The Elder.
The being known as the team leader of Hyunmoo Team 1.
She was also the person who, through the window of this waiting room that felt like a club room, bestowed ‘Dokkaebi's Trick’ upon the agents, allowing them to enter the Sparkling Dragon Palace in the form of young children.
‘She’s probably not human.’
I was almost certain.
So I expected it. I thought we would probably go to see ‘The Elder’ by performing a magical ritual through that window in the waiting room.
However, the situation didn't play out that way.
“Up we go, let's go carefully.”
Clack.
We moved by car.
“…??”
“It’s not that far, maybe about 40 minutes?”
Perhaps I should be grateful that it wasn't a bicycle.
Like a lie, the three agents used an everyday means of transportation to head through downtown Seoul toward their destination.
That place was….
[Pure Hope Hospital]
“…….”
A white building located in a secluded area.
It was a nursing hospital.
Judging by how kind the employees were and the many visitors, it seemed like a very well-managed place….
As if it was familiar, the agents entered the main entrance without hesitation.
“Excuse me, I'm here to visit Park Hongrim.”
“Ah! This way….”
Upon going up to the 5th floor, there was a sunlit private hospital room.
And….
There, a senior with a peaceful face was lying on a bed where the warm sunset light poured in from the window.
She was an elder whose impression made me think she would have been intelligent and benevolent if her eyes were open.
Truly… The Elder.
“Grapes-ie. Let’s say hello. This is our Elder.”
“…….”
On the table was a frame containing rolling papers people had written.
Just like the Hyunmoo Team 1 waiting room.
-Hongrim Unni, I really, really love you
-Thank you always
-Leaving a post as a beloved disciple who tracked down and rescued an Andong Soju master for the sake of loyalty to the soju-loving Team Leader
-The great leader, our Team Leader
Traces of people.
“Grandmother, I… huh?”
At that moment, a student who was busily entering the hospital room saw us and was startled.
“Hello, Agents…!”
“Hey there, Yeji. Good to see you. Have you been well?”
“Same as usual. Let’s see, our lady is….”
The high school student, who appeared to be the granddaughter, checked her grandmother's expression as if measuring her fever by placing a hand on her forehead, then looked up with a smile.
“She seems to be in a good mood.”
“I see. Her complexion looks bright.”
“Haha. Ah, Jaekwan Uncle, have you been well?”
“…Yeah.”
As if the granddaughter was an acquaintance, the two agents conversed familiarly before introducing me.
“This is our newcomer.”
“Ah… nice to meet you.”
“Yes, me too…!”
It wasn't the time to be dazed. I hurriedly bowed to the student, and the student also bowed deeply.
Then she said.
“…Excuse me. Please take good care of my grandmother.”
“…….”
For some reason, my heart surged.
“The same goes for me… I am receiving great help from the Team Leader.”
“……Yes.”
The student took a deep breath as if suppressing an emotional surge, then smiled brightly.
“Then I’ll step out for a moment so you can say your greetings!”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Clack.
The hospital room door closed, and a stillness descended.
Agent Choi looked at his team leader, who would not wake up, and reached out slightly to tidy her hair.
Even so, The Elder did not move.
“There was… an accident.”
“…….”
“As Grapes probably knows, in a Supernatural Disaster, if you make even the slightest mistake, people die so absurdly, right?”
Agent Choi's voice became slightly softer.
“The last Supernatural Disaster our Team Leader entered was like a labyrinth, bizarre, and anyway, a very strange place….”
He took a deep breath.
“Her Upper Body was almost blown away.”
“…!”
“Especially her head… I heard almost half of it disappeared.”
Reflexively, I checked The Elder lying on the bed.
…That appearance, which looked cleanly intact.
“Yeah. But she looks fine now, doesn't she?”
Agent Choi couldn't continue and quietly looked at the bed just like me.
…Agent Bronze slowly opened his mouth.
“The Team Leader passed the Dokkaebi Trial and possessed her own customized Dokkaebi Flame Lantern.”
Ah.
I reflexively looked down at my right arm.
More accurately, at the Dokkaebi Flame that was replacing it.
-Since it's made to be customized? You can't just receive it in an informal way like this, and the Agent also has to undergo a Dokkaebi Trial… whew, it's powerful, but it's hard work.
No way.
“So currently, more than half of the Team Leader's head and Upper Body… is being replaced by Dokkaebi Flame.”
“…!”
“It is said that… the reason she cannot wake up is because the Dokkaebi Flame is already using excessive divine power and cannot withstand the causality of directly intervening in reality.”
“…….”
I looked at the senior on the bed, sleeping peacefully.
…Who would probably be asleep forever.
“…That is how the Team Leader became ‘The Elder.’”
A supernatural existence rather than a human. As the Dokkaebi Elder.
Agent Choi, who had been staring at the bed together, barely managed to lift his head.
He had a beaming smile.
“But we know she's always watching over us! In dreams and fantasies.”
“……Yes.”
“Then let's say hello. …Elder! We've come to thank you and introduce our newcomer.”
Agent Choi tapped my shoulder.
“Look. Didn't I say this kid would be good at his job? He really is doing well. Though you've probably already seen.”
At this point, I couldn't bring myself to say that I had no intention of staying in this team.
I wondered if Agent Choi had even aimed for this, but looking at his face with its gentle smile, it didn't seem to be the case.
“…….”
I stepped forward right in front of the bed under Agent Bronze's guidance.
“…Hello. Elder.”
And I bowed politely.
“I am the newcomer who joined recently.”
At that moment.
[Grapes-ie.]
“…!”
I raised my head.
Everyone who had been in the hospital room had disappeared before I knew it.
And instead of the sunset, a brilliant full moon shone into the room from the window.
There….
[You did very well.]
There was a mild, soft flame stroking my head.
No, a fragment of the Elder… with a warmth like a flame.
Warmth and image.
I blinked my eyes.
“Am I… dreaming?”
[That's right. It seems you've dozed off for a moment, exhausted from the arduous journey. Now, sit here….]
A friendly hand held mine.
My eyes closed.
Before I knew it, I was leaning against the bed, receiving the Elder's touch as she patted my back….
“…I.”
Suddenly, words burst out.
“Do you really think I did well?”
[Of course!]
[You did your best, and thanks to you, the children returned alive and smiling. It's all your effort and your blessing.]
“…….”
[Don't reproach yourself. No one else could have done better than you. And even if you went back, you wouldn't have been able to do better than that.]
Somehow, I felt a lump in my throat.
Receiving emotional support from someone had the power to stir a weary heart.
‘But….’
Doubt arose.
‘She seems to know my identity.’
I felt it in the previous conversation with the Elder as well. She knows the Items I possess well.
‘Is it because it's a dream?’
She must already know about me.
Then, could this also be an attempt to hear the inner thoughts of a spy?
It was a strange sensation closer to disappointment than suspicion.
Like the feeling when you realize your grandmother is being forced to be nice to you because of some other ulterior motive….
And anxiety.
However….
[And besides, where in this world is there a person without secrets? Where is there a person without flaws?]
The hand patted my back again.
[The important thing is to always keep a small lantern lit in your heart. So that if you think, ‘Ah, I’ve taken the wrong path,’ you can check the ground from time to time to turn back.]
“…Thank you.”
I caught my breath.
[Yes. Now I've become an old person who finds it overwhelming even to know the people held in my arms…. I don't really know about the complicated ways of the world or its squabbles.]
It was a roundabout expression of her intention not to report my original affiliation to the Management Bureau.
…And regarding my suspiciousness as well.
“…….”
The touch patting my back pulled away.
It was a somewhat excited hand gesture.
[But an old person has an old person’s wisdom. And….]
[There is also a reward.]
Before I knew it, I had straightened my body and sat on the edge of the bed.
As is always the case in dreams, context was skipped. But it wasn't awkward. Because it was a dream.
And this gentle request as well.
[Let's take your ornament out of your pocket.]
“…….”
Before I knew it, I pulled out the object that was in my trouser pocket.
A round-shaped accessory with an X drawn on it.
Memorial Pop Socket.
The Item that showed memories of the past clearly in text and had allowed me to read the <Dark Exploration Record>.
However, it was cracked and could no longer be used.
[Ah, I remember this.]
[The administrative officer teased me so much, saying that kids these days all walk around with these attached. The Dokkaebis didn't even hold a feast for eight days to make that.]
A hearty and benevolent laugh.
[But that one seems… a bit different. Let's see….]
The Elder put on magnifying glasses and peered at my Pop-socket.
In the crack of the Pop-socket, there still remained the adhesive put in by the employee at the Dokkaebi Workshop who was pretending to be a Dokkaebi.
“Um, they said that adhesive would harden within a month… but it hasn't changed even though quite some time has already passed.”
[Mmm? Aha… I see. That fellow is not a real Dokkaebi but a disguised human, so he might not know.]
[This is a more precious thing. It seems he just imitated the goods from our workshop.]
[But if you treat something made by some street riffraff as a knock-off, things won't work out.]
The Elder injected fire into the Pop-socket.
“…!”
The Pop-socket, which had been burning brightly, sparkled as if old dirt were being peeled off, and soon the crack disappeared.
[There, now it is bonded.]
“…! Thank you….”
[But the important step isn't over yet.]
[I mean making a wish about what kind of appearance you would like it to take.]
“…!”
Come to think of it, I had heard those words at the Dokkaebi Workshop as well.
-While also making a wish about what kind of appearance you'd like it to take. Then it will become a very wonderful ornament!
I hadn't paid much attention to that part because the situation was so urgent that I wasn't in my right mind.
‘Let's try to be conscious of it this time.’
I politely tucked the Pop-socket back into my pocket.
“Thank you.”
[Grapes-ie is truly well-mannered.]
I felt a pleased gaze.
She stroked my head again.
The warm flame seemed to permeate my entire body. As if burning away all pain and Contamination….
[This old person wants to give our Grapes-ie at least a dried persimmon, but this… time is up.]
Huh?
[Your sleepiness is slipping away!]
“…….”
I opened my eyes.
Before I knew it, I was in a posture where I almost hit my head on the bed in the hospital room, then reflexively jerked my body up.
Like someone who was dozing off and suddenly woke up.
“…!”
I hurriedly raised my head.
I saw the two agents looking back at me with smiles.
And… The Elder, who was lying peacefully asleep on the bed.
“Did you say your greetings well?”
“…Yes.”
Looking at the clock in the hospital room, the time was exactly as it had been when we entered.
I had literally ‘dozed off for a moment.’
And even in a very short sleep, a dream dwells.
“…….”
I looked down at my body.
The traces of tumors and Ulcers that had looked as if they were boiling had all disappeared.
“…Thank you.”
I bowed deeply toward the sleeping Elder. The agents smiled and patted my back.
“Then we'll come again next time, Elder!”
I followed the two agents and left the hospital room.
The figure of The Elder, still lying with her eyes closed in a peaceful manner, seemed to be seeing us off….
“How is it? She's a good person, right?”
“……Yes.”
“I told you. We have such good luck with people. Our team~ It seems Grapes has good luck with bosses?”
This time, Agent Choi's assurance didn't feel annoying.
I put my hand in my pocket. I could feel the completely bonded Pop-socket.
“…….”
“For now, rest well, and let's think about things like reports again tomorrow. Since the Site Cleanup Team went and the kids are all asleep too.”
“Please get home safely.”
“Yes…. Thank you.”
I bowed and said goodbye to the two agents as well.
The agents rode the bicycles they had brought and disappeared beyond the road.
Only after they disappeared did I lift my head.
“……Whew.”
It was surprising.
‘I gained something, though.’
I didn't know I would end up fixing the Memorial Pop Socket like this.
‘Then… do I just have to keep wishing until this thing starts working?’
Now, what I have to do is….
“…Contact Director Ho.”
…I have to clean up the mess I made at Daydream Inc……..
‘I’m actually going to cry.’
Did Agent Choi just say I have good luck with bosses?
I don't think so.
‘Ah, please.’
I closed my eyes tight and picked up my Smartphone.
Please let this be settled quickly…!
“Hey, this rumor isn't going to be contained.”
Agent Choi grinned and slapped his direct junior on the back.
Ryu Jaekwan held back a sigh and half-heartedly dodged his hand.
“It’s dangerous, sir.”
“Eyy, I’m a bicycle master.”
After telling Agent Grapes to rest up, they headed back to HQ to file their report, just the two of them, chatting as they rode their bikes.
“What do you mean, the rumor can’t be contained?”
“What else? It’s about Grapes.”
“…!”
They’d gone out for a regular rescue in a supernatural disaster and managed to save every single child, and might have even ended the disaster itself.
And to think, this miraculous achievement happened right after a new recruit joined the team.
“When coincidence repeats twice, it starts being called skill.”
And if this new recruit had even just completely ended a supernatural disaster while working with the Site Cleanup Unit before?
Then the probationary period for new recruits doesn’t matter anymore.
His aptitude score just blasted through the ceiling…!
“Congratulations on your assignment to Black Tortoise Team 1. Hahaha!”
“……”
Ryu Jaekwan pressed his fingers to one temple.
The one saving grace was that the Disaster Management Bureau was generous when it came to investing in equipment for talented people.
‘…Maybe things really will get safer.’
At this rate, it seemed like even a custom dokkaebi flame lantern wasn’t far off… If not, at least Grapes would be able to get some more gear.
The only concern was whether he had attracted too much attention.
‘…Let’s hope the rumors don’t get exaggerated in some weird direction.’
He decided to keep an eye on things.
Ryu Jaekwan sighed and pressed down on his bicycle pedals.
“Let’s go, Jaekwan-ah~”
For reference, this speculation was taking place in a completely different direction within a different faction…
***
At the same time, in an office at Daydream Inc.
“Lord Cat!”
BANG!
An employee from the Field Exploration Team, wearing a pony mask, banged on the table and conducted a vivid interview with the Research Team.
“The Great Lord Cat was in that Darkness! The all-knowing, all-powerful Lord Cat!”
For reference, the Research Team was in total chaos.
It was because the ‘Mermaid Grave’—which used to yield only C-grade Dream Essence—had just produced B-grade or higher essence.
A crazy anomaly!
And to make things worse, the Disaster Management Bureau had spirited away all the mer-children, and the agents had dashed off in a hurry.
So, now lacking research material, the Research Team was furiously extracting every possible statement from the Field Exploration Team members who had entered at the time.
And… this is what the testimonies had in common.
“It was a monster! A monster! Please, save me!”
“I don’t know… The letters I saw? Were they really there? Maybe I was just seeing things… I was terrified, but I did my best for the clear.”
“TheGreatLordCatIsWatchingUsLettingUsOut!WeHaveToSaveTheChildren!”
Multiple employees have reported observing an anomalous entity manifesting as a black cat
(hereafter referred to as ‘The Black Cat’).
Documented effects include: induction of panic and madness, brainwashing, physical transformation, causal distortion, reality manipulation, and collective mind control. These abilities exhibit anomalous characteristics that are not currently explainable by conventional means.
“Yes. It did help with the clear this time, but… I don’t know what might happen if we meet it somewhere else.”
Attempts to determine the entity’s objective or intent have been inconclusive. Certain Field Exploration Team personnel reported that the entity appeared to be attempting to seize control of the ghost story (Qterw-C-1642); however, these accounts are classified as unreliable.
Notably, the prevailing hypothesis is that an entity of greater transcendence than Qterw-C-1642 irregularly intervened within this instance of Darkness. This hypothesis is considered highly plausi—
“I want to avoid it as much as possible.”
—ble. Accordingly, the entity designated as ‘The Black Cat’ has been assigned a unique Darkness identification code.
Designation : Qterw-A-1845
And so began the real chaos.
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