a cornered dog

Joonghyuk approaches the next quest giver.
> “Vigilance triumphs over rest. Draw out ■ which has been repressed. Enemies tread in the shrinking border of sight. Have no fear of the whining dog’s bite.”
> [Accept quest.]
Frowning, Joonghyuk opens the quest log. But there’s no further information on how to complete it.
[Quest details: Stay alert. Don’t die.]

One odd week in the life of a gold farm worker. (Yoo Joonghyuk, 19, sleep deprived)


quick note:

also published on ao3



> “Thank you, hero! Our village is safe for another day.” 

> [You are now Lv. 71!] 

Manager Lee blows a whistle, startling the other players. “Break! You’ve got seven minutes!” 

Joonghyuk stretches as he stands, walking to the table crammed into a corner of the windowless basement. It displays instant food, canned beverages, and a single electric kettle. Grabbing a noodle cup, he lines up for hot water. Some of the others remain at their desks, focused on their work or in gameplay they can’t back out of. 

BANG! 

Joonghyuk flinches, kettle in hand, spilling hot water on the table. 

“Shit!” 

“Yoo Sangcheol! What are you making a racket about now!” 

Manager Lee stomps over to Sangcheol’s desk. Joonghyuk covers his noodles with hot water, then returns to his seat. 

Swearing, Sangcheol shakes his mouse. “Stupid PC just crashed. Shit!” BANG! Sangcheol kicks his desk. 

Joonghyuk shovels his noodles into his mouth, burning his tongue. 

Manager Lee hits Sangcheol’s head with his clipboard. “Don’t have a fucking tantrum. Are you a child?” 

Joonghyuk can understand his frustration. He, Yoo Sangcheol, Park Wonho, and Kim Taemin were selected by President Kim to work on a special commission. They were given an older MMORPG to bring the commissioned characters to max-level in; any setbacks were an annoyance. 

“Everyone back to work!” Manager Lee blows his whistle. Sangcheol hits his desk. Joonghyuk finishes his food as the game idles. 

---

Deep into the night, he’s finally passed level eighty. He closes the game and leans back, scrubbing at his eyes. 

“Lucky you.” 

Flinching, Joonghyuk turns in his seat. Sangcheol, holding a noodle cup and chopsticks, glares at him. 

“What.” 

Shrugging, Sangcheol prods at his food. “You get to sleep.” 

Joonghyuk turns back around to tidy up. 

“Hey,” Sangcheol’s face fills Joonghyuk’s vision. “Yoo Joonghyuk. Hey. I’m stuck here ‘cause my fucking PC crashed. Isn’t Manager Lee unfair?” 

Joonghyuk recoils slightly. Sangcheol was punished for his behavior, not tech failures; everyone in the gold farm works late nights, only allowed to sleep after making significant progress. “That’s how it is.” 

“It’s fuckin’ shit!” Lukewarm broth splashes out of Sancheol’s cup as he slams the desk. “Isn’t it unfair?” 

Sangcheol stares, unmoving. Joonghyuk can smell the sourness of his unwashed mouth. 

Swallowing, Joonghyuk says, “You’re wasting your time.” 

Sangcheol huffs. He backs off, returning to his desk. 

---

Joonghyuk feels a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he sees Manager Lee frowning. 

“Have you seen Yoo Sangcheol? I told you guys to get permission if you have to leave the room.” 

Glancing to Sangcheol’s seat, Joonghyuk sees he is indeed gone. 

“I haven’t.” 

Manager Lee clicks his tongue. “‘Course not. Hey! If anyone sees Yoo Sangcheol, send him to me!” 

He turns and climbs the stairs, slamming the door behind him. 

Joonghyuk approaches the next quest giver. 

> “Vigilance triumphs over rest. Draw out ■ which has been repressed. Enemies tread in the shrinking border of sight. Have no fear of the whining dog’s bite.” 

> [Accept quest.] 

Frowning, Joonghyuk opens the quest log. But there’s no further information on how to complete it. 

[Quest details: Stay alert. Don’t die.] 

---

Joonghyuk sips an energy drink as he walks. The light of the monitor is searingly bright in the darkness of the room. 

Since accepting the quest, Joonghyuk has learned the following: he can’t enter the village, can’t sleep or craft anything, and hordes of enemies block his path. He was taken by surprise at first, but now that he knows what to expect, it isn’t hard. 

When he passes by a bush, a cutscene triggers; a large wolf advances down the path, taking up a third of the screen. It howls as its health bar fills with red. 

Its attacks are easy to predict—a debuffing growl and alternating phases of claw swipes. Attack, dodge, and attack again. 

When Joonghyuk moves to deliver the killing blow, the wolf snaps its jaws, draining the remainder of his health. 

> [DEFEAT] 

Groaning, Joonghyuk drops his head into his hands. He’ll have to repeat the boss. 

He keeps his head down. If he stayed like this a little longer, he’s sure he could fall asleep… 

… 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 

Joonghyuk jolts awake. The others look around at each other, removing their headsets. 

“What was that?!” 

AGHHHHHHH! 

Everyone goes quiet. 

BANG! 

BANG! 

THUMP. 

Kim Taemin shoots up, his eyes darting around. “Hey, Y-Yoo Joonghyuk! Let’s check it out?” 

“Are you crazy?!” Park Wonho hisses at him. 

“You’re the tallest one here, dude, help me.” 

Joonghyuk isn’t sure why his height matters. Taemin is stronger than him. He doesn’t know how he can help. He’s never heard someone scream like that before. He’s scared. 

“…Okay.” 

But if he’s scared, then Taemin probably is too. 

Wonho mutters his disbelief as they stand. They make little noise, slowly creeping up the stairs. 

Taemin gestures to the door. Joonghyuk puts a hand on the handle. Anxious, he pauses—but all he can hear is his heartbeat. 

He opens the door. 

They don’t have to go far to find the noise’s source. It hits Joonghyuk’s legs, spilling out onto the landing. The other side of the door is red. Taemin shrieks. 

Despite the dim lighting of the basement, Joonghyuk can see small puncture wounds littering it—Manager Lee’s body. 

There are two chopsticks embedded in his back. 

Joonghyuk looks up. 

“Fuck this, I’m calling President Kim!” Taemin races back down the stairs. Joonghyuk hears shouting and clattering. But he doesn’t move. He can’t look away. 

At the end of the hallway stands Sangcheol, covered in blood. 

---

Sangcheol and Manager Lee aren’t there the next day. 

“I will be monitoring you in Mr. Lee’s place.” President Kim addresses everyone, eyes sweeping over the silent room. “…Now get to work.” 

The sound of keys clacking and mice clicking gradually replaces the silence, and it feels like a normal day. 

After all the commotion yesterday, Joonghyuk wasn’t able to fight the boss again. 

But the result is the same. The wolf sinks its teeth into him. 

> [DEFEAT] 

He reloads. He attacks the wolf with speed and precision. Partway through the fight Joonghyuk feels a presence at his back, but he can’t stop now. 

> [DEFEAT] 

President Kim clicks his tongue from behind him. It’s distracting, but he’s played with people watching before. 

> [DEFEAT] 

> [DEFEAT] 

> [DEFEAT]

Nothing makes a difference. 

> [DEFEAT] 

When he reloads, the quest giver appears on the path. 

> “Are you tired? You’re struggling. Would you like to ease your suffering?” 

Joonghyuk huffs. Is the game taking pity on him? 

He accepts. President Kim makes a disapproving sound. 

> “Freedom lies in what brings you pain. He tried his best; one remains. Tear down your enemy with all your might. A cornered dog will always bite.” 

> [Updated quest details: Accept ■ and kill President Kim.] 

A chill creeps over him. Did he read that right…? There’s movement in the corner of his eye—he turns his head, suddenly alert— 

Nothing happens. President Kim has moved on to the next desk. 

Swallowing, Joonghyuk flexes his hands. The mouse creaks in his grip. He takes a deep breath, turning back to the monitor. 

> “Freedom lies in what brings you pain. You’ve tried your best; one path remains. Run at your enemy with all your might. Have no fear of the whining dog’s bite.” 

> [Updated quest details: Accept a bite and defeat the wolf.] 

Joonghyuk reads it again and again. The text doesn't change. He sighs. He’s on edge because of last night, that’s all. 

Now that President Kim is gone, he feels drained. He doesn’t want to fight. He wants to sleep. He wants to stop. 

The NPC idles on screen, searing into his eyes in the darkness. 

---

He reloads. Once in battle, he runs directly at the wolf. 

Its animations halt. It bites him, draining half his health. 

He spams his attacks. He stabs it, and stabs it, and stabs it again, emptying its health bar. It writhes and whines as it dies. 

“Good work.” President Kim scribbles on his clipboard. He flips the page. “When you’re done you can take over the rest of Yoo Sangcheol’s work. This is the log-in.” He hands Joonghyuk a slip of paper, then leaves. 

The NPC appears again. Joonghyuk skips through the dialogue. 

> [Congratulations! Lv. 100—] 

> [You are—] 

> [Now—] 

> [—] 

Joonghyuk picks up the slip of paper. He can level another character. He can do everything again. 

He glances over to Sangcheol’s empty desk, then to the other side of the room. President Kim is at the food table. 

Joonghyuk stands up and walks over. 

“Yoo Joonghyuk? Break isn’t for another…” He glances at his watch. “Twenty minutes. Sit back down if it isn’t urgent.” 

Joonghyuk glances at the table. President Kim made a cup of coffee. The kettle is steaming. It’s boiling. Burning. Joonghyuk’s hand twitches. 

He looks at President Kim. “I got max level.” 

“I’ll make a note of it. You can get started on the rest.” He starts to step around Joonghyuk, and Joonghyuk moves to grab his arm. 

President Kim freezes, giving him a look.

“…What’s wrong with you? Do you want to get written up?” 

“I’m sick,” Joonghyuk lies. “Let me sleep.” 

For what feels like ages, they stare at each other. Joonghyuk doesn’t blink. President Kim eventually mutters, “Fine. You have thirty minutes. Get out of here.” 

Joonghyuk doesn’t turn back as he ascends the stairs. The lingering stench of blood unnerves him. He reaches his room and climbs into his bunk. 

Curling up under the thin blanket, Joonghyuk feels how truly exhausted he is. He closes his eyes, head pounding. 

---

When Joonghyuk wakes up, the sun is shining through the small window. How long was he asleep? 

Exiting the room, he sees everyone heading downstairs. He must have just missed the end of the break period. He follows. 

Sitting down at his PC, Joonghyuk finds he feels oddly refreshed. He stretches a little and puts on his headset, navigating to the games folder. But a file is missing. He checks the desktop’s recycling bin. It’s empty. 

He flags down President Kim. “Sir, my assigned game isn’t here. I can’t finish Yoo Sangcheol’s work.” 

President Kim frowns at him. “What are you talking about? You haven’t gotten your new assignment yet.” 

Suddenly nervous, Joonghyuk looks around the room. No one is missing. Everything is the same as always. But Sangcheol isn’t here. 

“…Any news about Manager Lee?” 

“Huh?” President Kim flips through his papers. “Listen, I just got back from my business trip. Give me a chance to get caught up before bombarding me with questions.” 

He walks over to his desk. Joonghyuk stares at his screen in silence. 

After some time, President Kim claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up! There are new assignments for some of you. Park Wonho, Kim Taemin, and Yoo Joonghyuk, you’re being given an old MMO from…”



originally written for Reader Beware! A Halloween-themed ORV digital zine
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