Chapter 5 : Two Tails

“Is this… really for ‘containment’?”

At my question, the employee’s expression slightly twisted.

It was a mix of irritation, confusion, and an indescribable strange emotion.

Then came the brief but heavy silence.

In that moment, I became certain.

This man… is hiding something.

I quietly lowered my gaze and slowly opened the manual I was holding.

In fact, I had noticed something strange early on.

The employee pretended to help me but seemed excessively nervous.

The heavy breathing on the emergency exit stairs, the constantly trembling fingertips,
and the most decisive remark:

“Number 4? There’s no such thing. Just go straight to number 5.”

That one line kept echoing in my head.

The manual I saw clearly had entries from 1 to 4, and even the manual he handed me had entries up to 4.

But why did the employee casually mention ‘number 5’?

That wasn’t a simple mistake.

The way he fumbled his words and kept pushing me ahead…

The more I recalled, the more suspicion turned into certainty.

I quickly flipped to the back page of the manual, thinking that there might be more crucial information.

And finally, I found the decisive sentence.

“Was this here?”

An item I hadn’t seen while descending to the emergency exit’s first floor, but suddenly it was there as if it had always been part of the page.

[Self-destruct Protocol Caution]

The self-destruct button is on the first floor of the emergency exit.

Once activated, the self-destruct protocol triggers, and the building will explode as soon as the button is released.

Please use with caution, and for further details, consult the facility management team.

‘Self-destruct?’

My mind went blank.

…As expected, this wasn’t for ‘containment.’

This was for a self-destruct.

This man was trying to use me to blow up the building.

Now, everything fell into place.

“… I’ll handle the second floor. Min-woo, you take the first.”

That meant, “You die in my place.”

I lifted my head and looked at the employee.

He tried to smile as if he was calm, but his eyes looked like a prisoner who had confessed to all his crimes.

However, the employee slowly and very discreetly moved his hand toward his side.

A small handgun was in his grasp.

“You’re quicker to catch on than I expected,” the employee said with a half-smile.

I heard the ‘click’ sound from his hand.

Naturally, it wasn’t a toy, but a real gun.

“If you try to escape, I’ll shoot.”

His voice was calm.

The coldness that hid his intent to kill sent a chill down my spine.

“We’ve been watching you closely. And we came to a conclusion. You are… too dangerous. Moreover, you’ve seen too much.”

Swallowing.

I could feel the dry saliva go down my throat.

I raised my hands slowly in submission, but my body was shaking.

My legs were wobbling, and I felt like I would collapse at any moment.

‘Press the button or get shot.’

There was only one option the employee emphasized to me.

However, at that moment.

A strange sound pierced my ears.

“Screeeee! Woof!”

A sharp, metallic screech, like a machine grinding.

I heard multiple footsteps coming from the stairs above.

Something, no… someone was coming toward us.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The employee flinched, as if he heard the sound as well.

Soon after, a massive shadow loomed over the stairs.

RUMBLE—!

The weight was so heavy, it seemed like it would bend the metal railings.

Slowly, the shape of ‘it’ came into view as it walked down the stairs.

“…!”

I thought my breath had stopped.

That was the monster I had seen earlier, beyond the iron bars.

It looked like a dog, but it was something that could never be called a dog.

“Pamyoh.”

The employee murmured quietly.

The voice was filled with fear.

“Pamyoh… Is that its name?”

It seemed the employee knew the creature’s identity.

Panicked, he staggered backward.

The monster slowly walked toward us.

Behind it, something strange unfolded.

People poured out from deeper in the hallway.

With dazed eyes, they followed the monster.

“Wow! Good job, puppy!!”

“Even feeds itself and takes care of things~!”

“Good puppy~! Let’s have it eat them too!”

They clapped and cheered, praising the monster continuously.

I leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

The employee slowly backed away.

“No, no… Why is it coming out here…!”

His gun wavered, and the moment his eyes met the creature’s, the employee’s fingertips trembled again.

The monster growled low.

Then it turned its head and looked at me.

“What is this?”

There was an emotion in its eyes that I had never seen before.

A deep gaze, as if waiting desperately for something.

Its body crouched, as though it were waiting for its owner’s command, like a dog.

‘Why… isn’t it attacking me?’

I quickly opened the manual.

My hands trembled, flipping through several pages, but I finally found the section about the creature.

[Creature: Puppy]

Name: Noori

Characteristics:

Likes praise.

However, it sometimes shows excessive affection.

Waits for commands from those it recognizes as its owner.

Follows the command “fetch” obediently.

Has past trauma from losing its previous owner, which makes it obsessive over commands.

…Command.

The word echoed in my mind.

Could it be that it thinks I’m its owner?

At that moment—

BANG!

A gunshot rang out.

It was the employee with the gun.

Panicked, he fired into the air, then immediately aimed at me.

“Die! Die! All these monsters must die!!”

The monster wouldn’t let him get away with it.

BAM!

The monster’s front paw deflected the bullet.

The bullet lodged into the wall above my head.

The recoil caused the employee to take a step back.

I gasped and instinctively shouted,

“Fetch, Noori!”

In that instant, the monster’s eyes widened.

It immediately responded with a bark.

“Woof!”

The monster lunged forward.

In an instant, it was in front of the employee.

It twisted his legs and tackled him.

GULP—

The upper half of the employee’s body was gone.

Blood flowed down the stairwell wall.

The head rolled away.

The monster nudged it with its nose, licking its tongue.

I turned my body away from the sight.

I strengthened my legs.

The phone left in the security office.

If I didn’t act now, I wouldn’t be able to leave.

I ran full speed toward the office.

How long had I been running?

My breath was ragged.

My heart was beating twice as fast as usual.

Although the monster had killed the employee who was targeting me, I couldn’t relax just yet.

I had to escape from here immediately.

“Hah… Hah…”

I sprinted down the hallway.

I could feel heavy footsteps steadily following me from behind.

‘Security office. My phone. Call.’

Nothing else mattered.

To survive, I had to contact the place mentioned in the manual.

I reached the security office door.

Thankfully, the lock wasn’t engaged.

I grabbed the handle and threw the door open, rushing inside.

CLUNK.

I heard the door latch being secured behind me.

Just as I was trying to catch my breath, I heard sniffing sounds at the door.

Low, rough, and oddly tense breaths.

But it didn’t come through the door.

I opened the transparent container on the desk.

Inside was a familiar object.

My smartphone.

My hands trembled, but I quickly turned it on.

Luckily, the battery still had some charge.

“Please… please…”

With trembling fingers, I dialed the number.

XXX-XXXX-Xx13

A few rings passed before an unfamiliar voice answered.

“…Hello?”

“This is Kim Min-woo… I’m inside the ‘Healing Animal Nursery’… There’s a monster… a monster…”

“Please calm down. We are tracking your location. Please provide the address and your current status.”

I gasped for air, calling out the address.

But I couldn’t continue speaking any further.

CRACK-!

The door, firmly shut, was completely shattered.

Dust and debris pushed aside as the monster appeared.

“HEH-HEH-HEH…! Kkking!”

As soon as it saw me, its eyes lit up and it rushed at me.

It opened its mouth wide and bit my arm.

“AAAHHHH—!”

It all happened in an instant.

Blood gushed, and pain surged through my body.

My legs went weak, and my vision blurred.

“Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?”

A frantic voice came through the phone, but it felt so distant.

At that moment, a sentence flashed through my mind.

It sometimes shows excessive affection.

Was… was this it?

I bit my lip tightly.

“Please help… I think I’m going to die…”

“The team is on their way. Keep the phone on. Do not move, and do not lose consciousness.”

The voice was clear but seemed to grow more distant.

I leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the floor.

“Yip-yip…”

The creature sat right beside me, wagging its tail and licking its tongue.

It had just been biting a person with the same mouth.

It seemed almost playful, as it nudged a head in front of my feet.

My vision grew blurry.

My heartbeat slowed, and a mixture of coldness and dizziness overwhelmed me.

My mind became increasingly distant.

At this rate, I might really die.

My arm was already torn apart, like a broken LEGO piece, lying far away.

Blood flowed from the mangled flesh, and that scene was… a clear sign of death.

Damn, I still had so much I wanted to do.

I was just starting to live like a real person.

I never thought I’d die so hopelessly just by meeting this monster.

My mother was still lying in the hospital, and I had never even experienced a proper romantic relationship.

Before I die, just once… I wanted to spend time with a woman, living without regrets. And now I’m going to die like this?

If I died with this regret, I’d surely become a ghost of an unmarried man, wandering the world.

Damn it.

That’s why they paid me so much.

660,000 won per day? Now that I think about it, it was clearly suspicious.

Is there really no such thing as a free meal in this world?

I didn’t want to die feeling wronged.

But my eyelids grew heavier, and my body collapsed, sinking toward the floor.

Please, just let me survive…

If I could just live, I’d meet women and live without regrets.

Just as my eyelids were about to close completely,

A voice echoed through the air.

“Stop, Pamyoh.”

A strange, yet oddly warm voice came from somewhere.

It was soft and polite, yet strangely firm.

“…Kkking.”

At the sound of that voice, Pamyoh’s eyes widened, then it quietly lowered its head.

It looked like a puppy being scolded.

With great effort, I lifted my head and looked toward the source of the sound.

The space was sealed, and the window wasn’t open.

Yet, from the end of the hallway, the wind blew.

Carried by that wind, something passed by.

A dark shadow.

A long, graceful tail that curved elegantly.

Were there two tails?
…A cat?

Then, I felt something familiar brush against my chest.

Rough fur.

A warm and soft body.

That familiar scent.

I couldn’t see exactly what it was, but I felt a sense of relief.

“Don’t die. I’ll save you.”

With that voice tickling my ears, the dark shadow disappeared into the darkness.

My body slowly relaxed.

My consciousness faded more and more.

Just as my eyelids were about to close completely, my lips instinctively muttered a name.

“…Nabi.”

For some reason,

I remembered the one who used to wait for me every day, rubbing its face against mine.

And then,

I lost consciousness.