GSGW 224

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Chapter 224

“Agent Bronze.”

“Yes.”

Ryu Jaekwang, who had been waiting, lifts his head.

“I’ll guide you.”

It has only been a day since the 'Man in the Screen' incident was resolved. Even now, the headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau is still somewhat unsettled as they deal with the aftermath.

It was a simultaneous outbreak serious enough that not only Black Tortoise Team 1, who had been on duty that day, but even Black Tortoise Team 3, who had been off duty, had to be called in.

And because it happened to involve a broadcasting station, something that could easily have turned into a large-scale fatal disaster, had only barely been suppressed by public authority.

Besides… the development of the case was suspicious.

'Looking back, the timing of the report was perfect.'

Normally, when a supernatural disaster first occurs, it’s difficult to contact the Bureau immediately.

Ordinary people don’t even know the number in the first place, and during the initial outbreak it’s impossible for the Bureau to have already distributed the number beforehand.

Yet the call came in before anyone had even confirmed whether there were deaths.

'Of course that’s strange.'

Sure enough, when the PD was interrogated—

he testified that “masked professionals in suits” had arrived and interfered with the editing room, and afterward that same “company” introduced them to the Bureau’s phone number.

No matter how you look at it, it seemed like Daydream Inc. had been poking at a supernatural disaster that had naturally concluded in the past, claiming they were collecting it—then, once the situation spiraled out of control, they dumped it onto the Bureau.

Officially, of course, they were strongly denying it.

Bronze presses a hand against the dark circles beneath his eyes.

'What a trash company.'

Still, he had been praised for making the good judgment of transporting one Daydream employee in order to gather additional information.

…Though in truth, that wasn’t the only reason.

And the one person who had appeared to be from the Elite Team escaped at the last second by using an item.

A pity.

“Well, at least it’s good that the situation was handled.”

“…Yes.”

The office worker guiding him speaks casually.

“I heard they decided not to use the title Episode 6 anymore. That’s correct, right?”

“Yes. I heard they’re going straight to Episode 7.”

This was the chosen containment method.

Until the 'Man in the Screen' disappears, they will avoid using the title Episode 6 altogether.

Meanwhile, the broadcasting station will get ahead of it by loudly promoting “Episode 6 Skip Marketing,” acting as if the creepypasta itself were just part of a viral marketing campaign.

People might criticize it as clueless, failed marketing—but it effectively wipes away the eerie mystery surrounding the incident.

The two deaths will quietly be processed as overwork or accidental deaths, and afterward the station will regain stability through the comprehensive memory erasure of everyone involved.

The scale may differ… but it gives him a strange sense of déjà vu.

Because it resembles the method once used by a rookie agent from the White Tiger Team, a rookie who had affectionately been nicknamed Destroyer King.

“…Um, Agent? We’ve arrived.”

“Ah… thank you.”

And because of that, Bronze feels an even stranger sensation.

A presence.

It reminds him of his direct junior who vanished six months ago after leaving behind nothing but a carefully written letter and a pile of items.

Agent Grapes.

…Kim Soleum.

It feels like a sign that he must not make a mistake here.

“You may go in.”

He enters the place he was guided to.

It is a detention room set apart from the area where supernatural disaster witnesses are normally checked. More specifically, it is a holding cell used to temporarily isolate individuals judged to be dangerous based on their testimony.

A place called the Protective Custody Room.

The step just before the Glass Prison.

“Well, nice to see you, Agent!”

Agent Bronze looks at the person inside who still hasn’t lost their smile even in the protection room.

The Field Exploraiton Team employee who had been wearing a pony mask.

“Thanks for the jajangmyeon earlier! The food here is pretty good. Haha—and it’s free too.”

/tn. jajangmyeon is a popular korean-chinese noodle dish featuring thick, chewy wheat noodles topped with savory, dark brown sauce

Though she doesn’t give her real name, her nature has already been identified.

“So, if you meet my asking price, I’ll tell you everything.”

An extreme materialist.

“Of course, anything directly related to my job that day… well, I could get disciplined by the company, maybe even lose my head for that. A ‘small token’ won’t cut it.”

"......"

And Agent Bronze is used to people like this.

Though cases this extreme are rare.

“Citizen. This is not a transaction.”

Agent Bronze informs her with a sunken gaze.

“The small token we provide is a gift of gratitude for information, not payment. Exercising the right to remain silent is not permitted at the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau due to safety concerns.”

"......"

“And continuing to refuse testimony will be judged a dangerous situation.”

Frankly, Bronze feels he wouldn’t regret it at all if it reached that stage.

“It means other measures may be taken instead of protection.”

But the Daydream employee doesn’t blink.

“In that case I might end up demanding an even larger amount after factoring in emotional damages!”

"......"

“Of course, I’m sure we can reach a nice agreement instead of going that far. Hahaha!”

An unbelievable character.

Agent Bronze suppresses a sigh as he looks at the typical selfish low-ranking Daydream employee in front of him.

According to the evaluation, she is an evil person—but not one who has yet committed many evil acts.

The scale of malice hasn’t fully tipped yet, so even the Bureau would not assign her to positions that require sacrifice.

Normally, the next step would be to place her in a glass prison, where she cannot speak lies, and proceed with interrogation…

'…Maybe I should just send her.'

To the Nightmare Labyrinth.

After experiencing it once, her attitude will surely change.

Just as Bronze is considering arranging that immediately—

Click.

The door to the protection room opens and another person enters.

“…Agent.”

Oh man, tough day.”

Agent Choi waves at him with a grin, then waves at the Daydream employee as well before pulling over a chair and sitting down. Bronze suppresses a sigh.

“I stopped by after finishing work. I mean, I helped transport her too—so we should have at least a few conversations, right? Don’t you think, employee?”

“Forget the goodwill—pay me in gold instead, hahaha!”

“Hahaha, very straightforward!”

Sitting casually in the chair and leaning forward, Agent Choi’s voice grows firmer.

“But even if I want to pay in gold… you have to give me something worth exchanging for it.”

".....”

“You really think information from a Supervisor who hasn’t even been in the Field Exploration Team for two years is worth that much?”

Kang Yihak laughs.

“Then why did you bring me here?”

“I bet on the odds.”

Agent Choi rests his chin on his hand as if thinking, then suddenly raises both hands as though conceding.

“Alright! First, just spill all the information you know. I’ll match the price as best as I can.”

“Oh!”

“How about gold as a down payment? I’ve got jade too.”

“Wow, that’s perfect!”

Agent Bronze looks at Agent Choi with an incredulous expression, but Choi keeps his easygoing demeanor.

Then he actually brings in a piece of jewelry made of gold and jade into the protection room.

“..!"

Kang Yihak catches it as it drops into her hand.

She knows from the feel.

'Pure gold.'

She knows from the weight.

'At least ten don.'

Even if you ignore craftsmanship and historical value and just sell the gold itself—over five hundred.

And considering the jade too… This is…!

“Nice, right? If the Q&A goes smoothly, you can take it with you when you leave. We won’t stop you.”

“Agent.”

“And if the information turns out useful… who knows? I might accidentally drop another piece or two.”

“Agent, I understand now. The Disaster Management Bureau is a righteous and admirable organization that works for citizens—while also having the flexibility to handle things efficiently…!”

“Of course.”

“Ask me anything you want! I’ll even give you the number of my father’s columbarium!”

/tn. columbarium is an above-ground building with small shelves along the walls to contain urns of cremated remains. I honestly thought they were just called urn rooms lol

“Whoa there, that won’t be necessary.”

Agent Choi doesn’t stop Kang Yihak from eagerly pocketing the jewelry.

Instead, he casually asks:

“Then as a test, how about we start with this question…”

It was—

“Do you know Roe Deer?”

Agent Bronze freezes.

At the same time, he barely suppresses the urge to clench his fist.

Roe Deer.

…Agent Grapes.

For six months, there had been no trace of him.

Go Yeongeun, who had been suspected as a spy, kept repeating that she didn’t know Roe Deer’s whereabouts—and that had been the truth.

The letter had said she was going to the company to obtain a Wish Ticket so she could return home. And then she vanished as if evaporating.

And yesterday—Agent Choi’s voice, slightly trembling, when he urgently called to request the transport of a Daydream employee.

—“Grapes… he won the wish ticket.”

—......

They never believed in the power of the Wish Ticket in the first place.

But if, by some miracle, Kim Soleum truly made his wish and safely left the company… then where in the world was he now?

Only questions remained.

And once again, the same answer he had heard to the point of exhaustion came back.

“Ah, right. He was my cohort. And he disappeared. That’s something you already know, isn’t it? Though I didn’t know he won the Wish Ticket either.”

".......”

“I’m being one hundred percent honest. For the sake of our future trust.”

Trust, she says.

She must have guessed that the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau had ways to prevent false testimony—yet her mouth kept running.

Agent Bronze frowned, but Agent Choi fell into a strangely deep silence before changing the question.

“Then how much do you know about the Security Team?”

“The Security Team?”

“Yeah. You were walking around with one of them, weren’t you? The Field Exploraiton Team doesn’t usually operate alongside Security… so it must’ve been a special assignment.”

"......"

Agent Bronze had heard about this as well.

'Wasn’t it said that the Security Team member was the one who testified about the Wish Ticket?'

He thought Agent Choi might dig deeper in that direction—but instead, Choi steered the conversation somewhere strange.

“Do you happen to know about a Security Team member like this?”

He began describing a peculiar employee.

“Black smoke follows him around. And on his head there’s a huge pile of horns. He wears a gas mask… and his eyes… were yellow.”

……

“Agent, that’s—”

Agent Choi lightly kicked Agent Bronze under the desk once, then continued speaking after the room fell quiet.

“The Security Team member who was with you seemed to know that employee as well…”

“Eh?”

Kang Yihak blinked.

“Agent, you met him there too, didn’t you? That ‘Employee.’”

"....."

A suffocating silence fell over the room.

“What are you talking about—”

“I thought you were asking because you already knew!”

Kang Yihak said casually.

“The carrier. The thing that Security Team member was holding.”

……

“The carrier.”

“Yes!”

35cm wide, 50cm long, 36cm tall.

The entrance to the metal cage was only about two adult male hand-spans wide.

A portable object.

“That’s the employee.”

A strange chill crept into the air.

“He’s inside it.”

***

I came out of the carrier.

With the bell Agent Haegum gave me hidden in my hand.

Clink.

[Oh, friend. Today was quite an exhilarating day, wasn’t it?]

Yeah.

No, I mean…

If I still had my original body, I would probably be drenched in cold sweat right now.

'This is insane.'

I lay on the bed in the isolation room, recalling everything that had just happened.

After giving me the bell, Agent Haegum generously let us go, and the security captain and I safely returned to the company.

'I heard Assistant Manager Lee Songhae also made it back safely and submitted the USB.'

It seems to have been processed as a success, though the official settlement will probably happen tomorrow when work hours start.

In any case, the security captain also followed the newly designated containment rules for my isolation and returned to his own living quarters, leaving only the carrier inside the isolation room.

Clink.

'Maybe he’s meeting Supervisor Park Minseong.'

It’s my break time now anyway.

Still, it was a relief that everything was resolved safely… though the fact that we basically pushed the problem onto the Disaster Management Bureau left a bitter taste.

'Well… I guess Daydream Inc. really acted like Daydream Inc.'

Even though I had a hand in the situation myself, bringing something back as a token of gratitude from Agent Haegum—was that really the right thing to do?

…Though discovering that the identity of the resort owner still remained within me was strangely moving.

'Am I happy?'

Maybe I am.

Adjusting the angle so the CCTV wouldn’t see, I lifted the bell in my hand and gently shook it.

Ding.

I had heard it back inside the carrier, but the sound was clear and pure.

It felt like residue was pleasantly falling away.

'…Maybe this is why agents carry bells.'

Like the one attached to Agent Choi’s ritual blade.

Not that it was particularly important.

It probably drives away contamination… though I wasn’t sure it would work on me.

Ding.

Still, the sound was nice. It made me want to keep listening, and it felt like my head was getting lighter.

Ding.

Somehow, I kept focusing on the sound.

…And I wondered if Braun could hear it too.

[Roe Deer.]

Can you hear it?

[Of course I can hear it clearly! Oh—and I also have a question for my dear friend.]

[How do you feel right now?]

How do I feel? Conflicted.

After realizing I’m not human, and that my body will melt apart if I’m not wearing this suit… it’s not exactly easy to feel good.

And signing a labor contract with Daydream Inc. that basically mortgages my life to them probably doesn’t help either.

……

Ding.

Wait.

[Oh, finally.]

I suddenly shot upright in bed.

'…What is this?'

Why—

can I think?

My thoughts aren’t sinking like they’re being crushed, melting away, or swallowed by fog.

There’s movement.

Natural flow.

I can’t say I feel clear emotions, but the things I used to do—the direction my thoughts used to move in naturally, by habit

they’re happening again.

Ding.

'.....!'.

[To think the losses I suffered at the resort would return like this—what a dramatic twist.]

[Congratulations, friend!]

I—am myself again.

/tn. everybody cheer!!

 

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