GDCG c282

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Chapter 282

I kept worrying.

What would happen if those two recognized each other.

"......"

Especially the moment the wolf team leader faced his own future—what kind of reaction he would show.

"So that’s why."

His eyes turned toward me. 

"You asked, in a roundabout way, about ‘the future of Daydream Inc.’—whether I was curious about my own future."

"......!"

"It didn’t feel like the whispering of a ghost story. As expected… quite an impressive result of the future has appeared."

“…...”

"My future, you say."

But there was no despair in his eyes.

Instead, a dark gaze—calculating something deeply—passed over the head of security and me.

Then he spoke to me in a gentle tone.

"Then…"

A massive black forepaw descended.

“...!”

Before he could finish speaking, claws surged down and crushed toward the wolf team leader’s head. A sticky, tar-like substance spread over him.

Even in that sudden disaster, he reacted instantly, trying to slip away across the floor—but as if that had been anticipated, another hand blocked his escape and gripped him tightly.

Two hands of contamination.

Had seized the wolf team leader.

"......"

It happened in an instant, without warning.

There had been no rule, no sign—no one could react.

Why…

"Why are you doing this?"

"Hm… felt like you were about to try something…?"

“...!”

"Yeah… this way… no footsteps… no noise… it’s fine…."

The head of security, his form melting and revealing overwhelming, grotesque contamination, held his past self tightly—and looked at me.

"Hey… hurry and… cover his mouth… you know… that Badger… binding device…."

"……."

"He’ll… try something else…."

I—

Took out the restraint device I had previously removed from the kindergarten teacher and began binding the wolf team leader.

The cold eyes beneath the wolf mask met mine.

"...!"

I lowered my gaze.

Sweat gathered in my palms.

Is this really right? Doubt and confusion filled my mind—but a stronger instinct overrode them. 

If I didn’t restrain him now, the head of security would take harsher measures.

'He might tear off his limbs.'

It felt like he could make that ruthless decision about his own past without hesitation…

"......."

The head of security watched with yellow eyes as I finished sealing the wolf team leader’s mouth.

"He’ll keep… trying to… get information… be annoying…."

Just like he had done with the Golden Mascot earlier.

Those eyes clearly assumed he would have done the same to me.

"Should I… just kill him…?"

"Please wait."

No!

"This person is your past, Mr. J. If we eliminate him carelessly, we don’t know what might happen. It’s too dangerous."

"Hm…"

I desperately pulled together arguments.

"Just now, you compared our state to a book and its pages. If we suddenly tear out a page, we damage the book itself."

The head of security tried to pull down his cap, then realized both his hands were still gripping his past—and stared blankly at me.

"I don’t… remember much anyway…."

"Even so."

"......."

"......."

"You remember what you told me, right? You said we’d figure out what kind of food you liked."

The head of security lifted his head slightly.

"Let’s save that extreme option—eliminating possibilities—for last. And…"

I spoke as calmly as I could.

"If this library really brought forth our past selves to use us as ‘librarians,’ then we don’t know how it will retaliate if we kill him."

"……Hm."

Stare.

Staaare…

"Alright…"

The clawed black hands gripping the wolf team leader vanished.

The head of security’s arms returned to a human form, hanging loosely and weakly.

'Phew.'

Cold sweat ran down my chin.

So rr y

my

fa ul t

"It’s not."

The wolf team leader’s ability to discern truth from lies was nearly superhuman. A mascot costume—with its limited emotional range and blunt expressions—wouldn’t have been enough to deceive him.

Especially not if he had truly intended to communicate.

Still, as if feeling guilty, the Golden Mascot tried to lift the wolf team leader.

I

ca rry

hi m

"No…… give him here…"

We

go

do wn

The Golden Mascot pointed with its rounded paw-like hands of a cat doll.

Toward the passage we had just come from.

The dark, red, unnatural path behind the bookshelves.

"…You’re going there?"

It nodded.

I’ll be li bra ri an

So you

can

le ave

"......"

A strange sense of guilt rose in me—along with resistance to accepting that choice.

'If this mascot becomes the librarian of Hanbit Library…'

Will my contamination disappear?

Will the resort become bound to the library?

'…I don’t know.'

But even so… Would that really be okay?

To leave something—no matter if it’s a manifestation of my contamination—

In a place like this?

"......."

Think.

Not just emotionally—but what is the most rational decision right now?

"What if we all go together?"

"Together…?"

"Yes. Since we found that button there, the others are probably below as well."

It was easy to get distracted by the shock of past and future J3 recognizing each other. But in truth, nothing had changed.

Our goal hadn’t changed either.

—Check on the others and leave safely.

That.

"Considering how Assistant Manager Falcon’s recording cut off abruptly, something definitely happened."

And the escape method hadn’t changed.

"If necessary, we can take the medicine—but until then, shouldn’t we continue investigating our companions and look for other options?"

"......."

"......."

"Alright…."

Hoo.

So we decided. 

To all go together—for now—through that strange path.

"......."

The head of security took responsibility for the bound wolf team leader.

Effortlessly lifting the fully grown man, he began walking.

And just like that, we stepped once more into the passage. Like repeating fate.

Well—this was my third time stepping in.

'Ha.'

…At least I had already said goodbye to Lee Gyeol.

'Don’t rely on writing.'

As long as I was careful with my wording. Right… Since we already scouted ahead, it should be fine.

'Hoo.'

And so, I stepped forward.

Into the passage.

"......."

“.......”

…There was almost no sound of footsteps.

The hidden path of books grew steeper, quieter, darker. Dim red lights flickered among the shelves ….

And then I realized—

The material of the shelves had changed.

'…Bone? Mud?'

One thing was certain—it wasn’t anything modern.

Ancient shelves. Brown, gray, black—decayed, indistinguishable materials: leather, earth, or even eroded human remains.

And yet, the books placed upon them were vivid and densely packed.

"......."

"......."

The wiki updated.

One who fails to satisfy their curiosity can go deeper inside. Pass the place that is open, come through the door that shines where it is closed. Come to the place that reflects the truth—meet the master of Hanbit Library.

Bow down.

Bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down, bow down—

I closed my smartphone.

Cold sweat soaked the back of my neck.

"......."

Then I raised my head.

After walking roughly a hundred meters… the dark, downward path came to an end.

The end of the passage.

A dead end—blocked on all five sides: front, right, left, above, and below, all sealed by bookshelves.

And there was a sign attached.

· ■Room■chive

→■deo■Vi

←■■■■om

↑■chive Room

A complete mess.

Whether it was because of the darkness, wear and tear, or something else entirely, the letters couldn’t be properly read.

But I managed to make out a single word.

'Archive room.'

Large libraries usually categorize and store their materials and books across multiple sections based on themes.

That structure had finally revealed itself here—albeit in total disarray.

"......."

Just one thing, though.

↓ A place of worship

Those words stood there, unmistakably clear…

A path leading downward.

"......."

"This… looks like it opens……."

Thud.

At the movement of the security team leader’s foot, the bookshelf on the floor trembled.

Like a basement, or an attic. That shelf was clearly functioning as a door that opened up and down.

I realized it instinctively.

'It’s below.'

The place that had called for a librarian.

"....…"

The security team leader set down the wolf team leader he had been holding.

"Open it… and put him in…."

"That’s enough."

…!

"Doing it with my tongue and teeth is a bit difficult."

…When I turned my head, I saw the wolf team leader’s face, his mouth stained with blood.

Somehow, the restraint around his mouth had loosened slightly, his speech a bit slurred.

A chill ran down my spine.

'Even Supervisor Park Minseong, who was contaminated, couldn’t break free from that.'

How on earth? Did he… cut his own tongue—damn it!

"Calm down. If it were me, I wouldn’t try to make a scene here."

"......."

The security team leader, who had been pinning him down again, slowly withdrew his arm.

…Amid the black silhouettes, the wolf mask looked around at us.

"I’m not trying to fight. And I’m not trying to run either."

His voice was relaxed and composed.

"Considering the length of the passage and the limitation that I can’t make any sound with my footsteps, I’d just get caught again before long."

"......."

"I just realized something, and I wanted to tell you. It’s about the library rules."

"What is it?"

His gaze fixed on me.

"Employee Dragon. Do you remember this rule?"

Leave after obtaining one thing

"The only conditional rule. What did you think it meant?"

So, if you gain knowledge…

"You probably thought it meant that once you obtain a piece of information from the library, you should leave without hesitation. Isn’t that right?"

"...!"

"Well done. That’s a reasonable deduction. But… looking at it now, it seems this library moves according to the will of something with a firm sense of self."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Isn’t it possible that the conditional sentence contains a different subject?"

A blood-tinged smile spread beneath the wolf mask.

"The library’s self, I mean. What if we filled in the missing subject like this… ‘I.’"

…!

I will leave after obtaining one thing

From the perspective of the library’s owner, it became an arrogant statement.

And there was strong evidence supporting this assumption.

The demand for a librarian. 

"It means that if the library obtains a librarian, the other party can leave as a user."

"......."

"And since it doesn’t specify which one… it shouldn’t matter which side it is, don’t you think?"

"So you’re saying, Team Leader…"

I swallowed.

"That you want to leave this place instead of Mr. J?"

"No."

A clear voice spoke from beneath the wolf mask.

"For the sake of both the past and the future, it’s more advantageous for me to leave this library."

“...!”

"Smart Employee Dragon. Let me go."

From within the mask, clear and deep eyes met mine.

"Since I’ve learned the future, I can prepare for it."

What?

"But you said the future can’t be changed—"

"That’s right. Me."

He declared it without hesitation.

Then his gaze swept over the security team leader.

Contaminated, his once-brilliant abilities long spent.

His own declining future.

"I’ve seen what I’ll become decades from now, and maybe that can’t be changed. …But you see, there are still secrets of my future that even you don’t know. Those, I can create starting now."

“...…!”

"It’ll be tedious and troublesome, sure. But now that I know, it means I can use other methods. For example…."

His gaze turned to the security team leader.

"When I become like that, I can prepare in advance methods and items for recovery."

“...!"

"Or I could pretend to be contaminated from the beginning, or search in the darkness for a way to awaken from contamination decades later… There are many possibilities."

"......."

"For the sake of my future self, who will become a librarian in the darkness of the library decades later, I can even prepare an escape."

So…

The current security team leader could actually be someone who, without even realizing it, had already prepared everything in the past to recover from this wolf contamination and hidden it somewhere…

Meaning he could recover.

"So, for a better future. For another possibility… will you let me go?"

The wolf team leader quietly looked at me.

I froze.

This elite team leader from the past… was saying he would prepare for uncertain variables in his future.

With the best possible means.

"I can do that."

His voice was filled with conviction.

The unwavering confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was capable of.

…Then.

'Would that also be good for Mr. J right now?'

After all, they were ultimately the same person.

Reflexively, I looked at the security team leader. There was no other choice.

"......."

The security team leader stood motionless.

In the dim red corridor, standing atop the strange bookshelf—thin, weak, disheveled, and utterly uncared for.

A man so contaminated that even Nostalgia Candy couldn’t hold him together for long.

The future of the wolf team leader lifted its head.

Then, looking at his own past, he spoke.

"No."

"I can’t do that…."

The wolf team leader’s mask was swallowed by the long shadow of the security team leader.

"You… have already become me. You’re not a possibility."

…….

"I’m the one who saw the window of this library… so you are… my past. I am not your prediction of the future…."

Ah.

"And what has already happened cannot be changed…."

The security team leader looked at himself.

A past already lived.

A personality, a form, a set of memories that had once been him.

"You… were arrogant."

"......."

"Even that… is something I cannot change…."

The security team leader quietly pulled his hat down and stepped back.

The expression beneath the wolf team leader’s mask, still hidden in shadow, couldn’t be read.

"Either way… you won’t be able to leave… because you’re already… me……."

"......."

After a long silence, the wolf team leader spoke.

"Will you pass along my regards to the others? …No, I suppose you can’t."

My breath caught.

He turned to the security team leader, then looked back at me.

"Put me… down there……."

"......."

But something surfaced in my mind without thinking.

'You… are me.'

And if it didn’t matter which one of them it was…

'.......'

Wait.

"Please… give me a moment……."

I turned toward the golden mascot.

What are you doing

I had made a mistake in my thinking.

It was true that this mascot could become a scene from my past. But to be precise—

'It’s also one of the forms I possess.'

Right.

And the phrase written on the wiki I had hastily closed…

Come through the door to the shining place, meet the owner of the Hanbit Library, the mirror that reflects truth

That phrase.

A mirror that reflects truth

'.......'

Ah.

"Mr. J."

"Why……?"

"I think… we may have been mistaken."

The analogy of books and pages had come from the wolf team leader.

'That too was just a guess.'

But because he was such an extraordinary person, we had unconsciously treated that analogy as fact until now.

All of us. But…

"What we saw through the window of the Hanbit Library was ourselves. Not scenes from the past."

"…Ah."

So, if we had to put it in library terms—

"We are all the same single book."

I pointed at the golden mascot.

More precisely, I alternated pointing between myself and the mascot.

"Could it be that we’re simply different pages opened at the same time?"

"......."

"......."

"…So."

The security team leader’s mouth opened.

"We were one from the beginning."

The next moment.

Between the bookshelves of the Hanbit Library, only the security team leader and I remained standing.

"......."

The dark, red, strange corridor of bookshelves had disappeared before we knew it.

We were now standing in front of the yarn, within the maze of shelves.

'Ah.'

And I realized.

I was the golden mascot.

Memories surfaced in my mind—wandering through the Hanbit Library with the security team leader, searching for the yarn while the others vanished in confusion.

And then, reaching the conclusion that I might be a fake, suppressing the terror of my own existence as I agonized over the decision to become a librarian.

All of those moments were me.

And then—

"Roe Deer…?"

"Assistant Manager."

From around the corner, I saw the members of the former D-Team coming into view.

Along with them, I felt my own presence there connect as well…

I was Grapes.

Suddenly, I was the clumsy rookie agent working at the Disaster Management Bureau, wandering alongside the former D-Team members—encountering past versions of ourselves like doppelgängers—as we anxiously searched for the whereabouts of the security team leader.

And in that strange corridor, I had left behind a button, seriously discussing what we should even do in a place like this…

Then, in a blink, the security team leader had appeared before my eyes.

That was also me.

"You’re back. No—Team Leader, you’re here too!"

"......."

And the most shocking part of all—

-Oh, this is what my friend looked like when he ran that humble, cozy resort.

-Good heavens, my friend, your arm is gone!

Braun had been accompanying all three of us.

'Ha….'

This guy, seriously.

'Anyway… did we get the answer right and return to normal?'

The librarian? No, more importantly… wait.

'…Then does the security team leader remember moving around as the wolf team leader…?'

…….

I turned to look at the security team leader.

 

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