The Fox Counseling Room, where warm sunlight streams in.
Another me stands outside the window.
He is holding my arm, stirring inside my tattoo.
…….
Huh?
Isn't that someone else?
Then I must refuse. Did I break the rules? No. Right, this situation is not right! It’s not right! It’s not right! It’s not right! I must follow the rules because I am a new teacher who must follow the—
“All done. Counselor.”
The hand that had been stirring inside the tattoo on my arm pulled back out.
Thud.
An object was held in that hand, popping out along with it.
From inside the tattoo that was supposed to be empty…….
“This was inside.”
Under the garden lights, a title in vivid red letters was revealed.
A brown file folder.
<■■ Annex Kindergarten Educational Manual>
“It looks like something you know. How much do you remember?”
My god.
My mind suddenly cleared as if I had been doused with cold water.
‘That…!!’
And like a broken dam, parts of the blurry memories from the past few weeks came pouring in vividly.
When I put the Contaminated Supervisor Park Minseong into my wrist back at the kindergarten!
The space inside the tattoo had continued to swallow him without issue… Ah, it touched the Educational Manual! I’ll keep this separate, I would never do that.
The Educational Manual the supervisor was holding had also gone into my tattoo all at once!
I had suppressed the urge to pack it separately and put it in all at once. I probably intended to report it and hand it over to the Security Team all at once after rescuing the supervisor.
But….
—If you have any supplies or items brought out from the ‘Hungry Hangman’ Darkness, please return them.
—Ah, I have nothing else.
I hadn't returned the Educational Manual.
To be precise, every time I tried to remember if there was anything else in the tattoo, I unconsciously felt a sense of repulsion and stopped.
Because doubt goes against the rules!
And even the fact that I felt repulsion was something I soon became unable to recall. Because a teacher shouldn't feel repulsion toward the rules… No. Let’s not think too deeply about this either!
What’s certain is that I did try several times.
Attempts to inform those around me that my condition was strange.
—…Team Leader.
—Yes.
—If you happen to think I have some strange obsession with the rules, I’d like you to look into it….
—Yes.
—……Ah. I’m just mentioning it because I feel like I’ve been too obsessed with work lately.
—I see.
I had brought up the subject to Section Chief Lee Jaheon several times. Although it always ended vaguely as I, eroded by the Educational Manual, questioned myself.
‘That was a close call.’
The Educational Manual inside the tattoo had begun to erode my subconscious more and more, and eventually, I stopped noticing all the bizarre points and accepted them naturally….
‘…I only barely kept my senses at Sekwang Technical High School!’
It was thanks to taking the Nostalgia Candy.
But the moment I woke up from the dream, that was the end of it.
And it reached its peak during the ‘final conversation’ I had with Section Chief Lee Jaheon yesterday.
—Kim Soleum.
—Yes?
—Have you recently suffered from a strange pressure to follow the rules or been seized by an impulse?
—I think following the rules is only natural as a member of the workplace, Team Leader!
—I see.
“…….”
Wow, my god.
‘I feel like I’m going to throw up.’
I was acting like that??
I staggered and leaned against the window.
‘So that’s why Section Chief Lee Jaheon….’
Tried so hard to shove me into the counseling room.
“……Ha.”
Everything becomes clear.
It feels like taking off a tight turtleneck that didn't fit, or wiping off dirty glasses.
A refreshing sense of liberation and exhaustion washed over my entire body.
And… anxiety as well.
“…….”
“What are you thinking right now?”
“……I feel tired and refreshed.”
“Do you perhaps feel as if you’ve escaped some uncomfortable compulsion?”
“……Yes.”
The ‘Counselor’ who looked like me, standing outside the window, looked at me as if to comfort me.
“You did very well. Staying here and enduring the counseling session was thanks to your strong willpower, Counselor.”
“…….”
Then, he quietly set the Educational Manual down on the garden floor, brought a shovel from somewhere, and lightly dug into the earth.
“It is very painful to be seized by a powerful impulse or idea even when you don't want it.”
Scritch, scratch. By the hands of ‘Kim Soleum’ standing outside the window, a small pit was created in a corner of the outdoor garden.
Thud.
The Educational Manual was tossed inside.
“Change isn't always bad, but it’s only right that you can always refuse if it makes your body and mind suffer.”
The me outside the window even covered it neatly with the dug-up soil, then dusted his hands off with a look of relief.
“Counselor Soleum, do you see that small plant in the pot over there?”
A pot?
When I turned my head, there really was a small pot on the table near the sofa.
It was a plant with small, unripe fruits the size of peas.
“Could you pick one fruit you like from there?”
“…….”
I gently picked one fruit that looked at least slightly ripe and handed it to the ‘me’ across the window.
“You did wonderfully.”
The Counselor outside the window took my hand along with the fruit.
Then.
“…!”
The fruit I was holding ripened to a bright red.
As if it had absorbed plenty of nutrients, it became plump and appetizing.
“Make sure to chew it well before you leave.”
“…….”
I put the fruit in my mouth.
Intense anxiety, resentment, idle thoughts, irrational sadness, and pain slowly melted away with the fruit…….
When a client with severe mental pollution visits, provide a red fruit (presumed to be a Fox Bead from the Fox-pocket family) as medicine.
Shows excellent effects in mental stabilization.
In all attempts to take the fruit out without eating it, it disappears the moment it passes through the door.
Phew.
With a sigh, all emotional dregs scattered like grains of sand.
I became peaceful.
Just as an ordinary office worker whose body and mind were tired.
As my usual self.
I raised my head and looked at the Counselor standing by the window.
“Thank you. I feel much better thanks to you.”
“I’m the one who’s thankful, Counselor Kim Soleum!”
The Counselor’s face brightened significantly.
For some reason, he no longer looked like he was imitating my appearance.
“Then shall we talk a bit more?”
After that, it was an ordinary psychiatric consultation.
To be precise, it felt like meeting a very skillful and comfortable Counselor and unburdening myself of this and that.
‘I’ll admit this much.’
If I had to pick one thing that Daydream Inc., this hopeless profit-driven ghost story corporation, did right, it was including this as an employee benefit.
“I’ll give you a plaque so that whenever you feel overwhelmed by bad thoughts in the future, you can come to the Fox Counseling Room.”
On my way out, I also received an item.
[ Fox Counseling Room ]
It was the same plaque that had been attached to the door I entered earlier.
“If you attach that plaque to a door and open it, it will connect to our counseling room.”
“…Thank you.”
I wanted to keep it, but I would have to attach it to the door as soon as I left.
All clients who use the company's welfare program must attach the plaque they receive back onto the door they used after the consultation ends.
‘Because the plaque that was on the door I used must have disappeared.’
It’s easier to think of it as taking an advance payment.
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
I tried to get up from my seat.
I heard the Counselor’s voice, sounding reluctant to see me go.
“Um, actually, it’s best to set a regular appointment and receive counseling steadily once every week or two….”
Euaaaack!
“I’m sorry, but I’m too busy… I think that will be difficult.”
“Right. Everyone is like that these days….”
The ‘Counselor’ bowed his head as if slightly dejected, then nodded.
But I couldn't fall for that act.
‘If I set a regular consultation… the probability of side effects exploding goes up drastically…!’
Usage Record #521 (Irregular)
The ‘Counselor’ strongly urged the client to have regular consultations.
The client refused, but the ‘Counselor’ persistently attempted to persuade them. After 1 hour and 21 minutes, the client accepted the recommendation with a comfortable mind.
Disappeared afterward.
※ B-Level security clearance is required to view the full text of this record.
Fortunately, the Counselor did not urge me again and instead nodded with a smile to see me off.
“Still, it’s a relief that Counselor Kim Soleum has good acquaintances, family, and friends around him.”
“…….”
Wait a minute.
It’s true that I have decent acquaintances or a ‘Good Friend’ even in this crazy ghost story worldview, but….
“Family…?”
The Counselor reached out and tapped his own wrist.
I also looked down at my wrist.
That position was….
: Socius :
“That person.”
“…?!”
♬♩♪♬~♪♪♩~
“Ah, time is up. Have a safe trip back, Counselor Kim Soleum.”
I raised my head.
There was no one there.
The Counselor who had been smiling by the window vanished like a lie, and only the sunlight pouring into the simple, wonderful outdoor garden remained…….
♬♩♪♬~♪♪♩~
A light waltz melody signaling the end of the consultation.
In the distance, under the stone wall of the garden, I thought I saw the orange tail of a fox scurrying away….
“…….”
I got up from the sofa and headed toward the dressing room curtain.
On the floral lace table placed on the way to the curtain, some kind of cool drink was prepared.
[ Good luck today! ]
[^^]
“…….”
I gulped down the drink and set it down with gratitude.
It was very savory barley tea.
—Was the consultation beneficial, Friend?
“Yeah.”
I packed the ‘Good Friend’ plush doll.
……Now that my mind was clear, I had a few thoughts about this fellow too, but….
‘That’s for after work.’
For now, there was someone else I had to face first.
Creak.
I opened the door and stepped out.
The white lizard head in a black suit, who had been leaning against the opposite wall, turned toward me.
“Did you receive your consultation?”
“Yes.”
I might not know for sure, but I probably had a fairly bashful expression as I said this.
“Thank you, Team Leader. I’ve escaped the contamination thanks to you.”
“It was nothing.”
The lizard leader being humble…?!
“Kim Soleum, you are still in a contaminated state. Please receive counseling periodically.”
“……Yes.”
Ah.
So that’s what he meant….
“Still, I feel much better than before. Do you see it that way too, Team Leader?”
“Yes.”
The lizard leader looked at me as if measuring me, then declared:
“You may see it now.”
“See… what?”
“It is a message from Supervisor Park Minseong.”
“…!!”
…Team Leader Lee Jaheon took a small Post-it note from his suit pocket and handed it to me.
[ Roe, you worked so hard. ]
[ Thank you for getting me out. ]
“…….”
I took a short breath.
“Has he recovered?”
“The standard for recovery is….”
“Is rational communication possible?”
“Stochastically possible.”
Whew…….
‘That means he’s hit-or-miss.’
Anyway, the fact that he was recovering was a good thing.
And naturally, another team member came to mind.
“……By any chance, has Assistant Manager Eun Haje contacted you separately…?”
“No.”
“…….”
News of Assistant Manager Eun Haje had cut off as soon as her leave of absence was processed.
She occasionally looked at texts or KakaoTalk messages I sent, but there were no replies. She only left the read receipt.
‘She might want to distance herself from this ghost story company.’
After going through all that madness because of mental pollution, it felt like a very wise attitude….
Anyway, with that, my morning schedule was over.
“Shall I head back to the office now?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you again, Team Leader.”
“Yes.”
Section Chief Lee Jaheon left to tend to his own business, and I killed time at the office until lunch, browsing the welfare mall.
It was a leisure I could afford thanks to drawing the A-Class essence just before.
‘Is it better because I’m in my right mind…?’
I didn’t know. This company was just plain terrifying….
Tap, tap.
“Hello.”
Hm?
I turned my gaze away from the monitor.
Someone who had entered the office at some point was cautiously tapping on my desk.
It was a young man in a gray suit.
‘I don’t know that face.’
Is he from another team or department?
He looked to be about my age, but he had the kind of impression that made me never want to meet him as a competitor in an interview….
‘Why come here when you could go to another conglomerate?’
For a moment, I almost looked at him with pitying eyes, but I caught myself and straightened my posture.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
“Ah, I have something to ask you.”
The other person asked just as kindly.
“Did the consultation go well, Soleum?”
“…!”
“It makes me feel good to see that you seem to have recovered a lot. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ho Yuwon.”
He held out his hand as if requesting a handshake.
“I heard you recently received an interesting proposal from Director Cheong.”
“…….”
Director Cheong.
He called him without using an honorific.
And the name.
Ho Yuwon.
…….
…Director Ho!!
“It's a strange coincidence, because I also had a proposal for you.”
Director Ho visited Team D’s office.
Discussion