Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 135

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Manual Episode 135

ep19. Exploration! The Timeless Hotel! (8)

“The Director already left at the beginning. That thing could be an Anomaly that’s obstructing us.”
All eyes converged on me.
Go Hong-sang in particular looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
The responses were lukewarm all around, so I pressed on.
“Think about it—isn’t it continuously creating danger? When we first went to the Lobby, it used the word ‘Core’ precisely to nearly wipe us all out. Is that just coincidence?”
Go Hong-sang’s brow furrowed.
The Director, who had lost control once before, was now playing the composed middle-aged man again.
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t immediately react to my provocation.
Maybe he could tolerate it because his opponent wasn’t Kwon Mu-seop.
“And you all saw just now—before he exploded, he tried to drag the Manager into it and kill him too. Isn’t that strange?”
“What are you talking about? Who’s trying to kill whom?”
The Director rushed to deny my words.
He really seemed not to remember, so the Deputy Director asked.
“Director, how much do you remember from just now?”
“That much—I remember grabbing a woman and her cursing me.”
It wasn’t just a woman he grabbed, but by her hair.
The Director was subtly downplaying his own rampage, embarrassed.
“So you’re saying it doesn’t matter if you don’t remember? Everyone here saw you grab the Manager. That’s why the Deputy Director kicked you.”
At the mention of the Deputy Director kicking him, Go Hong-sang’s eyes widened.
I continued, noting his shock.
“That person is trying to kill us. Deliberately.”
“Let’s be reasonable here. What kind of nonsense have you been spouting? And calling him ‘that person’—where are your manners? Manager Kwon, are you going to just let your subordinate talk like this?”
Unable to take it anymore, Go Hong-sang demanded that Kwon Mu-seop reprimand me.
Kwon Mu-seop tried to stop me.
“Seo Do-un, I think you’re going a bit too far. Making conclusions like that right now—”
“No, Manager, you saw it yourself. Does that behavior make sense to you?”
“Still, we can’t say it’s an Anomaly—”
“Right, it could be the Director himself succumbing to confusion rather than an Anomaly. The important thing is that person is putting us in danger. Our Manual states: ‘Personnel who pose a threat to the group shall be excluded.’ We need to uphold this principle. That person could get us all killed.”
“Seo Do-un, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
When I pressed harder, Kwon Mu-seop seemed taken aback.
I appealed to him.
“Manager, can’t you just trust me on this right now?”
Kwon Mu-seop looked at me uncertainly.
He stared into my eyes as if trying to read something there.
Then Go Hong-sang suddenly shouted.
“Trust? What trust, Manager Kwon!”
At the Director’s outburst, Kwon Mu-seop looked away from me.
Then he murmured quietly toward Go Hong-sang.
“…I think Seo Do-un’s words have merit.”
“Hah!”
The Director exclaimed loudly and turned to the Deputy Director.
The Deputy Director glanced at me, then spoke as if he had no choice.
“My apologies. This is an active site, so I’ll defer to Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s judgment.”
“What did you say?”
Go Hong-sang stared at the Deputy Director like a man betrayed.
No, this was an actual betrayal.
The Director was being abandoned by those who should have supported him, and I turned to the now-isolated Go Hong-sang.
“If you feel so wronged, why don’t you explain yourself?”
“How dare you tell me to explain—”
“See? You can’t even explain your own actions. That’s dangerous. We need to exclude you and move on according to protocol.”
I immediately reported to Kwon Mu-seop and Kim Sun-woong as if I’d been waiting for this.
“Hmm…”
The two of them fell silent as if in thought, while Go Hong-sang took sharp breaths and looked between them.
Then he suddenly turned on me.
“What explanation are you asking for anyway? If you want answers, shouldn’t you ask proper questions first?”
He’d been angry about being made to explain, but now his tone had shifted.
Still, I played dumb and asked solemnly.
“Why do you keep creating danger?”
“Would I do that on purpose? I’ve never done this kind of work before, and this is my first time in a place like this.”
“You didn’t know? Even after being Director for over two years?”
“The Deputy Director receives field reports. I focus on organizational operations and external affairs—my role is different. So why are you pushing so hard and slandering me? You’re so frustrating for someone young!”
“So you have no knowledge of field operations, Director?”
“I don’t know much about it.”
“Then why do you just go out without orders?”
“…”
“See? Anyone can tell something’s wrong!”
“This person—!”
At my outburst, Go Hong-sang cried out too, alarmed.
And I went around broadcasting how strange the Director was.
Wondering if he really might be abandoned, Go Hong-sang was reacting like someone pressing a panic button.
But I didn’t think he needed to be this desperate.
I wasn’t sure about Deputy Director Kim Sun-woong, but Manager Kwon Mu-seop wouldn’t abandon a living, breathing Go Hong-sang and leave him behind.
I had this faith in him, and so I made demands without restraint.
“We must exclude him according to the Manual!”
“Exclude? Exclude what! What authority do you have to say such things!”
“Didn’t you say so yourself, Director? That excessive Special Favors help no one?”
At my answer, Go Hong-sang was left speechless.
“Here, bringing you along is a Special Favor, so we should just follow the Manual. It’s better to cut this loose before it becomes a bigger problem.”
“…!”
There’s a saying about a Self-inflicted Trap.
There’s also a saying about digging your own grave.
A person who falls into ordinary misfortune receives help from those around them.
But a person who falls into the very trap they dug themselves, using their own words—it’s hard for them to gain sympathy.
Because that’s what they had intended to do to others.
So I simply returned to Go Hong-sang the words he had spoken in the Director’s Office less than an hour ago.
Realizing he was in no position to push back further, Go Hong-sang suddenly fell silent.
In his eyes, barely hidden, was anxiety.
His momentum had clearly broken.
At this point, he would likely restrain any reckless actions.
But there was still an important matter to address.
“Why did you try to kill Manager Kwon just now?”
“…I have no memory of that.”
“Everyone saw it.”
At my pressing, Go Hong-sang’s face twisted.
This situation seemed absolutely dreadful to him.
It would be. A kid twenty years younger than him was tormenting him brazenly.
And a bottom-level subordinate in the organization he led at that.
But this too was a Self-inflicted Trap.
“Are you thinking the Manager needs to die and come back to life just like you, Director?”
“No!”
“Then what? We all heard what you said back then.”
“…!”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Go Hong-sang couldn’t properly rebut.
I continued, smirking at the sight of him.
“Isn’t this just wrong as a human being? Frankly, there’s no guarantee you’ll be fine even after leaving this place. Bad luck, you die. Good luck, you survive. That’s why we’re trying to take care of you and bring you along. But in the meantime, you’re trying to put someone else in the same situation as you?”
Go Hong-sang’s gaze trembled faintly.
He has no memory, so he can’t explain properly, but he also can’t deny it absolutely.
Because he knows his own heart better than anyone.
Grabbing Kwon Mu-seop’s ankle just now—that really was crossing a line.
Of course, I understand that Go Hong-sang is having trouble maintaining his sanity.
It would naturally be terrifying.
Not knowing if he’s dead or alive, uncertain if he’s even real.
I understand that frame of mind, but if we let this continue, things will truly fall apart.
Someone had to take hold of those reins, but Kwon Mu-seop stepping forward would likely meet more resistance given various circumstances.
Whether the Deputy Director would step up was uncertain.
So I decided to take the responsibility myself.
A strange creature like me opposing him would likely confuse Go Hong-sang far more anyway.
Fortunately, Manager Kwon Mu-seop and Deputy Director Kim Sun-woong understood my intent and coordinated with me.
As a result, Go Hong-sang was left speechless by backtalk from a younger man.
Having wrapped things up roughly, I gestured toward Kwon Mu-seop.
Kwon Mu-seop looked at me with somewhat troubled eyes, then spoke solemnly.
“That’s enough, Seo Do-un. The call here rests with our Director.”
“…”
Now that Kwon Mu-seop was taking his side, Go Hong-sang lifted his head and looked at him with longing.
Kwon Mu-seop deliberately avoided that clingy gaze and continued speaking.
“Your point has some merit, so let’s find a way forward. Director, we need safety measures—would that be acceptable?”
“…”
That fellow wasn’t answering again.
“No, I can’t go with that person. It doesn’t fit the protocol, and how can such a thing even be allowed?”
I cried out as if agitated.
Then Kwon Mu-seop also shot back as if angry.
“Seo Do-un, listen.”
“Why are you being like this only to me, Manager? Don’t you remember what that person did to you?”
At my accusation, Go Hong-sang grew pensive again.
Yes, this too was a Self-inflicted Trap.
The subordinate he’d been grinding down was now his only lifeline.
This is why people should try to live well.
“Besides, he still hasn’t given any explanation. Yet you’re accepting this?”
I continued the pressure, hoping Go Hong-sang would appreciate the Manager’s grace.
“Director, if you have anything to say, speak up. This isn’t a situation where people around you are trying to gauge your mood. This is a situation where you need to convince us. Don’t you grasp that yet?”
Hmm, was this a bit much?
Go Hong-sang stood with his gaze dropped to the floor, silent.
I thought it was about time to pull back, so I exhaled heavily.
“Sigh…”
But to Go Hong-sang, my sigh seemed to sound different.
Go Hong-sang looked at me with a desperate expression.
As if something inside him had collapsed.
“The Deputy Director…”
Go Hong-sang dropped his head again and muttered in a hoarse voice.
“Because of the Deputy Director…”
Suddenly the Deputy Director?
I turned to look at the Deputy Director.
Kim Sun-woong shook his head with an air of disinterest.
“The Deputy Director, he was carrying an arm, that’s… that’s what happened.”
Go Hong-sang continued in fragments, speaking words no one could understand.
But, wait…?
“My arm was severed, it was severed, and the Deputy Director, he was carrying it, throwing it…”
Go Hong-sang squeezed out words in a choked voice.
Did I hear moisture in that voice, or was it my imagination?
No way. Director, surely not?
Alarmed, I examined Go Hong-sang’s complexion.
His head was bowed, so I couldn’t see clearly.
But the next moment—
“The Deputy Director was holding my arm, even now, like this—!”
Go Hong-sang suddenly began to weep.
Covering his face with both hands, he broke into open sobbing.
“…”
I froze.
Only when I heard Go Hong-sang muttering over and over about “the Deputy Director” and “my arm” did I finally come to my senses.
This is the Deputy Director’s fault.
I turned to look at the Deputy Director, wanting to shift the blame.
But he was already looking at me.
That subtle smile seemed to say: You made him cry.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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