"Uhh, what is this?" A young woman frowned while staring at the stack of documents in front of her. "Is this really necessary? I just feel this is a bit strange. Why do I have to do all of this?"
The young woman was now in a white room with a guy.
The woman's hands trembled slightly as she flipped through the pages of the contract filled with complicated sentences and confusing legal language. The woman's name was Hayashi Ichika, sitting nervously in the nearly empty interview room. There was only one plain white table and two simple chairs—one that I sat on and another occupied by a man in a white lab coat who had been smiling strangely since she arrived.
Ichika took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The formal black suit she wore felt a bit tight. Ichika had spent almost all of her savings to buy this suit—a final investment in her seemingly endless job search. Under the black blazer, her white blouse was already wrinkled after the long journey to this remote place. Her long black hair had been neatly tied back.
Advanced Research Facility. The name sounded grand and scientific when Ichika first heard it at the campus recruitment seminar. After six months of fruitless job hunting, seeing their loose requirements felt like an oasis in the desert.
"Even humanities majors are highly valued," the recruiter had said enthusiastically. "We're looking for diverse perspectives!"
The facility building towered in the middle of wild mountains, about five hours' drive from the nearest bus station. During the journey on the company bus, Ichika watched civilization slowly disappear—cities turned into villages, villages into forests, and finally there was only a small winding road cutting through seemingly uninhabited wild mountains.
Now, spread before her was a strange and frightening contract—a liability waiver that basically said if she died while working here, it wasn't their problem.
Ichika stared at it in disbelief, her heart pounding. His neat black hair and thin-framed glasses made him look like a stereotypical scientist. His name—Dr. Tanaka, according to the name tag on his coat—smiled as if he had just offered her a cup of tea, not threatened her.
*His smile makes me want to leave here quickly* thought Ichika.
"Can I go home?" she asked with a trembling voice. "I don't want to work in a strange place like this." Ichika swallowed, trying to control her growing fear. No matter how difficult her financial situation was, no money was worth her life.
Dr. Tanaka chuckled, his voice echoing in the nearly empty room. "Go ahead if you want, that is if you know the way home,
A terrible realization hit her—even if she could escape from this room, where would she go? The company bus that brought her here had long gone. Her phone hadn't received a signal since an hour before arriving here. Around this facility, there were only dense forests and rocky mountains.
"What kind of place is this actually?" she asked desperately, her voice shaking. "I don't understand! What's happening here?! Am I, am I going to be some kind of test subject or something?!" Terrifying images from horror movies about scientific experiments gone wrong flashed through her mind.
"Haha, you're quite funny too,
We won't do anything strange to you. The description we wrote in the recruitment ad is an accurate summary of what you'll be doing..." He paused, a small smile appearing at the corner of his lips, "
Ichika stared at the contract in front of her. The papers looked more threatening than before. Clauses about confidentiality, waiver of liability for death or injury, consent to "special security procedures"—all written in complicated legal language.
"And what happens if I don't sign this?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
Dr. Tanaka looked at her directly with his sharp black eyes. "You'll just be thrown in without any explanation."
"Thrown where?!"
He didn't answer, just raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
A horrifying reality hit her—when she decided to board the bus to this place this morning, her fate might have already been determined. When the bus drove away from the last station, she had already left the world she knew.
With trembling hands, Ichika took the pen offered by Dr. Tanaka. It felt heavy, as if made of lead, not plastic. Slowly, with a feeling of surrendering to an inevitable fate, Ichika signed her full name—Hayashi Ichika—at the bottom of the document.
Dr. Tanaka nodded with satisfaction. He neatly collected the papers and then took something out of his coat pocket—an ID card with her photo.
The male Dr. Tanaka handed the ID card to her.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ichika bowed her head as she walked down the pale blue corridor that stretched before her. Her footsteps echoed on the floor that was too clean, almost like a mirror. The light blue walls with white accents reminded her of a hospital she had once visited. However, this corridor felt much colder and more sterile—no decorations, no signs of life, just fluorescent lights that occasionally flickered, creating strange dancing shadows around them.
"What kind of place is this anyway?" she asked in a quiet voice, "Is this a research facility for creating evil humans or something?"
Dr. Tanaka paused his steps momentarily, turning to look at her with an expression that was a mixture of amusement and impatience. His pristine white lab coat rustled as he crossed his arms.
"Your mind seems full of crazy things, doesn't it?" he snorted. "Of course not. We work for the good of humanity. We don't do things like creating artificial humans or anything like that."
Ichika felt her face heating up. Of course, her thoughts had been carried away by science fiction movies she had watched. But how could she not? All of this—the remote facility, strange contracts, everyone's mysterious attitude—felt like a horror story waiting to happen.
"Working for the good of humanity to the point of forcing me to work here," she replied with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Can't be helped," he said while continuing to walk. "We're in dire need of workers now. We have considerable freedom with our methods, so I guess you can look at it that way.
"Ah, we've arrived," Dr. Tanaka continued before I could ask further.
He stopped in front of what seemed to be an ordinary wall, with no sign that it was a door. With a movement he had performed thousands of times, he tapped his ID card to a small, almost invisible card reader on the wall. A soft beep sounded, followed by a smooth mechanical hum.
The wall before them slid open seamlessly—no creaking, no sound, just a precise movement indicating high-level technology. Behind it, a modern elevator with glass and metal panels opened, bluish-white light illuminating its spacious interior.
"You need an ID card to go anywhere here, so please don't lose it," Dr. Tanaka warned while pointing to the card hanging from his neck. Ichika reflexively touched hers.
Ichika stepped into the elevator hesitantly, her feet almost tripping as she entered the narrow space. The elevator interior was minimalist yet elegant—a holographic control panel with numbers and symbols, some of which I didn't recognize, blinked on one wall. Dr. Tanaka pressed one of the buttons—no number, just a symbol that looked like a spiral.
After the door closed with a soft hiss, the elevator began moving downward at a steady pace. No jerks, no sounds—just a light sensation in my stomach indicating movement. Through the glass walls of the elevator, she could see the levels she passed.
"What exactly will I be doing?" she asked, "What is my job like?"
Dr. Tanaka stared at the changing numbers on the elevator panel, as if avoiding her gaze. He took a breath before answering.
"Uhh, basically, your job will be taking care of a creature," he answered in a tone that sounded slightly awkward.
Ichika frowned. "What do you mean by 'creature'? Is it something created by your evil research?"
*Truly, I don't know what he means by "taking care of a creature." Is it like caring for laboratory animals? Or perhaps something stranger—genetically engineered beings?*
Dr. Tanaka raised his hands in a calming gesture. "This isn't something you should worry too much about. We're just trying a number of different approaches."
His ambiguous answer made her even more suspicious. The elevator continued descending, and I began to wonder just how deep this facility actually was.
"So what exactly are you researching in this facility?" Ichika changed the topic, as he seemed to be avoiding the subject of the creature.
Dr. Tanaka let out a long sigh, this time his gaze meeting my eyes. For the first time, I saw an expression of doubt on his face.
"We ourselves don't know what it actually is," "What the creature is, we're not sure. The creature itself has powers that we don't even know what they are. We only know a few things—this creature can do anything it wants, no one knows where it came from, it exists because it exists, that's all I can say.
His sentence hung in the air, making Ichika's hair stand on end. The elevator felt increasingly cold, or perhaps that was just her imagination.
"But you don't need to worry," he continued quickly, seeing her frightened expression. "The creature doesn't seem to kill anyone unless someone bothers it or makes it angry. So I think you'll be fine."
"Actually, before you, someone else worked here, but unfortunately he died because he was old.
*Huh? So someone worked here before me. That makes me feel a little more at ease,* thought Ichika.
◇ ◇ ◇
The elevator continued moving downward.
*How deep is this place actually?* she thought while gripping the handrail on the elevator wall.
"How deep have we gone?" she asked.
Dr. Tanaka glanced briefly at the control panel. "About 300 meters below the surface."
She gasped. "Three hundred meters? That's... that's almost like a mine!"
"The depth is necessary for... proper containment," Besides, this space has existed for a very long time, he answered.
Finally, the elevator stopped with a gentle jolt.
"Now, from here, you must go alone. Just walk along the corridor," said Dr. Tanaka while swiping his ID card on the panel beside the elevator door. The door opened with a soft hiss, revealing a brightly lit corridor with clean white walls and floor.
"Alone?"
Dr. Tanaka nodded, remaining inside the elevator. "Unfortunately, I'm not permitted to go any further. And even if I were allowed..." he paused momentarily, his eyes staring down the corridor with an expression I couldn't read, "...I wouldn't want to anyway, hahah."
""--""
His words made her hair stand on end.
*What is it that makes him not want to enter?*
"What does this creature you're talking about look like?" she asked hesitantly, Ichika's voice trembling slightly. *I need to know what I'm facing, at least to mentally prepare myself*
Dr. Tanaka gave her a thin smile that was not at all reassuring. "You'll find out when you see it. Well then, good luck with your work," he said as the elevator doors began to close.
"Wait! I still have many questions—" Too late. The elevator doors had completely closed, leaving me alone in that too-bright white corridor.
For a few moments, Ichika just stood still, staring at the closed elevator doors. Part of her wanted to wait until the elevator returned, hoping Dr. Tanaka would change his mind and explain everything. But she knew that wouldn't happen.
Taking a deep breath, she turned and faced the corridor. There was no choice but to move forward. Realizing she wouldn't accomplish anything by standing there, she finally stepped forward reluctantly.
The corridor wasn't very long, perhaps about twenty meters, and ended at a large metal door that looked extremely solid. As she approached it, she could see how massive the door was—at least thirty centimeters thick, with various metal components and complex locking mechanisms arranged on its surface. This door reminded me of the underground vault of a central bank I had once seen in a documentary—designed to withstand even bomb attacks.
*Can an ID card really open this type of door?* she thought doubtfully.
With trembling fingers, she took out her ID card from her pocket and brought it close to the card reader beside the door. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a soft beep was heard, followed by a mechanical rumble that startled me.
The large door began to move, metal bolts and locking mechanisms shifting automatically. The sounds of clattering and clinking metal echoed in the corridor as the door slowly opened, revealing what lay beyond.
Ichika gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. It wasn't another room that greeted her, not a dark corridor or advanced laboratory—but a vast and beautiful open natural landscape.
Before her stretched a wide green meadow, with rolling hills in the distance and a bright blue sky above. The sun shone warmly.
*There's even a sun here, it seems like it's an artificial sun made by someone* she thought.
"Wow, this is like being in another world," stepping out of the corridor hesitantly. "How could they make an underground space like this? How long would it take them to create an underground space like this?"
She looked back, hoping to see the metal door and white corridor she had just left. But what she saw was only the same meadow, as if the door had completely disappeared. Both the door and walls displayed the same landscape image, making her feel as if she had truly stepped into another world.
*Is this some kind of virtual simulation? Super advanced hologram? Or maybe...*
Her thoughts stopped when she saw something in the distance—a building that looked like a house, standing alone in the middle of the meadow. Its black wooden roof contrasted with its white walls, and wooden veranda surrounded it.
"Huh! Looks like there's a house. Is that the home of the creature that man talked about?" she mumbled, starting to walk toward the building.
A small path formed in the tall grass, as if it had been traversed many times. Ichika followed the path, while her mind was filled with speculation about what kind of "creature" she would meet. Was it a monster? An alien? A result of genetic experimentation? Or perhaps something she couldn't even imagine?
As she approached the house, she felt a strange calmness enveloping the place. There was no sound except for birdsong and the rustling of grass blown by the wind. The house looked well-maintained despite being simple—clean and orderly, with wildflowers growing around it.
After walking for several minutes, I finally arrived at the front of the house. Climbing a few steps to the veranda, she stopped in front of a traditional sliding door made of wood and paper.
"Hello?" Standing at the entrance, she called into the house with a slightly trembling voice. "Is anyone inside?"
There was no answer, but she wasn't surprised. She sensed a vague presence inside the house. Carefully, she tried to slide the door and found that it wasn't locked.
Following tradition, she took off her shoes at the genkan (entrance area) and stepped into the house with bare feet. The smooth wooden floor felt cold beneath my feet. The house was simple but neat—clean tatami mats, several landscape paintings hung on the walls, and minimal furniture.
"Excuse me? I'm Hayashi Ichika. I was sent from the facility to... um, take care of this place," she called again, this time with a slightly louder voice.
Still no answer, but she could feel the presence growing stronger. Hesitantly, she walked deeper into the house, following her intuition.
The floor of the dark hallway creaked beneath my feet, revealing the age of the building that might be older than it appeared. Each step produced a small sound, making her heart beat faster. She tried her best to ignore the unpleasant sticky sensation on the floor, like remnants of fluid that had dried. The further I walked, the faster my steps became.
After walking down a hallway that seemed longer than it should be for a house this small, she saw a sliding door that was slightly open. Golden light penetrated the gap in the door, creating a thin line of light on the dark floor. She could sense a clear presence behind that door.
She stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath to calm herself. With slightly trembling hands, she slid the door wider to look inside.
And there she saw it.
Not a monster. Not an alien. Not a terrifying creature with tentacles or sharp claws.
It was a boy. Just a boy with the body of a 7-year-old child.
He sat cross-legged on the tatami floor, wearing something like a simple white robe that looked too big for his small body. His hair was jet black, falling softly to cover part of his face. He wasn't doing anything in particular, just sitting quietly.
"Uhh?" The boy turned toward her, his large, clear black eyes looking at her with an innocent expression. His face was perfect, almost like a porcelain doll, with pale white skin that contrasted with his black hair.
*That face...* she thought, slightly surprised to see the child's face.
"Who are you, miss? Are you the replacement for Grandma Lili?" he asked in a soft voice that sounded like small bells.
*Grandma Lili, is that the person who worked here before?* She thought.
Ichika still stood frozen at the doorway, shocked by what she saw. Of all the possibilities she had imagined, she never expected to find a small child. *Is he the "creature" Dr. Tanaka meant? How could a child this small require this level of security facility?*
"Ah," "My name is Hayashi Ichika and I'm the person who will be taking care of you from now on. What's your name?"
The child tilted his head slightly, his large eyes staring at her without blinking. "Name? I don't have a name," he answered with the same innocent face.
*No name? Then what did the person who worked here call him? I don't feel at all that this boy is dangerous. He doesn't fit being called a "creature" at all.*
Driven by an instinct she didn't even understand, Ichika stepped into the room and sat on the tatami beside him. The child showed no signs of fear or wariness—he just kept staring at her with his big eyes.
"It would be inconvenient if you don't have a name," she said in a gentle voice. "How about I give you a name?" She herself didn't know where the idea came from, but it felt right to do it.
The child's face brightened, a small smile beginning to form on his lips. "Okay," he answered with obvious enthusiasm.
She thought for a moment, looking for the right name. Somehow, a name immediately came to her mind, as if it was destined.
"From now on your name is Hayashi Kazuki. Since you don't seem to have a family, it's okay if you use my last name," she said, smiling warmly at him.
The child's eyes widened, shining with pure joy. "Hayashi Kazuki. Hayashi Kazuki!" he repeated his name cheerfully, as if it was the most precious gift he had ever received. "From now on my name is Hayashi Kazuki!"
*Wow, he really likes it*
"Kazuki," Ichika tried his name, "How old are you now?"
He tilted his head again, looking confused by her question. "Age? I don't know."
"Have you been living here for a long time?" I asked again.
"Always," he answered.
"Always? You mean, you were born here?"
Kazuki seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head. "I exist. Because I exist, isn't that natural?"
His strange words made the hair on her neck stand up. *What does he mean, he exists because he exists, what is the meaning of those words?*
*But seeing his innocent and sincere face, I can't imagine him lying. Maybe he just doesn't remember anything, right?*