Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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"……."
I stared at the door to the Xuanwu Team 1 waiting room.
After going through all of that, it felt strangely unreal to still be standing here.
But habits don't lie.
Click.
I opened the door and went inside.
And then…
"You're here?"
I saw the Bronze Agent standing up with a welcoming smile on his face.
"Good morning... Grape Agent. You don't look well."
Ah.
"Did you not sleep well again?"
"I-I'm just a little under the weather. I'm fine."
Good thing I'd healed all the visible wounds beforehand.
"You need to tell me if you're too tired."
"...Yes. Thank you."
I managed to chat with the Bronze Agent while smiling like usual and sat down on the sofa across from him.
And waited.
"……."
My palms were sweating.
But even after a few minutes, the waiting room still only had the two of us.
The person who should have appeared... didn't.
"Um."
"Yes?"
"Agent Choi is…."
"Ah. Agent Choi called in sick today and won't be working."
"……."
What?
'Hold on.'
Did something go wrong?
'No.'
Did Director Ho visit him again? Or did he try to immediately lift the restriction and something happened? I…
"He came in early but used a sick day and went home because he wasn't feeling well."
"……Yes."
There were witnesses.
It wasn't quite relief, but a powerful feeling swept through my chest.
"No need to worry too much. That guy... no, Agent Choi looked perfectly fine. And…."
The Bronze Agent went to the small fridge in the corner of the waiting room and pulled something out.
A carrier bag full of cafe drinks.
"He left this. Said he stopped by a cafe on the way."
"……."
"This one's for you, Grape Agent."
I took the drink.
It was a green grape ade.
And there was a pack of cookies from the cafe tucked into the cup holder, with what looked like black marker writing on top.
Handwritten words from Agent Choi.
And a line struck through it, crossing it out.
"……."
"Grape Agent?"
"...Thank you."
I grabbed the ade and drank it.
It was sweet enough to jolt me awake.
* * *
Whether it was the sugar high or not, my mind kept racing through the morning.
The plans I'd made, the things I had to do over the next month, all flooding in.
'He's laying low for now.'
After the incident with Agent Choi, I'd stay quiet for about a week, avoid drawing attention from the Disaster Management Bureau, do some light groundwork, and then make my move.
Timing was more important than securing a long period for my plan.
However…
One dilemma.
'...Should I tell Yeongeun about this?'
It seemed right to share my current situation, but figuring out how much to say was vague and precarious.
How would Yeongeun react if I said I'd handle everything within a month?
Was it right to tell her about Director Ho's malice—how we'd been sent here as spies on purpose, as bait we were obviously going to get caught?
Even if she knew, could she do anything about it…?
"……."
Wouldn't it be easier for her to do her spy work without knowing, less suspicious?
My stomach hurt.
Felt like stomach acid burning.
'No. It's fine.'
Yeongeun just had to work one more month.
If I pulled it off properly, I could deliver the information Director Ho wanted in the form he wanted, and claim her share in the process.
Then it would all end without issues.
'Alright.'
Let's do this.
"Hoo."
I set down the empty ade cup.
The Bronze Agent, sipping a vanilla latte next to me while checking documents, spoke up.
"That doll isn't with you today."
"……!"
"The little rabbit doll you call Brown."
"...It's here."
I pulled the stuffed doll from my jacket pocket, showed it, and put it back.
"Uh, um, how's that doll doing?"
"Probably fine."
I quickly pulled my hand out of my pocket, away from where it had touched the stuffed doll.
That was when it happened.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!
"…!"
A loud alarm blared from the Bronze Agent's wrist.
A summons.
'Rescue request!'
"Wait here."
The Bronze Agent tossed the documents aside and stood up.
He checked the code on the pager to see what ghost story it was and started preparing…
"...This is a ghost story that requires exactly two people for rescue. We'll enter together."
"Yes."
I stood up right away too.
The experience from the past few weeks' dispatches moved my body automatically, and it actually helped ground my sense of reality.
"Your partner is absent. Normally, it would go to the local branch, but this rescue request came straight from headquarters."
"Where?"
"Asan City, Chungcheongnam-do. And this supernatural disaster... has a large spatial scale, so there's a lot to memorize."
The Bronze Agent quickly pulled a small booklet from the bookshelf.
"This is a manual and tips made by our team. Read it on the way."
"Yes."
As soon as the Bronze Agent sent out call signals to the off-duty members, we left headquarters immediately.
And our mode of transport was…
"The rescue window for this disaster isn't that tight, so we'll use public transportation."
...A high-speed train.
Departing from Seoul Station.
To Mokpo.
"……."
"Grape Agent?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
I sat down in the train seat.
Don't panic.
'The Tamra-bound high-speed train incident is a special case.'
It doesn't happen every time, and Daydream Corporation is probably already observing conditions to research it…
It's fine.
'I can do this.'
Don't get anxious.
If I freak out here, I won't be able to do anything. I'd jump at every convenience store, avoid elevators, and not set foot on subways…
Departure.
The train departed safely.
I'm okay.
'Distract myself.'
Right. The manual.
"It's sealed so non-Disaster Management Bureau people see different content, so read freely."
He even kindly explained as I pulled out the booklet. Good. Focus on reading the ghost story manual and tips, plan the rescue.
I flipped open the booklet…
"…!!"
"What’s wron— Ah."
The Bronze Agent frowned and sighed.
"Agent Choi wrote most of it. Lots of useless comments. ...He added some after he joined too."
I blankly flipped through the booklet.
Older handwriting appeared.
Bronze Agent's less sweet tips included
Different handwriting, different pens.
I turned my trembling eyes.
Something I hadn't seen in the Darkness Exploration Records, Agent Choi's own simple manual and tips for the supernatural disaster began.
"Here we are."
We got off at Cheonan-Asan Station.
And rode government-issued bikes stored at the station.
"About 30 minutes by bike."
It was just as he said.
Site: Jisan Village,■■-ri, Asan City
As we left the station and moved away from the city, winding dirt roads appeared, vibrating through the bike seat.
And far off, a small village came into view.
A normal rural village.
Rural houses and tiled-roof homes patched with modern repairs scattered around, streetlights and power lines visible. The dirt road was maintained up to the village.
"There it is. ...It's started."
A banner came into view.
This festival was the supernatural phenomenon.
"This way."
We parked the bikes in a corner at the village entrance. In the process, we spotted a few cars with 'Seoul' or 'Gyeonggi' plates parked haphazardly.
"……."
"Remember that."
I nodded.
Then the Bronze Agent and I stepped into the village.
Hiya~aaaaa!
As we got closer, people appeared.
Not a huge crowd for a small village festival, but there were bands playing folk music here and there, people taking photos or sitting to eat pork slices and soup provided by the village.
And some with bored expressions fiddling with their smartphones.
"Hey, what is this? Smells bad."
"Wait a sec. They're drawing prizes."
We sat next to them, looking like obvious uninterested outsiders.
Food was quickly set out.
"Have a bite! Receive Jisan's blessings!"
A villager who met my eyes grinned.
She looked about my age, with what seemed like bird feathers pinned to her chest.
Voices came from here and there.
"Oh, from Mapo? Our son works in Mapo, Seoul too!"
"No smoking here. Strictly prohibited!"
"Have a drink. Home-brewed, light stuff."
Villagers chatted with outsiders, treated them kindly, offered drinks.
Seemed like a friendly rural village.
If not for the fact someone was about to die soon.
I held back a small sigh and looked at the food bowl.
I had no appetite anyway.
"……I'll eat well."
"I'll eat well."
The Bronze Agent and I just poked at it with spoons.
Hiya~aaaaa!
Even amid that, music kept flowing through the village.
Sounded like for folk bands or traditional music.
Should feel nostalgic, but the rhythm felt oddly unfamiliar…
"…!"
I reflexively looked down at my pocket.
Supernatural disaster.
Entering the ghost story made the stuffed doll able to speak again.
…….
'...Really? Glad to hear it.'
I turned my gaze back to the food.
'Maybe.'
…….
'Can I focus on work for a bit? It's a ghost story I'm not familiar with.'
Finally, the stuffed doll went quiet.
Good.
I turned my head and started gathering info like the Bronze Agent.
Who made the rescue request to us.
And…
Who the suitable villager was.
I recalled those words as I looked at the villagers.
Let's see, someone who looks as unfriendly as possible…
"……??"
Hold on.
I hurriedly turned my head.
A familiar face.
A man in his 20s standing sullenly among the villagers.
Wearing a medical eyepatch, the jerk from Daydream Corporation.
'...Baek Saheon!'
He was here.
With rooster feathers pinned to his chest.
And…
Near Baek Saheon, at a dining spot where villagers were talking to him or tending to him, a tired-looking woman sat.
Wearing gloves, scanning surroundings with an indifferent expression.
A very familiar face.
"……."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.