GSGW c239
Chapter 239
/tn. got some stuff done early so I'll post two chapters today
Lee Songhae was in an excellent mood!
'I helped good people.'
Even the sight of the strange underground bunker visible beyond the iron door didn’t bother her.
Because she had already found the one she needed to meet inside.
She stretched out a hand and pointed at them.
“Employee-nim, there you are.”
A Security Team Special Division employee wrapped in black smoke.
The Golden Mascot.
Even in the middle of everything, the sight of the employee-nim holding an elderly grandmother—perhaps out of consideration for the weak—only made her feel even more pleased.
‘Just as expected from such a kind employee-nim!’
In that case, introducing them to equally kind people wasn’t a bad thing.
…Whether the agents she was about to introduce would look at that employee-nim with what kind of expressions, or feel what kind of emotions, was a separate matter.
Lee Songhae had been born somewhat insensitive to other people’s feelings. And the habit she had developed of trying to do the right thing even within that self-centered nature made the execution of her ethics and morality somewhat extreme.
Just like the situation unfolding now.
‘This worked out well.’
Lee Songhae recalled what had happened a few days earlier, after she had captured the urban legend of the 'Man in the Screen' onto a USB.
***
“Mm-hm~”
On her way home from work.
She was happily returning home. Today’s exploration had ended safely, and early in the morning she planned to stop by the annex to meet employee-nim.
So her steps remained light. Then—
Bzzzz.
Her smartphone vibrated.
[K.LEE: Hello Assistant Manager lol]
The profile photo and name felt almost unfamiliar.
But her exceptional memory brought it back.
‘The person who introduced the Salmon Market.’
Since it had been the season when new hires were coming in, the association surfaced even faster.
A mysterious KakaoTalk message from someone introducing himself as Assistant Manager Lee Kangheon of Team C, contacting a “promising rookie.”
[K.LEE: Long time no talk~ I heard you got promoted?]
Lee Songhae typed back.
[Yes]
[K.LEE: Wow congrats! lol We should meet sometime, I’ll buy you a meal!]
[I don’t think you can afford it]
[K.LEE: Hey, I can at least buy a coworker a meal lol]
Really?
But still.
[You’re not a coworker though?]
Because it was a lie.
And Lee Songhae disliked liars.
[There’s never been anyone named Lee Kangheon working at this company. Who are you?]
That was the truth she had reached after combining the intranet records and workplace rumors.
A brief silence followed.
[K.LEE: You didn’t just figure that out now, did you?]
Lee Songhae stared quietly at the phone screen.
[K.LEE: And that’s not the important part, is it?]
[K.LEE: The important part is this—]
[K.LEE: I might be able to tell you where Supervisor Kang Yihak went hehe]
“Huh?”
At the mention of the employee whose disappearance she herself had allowed, Lee Songhae blinked.
In truth, Kang Yihak had already left her thoughts. There was no need to concern herself with a “bad person” whose disposal had already been completed.
But this mention was meaningful.
Because Kang Yihak hadn’t simply disappeared.
[Are you from the Disaster Management Bureau?]
After all, that’s where he had been transferred.
[K.LEE: Should we go with that?]
“Oooh.”
The other party sounded astonishingly calm, but judging by the circumstances, it was likely a bluff to avoid being caught in a lie.
Still, even if he was a liar, it seemed like a lie told for a good reason—so that was fine!
[So what do you want in exchange for telling me where Kang Yihak is?]
[K.LEE: Shall we talk in person?]
[Sounds good!]
If he really wasn’t an agent, then dealing with him face-to-face would be even better.
And so, an hour later, Lee Songhae found herself sitting in the corner of a franchise café, waiting to meet “Lee Kangheon.”
She was the type of person who embodied the phrase strike while the iron is hot, so this felt perfectly natural to her.
Besides, she was in a very good mood.
Because she had come up with a very good idea.
And then—
“Nice to meet you, Agents!”
Soon, the ones who sat down were…
The agents she had seen before!
The two agents she had met while dealing with the 'Man in the Screen.'
‘Ooh.’
One had a scar on his neck, and the other had a tired-looking face—the one who had taken Kang Yihak away.
And among them, Lee Kangheon was…
“Well then, hello, Assistant Manager.”
That must be him.
The man with the scar on his neck smiled and sat down across from her.
Lee Songhae could read several signals that the smile was merely habitual and that he was actually in a highly tense state.
‘It must be something important.’
“You must have something you want to ask me.”
“Oh? If I ask, will you just help?”
“Yes. I’ll just help!”
“…Wow, really?”
The smile didn’t crack, but his voice softened.
“Really! Though later, could you grant me one request too? It’s not something bad—it’s a good thing!”
“A good thing, a bad thing—how do you decide the difference?”
“Obviously, me.”
Lee Songhae beamed.
“But I don’t do bad things to good people!”
After a moment of silence—
“Alright!”
“Lee Kangheon” answered briskly.
“But only if it doesn’t harm the Disaster Management Bureau.”
“Of course!”
As the two of them sat there smiling at each other, the tired-looking, sturdy agent stared at her.
“Ms. Lee Songhae.”
“Yes?”
“If you truly want to help good people, wouldn’t it be better to reconsider working for a company that harms society?”
Hmm.
Lee Songhae noticed Lee Kangheon urgently stepping on that agent’s foot under the table—but kindly pretended not to see it.
After all, she herself had asked a similar question last time.
Lee Kangheon spoke in a tone that could have been either teasing or protective.
“Come on~ You must have some wish you desperately want granted, right?”
“I do!”
“Thought so. But let me ask you something.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“After someone wins a wish ticket, do they ever keep in contact? I mean former employees who’ve stayed in touch consistently.”
Hmm.
Even if she excluded the Team A leader, who was still employed…
The former Team C leader, and the three Field Exploration Team members who had retired with wish tickets last year—of the two whose wishes weren’t “large-scale,” she was still in contact with them.
“Of course! Everyone’s doing well!”
“…Really? Then what about the employees who vanished?”
“Oh, of course there are some missing employees. If they make that kind of wish.”
"......"
"......"
A thick, heavy silence fell. But Lee Songhae’s cheerful voice cut through it.
“Anyway, what would you like me to help with?”
“…Ah, it’s not difficult. You already know about it.”
Lee Kangheon said it as if tossing the words out casually.
“You saw it last time, didn’t you? The black carrier.”
“Oh, employee-nim?”
For some reason, the agents fell silent.
As if Lee Songhae might say something shocking.
“He’s a really nice person. Kind, and always trying to help people!”
“…Ah, really?”
His voice tightened.
“But none of you find it strange that you stuff such a kind person into a pet carrier?”
“Agent.”
Another agent tried to stop Lee Kangheon. But Lee Songhae caught only the question itself.
“Hmm. But employee-nim probably uses that carrier because it’s comfortable…”
"......"
“Maybe it’s also because people get scared if he just comes out. It’s consideration!”
“Scared.”
“Some people are affected by appearances.”
"......"
The agent who had been moving his lips closed his mouth.
When he spoke again, his voice had become purely professional.
“Understood. In any case, we only have one request. If you could just let us approach that carrier.”
Hmm.
“It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just that. For example, letting us know the location whenever the carrier is sent to another site.”
A rather convincing guess formed in Lee Songhae’s mind.
'Could this be a scouting attempt?'
Come to think of it, the Disaster Management Bureau did say they cooperated with kind spiritual beings to dispose of evil darkness.
Employee-nim certainly qualified.
'Hmm. That sounds good!'
After all, it would be far better than being overworked under a nasty superior like Director Cheong without even getting paid.
Still, she should confirm first.
“Are you trying to help employee-nim change jobs?”
“…If that were the case?”
“Then I’ll help you.”
“...!"
“It looked like they aren’t even getting paid right now. They’re still at the annex too, and honestly the conditions seem pretty ba—”
“Right now,”
An agent stood up.
“They’re at the annex?”
“Yes, yes.”
“The Daydream Inc. annex.”
“Yes. But…”
Were they planning to storm in immediately?
Lee Songhae smiled brightly.
“You probably can’t get in as humans.”
One of the security characteristics of Daydream Inc.
Darkness occasionally infiltrated the facility, and darkness that had been captured sometimes escaped—but security against outside intruders entering and stealing darkness was extremely strict.
A typical corrupt megacorporation that valued its raw material supply line more than human life.
In any case, thanks to that, a reckless intrusion using ordinary methods would be extremely difficult.
Unless there was an inside collaborator.
“Please wait a moment.”
And Lee Songhae was very confident she could provide that cooperation.
After all, she had originally planned to visit the annex anyway.
Over the next few days she carried snacks (which she had planned to gift anyway!) while gathering information, and she established a line of contact with the Security Team members who worked with employee-nim.
Through that route, she planned to naturally hear whenever the carrier left the building—and the moment she did, she would pass that information to the agents of the Disaster Management Bureau.
The only problem was that she never imagined employee-nim would be assigned to a task that involved going deep into the company’s inner operations.
And even less could she have imagined that, due to some incident, they would disappear together with a director.
Internally, it had been processed as “temporarily reassigned by Director Ho Yuwon for separate duties.” But that information had never been made public.
Even employee-nim’s Security Team kept their mouths shut. They seemed to be doing something among themselves, though.
“Hmm…”
At least one fortunate thing remained in this situation: Lee Songhae had realized that employee-nim was no longer inside the carrier.
'I can feel that they’re gone.'
Sensing the presence of the mascot.
It was a lingering effect from when she had worked as an employee at Flower Golden Resort. The same phenomenon as with Agent Haegum.
In any case, Lee Songhae ended up delivering this discouraging news to the agents. And the agents…
[K.LEE: They disappeared.]
They asked her to bring something the next time they met.
If possible.
A trace of the employee.
[K.LEE: A part of the body, or a piece of clothing they wore regularly would work.]
[K.LEE: But ordinary belongings won’t work. Dolls or things like that won’t do.]
Hair, nails, or perhaps a fragment of horn.
Of course, Lee Songhae didn’t have something like employee-nim’s hair. It seemed like they were simply asking just in case.
But.
[I think I have something similar!]
An object that could almost be considered part of him.
“The mascot’s flower ornament!”
It was a "souvenir" that could be chosen as employee compensation at Cheerful Theme Park.
Lee Songhae had confidently chosen a single flower attached to the mascot’s horn.
Of course, Kim Soleum had looked extremely reluctant about it—but Lee Songhae herself was unaware of that fact….
Are you really
sure about this?
Recalling only that question the mascot had asked, Lee Songhae gladly brought the flower and showed it to the agents.
The agent’s face darkened as he looked at the small golden wildflower.
“This… is ‘a part of the employee’?”
“Yes!”
For some reason the atmosphere became even stranger, but Lee Songhae didn’t pay attention.
The agents then used a mystical method similar to dowsing, using the object as a basis to extract information.
One piece of information. A direction.
“It’s to the southeast?”
Based on that, the agents seemed ready to begin pursuit immediately. They stood up, seemingly about to thank her for her cooperation.
“Hmm… but that flower is precious to me too.”
Lee Songhae smiled brightly as she declared:
“I'm coming with you. I’ll take leave and come along!”
And so, after several transfers, Lee Songhae finally arrived at Jisan Village and arranged a meeting between employee-nim and the agents!
And the very first reaction from employee-nim upon seeing the agents was…
This:
Request: Do not move
Huh?
***
I never expected we would meet like this.
I stared blankly at their faces.
Agent Choi.
Agent Bronze.
The light of the Elder flickered from the goblin lantern in Agent Choi’s hand, and a coiled capture rope rested over Agent Bronze’s shoulder.
The sight I had seen every time they were dispatched.
Then our eyes met. I slowly widened my field of vision as I began stepping backward—and then I saw the black box again.
With two hands sticking out.
Right beside the entrance.
'...!'
A sense of crisis made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Request: Do not move
Reason: Box three steps to the side (EXTREMELY DANGEROUS)
'No.'
It’s too close…!
'If I’m not careful, the one it chooses to pursue might change.'
The characteristic of 'The Seeker Inside the Box.'
It prefers to bring the one with the richer story into the garden.
Which meant that, if things went wrong, it might chase two of the three people over there instead.
'I have to let them leave safely.'
Somehow.
Should I scare them? I want to send Assistant Manager Eun Haje away safely too—what should I do?
…If I deliberately lure the box—
“Grapes.”
……
…….!
“Calm down.”
Agent Choi at the entrance slowly lowered the goblin lantern.
Then he raised both hands.
“Look. We’re not going to do anything. That’s fine, right?”
……
“Let’s communicate just by nodding, okay? If speaking is difficult, just moving your head is fine.”
I slowly nodded.
A smile appeared on Agent Choi’s face—
“Oh dear… What an unfortunate choice of words.”
Ho Yuwon.
“For them, it isn’t that speaking is difficult—it’s that they structurally lack vocal cords. Isn’t that right?”
For some reason, my heart felt like it was shrinking.
[How rude! My friend does have vocal cords somewhere in that body—they simply prefer a more convenient form of communication at the moment!]
And—
Ho Yuwon and Agent Choi already knew each other.
Moreover, that director held enormous resentment toward the Disaster Management Bureau….
“I see you ran straight to that old man wheezing on the mountaintop to undo the prohibition I placed. Very fitting behavior for someone in your organization.”
“Agent Grapes.”
Agent Bronze spoke.
“If an intelligent entity within a supernatural disaster continues to inflict supernatural harm upon government agents, they can be immediately transported to the Disaster Management Bureau.”
His eyes darkened as he looked at Ho Yuwon.
“That means it can happen right now—with only testimony from the victim.”
Ho Yuwon’s smile deepened.
[Oh, it seems there’s no one here particularly favorable to that fellow. Then again, who likes a plague? Especially one so unpleasant.]
[It appears our candidates have appeared.]
…Candidates?
[Candidates to fill the two available seats. Why not place that person inside the box?]
And I realized that Braun was describing a very simple way to escape this situation.
[Oh, informing someone of their removal is sad, but it’s an essential element of running a show. Let us inform the two least valuable.]
[“Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to continue with us!”]
Six sentient beings present.
Capacity: two.
[Let’s choose two.]
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