The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

Hwang Young-gyu had brought me to the presentation room on the very top floor of the hospital.

A lavish space that should have hosted meetings between the hospital director and his executives — and there the two of us sat, facing each other across the table, alone.

Before the conversation even began, Hwang Young-gyu rose from his seat and bowed his head.

"First, allow me to apologize for using you in this broadcast without any prior consultation, Master Kim."

He hadn't even opened the discussion before going straight for the most sensitive point.

"That matter was originally meant to proceed only after we'd sought your understanding. However, PD Choi Ji-hoon, who directed the field operation, pushed ahead unilaterally without clearing it with you first, in order to capture more authentic reactions."

Sacrificing PD Choi Ji-hoon to shave down the disapproval stack, is that it?

Frankly, doing this makes him more dislikable, not less.

"Of course, I have no intention of papering over everything with a simple apology. Cosmos's motto is pragmatism."

Swoosh.

PD Hwang Young-gyu held out a small box.

"This is...?"

"Please, open it."

Click.

Inside the box sat a single ring.

But it was anything but an ordinary ring.

The energy radiating from it was far from trivial. This had to be a magical artifact of considerable grade — short of an other-tier magical treasure like the Fire-Tipped Spear, it was probably among the very finest artifacts in existence. And judging by the way it carried its own innate spiritual power, it was a special-grade piece that even ordinary civilians could use.

"A humble token of our contrition. It's an artifact called the Taecheonghwan, the Ring of Supreme Clarity. It shields its bearer from every manner of curse and keeps their body in peak condition at all times."

Humble? Like hell it is.

Artifacts were expensive to begin with, but ones usable by ordinary people cost at least twice as much. He was burning billions of won just to shave down one point of disapproval?

...As expected, the twenty-first century's one and only mega-corporation plays in a different league...

That said, if you asked me whether this actually erased the disapproval stack, the answer was murky at best. ...But at the very least, it had become difficult to bring that topic up in the middle of this conversation.

I thought for a moment, then decided to start with what had been gnawing at me.

"Before we get into the main discussion, may I ask you something?"

"Of course. Ask anything."

"The anomaly incident in Yeoindo was, at absolute minimum, prodigy-class or higher. And yet... why hasn't the Paranormal Administration Bureau shown so much as a shadow of itself?"

Even if the Bureau had been cowed by the Cosmos headquarters incident, staying completely invisible through a crisis like this made no sense.

"That certainly requires a proper explanation. Some time ago, the South Korean government concluded that the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Bureau alone could no longer handle the rising number of anomaly incidents, and began outsourcing them to the private sector."

Outsourcing anomaly incidents?

It sounded utterly insane, but if it was true, it explained why the Bureau had never shown up. The contractor had stepped in and resolved things first, so headquarters didn't bother lifting a finger.

...No, actually, it's closer to saying they've had their case count poached by an outside competitor.

Still, no matter how I turned it over, I couldn't believe Cosmos's real goal was something as banal as anomaly outsourcing.

And sure enough—

"Master Kim, are you familiar with the phrase 'the hour between dog and wolf'?"

"The hour as the sun sets and dusk creeps in, when the animal approaching in the distance might be the dog you raised — or a wolf coming to tear you apart. Isn't that it?"

"Precisely. And that is what Korea is now — no, what the entire world is. Everyone vaguely sees ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shadow of the mystical and the anomalous, but they cannot tell whether what they're seeing is true mystery and anomaly, or simply a fake manufactured to grab their attention. It is, truly, an age of confusion."

He talks a good game. Even though over ninety percent of that chaos was staged by his own people.

"The world is changing, and that change cannot be stopped. But the Paranormal Administration Bureau — and the Masquerade Alliance beyond it — cannot accept that, and they're scrambling to bury it. That cannot stand. That way lies extinction in the new age. And so Cosmos, as the world's foremost corporation, is striving to fulfill its duty."

Here comes the real pitch.

"In other words, you intend to publicly declare to the world that anomalies and the mystical exist?"

"Exactly. Though it won't be easy. Those with open eyes are a vanishing minority, and those whose vision is blurred won't believe it's real even if you show it to their faces."

Truer words were never spoken.

Cosmos had pulled some kind of stunt and flooded the world with footage of anomalies and genuine mysticism — and the world had barely changed. Only a handful of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people, the ones who had wanted to believe in the mystical and the anomalous from the start, gained their conviction. Everyone else wrote it off as the usual internet bait, some CG or AI fabrication.

"Which means that to open people's eyes, we need something far more large-scale. And for that, instead of merely thrusting vague mystery and anomaly into their faces, we need a symbol — something that can give them certainty."

"...You can't be serious."

"I am. Cosmos believes you, Master Kim, are the one most worthy of being that symbol."

"...You flatter me."

My mouth was mouthing humble courtesies, but my brain was spinning like a madman.

The biggest question was why.

Did Cosmos actually need to use me as their symbol? Under Cosmos's umbrella there were at least two supremes, not to mention plenty of other psychics. Why go out of their way for an outside asset like me?

"You've already made a name for yourself through your YouTube activities, and after the Demon Slayer affair your standing among psychics is quite high."

Put that way, it sounded plausible enough — but the more I chewed on it, the more something felt off.

When I failed to show any positive response, Hwang Young-gyu began rattling off compensation packages like a machine gun. Wealth, fame, everything I could ever want — he spoke as if it were all his to grant.

But among the conditions he laid out, the one that snagged my attention was a single line that flashed past in an instant.

"We would also give you unlimited opportunity to learn whatever sorcery or magic you desire, from the psychics under Cosmos's employ."

A mega-corporation like Cosmos would have run a background check on me before making any offer.

And if they'd done their homework, they would inevitably have uncovered the fabricated backstory I'd invented to fool the Paranormal Administration Bureau: that I had studied under a mysterious psychic, and that this psychic belonged to some organization of their own.

Granted, it was a flimsy lie. If Cosmos had investigated properly, they could certainly suspect the backstory.

But suspicion was not conviction. Because regardless of how dubious the backstory was, the fact remained that I was, in reality, a psychic of considerable skill.

And they were offering a master of that caliber the chance to enter someone else's house and learn — as payment?

From everything I'd experienced so far, the world of psychics had a lot in common with the martial world of wuxia novels. One of those similarities: lineages and master-disciple relationships carried enormous weight.

In other words, what Hwang Young-gyu was proposing right now — to a master who had a perfectly good sect of his own—

'Join our house, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we'll let you trade your sect's pathetic martial arts for our school's divine techniques!'

...That was exactly what this amounted to.

Granted, some people might take the bait. But a master with any real devotion to his own sect would find this offer humiliating to accept.

...Would the world's top corporation overlook something this basic while running a recruitment pitch?

Not a chance.

Which meant—

'Cosmos knows my backstory is a lie. And they also know I haven't been in the world of psychic arts for long.'

In that case, Cosmos had no choice but to suspect who I'd learned sorcery from. If their background check had been thorough, they'd have known I never had the chance to study under anyone.

Yet Hwang Young-gyu hadn't breathed a single word about it.

'Let me organize the situation.'

Cosmos knew I was a newcomer to the world of psychic arts, and that I'd never even had the opportunity to study under anyone. And despite knowing all that, they displayed not one flicker of doubt or curiosity about it.

The conclusion: Cosmos knew I had some means of learning sorcery without ever meeting another person.

Dongbin's Dao Study Room. Salomon's Anomaly Encyclopedia. Nikola's Hyper-Radio Communication.

They knew about the existence of those special sites.

Granted, this was a considerable logical leap. But framed this way, it explained why Cosmos had chosen me over the psychics already in their stable. They suspected those special sites existed, and suspected I had access to them.

Why I said "suspected" rather than "knew for certain": if they'd been certain, they would have taken a harder line instead of something as lukewarm as an advertising-model offer.

The moment that thought crystallized, I realized just how dangerous my current position was.

This hospital itself was Cosmos property to begin with. And the presentation room sat at the very heart of the heart of it. On top of that, my friends were currently hospitalized here too.

I had thrust my head straight into a tiger's jaws with all four limbs bound.

For an instant, I seized hold of my reeling mind.

'Even if the tiger drags you off by the neck, you'll live as long as you keep your wits.'

...I wasn't trying to spout clichés, but thinking it over, this situation was also an opportunity. After all, the Hwang Young-gyu sitting across from me held a substantial position in Cosmos's anomaly-related division.

How often would another chance to extract information from a man like this come along?

Of course, extracting anything from him through ordinary methods was impossible right now. Anyone working in the anomaly division would have fortified themselves against most sorcery.

'But what about an un-ordinary method?'

While outwardly pretending to hang on every condition Hwang Young-gyu offered, I worked my phone beneath the desk.

Nikola's Hyper-Radio Communication.

'There was definitely a plan made for exactly this kind of situation... found it!'

In short: an all-purpose lie detector.

The problem was the price.

'Son of a— Nikola, you old bastard! It's a fancy lie detector, why does it cost this much?!'

Granted, there were minor differences — like being able to use it on the spot with zero preparation, and results guaranteed one hundred percent accurate. But expensive was expensive.

"Master Kim? You're looking rather pale. Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, it's nothing. The exhaustion from the exorcism is catching up with me all at once."

Mumbling excuses, I swallowed my tears and did the math on my bank balance. The one small mercy was that a single purchase kept the Edict Hacking active for ten minutes.

Not a single second could be wasted from here on out.

The instant the plan went through, I fired off my first question.

"Mr. Hwang Young-gyu, if I became Cosmos's advertising model, would there be obligations to comply with, or restrictions placed on my conduct?"

"Ah, so that's what was on your mind. Naturally, such concerns are understandable. But the restrictions that come with being a symbol are little different from those of an ordinary corporate advertising model, so there's really no need to worry—"

I barely had a moment to be startled by the voice arriving directly in my ears rather than through my phone screen. Then, calculating the remaining time in my head, I pressed on with the questions.

"This contract seems far too favorable to me. Are you sure it's all right from Cosmos's perspective?"

"Haha. Your gain is our gain, Master Kim."

"Cosmos thinks very highly of me indeed."

"But of course. Otherwise we wouldn't have made an offer like this in the first place."

Trickle.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

"The offer is so generous I'm actually frightened — terrified that if I refuse, Cosmos will come after me demanding, 'How dare you turn down an offer this good?!'"

"Hahaha! What an amusing joke. But if you refuse, we'd simply be disappointed — we'd hardly do something like retaliate, now would we?"

Trickle-trickle-trickle.

Sweat poured down my back like I'd developed a case of hyperhidrosis across my entire spine.

Cosmos had never intended to accept any answer other than "yes" in the first place.

'What happens if I say "no" right here and now?'

Would Cosmos's private forces smash through the doors this very second? Or would Gong Nosa and another supreme come sprinting in from wherever they'd been lying in wait? Or failing that, would they simply let me go with smiles on their faces — and then ambush me one day, just when I'd finally let my guard down?

Either way, the moment I said "no," my peaceful everyday life would be gone for good.

But what if I said "yes"? Sure, I'd dodge the immediate crisis — but judging by Hwang Young-gyu's answers, that road was just as dangerous.

Neither "yes" nor "no" seemed to be the right answer.

And then a single clever idea flashed through my head.

'If both "yes" and "no" are wrong answers, then I just push the whole solution back until later.'

I polished the gleaming idea as neatly as I could and put it into words.

"Well then... thank you for the generous offer. Though — would it be possible to adjust a few of the terms?"

"Of course. Anything you'd like."

True, is it. But I wondered — once he'd heard my terms, would that truth still hold?

"I'm perfectly capable of earning money on my own. So leave the financial compensation out of it, and instead — would you compensate me in goods?"

"What sort of item did you have in mind?"

"The Fire-Tipped Spear."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"I want the Fire-Tipped Spear. The one Gong Nosa is carrying."