After that, everything was processed quite quickly.
It seemed I had gained some great recognition from the company once again.
It appears that an employee rescuing a contaminated colleague on their own is something that happens occasionally, but most of them seemed to have prepared for months or even years, pulling them out with desperate determination.
There were also countless cases where people went missing together while attempting it.
I heard that pulling someone out as soon as they were contaminated was unprecedented among rookies.
“Hey, that deer antler mask…”
“Oh, is he the one?”
“Wow… how many times is this now?”
As I walked through the company hallways, I occasionally heard whispers behind my back.
Actually, I remembered having similar experiences while eating with D-unit in the cafeteria several times before…
Perhaps because I was walking alone, I could hear them particularly well.
Though that didn't last long either.
“Kim Soleum.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t come to work for ten days starting tomorrow.”
“…??”
“It’s paid leave.”
D-unit's operations had already been temporarily suspended since half the team had disappeared, and now vacation had been granted to me.
‘I’d been coming to work every day for a few days to write the situation report, though.’
This was because the company was extremely curious about how Assistant Manager Eun Haje had survived and come out of a B-Class Darkness, which requires the Hangman to die to clear, and how she had twisted the rules.
‘Someone must have reported that Supervisor Park Minseong and I were trying to do something.’
It seemed there was even talk of a schedule for interviews with the research team to bolster the reliability of the Exploration Records…
—Ah, Supervisor Kim. Why bother with that! Just rest, rest. You did something big!
—……Um. Thank you.
It seemed Section Chief Lee Byeong-jin, who is in charge of Manual Review, and our unit's Section Chief Lee Jaheon had cut it off.
It’s a bit funny, but apparently, while the employees who went in together were reporting, they testified that ‘Kim Soleum likely acted solely to save his teammate without any other intentions.’
They had made excuses on my behalf, saying that the situation just happened to work out well thanks to my quick reflexes and luck.
‘They all ran away as soon as the clear door opened, but at least they’re speaking up now.’
The former was obvious and the latter was something to be grateful for, so I decided to accept it as it was.
Regardless, thanks to that, my name was once again being brought up in internal phone calls, and the manual for <Hungry Hangman> was slapped with a ‘Potential for Reorganization’ tag.
In the sync group chat for my peers, people were constantly trying to fish for information from me…
[Ms. Go Yeongeun: You worked so hard.]
“…….”
Some even sent texts of consolation.
‘Thanks. Truly.’
For the record, Baek Saheon didn't even ask how I was doing at home.
‘That jerk’s personality is just like that…’
I hadn't expected anything anyway.
In any case, the current situation itself wasn't bad for my survival.
‘No, is it actually good?’
I was continuously building an impressive career.
Specifically, it meant I was consistently establishing myself as a Named Character employee with the keywords ‘fast clearing in a fresh way without following existing manuals’ and ‘goodness.’
And ten days of leave on top of that.
I thought I would either be happy to be away from ghost stories for ten days, or disappointed that the speed of gathering Points would slow down.
I didn't really feel either of those things.
So, I just did nothing…
—Mr. Roe Deer, would you like to hear this Braun’s opinion on which aspects of that wretched comedy failed to capture the public’s attention? It will be quite interesting!
“Shall we?”
I spent a few days sitting in the living room watching TV.
It was about three days into that.
…A text arrived.
[Assistant Manager Eun Haje: Come to the hospital.]
“…!”
“So Roe is here.”
“……Assistant Manager.”
I placed the get-well gift I had brought under the nightstand and stood by the bed.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje let out a chuckle.
“Soy milk? Good choice.”
“…Thank you.”
This was our first meeting since we had briefly communicated when she regained consciousness in the infirmary…
The Assistant Manager looked a bit pale, but her face was fine.
It seemed the Baekseol Mountain Apple had done its job to some extent.
“I look alright for someone who almost died, don’t I? …That Item was good. Thanks.”
Thanks to that Item, Assistant Manager Eun Haje had looked like a corpse, but it was a stroke of luck that she was kept in isolation due to the special circumstance of having a missing hand instead of a missing head.
‘I heard Section Chief Lee Jaheon confirmed her survival at sunrise the next day, reported it, and had her moved to the infirmary….’
And now, she had been transferred to a hospital that supposedly had some kind of partnership with the company, and her urgent treatment had just been completed.
“Ah, I told them I already had that apple. Usually, people don't want the source of their items to be discovered.”
“…Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for? That’s something I should say to you and Minseong.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje tried to wave her left hand but flinched.
Because it wasn't there.
“…….”
The left wrist wrapped in bandages was blunt.
A Body part lost like that cannot be regenerated with the supply potions provided by the company.
“…Um, Assistant Manager.”
I spoke the thought that had been in my head.
“The C-Class Regeneration Potion I have…”
“You’re not thinking of giving it to me, are you?”
“I was planning to sell it to you for money.”
“Hah.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje clicked her tongue.
“Listen carefully, Roe. Items that are traded only with Points can’t be bought with ordinary money on the outside.”
“…….”
“And it’s a waste to use that potion just because one hand is cut off. That’s something that can roughly regenerate you even if half your limbs are blown away.”
“Still,”
“Enough. I’ll take care of my hand myself, so you keep it as an emergency backup.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s eyes glinted somewhat gloomily.
“If you keep going into the Darkness, there will surely be times when more than just a hand gets blown off.”
A chill ran down my spine….
“Actually, I have something to give to you.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje handled her only hand as skillfully as if she had been using it that way for years, and reached into the drawer.
Then, she pulled out a gold box painted with a high-end oil painting.
“…?!”
[Daydream Potion]
‘Wa-Wait a minute.’
That’s the box they use for Daydream Inc. special potions!
It was even more ornate than the C-Class Regeneration Potion I had received.
“Assistant Manager, what are you…”
“See? There’s one left.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje opened the box gallantly.
The inside was lined with silk, recessed to hold two round glass bottles.
However, one was already empty.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje took out the remaining one and tossed it lightly toward me.
“Take it.”
“……!”
Oh my god.
I hurriedly reached out to catch the glass bottle before it could fall and checked it.
Inside the bottle, a liquid that looked like purple and silver threads woven together was swimming smoothly like elegant lines….
: Daydream Potion :
Poison
Desert Rattlesnake (Outstanding)
Poison?!
“The one you purchased with Points, Assistant Manager…”
“That’s right.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grinned, baring her teeth.
“Handle it well. That’s a 170,000-point Death Note.”
“…!!”
“You can kill someone secretly from a distance.”
Wa-Wait a moment.
I read the description on the glass bottle with trembling hands.
Desert Rattlesnake Venom helps you seek revenge quietly and cruelly.
If you breathe the target's name into the vial along with a simple ritual...
That night, a terrible death will find the target.
“In short, if there’s a jerk you want to kill, it’s perfect for sending them off without a sound.”
“…….”
“They say before they die, they suffer from incredible burning pain and terrible mental torture that makes them want to curse the world, then they fall into a coma and suffer for what feels like four years in four hours before they go.”
You’re giving such a lethal weapon to me…?
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grumbled about how ‘it has two lines of venom so they always sell it as a set of two,’ and ‘because of that damn concept, the period I had to work doubled,’ and so on.
But eventually, she looked at me and grinned.
“Use it when a bastard you want to kill shows up.”
“…!”
“Because I had one.”
I groaned as I looked at the empty spot for a glass bottle in the box.
…As I thought, she already used it!
“Are you curious? Who I used it on.”
I couldn't help but reflexively think of it.
—The word that best describes Eun Haje is ‘traitor’!
The revelation from <Hungry Hangman>.
“If it’s a personal matter and you’re uncomfortable speaking about it, you don’t have to tell me….”
“Uncomfortable? Hey, I’m dying to talk about it.”
W-Well, if you say so.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje crossed her arms and leaned back against the bed.
“To put it simply… it’s true that I caused trouble and changed jobs back when I was a reporter.”
“…….”
“I ruined my life trying to dig up a scoop on a politician’s second son who was involved in everything from drugs to human trafficking.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s tone was as blunt as usual, but the content was anything but blunt.
It was just the clarity unique to a story that had been chewed over and thought about for a very long time until it was refined.
She wrote the article, but it wouldn't pass the desk, and from the next day, immense pressure began to come in on a team level, she was stalked, her family received threatening calls….
“Actually, the team concluded that we should just scrap everything and let it fizzle out, but I couldn't stand it and tried to take it to an overseas media outlet to blow it up. So yeah, it was a betrayal. But…”
A small sigh.
“On the day I was supposed to leave the country, I got a call. Four informants had died as if it were a lie.”
“…….”
“Well, on the surface, it was suicide due to pessimism about their lives… but of course, it wouldn't have been, right? They were either killed or hounded until they died.”
“…….”
“I was the stupid one for thinking everything would be resolved if it was just reported.”
“No, you weren't.”
“Stupid is stupid. Anyway……”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje quit being a reporter.
She said she simply couldn't do it anymore.
“But I had to get a job. I had people to support at home.”
Fortunately, she found a suitable company then.
A pharmaceutical company where the age range for new hires was relatively diverse, where people with experience in various fields were preferred for sales positions, and where she wouldn't be blacklisted because it was a different industry.
“Daydream Inc.”
And what she found here after joining….
A Wish Ticket.
“Well… at first, I wondered if I could bring all the dead people back to life, but that felt like an insult to the deceased.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje adjusted her crossed arms.
“Me trying to save them on a whim because I feel guilty is just self-satisfaction. It’s right to respect the dead as they are. Though there are plenty of jerks in our company who would Disagree with this. Anyway……”
She finished with a faint smile.
“So I got my revenge last night, and that’s the end of it.”
“…….”
“If you see news about a politician’s second son dying horribly, just know that I killed him.”
Then Assistant Manager Eun Haje stretched her arms wide.
“Ha… fuck, anyway, I’m finally quitting this damn Darkness exploration!!”
“Are you going to resign?”
“You never know what life brings.”
Contrary to her refreshing statement, Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s face was somewhat stiff.
She had mentioned it lightly to avoid burdening me, but it was clear that Supervisor Park Minseong was on her mind….
“I’ll be resting for a while anyway… so I won’t be able to work in D-unit like before.”
“…….”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje smiled a bit bitterly.
“Roe made such a fuss about how I had to stay in our unit, but it ended up happening just as he said.”
“…Yes.”
I realized reflexively.
From now on… the Assistant Manager Eun Haje who used to sit in the desk next to me in the office.
I wouldn't be able to see her anymore.
“…….”
“Roe.”
“…….”
“Are you having a hard time?”
“…!”
“Yeah. If you didn't, you'd be a total psychopath. It’s just coming to you late because you’ve been so competent until now, but it’s a process everyone goes through at least once.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje laughed and tapped her chest.
“Not being able to see a teammate who was sitting next to you the very next day.”
“…….”
“But tell yourself that this is the best-case scenario. It’s because you’re so good that you don’t get to see your teammate for a good reason.”
“……Supervisor Park Minseong is,”
“That’s something I’ll have to carry as a debt.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje cut me off firmly.
“You rescued that guy too, didn't you? You should be proud of yourself. He’s a strong guy in his own way. He’ll recover on his own… so you just worry about yourself.”
Then she glanced at me and laughed.
“By the way, the unit leader was really worried about you.”
“……?”
The Lizard… worried?
“Roe, hasn't the unit leader hardly been in the office lately?”
He had.
“Normally, when a team loses half its members like this, you don’t rest; you usually go to support other teams.”
Ah.
“But he let you off.”
“…!”
“Well, whether he used his connections or went in himself instead.”
Oh my god.
“Makes him seem a bit more trustworthy, doesn't it? That man has been like that since I joined. He might be strangely inflexible, but he’s reliable.”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grabbed my shoulder with her intact hand.
“It’s hard to work with reliable people in this company, so that’s also your good fortune. …Try to keep working well with the unit leader.”
And then, she smiled and held it out.
“No matter who comes to my spot, if it’s Section Chief Lee Jaheon and Kim Soleum, well. It’ll be fine.”
Her fully intact right hand.
“I hope you safely earn a lot of Points. Roe.”
I gripped it tight.
“I hope your wish definitely comes true.”
“……Yes.”
I shook hands with Assistant Manager Eun Haje of D-unit.
That was the last time.
On the day I returned to work after my leave, I saw that the belongings on Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s desk in the D-unit office had vanished.
Supervisor Park Minseong’s desk was still there, but there was no telling. When it might be cleared.
“…….”
I quietly went and sat at my desk.
Just like that.
I became the only member left in the D-unit office.
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