009 – Monkey Gallery
009 - Monkey Gallery
009 - Monkey Gallery
220,000 won daily pay inside a white envelope.
A fair compensation for working as a night security guard.
After returning home with it and showering, the sun was blazing bright.
This is the downside of summer.
The sun rises way too early.
Since I didn't have blackout curtains, I had to lie in bed amidst the blinding sunlight.
Maybe that was why I tossed and turned, barely catching any sleep.
"...I can't sleep!"
Honestly, my brain was completely awake.
It was because of what happened at dawn.
The suspicious basement.
The escape.
The encounter with the black suit!
It was so stimulating my brain felt like it was frying.
Many things had happened, but right now, all I could think about was the man I met earlier.
The man wearing a suit and glasses.
He didn't reveal who he was or what organization he belonged to.
"Could you happen to be a magician—?"
At my question, he just laughed.
And without answering anything more, he just briskly turned and left.
Maybe he was busy handling the matters regarding Nikon, Jang Geunbeom, and Miyeong who were trapped in the basement.
Or maybe he rescued them like a rescue team.
Could the lack of an exact escape method in the rule sheet be because it assumed 'rescue' from the outside during survival?
That makes plenty of sense.
Anyway, the main takeaway from this encounter is as follows:
~There is someone who goes around solving bizarre incidents!~
Since he goes around making things like 'suspicious medicine,' he wouldn't be an individual.
"...Probably an organization?"
An organization that doesn't reveal itself to everyday society.
Secret ops. Underworld. Foundation. Bureau.
Such concepts flashed through my mind and disappeared.
"...Men in Black."
People who go around erasing the memories of those who experienced strange events like alien encounters.
Could such people actually exist?
"This medicine is the proof."
I examined the white medicine box labeled 「Neuron Clear」 from this angle and that.
Neither ingredients nor efficacy were written on it.
There was only the name sitting lonely on it.
"So if I take this medicine, I'll go back to when I couldn't see ghosts and stuff, right?"
Would I stop seeing Boribori too?
Gooooooo—
Just then, the belly of Boribori, who was curled up in the corner, rumbled.
Right, now that I think about it, is it breakfast time?
I pulled out a few bills from the 220,000 won I earned today.
"Boribori-ya, today it's delivery food."
Honestly, I almost died several times today as well.
If I die, all this money will just rot away like garbage.
Who knows if I'll go through things like that in the future as well.
Honestly, wouldn't eating what I want to eat and spending when I want to spend be better for my mental health than obsessively saving every penny?
Yeah.
Plenty of incidents like today could happen in the future.
Because I don't plan on taking this 'medicine'.
I mean, it's magic, right?
It means I can become a magician, right?
No, I already became one!
I finally got the chance to become special like that.
Now that an opportunity for me to become different from others has arisen, it would be a waste not to grab it.
"Besides, taking a suspicious medicine right off the bat is a bit questionable."
Just as I thought about searching more about the drug called 「Neuron Clear」, one order of jjajangmyeon and one order of jjamppong arrived.
I set the black and red dishes on the dining table and spoke.
"Boribori-ya, what do you want to eat?"
The black-as-night jjajangmyeon?
Or the red-as-hellfire jjamppong?
Seueuk—
Boribori pulled the red jjamppong with floating squid toward himself.
Does he like red because it matches his hair color?
Or is he drawn to blood-red colors because he's a demon?
Hureureup, hureureup—
Boribori was now quite good at using chopsticks.
I spoke to the little jjamppong demon Boribori.
"You helped me in the basement earlier, right? As a repayment, I also ordered sweet and sour pork, so eat up. Whether good or bad, always return as much as you receive—that's my family motto and my ironclad rule."
"...Meuhehe."
"Huh? Did you just laugh?"
I heard the sound of Boribori laughing.
Wondering what was up, I paused my chopsticks in the middle of eating jjajangmyeon and glanced over; Boribori was busily scarfing down the jjamppong and sweet and sour pork with an expressionless, slightly coy face, as if asking when he had ever laughed.
...Was it just my imagination?
I could've sworn he laughed.
In any case, today I learned that Boribori prefers jjamppong over jjajangmyeon.
He likes sweet and sour pork even more, and he's a pour-over sauce guy.
The mysterious demon Boribori, visible only to me.
Boribori, who was terrified of the glasses man I met earlier.
Why was he scared of him?
The man didn't seem to see Boribori, though.
Whatever the case, this was the moment the direction and guidelines of my life were decided.
'It's best not to get involved with those black suits as much as possible.'
What if they find out about the existence of 'Boribori', who is visible only to my eyes?
They might try to gouge out my eyes, saying, "Ha Yuseong! You are a new light to me! Your eyes are my spare!"
Therefore, it would be best to keep the matters of Boribori and myself a secret whenever possible.
Though things might change if I clearly learn that those Men in Black are trustworthy people.
As I was thinking about all that, my bowl of jjajangmyeon was licked clean.
Tastes good.
Just as I was about to browse the internet to search again—
「Name: Oseonjok Exterminator」
「Title: Buying Neuron Clear.」
「Price: Negotiable」
I spotted an intriguing post on a second-hand trading site.
Someone saying they want to buy the medicine I have.
Could this person be someone who knows a lot about this 'medicine' and this strange, mystical industry?
They'd know more than me at least.
So I contacted them according to the post.
# # #
"Aaaaah... Hello. I am 'Oseonjok Exterminator'."
He was a man with acne on his face and sparse stubble.
It felt less like he grew it on purpose and more like he just didn't have time to shave.
Even in the hot weather, he wore an ash-grey hoodie pulled over his head while sweating, making it quite painful just watching him.
"You're 'Meteor' who contacted me, right?"
"Yes."
By the way, Meteor is my nickname.
Because my name is Ha Yuseong (Shooting Star).
Meteor.
"So, do... do you have the medicine?"
A bustling downtown area.
A guy in his mid-20s wearing a hoodie, shivering while looking for medicine.
It was the perfect scenario for people to whisper about if they overheard.
Tsk, I feel like I've become some kind of drug broker.
I looked around to avoid people's eyes for now and pointed at a quiet cafe.
"Let's go inside and talk."
"I-I don't have time..."
"I'll buy."
"Then, f-for me, a Venti Caffe Mocha from Settebucks Reserve. Add three shots, extra whipped cream, extra chocolate drizzle, java chips, and in a dedicated tumbler—"
...Wait, this bastard?
An unnecessarily large expense just occurred.
The man and I thus sat at a corner table in the cafe.
Tsk—The man clicked his tongue.
"C-Coming to a cafe with just two guys makes us look gay."
"Ha, Oseonjok-ssi, you don't have friends, do you?"
"I-I do! A few fixed handles and some anonymous users who comment every day..."
Ah, fuck! Let's just stop talking.
If I berated him in various ways, it seemed like this guy wouldn't act cooperatively.
So I pulled out the medicine and slammed it onto the table with a tak.
"The medicine is right here. Would you like to check it?"
"It's authentic. With my level of experience, I can tell at a glance. Then I'll also get the prepared payment..."
The man fumbled as he pulled out his phone.
I quickly seized the opportunity to ask.
If there was a chance, it was now.
"May I ask you something?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you trying to take this medicine?"
"Th-That's because I don't want to see it."
"You don't want to see it?"
"G-Ghosts or monsters and such. Because my pineal gland opened up, I end up seeing those things without any filter. If I see them, they see me too. Ah... Though there doesn't seem to be any here."
The man trembled as he looked around the surroundings.
It seems the reason this man is so crestfallen is because of 'monsters' or 'ghosts'.
Since I had also gone through the incidents with Ming-ssi and the underground parking lot of Dori Building, I sympathized a bit with what he was afraid of.
On the other hand, it was also kind of funny.
Because there's a demon right next to you.
And he's eyeing the tiramisu cake on the table.
However, since I couldn't state such things truthfully, I just asked back appropriately.
"What is a pineal gland?"
Inferring from the name, is it a fruit variety like a fig or passion fruit?
It was a name I hadn't heard in the ingredient storage room of the restaurant where I worked.
Whether my question was funny or not, the corners of the man's mouth twisted with a pik.
"Ah... Y-You're a Transfer Student, right? Seeing how you don't know. Th-The pineal gland is an organ in the brain... and if it opens up, your sixth sense develops or your third eye... awakens..."
Third eye. Sixth sense.
Aaaah!!! I feel like I kind of get it.
Because when I first saw Boribori, I felt a certain part of my brain snap open.
Could my pineal gland have opened up as well?
"So you're saying taking this medicine can close that pineal gland?"
"Y-Yes. But because certain people produce this medicine almost like a monopoly, it's hard to get. Also, if your realm rises above a certain point, the medicine itself seems useless..."
"Sorry to keep asking questions, but what is a Transfer Student?"
"Transfer... Ah. You really don't know anything. It refers to people like you or me. If you're a magician from birth, you're an Original. If your eyes open through special experiences during your life, you're a Transfer Student."
So there are people who are magicians from birth.
Could that glasses man be one of those?
If so, it makes sense to call those who jumped into such a world later in life Transfer Students.
"There are limits for Transfer Students. Those fucking Oseonjok... Ah, Originals are kids who received gifted education as magicians from birth, so we can't catch up to them. I... I didn't want to admit it, but."
The man fluently rattled off things I hadn't even asked about.
Seeing his gloomy face filled with interest and fun, he seemed quite delighted to preach his knowledge to me, who knew nothing.
Even better.
I decided to ask a few more things while I was at it.
"Is the difference between a Transfer Student and an Original really that big?"
"Yes. Think about Santa Claus. At our age, if someone tells us to b-believe that S-Santa really exists, would you believe it? But Originals grew up actually seeing Santa since they were young."
"Hmm..."
"The quality and d-depth of magic are different. In this world, those deeply entangled with mystery and strange phenomena are respected. The limit for a human like me is just a 'Juice Magician'."
Juice Magician.
Where did I see that again?
Ah, I think there was something saying 'Looking for Juice Magician' when I was looking for security jobs.
Just as I was about to ask what that was, the man giggled.
"J-Juice Magician is better left unknown. That's the trash of trash. Better off c-committing suicide than becoming that. Anyway, talk is over now."
He snatched the medicine box from my hand with a tak.
And operating his phone, he sent me some kind of gifticon with a dding.
My eyes immediately narrowed.
"What is this? It seems strange for a payment for the medicine."
"This is something not just anyone can get. It's the 「Monkey's Paw Site」. It's a Q-QR code to access it. It's a r-reward you can only get after serving as a Monkey Gallery Moderator for a whole y-year."
「Monkey's Paw Site」
I tapped the link attached with the QR code on my phone.
After a short moment, a site with a simple design welcomed me.
It was a website with only a single search bar.
「Monkey's Paw Site」
「Enter your wish: 」
"What on earth is this—"
I raised my head.
The man who would answer my question had already vanished.
Instead, Boribori was sitting in that spot, starting to eat the tiramisu cake.
"...Meuhehe."