I worked a whole month at a factory that closed 3 years ago

Okay so buckle up because this one genuinely messed me up.

There used to be a pretty decent industrial area in Gumi back before the economy tanked. Cheolho is heading to his first day at a factory job there. Ilgwang Machinery, 654 Yangjeong-dong. Half the factory district is basically ruins at this point, just the sound of a few stray machines echoing around.

Here's the thing about Cheolho: he's not a factory guy AT ALL. He's been grinding for the civil service exam for years (공시생¹), burned out, and kind of just. sent in a resume on a whim to break the monotony. Somehow they called him back.

"You actually found it, impressive. This area's hard to navigate."

"Yeah... took me a while."

"Look, we're short on people. Can you start today? We run two shifts, day and night, alternating weekly."

"Absolutely."

The shift supervisor, maybe mid-60s, looked a little annoyed the whole time. showed Cheolho the ropes in that flat autopilot voice people get after they've done something ten thousand times. Most of the workers were women in their 20s. Quiet. Just doing their jobs. Cheolho figured this was exactly what he needed, something mindless to clear his head, so he kept to himself too.

About 20 workers total. 6-7 guys, around 20 women spread across the lines.

Fast forward a month. Cheolho's got the routine down. One night shift, he's heads-down at his station... and then he notices people are just. disappearing. One by one. Quietly peeling off the line.

10 people left. An hour passes. 7.

Three hours in, it's just him and two women.

He finally works up the nerve to ask.

"Hey um... is something going on? Where did everyone go?"

One of the women turns to look at him. Blank face. No color in it at all.

"You can take a break too... if you want."

"Oh, I'm okay, I'll keep going."

She drops her voice lower. "Come rest with us."

Something about the way she said it made it hard to say no. He starts walking with her. And then suddenly he REALLY needs to pee. Like urgently.

"Hey, is the break spot back by the hill? I need to run to the bathroom real quick."

She gets weirdly pushy: "There's a bathroom five minutes that way."

He follows for maybe 10 meters then literally cannot hold it anymore. Apologizes and BOLTS for the nearest bathroom.

Finishes up, comes out, thinks okay I gotta catch up with her fast. But standing at the entrance is a DIFFERENT girl. Worried look on her face.

"Oh, you came out for a break too? Are you going to join the others? They went up the hill."

The girl stares at him.

"...Others? What are you talking about? Tonight's night shift is just the two of us. I was watching you walk around talking to empty stations and then you walked out alone so I got scared and followed you. Are you okay?"

Cheolho: "What. No. There were over 20 people here. I followed one of the women outside."

She goes quiet. Then she tells him everything.

This factory used to run 20+ people on night shift when the economy was good. Then it all collapsed. The owner ghosted without paying anyone. And the workers who'd been doing hazardous work night after night, no proper safety equipment, no training. they all died. Lead poisoning. Every single one.

After that a new owner took over, automated the dangerous stuff, runs it with skeleton crew now.

Cheolho quit the next day.

Then his paycheck never came. So he goes back to sort it out.

And the factory looks like it's been abandoned for YEARS. "No Entry" signs that look months old. Machines rusted. Everything rotting.

He grabs a random passerby.

"Hey, do you know what happened to Ilgwang Machinery? I'm trying to collect my wages."

The guy gives him a look.

"...That place has been shut down for THREE YEARS. You're not the first either, someone came by last year saying the same thing. 21 workers died there. Lead poisoning. The owner ran off in the middle of the night. His daughter though... she felt so bad about what happened to those workers that she... she killed herself. Right in front of the factory bathroom. Since then people say they hear machines running at night sometimes. And guys like you show up asking to speak to the owner."

The man shuddered and walked away.

Cheolho couldn't say a word.

Who had he been working alongside for a month. day shifts and night shifts. who was the girl who tried to lead him away from the bathroom.

He went home and couldn't sleep for days.

Then an email arrived.

From: Ingwang Machinery, CEO Lee Jungwoon

To: Choi Cheolho

"Hello, we interviewed you about a month ago. You said you'd come in but never showed up. We have an office position that seems perfect for you. If you're interested please stop by, we could really use the talent.

Also, heads up: the sign out front got turned around in a typhoon and is pointing toward Ilgwang Machinery by mistake. Make sure you come to the right place."

it was a different company.

the sign.

it had been pointing the wrong way the whole time.