Ho Yuwon.
The director of this company who knows more about Jang Heowoon than anyone else.
"I imagine you have many questions."
But he was an untrustworthy individual, and he was smiling at me.
In this hallway of a ghost story, where corpses are piled high, reduced to a skeletal ruin of fire and smoke.
He asked me if I had anything to ask.
'…In that case.'
This is how I can approach it.
I conjured smoke.
>Proposal: One-on-One Q&A Ritual
"Hmm?"
>Conditions: 2 people
>Questions and answers will alternate in order.
>You must answer the other party's questions truthfully.
>If a question cannot be answered, state 'Cannot answer' aloud, and then receive the next question.
>Answers cannot be delayed for more than 96 seconds.
[Ah, this is interesting. Setting such specific conditions for no reason. The structure has a slightly shamanistic feel…]
I did it on purpose.
Because I'm dealing with a non-human entity.
And…
'This one definitely has questions for me too.'
If it's in a ritualistic format like this, exchanging questions formally, he’d take the bait.
And.
>Intentionally concealing the truth during the ritual will result in punishment.
"…Haha! Are you imitating me?"
Yes. Let's see how it feels to be on the other side.
Ho Yuwon chuckled a few times and answered brightly.
"But it's good."
Yet, a flicker of gloom danced in his eyes.
"It's fair, isn't it? I could even place a binding on you to receive punishment… but I won't. I want to believe in you, Roe Deer-nim."
Lies.
He's saying that because he can't easily place one anyway.
'He tried to place a binding on me and got hit for it.'
But it doesn't matter.
>Agreement:
>One-on-One Q&A Ritual
From now on.
>Ritual Start
Clap!
"Alright. Then… I'll let you, Roe Deer-nim, ask the first question as you proposed."
And so, on the 96th basement floor, at the site of the Cheerful Research Institute's bizarre fire, the two ghost stories began their exchange of questions and answers.
[Friend, what fact do you wish to know first?]
From the most crucial point.
>Question:
>Everything Ho Yuwon knows about Jang Heowoon.
"That's a very broad question, Roe Deer-nim."
Ho Yuwon replied.
"What I know is this. Male in his 20s, no family, raised in a religious social welfare facility in the countryside. Three years ago, before joining the company, that facility was completely burned down in a fire, and he was the sole survivor."
...
This information matches the testimony I once heard from the contaminated Jang Heowoon.
"So, his wish is probably related to that fire… perhaps to bring back the dead, or to make the fire as if it never happened."
Accurate.
'Did he investigate more closely while selecting him as a spy?'
"Then it's my turn to ask a question now, Roe Deer-nim."
Ho Yuwon looked at me.
"If you already knew what I just told you, then who did you hear it from?"
…!
"Precisely, from what kind of entity?"
...
>Answer:
>A Flower Golden Resort employee – Bison
"Ah, I see."
The rekindling flames cast his face in a backlight shadow.
"I saw the report from the Field Exploration Team about someone who died at a theme park and then came back to life as a resort employee… but you heard it directly from him."
...
"So you didn't just help revive Bison… he's your subordinate, isn't he?"
Huu.
"Ah, this isn't a question. It was a certainty… As expected, Roe Deer-nim, you are quite human. You make choices you'll regret."
It was an ominous remark, yet it seemed to carry a hint of faint regret.
Instead of getting angry, I just looked at Ho Yuwon.
"In any case, you're curious about the three 'Heowoons' with different surnames, right? I'm curious too, so perhaps we could deduce things through our Q&A… Shall we continue?"
Without faltering, I moved to the next question.
>Question:
>Everything you know about the new employee, Kim Heowoon.
"…This is where it gets a bit interesting."
Interesting?
"His background is identical to Jang Heowoon's."
"…!!"
Male, 20s, no family, raised in a religious social welfare facility in the countryside. Fire trauma.
"For someone who grew up in a similar environment, the keywords are too identical, aren't they? As if they were playing the same role in a game."
...
The puzzle pieces are gathering in my mind.
"Then it's my turn to ask a question. Roe Deer-nim, did you distribute the Wish Tickets you received to the Daydream employees who infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau with you? To be exact, who received them and how many bottles?"
>Answer: 2 bottles to Employee Goral
>Requested to deliver to Employee Bison later.
"Ah… as expected."
Wait. 'As expected'?
That sounds like… he already knew that.
>Question: Whether the usage of the three Wish Tickets has been tracked.
"Ah. It's not tracking, I just know."
…!
"The Wish Tickets I gave you were my personal possessions. So, I applied a slight treatment to the bottles… I can tell if they've been used or not."
Ho Yuwon smiled.
"And the three Wish Tickets I gave to you, Roe Deer-nim, have all been used. …You used one, didn't you?"
That means…
The two that went to Go Yeongeun have also been used.
A chilling sensation ran down my spine.
'Go Yeongeun used both of them?'
Unless they were taken from her… No, the probability of them being stolen is low.
Go Yeongeun is the type of person who carefully manages risks.
And she's also someone with the character who wouldn't carelessly use Jang Heowoon's Wish Ticket.
So, the probability that she used them for Jang Heowoon is high.
'But...'
Why is the Jang Heowoon I saw unchanged?
"Then we can make an interesting speculation here. …Did someone make a wish incorrectly?"
Ho Yuwon said with a sympathetic laugh.
"After six months, the pitiful Employee Bison showed no sign of recovering from his contamination, so perhaps in desperation… She might have used it arbitrarily."
...
"But perhaps due to some error, instead of 'Jang Heowoon,' 'Kim Heowoon' appeared in this world, and thus the wish was granted, wasn't it?"
It was a chilling speculation.
[Hmm. Is that so? Then let's speculate more concretely.]
So, what it means is.
If Go Yeongeun made a wish like 'Please let Heowoon live as a human in this world,’ then…
'Instead of the contaminated Jang Heowoon returning to human form, a person that Go Yeongeun could accept as 'Heowoon' might have appeared in the world…!'
Wish Tickets are personally omnipotent. So, it's a plausible, ghost-story-like situation, but…
>Skeptical: Judgment suspended
"Ah?"
If that were the case, there's a puzzle piece that doesn't fit.
'This person, from the Cheerful Research Institute employee ID card.'
Cheerful Researcher
Lee Heowoon
This researcher, Lee Heowoon, is the only one left now.
A person who existed in the past Cheerful Research Institute, seemingly unrelated to the Wish Tickets used now.
'…There's definitely something else.'
Heowoon, Heowoon, Heowoon…
It feels strange.
'The keyword 'fire' also overlaps.'
Someone whose acquaintances all died in a fire at the facility where they lived.
Looking at the situation on the 96th basement floor, isn't it the same for the Cheerful Research Institute employees? Why do they have such similar backgrounds to Jang Heowoon… Wait a minute.
'No, it's the opposite.'
If we think chronologically…
'Jang Heowoon and Kim Heowoon have backgrounds similar to this Cheerful Research Institute employee…'
Rustle.
...
Rustle.
"Roe Deer-nim."
...
"Did you see that?"
I did.
Just now.
The pile of corpses seemed to move.
No, it looked like the piles of corpses in front of the elevator had moved.
Because something buried beneath them moved.
Who's there?
"There was still a living individual. Haha…"
A Cheerful Research Institute employee noticed us.
The unseen, unheard entity pushed through the corpses, rose to its feet, and looked at the intruders who don't belong in this space…
The hallway distorts.
Flickering, the space beyond the office is glimpsed chaotically in my vision…
Through the flickering vision, the twisted lower half of someone wearing a gown, unseen before, seems to appear.
Who'sthere, who-who-who-who-who-who-who-who'stherewho whowhowhowhowhoare you-
Helpmehelphelpmehelpmeissomeonethere?You're there,right?You'rethere,rightthere,you right there,you’re right here—
YOU’RE
RIGHT
HERE
My senses are being sucked in.
A pull toward some time-space projected onto the 96th underground floor.
I realize-
"If you're caught, you'll go missing."
[Quite a rough invitation. Doesn't look like we need to decline politely, friend.]
I put Lee Heowoon's employee ID into my uniform pocket.
And while confirming, through the reaction of the corpse pile, the invisible being's movement approaching from the far end of the corridor—
I used the black smoke and rushed toward the elevator. Then I grabbed Ho Yuwon by the back of the neck and threw him upward.
"…!"
His body arched and landed on top of the corpses piled in the right elevator.
At the same time, I reached the elevator.
—Create space between the doors—
Ho Yuwon and I pushed the corpses stuck between the doors out as much as possible, just enough for the doors to close.
Quickly.
Luckily, because the elevator had already been beeping from being forced open too long, the moment there was a gap, the doors closed automatically without pressing the button.
Ding-dong.
Through the closing gap, I saw the still-living entity collapse…
Having used up the last of its strength, it became another corpse.
"..."
Inside the elevator, only Ho Yuwon and I remained-
…along with over a dozen researcher corpses.
"Actually there was no need for you to help me like this… but I'll take the sentiment gracefully. Thank you, Roe Deer-nim."
>Without your assistance: Situation immediately re-enactable
"..."
Please, just shut up before I throw you back out…
Phew.
Finally quiet.
I looked at the elevator panel.
The reason the Cheerful Research Institute could still be explored by multiple security teams lies here.
When boarding the elevator on the right, you can go to the basement floor 1 from any floor.
I pressed the button to the first basement floor.
Ding dong.
The elevator rose up with a cheerful and old-fashioned chime.
Back to reality.
And the bodies that filled the elevator also began to crumble and vanish, as if time were passing rapidly.
"...Looks like you can't take the corpses? Ah, must be because they aren’t Darknesses."
Ho Yuwon, who is casually stepping on the shoulder blade of a dead researcher, checked whether his shoes had gotten dirty.
...My head feels like it's pounding.
Still, I have to check something.
>Question: Whether to report to the researcher on today’s expedition companion.
"Are you asking whether we should disclose our joint exploration to the company or not? Let's just say we did, but leave out the part about reaching the 96th floor."
I agreed.
Ho Yuwon smiled brightly.
"Then it's my turn to ask a question"
What?
"That last question was from you, wasn’t it?"
...
From his tone, I could tell
'It doesn’t seem like he’s trying to provoke me'
I had a strange feeling.
The feeling that everything so far was to reach this next question.
'...'
I could refuse, but… I nodded.
"Yes, then I'll ask"
Ho Yuwon smiled like a picture, but spoke quickly, as if afraid I would interrupt.
"What kind of place is Sekwang Special Metropolitan City?"
...!
"Please, tell me what you know."
A ghost story that he previously asked me to steal from the Disaster Management Bureau.
I met Ho Yuwon’s gaze.
I can see a strangely subdued look inside his eyes.
...I sent out the smoke.
>Response: Sekwang Special City is a deleted region of Korea.
"...!"
An existence that had been censored.
>The location is approximately 552 km² of land, adjacent to Chungcheong-do and Gyeonggi-do, and at this time, no one can perceive the area through natural means.
This...In a way, it is a space that can be considered a cliché in the theme of wikis that manage ghost stories.
The so-called 'Last resort'.
Some ghost stories are so virulent and deadly that countless people die, making peaceful containment or closure impossible.
Thus, the government chose an extreme way...
>After a certain extinction-level supernatural disaster caused mass casualties, the entire area is sealed off to prevent further harm.
>Nationwide permission is granted for memory incineration and manipulation, rendering the region cognitively unrecognizable.
Yet still…
>Conclusion: Sekwang Special City exists in Korea.
"..."
Ho Yuwon's mouth opened.
"How did you kno—",
>Cannot answer
"...!"
>Order of questions: Me
"Ask me anything."
Then.
>Question:Reason for interest in Sekwang Special Metropolitan City.
"..."
The silence stretched out.
I expected the response would be 'I can't answer'.
But instead-
"I left something behind at Sekwang Special Metropolitan City."
Left behind?
'That...It means he was once there.'
Is the director from Sekwang Special City?
That may be why Daydream was so persistent in trying to deploy personnel to Sekwang Special Metropolitan City.
'So that's it…'
Hearing such a personal story not recorded on the wiki felt strange.
Ding dong
[Ah, we've arrived!]
At that moment, the elevator reached its destination, the first basement floor.
Beyond the elevator door, which broke away from ghost stories and became a real space, I could feel various noises coming from the daydream main building.
...But then.
"Roe Deer-nim. If you’re finished, it's my turn n-"
>Recommendation: Suspension of conversation
"..."
I looked at the door.
>Person standing in front of elevator doors.
The doors opened.
What I saw was...
"Hello, Mr. Employee."
The new hire, Kim Heowoon.
"I've come to see you again."
TL Note: -
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