Chapter 224: Ch 224: Myself again
"Agent Bronze."
"Yes."
Ryu Jaekwan, who had been waiting, lifted his head.
"Allow me to guide you."
Only a single day had passed since the ’Man in the Screen’ incident was
contained. The headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Management
Bureau was still buzzing with unease as the cleanup continued.
The incident had required not only Black-Tortoise Team 1, who were on
duty that day, but also Black-Tortoise Team 3, who were off-shift, to be
called in.
This was because it had escalated simultaneously in multiple places. And
worse, it was tied to a broadcasting station, threatening to spiral into a
major mass-casualty event that was barely suppressed through the
intervention of state power.
On top of all that... the sequence of events was suspicious.
’In hindsight, the timing of that report was way too perfect.’
Normally, when a supernatural disaster first occurs, it’s extremely difficult
for civilians to contact the bureau. Most ordinary people don’t even know
the hotline number, and the bureau can’t pre-assign their number to
incidents that haven’t happened yet.
But this time, they called before confirming whether there were even
fatalities.
’Of course that’s suspicious.’
Sure enough, after interrogating the PD, they found out.
A group of ’professionals in suits and masks’ had shown up, tampered with
the editing room, and then ’that company’ had given them the bureau’s
number.
From all appearances, Daydream Inc. had meddled with a previously
resolved supernatural disaster to harvest it, lost control of the situation, and
dumped the mess on the bureau.
Officially, they were denying everything.
Bronze pressed under his eyes, dark circles showing his exhaustion.
’What a trash company.’
Bringing in a Daydream employee who seemed to be an elite team member
for interrogation was, therefore, praised as an excellent move for gathering
extra intel.
...But honestly, that wasn’t the only reason.
Besides, one of the employees who looked like they were from an elite
team had escaped in an instant using an item, slipping through his fingers
by a hair.
Regrettable.
"Still, it’s fortunate that the situation was resolved smoothly."
"...Yes."
The administrative clerk guiding him made small talk.
"I heard they decided not to use the label ’Episode 6’ anymore, right?"
"Yes. I heard they’ll jump straight to Episode 7."
The chosen solution was this.
Until the Man in the Screen disappeared completely, they would avoid
using the term ’Episode 6’ altogether.
The broadcasting station, meanwhile, would get ahead of the rumors,
turning the ghost story into a marketing gimmick with their loud ’Skipping
Episode 6’ campaign.
Even if they were mocked as clueless or incompetent marketers, it would
neatly dispel the unsettling mystery.
The two casualties would quietly be written off as overwork or accidents,
and after a full-scale memory purge of those involved, the station would
return to stability.
Though on a different scale, this gave him déjà vu.
It reminded him of a tactic used long ago by a rookie when he was
temporarily assigned to the White Tiger Unit, and was even affectionately
nicknamed ’Destroyer King Rookie’.
"...Um, Agent? We’ve arrived."
"Ah... Thank you."
And that’s when Bronze felt it even more strongly.
That presence.
It reminded him of his direct junior who had disappeared six months ago,
leaving only a carefully written letter and a pile of items behind.
Agent Grapes.
...Kim Soleum.
It felt like a warning not to make any mistakes here.
"You may go in now."
He stepped into the assigned location.
A room set apart from the area used to check in disaster survivors, a
temporary holding cell for those flagged as ’high-risk based on testimony’.
They called it a probation room, and it was the stage before the Glass
Prison.
"Hey, nice to meet you, Agent!"
Agent Bronze was greeted by someone still smiling, even inside the
probation room.
A member of the Field Exploration Team wearing a Pony mask.
"The jajangmyeon[1] here was great! This place serves amazing food. And
it’s free too, haha."
Though she didn’t give her real name, her personality was already well-
known.
"So, if the price is right, I’ll tell you everything."
A shameless, extreme gold-chaser.
"But if it’s about stuff directly tied to my work that day... Nah, I could get
disciplined or fired for that. ’A little token of goodwill’ won’t cut it."
"..."
Agent Bronze was used to these types.
Though it was rare to see one this extreme.
"Civilian. This is not a negotiation."
With eyes sunken, Agent Bronze made his stance clear.
"The small tokens we offer are gestures of appreciation for cooperation, not
bribes. Exercising your right to remain silent is not permitted in the
Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, for safety reasons."
"..."
"And continued refusal to testify will be considered grounds for escalation."
Bronze’s tone carried no hint of regret at the thought.
"This means you may face measures other than probation."
Yet, the Daydream employee didn’t so much as bat an eyelash.
"After that, I think I can start asking for a much higher price to compensate
for emotional damages too!"
"..."
"Of course, instead of letting it get to that point, I think we can agree on a
fair price through a smooth negotiation. Hahaha!"
What a piece of work.
Agent Bronze suppressed a sigh as he looked at the archetypal, self-serving
junior employee from Daydream Inc. seated before him.
Judged as a wrongdoer, but one who hadn’t yet committed enough evil to
tip the scales completely.
Because the scales of malice hadn’t fully tipped, the bureau wouldn’t send
this person to positions that required sacrificial pawns.
Normally, this would follow the standard process of being locked in a Glass
Prison, interrogated, and prevented from lying...
’...Or I could just send her there.’
Into the Labyrinth of Nightmares.
After a single round in there, her attitude would surely change.
Bronze was considering securing her a slot when—
Click.
The door to the probation room opened, and someone else stepped in.
"...Agent."
"Aigoo, how tough."
Grinning at Agent Bronze and giving a casual wave, then waving to the
Daydream employee as well, Agent Choi entered and dragged over a chair
to sit down.
"I just dropped by after wrapping up my assignment. Well, since I was
involved in your transport, it’s only fair I chat a bit with you too, right, Ms.
Employee?"
"Shall we just cut the chit-chat and talk gold, sir? Hahaha!"
"Hahaha, straight to the point!"
Agent Choi slouched into the chair, lowering his voice as his expression
hardened.
"But, see, even if I want to give you gold, you’ve got to tell me something
worth trading for."
"..."
"Do you really think intel from a Field Exploration Team supervisor with
under two years on the job is worth that much?"
Kang Yihak laughed.
"You wouldn’t have hauled me in if it wasn’t, would you?"
"We took a gamble."
Agent Choi leaned his chin on his hand as if thinking, then raised both
hands in mock defeat.
"Alright! Just spill everything you know, straight through. I’ll match the
price as best I can."
"Oh!"
"How about gold as a deposit? Got jade, too."
"Wow, top-shelf stuff!"
Agent Bronze shot Agent Choi a look of disbelief, but Agent Choi remained
easygoing, a faint air of mild discomfort under his smooth demeanor.
Then, true to his word, he pulled out a piece of jewelry made of pure gold
and jade, bringing it into the probation room.
"...!"
Note/s:
[1] Jajangmyeon – a popular noodle dish topped with thick sauce made of
chunjang sauce, diced pork and veggies. ↵
Kang Yihak caught it as it was dropped into her hand.
By touch, she could tell.
’Solid gold.’
By weight, she knew.
’At least ten don.’ [1]
Even without accounting for craftsmanship or historical value, the raw gold
alone would be worth over 5 million won.
(Approx. 3600 USD)
With jade included... this...!
"Impressive, right? As long as our Q&A goes well, you can walk out with
that. We won’t stop you."
"Agent."
"And if your intel proves really useful... who knows? I might ’accidentally’
slip you another piece."
"Agent, I see now. The bureau isn’t just a noble, righteous institution
working tirelessly for civilians’ safety, but also one that knows how to be
flexible for efficient operations!"
"Right. Of course it is."
"Please ask away, I’ll answer anything, sir. Heck, I’d even give you my
dad’s columbarium number."
"Aigoo, no need for that."
Agent Choi didn’t stop Kang Yihak from eagerly pocketing the jewelry.
Instead, he asked lightly,
"Let’s start with this one, as a test question..."
That question was.
"Do you know who Roe Deer is?"
Agent Bronze froze.
At the same time, he barely managed to keep his hands from clenching at
the surge of tension.
Roe Deer.
...Agent Grapes.
He had been untraceable for half a year.
Go Yeongeun, another prime suspect in corporate espionage, had repeatedly
testified she had no knowledge of his whereabouts, and it had been the
truth.
In his letter, Kim Soleum had said he’d gone to Daydream Inc. for the Wish
Ticket, wanting nothing more than to return home.
Then he’d vanished as if erased from existence.
And just yesterday, when Agent Choi urgently called and requested the
transport of this Daydream employee, his voice had wavered slightly.
No one in the bureau truly believed in the Wish Ticket’s power.
But if Kim Soleum had indeed used it, safely quit, and fulfilled his wish...
then where was he now?
Questions. Only more questions.
And once again came the same answer Bronze had heard too many times.
"Ah, yeah, we were in the same intake batch. Then he went missing. Isn’t
that something you already know all about? But I didn’t know about the
Wish Ticket, honestly."
"..."
"I’m telling you with 100% honesty. For the sake of future trust."
Trust, huh.
She must have guessed the bureau could prevent false testimony. Yet her
tongue remained intact.
Bronze frowned slightly, while Agent Choi fell into a long silence, then
finally changed his question.
"How much do you know about the Security Team?"
"The Security Team?"
"Yes. You were even accompanied by one of them, weren’t you? The Field
Exploration Team’s squads don’t usually work with Security Team
members... Was it a special assignment?"
– Grapes, he... used the Wish Ticket. – ...
"..."
Agent Bronze had heard this line of questioning too.
’Wasn’t it the Security Team that mentioned the Wish Ticket?’
He thought Agent Choi might be digging in that direction, but instead, the
conversation veered off to an unexpected path.
"Do you happen to know about this particular Security Team member?"
A description of a peculiar employee.
"Black smoke trailing around them. A massive cluster of horns on their
head. Wearing a gas mask... And their eyes... were yellow."
...
"Agent, that’s..."
Agent Choi nudged Agent Bronze’s leg under the table with his own to
quiet him, then continued speaking.
"The Security Team member you were with... seemed to be familiar with
that employee, too."
"Huh?"
Kang Yihak blinked.
"Agent, you met them there as well. That ’employee’."
"..."
A heavy silence settled.
"What are you—"
"I thought you were asking because you already knew!"
Kang Yihak answered casually.
"The carrier, I mean. The one that the Security Team member was holding."
...
"The carrier."
"Yes!"
35 cm wide, 50 cm long, 36 cm tall.
An opening barely the span of two adult hands, barred with metal.
Portable equipment.
"That employee."
A strange chill[2] crawled through the air.
"He’s inside that case."
* * *
I emerged from the carrier.
In my hand, hidden away, was the bell Agent Haegeum had given me.
Jingle.
[Oh, Friend. What an action-packed day it’s been, don’t you agree?]
Yeah.
Or, rather...
If I’d had a physical body, I’d probably have been drenched in cold sweat.
’Crazy.’
Lying on the bed of the containment room, I recalled everything that had
just happened.
Agent Haegeum had handed over only the bell before generously letting us
go, and the sergeant and I had safely returned to the company.
’I heard Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae also made it back safely and
submitted the USB.’
It seemed the mission was marked as a success, though official processing
would probably be finalized once working hours resumed tomorrow.
The sergeant had already returned to his assigned quarters, leaving only my
carrier in the containment room, as dictated by my new containment
protocols.
Jingle.
’He’s probably meeting with Supervisor Park Minseong right now.’
Now I had time to rest too.
In any case, it was a relief that everything had been resolved safely...
though there was a bitter taste in knowing we’d dumped the problem onto
the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
’Daydream is just being Daydream, I guess...’
Still, after all that, walking away with something from Agent Haegeum as a
’token of gratitude’ felt strange.
...Though realizing that I still retained my identity as the owner of the
resort left a strange impression on me.
’Am I happy about that?’
Maybe.
I adjusted my angle so the CCTV wouldn’t catch it, then raised the bell in
my hand and gave it a slight shake.
Jingle.
I’d heard it even from inside the carrier, and its tone was pure and clear.
It felt like a cleansing chime, as though some lingering filth was being
shaken loose.
’...Is this why the agents all carry bells?’
Like the one attached to Agent Choi’s jakdu.
Not that it really... mattered.
Maybe it was meant to ward off contamination... though I wasn’t sure if it
would have any effect on me.
Jingle.
Regardless, the sound was pleasant. It made me want to keep listening, and
I almost felt my head grow lighter.
Jingle.
I found myself oddly entranced by that sound.
...And I wondered if Braun could hear it too.
[Mr. Roe Deer.]
Can you hear this?
[But of course, loud and clear! Oh, and I have a question for my dear friend
as well.]
[How do you feel right now?]
How do I feel? Restless.
Realizing I’m not human and knowing my body will collapse into sludge
without this suit, it’s hard to feel good about that...
Not to mention signing an exploitative employment contract that pawned
my life to Daydream...
...
Jingle.
Wait.
[Ah, finally.]
I shot up from the bed.
’...What is this?’
Why.
Can I think?
My thoughts no longer felt dulled, melted, or swallowed by fog.
There was motion.
Fluidity.
No strong emotions, but the habitual, natural flow of thought I’d once
had...
It’s back.
Jingle.
’...!’
[To think you’d recover your losses from the resort in such dramatic
fashion. What a stunning twist.]
[Congratulations, Friend!]
I... was myself again.
Note/s:
[1] Don – as a unit of measurement means a weight roughly equivalent to 4
grams, so the bracelet Agent Choi presented to Kang Yihak is 40 grams of
solid gold and pure jade. ↵
[2] Chill – the word used here was the homonym of Soleum’s name,
which means chill or goosebumps ohoho ↵