Daniel rummaged through his drawer and handed Ryan a thick black handbook.[ DSM Employee Guide - Intern Edition (Ver. 999) ]Ryan raised an eyebrow."Version nine hundred and ninety-nine?""Yeah," Mira said without looking up.
"They keep updating it every time somebody dies again."
Sitting at his designated desk, Ryan flipped through the pages. He read the basic rules first.
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Clock In/Out Properly - Use the terminal. Forget once, and you might not reappear again.No Unauthorized Reaping - Only licensed reapers touch souls. Interns learn and observe unless their superiors tell them to do so.Don't Open Blue Envelopes - If one lands on your desk, send it to your superiors immediately.Stay Emotionally Stable - Panic attracts echoes and can corrupt you. Calm reapers live longer.No Contact with the Living World - Don't even try it.
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"Why do I feel like every rule is written because someone ignored it?"Ryan looked up and asked.Minho grinned. "Because they did."
Daniel stretched, cracking his neck. "The terminal screen is right next to the entrance door. First, clock in—and remember, don't open any letter that is blue or is screaming. You'll start by observing how we solve cases and how we process."Ryan nodded slowly."Oh, and one more thing," Daniel added, spinning in his chair. "Clock out properly before heading to the Gray District.""Gray… District?"Mira smirked. "That's where all the reapers rest after their shift. Cheap coffee, eternal sunset, and bad karaoke.""It's where the undead pretend to have a life," Minho added.Rae quietly passed a note that said, "Don't forget your ID. Never."Ryan blinked. "...Noted."
As the team focused on their work, Ryan stared at his ID card.[ Name: Ryan ][ Status: Intern Reaper ][ Employee ID: RIP202510 ]"Clock in, clock out, don't die again… easy enough," he muttered.Daniel looked up. "That's what the last guy said."Ryan smiled faintly. "Let me guess… he didn't clock out?"Daniel sipped his coffee. "Bingo."
Ryan sank into his chair, looking around the chaotic room—floating paperwork, ghostly coworkers typing like their afterlife depended on it. He was unsure how he felt about all of this."Well…" he murmured. "At least this internship won't ghost me."
Ryan's first day went into confusion and paperwork.Hours passed, but it was impossible to tell time here. The office light didn't change, and the air never shifted.
Finally, Daniel stood up and stretched."Alright, team, clock-out time."One by one, they moved toward the glowing console near the door.Each touched their ID card against the scanner.
Ping. Mira disappeared in blue light, followed by Minho and Rae.Ryan stepped forward. "So… I just tap the thing?""Yep. Welcome to your new afterlife commute. See you tomorrow, intern."
Ryan tapped his card. Ping.He blinked. The next second, he wasn't in the office. He was lying in his tiny studio apartment—lights off, cigarette still smoldering in the ashtray. The digital clock on the desk read the exact same time he'd gone to bed."Wait… what?"Ryan sat up, blinking rapidly. The world outside his window hadn't changed. No time had passed."What the hell…" he muttered, running a hand through his hair."I worked a full day in the afterlife and it's still yesterday?"
Suddenly, in the middle of this confusion, his phone buzzed.[ Payment Received: DSM Payroll ]Amount: $2000 - Advance Pay (Intern Rate)Next Payment Cycle: Monthly
Ryan froze. "…Did I just get paid for being dead?""This can't be real… I just solved my rent problem by working in the underworld."
But suddenly, a message popped up on his phone.[ HR SYSTEM NOTICE: EMPLOYEE RYAN PARK - STATUS ANOMALY DETECTED ][ NOTE: LIFE SIGNAL - ACTIVE ][ WARNING: Disclosure of this status to any Reaper, Auditor, or Entity is forbidden. ][ Penalty: Soul Erasure ][ Auto-Commute Feature Enabled ][ You will be automatically summoned to your shift at 12:00 AM (Human Realm Time). ][ END OF NOTICE ]
Ryan stared at the screen with an open jaw. "So the HR System will automatically drag me into the afterlife. Great.""Why do they have better attendance tracking than my university? Can't I decide to quit?"
Another notification popped up.[ HR SYSTEM: Attendance is compulsory ^^ ]
He saw the message and sighed."Alright, so the HR System knows I'm alive, and it's covering it up—that probably means an error from the system's side or some hidden meaning? And I can't even tell anyone about this.""Do… I feel pain in the afterlife?" he gulped at the sudden thought that hit him like cold water."And now I have to work with reapers and handle ghosts and spirits."
A chill ran down his spine. He grabbed his blanket immediately and wrapped himself like a burrito. Even his reflection in the dark window looked calm, composed, and infuriatingly handsome.He groaned."Of course. Even terrified, I look like I'm in a skincare commercial. I can't even look scared properly."
Ryan buried his face in the pillow and mumbled,"I hate the HR."