When I spotted the dress shoes in the entryway, my first thought was that this bastard Baek Saheon had finally come home to the dorm after work.
'Did he finally find some courage after all these days?'
Or maybe he’d heard a rumor that I wasn't coming back from the ghost story today and hurried inside.
'But I've just finished work now.'
I was just contemplating how to deal with the guy who would be in his room right now.
-Oh dear, Mr. Roe Deer. Hearing your story, it seems there has been a bit of a misunderstanding!
Misunderstanding?
-Those shoes have always been in that same spot every evening, Friend.
“……!”
What?
No. There was definitely nothing in this entryway when I left on the first day….
'…Wait a minute.'
I suddenly recalled the last time I saw Baek Saheon.
Sekwang Technical High School.
The sight of him causing chaos between the clashing Disaster Management Bureau and Field Exploration team before running off with an item.
And the effect of the fountain pen-shaped item he was holding was….
'Brainwashing.'
“…….”
I looked down at my hand.
The silver ring.
The mental defense item I bought today.
'…Aha.'
So that was it.
It wasn't that Baek Saheon had been leaving before me and coming back later, or commuting from somewhere else entirely.
He had been returning to the dorm all along.
He had simply placed a suggestion on me.
So that I wouldn't perceive him.
'But it's not working on me now.'
Thanks to the silver ring that defends my mind, I was 'witnessing' Baek Saheon's shoes for the first time in days.
“…Ha.”
Good grief.
As if being sick and exhausted wasn't enough, now I have to worry about this kind of crap at home…….
-Ah, what a deduction, fitting together perfectly and pleasantly like a puzzle!
-But… for those who attempt to deceive someone, isn't it a traditional and instructive plot for them to pay the price?
A devious joy crept into Braun’s voice.
Normally, I would have been appalled, but….
Well.
'Braun.'
-Yes, Friend?
'I'm thinking of doing something fun from now on. What do you think?'
I grinned, even through my throbbing headache.
'It'll be right up your alley.'
-…!!
'Whew.'
Baek Saheon cautiously rose from his bed as soon as the noise from the entryway faded.
'What the hell was that bastard doing, not going straight into his room?'
It had already been several days since leaving Sekwang High School. He had been living in seclusion in the dorm, being as quiet as possible.
All to avoid being caught by Kim Soleum!
'…I used it at first just because I thought I was screwed.'
Think about it—the moment you open your eyes in the morning, a psychopath who holds a grudge against you is waiting in the room next door!
Thinking he didn't know what might happen to him if he faced Kim Soleum, he had made it so that his traces or presence couldn't be perceived.
'It really was a decent item after all.'
Since that psychopath hadn't noticed a thing!
Even so, fearing the suggestion might break, he desperately avoided him within the dorm and didn't make a sound even inside his room.
He thought about trying a stronger brainwashing or suggestion, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, terrified of the consequences if he failed….
Still, though.
'…Isn't it about time I can try something a bit stronger?'
The suggestion had been maintained successfully for several days. He was starting to think it might be worth taking a risk.
Like, making him throw himself into danger to save him at work if necessary. Or making him hand over a good item he found and then tricking him into thinking he lost it….
'Hmm.'
Besides, he’d heard that the Darkness Kim Soleum entered this time was an alleyway where one could obtain various equipment and items.
It was news he’d heard from Jang Heowoon, who was in the same group.
'…I’m jealous.'
Baek Saheon briefly clenched his fist, thinking of his colleague from the Cleanup team who had joined his group.
He needed a chance to get items too. More chances…!
He felt like he could even subtly embezzle items from his colleagues at the company by placing suggestions on them….
'But I can't do that right now!'
With the fountain pen, he could only place a suggestion on one person at a time. As long as it was being used entirely on Kim Soleum, using it on anyone else was out of the question.
He was getting restless.
'I really need to squeeze something more out of Kim Soleum.'
Now was the perfect timing.
'Let's make a plan.'
Once Kim Soleum falls asleep tonight, I'll use the fountain pen….
Visualizing the scene in his head, he opened the door to get some water.
And then he jumped out of his skin.
“…!”
Kim Soleum was in the dark kitchen.
He was sitting at the dining table, laying out some unknown snack-like things and staring at the packaging.
And in the center of the table, sitting on a cushion, was a fluffy plush doll.
The creepy rabbit-shaped doll that Kim Soleum always carried around, calling it ‘Braun.’
“What? You say it looks cheap?”
He flinched.
“True. It's probably a snack with that kind of concept. It was a stationery store, after all.”
'That crazy bastard.'
He’s talking to the doll again.
'Why the hell hasn't he gone into his room yet? Why is he still out here doing that shit…!'
Baek Saheon shuddered and tried to go back into his room… but he hesitated.
Wouldn't running into him like this naturally be an opportunity instead?
It felt like the perfect timing to strengthen the suggestion without having to try anything separate.
“…….”
Baek Saheon made up his mind and took out the fountain pen.
Then he moved his feet quietly.
“Right. But even an item like this has its own kind of efficacy.”
Toward Kim Soleum’s back.
Going right behind that psychopath who was talking to himself, and the fountain pen…….
“Just like the fountain pen of the roommate passing behind me right now.”
“…….”
Ah.
Baek Saheon froze as he felt his blood run cold.
“Braun, you know what? My roommate actually tried to brainwash and manipulate me.”
“…….”
“Yeah. And here I was, having even prepared a gift to pay back my debt….”
Kim Soleum continued slowly.
It was because he felt like he would cough up blood again if he spoke too fast, but his voice, lowered by the burning pain and fatigue, added a bloody scent to his words….
Making everything sound more threatening and ominous.
“Isn't that a lack of manners?”
Kim Soleum set the snacks down on the table and turned his head.
“And a person without manners… shouldn't be qualified to be a roommate, don't you think?”
“…!!”
Their eyes met.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck…!'
He was caught.
How did he know? No, that wasn't important right now. He was caught. Definitely, definitely, definitely!
“I-I’ll leave!”
Baek Saheon shouted in a trembling voice without even thinking.
“Assistant Manager! It seems you're right about me not being qualified! I'll leave right away! I'll leave this instant and never come back!”
Kim Soleum frowned.
“My head is pounding. Don't you know any etiquette? Why are you shouting in an apartment in the middle of the night?”
Fuck…!
Baek Saheon cursed every word in his head, but he resented himself for automatically shutting his mouth.
“Braun.”
In the meantime, Kim Soleum was talking to the rabbit doll again.
“He's loud, but hearing him say that… I think even if he’s not qualified to live here, I should give him one chance.”
What?!
“I don't ne—.”
“You don't need it?”
Kim Soleum whipped his head around.
“A chance to live here, you don't need it?”
“…….”
Why did that sound like 'you don't need a chance to stay alive here'…?
Baek Saheon swallowed hard and answered.
“I need it.”
“Right?”
“Yes….”
“Good. Then hand over the item.”
“……!”
“The fountain pen you were using. The item that becomes a suggestion exactly as written when you write a phrase on a post-it and attach it.”
“…….”
“Since you might do something weird again, I'll have to keep it somewhere else for a while.”
How the hell does he know that?
Despite the terror crawling up the back of his neck, Baek Saheon gritted his teeth.
“I can't… give it to you.”
“…….”
“T-Think about it, Assistant Manager. Honestly, what I did didn't exactly cause you any trouble.”
He said urgently and desperately.
“It's a necessary item. I can't possibly give it to anyone. I won't ever use it on you again, so please…….”
“Hmm.”
Kim Soleum responded expressionlessly.
“Why do you think I would believe those words?”
“…!”
“Just… reflect on yourself a bit.”
Kim Soleum pointed at Baek Saheon.
“I told you the guaranteed entry method for that Sekwang Technical High School where you got that item, and I didn't even get angry when you tried to kill me in there….”
It was a plain fact.
“But what I got back was brainwashing? I have no reason to trust you.”
“…….”
That, that…….
He might… be right.
The Assistant Manager in front of him might be a crazy bastard, but he was incredibly competent, and being at odds like this… maybe I'm the one doing something crazy.
'What is it? What's going on?'
Did I make the wrong choice?
Baek Saheon's mind raced, a mix of slight guilt, self-loathing, and powerful fear clashing fiercely under the guise of logic….
And then.
“But since it is an item you've secured after all, well… shall I offer a reward?”
Eh?
Kim Soleum pulled out something he had placed on the kitchen chair.
Wrapped in transparent packaging, it was….
“It's a left eye.”
Oh, fuck!!
Baek Saheon suppressed a scream at the sight of the black circle with a purple iris darting around.
But….
“This isn't just an eye. It's biometric equipment.”
“…!”
“As for what kind of abilities this equipment has….”
Kim Soleum explained the 'eye’s' abilities.
As he continued, Baek Saheon's expression gradually changed.
“…….”
“Do you need it?”
Baek Saheon gritted his teeth.
He could hardly believe it.
“…Yes.”
He voluntarily surrendered the fountain pen.
And with hands trembling from expectation and confusion, he received the biometric equipment Kim Soleum held out.
'Phew.'
I'm breaking out in a cold sweat.
After finally finishing the conversation with Baek Saheon, I sat on my bed, suffering from a headache and coughing up blood.
It was a feat that I managed not to show how much pain I was in.
'But I didn't lose my momentum, right?'
Wow, I almost flinched when he glared at me in the middle. I even had a moment of reality check, wondering why I had to do this when my body was already hurting so much….
But I had to set things straight right now.
I couldn't leave a sociopath with a brainwashing item around me when I was going to be sick for the next three days.
'I think I used the carrot and the stick well.'
I thought of the purple eye that had left my hand.
It was an item with a function that wasn't threatening to me but would be helpful to Baek Saheon.
Well, since it happened to be a left eye, he could use it without having to gouge his own out.
Anyway, being roommates with that guy of all people… No, come to think of it, maybe Ms. Go Yeongeun or Mr. Heowoon are the special cases, and Baek Saheon is just the average personality for this company.
There seem to be sociopaths everywhere you turn in this neighborhood!
'Thinking about this will only make me depressed, so let's just think about something good….'
For instance… like the gift presentation ceremony that's about to happen.
“Braun.”
I pulled myself up and took out the item I had kept safe within my tattoo.
It was the ribbon hairband I had boldly purchased instead of receiving change at the boutique.
“It's a gift.”
-…!
“Is it okay? Actually, I thought you might have guessed beforehand.”
If it didn't fit his aesthetic standards, I might have to start looking for another offering while sweating buckets….
But the voice that came from Braun was one of joy.
-Ah, the circumstantial evidence was indeed very strong!
-It would also be unacceptable for a show host not to have guessed… but as an entertainer, one must also not make it obvious that they've noticed everything.
-Now, then, this plush body will finally be able to look presentable.
It was a rare tone, trembling slightly with anticipation.
'That's a relief.'
I smiled and carefully adjusted the hairband I took out from the bag, tying it quite stylishly on the fluffy rabbit doll.
“Thanks for everything so far, Braun.”
The rabbit's round, button-like eyes stared into space, and the moment I looked away, the cheerful host's response came back.
-I've only done what's natural as a friend, Mr. Roe Deer.
Perhaps that ribbon hairband had no effect other than looking very luxurious and plausible.
But Braun's voice, with the bowtie around his neck, was overflowing with joy.
-Isn't looking presentable also an essential courtesy for one who stands before an audience?
Braun very happily and enjoyably accepted me adjusting the bowtie several times to find the perfect angle.
But at the same time, he also urged me to sleep.
-Mr. Roe Deer, maintaining one’s condition is a basic skill for a professional. Rest is also important, so it would be best to head to dreamland quickly today!
“Right.”
A gift ceremony for a good friend. This was a rewarding enough event among everything that happened today….
Normally, I would have read through the Wiki one more time, but neither the aching me nor the broken smartphone seemed to have the energy for that.
'I'll either buy a new phone or get it repaired as soon as it gets light tomorrow….'
As long as the Memorial Pop Socket is fine, switching phones won't interfere with viewing the Wiki.
I lay down comfortably on the bed.
And first, I detached the Pop-socket from the broken smartphone…….
“…….”
-Friend?
I hurriedly flipped the smartphone over.
There was a crack in the Pop-socket.
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