Kim Sol-eum thought.
He could pretty much guess what his “good friend” would say if they were here with him in this absurd situation.
“ – Oh! Deception, eh. One of the oldest and most effective forms of governance. Guiding the masses toward a scene of your design — how thrilling this is becoming….”
He would’ve said something along those lines.
‘Now that I think about it, there really isn’t any room to carry a stuffed bunny when walking on all fours.’
Kim Sol-eum thought blankly about such things — or rather, desperately distracted himself with them.
Because the stares from behind were far too intense…
‘Aaargh.’
Behind him, the Daydream Corporation employees and the Disaster Management Bureau agents were following as if entranced.
No, even the baby mermaids — the children — were following as well.
‘Seriously, to this extent?’
Cold sweat threatened to break out.
It was true that he’d intentionally maneuvered the two factions to witness each other.
The more confused and aware they were of each other, the better the fake Necronomicon’s psychological effect would work!
But he hadn’t expected it to work this well, to the point where not a single person withdrew and every one of them followed him.
‘If I get caught, I’m so screwed…’
Just thinking about what those veterans might do if they catch on was enough to make his paws sweat.
But amazingly, Kim Sol-eum managed to hide all of this without showing a hint.
It was thanks to the survival instinct he’d honed since his days as a rookie at the ghost story company.
Thanks to that, he was now perceived as a kind of avatar of the terrible cosmic horror phenomenon they had just experienced.
Even by those who had an inkling of who this cat really was!
"Excuse me."
Baek Saheon.
The goat-masked employee walking beside the cat finally opened his mouth after several hellish minutes had passed.
"Just what on earth happened...?"
The cat stares.
It stopped walking and gazed silently at the black goat with blood-red eyes.
“…….”
“…….”
"......Ugh."
In the end, Baek Saheon covered his mouth, cold sweat trickling down as his eyes spun dizzily, and began walking again….
‘It’s not killing us.’
‘It’s not trying to kill us.’
‘At the very least, it definitely has a purpose.’
Just as people’s minds slowly started to kick back in and rational thought began functioning again—
The immense terror in the form of a cat began to speak again.
A different word.
[10]
...Countdown.
“…!”
[9]
And the cat’s pace quickened.
[8]
The cat shrank into the distance across the cityscape.
If they didn’t follow right away, who knew what might happen….
[7]
With cold sweat forming on the backs of their necks, people kept their mouths shut and moved, following the cat that had resumed walking.
It was a rare occurrence, since everyone had experience in ghost story expeditions.
Because they all knew the unspoken rule.
“ – In ghost stories, those who scream and run without thinking usually die.”
And so, the logic of ghost stories was protecting Kim Sol-eum!
On top of that, the bizarre being inserted between the two hostile factions forced them to keep each other in check, preventing reckless behavior.
‘Thank you, Baek Saheon…!’
Thanks to that, Kim Sol-eum, despite his sweaty pawn, was able to properly lead them while maintaining the right amount of fear and pressure.
The black cat, radiating ominous presence, kept moving and swiftly headed somewhere within the city.
The employees hurriedly avoided the slime scattered by the ulcers, while agents hastily carried children who complained about sore legs—they all moved in a rush.
Eventually, after passing through the city, a bizarre structure came into view….
"Huh?"
"It looks… like a cathedral."
It was the stained-glass building at the far eastern edge.
Though the glass was shattered and all the symbols destroyed, that is.
The cat calmly walked into the ruined building and headed toward a strangely hidden space beyond the collapsed beam.
Surprisingly, there was a small annex there.
“…!”
“I’ve never been here before.”
Because it was hidden behind the crumbling buildings, the employees of Daydream Inc. had never noticed it—didn’t even know it existed.
But in the eyes of the children—who saw it like a Sparkling Dragon Palace—it appeared as a proper, beautiful building….
“This is the place we searched last time, right?”
“Yes. Nothing unusual was found.”
So one side entered with curiosity, the other with suspicion—but both were full of wariness.
Following the black cat.
[This way]
The cat only stopped once it entered the annex.
It was in front of the left wall.
Right beneath a small, torn painting.
Baek Saheon hesitated.
“…What are we supposed to do with this?”
[This way]
Damn it.
Baek Saheon looked at the ruined painting, sweating coldly, then turned around and smiled.
“Hey, Ms. Pony.”
Kang Yihak pretended not to hear, naturally. But Baek Saheon kept talking regardless.
“I don’t really know much about this stuff, but could you take a look? It kinda feels like there’s a safe behind this painting…”
“A safe?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Yihak stepped forward in an instant.
Then, after examining the painting carefully…
“Aha.”
Without hesitation, she reached out and pulled the painting aside.
Behind it, there really was a completely rusted metal locking mechanism.
“…!”
It was supposed to be a bluff—why is it actually here?!
Baek Saheon nearly grabbed the man by the collar in that moment.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve done it myself…’
Kang Yihak acted immediately.
“Mister Cat.”
She knelt down in front of the cat.
Kim Sol-eum nearly fell over backward, but barely managed to freeze in place like a proper horror-world resident.
Kang Yihak’s eyes sparkled.
“The safe key! Where might the key to the safe be?”
Oh god.
“Haha, you told us to bow earlier, so I gave it a try—any chance we could get a little hint on how valuable the contents are…?”
[This way]
The cat (reluctantly) stood its ground!
And meanwhile, Baek Saheon quietly reached out and pried open the safe.
Creeeaak.
“Oh. So it just opens…!”
And the entire Daydream Inc. team froze.
One, two, three…
Twelve.
Inside the safe, twelve beautiful white conch shells were displayed, each tied with a golden string.
A rare item, one they had scoured the city for like rats, but could barely find anymore.
“T-The Sigh of an Angel!”
Thirteen “The Sigh of an Angel” found in a safe inside an annex beside a ruined religious building in the city’s east. Likely a professionally stored stockpile, given the building’s purpose.
This was what the cat had wanted to show them.
The cat silently watched the delighted employees with its crimson eyes.
If this site had already been explored, it could’ve simply guided them elsewhere—but if possible, it had to be here.
…There was a reason.
However, the promised side effect was inevitable.
‘Item!’
Greed flickered in the eyes of the Daydream Inc. employees.
‘How many points would that be worth?’
‘We have to take it no matter what.’
But for now, they were still cautious, held back by the fear the Necronomicon had evoked.
They likely believed that the massive malice reflected in the cat’s form would impose some condition—or trigger something horrific.
And so….
[This way]
The cat started moving again.
A suffocating silence spread.
And… it sat down in front of the Disaster Management Bureau’s child agents.
“…!”
“It’s a cat plushie! So cute!”
“No! Don’t touch it, Jiji!”
Agent Choi stopped the baby mermaid who had tried to run up to the cat.
Ryu Jae-gwan broke into a cold sweat.
In any case, the cat—already attuned to the hidden world—could also perceive the voices of the Disaster Management agents in their ‘child’ forms.
And it urged them on.
[This way]
“…It’s probably telling us to look inside the safe.”
“…….”
The two calmed the baby mermaids, then cautiously approached the safe, alert in all directions.
The Daydream Inc. employees looked like their hands were itching, but the situation still kept them quiet.
And finally, the agents looked inside the safe…
“…….”
“…Bronze, do you see anything?”
“No.”
“Alright.”
Agent Choi smiled stiffly as cold sweat trickled down.
“…There’s nothing in there.”
That’s right.
To the agents in child form, the glittering ivory-toned safe looked completely empty.
“But something’s actually there, right?”
Agent Choi lifted the suncatcher again and looked at the exact spot where Daydream Inc. had made a fuss.
And he confirmed it.
“…!”
There really were twelve conch shells.
Agent Choi quickly asked the baby mermaid.
“Hey, kid—can you see that?”
“What? There’s something?”
“I see the kitty.”
The children answered innocently.
The agents realized.
This item is invisible only to children.
No—more precisely… they can’t perceive it at all!
‘Wait a minute.’
Agent Bronze felt a chill run down his spine.
‘Then… there’s been a critical item the Bureau hasn’t been able to identify all this time….’
They always infiltrated ghost stories in the form of children.
So in that form, they couldn’t even perceive the conch shells—items so obscure they could only be found through forceful searching.
But now, in this moment—the agents of the Disaster Management Bureau had come to know of the item’s existence….
Agent Choi quickly turned to look at the cat, but the cat just stared back, silently conveying the same intent.
[This way]
“Agent.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
Agent Choi responded to the call.
Then he reached his hand toward the inside of the safe, aiming to touch where the conch shells were…
But he couldn’t touch them at all.
“…….”
It wouldn’t even allow touch.
The illusion of a Sparkling Dragon Palace—crafted by the origin and vector of this ghost story—was rejecting the conch shells.
“Then…”
[This way]
“…….”
Agent Choi closed his mouth.
The cat moved again, as if to say his part was done.
And the direction it walked in… was toward Baek Saheon.
‘Why me again!’
Baek Saheon screamed internally—but in the next instant, he understood.
“Ah… Should I be the one to collect the conch shells?”
Exactly.
‘It’s telling me to collect the items!’
For the first time, Baek Saheon felt elated as he obeyed the kitten’s words and eagerly reached into the safe.
[10]
Even in his joy, his brain was furiously running calculations.
‘How am I supposed to take all twelve in this situation?’
If it had just told me, I could’ve taken them all quietly—but now, I’ll probably have to hand a few over to my nasty boss and money-crazy coworkers to smooth things over.
‘Shit.’
[9]
He must’ve gathered everyone on purpose to make the scene more exciting and dramatic. That cat really is that psychopath Kim Sol-eum….
‘…Wait a second.’
Baek Saheon paused.
But that insane, bizarre, terrifying pressure—that presence… That’s not something a mere psychopath human could produce, right?
That red halo around Kim Sol-eum too.
Sure, Baek Saheon had seen halos signifying danger around humans before—but Kim Sol-eum’s felt… somehow different.
[8]
More than a human—it felt closer to something he’d seen in ghost stories….
The sensation of an abnormal phenomenon.
‘No way.’
No way his former roommate wasn’t just a psychopathic human…
[7]
‘What if… he was never really human in the first place…?’
A chill ran down his spine.
But the ship had sailed—he still had to collect the items.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
[6]
The countdown was nearing its end.
Baek Saheon clenched his teeth and swiftly gathered the conch shells tied with golden strings. He ignored Kang Yihak peeking over, and the piercing stares of his superiors and the agents.
And when he had swept all twelve into his bag—
“Huh?”
He spotted one more conch shell, hidden at the very bottom.
It wasn’t tied with a golden string, but it was definitely ‘The Sigh of an Angel’.
‘Lucky break.’
Baek Saheon started thinking of a way to secretly keep it for himself, and reached out for it…
[This way]
Something burst out from inside.
“…!”
Baek Saheon stumbled over the cat at the last second.
The slimy contagion that shot out of the conch shell missed its target, slicing through empty air.
“Ack!”
Baek Saheon quickly threw the conch shell in his hand.
Agent Bronze, who had been watching with a suncatcher in hand, rushed over and struck the mucus-shooting conch with a Glass Handgun.
With a short smack, the conch shattered. Inside, a mite-like fleshy lump twitched and squirmed out like a bug, only to get hit again and splatter against the floor.
Thud.
Jin Nasol’s shoe stomped it flat.
“…….”
In the chilling silence, everyone turned to look at the cat.
The being from a ghost story—the one that had forcibly led them all the way here.
----------------------------------
Whew.
I felt like breaking into a cold sweat as I deliberately avoided everyone’s gaze.
It wasn’t too hard, since I was in a cat’s body.
‘I wanted to verify this.’
Yeah. The reason I chose to come here, among all the possible places I could farm ‘The Sigh of an Angel’.
The moment someone grabs the conch hidden at the bottom of the safe, infectious slime bursts out.
That’s what made this place special. It was a trap item.
Like a mimic, a biological hazard had disguised itself inside what looked like a useful item—classic horror.
But when combined with the information I got from the tattooist about this classic setup…
‘It becomes a much clearer clue.’
A clue to the true nature of the conch.
----------------------------------
According to the overwhelming sensory data the owner of Moonlight Tattoo Shop gave me, the conch—‘The Sigh of an Angel’—was something horrific, tied to negative and deadly incidents.
That event was probably this insane infection and the downfall of the city.
Yet at the same time, the conch carried opposing images—of comfort and healing.
Add to that the tattooist’s description—‘Even if it’s not a threat logically, the image is so filthy it becomes horrifying’—and if you piece it all together…
“ – The conch was originally a healing item, but it caused a disaster. Yet that wasn’t its true function.”
…That’s the conclusion.
Then who on earth contaminated the conch?
‘A very obvious suspect.’
“ – A biohazardous ulcer entered the conch and disguised itself as The Sigh of an Angel.”
Just like the biohazard-mermaid using glittery illusions of a dragon palace to lure child hosts.
‘It all started with the contagion hiding in the conch and spreading from there.’
If that led to the children getting infected, causing the situation to spiral out of control, and made the city’s civilization wary of the conch to the point they couldn’t get treated in time…
‘It all fits.’
Kim Sol-eum had driven everyone here so he could deliver this clue directly—without raising suspicion.
And then…
“Aha.”
Someone here had understood the clue exactly.
“…….”
Agent Choi picked up a fragment of the shattered conch. Goosebumps crept up his arm.
It was almost a shiver of revelation.
Those sharp and experienced quickly catch onto clues—and draw close to the truth.
“Is this a cure?”
He turned to look at the cat.
“This is really a cure, isn’t it?”
“…!!”
“So you made it so the kids couldn’t even see or touch it—and even mixed in duds to mislead us? All to keep us from using it as treatment.”
The cat gave no reply, but Agent Choi was already convinced.
He declared, in a voice so calm it was hard to believe he was addressing the terrifying presence from moments ago.
“Yeah. This… is a cure.”
“…….”
Tension began to fill the space.
‘What’s going on?’
To the Daydream Inc. employees, the agent’s words just sounded like a baby mermaid’s giggle.
So they couldn’t understand him, but they could instinctively sense something was off.
“That being said…”
Agent Choi looked at the bag Baek Saheon was holding.
Baek Saheon gripped the bag tighter.
“There are twenty-eight kids.”
And all of them are too severely infected to escape.
“But there are only twelve conchs… and somehow they’re in the hands of some cult-like company?”
Agent Choi raised his hand.
And with the Glass Handgun…
[10]
“…….”
[9]
The cat.
Was now sitting somewhere else.
[8]
In front of Jin Nasol’s shoes.
“What.”
[7]
“I have no idea what you expect me to do.”
[6]
“Is this your way of saying ‘Go ahead and do what you were planning’?”
[5]
“Fine, then I will.”
[4]
[3]
The Elite Team Deputy of Daydream Inc. launched an offensive wire from her fingernail.
At the baby mermaid—not the agent.
