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…The phrase ‘It’s a relief you’re alive’ implies two premises.
That you know the person.
And that you assumed the person would be dead.
All of this pointed to one thing.
The Sergeant had recognized me, sitting in the taxi driver's seat, as Assistant Manager Kim Soleum of the Field Exploration team, who had been declared dead.
‘……Since when?’
I checked the Sergeant sitting in the back seat through the mirror. The Sergeant was wearing a worn-out security uniform like civilian clothes, with a hat pulled low.
His face was hard to see.
Yet, for some reason, he seemed relieved.
Suddenly, words Supervisor Park Minseong had said to me came to mind.
—Sergeant Jay of the Security Team asks about you occasionally, but I just… didn’t tell him you went missing in the Darkness. Still, it seemed like he already knew a few days ago.
…Someone with the Sergeant’s seniority would have already seen many newcomers to the Daydream Inc. Field Exploration team get ground down.
Yet, he seemed to have worried about me because we were acquaintances…….
‘I’m thankful, and I’m sorry.’
Moreover, I was surprised that even after recognizing me, he didn't pretend to notice and had waited quietly until now, considering the situation.
Of course, as long as I was currently acting as an industrial spy, I couldn't easily have a touching reunion.
Especially since Director Ho seemed to have grasped that D-Squad knew of my survival, I couldn't afford to increase the risk further.
‘The Sergeant isn't the type to go around blabbing that he saw me.’
I just needed to give him a brief hint to keep the secret when he got out.
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke in the voice of the kindest taxi driver possible.
“Oh dear, what was all that about… my heart almost stopped. Now, customer. You said you were going to Seoul Station, right? It should take about 40 minutes to arrive….”
“Ah, that… I don’t have to go anymore….”
“……Pardon?”
I reflexively looked at the Sergeant through the mirror.
The Sergeant met my eyes in the mirror and smiled faintly.
“Because the reason to go is gone…?”
“…….”
Wait a minute.
—Um, is this the right way to do it…. Please take me to… Seoul Station for the high-speed rail.
Seoul Station for the high-speed rail.
…This is also the starting point of the Tamra-bound Express Train, the Darkness where I was publicly known to have gone missing for a long time.
‘No way.’
No. There’s no way. I fixed my gaze forward.
And yet… in the end, I spoke.
“…Ah, did you decide to meet the person somewhere else?”
“Not exactly… I already met them.”
“…….”
“It’s alright….”
Ah, damn it.
He really came looking for my whereabouts?
‘A person who can’t even go out except at night.’
It’s been over a month since I went missing, and everyone else had long since declared me dead with no hope, yet this employee came to ride the high-speed rail to chase my traces at this hour just because we knew each other… man.
Is it because I already knew his story from back when he was a Named Character leader of B-Squad, before he joined the Security Team? It felt strangely more thankful and emotional.
And I began to contemplate.
“…….”
If it’s this much, wouldn’t he be trustworthy?
‘…The Sergeant was originally a person with no loyalty or passion for the company.’
In that case.
I checked one more time.
“Ah, customer. By any chance, are you out on business? Does the company reimburse your taxi fares, or, well, do they know your location and receive reports….”
“Um…… No. They don’t know….”
The Sergeant stated firmly.
“They don’t care about me that much anymore… lately, they’ve been loosening up on… outings a lot.”
“…….”
Good.
“Then, would you like to go for a short drive with me before the sun rises?”
“……!”
I turned off the vehicle's navigation and set the route on my personal phone.
The destination… a place accessible with the keywords ‘empathy, attention, toy.’
The lab where the prototype device of Daydream Inc. is located.
I stopped the taxi at the destination, and as soon as I got out with the Sergeant, I called him.
“Mr. Jay.”
The Sergeant didn't even look surprised as he quickly raised his head.
However, he looked somewhat relieved.
“Ah, so the taxi wasn't Contaminated by Darkness….”
“…Pardon?”
“Because… it could have been Contaminated while riding the high-speed rail… and placed as a driver for another form of transport…?”
“…….”
Wait a minute. Did he think I had been so Contaminated by a ghost story that I had actually become a Ghost Story Taxi driver, and he was just playing along?!
‘If things had gone wrong, he might have tried to drag me out of the taxi.’
I broke into a slight cold sweat. I was glad we got out before the misunderstanding spread that far.
“No, it’s not like that. Still… thank you for worrying.”
“Yes… I’m glad….”
‘I almost had the rare experience of entering a ghost story's maw….’
I sighed inwardly with relief and locked the car door the Sergeant had exited from.
Then, suddenly, a question occurred to me.
“Excuse me, but why did you suddenly hail a taxi in the mountains?”
Could he have gotten lost while trying to walk all the way to Seoul Station….
“The mountains?”
A puzzled voice.
“I was… in front of the company.”
“…?!”
The explanation that followed was this.
As expected, the Sergeant had intended to walk blankly from the front of the company to Seoul Station.
Since it was early dawn, public transport was all cut off, and he said he had forgotten how to call a taxi.
Then he spotted it.
A strangely eye-catching taxi.
“And I heard the sound of the radio….”
“…!!”
“Listening to the radio, um, it made me remember when I used to take taxis….”
So, he had impulsively followed and caught the taxi, albeit awkwardly.
……There was only one possible cause to deduce from this story.
‘…Braun!’
Edited space-time and spotlights.
The skill of the show business ghost story Host was impressive enough to send chills down my spine.
And the way the Sergeant recognized me was also impressive….
“The smell.”
“……!”
“I have a good nose….”
It was a very persuasive statement coming from someone who had clearly been Contaminated by a ghost story of an animal with a snout….
Anyway, I roughly grasped the situation. I shook my head once and moved nearby.
The place I wanted to show the Sergeant.
“This way.”
A door disguised as a manhole cover leaning against a wall in an alleyway.
“It would be better to go inside and talk in detail.”
And I opened the door and went down.
“Oh….”
With a spiritless exclamation, the Sergeant trudged down after me and froze for a moment the second he saw the laboratory Doorplate.
Dream Incubation Room.
“…….”
“Is this… the company…….”
“I don't think so.”
I opened the laboratory door and showed it to the Sergeant.
“But, it seems to be related.”
“……!”
The person I knew who had worked at the company the longest and was most deeply involved, yet had no particular personal interest.
The former leader of B-Squad of the Elite Squad looked at the fundamental research lab of Daydream Inc.’s pharmaceutical technology, his eyes darkening.
“Is there anything that catches your eye, Mr. Jay?”
Instead of his usual sluggish movements that lacked even a tear's worth of motivation, the Sergeant explored the lab with clean and swift motions.
Even his eyes looked like those of a different person.
“Um, there are many unusual items here, so I hope you don't overexert yourself.”
No answer came back.
He even tried to skim through the research journal I had thrown away because I couldn't handle it, and I snatched it back in a panic as a bizarre black shadow tried to spring out over the Sergeant.
“…….”
“…….”
Only after such a thorough search did the Sergeant speak.
“…Excuse me, this place… who told you about it…? An employee?”
“No, I just happened to find a hint in another ghost story. After finding it, strangely, it didn't seem to belong to Daydream Inc.”
“…….”
“Even though it clearly looks like a prototype of the same technology.”
The Sergeant gave a silent Positive.
“Do you have any ideas about this space? Even if it's partial or just a suspicion.”
“…Um.”
As the Sergeant looked around the old lab space that looked as if it were already dead, he spoke with a peculiar expression.
“Excuse me. Do you happen to know…? That our company discards Darkness….”
…!!
“No.”
Actually, I do know.
Because I personally witnessed that setting being updated several times with more plausibility.
However, it was information that would be too awkward for a new employee to know, so it was right to hear it directly from the Sergeant.
“What do you mean by discarding Darkness?”
“I mean… if no more solution can be extracted even after a person clears it… they throw it away….”
“…….”
“Because it’s no longer useful….”
That’s right.
A ghost story that has no more productivity from Daydream Inc.’s perspective.
When a Darkness loses its supernatural presence, Dream Essence Liquid is no longer collected.
In this case, it is discarded after the registration number cancellation process, and some of these Darknesses are recycled through processes such as research and recharging.
Here, ‘losing supernatural presence’ usually refers to cases where so many Exploration Records have accumulated that the Manual has become too complete.
‘They’ve fully grasped that ghost story.’
When the non-routine mystery and sense of wonder vanish, and many employees handle it routinely without tension.
When all mechanisms are identified and there is no longer anything unsettling or room for imagination, that ghost story eventually becomes reality.
Just a somewhat dangerous reality.
It becomes no different from a high-risk industrial site.
Of course, since it was originally a ghost story, some eerie parts that could serve as unrealistic triggers would remain.
Like the research journal covered in blood and filth that the Sergeant was tapping now.
“Things like this… it feels like that kind of discarded Darkness….”
Hmm.
Then does that mean there's a high probability that this space itself was originally a ghost story?
If I piece it together….
‘Daydream Inc. extracted pharmaceutical technology from this ghost story… and in the process of stripping it so thoroughly, the ghost story itself disappeared… perhaps?’
Anyway, it meant it has now become a relatively safe space, so that was good information.
“And this….”
The Sergeant picked up the key card that had been lying in front of the dream incubator.
The ID card I had found on the body of the dead researcher.
Cheerful Researcher
■■■
“This… does it really say ‘Cheerful’…?”
“That’s how I saw it too.”
“Ah, I knew it.”
Fiddling with the key card, the Sergeant spoke slowly with his gaze lowered.
“Then by any chance… do you know… the ‘Cheerful Research Institute’?”
“…!”
The moment I heard that specific name.
I realized.
The reason why I felt a strange sense of déjà vu with the word ‘Cheerful.’
‘…The Cheerful Research Institute!’
From the Mysterious Candle Kit I possessed to the theme park ghost story I explored before.
I had consistently encountered it, but it was the origin of those ghost stories that I had passed over as supplementary information.
An organization mentioned several times in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Ghost story makers.
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Organizations
Cheerful Research Institute
A bizarre group that creates ghost stories with a toy concept. Scale, personnel, and purpose are all unknown.
Products of the Cheerful Research Institute are found in various places, from various ghost story shopping platforms like Delusion Home Shopping, Cosmic shopping mall, and Today's Catalog to old attics in the countryside.
They are often registered as Darkness in Daydream Inc. The most famous case is that very theme park.
==========
“Um… there are ghost stories that make ghost stories… and the company prefers those….”
The Sergeant explains.
That the Cheerful Research Institute is an organization whose name can be encountered quite frequently within Daydream Inc.
And also information I was hearing for the first time.
“I heard that even the very first Darkness registered at the company had a Cheerful Research Institute tag attached to it….”
Huh?
“…What kind of Darkness was that, by any chance?”
“I don’t know. I just overheard the Directors talking… saying it had already been discarded…….”
My goodness.
“You… remember all of that?”
The Sergeant’s eyes stared at me blankly.
“I remember everything about the company…. Everything.”
“…….”
“Other things… I’ve forgotten a lot of this and that though…….”
“…Do you happen to want to find them again?”
The Sergeant pulled his hat down.
“Not really… it’s not like I only have good memories.”
“…….”
Isn't that just because you've forgotten them?
“I understand. Still, wouldn't it be alright to look for good memories if the chance arises later? Like especially delicious food. Or fun places.”
“Um.”
The Sergeant’s voice brightened slightly.
“That… might not be bad.”
“Right?”
I nodded with a smile.
“Thank you for kindly telling me all sorts of things even though we came to a strange place so suddenly. There probably aren't many employees who know that the first ghost story of Daydream Inc. had a Cheerful Research Institute tag….”
“Originally, one isn't supposed to know….”
“…….”
No.
The Sergeant put his index finger to his lips.
“So don’t spread rumors…. If you don’t want to meet the Security Team….”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Of course… since Mr. Roe Deer… escaped by pretending to be dead…… it might take some time for the Security Team to find you though.”
“…?!”
Pretending to be dead…? Ah, right.
“Um, I didn't manage to escape the company….”
“…?!”
“I’ve joined Director Ho’s Project team now.”
Only then did I quickly explain my recent situation. I moderately omitted the part about being missing in a ghost story for a month, and focused on telling him that I was grinding away under the Director’s direct TF team.
“I applied because I thought it was the fastest way to get a Wish Ticket.”
“…….”
“I’m also not supposed to tell anyone about this, so I’d appreciate it if you kept it a secret.”
“I have no one to tell….”
Whoops.
After saying something sad so nonchalantly, the Sergeant looked into the air as if in deep thought.
“Director Ho… all the Directors of this company are out of their minds….”
Yes. I think I know that very well now….
“Do you happen to know much about Director Ho?”
“No…. Director Ho… came as a Director after I joined the Security Team….”
Ah.
“I’ve seen Director Cheong a few times…. But that was all a long time ago…….”
The Sergeant looked around.
“Anyway… don’t tell the Directors about this….”
“Of course.”
Since the employee who originally discovered this facility and reported it to the company is dead, I have no intention of doing so.
However, since it has come to this….
‘…Shall I share a bit more definitely?’
Since I’ve already shared the location with the Sergeant. And he continues to show trust and give me information even after seeing my incredibly suspicious situation.
‘Wouldn't it be better to solidify our relationship of trust one more time here?’
I should also tell him what I know.
I had confirmed that he was a decent person, from the detailed records of when he was a Named Character in the <Dark Exploration Record> to the actual person in front of me now.
‘Okay.’
“…Mr. Jay, then could you take a look at this?”
I reactivated the dormant dream incubator with the key card.
With a whirring sound, the panel and glass tubes lit up….
“…!”
“It seems that pressing these can create a syrup similar to the Daydream Potion.”
I even showed him the pipe and explained the method I used to charge the Dream Essence.
“I’ll be able to charge Dream Essence separately in the future….”
“That.”
A light came into the Sergeant’s eyes.
“An Elite Team Collector.”
Ah.
“Yes. By chance, I got my hands on one whose number isn't registered with the company.”
“…….”
The Sergeant carefully reached out and, very lightly, touched the Collector I was holding before pulling his hand back.
“…They said they didn't make them anymore…….”
“…….”
Did the Sergeant use this style of Collector when he was in B-Squad?
“Are you sure… you won’t be tracked…?”
“Yes. It’s an item that was never registered with the company.”
“I see…….”
The Sergeant didn't even ask where I got it.
He just looked at the Collector with eyes full of Nostalgia, then soon turned his gaze to the buttons of the dream incubator.
“…Are there any emoticons you recognize?”
“No…. But this machine itself… is similar to the ones I saw at the company….”
“…!”
As I thought.
“Does the company also make potions with similar machines?”
“Probably… um.”
The Sergeant looked at me and smiled faintly.
“If you’re curious… shall I look into it a bit…? The Cheerful Research Institute and… this and that…….”
…!
“Wouldn't that be dangerous for you?”
“…….”
The Sergeant returned to his listless face and spoke as if even shaking his head was too much trouble.
“It’s not dangerous….”
W-well, if you say so.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah….”
Just like that, I gained an internal collaborator within the company.
“Still, it could be dangerous, so I have just three requests following this policy.”
The Sergeant, a reliable veteran despite his lack of energy.
A short while later.
“Get home safe.”
“Yeah.”
Before the sun rose, the Sergeant returned home safely.
After talking with the Sergeant, I pressed a new emoticon and obtained a potion.
For the record, the one I pressed... was this.
...I admit it was a button I never would have pressed if I were alone.
‘Whew.’
I originally intended to give it to the Sergeant as a token of thanks, but he refused with dead fish eyes....
-I... don't need something like that.
-…Yes.
Let’s give him something else next time.
I toyed with the glass bottle that had appeared in my pocket as I saw the Sergeant off.
…For the record, (though it’s not very surprising) the Sergeant didn't even have a cell phone, let alone a smartphone.
I bought a prepaid SIM card at a convenience store, backed up the smartphone I had originally been using, reset it, and handed it over with the SIM card inserted.
And I bought a new phone as soon as the store opened.
“You can contact me at this number.”
“Yes….”
How should I put it? Aside from donuts, he seems like a man completely lacking in worldly desires....
‘Do people end up like that when they reach a very deep contamination state?’
On my way to return the taxi, I dropped off the Sergeant, who was about to trudge along, at a spot about a 12-minute walk from his company.
“Oof.”
And just like that, the long night shift ended.
‘The Disaster Management Bureau work was wrapped up nicely, too!’
I returned the taxi on time and was evaluated as having performed my assigned role successfully!
“Good work today.”
“Not at all...!”
I suffered like hell, but it’s right to deny it here. I ignored my right hand, which was trying to give me a thumbs-up, and bowed my head toward Agent Bronze.
After getting plenty of rest on my days off and learning how to handle the related paperwork a few days later.
“You will be working here today.”
At the Disaster Management Bureau headquarters where I returned to work, I saw a familiar face again.
Jang Heowoon.
“Ah…!”
My colleague’s eyes twinkled when he saw me, then he hurriedly bowed his head as if greeting me.
The superior standing in front of him chuckled and extended a hand to Agent Bronze beside me.
“It’s been a while, Agent Bronze. Ah, and this is the Rookie Agent?”
“Yes, yes…! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
That’s right.
Today was the Field Cleanup Unit assignment I had been waiting for...!
‘I’ll definitely show them my aptitude!’
“…….”
I didn't show it....
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