Chapter 11
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Don't Touch the Kids
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Earlier this year, my study room buddy whom I'd gotten close to vanished.
Two days ago, she went missing on her way home from the study room.
That day was the one where I'd recommended HypnoSound to her.
"Se-eun-ah, what's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
"Huh? No. It's nothing."
After Ye-rim's disappearance, HypnoSound was inexplicably pulled from all stores for some reason, and rumors began spreading rapidly on SNS that some HypnoSound users had gone missing while walking the streets at night.
After hearing the news of Ye-rim's disappearance, I regretted not giving her a ride home that day.
Even if it meant taking a detour, if I'd asked my dad to drive her all the way home that day, Ye-rim wouldn't have gone missing.
No, if I hadn't recommended HypnoSound in the first place, she never would have become a target.
People said it wasn't my fault, but the thought that my friend had disappeared because of me wouldn't easily fade away.
She's not the type to run away from home. Ye-rim wasn't rebellious, and she was a friend who worked hard to get into her target university.
There was no reason for her to commit suicide, let alone run away.
That left only one explanation for Ye-rim's disappearance: kidnapping.
If the weird rumors about HypnoSound were true, then I was practically an accomplice to my friend's disappearance.
To be honest, it was hard to believe Ye-rim was still alive.
If it was a kidnapping, they would've demanded ransom at least, but there was no such thing.
It had to be human trafficking. Someone might have already done unspeakable things to Ye-rim and dumped her body.
The thought filled me with terror and plunged me even deeper into guilt.
Soon, police started patrolling around the study room, and more people were searching for traces of Ye-rim.
Early returns home were recommended, and today, Ye-rim's father even came to see me.
The man looked half-dead as he asked me about the last sight of his daughter.
The police were the same.
Since I was the last person to talk to Ye-rim before she vanished, everyone kept asking me about her final moments.
Every time I got those questions, guilt stabbed at me.
I couldn't just sit still. I wanted to help find Ye-rim somehow.
In the end, the place I went to was the Fixer Office.
I'd heard there was someone here who handled missing persons cases.
******
After becoming convinced that Han Ye-rim's disappearance was tied to an anomaly, I faced a massive hurdle: I needed a third-year high school girl to use HypnoSound and summon the anomaly.
For starters, a grown man like me approaching a high school girl was incredibly risky in itself.
An adult leering at a minor? I'd get arrested on the spot, no questions asked.
More than that, I couldn't in good conscience ask an underage girl to expose herself to an anomaly.
I couldn't put a minor through something that dangerous.
But asking an adult woman to lure it out didn't work—the thing showed zero reaction.
"It seems like it's only targeting 19-year-old girls. All the missing ones were 19."
"Haa. This is driving me crazy."
Even with Agent Yoon Ha-seo's help to recreate similar conditions as closely as possible, the anomaly showed no sign of appearing.
I even tried asking the White-Faced Bride, but same result.
Time kept slipping away relentlessly, and if things continued like this, another victim could appear anytime.
The Anomaly Management Department had pulled all registered HypnoSound apps from stores, but they couldn't catch everyone who'd downloaded it beforehand and kept using it.
In the end, to resolve this case as quickly as possible, I needed to secure a 19-year-old girl.
Only then could I use HypnoSound to drag out the anomaly kidnapping the kids.
It was frustrating that even cheat mode couldn't handle something like this.
If I could use TS to fake my age, I could just use HypnoSound myself and get kidnapped by the anomaly directly.
Wait a second, could that work?
If the Baby Mode Pack for Cowards had a gender-swap mode installed, it might be possible.
The problem was I couldn't alter my age. Even if I changed gender at 23, it probably wouldn't fool it.
In the end, the only option left was to recruit a high school girl to use HypnoSound and summon the anomaly.
The Anomaly Management Department was cooperating fully, so some method would probably emerge, but the passage of time weighed on me.
It felt like I was missing something.
"Um, is anyone here?"
I was racking my brain for another way, lamenting how useless I was being, when a high school girl poked her head timidly through the office door.
"What is it?"
"Is, is this the Fixer Office?"
"Yeah, it is. You here to request something?"
"Ah, yes. Well..."
I couldn't ignore her just because she was a student. In this world, anomalies attacked regardless of age or gender.
This girl was likely caught up in some trouble. As a fixer, I had to help.
Searching for Han Ye-rim was important, but I couldn't abandon other people either.
I offered her a seat and handed her a canned drink.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Well, actually..."
The girl, who introduced herself as Kim Se-eun, began her story in a soft voice.
Her friend had gone missing, and she blamed herself, thinking it was her fault.
"..."
This girl was Han Ye-rim's friend.
And she was the one who'd recommended HypnoSound to Han Ye-rim.
"Listen, Se-eun-ah. We're already searching hard for Ye-rim."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Han Kang-rok came by yesterday. Ye-rim's father."
"Ah..."
For a moment, the thought of asking her for help flashed before my eyes.
The girl in front of me was exactly the 19-year-old high schooler I needed right now.
She even had a direct connection to Han Ye-rim's disappearance—she could be seen as an essential NPC for completing the quest.
Since all anomalies in the game could be defeated, there was a very, very high chance she was a fated existence prepared for the player.
Essentially, a master key for taking down the anomaly.
The only reason I hesitated to ask for her help was my conscience.
'She's still a minor. What if something happens to her after dragging her into an anomaly incident?'
If this were a real game, I'd have no qualms about using Kim Se-eun.
She'd just be a chunk of data, after all.
But this was different. She was a real, living person breathing right in front of me.
"Se-eun-ah, do your parents know you're here?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, no. I skipped cram school and came secretly."
"...I see. Actually, Se-eun-ah... No. Never mind."
Yeah. This wasn't right.
Using a girl who'd come all the way here to save her friend as bait to summon an anomaly? That was insane.
What if she got dragged away and killed before I could do anything?
That would be entirely my fault. Could I live with that guilt unscathed?
'With my sky-high mental strength, I could probably live without much emotional turmoil. But I don't want to live in such an inhuman emotional state.'
I told Kim Se-eun to go home.
"Oppa will definitely find her. Don't worry and go home. And make sure to delete HypnoSound from your phone."
"Okay. Please, take good care of Ye-rim. Thank you."
Kim Se-eun bowed her head and left the office.
"Darling... Are you really letting her go like that...? Wasn't she our only option...?"
"It's fine. Seeing her sparked an idea."
"An idea...?"
"Yeah. Sorry, but I need to go meet another woman."
"Wha... What? Another woman?!"
Sorry to the White-Faced Bride, but I needed to step out a bit.
'A youthful appearance similar to Kim Se-eun's and the ability to access the Back World. With those two traits, it just might work.'
I headed to the elevator.
Agent Yoon Ha-seo and the White-Faced Bride both looked unmistakably like adult women, no matter how you sliced it.
But the elevator girl... she didn't scream "adult" quite as much. She had a somewhat youthful vibe, I guess.
More importantly, the elevator girl was a being created by the lingering thoughts of kids who wanted to go to the Back World.
She was even the 'gatekeeper' of the Back World.
A being who scared away curiosity-driven kids longing for the Back World.
She could be seen as a sort of guardian spirit. Her disaster-class danger level was probably because there was no known way to exorcise her.
If the place where the kids were kidnapped was somewhere in the Back World, she had a high chance of helping us.
Something the World of Doom Gallery users could never figure out.
This was a method only I, who could raise anomaly affinity, could use.
'6th floor...'
Thanks to my building management privileges, a button for the non-existent 6th floor appeared right away.
No need to loop floors like last time—I pressed the 6th floor button directly.
*Ding-dong*
6th floor. 6th floor.
The doors opened soon after, revealing a corridor shrouded in darkness so thick you couldn't see an inch ahead.
And from the Back World's sucking void, a woman with her face hidden by hair walked indifferently into the elevator.
"Hey, we meet again. Long time no see."
"Ah...! Uh... yeah. Hello..."
When I spoke to her, the elevator girl looked genuinely surprised and stared at me.
Our eyes met, and she bowed her head shyly.
Affinity: 70% → 85%
You're the first person she's met again!
She's thinking this might be fate.
Her affinity was still high.
It was worth properly building rapport last time we met.
I didn't press any other floors this time either and just waited quietly. She did the same, waiting awkwardly for my next move in the silence.
She'd probably stay still like this for days if I didn't approach first.
Which meant I could spend as much time as I wanted with her in this elevator.
"Um, do you like music by any chance?"
"Music...? Uh, well, I've never really listened to any."
"Aha. I see."
The elevator girl had never even heard music before.
I pulled out my phone with HypnoSound installed and smiled as I made a proposal.
"Then, how about we listen to some songs together until we go to the next floor?"
"Huh...? Uh, uh... Sure, that sounds good..."
I took out wired earbuds and put them in her ears.
Songs I often listened to started playing, and the elevator girl gradually got drawn in, bobbing her head to the rhythm.
"Um... Could I ask... why you're playing these songs for me...?"
Suddenly realizing something, the elevator girl looked up at me and asked coyly.
Why I was playing songs for her. What I really wanted.
Her eyes were asking.
"Kids who listened to these songs disappeared. It seems connected to this app somehow. I can't find where they are on my own. I need your help."
"Ah..."
Affinity: 85% → 90%
She wants to save the kids too.
She seems willing to take you to the place you want.
Affinity increased.
At the same time, the previously passive elevator girl pressed the 1st floor button herself.
"It's probably... a really dark place."
"That's fine. I brought a flashlight."
"There might be... a lot of kids. And just as many vengeful spirits..."
"Hold the elevator for us for the kids' sake. We'll rescue as many as we can."
"Okay... I'll wait..."
The elevator girl pressed and held the door-open button.
Ensuring the doors would never close.
So, while she waited, I had to rescue the kids.
And deal with the shameless anomaly that took them.
"Darling... Being so friendly with such a cute girl..."
"Sorry. I'll explain properly back at the office. Let's save the kids first."
"Tch... Fine. I'll help..."
The White-Faced Bride had slipped out of the ring and was walking beside me before I knew it.
Felt like I had a heavenly host on my side.
Two disaster-class anomalies helping me out.
"I'll handle the anomaly, so take care of the kids."
"Leave it to me. I'll support you properly, so don't worry."
We're already short on kids thanks to low birth rates.
Daring to kidnap our future hopes?
There's no way it'll die easily.
I'll beat it until its affinity hits minus 120.