âSihyeon, did you start working in your early 20s?â
âThe family situation was not good, so I had to get a job right away. Although I couldnât go to college, I think I spent my time faithfully with that much social experience.â
Questions within the expected range.
I answered calmly and confidently.
The interviewer showed interest in what I did in my early 20s and asked a few more questions.
I naturally continued my prepared answer, and the interviewer nodded slightly as if he liked it.
Good! Itâs going well so far.
The atmosphere did not look bad with the sense gained from numerous interview experiences.
I tried not to let my guard down and smiled as comfortably as possible.
One of the interviewers, who had been roughly rummaging through the submitted self-introduction and resume, trembled.
âHuh? Sihyeon?âŠ. Are you an âincomplete awakenerâ?
OhâŠ
I sensed an ominous pattern that Iâve experienced several times, but for now, I calmly changed my answer as I prepared.
âYes. I have judged like that a few years ago.â
âHmm.â
âIâve completed the examination at the hospital regarding that, and so far, there has been nothing wrong withâŠ.â
Interviewers showed no interest in what I said.
They whispered to each other and completely closed the resumes they were looking at.
Eyes avoiding my eyes as if uncomfortable, corners of mouth falling down, and even putting their arms around the chair and leaning their body deep behind.
I also lost my motivation in an instant due to their cold interest.
Did I fail again this time?
After the formal questions and formal answers that followed, I left the interview place.
***********
The world faced a big change decades ago.
Monsters poured out of the unidentified cracks, and a passage to another world completely different from the modern world was also opened.
And humans living on Earth began to change.
Awakening!
Already, the phenomenon of awakening has allowed the use of tremendous power as if people were a character in a game.
Soon after, they were revered as heroes and won wealth and honor.
Human society has also changed rapidly in line with them.
Welcome, Everybody!
The best guild! The Astora is waiting for you.
An advertisement on a passing bus billboard.
Guild advertisements, which may only exist in games, have now become ordinary daily lives.
However, the phenomenon of awakening was not a blessing to everyone.
For example, like me sitting at a bus stop and sighing.
âHa. This bloody incomplete awakeningâŠâ
If awakening is a blessing, incomplete awakening is like a curse.
This phenomenon, called âincomplete awakening,â occurred at a time when a person with awakening was unable to deal with mana.
In this case, not only cannot use any ability but also oneâs own status window cannot be opened.
The most serious problem was the symptoms that occurred together.
The whole body gets paralyzed due to unknown shock or the physical ability gets significantly reduced.
Of course, these serious symptoms appear only in a small number of people, and most of them have continued their normal lives.
HoweverâŠ.
Even if the job application in a small company that passes candidates roughly, doesnât want to use an employee who may have a problem at any time.
I had a headache when I made the mistake in the interview again today.
Debt left in the bank for my motherâs treatment, plus the medical expenses needed in the future.
Should I extend my work at night rather than working part-time during the day?
While waiting for the bus and lamenting.
The cell phone in the pocket rang.
I checked the screen of my cell phone without much thought because I thought I received a spam message as usual.
I looked puzzled at the sudden text message that came through the job information site.
When I was young, I raised a cow on my fatherâs farm.
Like any child of a farmhouse, I helped with farm work since I was young, and I personally liked animals, so I spent a lot of time with cows.
Perhaps if my fatherâs farm was not ruined.
I probably would have decided on a career path there and gone to college.
However, in an unexpected accident, my fatherâs farm went bankrupt.
And my father died of illness.
Since then, I have never done anything related to farms.
I donât have a related license, but suddenly, a job related to a farm?
Suspicion naturally came to my mind.
Sometimes there are people who want to cheat one through their resumes released.
However, as the current situation was not good, I became interested without realizing it.
The worries werenât that long.
Letâs just keep in touch.
If I thought it was weird, I can turn it down right away.
Enter the contact information left in the text and press the call button.
âHello? You texted me through the job information site, right? â
âOh, thatâs right.â
âWhat? Right now?â
âInferis officeâ?
I once again checked the address sent by the man I talked to.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the address was not wrong.
While hesitating, I knocked on the door of the office.
Knock, knock, knock.
Itâs open. Come in!
I slowly opened the door to a voice from the inside.
A man dressed in a neat suit welcomed me inside the office.
âAre you Lim Sihyeon?â
âOh, yes. Thatâs right.â
âNice to meet you. Iâm Ryan, whoâs in charge of the office here.â
The man called Ryan handed over his business card with good manners.
Is he a foreigner? Or a Korean-American? I got nervous about the unfamiliar name.
âOh⊠Yes, Iâm sorry. I donât have a business card.â
âItâs okay. Come this way and sit down.â
He sat me down and entered the next room, saying he would get me coffee.
The office I looked around for a while gave me a strange feeling like the man I just saw.
There was nothing except the desk where the documents were placed, the table and chair where I was sitting.
Is this called minimalism?
While looking around the room, Ryan returned with two cups of coffee.
âCoffee is the only thing I can treat you.â
âNo. This is enough.â
A familiar scent flowed out of the cup.
It was a common instant coffee.
âI like this a lot. I canât believe you can enjoy coffee this simply with just hot water. Isnât it amazing?â
âOh yesâŠâ.
He was a man with an unusual atmosphere.
Dark eyes and black hair.
The confident atmosphere like a successful salesperson, and the shiny appearance like an idol, gave it a strange charm.
âThank you for coming despite the sudden call. Sihyeon.â
âItâs okay. I have some time until evening. So, Mr. Le⊠LeâŠLean?â
âYou can call me âRyanâ comfortably.â
âOkay, Mr. Ryan.â
After the formal introductions, Ryan brought up the story of work in earnest.
âI checked the information you posted on the job site. Have you ever worked on a farm?â
âYes. When I was young, I helped my father raise cows on his farm.â
Was it because of his eloquent speaking skills?
I felt a bit drowsy.
He even asked questions very personal.
From the story of my fatherâs farmâs failure to my mother with a serious illness to the recent failure to get a job one after another.
What? Why did I tell this story�
When I came to my senses, I had already answered all his questions.
âThank you for answering honestly.â
âHmmâŠâ
I felt queer.
I came to my senses late and brought up the question I had on my way to the office.
âMr. Ryan, can I get an explanation of what kind of work it is? I donât know what kind of work I had to do yet.â
âAh. Iâm sorry. I was too inconsiderate. Hmm. Rather than explaining it in words, itâs better to see it in person, right?â
Ryan jumped from his seat.
He sent a gesture to follow him and headed to the next room.
I was nervous, but I moved accordingly.
The next room we entered together was a space that looked like a pantry.
And I saw another door inside it.
When Ryan opened the inner door, a dark space with nothing could be seen ahead appeared.
A strange feeling that cannot be compared to before.
I instinctively stepped back. But,
-Grab!
âExcuse me. Hold on!â
âHaha. Itâs okay. Itâs just a little strange in the beginning. Letâs go in together.â
âHuh? Huh?â
Ryan simply grabbed the struggling me.
Regardless of my will, I was quickly sucked into the black space.
My consciousness came back with a dizzy feeling.
When I opened my eyes,
âThis isâŠ?â
âThe entrance is over there.â
âWhat happened now?â
âLetâs go out first and talk.â
I was angry at the confusing situation, but for now, I began to follow his words.
It hasnât been long since I started walking in the dark cave.
A bright light leaked in and an exit appeared.
I frowned for a moment because of the bright surroundings.
As the glare disappeared and I opened my eyes again, an amazing scenery unfolded before my eyes.
âWowâŠâ
The clear sky and warm sunlight.
Mountain ranges that are high enough to reach clouds, green grasslands, and forests spread out below them.
Admiration naturally flowed out of the beautiful nature that was hard to see in the city and could only come out of fairy tales.
âSihyeon, welcome to the Inferis realm.â
âWhat? What did you say?â
âInferis! That is the name of this dimension.â
âWhat?â
â Oh yeah! The humans call this kind of place as Demon world (éç)â.
â Demon world?â
Demon worldâŠ.. that Iâve heard on the Internet or the news?
I frowned with distrust on my face.
Ryan burst into laughter once.
Whatâs so funny.
âHahaha. When I explain this place at first, everyone reacts like you. But Iâm not lying. This is Demon realm but a different place from the place which the humans call âDemon worldâ.â
âIf you see it in person, youâll believe me. Should we go a little bit more? The farm is not far from hereâ
ââŠâŠâ
I pretended to be fooled and followed Ryan again.
I walked along the road from the entrance of the cave and looked around.
The wind that was wandering through the meadow carried with it the smell of grass, and from a distant place, an unknown mountain bird sang in a pure voice.
Looking at the colorful wildflowers blooming on the floor for the first time in years, it seemed that the heart that had recently suffered from unemployment was healing.
I donât know if this place is really a farm.
I suddenly remembered that if I could work here, it wouldnât be bad.