Chapter 223: Ch 223: Commencing Transport
The sound of a bell.
Jingle.
The clear chime was proof of existence.
A sign of some sacred force that wards off evil.
Jingle.
Then came footsteps.
A brisk, unhesitating stride, an alarm in motion, heading straight for its
destination.
Lively, yet not frivolous.
The footsteps drew closer and closer to the officetel, stopping briefly at the
open doorway, casting a shadow inside.
And then.
"Let’s see, the civilian who arrived first is... No."
An agent of the Disaster Management Bureau appeared.
A long scar across his neck.
A smile.
Black-Tortoise Team 1.
My former superior.
"So we’ve got the cult company here."
Agent Choi.
His smiling mouth belied the cold, calculating eyes scanning the scene.
With a heavy gaze, Agent Choi swept over the blood-soaked living room
and the corpse of the assistant director who had gouged out her own eyes.
"Not a coincidence, is it?"
"...!"
Jingle.
Agent Choi gestured casually behind his back.
But I knew what was there.
A massive jakdu.
An illusion of blue light shimmered faintly along its steel edge.
Agent Choi moved his arm...
"Well then..."
"I surrender!"
Kang Yihak threw up both hands and dropped to her knees with a dramatic
thud.
"...?!"
[Oh! Are knees being offered at a discount now!]
But Agent Choi didn’t so much as blink.
"Yeah? Even better."
"Wait! Wait!"
Desperately fending off the jakdu’s descent, Kang Yihak spoke faster.
"Eh-heyy, Agent-nim, you remember me, right? We met in that Darkness
case where you got that super expensive conch shell!"
"Of course I remember."
Agent Choi smiled faintly.
"You’re the cult company employee who tried to use injured kids as
hostages to escape, aren’t you?"
"That wasn’t me! That was Assistant Manager Butterfly acting on her
own!"
The sergeant stood there, blank-faced, wondering what this back-and-forth
was about.
"Actually, we were just passing through to see if there were any useful
Darknesses to claim, but this clearly isn’t our league, so we were about to
leave!"
"Oh~ so you’re saying you have nothing to do with this mess?"
"Does that even matter? What matters is this."
Kang Yihak quickly turned her head, speaking solemnly to the sergeant.
"Director Cheong, are you still on the line?"
"She... already hung up."
"Okay."
Grinning, Kang Yihak looked back at Agent Choi.
"What matters is we’re offering Darkness intel we’ve gathered at rock-
bottom prices!"
She made a crisp, clear gesture, pressing her thumb and forefinger together
in a circle.
[Heavens.]
"Eyy, rock-bottom? Come on. A good civil servant pays full price for good
intel. And as for you, civilian..."
Agent Choi pulled his hand from behind his back with a smile.
And stepped forward.
"I’ll make sure they put extra snacks in your prison meals."
The jakdu swung.
Thud.
But a massive, black, beastly forepaw blocked its path.
"...!"
The sergeant’s mutated left arm.
Even so, the jakdu’s blade had driven deep between the monstrous claws, as
if it might sever them outright.
Crackllllle.
Sparks flared where steel met claw.
Just looking at that trembling paw suggested unimaginable pain, yet the
sergeant did not flinch.
He merely stared at Agent Choi over the jakdu’s edge.
"We’re just... going, to leave now. We won’t try anything... So let us go...
We’ll cooperate..."
"Ohooh, how can I cooperate with you if I let you just walk awa—"
Agent Choi’s reply, given with a smile, faltered mid-sentence.
He looked back at the sergeant.
His expression changed.
"...You."
Because of the day-uniform security gear that obscured silhouette and
features, he hadn’t recognized the other man’s identity.
Now, with the transformation, he realized.
...That night, when Director Ho placed those bindings.
The same sergeant I’d met in the Dream Cultivation Chamber the night
Agent Choi had caught me doing work as a spy.
"..."
In that moment, a surge of immense conflict and emotion flashed across
Agent Choi’s face.
But in the next second, it was suppressed, smothered.
Priorities reasserted themselves. His voice returned to a professional,
measured tone.
"...So even the Security Team is here? Wow, this must be serious. I’ll need
full statements. As quickly as possible."
"There’s a misunderstanding here. We were just here trying to earn some
extra profit, that’s all. If you could just guarantee that part..."
"I’ll just tell you everything."
"...!"
Lee Seonghae raised her right hand and stepped forward.
"A-Assistant Manager?!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes."
Without even glancing at Kang Yihak, Lee Seonghae spoke brightly.
"An agent working hard to save civilians deserves our help."
"..."
"So could you please put the jakdu away? The Security Team officer looks
like he’s in a lot of pain!"
Agent Choi studied Lee Seonghae’s face for a moment, then finally
retracted the jakdu with his usual easygoing smile.
"Alright then."
He quickly listened to her briefing.
Lee Seonghae gave a precise account of the ’Man in the Screen’s actions
and the clear potential for this crisis to spiral out of control.
For a moment, it seemed like she might mention the USB in her possession,
but she glanced at both the sergeant and the carrier holding me, then
deliberately chose not to.
She must have thought it would put us in danger.
"Okay."
...All the while, the blade of the jakdu remained right in front of the carrier
crate’s bars.
I held my breath.
Kept the smoke inside.
...So the other person wouldn’t detect anything.
Agent Choi listened to Lee Seonghae’s testimony word for word, never
letting his guard down.
Only at the very end did he finally withdraw the jakdu.
"Aigoo, thank you for your cooperation."
"Not at all! Helping good people is the right thing to do!"
"Ee-yah~ Really? Same here. That’s my day job, you know. Fulfilling work,
helping good civilians. But..."
Agent Choi’s gaze fell on the gold insignia visible through Lee Seonghae’s
mask.
Elite Team. Dolphin. Assistant Manager.
"And why are you working for Daydream?"
"..."
"You know plenty of good people have died because of that company,
right?"
Lee Seonghae smiled faintly.
"Well, I try to stop bad things wherever I see them!"
"Is that so? How about just quitting?"
"..."
Lee Seonghae didn’t answer. And Agent Choi let the subject drop.
[Oh, looks like he’s about to leave.]
Right.
This was a simultaneous incident affecting multiple editors. Agents were
likely deployed in teams, each taking separate locations.
He’d learned what he needed here, so now he’d leave the cleanup to the
Vermillion-Bird Team and head off to support the other Black-Tortoise
Teams.
I knew the procedure.
I’d done it myself once.
[...Friend, you seem upset. Oh dear, are you alright?]
I’m fine.
No, rather... I can’t even tell. This dull brain of mine isn’t good at drawing
proper conclusions.
I don’t know exactly what I’m feeling.
I only watched, through the bars of the carrier, as the familiar figure stepped
out the officetel’s front door...
"Like what I was saying."
Agent Choi paused at the doorway. He turned back, approached, and spoke
in a low voice.
To the sergeant.
"You know me, don’t you?"
"..."
"You know the employee who goes by ’Roe Deer’, too."
The sergeant met Agent Choi’s gaze.
"What happened? Don’t tell me that crap about him being listed as
’missing, presumed dead’ after the train ghost story incident. I want the
truth. What happened to him after that?"
"..."
"...Did he actually use the Wish Ticket?"
The sergeant replied slowly.
"The Wish Ticket... was used."
"..."
Agent Choi’s expression went blank.
"And then?"
"..."
"What happened after that?"
The sergeant gently tapped my carrier, then turned his head toward me—
"Not happening."
The jakdu slammed against the bars.
"Unauthorized use of supernatural disaster."
A flash of yearned light sparked through the cage’s bars.
"Eyy, sir. Showing up at a crime scene with a suspicious carrier like that...
Anyone would take it for a mobile containment unit for a supernatural
disaster."
"..."
"Should I just split it open to check? See what it’s for?"
"It’s... not like that."
"Then answer me."
"..."
The sergeant didn’t respond.
Because he couldn’t confirm how I wanted to proceed.
The silence stretched for several seconds, and Agent Choi, who had a
supernatural disaster to contain and civilians to rescue, began to show signs
of impatience... then seemed to give up.
On getting answers right here and now.
"Alright. I suppose... maybe you just don’t feel like talking. That’s your
right."
Instead, he chose another approach.
"But maybe, over a hot bowl of seolleongtang[1], after you’ve had some
time to rest, you’ll feel like opening up."
The moment Agent Choi reached into his coat with a sly grin, I realized.
"And, no matter how you slice it, this situation is suspicious."
"...!"
"A Daydream employee ’just happened’ to hear a rumor and came here to
catch a Darkness... and the timing of the report is so convenient, isn’t it?"
His instincts were chillingly sharp.
"When witnesses are involved at a Disaster scene, their statements often get
clearer over time if they have a quiet place to think."
Then, from his coat, he produced...
A Glass Prison transport device.
"The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau will provide you with a
comfortable place to wait."
Agent Choi had decided, while he was at it, to detain the Daydream Inc.
employees together.
’...No.’
I need to complete the job and return with the USB.
I released my smoke.
Just as I began to flow out of the carrier...
"You there."
A cool voice rang through the officetel.
Someone new had entered and grabbed Agent Choi’s arm.
"Cool your head."
"...!"
She was tall, carrying a Four-Tiger Evil-Slaying Sword.
Team Leader Haegeum, Black-Tortoise Team 3.
The agent I’d met at the Cheerful Theme Park stood there.
[Ah, indeed. The staff member who helped manage your resort!]
Correct.
"Matters involving shady corporations should be handled by a team leader
when one is present. Rookie agents should head to the station instead."
"..."
"You’re still young, I guess. Quite full of fire. Even trying to bend the
rules."
"Eyy, Noonim. I’m practically in my prime."
Agent Choi smiled, but his words carried a hint of urgency.
"But I still have more to say..."
"I said, go, Agent."
"..."
"The chaos here is all contained. Now you need to go and sweet-talk the
Bureau Chief at the station. You’re the right man for it."
Agent Choi froze for a moment, as if glued to the spot, but finally turned
and strode away.
His footsteps faded down the hall.
...
"Huu."
Team Leader Haegeum straightened, then swept her gaze over the two
masked operatives.
"Alright. If the two of you from the Field Exploration Team have nothing
more to say, why don’t you head out now?"
"...!"
"Yes, thank you!"
"Waity. Are Security Team personnel free to go as well?"
"Oh, I have business with them. Don’t worry, I’m not throwing them in a
cell."
"Ah, then we’ll wait—"
"Yes, ma’am! Thank you very much!"
Kang Yihak bolted for the exit, and after a brief hesitation, Lee Seonghae
followed. The two Field Exploration Team members left the officetel.
Agent Haegeum watched their retreating backs with a faintly bittersweet
expression, then approached the sergeant.
And... she lowered her gaze.
To me.
"Golden Mascot."
...!!
"Or should I call you Resort Owner?"
Note/s:
[1] Seolleongtang – ox bone soup; historically known as the dish served as a sacrifice to ancestors during the Joseon period. ↵
Agent Haegeum smiled faintly.
"What’s with that look? You even hired me as staff at your resort."
Ah.
"Events that alter existence to that degree always leave a scar. For
example... being able to recognize a former employer."
But despite calling it a scar, her expression wasn’t unkind.
She crouched slightly toward the carrier and spoke.
"And I owe you thanks."
...Thanks?
"Thank you for safely sending home all the civilians caught up in the resort incident."
...
"You hired the adults even without payment, and gave the kids vouchers so
they could stay the night."
[My word. Friend, were you running that business out of charity?]
"If that had happened back when the Red Zone existed, that supernatural
disaster would’ve been classified as a Fracture-sanctioned anomaly. But
thanks to you, it’s only registered as a phenomenon."
I stared at Agent Haegeum, shocked for reasons I couldn’t explain.
Right.
That was... indeed a choice I’d made long ago.
And I was still the owner of that resort.
Even after everything that happened, that fact hadn’t changed.
"About that..."
...
"No matter how I look at it, you just don’t seem suited to Daydream Inc.’s
style, Resort Owner."
Ah.
"Are you bound by a contract?"
...!
"Looks like Daydream Inc. has actually managed it. Figured out a way to
bind a supernatural being."
...
"A pure existence is easy prey for such corrupt deals. Because they don’t
truly understand human malice."
Negative
"Not to that extent? But... your energy feels different."
Agent Haegeum tapped on the carrier. When the sergeant tried to intervene,
she raised both hands slightly to signal peace, then continued speaking...
"You seem very tired."
...
"You’re not the vibrant, lively figure I once saw at the resort. Now... there’s
a murkiness. Makes me think of that Magic Bunny, the red mascot’s true
form."
...I remembered.
That grotesque, melted red mascot form that had been consumed by its
mask.
And the Blue Mascot who never wanted anyone to see what lay beneath its
mask.
"Do you want to run? Before you lose even more."
...
Impossible
"Hm... I see."
Agent Haegeum’s brows, which had drawn together in pity, relaxed as she
sank into thought.
"Then what do you desire most right now?"
...
A form that at least resembles a human.
That would have been the correct answer.
It was, after all, my interim goal.
But... unconsciously, my smoke moved on its own...
To find myself again
A vague, impractical statement.
I hadn’t ’lost myself’. This was always what I was. I had only uncovered
the truth.
I was about to take it back when...
"...Hmm."
To my surprise, Agent Haegeum began searching her pocket.
"Team Leader Hong compared you to a lantern, but for someone like you,
always wreathed in black fog, this might suit you better."
She held something out in front of the carrier.
A small object.
A round ornament of jade and silver...
"Even if you cannot see, you can hear."
A bell.
"When you’ve lost yourself, when you can’t see an inch ahead, when the
world blurs with confusion and doubt..."
"Follow the sound."
Jingle.
"Realize. Who you truly were."
The clear ring of the bell filled the air.
Team Leader Haegeum handed it to me.
"It will help."
...
I formed a hand within my smoke and grasped the bell.
* * *
At the same time.
Outside the officetel, in an alleyway in Seoul.
"Huuu."
Kang Yihak sighed as she walked.
’Didn’t earn a single coin from this place.’
What a shame! By all accounts, and in a situation like this, she should’ve
been able to snag at least an item.
She glanced back at Lee Seonghae, who was walking behind her at a
distance, and clicked her tongue in disappointment.
’No betting instincts, huh.’
Too bad. Next time, she’d figure out how to use this superior and squeeze
out some side income!
Of course, if she was going to work with the elite team, she’d rather work
with a different boss.
’Assistant Manager Jin Nasol spends money way more freely!’
Not that employees got to pick who they worked with. It’s a company, after
all.
’Still, at least I made my base pay.’
She resolved to work harder and shrugged inwardly before flashing a genial
smile at Lee Seonghae.
"Assistant Manager, will the company cover our taxi fare back to the main
branch too...?"
Lee Seonghae stopped in her tracks.
...?
"I knew it."
At that moment.
Kang Yihak felt a sharp premonition prickle the back of her neck as she
spotted someone walking out from the far end of the alley.
A sense of, ’We’re fucked’.
"This way, then."
Another agent.
Someone who had finished his own rescue operation and, instead of being
dispatched to the broadcasting station, was set to return to the bureau to
report.
An agent summoned by Agent Choi when he’d rushed to the station.
Bronze.
"PSA. Anyone who has experienced a supernatural disaster will be placed
under protective custody by the National Disaster Management Bureau,
ranging from a minimum of half a day to indefinite isolation, for debriefing
and protection."
Kang Yihak immediately turned to bolt. She had already decided to use an
item if necessary.
Then she saw it.
Lee Seonghae, standing behind her, urgently raising a hand.
’...!’
It was a gesture as if she were about to use some equipment or ability, and
reflexively Kang Yihak hesitated.
...
’Ah.’
Behind her, Lee Seonghae smiled and waved that raised hand at her.
In farewell.
"Commencing transport."
Just before darkness fell, Kang Yihak saw a massive glass barrier
descending over her.