Chapter 1

“Iseo, have you seriously considered marrying into our family?”

It was the day I officially wrapped up my master’s program at lightning speed due to financial struggles.

Professor Jeousu looked me dead in the eye and said that—completely serious.

“My daughter’s pretty, right? I think it’d be great if you became family. That way, you could keep up your diligent work as my loyal lab sla─ahem, research assistant.”

A bold offer… and honestly, a tempting one.

But there was a slight problem.

“…Professor, your daughters are still in middle school.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? My wife says we’re making three times more kimchi this year than last! Who’s gonna drive them to the airport? And who’s going to pack up my camping gear?”

I was suddenly reminded of how I’d carried more napa cabbages than research papers over the past few years in Professor Jeousu’s lab.

During kimchi-making season, I’d be summoned to his house. Every time his daughters flew abroad, I was the one behind the wheel. Honestly, it felt less like I was hired as a research assistant and more like a domestic helper.

“So, are you job hunting yet?”

Job hunting.

Those two words yanked me back to reality.

I couldn’t exactly marry the professor’s underage daughter, but I could very well end up unemployed.

With my mom living alone and her health suddenly declining, I—Jo Iseo—had to settle for a fast-tracked master’s degree and leave it at that.

“I’ve been looking around… but it’s not going great, to be honest.”

The world wasn’t kind. Even with a master’s in ancient Western history, I couldn’t find a job that made use of my major.

When I shook my head, Professor Jeousu clapped his hands like it was great news.

“Turns out someone in my family runs a company. They’re looking for someone versatile. And you—you’re good at driving, farming, and basically everything. Why not make use of your skills?Here’s a business card.”

「Happy World, Inc.」

「CEO: Ha Daesu」

Happy World, Inc.

Just from the name alone, I had no idea what kind of company it was.

“What kind of company is this?”

“It’s a small family-run business. They do a bit of everything. The important part is the salary. From what I know, their full-time staff start at—”

Scratch, scratch—

Professor Jeousu began scribbling zero after zero in his notebook, and the number of digits made my hair stand on end.

“Wait… Is this for real?”

“Absolutely. I swear it on the River Styx. If you work at Happy World for a few years, you could probably buy an apartment near Seoul.”

With a salary like that, I could cover my mom’s hospital bills and get her out of her part-time restaurant job. Maybe—just maybe—I could even dream again about dating or getting married.

Which is exactly why I was worried.

“But Professor… Would a company like that really hire someone like me?”

Self-awareness matters.

I mean, I was the guy who majored in ancient Western history and theology just because I liked Greek mythology. Could someone like me really land a job with that kind of salary?

Even Professor Jeousu, usually brimming with confidence, couldn’t answer right away and just smacked his lips.

“Well, in that case, Iseo… I guess the only solution is for you to marry into my family.”

“Professor, if I marry a middle schooler, I’ll end up in jail before I become your son-in-law.”

A few days later, I was packing up my things from the lab.

Feeling a mix of sadness and relief, I paused for a moment—just long enough for the professor to say:

“Iseo, remember that ‘Happy World’ company I mentioned? You can start tomorrow.”

“Wait—seriously?”

“Yep. Their HR rep read your thesis and really wants to meet the author. Especially your undergrad thesis. What was the title again—”

“‘The Correlation Between Nymphs and Honey Candy.’”

“Right. The theory that nymphs might have a sweet tooth. They want to hear directly from you why you took that angle.”

Why did I write that?

Oh right… I was drunk and desperate to graduate. And now someone actually liked it?

How embarrassing.

“—There’s an old Greek saying: ‘A person’s view of nymphs reflects their character.’ Apparently, your perspective left a deep impression.”

Nymphs, really? I don’t think that’s even a real proverb.

Must be another one of Professor Jeousu’s terrible jokes.

Still, I’d landed a job at a great company. Today, even his worst joke made me smile like a blooming flower.

“Professor! I’ll give it my all! Once I get my first paycheck, I’ll buy you a gift!”

I was sure the professor had pulled some strings for me.

After all the grueling years under his notorious mentorship, the heavens were finally shining on me.

But the professor just shook his head.

“I didn’t do anything. You’re getting hired thanks to the nymphs you studied so hard. And now that you’re starting work tomorrow, I guess we won’t see each other much. Want to have a drink to celebrate?”

He poured a drink into a golden goblet.

“Been saving this one. You won’t find anything like it anywhere else.”

Drinking in the middle of the day? Well, Professor Jeousu was a known drinker since my undergrad days—and thanks to him, I’d become one too.

“Thank you for the drink!”

Gulp, gulp—

The moment the celebratory drink hit my lips, I was stunned.

‘This is… delicious!?’

What kind of drink was this?

It had a fruity, apple-like aroma, but the flavor was unlike any fruit I’d ever tasted.

I’d tried nearly every kind of alcohol under Professor Jeousu, but this was something else.

And the alcohol content must’ve been through the roof—because a heavy buzz rushed in immediately.

“Good, right? In Greece, we call this ‘nectar.’ Now, let’s finalize your dispatch to Tartarus─ahem, I mean, ‘Happy World.’ Just sign here—”

“Wait, what did you say? Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta-Tartarus!?”

“Don’t worry. If you get fired, we’ll transfer you to Olympus. Or, you know… you could marry my daughter—”

Everything after that went blank.

Because when I came to, I was in Tartarus—the hellish abyss where souls wail and sulfur boils.

Yes. Tartarus.

The lowest pit of the Greek Underworld. A place shunned even by the gods.

A fog-choked abyss feared throughout mythology.

And somehow… I, Jo Iseo, had ended up working there.

All because of that damn thesis about nymphs and honey candy.

「Happy World, Department of Punishment Enforcement Team 4, Employee: Jo Iseo」

That’s what it said on my business card.

***

The underworld I studied in Greek mythology was usually divided into three distinct realms:

The Palace of Hades, where the gods of the underworld reside.

Elysium, basically the Greek version of heaven.

And then… Tartarus.

The hellish pit. The part of the afterlife that everyone wanted to avoid.

Guess where I ended up working?

Yup. Tartarus.

The name might sound like some kind of sweet dessert sauce, but after surviving roughly two winters here, I can say with certainty—there’s no word in any language that can fully describe how awful it is.

“Today’s forecast: cloudy with a chance of lava showers!”

“Residents of the Asphodel Fields, beware of lava river flooding!”

Actual hellish weather.

“Jyoji.”

“Jozhi. Jyoji.”

Cockroaches bigger than my hand cried out in bizarre, screeching tones.

And what about me? I was stuck working in the most overworked division in all of Tartarus—Punishment Enforcement Team, Happy World Inc.—with no holidays and zero time off.

“Prometheus’ eagle has requested a change in its meal plan.”

“Residents fed up with noise complaints have officially filed a case against Orpheus.”

“Review report on rotating night shifts due to missing inventory from the supply shed.”

“INTERNAL MEMO Infernal cockroaches are breeding in the underground of HQ. All staff must report to the basement fully armed! Hurry!”

“Hey, this is Markia. Not to alarm you, but this lucky charm letter originates from ancient Delphi. If you don’t forward it to five people, a curse will befall you—”

Scribble, scribble… scribble-scribble—

As I stamped document after document in an endless paper avalanche, I kept asking myself the same thing:

What sin did I commit to deserve this eternal punishment?

A hell with no resignation option?

“If only I hadn’t written that stupid nymph thesis!”

My colleague, Markius, who was seated next to me, tilted his head.

“Nymph tears? What about nymphs? There’s a nymph here or something?”

“No.”

I brushed him off, and Markius, who already looked like a petty thug, scowled even harder and glanced around before smacking his lips.

“Well, I guess that makes sense. There’s no way a cute little nymph would be in this dreary place. If there were, I’d treat her real nice. Kheh-heh-heh-heh—”

Treat her how, exactly?

Just looking at him, you’d think he’d sell women into slavery without blinking. But in reality, Markius is so softhearted he can’t even kill a bug.

‘Which is why I’m always the one getting rid of the cockroaches…’

Anyway, as usual, he was about to start blabbing and distract me again, so I decided to tune him out when—

“Hey, did you hear? Someone big from headquarters is being dispatched to Happy World! They say if you get on their good side, you might just land a transfer to HQ!”

Transfer to HQ.

Those words made my ears perk up.

“Seriously? Someone from the Palace of Hades is coming here?”

“Correction, Jo Iseo. After the recent administrative reform, we now refer to it as ‘Head Office,’ not ‘Palace of Hades.’ And don’t forget, Tartarus is now ‘Happy World.’”

“Tartarus is Tartarus! Who in their right mind calls this place Happy World?!”

“Anyway, the notice is up on the bulletin board. I figured you of all people would’ve seen it already. You’re last year’s employee of the year! The pride of Team 4!”

Employee of the year…

That phrase alone gave me a splitting headache.

Last year, in an effort to “brighten the image” of Happy World, someone proposed turning the area in front of HQ into a decorative garden—a completely superficial, performative beautification project.

And while I was digging aimlessly with a shovel, annoyed at having to work even on my day off—

—Boom. I found a pure gold vein.

“Gold! He found gold!”

“Jo from Team 4 struck gold!”

“Woooooo!”

Just my luck. Of all the useless digging I did, that one spot had gold buried underneath.

That’s how I became last year’s Employee of the Year and got placed on the promotion shortlist—now I was up for Assistant Manager in just under two years.

And of course, all it did was triple my workload.

“That was a fluke. There’s no way something like that’s happening again.”

And it better not.

“Fluke? You’re too modest. Thanks to your gold vein, Team 4 got the biggest budget increase ever. Everyone’s jealous. Look at my chair—it’s the latest ergonomic model from the surface!”

To be fair, the Punishment Enforcement Department is kind of considered elite status within the afterlife society. It’s a dream job for most.

Except me.

I’ve wanted to quit since day one.

But no matter how many features these chairs have, this company doesn’t do resignations.

You work here forever. Even death isn’t an excuse.

Most of the staff are already dead, after all.

‘What if I just… ran away?’

Impossible.

In all of mythology, no one has ever escaped Tartarus.

And even if I did manage to escape, I’d end up like Sisyphus—punished eternally for defying the rules of the underworld. Just thinking about that gives me chills.

But now… someone from HQ is being transferred here?

At first glance, it sounded like someone who got on the CEO’s bad side was being exiled here.

But for me, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

‘First impressions are everything. I need to make the worst impression possible!’

Who knows? Maybe if I mess up badly enough in front of this new exec, they’ll finally fire me from Happy World.

In any universe, incompetence is a valid reason to be let go.

【Don’t worry—if you’re fired, you’ll be transferred to Olympus.】

I vaguely remembered hearing those words from Professor Jeousu after he handed me that bizarre drink.

My memory of that moment is foggy—I was drunk, after all—but I definitely heard him mention Olympus.

Olympus.

I don’t know what the working conditions are like there, but it has to be better than Tartarus, where fake suns built by Daedalus hang in the distance and undead coworkers groan beside sulfur pits.

“Jyoji.”

“Jozhi.”

At the very least, the cockroaches in Olympus would probably be smaller.

Anyway, the important thing now is—who exactly is this new executive?

“Markius, do you know anything else about the new exec?”

“Hmm, the one coming in as Deputy Director of Tartarus? I heard a rumor. Not sure if it’s true, but… it’s a nymph.”

What? A nymph?

The very creatures that ruined my life?

This is hell.

Wait, no. This is Happy World.

But you know what?

Maybe this is perfect.

‘I’ll do everything a nymph would hate—and get myself fired!’