The Last Person to Clock Out (Workplace Ghost Story)

Ah-ming was a burnt-out engineer at a tech company. One Friday night, he stayed late to meet a project deadline. By 1 AM, the entire floor was empty, with only his cubicle still lit. Finally finished, Ah-ming packed his bag to leave. As he approached the fingerprint scanner by the main entrance, ready to clock out, the machine suddenly lit up on its own and a robotic voice announced: 'Beep! Clock-out successful. Good morning, Manager. Good morning, Supervisor.' Ah-ming paused, thinking it was a malfunction. But then, the fluorescent lights in the office area, which had been completely turned off, began to switch on automatically, row by row, from the back towards him, with a 'click, click, click.' Ah-ming stiffly turned his head and saw the office chairs, previously empty, start to swivel towards him one by one, as if countless unseen people were rising from their seats simultaneously, staring intently at him.