chapter_0115

115 – I’m Actually Suffering from Heart Disease

115 – I’m Actually Suffering from Heart Disease

No second-year student genuinely asked if Majiya was really going to debut after hearing her spirited words.

For one, there was a playful nuance to it.

Everyone was indifferent to whether Majiya debuted or not; it didn’t particularly matter to them.

The two who were debuting for the first time thought, “Well, I guess the company will decide,” and moved on.

Ena, knowing Majiya a bit, thought, “She’s just joking,” and let it slide.

However, it was also true that everyone had secretly begun to hope.

Majiya debuting alongside them?

Debuts of new members always attract attention, but if the sensational Majiya was involved, how much more attention would that draw?

Moreover, if they were colleagues, they could exploit Majiya, who was a cheat code for collaborations.

They thought it would be fine if she just helped out like she did as a manager for the first-year students, but it felt like a massive gold nugget had fallen from the sky.

… Of course, this was just the second-year students’ perspective.

When Majiya, who had followed them down to the Boss’s office after the first training session, talked about the decision made that morning, Cheon Do-hee was taken aback.

“You’re saying you’ll participate in the training with the kids from start to finish?”

It was the first time Cheon Do-hee had seen Majiya look so surprised.

Her fierce gaze widened even more, making her look even fiercer.

Soon, Cheon Do-hee shook her head to regain her composure and said, “That, what I said about debuting last time was just a joke. Don’t take it seriously.”

Majiya shook her head in agreement.

“I’m not saying I’m debuting; I just thought my broadcasting time would increase. But since I’m still a beginner, there’s a lot I don’t know.

And with three second-year students, it feels a bit odd, so I thought I’d stick close to help manage their feelings as well.”

Cheon Do-hee pouted her lips, but she figured Majiya had her reasons and let it go.

She didn’t think Majiya would accept a debut again after refusing it before.

“Anyway. Got it. Since the program was designed with four members in mind, having you in it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thank goodness.”

“So you’re saying you’ll lead the training and participate in it at the same time?”

“Yes. I think I can manage.”

Cheon Do-hee gently patted Majiya’s head.

“I hope you don’t end up debuting if possible.”

“Why not?”

“It’s true that you’re someone who could debut without any issue. But honestly, you’re also an important employee I can’t do without.

Once you debut, who’s going to create the industry insight materials for me…?”

Majiya half-closed her eyes and glared at the Boss.

“You managed just fine before I got hired. Just think of it as going back three years.”

Cheon Do-hee held her head in a panic, looking as if she were about to lose it.

It was playful, but her expression acting was so good that it looked sincere.

“If by any chance you do debut, I command you as the Boss to create the industry insight materials weekly.”

“Why are you trying to become a real black company?”

Majiya chuckled as she turned to head back to the ninth floor, but Cheon Do-hee asked again.

“By the way, are you planning to participate in the retreat this weekend?”

It was a tradition that all Virtual YouTubers debuting in Parallel had to participate in a two-day retreat with their fellow trainees during the first weekend after their debut.

Cheon Do-hee recalled her high school trip experience at a massive escape room set during her childhood.

Rain, who struggles with Korean, the somewhat aloof Komari, and the restless Maru. Dora played a crucial role in bringing them together.

No one expected Dora to take on the leader role while Rain would be in charge of action and atmosphere.

What is known as the “swaying bridge effect” in professional terms had achieved great results.

“Yes. I thought that if I participated in all the programs, everyone would take it more seriously.”

“It would be a problem if you stepped in to help just because you feel sorry for the kids. This is a legitimate test.”

“I won’t help. If anything, I’ll mess around even more.”

“Hey. No messing around. The difficulty isn’t easy, and if you mess up, you might not clear it in time.”

“It’s a place that renews its puzzles and set every year. It’s different from last year, so I won’t have anything to help with.”

Honestly, wouldn’t Miho go wild just for the escape room?

She loves deduction that much.

There was no need for her to relay messages since she was shy.

As seen earlier, Miho becomes somewhat ordinary when it comes to deduction.

What’s interesting about the escape room attraction on the weekend of the first week of training is that before it starts, everyone looks at the schedule with immense anticipation.

What? An escape room? A large-scale one?

A two-day, one-night event? Is that even a thing? They are astonished.

Moreover, since most of the first week’s training consists of theoretical lessons led by the Boss and the head of the HR department, they’ve been stuck in a frustrating training room the whole time, so they can’t help but feel excited about going outdoors.

Additionally, all the lectures are suffocating.

The Boss talks about the footsteps and roadmap of Parallel.

The head of HR goes through the management contracts item by item.

The accounting director discusses revenue distribution and taxes by item.

The planning team leader explains the differences between company planning and personal planning, and the range of support the company can provide, and so on…

I was curious if this would resonate with introverted people, but it turns out that introverts prefer a nice home over a good training facility.

During the first year, Maru and Komari were overjoyed at the prospect of going outside.

Anyway, everyone was incredibly excited as they headed to the pension and escape room attraction…

Upon arrival, they were first taken aback by the size, which was as wide as a soccer field.

Although the accommodation fee included a lavish banquet, they were shocked again to learn that if they failed to clear the given missions, they would receive a cheap meal.

They had to achieve certain goals before the sun completely set to be able to sleep in the pension, or else they would have to sleep in tents and sleeping bags on the pension’s rooftop with hot packs.

Since it was in the mountains, the sun set early, providing ample sleep time, but they still had to wake up before dawn to carry out the second-day missions.

However, the rewards were significant.

If they cleared it on time, they could enjoy a warm and delicious breakfast with their colleagues while watching the sunrise from a pavilion on the mountainside overlooking the East Sea.

There was no hardship like this elsewhere, and the pension owner had so much money that the price was cheap compared to the scale of the attraction, requiring a minimum three-month wait for reservations.

In other words, there wouldn’t be a second chance.

If they wanted to see a lavish banquet, a warm bed, and a meaningful sunrise, they had to work together to overcome the challenges.

Of course, regular people choose the easy difficulty for the experience, but…

As you know, we aim for the swaying bridge effect, so we challenge the hellish difficulty, where less than 5% of participants clear it, according to the pension owner.

After hearing this, all the members who had been excited about enjoying their first outdoor attraction turned into a somber bunch.

In fact, the second-year students were so downcast that they said dinner was out of the question and were sluggish for about ten minutes after arriving on-site.

However, Orca showed a challenging attitude after that time.

“Thinking back to the outdoor training I did throughout my military service, this is much better… I’ll do my best.”

As expected from a disciplined soldier, his enthusiasm was exceptional.

If he were closer to Miho, a situation might have arisen where Miho would ask for help, and Orca would say to trust him, creating a polar bear threat.

As the week of training was nearing its end, the two were still somewhat distant.

When Ena was around, they could at least communicate through her, but when left alone, it was awkward.

Of course, I was grateful to witness that scene, as it was a rare sight for me.

This ultimately became the difference in status between the Parallel Woldeungi and me.

You all can’t see the scenery.

I see it in 3D right in front of me.

… No, this time I’m participating too, so it’s more like 4D.

In the meantime, Ena made me chuckle by talking about her experience with Rapitz.

“When I was with Rapitz, we only had two months of lessons after a week of theoretical training… I’m so excited right now. I didn’t expect to do something so fun.”

“So how did Serena get close to her peers? It must have taken quite a while.”

“I put in a lot of effort… The preparation period for debut wasn’t short, but everyone was busy with their lessons, so we didn’t have much time to see each other.”

Ena forced a date to have meals together and bought coffee, saying she took on the tasks that needed to be done.

The image of her as the eldest daughter of a family now feels even more vivid.

No matter how well-off she is, she worked like a true eldest daughter.

“Still, it seems everyone got close before debut?”

“It was a close call. I only met the seniors once. It felt a bit factory-like. They made us work on songs to the point of boredom, but there was no family-like feeling like in Parallel. The seniors were so grateful when I arranged gatherings.”

“What about Iona?”

“Yes. She was the most grateful. She was so busy handling her deadlines that she couldn’t pay attention to the juniors, but when a junior stepped up to help like this, she was really thankful.”

Ena had certainly gone through a lot.

She didn’t need to anymore.

Just like the first-year students, the second-year students would inevitably rely on each other after enjoying the escape room attraction today, whether they liked it or not.

By the way, since the pension was slightly elevated compared to the attraction field, the Boss and the Team Leader, including me, watched the first-year students conduct the program from above.

I remember Rain saying the F-word over a hundred times that day.

The majesty of the hellish escape room difficulty.

By the way, seeing the second-year students consistently practicing social distancing, even though Ena had periodically reminded them, was quite nostalgic.

The first-year students, who are now sticking together, were similar before coming here.

Soon, the Boss went up to the pension with the Team Leader, and after a short wait, a woman in her late thirties came to us and handed out blindfolds.

She was the wife of the couple running the pension and was in charge of guiding the entire attraction.

The blindfolded second-year student train began its journey, but I, unlike the others, had to remain in front of the pension owner, unable to join the line.

They said I might trip and hurt myself because I was too short.

Thus, we walked softly on the grass, trudged over the concrete floor, and then walked over the dirt field…

Finally, we arrived at the starting point of the attraction and were allowed to remove our blindfolds.

The last sound I heard was the clanging of steel stairs.

After entering the indoor area, I heard a strangely creaky sound.

“Now, could you please remove your blindfolds? I’ll explain while you look, and then I’ll take my leave. Everyone, make sure you’re dressed warmly. If you need hot packs or warm gear, you can grab them from your lockers now.”

Knowing that if I participated in the challenge, the members would overly rely on me, I intentionally came without hearing anything.

I didn’t even look up reviews online.

The second-year students? I only found out they were coming today, so I didn’t have time to check.

Everyone removed their blindfolds in a state of complete ignorance, finally seeing the stage for the escape room.

A single bed like one seen in dramas.

An old-looking locker and mattress set against the wall, with a green blanket.

Ena, with a flushed face, opened the locker and pulled out something like a coat, which had a camouflage pattern of green, black, and brown.

As Orca groaned at the sight, the pension owner began to explain.

“You all must now escape from a military base where a zombie outbreak has occurred. You need to safely pass through several checkpoints, where zombies may attack at any moment, and reach the survivor gathering point over there.”

For reference, the survivor gathering point is the pension we need to reach.

“However, due to the limited sleeping arrangements at the gathering point, if you don’t arrive on time, you may have to sleep in tents on the rooftop. Please keep this in mind. The program will proceed according to the instructions provided earlier until sunrise tomorrow morning, and after that, you can freely rest at the pension until noon.

Please note that in the hell difficulty you’ve chosen, no hints will be provided, and you’ll need to clear two more missions compared to the normal difficulty. Keep this in mind. Now, does anyone have questions?”

If a military situation play acted, I wouldn’t be confident since I haven’t served.

If it’s a horror attraction, that’s also a bit tricky, so I raised my hand to ask a question.

No matter how I am, I can’t shoot someone with a gun, so something suddenly popping out is a bit scary.

“Are there many jump scares?”

The pension owner replied.

“In hell difficulty, there are three locations where they exist. I asked earlier, but does anyone have heart problems?”

Damn.

I should have said I had heart problems.

Author’s Note:

I’m so sorry!!!!!

I’ve been so busy with work over the weekend that I completely forgot to make a reservation…

I’m really sorry!! I apologize!!!

It’s true that I’m a writer who can’t even do a series properly.

Please hit me… I’ll take it like a champ…