternating rhythm.
A being with a bundle of purple tentacles instead of a head was holding a cup under a vending machine.
In one corner of the hallway, someone in a suit was running busily—except everything below the upper body was flattened like paper.
As if the concept of a “person” itself had been printed thin.
“……”
I was still frozen at the doorway.
The monsters dressed like ordinary office workers were commuting as if nothing was wrong.
No stench, no blood, no flesh—just a perfectly normal company atmosphere.
Except for the fact that there were no humans except me.
“…Am I dreaming?”
The low groan that slipped from my mouth was swallowed the moment a passing employee’s eyeballs blinked in unison.
How did I end up in a company full of monsters like this?
Honestly, I don’t even know.
To explain that, we need to go back a little while.
My life plan used to be simple.
Study decently, go to college, graduate safely, get a proper job, and earn money.
Looking back, I thought I was doing fine on that ordinary track until I got into university.
Even when I unexpectedly ended up enlisting in the military, I thought it was just one of many coincidences.
And then everything broke. Literally, in an instant.
I saw things I wasn’t supposed to see, heard things I didn’t want to hear, and couldn’t say anything at all.
Yeah, that’s just how it was.
I don’t plan to go around shouting the real reason.
What matters is that I graduated, completed my service, and returned to civilian life as a job seeker.
The problem was that being a job seeker was far more brutal than expected.
Resume rejections, interview rejections, endless revisions of self-introductions…
As time passed, my bank account kept drying up.
Even while job hunting, if I missed rent, I’d be kicked out. If I ran out of money, I’d go hungry.
One day, after yet another interview, I was walking down the street when I noticed a small square piece of paper.
A business card—black, dull, with edges warped like it had been moldy.
The moment I failed to ignore it was the biggest mistake of my life.
The address of a company website was written on it.
Almost possessed, I went in.
And right at the entrance was a huge phrase:
Sa Phil Gwi Jeong LLC
Hiring in progress
Starting salary: 68,000,000 KRW / 100% acceptance rate
More than 5 million a month.
The moment I saw that line, I was already hooked.
Scam or kidnapping—I didn’t even have the luxury to distinguish.
Honestly, I would’ve accepted even a scam if it meant that kind of money actually existed.
I emailed my resume, called the number on the card.
After asking if I could do an interview today, I was directed to a shabby building on the 4th floor.
No intercom, no signboard—just a half-open door and the smell of mold.
It was obviously suspicious.
But humans are funny.
Once you’ve invested even a little sunk cost, it becomes hard to turn back.
“Let’s just see it once.”
That’s what I thought as I went inside.
Looking back, maybe I was already insane then—or maybe I was never the one making decisions in the first place.
A small interview room.
The fluorescent light flickered, and the air was thick with something between oil and mold.
In the center sat a person in a suit.
Or something resembling a person.
At first, it was just one person—but every time it moved its head, its face multiplied.
One head, another head, and another.
Under a smiling face was a sleeping face, next to it a crying face.
Each face had different expressions and breaths.
“Mr. Jeong Hae-il? You’re here for the interview, yes?”
Someone among those faces spoke.
I couldn’t even tell where the voice came from.
“I am the team leader of Extraction Team 1. You can call me Section Chief Myeon.”
One of the many faces licked its lips and said.
After that, my memory becomes blurry.
I think I read documents while listening to those grotesque voices, maybe even signed something.
Why didn’t I refuse?
“Good. We’ll contact you in a few days. You can start immediately. Welcome, Employee Jeong.”
The moment the monster smiled warmly with seven faces, my consciousness shut off.
When I woke up again, I was in my studio apartment.
And in my hand were both the business card and a new employee ID.
Jeong Hae-il, Employee
Sa Phil Gwi Jeong LLC | Extraction Team 1
I wanted to believe it was just a nightmare caused by exhaustion.
But a few days later, my phone rang.
[Unknown Number]
Start work tomorrow. We will pick you up in the morning.
They would pick me up.
I couldn’t even remember the company’s location.
Searching the website from the card led nowhere—it was gone.
So I had no choice but to believe it.
To accept that unknown promise.
And hope this incident wouldn’t ruin my life.
And now, this is what I’m facing.
I took a deep breath.
An unfamiliar corridor, and a procession of non-human things dressed in suits heading to work.
‘Ah… it’s a dream.’
I grabbed the door handle.
I opened it again, hoping I’d see my cramped apartment hallway.
But what I saw was the back of an employee blinking dozens of eyeballs while walking away.
The scene hadn’t changed.
“Employee Jeong Hae-il.”
A chilling voice came from beside me.
I slowly turned my head, trying to stay calm.
I checked my expression in the glass wall, forced my face to go blank, and then fully turned.
Pale skin like water-soaked plaster.
No eyes, no tongue—just deep black holes.
On top of that melted flesh were seven faces stitched together.
A screaming face, a gasping face, a crying face, a laughing face.
And in the middle, a clean, ordinary-looking face smiled like a normal office senior.
“First day of work, right? Is something wrong?”
It was that monster.
The one from the interview—the one who made me sign the papers.
I swallowed down the scream rising in my throat.
If I let it out now, it would be over.
I knew it instinctively.
I forced myself to act normal.
“No… I’m just a bit nervous since it’s my first day.”
One of the seven faces giggled, another nodded while crying.
But the most human-looking face still smiled kindly.
“Of course. Everyone is nervous on their first day.”
He walked past me, flipping a card key, and gestured.
“Let me introduce the company briefly. You’ll learn the details starting tomorrow. Ah, for security, may I take your phone?”
I nodded and handed it over.
My heart was still pounding like it would burst, but I forced my legs to stay steady.
We passed through corridors filled with monsters in suits, took an elevator, and went down for a long time.
When the door opened…
The first thing that hit me was the stench.
Rot, mold, burning metal, rubber, perfume, raw eggs…
Things that should never mix slammed into my nose.
The section chief returned my phone casually and walked ahead.
The inner corridor was writhing like wet flesh, and even the lights blinked like eyes watching me.
“The core of Extraction Team 1 is dimensional entity management.”
His voice echoed.
“We safely store dimensional entities as company assets and use them only when needed. That is our internal work.”
“Dimensional… entities?”
“You’ll meet them soon.”
He stopped in front of a thick sealed metal door.
“Extraction Room D Zone” was engraved on it.
He tapped his card key.
The lock released, and the heavy door slowly opened.
From the gap leaked something not human.
Breathing, crying, whispering noises all mixed together and crawled into my ears.
The air itself felt rotten, and my throat tightened as I breathed it in.
My body tried to step back—but froze.
Something on the other side felt like it had nailed my feet to the ground.
When the door fully opened…
Endless transparent containment cells stretched out.
Inside were beings that could barely be called shapes.
Some were only arms. Some were floating faces. Some were shadows drifting with the flicker of fluorescent light.
All of them slowly turned to look at me.
I bit my lip to suppress the chills.
I couldn’t breathe.
Countless eyes blinked in unison, as if calling my name.
Then I heard the section chief’s voice beside me.
“Welcome sincerely to Sa Phil Gwi Jeong LLC, Employee Jeong.”
The seven faces laughed at once.
And the monsters inside the containment cells seemed to laugh as well.
A wave of sound—screams, laughter, cries, none of them human—exploded all at once.
In that chaos, only one thought became clear.
My life…
is completely and utterly fucked.
