"How did you get that scar by your eye?"
The interviewer asked with a sour expression, clearly unimpressed.
"It happened in an accident while camping with my father when I was young."
It was a familiar question—not the first time I'd heard it.
I answered as if it were nothing.
They say interviews are all about confidence and spirit, but all I did was respond with a serious expression, and the interviewers visibly flinched.
Haha.... Because of this damn face.
'I'm going to fail this one too.'
The interview room for cabin crew recruitment at some airline.
Burning up inside, I wrapped things up by thanking them for the opportunity.
Ding.
[Web Message]
[AE Airplane Recruitment]
You have been notified of your final rejection from the AE Airplane recruitment process.
Two days later, a text arrived. With a sliver of hope, I logged onto their website.
Just as expected, a bold "REJECTED" sat there in plain sight.
Figures...
'If I were them, I'd have picked someone similar with the same qualifications.'
I glared at the rejection notice with furrowed brows, then let out a deep sigh and closed the page.
I'd done my military service and had a pretty good TOEIC score. I'd even graduated from a university's Aviation Services Department. On paper, the first-round document screening was practically a free pass.
'Maybe getting the scar removed really is the answer.'
I muttered, glancing at the mirror sitting on the corner of my desk.
Every time interviewers met me in person, they'd glance back and forth between the photo on my application and my face a couple of times, then say with an awkward smile:
'Hmm... Mr. Yoo Cheongho, you look a bit... different from your photo?'
Yes, I'm well aware my face looks menacing. Nobody knows it better than I do.
I'd already gotten plenty of misunderstandings thanks to my sharp eyes, and the scar—rough and angled diagonally across my eye—had become the cause behind every rejection.
I could cover it with foundation, but my skin was sensitive too, so I couldn't wear much makeup either. It was absolutely maddening.
'From an airline's perspective, a friendly image is everything, so of course they'd pick the presentable person standing next to me....'
I knew that. But having just achieved my fifth consecutive rejection combo, a hollow laugh escaped on its own.
"Haah."
I looked at the airplane photos plastered across my bookshelf and walls, the list of open cabin crew recruitment notices, and the memos scrawled with interview tips.
Then the stack of utility bills and invoices piled on the corner of my desk caught my eye.
[Sinmaeul Bank, Overdue Loan Notice]
Customer Name: Yoo Cheongho
An overdue amount of 1,240,000 won (one million two hundred forty thousand won) has been incurred on your personal credit loan account.
'...Maybe it's time to look for something else.'
Money aside, I'd need some breathing room before I could even start looking for my uncle.
'It's really tight. Really, really tight.'
I ran a hand through my frustration-laden hair, then immediately pulled up a job listing website.
Click, click.
=============================
[Com Careers]
[Entry-Level / Intern Listings—Updated in Real Time!]
-[Korea Department Store] 20XX Open Recruitment for New Hires (~04/30)
-[K-Rail] Open Competitive Recruitment
-New! [National Electric Power Corporation] 20XX First-Half Intern Recruitment
-[MN Securities] PB Position Experience-Based Internship
Scroll, scroll—.
"Hm?"
As I skimmed through the listings, one caught my eye and I stopped the mouse wheel.
-New! [Cheonsu Airlines] First-Half New Cabin Crew Recruitment (~04/18)
April 18th deadline means...
Today?! And the posting date is also today?
What kind of airline posts a job listing and closes it the same day? It was absurd.
I hurriedly clicked on the completely unfamiliar listing.
=============================
Details
[Cheonsu Airlines] First-Half New Cabin Crew Recruitment (~04/18)
Position: Cabin Crew Member
Application Period: Until 17:00 on April 18, 20XX
Qualifications:
A. Graduates or those expected to graduate before February 20XX
B. Individuals with no disqualifying reasons for overseas travel; males must have completed or been exempted from military service
C. Corrected vision of 1.0 or above
D. Holders of domestic English test scores (TOEIC, TOEIC Speaking, OPIc)
※ TOEIC 550 or above
※ Limited to domestic tests taken after January 18, 20XX
Selection Process: Document Screening - Interview / ■■ Test - Health Exam / Swimming Test - Final Acceptance
☞〖Apply via Homepage〗
=============================
'What's that ■■ Test in the middle?'
I went to Cheonsu Airlines' official website.
A man wearing sleek black sunglasses—presumably the captain—stood with his arms crossed, staring straight ahead.
And below him, in large letters: 'Welcome!'.
The qualifications were identical to the listing, along with a document submission guide and an "Apply" button.
I knew Cheonsu Airlines was a small-to-mid-sized carrier...
'But why post and close applications on the same day?'
That one thing bugged me.
Something felt undeniably suspicious, but there were only 30 minutes until the deadline.
I didn't have time for careful deliberation.
I already had a resume and the required documents prepared—all I had to do was submit.
I definitely needed the money. But no matter what, I didn't want to give up my dream of working at an airport.
Phew....
I shut my eyes tight, exhaled deeply, and made my decision.
'This is the last time. For real.'
Beneath the vast sky and towering white clouds, the poster of a soaring airplane reaffirmed my dream once more. Telling myself this was truly my last chance, I clicked "Submit Application" as if drawn to it.
[▷Cancellation is not possible after submitting your application. Is this acceptable? [Agree / Disagree]]
'Nothing to lose.'
Click.
Urgh—The instant the mouse clicked, an overwhelming dizziness crashed over me, and my head spun wildly.
'Ugh!?'
Then everything went white and I couldn't see a thing.
It felt like my head was floating away—!
Murmur, murmur—.
As if I'd been drinking, on the verge of vomiting from dizziness, voices began flooding into what had been my room—just me, alone, staring at a monitor.
"Ugh... my head...."
When I finally managed to rub my eyes and look around, my surroundings were not my familiar room but somewhere entirely different.
[Cheonsu Airlines Document Screening Passers' Waiting Room]
"Document screening passers?"
I read the enormous banner posted across the wall and surveyed the room.
Roughly twenty men and women wore identical white dress shirts and black slacks.
And every one of them had a rectangular, sky-blue number tag affixed to their chest.
'...I've got one too?'
Lowering my gaze, I found the same kind of tag on my own chest.
Number 22, clear as day.
'More importantly, this isn't even my room—what the hell is going on!?'
Everyone else looked just as bewildered and dumbfounded, doing nothing but glancing around.
A large room painted in a harmonious, clean combination of deep navy and white. Here and there, white airplane-shaped pictograms adorned the walls.
And the phrases on various posters stuck everywhere were not just unique—they were bizarre.
[See Your First Flight—More Fantastically! Fantastic!]
[Hide Your Fear for the Passengers and Handle It Quickly and Cleanly!]
[Ghost Story Prevention Campaign for Safe Flights☆]
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as I had about fifty question marks floating through my head, a woman in a navy uniform entered with two other people.
The woman wore a white scarf around her neck and had a neat hairstyle.
"Good day."
The woman spoke. Her posture was impeccable, and her every motion carried the ingrained courtesy of a textbook flight attendant.
"We sincerely congratulate you on passing the first document screening for Cheonsu Airlines' first-half cabin crew recruitment. My name is Kang Naju, and I am the current Cabin Manager of Cheonsu Airlines."
Her voice was soft yet firm, and the murmuring died down as everyone fixed their gaze on Kang Naju.
"Document screening? It's only been thirty minutes since I submitted my application."
A cute-looking woman with a short black bob—number 20—spoke up first, and I seized the opening to add:
"More importantly, how did we even end up here? Everything is one big mystery."
Others nodded in agreement. Kang Naju smiled lightly and replied.
"The moment you submitted your applications, our capable staff selected the first-round passers and brought you here. I'll explain everything step by step from now, so please pay close attention."
Kang Naju continued, pressing a remote to turn on a beam projector.
"We are Cheonsu Airlines—an airline that exists solely for the highest standard of safety."
Another staff member turned off the lights, and the projector's image sharpened to reveal a photograph.
A photo of a large site under heavy construction. However, talismans and bells strung on five-colored cloth hung here and there.
'Why'd they hang creepy stuff like that?'
No matter who looked at it, it was an obviously suspicious site.
"What you see here is a construction photo of Doseong International Airport, which opened ten years ago. Being one of the more recently built airports in our country, it boasts two clean, spacious terminals and a large shopping lounge. However, the land where this airport sits has been the subject of much talk for five hundred years—people said it was damp and shrouded in dark energy."
The sudden occult talk drew strange looks, and murmuring broke out again.
"When an airport was built on such a place and stories of the people passing through seeped in, 'ghost stories' naturally began to appear."
Kang Naju said with a slight upturn of her lips.
What? Did I hear that wrong... ghost stories?
The kind that were popular back when I was in middle school?
Everyone froze at the bewildering statement, and Kang Naju nodded and gave an instruction.
The other staff began distributing sheets of paper.
"Our airline handles ghost stories before aircraft takeoff, before boarding passengers, and before passing through the gate—maintaining safety throughout."
[New Cabin Crew Benefits and Perks Guide]
The A4 sheet everyone received was packed edge to edge with benefits and perks, exactly as the title stated.
At the very top, under "Salary and Compensation Structure".
'The base salary is... double?!'
A figure double the typical entry-level flight attendant's salary, company dormitory available upon request, complimentary airline tickets, and various other small perks on top.
With at least ten more benefits than the average airline's package, a stunned silence fell over everyone reading the guide.
And the final section was underlined and emphasized:
[Interview / Ghost Story Processing Test Entry Consent Form]
'Wait, hold on.'
It said "consent form," but my name was already signed on it.
"You remember the warning when you submitted your application, correct? That cancellation is not possible. We will now begin the ghost story processing test."
"This— wait, hold on a moment...!"
Snap.
Kang Naju smiled and snapped her fingers.
My head began spinning again.
"I hope you can become one of our crew."
That softly spoken voice was the last thing I heard before I instantly lost consciousness.
***
"Ugh... feels like a hangover hitting all at once."
I barely managed to prop myself up against a wall through the nausea and dizziness, and another unfamiliar location came into view.
The first thing that caught my eye was a ceiling so high it seemed to touch the sky. One entire wall was a vast sheet of floor-to-ceiling glass.
Clean, polished floor tiles and a simple yet tasteful interior.
When I'd been searching job listings on my computer, it had been midday—but outside, it was a pitch-black night without a single star.
Only rows of bright, densely packed LED lights illuminated the interior.
Not a trace of another person in sight—this was...
"...An empty airport."
It was the third-floor corridor of Doseong International Airport—the one Kang Naju had just mentioned.
Besides me, everyone with a number tag on their chest, all the document screening passers, had woken up here.
"This is Doseong Airport?"
"What is this, some kind of mass hypnosis!?"
"It really does feel like a dream...."
"I was definitely on the subway... and then suddenly I'm teleported to an airport again—am I dreaming...?"
Everyone clutched their throbbing heads, panicking or fighting nausea.
'Ghost stories actually exist?'
If this really wasn't a dream, there was no other explanation for teleporting from my room to an airport. This wasn't some movie.
I slowly surveyed the airport, my heart pounding.
'What's this?'
Then I spotted a blue clipboard placed against one wall.
Clack.
Clack, clack.
Just then, at the far end of the third-floor corridor, something tall and dark was approaching.
"Wh-what's that sound?"
"Why— what now!?"
What approached was a woman with long straight hair and a thin frame.
Wearing high-heeled shoes, she walked toward us, glancing around as if desperately searching for something.
But...She didn't have a number tag.
"I'm, I'm, looking for, my little sister...."
The woman stammered through tears, her face not just pale but ashen.
She wore a silk blouse and a pink skirt—clean and well-dressed. Despite her tear-streaked face, with her doe-like eyes and red lipstick, she was clearly a beauty.
From the strong rose fragrance wafting around her, she was undeniably striking—but she had appeared 'out of nowhere' in this inexplicable situation.
Because of that, the others began slowly backing away.
"She's about six years old, a, a little girl... have you, hic, seen her by any chance?"
"...Are you all right?"
The others had already retreated far back, but the woman with the number 20 tag—the one who'd asked the earlier question—cautiously spoke up. However, the woman simply kept weeping, repeating nothing but "Please find her, please help me."
"...Excuse me, are you the child's 'older sister'?"
At my words, the woman suddenly stopped crying and stared at me. Then, as if she'd found hope, her eyes began to sparkle.
She seized my hand and nodded repeatedly.
"Y-yes. I'm, her, older sister...... She's so young, she must be crying because she lost me...."
The woman emphasized that she was the older sister and said she'd lost her one and only little sibling.
"You'll find her for me... won't you?"
"I'll do my best."
"Thank you so much, thank you...!"
The woman who'd appeared out of nowhere in this incomprehensible situation made me uneasy too, but I had a specific reason to stay cooperative.
"Hey, do you get what's going on here?"
Number 20 quietly approached and whispered. I turned and spoke loudly enough for everyone standing far away to hear.
"...This appears to be the 'ghost story processing test' site that Kang Naju mentioned."
"Wait, what?"
"Wh-what did you say?"
I held up the paper clipped to the clipboard I'd found earlier so everyone could see.
Ghost Story Briefing Report
[Cheonsu Airlines / no. 444]
1. GN: Please Find My Little Sister
2. T / H: Type 2 / 11 persons
-Approximately 6-year-old girl missing.
-White dress with white headband, tan skin and black hair, small build. [Photo attached]
3. TL: 2 hours
4. Item: In-flight announcement permitted
Report Prepared by: [ Kang Naju ]
"It looks like we need to reunite the little sister with her older sister within two hours."
My number in the 'Document Screening Passers' Waiting Room' had been 22, and I hadn't seen any number higher than that.
Now, there were exactly 11 people here at the airport—precisely half the waiting room count.
I didn't know exactly what "H" on the report stood for, but the "11 persons" beside it matched our headcount perfectly.
If that was the case, following the report's instructions should solve the problem...!
Whether it sent us home or back to the interview room, we had to see this through.
The woman who'd claimed to be the 'older sister' looked our way and smiled softly. Her warm, gentle smile was the kind anyone would find pleasant.
"Please... I'm counting on you...!"