That evening, the day Kim Sol-eum and Lee Saheon agreed to infiltrate the Disaster Management Bureau as spies.
At the same time, Baek Saheon was enjoying a very comfortable private life at his official residence recently.
It was all thanks to his damn psychopath roommate going missing!
'I knew that bastard would end up dead for acting so arrogant.'
Baek Saheon gave a triumphant smile.
Although the crazy Team Leader from Team D, who looked exactly like that psychopath, had persistently asked him for an interview about the ‘Tamna-bound Express Train’ several times.
And because of that, the terrible... contamination had worsened, but now it had mostly settled down.
He no longer felt like throwing up or losing his mental stability just by thinking of that great talk... Damn it, anyway.
Thanks to that, he was able to access the Fox Counseling Office.
For free, no less!
'Normally, you'd have to be a manager to receive this kind of welfare... but the exchange rate isn't bad at all.'
Thanks to the Team Leader Team D handling it, receiving a separate nameplate for the Fox Counseling Office was a clear benefit.
Moreover, the counselor from that ghost even gives out an additional nameplate every time someone consults them.
With the ‘treatment’ he received from the company, he could use this until he ‘recovered sufficiently.’
'Maybe I could sneakily pass it on to someone else after using it a bit?'
As long as he behaves properly.
'Until I get promoted to Supervisor ... at least I can milk this for another three months.'
For now, he was going to use it one more time today.
Baek Saheon hummed a tune as he hung the nameplate on his already-trashed roommate's door, planning to visit the Fox Counseling Office once more.
And then, he opened the door…
"Ah. They said they're closed today."
“…?!?!”
A black-haired office worker with a cold expression stood beyond the door and casually spoke.
And then, he walked out from behind the door.
A familiar face that seemed impossible to forget, even in a dream.
That was... that was…
"K-Kim Sol-eum."
His former roommate, who had been declared missing and dead, looked at him and smirked.
Huh?
H-Huh?
“……?!?”
Baek Saheon began to seriously doubt what was happening.
'Is... is this a dream?'
Did I fall into some kind of hypnotic darkness?
If not, why the hell is a crazy bastard, who was declared missing and dead, coming out from the Fox Counseling Office door right now...?
Thwack.
Baek Saheon slapped himself.
It stung.
For now, it wasn't a dream.
'Goddamn it.'
And he felt a pitying gaze on the fool who had slapped his own face.
"Hmm... I can see why you wanted to get a consultation."
“…!?!”
"But even if you go in now, they're closed. Take off the nameplate and come back next time."
Thud.
Kim Sol-eum completely exited the room and closed the door.
Then, with clear physical force, he ripped the nameplate off the door, which had once been his room, and threw it at Baek Saheon.
“…!”
He instinctively grabbed it.
"But... why did you have to open the door now?"
“…….”
"I didn't expect to see your face like this."
Baek Saheon swallowed.
At the same time, his brain began to work rapidly.
In this absurd and unexpected situation, he found himself asking what was happening, but one thing was certain: he realized it.
The dark halo that seemed to shine through the blindfold.
Warning alarm.
“ – You’ve seen what you shouldn't have seen.”
The fact that an employee who was declared dead is standing right in front of him meant that there was a conspiracy at the company level, or even beyond that.
'They even made me a witness to the disappearance...!'
Trying not to remember the horrific and almost imperceptible bite he had experienced while trying to track Kim Sol-eum’s whereabouts after he disappeared in the bathroom, Baek Saheon swallowed again.
His head was spinning with anger and dizziness, but the warning struck his mind first.
'Wait a minute, but right now, that crazy bastard is standing here alive and well...'
I,
Can I... be seeing this?
“…….”
“…….”
The most certain way that this psychopath bastard would handle me is…
“ – Murder and destruction.”
'No, wait!'
The ridiculous thought that flashed in his mind reflexively, Baek Saheon quickly corrected.
Why would anyone do such an inefficient thing in modern society?
'My brainwashing pen, that bastard has it...'
The item he exchanged for these eyes. Baek Saheon clenched his fist tightly.
Right. He'll definitely brainwash me and get away. I can just pretend I didn't see anything and leave. There's such an easy and simple way to do it, there's no need to go back…
"You want me to erase your memory with the pen, right?"
“…!!”
"I won't do that."
Baek Saheon quickly ran through potential responses in his mind – punching, using specialized equipment, reporting, begging, and so on.
And as soon as he thought of them, they were all discarded.
'No, don't.'
If he acted rashly, he didn't know what might happen to him.
Reluctantly admitting it, that bastard, true to his psychopath nature, was really good at manipulation.
If he didn't want to be dragged down or killed, he had to stay calm.
What the hell does he want?
Could it be... he really wants to kill me...?
'......No!'
A reassembled sentence flashed in Baek Saheon’s mind like a lightning bolt.
“ – There’s something he wants.”
That bastard is facing me because he wants something!
Baek Saheon barely managed to calm himself.
Then, he barely managed to cross his arms to appear calm.
"...It seems like you want something, Supervisor."
"Hmm."
I knew it!
"...Ah. Maybe you need my testimony, Supervisor? Like the time of the disappearance! Like, I can report to the company that I had the feeling I saw Supervisor Kim Sol-eum at the staff quarters..."
"No."
Damn.
Baek Saheon barely held back his curses and looked at the other person with as calm a face as possible.
Kim Sol-eum was also staring at Baek Saheon without blinking.
Now that he looked closely, the other person was dressed in a suit, but his hair was slightly cut, and one arm had a splint on it. It meant he wasn’t exactly in a ‘perfect’ condition.
‘Where did he get hurt?’
Moreover, the suit itself was a bit different.
It was strange. Somewhere, it looked more expensive and stylish, like something a regular office worker wouldn’t wear, made for show…
‘Something you'd only wear on a broadcast….’
...Huh?
Somewhere, an odd connection flashed in his mind.
The other person spoke words that couldn’t possibly be overlooked.
"You seem to be greedy for items."
“…!”
"Not the useless ones. I mean the real ones. Hypnosis, restraint, healing... Do you want more useful items like that?"
Desire and need, surpassing everything else, flashed at the top of Baek Saheon’s priorities.
Baek Sa-heon immediately looked up.
Kim Sol-eum was smiling.
"Then from now on, let me know regularly what happens at Daydream Corporation."
“…….”
The proposal from the other side was a deal.
An information exchange.
"...You mean something like the high-grade darkness exploration manual held within the company...?"
Kim Sol-eum looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. Yeah, he wouldn’t be asking for field investigation team secrets…
"Why would I want to share something so boring?"
“…….”
"Rumors circulating within the company, personnel changes, employee gossip, anything. Bring me 'information that might be valuable to internal staff' according to what you think."
"...Why?"
"Because I'm curious?"
“……!!”
"No, because I'm bored now that I can't hear anything after being forced to resign."
No, damn it!
Baek Saheon felt like he was going crazy, ready to jump out of his skin.
If it were any other person, they would have indirectly expressed their reluctance to share, but the other party was Kim Sol-eum.
'That bastard really seems serious!'
It was hard to figure out because he really seemed like a lunatic who just wanted to hear office gossip for the dopamine...!
‘Sigh…’
"So, are you going to bring me information and exchange it for items?"
"Information,"
…….
…….
"I could bring it... sure."
Baek Saheon thought.
‘What’s it to me?’
What if the company finds out?
He could just claim he was threatened or brainwashed, and that would be the end of it.
Anyway, as long as the company wasn’t involved in selling masks or collecting devices, they were pretty lenient with whatever the field exploration team did.
Answering a question from a resigned employee about the ‘company atmosphere’ is no big deal!
Although the company is under the 'misunderstanding' that the resigned employee died, honestly, does it matter to me?
No matter how I think about it, I didn’t think this company would punish anyone over something like this.
'I’m not selling information to the Disaster Management Bureau, am I?'
I’m not even a manager, and since I’m in the research team, I can’t leak any development know-how anyway.
‘Alright.’
No matter how I think about it, this was the right deal to accept.
...I hate to admit it, but Kim Sol-eum... he never went as far as to screw people over or insult them by not giving the agreed-upon compensation.
‘Let’s do it.’
Let's eat first, we'll see!
The moment he saw a spot to stretch out, a sly grin appeared on Baek Saheon’s face.
"But, uh, Supervisor, I mean, oops, you're not a manager anymore, right?"
“…….”
"Anyway, I’m not sure what makes you trust me to handle this... I might lie because I’m scared, you know?"
It was a hint that if you want to buy trust, you should advance some items.
Kim Sol-eum smiled widely.
"Lie? That sounds fun. Do it for sure."
“…….”
It was out of the question.
'Bastard.'
"But if you bring me more fun and interesting information, the items I give you will naturally get better, right? That's the basic of trade."
“…!”
It meant that as long as the information was good, he wouldn’t just brush it off.
In the end, Baek Saheon wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, smiled slyly, and extended his hand.
"Alright. I'll bring it. 'Fun information.'"
"Sure."
Kim Sol-eum accepted the handshake.
And so, Kim Sol-eum successfully planted a very quick-witted, information-gathering spy into the company.
‘Phew.’
I’m alive!
Kim Sol-eum quietly let out a sigh of relief.
‘An unofficial information source... secured.’
Director Ho, deliberately mentioned the ‘colleagues he would work with’ and subtly created an atmosphere to prevent him from understanding the situation, but Kim Sol-eum knew better.
He knew that he and his colleagues were in completely different situations.
‘I’m the only one officially dead.’
And on top of that, I resigned.
What that means is that all the natural ways of staying informed about company news are completely blocked.
‘And Director Ho will happily take advantage of the fact that I’m isolated in terms of information.’
Kim Sol-eum clearly remembered Deputy Eun Haje’s words.
“ – I don’t know what other team members are doing in this project. But Director Ho has made sure that staff from different departments can’t even talk to each other.”
He would never go out of his way to take care of anyone.
So, another connection was needed.
‘But the Team D is out.’
No matter how I think about it, it seemed like Director Ho already knew about that connection. Passing the doorplate through Deputy Eun Haje was really obvious.
So, I was already planning to target Baek Saheon or Kang Yihak, and the situation worked out perfectly.
‘Honestly, Kang Yihak... if someone offers more money, I think she’d sell all my information.’
Just thinking about it made me break out in cold sweat.
In that sense, Baek Saheon, who instills just enough fear in others, keeps them on their toes, and has strong survival instincts, was the right pick.
Kim Sol-eum scanned his former roommate and nodded.
"Well then, I’ll be going."
"Huh? You... seem to be busy."
Kim Sol-eum nodded at Baek Saheon’s lifeless words.
"I have work to do."
There were only a few weeks left until he would be deployed to the Disaster Management Bureau.
‘It’s tight.’
He had to start preparing from now on.
Not a rookie employee of Daydream Corporation, but a new character worthy of being an agent of the Disaster Management Bureau!
***
February 22nd.
"Agent Bronze, the aptitude test for the new recruits is ready."
"Yes."
Ryu Jaegwan, an agent of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau with the codename ‘Bronze’ stood in front of the window holding the documents.
In fact, the window was one-way, so to those standing on the other side, it would only appear as a mirror.
And there, candidates who would soon become new agents of the Disaster Management Bureau were waiting.
The ones seated around the room with tense expressions had a strange determination in their faces.
The only thing left was the aptitude test.
But this was also the most important hurdle.
‘If they fail the aptitude test, they’ll forget they ever applied and go back.’
They won’t even be given another chance to prepare.
Because there’s no meaning in a challenge.
It meant they either had the wrong temperament to handle working at the Disaster Management Bureau or had unethical morals.
They could never work there.
“…….”
However, knowing that most of those applying here had their own stories, Ryu Jaegwan secretly hoped that the majority would pass the aptitude test without any issues.
Especially the applicants searching for missing relatives or those with a supernatural disaster they desperately wanted to eliminate.
"Let’s begin."
"Yes!"
However, he was never the type to give high scores easily, so this wish was not expressed outwardly in the slightest.
The assistant interviewers, who were grading alongside him, could only swallow nervously and remain conscious of ‘Agent Bronze.’
‘They say the passing criteria are really strict.’
‘The applicants in this room are in a bit of a tough spot.’
They exchanged glances with one another and began the aptitude test according to Agent Bronze's instructions.
“ – Group ‘D’, candidates 1 to 4, please step forward.’
The four final interviewees walked to the center of the room.
Number 1, 25 years old, clearly nervous. Number 2, 38 years old, appeared calm but with a pale face. Number 3, 31 years old, eyes burning with intensity. And then…
"Ugh!"
"A-A, Agent?"
Ryu Jaegwan hurriedly cleared his throat.
For a moment, he wondered if he had imagined it, but the reflection from beyond the glass window did not change in the slightest.
The strange and kind figure he had unexpectedly encountered several times in the last six months amidst supernatural phenomena.
‘...Agent Grape!’
Kim Sol-eum.
The former employee of the ‘Dream Company’ stood there, awkwardly adjusting his glasses, with a somewhat hunched expression, in front of the mirror!
As a candidate for Group ‘D’, number 4.
