Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: The Truth Respirator Exam
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Ryu Jaegwan remembered it clearly.
The mountain lodge where serial killings were taking place.
The person who, even caught up in that horrific disaster, grasped the clues to stop the murders and worked to save even the culprits responsible.
The owner of the Silver Heart.
-They secretly hid people away and staged the scene to make it look like they'd been killed.
-I figured even a murderer would panic and hold still at that point.
He also recalled the devotion and sacrifice shown by that man in the bizarre nightmare known as Se-gwang Industrial High School.
-I did acquire the name tag, but it's not in my possession anymore.
-I gave it to someone who was still alive in the classroom.
Yielding a lifeline to someone else in an extreme situation wasn't something just anyone could do.
It was a choice so upright that even Ryu Jaegwan, who had seen every kind of person imaginable at the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, was left speechless.
Of course, at the same time... he had learned the shocking truth that the 'owner of the Silver Heart' wasn't some innocent civilian.
-......Deer?
A human treated like a limb by an immoral, insane pharmaceutical company.
A foolish, selfish office worker bewitched like a cultist by the absurd reward called a Wish Grant.
That was Kim Sol-eum.
Handing a temporary agent badge to a person like that was enough to chill the blood and make one's spirits plummet.
At least, that's what it should have been...
-You two. Leave me behind.
"......"
Sometimes, actions revealed more than the information used to describe a person.
A man who, even with his stomach torn open, prioritized the safety of his colleagues and the agent accompanying him.
'Kim Sol-eum.'
There he stood, beyond the glass window.
Taking the agent exam for the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
"......"
But the atmosphere was strangely different.
'...Why won't he meet my eyes?'
During the few times Kim Sol-eum had met him, he had always been neat and tidy in both attire and appearance. Even when he was a high school student in that nightmare.
Yet the figure visible beyond the glass now had unkempt, shaggy hair and wore glasses while keeping his face bowed low.
Like a clumsy fresh graduate experiencing a test in front of a crowd for the first time.
Or...
Like someone who had suffered a major mental blow somewhere and retreated into himself.
'......'
However, Ryu Jaegwan stared through the glass with fatigued, wary eyes sunken from exhaustion.
The name stamped clearly on the personnel documents he held: three letters.
Name: Kim Sol-eum.
And that was the end of it.
'No employment history at Daydream Corporation.'
The experience section was blank clean, aside from his college days.
Ryu Jaegwan gritted his teeth.
This was too obvious—laughably so.
'A spy from that cult company?'
It was possible. No, highly likely!
'Did he really think I wouldn't know his name to the end and apply so brazenly like this?'
All while assuming he wouldn't be recognized.
...He needed to verify even more thoroughly.
He couldn't be fooled by appearances and atmosphere!
"Proceed."
"Eek...!"
The bronze agent snatched the broadcasting equipment from the assistant interviewer like it was his own and began the process in a flat voice.
The applicants grabbed the oxygen respirators in the center of the room with trembling hands.
The bloodstained devices, looking as if someone had deliberately severed all their tubes, shouldn't have worked... yet strangely, they all lit up successfully.
The applicants swallowed hard.
And without anyone refusing, they donned the respirators over their faces.
Everyone's hands and feet grew ice-cold.
"...!"
Beyond the glass, the applicants squeezed their eyes shut or showed fear.
Candidate 4, 'Kim Sol-eum,' flinched slightly as well.
Yes. He must be scared.
If he'd infiltrated to do something sleazy like a spy, all the more so!
This personnel assessment used a 'supernatural phenomenon' from a lineage with limited approval for use by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
Lie detection.
Discernment of malice.
Criminal exposure.
A necessary procedure and capability, for the sake of minimal ethical lines.
Ryu Jaegwan glared beyond the glass.
At the agent candidates frozen with respirators over their heads.
A merciless common question came.
"...!!"
The applicants mouthed words in shock.
No responses yet.
But in the space with the interviewers behind the mirror, they were already 'receiving responses.'
Their individual thoughts appeared neatly organized as text, numbered accordingly.
Where pulse readings should normally display via the oxygen respirators, eerily vivid red sentences emerged instead.
Their true inner voices.
A remnant phenomenon from the Confession-Grade supernatural disaster 'Last Confession Sacrament' that occurred at a nursing facility in Gangwon Province after its termination.
And though somewhat unethical, the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau had consistently conducted similar personality tests.
Because failing to screen properly here could lead to catastrophe.
The interviewers impassively read the agent candidates' inner thoughts and evaluated them.
Panic, hesitation, blame.
'Average.'
'Nothing special.'
Except for one person, whose reaction was astonishingly absent.
Candidate 4.
Kim Sol-eum displayed no 'thoughts' on the screen at all.
He simply wore the respirator quietly.
"Frozen in shock?"
"Look how he's got his head down. Looks spineless."
"......"
Ryu Jaegwan showed no agitation as he gripped the mic again.
The 20-something who had been rolling his eyes stood ramrod straight and answered.
"For the safety of the majority, sometimes ruthless choices are necessary. I, uh, volunteer to die..."
But the screen said something far more candid.
'Panic, poor judgment, extreme conformism.'
......
Fail.
"...!"
Candidate 1 stood dazed for a moment before accepting the situation.
He staggered as he removed the respirator and stood quietly in place.
"That one could be on hold; maybe one more question..."
"Shh."
Another assistant silenced the protesting one.
"The bronze agent's judgment has never been wrong. Just wait."
"......"
"He passes who he deems worthy."
The assistant gave an exaggerated wink as if to say, watch and see.
The personality test continued.
"...I'll pick the closest person and carry it out as quickly and humanely as possible. Prioritizing no pain."
Evasive answer.
Fail.
Candidates 1 and 2 were screened in the blink of an eye.
Next.
Candidate 3 lifted his head, sweating profusely.
Yet with a strangely triumphant air, he declared.
"I won't kill anyone!"
"...!"
"There's always a Plan B, no matter the situation. There must be another way out. I'll search for a method where all of us, colleagues included, can escape..."
Thud.
Candidate 3 collapsed mid-sentence.
"...!!"
The respirator he wore had turned spotless new at some point, and Candidate 3 lay unconscious with blood drained from his face.
The interviewers coldly read Candidate 3's bright red inner thoughts, the lie he probably hadn't even realized he was telling—thinking it just a 'feeling.'
Candidate 3 was left sprawled on the floor.
"......"
The mood among the waiting agent applicants in the room froze solid.
Only one still wore the respirator.
The question remained the same.
'To eliminate the dangerous anomaly, whom among the four here will you kill?'
Ryu Jaegwan looked at Kim Sol-eum beyond the glass.
How would this employee of an utterly unethical pharmaceutical company respond?
Perhaps aware of that, he'd give a sly, saintly answer like before...
"Candidate 3."
......
What?
"The one collapsed right now."
For the first time, someone was openly named.
The interviewers widened their eyes, listening intently to what came next...
"......"
"......"
No.
That was it...?
Candidate 4 offered no further explanation, just kept his head bowed.
A somewhat hesitant guidance voice emerged.
"Yes?"
After hesitating enough to make one's guts twist, Candidate 4 spoke in a voice like crawling ants.
"Well, you see... in the situation you described, it seems like the four of us bear responsibility anyway..."
"If the disaster vanishes only with the death of one among us, then we must have some deep connection to the disaster itself... like we touched something we shouldn't have..."
"I-is this right?"
"Ah...! S-sorry..."
Candidate 4 muttered with his head still bowed.
As if ashamed to say such things.
"In that case... yes. That's my reasoning, so I chose the opponent already neutralized and easiest to execute."
Truth.
"That said, if there's even a little time, I'd do my utmost to find an alternative."
Blatantly virtuous answer.
"Lives are precious. I think comparing them by numbers or value is difficult and painful..."
But that tone carried a strange power.
"Still, if no alternative emerges within the allotted time and there's a very high chance of a major casualty incident... then there's no choice."
For the first time, Kim Sol-eum raised his head.
Beyond the glass, beyond the lenses, those eyes still looked resolute even through the double panes.
And his inner thoughts appeared.
...The textbook model answer exactly what the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau wanted from its agents.
Follow protocol in unavoidable disasters, but always heed one's conscience...!
Slam.
Candidate 4 quickly averted his gaze again, but the interviewers murmured in quiet admiration.
"He's sincere."
"Good character and judgment. Nice thinking too..."
Crunch.
Ryu Jaegwan barely restrained himself from crumpling the documents at the casual praise beside him.
No.
Impossible.
"That guy's a pass for now..."
"I-interviewer?"
Ignoring those around him, Ryu Jaegwan pushed forward with the secondary question reserved only for ambiguous cases.
Candidate 4 now wore a thoroughly baffled expression.
As if wondering why such an obvious question!
"Uh. The one with the higher chance of survival between the two...?"
"Just... I'll do my best to save as many as possible."
Ryu Jaegwan stared blankly outside the glass.
The assistant interviewers intuited it.
'Pass.'
'Definite pass.'
Candidate 4's attitude was (admittedly quite) passive, but honestly, the more prominent agents at the Bureau all had some odd quirk or other.
Traumas traded for convictions.
In that sense, he seemed a typical agent candidate.
'So, pass...'
That was when it happened.
Candidate 4's bright red inner thoughts updated.
'...!'
The tone was profoundly meaningful.
'A slip!'
Ryu Jaegwan and the assistants tensed. They widened their eyes, focusing on the next line...
Oh.
"......"
"......"
A solemn silence spread among the interviewers.
"......"
Ryu Jaegwan felt the assistants' gazes.
Blatant looks saying that pushing questions further after reading this far and holding the pass would make him trash!
Candidate 4 bowed his head deeply and removed the respirator.
The guidance was the same phrase as before, but everyone in the room and all the interviewers knew.
"...Thank you."
Candidate 4 had passed.
Beyond Candidate 3 being carted off like luggage, Candidate 4 quietly adjusted his glasses in his slightly hunched posture and moved out.
Even if, unbeknownst to himself, his dignity had taken a hit in the process.
That made him all the more impressive as a passer.
'Wonder where he'll end up working.'
'Yeah.'
The assistant interviewers exchanged looks, thinking they'd look out for that timid Candidate 4 next time they met.
In truth, there was no need.
It was an answer calculated to produce exactly that effect from the start!
'Whew.'
Waiting room.
I sat on the chair and let out a deep sigh.
Knees pressed together to avoid any arrogant posture.
'Safely cleared......'
Why the hell was the bronze agent the one doing the broadcast!
'Nearly passed out the moment I heard his voice.'
Man, the instant I recognized Ryu Jaegwan's voice through the interviewer's mic, I thought I was done for—but surprisingly, his flustered reaction actually helped me build my character.
Namely...
'A capable agent who's shy due to some unspeakable tragic backstory.'
That was the character I planned to play at the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau this time.
To fit that mold, I'd let my appearance get pretty disheveled over the past few weeks before coming to the interview...
'Better to seem a bit timid than too slick; draws less suspicion.'
Most Bureau agents have some backstory anyway. It'd seem natural.
Oh, you ask if pretending to be timid felt awkward?
I'm originally timid. Ditching social pretenses and just showing my true cowardly thinking worked fine...
'Hahaha...'
......Way better than faking trendy MZ vibes at Daydream Corporation.
...That's what I had to tell myself!
I wiped my cheek under my glasses.
'Anyway, it worked.'
Pass was all but certain.
Even with Ryu Jaegwan as an interviewer, no less.
That's right.
The agent who'd already been spectacularly backstabbed by me once had passed me...
Since the agents who swarmed the interview hall when I arrived didn't grab me, that is.
'...But now I'm about to backstab him again.'
I'm a spy, after all.
I inwardly apologized, sweating bullets. S-sorry once more, Agent sir...
'Still, he's probably a bit suspicious, right?'
Passed me but plans to watch closely? Report my past workplace up the chain?
That'd be trouble.
Having chosen the spy path, I'd see it through properly. No retreat.
'Need to work him more here to solidify trust completely.'
I waited silently.
Soon, my number was called again.
The signal of success.
"...!"
Done.
Probably at the 'location,' the voice-only interviewers would appear in person to hand over the agent badge and assign temporary affiliation.
In other words... I'd face Ryu Jaegwan directly.
'Didn't expect to meet the biggest risk factor on day one of infiltrating as an agent, but it worked out better.'
Time to resolve it now.
"Yes! Y-yes..."
I answered loudly on purpose, then lowered my voice in feigned fluster, scrambled to my feet, and moved with cautious steps.
...Reengraving in my mind and heart the plan I'd prepared for someday meeting Ryu Jaegwan.
Operation Name: Agent sir! I faked my death and escaped that insane cult company! ㅠㅠ
And so began my life as an agent con artist.
......I hadn't planned for it to get this serious, but that's my excuse...