I didn't think there would be a crazy bastard out there who could recognize a person just by the veins on an exposed wrist between a glove and a sleeve.
‘Agent Choi.’
And I certainly didn't expect to be the one on the receiving end of it.
‘Holy shit.’
It was the kind of situation that went beyond the chills and made a person freeze solid.
But I couldn't freeze.
I had to show just the right amount of panic to avoid looking suspicious.
So….
“Huh?”
Better to act suspicious of him instead.
I feigned confusion, looking at him while visibly swallowing hard. Then, I took a step back as if I were being accosted by some pseudo-religious nut on the street.
“I—I’m sorry, but… I’m with a group.”
“Huh??”
“I have to go.”
The message was: I haven't realized you're Agent Choi.
‘If I’m a rookie agent whose mental state is shattered because his arm got cut off, it’s entirely possible I wouldn’t recognize a seonbae who visited my hospital room once just by looking at his eyes…!’
Especially if I was a faint-hearted person who had mustered the courage to enter this insane space within a ghost story.
‘If I do this, he’ll get flustered and try to make an excuse—’
“Oops, right. See ya~ I’ll see you at work.”
“…….”
Oh, for fuck's sake.
‘I’m trapped between a rock and a hard place.’
In the end, I opened my mouth. I spoke as if the word ‘work’ had triggered a flicker of recognition.
“…By any chance, are you the, uh, superior who visited me in the hospital…?”
“Oh~ You recognize me now. Good.”
Agent Choi patted my shoulder and tried to lead me toward the outskirts as if nothing were wrong. Wait a minute…!
“Um, I was planning on buying that….”
“Hey, I told you, it hasn't sold for five years. Let’s talk. I’m just so glad to run into you in a place like this. …Why is a rookie who should be in a hospital room here?”
“…….”
I deliberately fumbled with the fake right arm inside my coat.
I felt Agent Choi’s gaze on me.
“…I heard that I might be able to find something here that could serve as a temporary replacement for an arm.”
“Aha~ Who told you that? Jaekwan?”
“I can’t tell you.”
It’s a trap!
Blabbing the name of the person who introduced me right now would be proof that I was lying to escape the situation. At the very least, it didn't fit the persona I was building at the Management Bureau. Because that would be petty!
“Man, you’ve got loyalty.”
Sure enough, Agent Choi laughed and patted my shoulder. As expected, this was the right direction— “Or maybe you figured I’d catch you in a lie if you made something up.”
“…….”
“Just kidding! Hahahaha!”
Aaaaagh!!
“It’s okay. Every agent has their reasons, right? There might be something you can’t talk about.”
“…….”
“Let’s see… You wanted to buy that? Should we take a look?”
Agent Choi focused his attention on the arm I was about to trade with.
A bloodied, crumpled scrap of paper was held tightly in a hand missing its pinky finger.
“But that looks like something that has nothing to do with an arm.”
“…….”
“Why were you trying to buy it? I don’t get it.”
Fuck.
In that case!
“…Because he seemed so.”
“Eh?”
I lowered my head deeply.
“……He seemed desperate.”
“…….”
“He was clutching that paper so tightly, and since there was blood on it, I… I guessed that maybe he was holding a message for rescue.”
It was the truth.
It wasn't a guess from right now, but rather the deduction I had made when I first read the record featuring this arm in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Regardless, Agent Choi was silent for a moment.
N—Now’s the time. Make the excuse…!
“I didn't know it had been left here for five years, though….”
“Hey, Hubae, let’s think about this together for a second.”
Agent Choi grabbed my shoulder and turned me slightly. He made sure the numerous arms waving from the communal wall looked as grotesque as possible as we faced them.
“Do you think there’s anyone here who would be asking for rescue?”
“…….”
“Everyone here entered this bizarre place voluntarily to sell something. The probability of it being a rescue situation seems low, don’t you think?”
That was….
“I think we can move on, what do you say?”
That was an un-Agent Choi-like remark.
At least, based on the Agent Choi I knew from the <Dark Exploration Record>.
‘This man… is an agent who struggled to save even a single person.’
Agent Choi was an early Named Character.
And in the beginning, when the <Dark Exploration Record> only featured the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, the exploration records were often written with a heavy focus on the government agency’s attribute of ‘saving civilians.’
Then, settings were added for the sake of verisimilitude and ease of story buildup.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau puts the life of the agent above all else.
Furthermore, because they place more weight on ending the ghost story itself than on rescuing civilians, they sometimes accept the unavoidable sacrifice of citizens.
But Agent Choi was a Named Character from before these settings were established.
Naturally, that meant he was the type of agent who would overexert himself to save every last citizen.
In that process, he used cunning or brilliant tactics and acquired various abilities and items… but his essence never changed.
Right up until he was presumed dead/missing at Lookie Mart.
“…….”
As I thought.
I think I can go with this.
“I’ll try anyway.”
“…?!”
Without warning, I reached out with the item I had prepared. Toward the arm I had found, the one missing the pinky.
“No, I told you they won’t trade that arm—”
Swish.
The arm reached out violently.
“…!”
Then, the hand missing the pinky swallowed the item I offered with a crunching sound.
The scrap of paper it had been holding fluttered toward the filthy floor, and I barely managed to catch it.
Meanwhile, Agent Choi’s eyes narrowed as he identified the shape of the object I had offered.
“…A coin?”
“Ah, it’s not a normal coin… I, uh, brought it from another ghost story.”
It was true.
Though the fact that the ghost story was a Twilight Grade ghost story for Daydream Inc.’s custom equipment, the ‘Kind Seed Kit,’ was a secret.
Yes.
That was the first Exclusive Equipment for the Field Exploration team that I had ever created.
‘The Third Hand…!’
A coin-shaped item that could summon a hand in mid-air.
Based on the identity of this arm, the conditions for the item it required were too obvious.
An item manufactured from a ghost story that Daydream Inc. was isolating and utilizing in its early days.
It was definitely this.
However, because the employees of Daydream Inc. were essentially blacklisted by this trading partner, the deal hadn't been made for five years and had been left abandoned….
‘It worked.’
Holding the paper in my hand, I felt a small, thrilling sense of accomplishment.
Of course, it wasn't that I had recklessly invested a piece of Exclusive Equipment I wasn't using right now; I had a way to recover it all later.
But the urgent matter was Agent Choi.
I gave him the excuse I had thought up.
“I thought if it was currency, it might be of immediate help in a ghost story…. I, uh, remembered how it was at the mart.”
For the record, the gift certificates from Lookie Mart vanished—balance and all—the moment you stepped out of the mart. They were truly the ghost story mart of villainous bastards.
Anyway, I think it was a sufficiently rookie-like attitude.
‘It’ll look like I just offered it without really knowing that the currency accepted in each ghost story can be different.’
And luckily, it worked.
I’ll stick with that meta.
“Hmm… Hubae. That arm has been left there for five years; didn't it occur to you that whatever situation needed help is already long over?”
“Even so… the arm is still there.”
Only then did I crack a small smile.
“I figured the fact that barter was possible meant there was someone on the other end to receive it…. Uh, well, of course, that’s just a guess and I could be wrong.”
“…….”
Agent Choi stared at me intently, and then….
“Ah~ I like you way too much!”
“…?!”
“Heh, yeah, this is it! It’s rare to find a kid who uses his head and uses his imagination like this. With plausibility!”
Agent Choi rubbed my head over my hat. Gah!!
Then, lowering his voice so those around us couldn't hear, he whispered secretly.
“As expected….”
As expected?
“How about coming to our Hyunmoo Team 1?”
“No, thank you.”
“Hmph.”
I was getting sick of this….
‘Still, I’m glad I seem to have mostly avoided suspicion for now—’
“But you’ve got enough guts to enter a dangerous place like this alone, even though you said you were too scared to join the Emergency Rescue Squad.”
“…….”
“Then… shouldn't you be able to handle Hyunmoo Team 1 too?”
Damn it.
Is this a threat? Are you saying I should join if I don’t want to be suspected?
My mind became a mess.
But the moment the next words came out.
“In the first place, that whole thing about you being scared. It was probably just an illusion caused by overworking yourself since your first mission—”
I exploded.
“No, I’m scared to death! I’m really scared!!”
“…?!”
“But what else can I do but endure it! I’m a rookie, I can’t just say I won’t do anything because I’m scared!”
If I don’t do it, I’ll die!!
“How can losing an arm not be scary! Even though I’m terrified that something might go wrong, I’ve held it in and come all the way here!”
I spoke as if I were coughing up blood.
Part of it was intentional, but the resentment built up since my time at that pharmaceutical company in this crazy Ghost Story Worldview burst out, and I genuinely felt aggrieved.
…Agent Choi was looking at me with his mouth agape.
“S—Sorry?”
“…….”
“There, there. Hubae. Congrats on your first trade, and, uh… right, the note! You should check the note. How is it?”
“……Yes.”
I took a deep breath.
Still, in terms of not knowing how long it had been since I could speak so honestly… it was a bit refreshing.
After all this, he won’t try to take me to the Emergency Rescue Squad, right…… please.
“I’m sorry for yelling.”
“Hey, it’s fine. There are more than a few people doing crazy things here. It’s good to experience what it’s like to have everyone’s attention for three
seconds.”
So it looked like something crazy. Understood….
I let out a sigh.
“I… don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve yelled like that.”
“Oh dear, your house must not have very good soundproofing.”
“No. My house… I don’t have one right now.”
“…….”
“I do want to go home, though.”
“Right.”
Whew.
I was finally able to calm my breathing and open the note in my hand.
‘Agent Choi has gotten awfully quiet for some reason.’
Anyway, it was better since he wasn't needlesly prodding me anymore.
I turned my gaze back to the note.
Inside the blood-stained scrap of paper I had carefully opened with one hand….
Words scrawled in blood had dried.
Look here
There is a toy
that empathizes and notices
The bloodstains caked all over the paper had seeped out as the letters themselves smeared….
‘Ha.’
It looked like something straight out of a horror movie prop. I wanted to just throw the note away, but someone helped me out just in time.
“Hold on a second.”
Agent Choi naturally took the paper from my hand.
I didn't stop him on purpose.
Agent Choi placed a strange dowsing-like device on the paper and began to inspect it.
‘That was also a Management Bureau issue.’
Locator rod
: A bent rod made of glass and brass.
It spins around over substances derived from ghost stories or mediums that trigger anomalous phenomena.
However, the Locator rod showed no reaction to the slip of paper I had bought.
“Hmm, no mystical quality. It’s just a normal note. As for the text….”
Agent Choi chuckled.
“It looks like it’s trying to lure you into a ghost story.”
“Maybe.”
But I took the note back from Agent Choi’s hand and tucked it away carefully.
“Oh~ You’re going to keep it?”
“Yes.”
I lowered my head as if slightly embarrassed.
“Because there might really be a hidden rescue request… I was going to take it and look into it myself.”
“…….”
Agent Choi didn't ask why I wasn't reporting it to superiors.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau wasn't an organization with enough leeway to leisurely analyze a plain note left by a suspicious, unidentified person that had been neglected for five years.
Because there were countless ghost stories where people were dying right this second.
Even a brand-new rookie agent would have to know that such ambiguous cases would inevitably be pushed down the priority list.
‘Because Agent Choi himself said so just now.’
However… here, I would make a turn.
I hesitated before holding out the note.
“Um, Seonbae, if you have time, could you please check it just one more time…?”
“…!”
Actually, regarding this note, once I memorized the content, the note itself was unnecessary.
And given its nature, there was no problem even if I entrusted it to a Management Bureau agent who could recognize ghost stories.
“Sure. I’ll take a look too.”
“Ah, thank you…!”
I quickly handed over the paper. I hoped this would remove me from his list of suspects, even if only a little.
After that, the atmosphere became a bit smoother.
“That’s not bad, right?”
“Yes. Thank you….”
Under Agent Choi’s supervision, I barely managed to get one item I wanted to buy.
‘It was difficult.’
Not just the surveillance, but choosing the item itself.
This was because the items available here were mostly standard Ghost Story Worldview items.
What that meant was that these weren't items refined by major corporations or filtered to the level where aliens could guarantee customer safety.
They had horrific side effects.
That was the premise.
In the first place, these weren't objects made for humans to use conveniently.
Since many of the sellers weren't in their right minds, the items they offered were often just as unhinged….
The surprising thing was that Agent Choi wasn't just monitoring me; he was truly trying to help.
“This is Hanyang right here. It’s the kind of place where they’ll cut your nose off while your eyes are open, you know? If you watch what your Seonbae does and follow along….”
…Though it didn't always work out well.
“…Someone already bought it.”
“…….”
“I—It’s okay. The next one is good too! Onward to the next arm~”
Still, like the veteran he was, he knew of several origins or specific side effects of items that I hadn't known, allowing me to ‘purchase’ things cautiously.
Yes. It was all well and good, but.
‘He made me buy things he knew about.’
In the end, he had brought my movements under his control.
Whether this was an expression of strong suspicion or genuinely looking out for me… even I, who had read all of Agent Choi’s actions in the <Dark Exploration Record>, couldn't be sure.
‘Of course, it was more like I allowed myself to be led because I wanted to buy that item in the first place….’
The scary part was that even if I hadn't, I felt like I would have ended up buying it as a last resort.
I sighed as I fingered the item in my pocket.
‘Whew.’
And so, Agent Choi accompanied me until just before his own time limit was up and even saw me off.
Waving the scrap of paper I had bought, he said:
“Then I’ll check this note one more time and give it back to you?”
“Yes. Thank you….”
In truth, there was really no need to return it. I had already memorized it.
And the significance of Agent Choi checking it was, in fact, non-existent.
Because….
That note wasn't even related to a ghost story in the first place.
‘It’s a psychological trap.’
Since it was a marketplace where those involved with ghost stories traded, one would naturally assume the message written on it was related to a ghost story.
But it wasn't.
If I had to label it… yes.
It’s an ‘inheritance.’
Let’s look at the note again.
Look here
This refers to the ‘here’ that actually exists in reality.
In other words, a ‘certain place.’
And looking at the next sentence….
There is a toy
that empathizes and notices
The grammar was awkward and lacked context.
It was because the sentence had been forced together.
‘So, I deconstruct it.’
Then what remains is….
Empathize, Notice, Toy.
Three words.
And three words plus a ‘place’ make for a perfect hint for a deduction.
Because there’s a coordinate system called ‘what3words’ that expresses a 3m x 3m area using three words.
‘If I substitute those words and search….’
A small location in an old downtown area of Seoul immediately appears.
I was standing there now.
“…….”
Between the clustered small commercial buildings, the word coordinates designated a spot that awkwardly bypassed the structures.
What was there….
Was a manhole.
To be precise, a weathered manhole cover was propped up roughly against the wall of a vacant shop.
As if it had been leaned against that wall.
As if it were implying something.
“…….”
I pushed the manhole cover.
Grrrrnd.
Surprisingly, it moved more easily than I expected. And behind it….
There was a semi-basement staircase leading down to the floor.
“…….”
A hidden place.
Why did the arm without a pinky reveal this place?
And why did it only accept early Daydream Inc. items as payment?
It was simple.
‘Because it’s a faction related to Daydream Inc.’
“Whew.”
I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked up.
[Dream Incubation Room]
Daydream Inc.’s Dream Essence Synthesizer.
That prototype laboratory, built ages ago, was now revealed before my eyes.
Discussion