GSGW c218
Chapter 218
A familiar voice.
A familiar manner.
[What a long wait it has been! Six months—why, that’s long enough for an entire program to rise and fall!]
[Mr. Roe Deer, I completely understand how much this Braun must have been missed during that time…]
[And now, at this very moment, we finally meet again. Oh, just like the start of a brand-new season!]
The smooth talk of a talk-show host.
The being that always sat in my front pocket while we spoke is there.
[Friend?]
I pick up the rabbit doll.
The doll fits in one hand perfectly. Even wrapped in black smoke, it keeps its original shape.
Soft fur. Clean stitching.
Two black pebble-like eyes gleam under the light.
Beneath the pink fur sits the black bow tie I tied on it myself.
It’s fake.
[!]
What looks like my good friend’s bow tie is actually a hair tie I bought at a boutique on Death Row Street.
/tn. I think it's also known as Road of the Dead. I forgot which one is used
But the thing beneath this doll’s head is a real bow tie, the kind that must be tied with a knot.
Most importantly, the new Good Friend plush doll I created through the customization process at the Cheerful Theme Park should not have a bow tie at all.
Because the previous Good Friend was burned by its owner.
Therefore this is no different from the prop laptop with only a shell on the desk, or the books on the shelf that only have covers.
Just one of the props recreating Supervisor Kim Soleum’s company housing.
A replica.
[My goodness… correct! Your skills are still impressive, my friend.]
Then—
What are you?
[Your friend. Braun—the one you called.]
The rabbit doll’s unmoving eyes gleam again under the light.
[I simply borrowed the merchandise version of my stuffed body so that Mr. Roe Deer could focus.]
……
I realize something.
The voice is not coming from the rabbit doll.
It comes from inside me.
I only assumed it came from the doll because I noticed it there.
And because…
It is imitating the speech pattern of my good friend.
[Hmm, yes. “Merchandise” does sound much nicer than “replica,” doesn’t it? They clearly tried to recreate my stuffed body that accompanies my friend everywhere. The quality is a bit crude, but not bad…]
……
[Oh? Or perhaps… you think this voice is fake as well?]
No.
[I see. That’s quite a relief.]
But you knew everything already, didn’t you?
[…Hmm?]
Six months.
The time I spent buried in Basement Level 13 of the annex, working alone in a place filled with nothing but corpses and ghost stories.
Even then, you could have spoken to me at any time.
But that period was boring and uneventful.
Not interesting enough to be worth communicating about.
So you skipped it. Isn’t that the nature of your existence? To appear at the most interesting moment and enjoy the thrill of it fully.
As an entertainer.
[…Ah. I see.]
[So the host who could have spoken at any time during the past six months simply ignored the painful and tedious period, waited for the most entertaining moment, and appeared while imitating the appearance of your good friend…]
[Very well. False accusations and rumors are simply the fate of a star.]
The sound of arms crossing.
[My goodness. And here I was even making a guest appearance in that tacky training video from the second week onward…]
……
Training video?
—Special entity employee full of dreams and passion! Welcome to Daydream Inc.’s Security Management Team!
The endless training broadcast from the old black-and-white TV in Room 666, Basement Level 13 of the annex.
Security Management Team special department work trainer.
[Yes, that dreadful propaganda piece that kept playing in that miserable room that was practically a prison cell!]
[I greeted you several times, yet Mr. Roe Deer never responded. I have never been so insulted.]
During the video… The rabbit doll.
The host on the TV screen.
Did he… appear?
Did he greet me?
That… that…
……
It isn’t important.
Because it has nothing to do with work.
[How hurtful! In other words, my dear friend simply had no intention of recognizing me.]
[Of course, it is a host’s duty to make even such an audience listen eventually…]
[Fortunately, this form seems to make you want to listen. I am deeply honored, Mr. Roe Deer!]
I realize a step too late that the last line is sarcasm.
And then I slowly realize…
It isn’t entirely sarcasm.
[Still, it seems my dear friend has recovered quite a bit of his original liveliness! You are much more proactive now—ever since your short outing today…]
……
Because Nostalgia Kitty briefly let me experience how I originally felt, I can think in a way similar to before.
[Ah, exactly so.]
But…
Does that even matter?
[Hmm?]
In this collapsed, true form— With a melted brain and limbs where I cannot even tell what is attached where— In this strange, burning body where everything has been forced together—
Wouldn’t it have been better if I had never realized that a mind similar to a human’s still exists inside it?
This sense of contradiction.
[Ah… it seems you have been consumed by the mask, Mr. Roe Deer.]
…?
[It’s quite all right. The more talented an entertainer is, the more often they suffer from this sort of side effect!]
[Now then—take a look at this merchandise body.]
I look at it.
The fake Good Friend sits in my hand.
[This small stuffed body is fake, of course! The wonderful stuffed body you prepared for me is far away—more than fifteen miles from here, deep underground somewhere…]
[But even so, we can still speak like this.]
[And we can enjoy our friendly exchanges just like before! …Friend, would you place me on the towel?]
…….
I do as instructed.
[That’s it… ah, much better.]
Inside the black smoke seeping out of the gas mask, my gloved hand moves.
I fold the towel twice and smooth out the center before placing the doll on top of it.
A habit from before.
Like how I used to prepare a resting spot for my Good Friend after returning from suffocating explorations into the darkness—after work, when it had helped me.
As if nothing has changed.
And this stuffed doll calls itself my Good Friend. As if it is still bound by the same rules as before.
As if it is still bound by the same rules as before.
…….
…A deceptive imitation.
[Oh, but every show begins with imitation.]
…….
[Projecting reality, but presenting it in a more symbolic form! Mime, skits, stand-up comedy, wordplay, criticism…]
[At countless branching choices, selecting the most meaningful imitation to create laughter and meaning!]
[And through that, forming a bond with the audience and moving them… A show is fundamentally a lie that reflects truth… but does that truly make it meaningless?]
It whispers.
[Just because it’s a lie?]
I do not answer.
But it already knows my response.
[Exactly. It does have meaning. Oh, absolutely. In every moment of laughter and tears.]
The polite host taps his fingers against the desk.
As if a good idea has just occurred to him.
[It’s the same for you, Roe Deer. Shall we take a look at the mask you’re wearing right now?]
I avert my gaze.
[Oh, that smoke works wonderfully as stage effects, and those eyes are like spotlights—magnificent! You’d make a great member of the crew.]
[Quite wild and impressive… though it seems you prefer the mask you used to wear before.]
[Familiarity and connection, perhaps? That’s also a fine trait for an entertainer.]
……
[Then how about we make that a mid-term goal?]
[Let’s interact with the audience through imitation—just like Braun is doing now!]
If you cannot become human again, then imitate one.
[Consider it learning a new skill. Roe Deer, isn’t collecting impressive abilities and items your specialty?]
Like buying items from the Space Shopping Mall.
Like getting tattoos at the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
Like trading clues at the Faceless Market.
The version of myself that desperately prepared for survival within ghost stories…
…comes back to mind.
And just then, above the rabbit doll, a tiny golden spark appears—like a firework—tracing a single line of glowing letters before vanishing.
Current Objective: Master the Art of Disguise!
'…….'
[Well?]
'...Alright'
I nod.
Let’s find an appearance that allows me to interact with people.
Even if it isn’t real.
[Excellent, my friend!]
[Then please don’t forget me—let’s travel together.]
I place the fake Good Friend into the pocket of my Security Team uniform.
Just like before.
And I begin planning.
Just like before.
I flip through the pages of my mental record of past darkness expeditions, listing possible methods….
That morning, when the work shift begins, someone comes to the containment room as usual.
But they are not from the Security Management Team.
“Haha… we meet again so soon!”
Kwak Jaekwang.
The researcher arrives looking completely disheveled. His little finger on one hand has at least been treated, though the tip is blunt.
After all, one joint is gone.
“The surveillance camera broke, so I had no choice but to visit. Found a workaround for the security protocols… the company is surprisingly flexible with excuses like that. But that doll!”
His eyes gleam with excitement as he notices the environmental inconsistency.
“The doll is gone from the desk. Did you take it with you? Ah, does it help stabilize your mind? Or perhaps encourage attachment…?”
I release some smoke to form some words.
Question: Whereabouts of the team members
▶ The one wearing the badger mask
▶ The Security Squad Leader
“Ah, those two aren’t coming today! They need to go through a light—very light—interview process, you see… so I came instead! Hahaha!”
I do not respond.
“Do you like those two? For any particular reason? Plenty of people have formed rapport with you… Ah, what about someone from the field investigation team? If you were to meet privately—”
No.
“….”
Kwak Jaekwang continues smiling, but his face turns pale.
The psychological trauma clearly remains.
He needs to be reminded.
The one asking the questions has changed.
Question: Director Cheong’s instructions regarding 130666
“…You’re wondering what Director Cheong said when assigning me to you?”
……
“Well, someone like Director Cheong probably knows something about what you are! In fact, he might even be the one who orchestrated your summoning!”
Kwak Jaekwang wipes sweat from his chin and grins eagerly.
“But he’s not the chatty type, unfortunately. So to summarize… he only said two things.”
—Teach it the discipline expected of an employee.
—Discover how to use it effectively.
“And then: wait for further instructions. That’s about it.”
……
“You noticed, didn’t you? In other words, it’s not much different from training a dog. What food it likes, what punishment makes it listen… yes, that kind of thing. Hahaha!”
[Braun suggests turning the person in front of you into a dog. It might make an interesting first exercise in disguise practice.]
…No.
“Anyway… it seems we came to the same conclusion. Once your usage method is properly established, Director Cheong will likely assign you to collect darkness himself.”
The man who almost became a dog discovered an interesting conclusion.
The same conclusion I reached.
“And there’ll probably be a hint there. If Director Cheong really summoned you, then it must have been for that task.”
A hint about my existence.
“Especially if a researcher like me is observing closely. If you give us a bit of an excuse… yes, we could learn a great deal.”
…Hmm.
Request: Reduce required time
“Hm? You want to shorten the time needed for that? In that case…”
I begin explaining through smoke.
How to provoke a response from Director Cheong.
Method to use:
The 130666 containment breach incident
“…Hm? …Ah.”
Kwak Jaekwang scribbles everything down on paper.
Every given example.
When he runs out of space, he begins writing words across the back of his hand as well—adding his own ideas alongside mine.
When I choose one of them, his grin stretches ear to ear.
“Now this is a good method. Let’s try fooling them with this, hahaha!”
Add a false rule to the usage protocol of 130666
Rule: Cannot tolerate boredom
***
The Daydream Inc. archival database updates.
———————————————————————————————————————
Security Management Team Incident Record
Containment Breach Case: 130666
A written account regarding the emergency escape of containment entity 130666 from containment room L-13-6 at 1:26 AM on October 28, ■■ year.
Incident Progress
130666 disables the iron door lock using black smoke emitted from its gas mask. It exits into the containment corridor, heads straight to the equipment storage room, and enters the main building via elevator to the 17th-floor research sector.
Total time required: 3 minutes 13 seconds. No security protocol activates during the process.
Four Security Team members are incapacitated in the containment room and storage area. On the 17th floor, fifteen researchers evacuate; six are incapacitated.
(The six who failed to evacuate exhibit unusual psychological trauma after smoke inhalation and are suspected of contamination.)
Upon entering the 17th floor, 130666 proceeds directly to the Research Team 1 office and engages in a one-on-one interaction with the assigned researcher, Section Chief Kwak Jaekwang.
6 minutes 12 seconds later, the entity is found back inside the containment room.
Notable Details
• CCTV failure – No footage exists due to camera malfunction in both the containment room and Research Team 1 office.
• Assigned researcher survives – Minor extremity loss and rib injuries; recovery potion prescribed.
• Assistants give passive testimony – Security staff present during the incident show limited willingness to testify regarding the entity’s danger level.
Possible charm-type psychological interference from 130666 under investigation.
However, they stated that their regular work hours had already ended at the time, and that they were therefore not carrying any control equipment.
(Disciplinary action for negligence of duty was discussed, but the matter was put on hold as no company regulations had actually been violated. To prevent similar situations in the future, the working hours for the security team members responsible for containment duties were reassigned to cover a broader time range.)
Result
Containment and Security Reinforcement — Strengthening of containment room security, assignment of additional training hours through instructional videos, preparation of a disciplinary chamber for 130666, and an increase in patrol personnel in the containment corridor.
Further experiments on 130666 authorized to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
———————————————————————————————————————
A few days later,
another page is added.
———————————————————————————————————————
Additional Experiment Results
New task assignment to 130666 - Following several experiments, the assigned researcher concludes that the cause of the escape was boredom.
He states that during the breach incident, he promised to assign a “more interesting task.”
The hypothesis emerges that the previous six months of security duty in the Annex Basement Level 13 had displeased the entity.
Therefore, a more stimulating assignment is strongly recommended.
Thus,
With authorization from Development Director Cheong ■■, a special task is assigned.
Collection of a paranormal phenomenon occurring at a terrestrial television broadcasting station.
Known publicly as the urban legend “The Man in the Screen.” For details, see ■■ record #C16548.
Also,
Additional Measures
Considering the nature of the assignment, the assigned researcher temporarily appoints two assistants responsible for transport duties:
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae (Field Investigation Team B)
Supervisor Kang Yihak (Field Investigation Team I)
The moralist wearing a dolphin mask and the gold-worshipping capitalist wearing a pony mask make their appearance.
———————————————————————————————————————
Not them😭 welp time to get my tissues
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