TAHBPC 07

Chapter 07

When Your Boss Doesn’t Speak Your Language

“Manager, we’re back.”

By the time I returned to the office with Assistant Manager Son, Department Head Myeon was already seated at his desk.

He still had seven heads perched on his shoulders, and one of them was yawning through a pair of half-dried lips.

The sight made me instinctively turn my head away.

There was no way I could ever get used to it.

Then again, why would I?

The human brain wasn’t designed to accept something like that as the appearance of a direct supervisor.

“Oh, you’re back. Employee Jeong, you’ve worked hard as well.”

One of Department Head Myeon’s faces—the most well-groomed-looking mouth among them—spoke.

“Yes, thank you.”

I greeted him as clearly and politely as possible.

My body was exhausted, and my stomach still churned, but if you wanted money out of someone else’s wallet, you had to smile through that much discomfort.

In my case, staying alive was an even bigger motivation than the paycheck.

“I had him handle D-7 first. He understood the manual thoroughly, and although there was a small variable in the middle, he handled it exceptionally well.”

Assistant Manager Son added the comment while handing over a report.

His fist-head subtly puffed up with pride.

For a moment, I couldn’t tell whether that puffing motion was supposed to be a nod or a shrug.

“Oh, that’s an excellent start.”

Department Head Myeon said warmly while scanning through the report.

Then he lifted a hand and lightly patted my shoulder.

I felt pale, elongated fingers brush across me, but I maintained a calm expression.

“It’s rare for a new employee to respond this well during their first extraction. Most trigger alarms.”

“I agree. Just as Director Gu said, it seems we’ve recruited a very capable junior employee.”

As Assistant Manager Son snapped his fist once more, one of Department Head Myeon’s faces smiled kindly.

“His response speed was impressive. Looking at the report, he didn’t simply memorize the contents. He remembered the essence of the manual. Very good. I think he can visit the hazardous zone tomorrow.”

The hand patting my shoulder applied slightly more pressure.

Hazardous zone?

No.

No, I absolutely did not want that to be true.

And I was pretty sure several of his mouths had just licked their lips again.

“I hope you maintain that attitude going forward. The work here isn’t mechanical repetition. It requires thought.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

I bowed politely once more.

Then I sighed deeply inside.

Two monsters were exchanging compliments because I hadn’t copied another monster’s words.

What kind of company was this?

Could this truly be called a workplace?

“Come to think of it, I praised you as a capable employee, yet I haven’t given you a welcome gift. After all, I personally interviewed you.”

As he spoke, he reached deep into his desk drawer and retrieved a finely crafted metal box.

The surface was engraved with the code [D-88].

“Please take it. It’s an item processed by the Refinement Department from one of the dimensional entities you saw yesterday. Consider it a gift commemorating your successful first extraction. Since you’ll be visiting another zone tomorrow, it may prove useful.”

So he had been serious about the hazardous zone.

As his pale fingers opened the box, a faint violet glow emerged along with a strange object.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary fountain pen.

But a closer inspection revealed that the pen body was made from a smoothly polished human finger bone, while the nib was carved from a sharpened white fragment of bone.

“Oh? You’re issuing equipment already?”

Assistant Manager Son shifted beside me, sounding genuinely surprised.

Honestly speaking, it looked incredibly unpleasant to use.

Whether he sensed my thoughts or not, Department Head Myeon smiled gently and explained.

“It isn’t something officially sold through the company store. Think of it as a special welcome gift. It’s crafted from the remains of Dimensional Entity D-88, The Holy Mother Who Strips Away Bones. As for its name… perhaps The Holy Mother’s Mercy would suffice.”

The way he presented it left me with absolutely no excuse to refuse.

The moment I accepted the pen, a chilling sensation swept through my entire body.

A faint vibration pulsed through the cold bone shaft, like the heartbeat of a living organism.

“The function is simple but reliable. If Employee Jeong suffers a fracture or dislocation during extraction work, don’t hesitate. Simply stab the affected area with the pen nib.”

All seven mouths curved into grotesque smiles simultaneously.

“The experience of hearing your broken bones scream as they return to their proper places is quite memorable. Few emergency treatments are as effective. If the injury is external and accessible—cuts, punctures, abrasions—it will work there as well. Naturally, it also functions as a writing instrument.”

As soon as his explanation ended, I stared down at the pen in my hand.

During my military service, I’d seen plenty of cutting-edge technology.

Yet the white fragment of bone resting in my palm reduced every achievement of modern science to primitive handicraft.

The fortress of physical law crumbled before my eyes like a sandcastle.

Should something like this even exist?

A device that repaired tissue and reset bones simply by stabbing someone.

It wasn’t technology.

It was a miracle forged by sacrificing logic and common sense themselves.

“Thank you. Though I worry it’s far more than I deserve.”

I spoke as calmly as possible, but my fingertips trembled around the pen.

Sergeant Jeong Haeil admired its strategic value.

Psychology student Jeong Haeil felt sickened by the inhuman efficiency of a tool that repaired human bodies as casually as fixing a piece of machinery.

“It isn’t quite that powerful. It’s useless against damage beyond its grade, and it consumes calcium with every use. Severe demineralization will occur. Twisted limbs or loose teeth are reasonable side effects.”

In other words:

If I didn’t want my bones harvested, I’d better use it sparingly.

This wasn’t healing.

It was a practical repair job to keep an employee operational for the next assignment.

Even so, when I slipped the bone pen into my chest pocket, the rhythmic pulse against my heart created a strange feeling.

A steady, repetitive beating.

Along with it came a practical sense of reassurance.

In this insane workplace, I now possessed a piece of insane equipment I could rely on.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

My smile came a little easier this time.

This was good.

Smile.

I’d only just returned to my desk when Assistant Manager Son turned his head toward the wall.

More accurately, the giant fist serving as his head tilted slightly.

“Speaking of which… it’s about time he arrived.”

I subconsciously followed his gaze and checked the clock.

Or rather, I guessed the direction of his gaze and checked the clock.

How exactly did Assistant Manager Son tell time?

Did he use a sixth sense?

And if you saw with a fist, could that still be called a sixth sense?

After meeting Assistant Manager Son and Manager Batori, I could no longer suppress my curiosity.

“Um… what kind of person is Chief Sik?”

Assistant Manager Son immediately snapped his fingers as though he’d been waiting for the question.

Department Head Myeon thought for a moment before one of the faces beneath his left cheek spoke.

“He’s the ace of our team. There aren’t many dimensional entities he can’t handle alone. His extraction capabilities are nearly management-level.”

“He can be a little hot-tempered, but he’s responsible and highly skilled. Of course, the same could be said for Assistant Manager Son. He can suppress most B-Rank dimensional entities by himself.”

At the compliment, Assistant Manager Son’s fist clenched and opened with a sharp smack.

“His personality is… well, when he gets absorbed in work, he can be rough. But that’s just his nature. Even so, he’s always serious about the job.”

“I see. I just thought it would be good to know in advance.”

At my lifeless response, the mouth beneath Department Head Myeon’s chin chuckled.

“Don’t worry. At the very least, he eats fewer coworkers than Manager Batori does.”

Eats.

For a moment, my expression nearly collapsed.

But Department Head Myeon merely leaned back casually.

“So, Employee Jeong, don’t be too afraid. Observe carefully and learn naturally. Chief Sik is, without question, the finest ace of Extraction Team One.”

Not knowing whether that was reassurance or a warning, I forced a nervous smile.

Inside, I thought:

Hot-tempered. Ace. I’ve met plenty of those in the military.

Maybe leaving the army was the worst decision of my life.

“Oh, here he comes.”

THUD.

The instant Department Head Myeon finished speaking, a heavy impact echoed from somewhere in the distance.

THUD… THUD…

Footsteps.

Slowly approaching from beyond the wall.

Not the smooth footsteps of Department Head Myeon.

Not the rhythmic dress-shoe clicks of Assistant Manager Son.

These weren’t footsteps.

They were impacts.

Like a massive beast with a collapsed center of gravity crushing the hallway beneath enormous legs.

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The rhythm wasn’t even consistent.

Between the impacts came the dragging sound of something heavy and metallic.

Clang— Scrraape— THUD—

Metal grinding against concrete.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

Drawing closer.

Stay calm.

One trip to the company infirmary was more than enough.

THUD.

THUD.

The footsteps reached the office door.

Then silence.

A brief moment of stillness.

Within that silence, I could hear my own heartbeat pounding louder than my eardrums.

Click.

The handle slowly turned.

No electronic chime.

No warning alarm.

Only a faint vibration through the floor as the door began to move.

And then—

“……”

Something darker than darkness entered the office.

Black fur.

Pitch-black fur as hard as steel.

Not the fur of a warm-blooded mammal.

Something else entirely seemed to flow beneath it.

The thing bent its body to fit through the entrance, filling the doorway as it exhaled rough breaths.

“Grrrrrrrrr……”

The low vibration alone sliced through the air, making objects on nearby desks tremble.

One step.

Two steps.

The gigantic figure entered.

The moment I raised my head to identify it, I immediately regretted my decision.

My hands clenched so tightly they felt ready to shatter.

He was not merely large.

He was a monster.

Over two and a half meters tall.

Even hunched beneath the ceiling, he radiated enough pressure to crush the entire room.

Up close, I could see rotting flesh and reddish scales clinging between the blade-like black fur like dried scabs.

His skin resembled the hide of a beast that someone had forcibly stitched together.

Unknown scars intertwined across his body like coral reefs.

He’s not even wearing a suit?

Department Head Myeon, Assistant Manager Son, Manager Batori—even the tentacle doctor—had all worn proper clothing.

But this monster wore only rough gray cloth.

Like a trapping net or a rotting burlap sack wrapped around his body.

Bulging black muscles pushed through the worn fabric as though ready to burst free.

And chains.

Thick rusted chains wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso.

They dug directly into flesh, as if metal and skin had fused together.

The surrounding tissue was inflamed and oozing.

Whenever the chains moved, they collided with each other, producing horrifying metallic cracks.

Most overwhelming of all was his head.

Not human.

The head of a gigantic beast.

One ear had been torn nearly in half.

The muzzle was covered in geometric scars as though repeatedly slashed by knives.

A huge metal muzzle restrained jaws clearly designed for tearing rather than speaking.

Yet even the muzzle had been bent out of shape by his jaw strength.

Sharp fangs glimmered through the gaps, dripping foul-smelling saliva.

As though he could chew and swallow everything in existence.

A distorted, growling breath escaped between those enormous teeth.

Long arms covered in curved, ragged claws.

Each arm looked twice as long as a human’s.

The claws scraped along the floor, leaving gouges in the cracked concrete.

And this… is supposed to be an office worker?

Chief Sik felt less like a living creature and more like a disaster itself.

Even without words, I understood.

This was something better suited to tearing people apart than teaching them.

Chief Sik stepped fully into the office.

As his massive frame brushed the doorframe, a fluorescent light cover nearly fell from the ceiling.

As though accustomed to it, he stepped back and released a long breath toward the ceiling.

“Grrrk… Khyak… Grrrrng.”

The office fell silent.

But it wasn’t an awkward silence.

It was the silence of people who understood exactly what he had said.

Department Head Myeon folded his arms and replied.

“Yes, we’ve stocked enough for three days. And now that you have a junior employee, you don’t need to push yourself so hard.”

“Grrng… Grrrrrr. Hooo—”

“Yes, our Haeil did very well. It was his first D-7 extraction, and he handled it excellently.”

I stared blankly.

That sound is being translated into language?

How? Frequencies? Telepathy? Some monster universal language?

Chief Sik slowly turned his head toward me.

Within those molten gold eyes swirled endless rage and an eternal thirst that could never be satisfied.

Then the giant body growled.

“Grrrk. Krrr, Huuuugh. Hwaa—”

It wasn’t something that could be called speech.

A strange breath rolled up from deep within his throat.

Not words.

A low vibration like bones grinding together.

Yet Department Head Myeon and Assistant Manager Son nodded naturally.

“That’s right. Employee Jeong was a soldier. He’s physically capable and quick-witted. He’ll adapt quickly.”

“Exactly, Chief Sik. I’ve already covered the basics with him, so no need to worry.”

“Kerrrk… Ghhhh… Grrrrrrk.”

“Hoho, perhaps we should hold a welcome dinner for Employee Jeong before work ends?”

“Come now, shouldn’t we wait until Assistant Director Mok returns?”

“Grrrng, khk, grrrrrr…”

They were smiling.

Department Head Myeon and Assistant Manager Son each smiled in their own sincere way.

One curled several lips kindly.

The other opened and closed his fist.

Meanwhile, Chief Sik steadily approached me.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

The weight of each step traveled through the floor and into my body.

At that moment, I knew.

…I’m screwed.

I’ve endured countless awful situations already.

But this one was unmatched.

That thing was larger and more terrifying than any monster I’d seen so far.

And it couldn’t speak.

Literally.

It could not speak at all.

And somehow, that thing was my mentor.

“Gweeeek.”

His cry continued to shake the office.

His rough breath drew closer.

Then stopped directly in front of me.

I instinctively pushed my chair backward.

If he straightened completely, he’d hit the ceiling.

Every survival instinct in my body screamed at me to run.

But I couldn’t move.

He’s an employee.

An employee.

A full-time employee of this company.

A member of society.

A senior responsible for training new hires…

I repeated the words desperately in my head.

Then I forced a smile.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

“…It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chief Sik.”

The enormous beast looked down at me while emitting a low growl.

Then he nodded.

Just slightly.

Just once.

That single nod seemed to settle the entire atmosphere of the office.

Chief Sik slowly leaned his body toward me.

As his massive upper body lowered, the office lights disappeared behind him.

His shadow swallowed me whole.

“…Grrrrrk.”

A strange high-frequency tremor lingered around his mouth, like the distant howl of a beast.

He slowly raised his eyelids.

The moment I met those burning golden eyes, it felt like staring into the abyss of the universe with the naked eye.

The instant that gaze touched me, every fold of my brain screamed in terror.

The feeling of seeing something I was never meant to witness.

The sensation of going blind not from light, but from oblivion itself.

The moment those golden eyes looked directly at me, my breathing stopped.

My lungs felt as though they were curling upward.

My heart seemed ready to move inside my stomach.

The gaze didn’t merely touch my skin.

It felt like it was digging directly into my brain.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

I gripped my knees so hard it felt like I might crush them.

I tried to maintain my smile, but my teeth trembled.

Thankfully, this horrifying greeting didn’t last long.

The moment Chief Sik slowly turned his head away and straightened up again, I felt my vision cool to a pale blue.

Only then did the floor rumble.

THUD. THUD.

Chief Sik casually released another growling breath and licked a wound hidden within his mane.

Only then did I finally exhale.

It took several seconds before air returned to my lungs properly.

And I realized one thing.

I was going to be stuck with this monster every day from now on.

Apparently, I really have no luck when it comes to mentors.