Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Crater
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We all follow the Branch Manager over the window.
The ground below was a vast sky, but surprisingly, we were walking through the air.
"Alright, this is probably everyone's first time walking on air, right?"
"Is it?"
"I guess so?"
"...I don't remember."
Yoo Daon, Song Arin, and Jang Chaeyeon tilt their heads at the Branch Manager's words, and she stares at them before sighing and turning her gaze to the rest of us.
"You guys have no sense of romance. At a time like this, shouldn't you be saying something like 'Wow' or 'This is so cool'?"
"Branch Manager, even if you bring people to a place like a giant thorn and say that, no one's going to feel any sense of beauty."
Eileen states it plainly.
"No, this is exactly when we need to live even more positively! 'Wow, it's pretty! I think I can keep going!' Something like that."
Maybe it's because she's lived so long. Her perspective is very different from ordinary people.
As we stare at her blankly, the Branch Manager lets out a deep sigh and looks at us.
"Everyone, just keep your eyes on the ground as you walk. Me, Kim Jaeheon, and Song Arin don't have to worry about it."
At her words, everyone except me and Song Arin starts walking while staring at the floor.
...
Song Arin stands next to me.
"Are your legs okay?"
"Nope."
Song Arin taps her thigh with her clenched fist.
"I really thought I was gonna die."
"Chaeyeon would actually have died."
"Don't even say it. I walked next to her without complaining about how hard it was just to save face, but she kept slowing down, so I had to look after her, and even then she acted like it was nothing—that bitch—ow!"
*Thwack!*
Something falls on Song Arin's muttering head in annoyance, and she grabs it.
She glares at Jang Chaeyeon.
"You crazy white-haired bitch, you wanna die?"
"You started it."
Jang Chaeyeon replies calmly, eyes on the ground.
As the two growl at each other, I turn my gaze to the Branch Manager.
"Ah, Kim Jaeheon."
"Branch Manager."
The Branch Manager walks over to me with a smile on her face.
"So, what exactly are we here to do?"
"To stop the moon?"
...
I already know that much.
I stare at the Branch Manager, and she chuckles softly.
"Don't look at me like that. I want to explain, but explanations don't work well here."
"What do you mean?"
"Jaeheon."
The Branch Manager looks up at the blue moon.
I look at the moon too.
*Zzt!*
A momentary migraine passes, and then nothing.
"All the containment objects you've encountered so far have had egos or belonged to groups with specific goals, right?"
"...Yeah."
"But there are ones that don't."
The Branch Manager gazes at the moon.
Even bathed in blue moonlight, she doesn't flinch.
"Some exist purely there, yet harm people just by being."
...
*Zzt!*
The migraine keeps brushing past my head like a tickle.
"This is similar. We just need to stop its periodic outbursts."
...
"But if we only block it once, there's no place more beautiful! Perfect for a date spot, I tell you."
The Branch Manager smiles at the moon.
"The HR Team is famous for having so many nice guys. Find a girl there to hang out with and play a bit, yeah? Have to do it at my age sometime."
"...I'll handle that part myself."
"No, after we finish the job, there's nice spots inside, romantic vibes too. When else would you get a moon date?"
"Have you been on one, Branch Manager?"
...
The Branch Manager clams up, speechless.
She probably hasn't either, so why tell others to date.
Feeling like I've gone to my relatives for the holidays, I keep walking.
The moon, already close, now fills my entire view.
"...This feels off."
Song Arin mutters, staring at the moon.
"What?"
"Normally, mental attacks keep coming steadily."
Song Arin continues without looking away from the moon.
"But this one's like waves. It attacks once, then after a set time, another wave comes."
...
*Zzt!*
My head throbs for a moment, then returns to normal.
"See?"
"As expected from the one who's been here longest."
*Except you,* she mutters, nodding.
"Like Song Arin said, this is a phenomenon."
"A phenomenon."
"It's not rejecting or fighting anything in particular. It just exists here."
"...What the..."
Since when has this moon been hanging over us like this?
The Branch Manager smiles faintly at me.
"From the beginning."
...
"Probably since the residents of an era far before ours. We're only now noticing and responding."
Before we knew it, we were on the moon.
...
Since when?
Weren't we just walking on that transparent floor?
"Alright, no more waves now, so you can look at the moon."
Ignoring our confusion, we all look at the moon at the Branch Manager's words.
Scattered dust, occasional craters pockmarking the surface.
...
Eileen falls silent.
"It's pretty..."
Yoo Daon murmurs,
...
Jang Chaeyeon just gazes up silently.
I turn my eyes to a crater.
Is it my imagination? Something seems to writhe and boil inside.
"Remember what I said earlier?"
The Branch Manager claps, snapping us out of our thoughts, and looks at us.
"Someone might have to stay behind."
...
Our gazes turn to her.
"Kim Jaeheon, you seem to have figured it out."
The Branch Manager points at the crater.
I look at it.
Something keeps writhing.
Black things... dancing endlessly...
A buzzing sound rings in my ears.
*Smack!*
"Ow!"
A sharp pain hits my back.
Song Arin had slapped it.
"Snap out of it."
Song Arin stares at me.
...
"Your face went blank just now. Like you were entranced."
Mental barriers don't work?
"It's not a mental issue."
The Branch Manager reads my expression and answers, looking at the crater.
*Shraaak!*
At the same time, the manual unfolds.
[Containment Object - Shadows in the Moon - Written by Branch Manager Lee Haneul]
1. This containment object appears during the 'Blue Moon' phenomenon.
2. The writhing things inside actually exist, and someone must control that writhing.
3. One person with purely strong mental fortitude must remain to continuously 'observe' them, keeping them from moving.
4. If failed, [CENSORED] phenomenon occurs—quickly return to the cabin and log records.
...
Purely strong mental fortitude.
I look around at the others.
Branch Manager.
She has the strongest mind, but can she stay?
Assuming we can't spare our guide.
Song Arin.
Not strong enough mentally. Out.
Eileen.
Not sure yet. Hold.
Jang Chaeyeon.
Strong mentally. Pass.
Yoo Daon.
Out.
Me.
...
In the end, only me or Jang Chaeyeon could stay.
"Then I'll—"
"Jang Chaeyeon stays."
Before I finish, the Branch Manager looks at Jang Chaeyeon and says it.
Song Arin inhales sharply, Eileen looks at the ground.
What? Why?
...
Jang Chaeyeon slowly nods at the Branch Manager's words.
"Chaeyeon, you okay with that?"
"Yeah."
She smiles faintly at me.
"Don't worry about me."
"...I could stay instead."
"Of course you'd do great if you stayed."
Jang Chaeyeon nods slowly.
"But if someone truly needs to, it'll be you. I believe that."
Her trust weighs heavy on me.
The Branch Manager grabs Jang Chaeyeon's shoulders and heads somewhere.
"Branch Manager?"
"Just a quick talk."
With that, she and the Branch Manager vanish from sight.
*
...
Jang Chaeyeon had always found the Branch Manager uncomfortable.
She hadn't been at the Gangseo Branch long anyway, and she wasn't the type to enjoy getting close to people.
"Alright. Listen well, Jang Chaeyeon."
*Crunch.*
Before she knew it, they stood before the crater.
"What you have to do is watch whatever's inside that crater, no matter what."
...
"It'll destroy your body as is."
...
"But you have to watch it."
I see.
She nods slowly at the Branch Manager's words.
Seeing that, the Branch Manager hesitates before continuing.
"Here, you'll probably—no, you'll definitely die."
...
Even as the Branch Manager said it, Jang Chaeyeon didn't flinch.
What had she said on the way?
'Someone might have to stay behind, and someone else might have to go on.'
Staying behind.
In field terms, that means 'sacrifice.'
Because the odds of survival for someone left handling a containment object approach zero.
"But it's fine."
The Branch Manager nods.
"You'll absolutely survive. If we finish this right. I guarantee it."
"Yes."
Jang Chaeyeon replies flatly, gazing at the crater.
"...Aren't you scared?"
What the hell is this woman saying?
Jang Chaeyeon looks at her puzzled, and the Branch Manager meets her eyes.
"I've seen plenty of people face death calmly."
...
"But you... it's not calm, more like 'eh, whatever.'"
"Well."
Jang Chaeyeon tilts her head.
"There's no way it'd fail with him around."
You don't tremble in fear unless failure's possible.
She trusted Kim Jaeheon.
That man would succeed no matter what.
"...Man. The HR Team individually isn't weak, but not too strong either."
The Branch Manager mutters in amazement.
"Yet they pull off these feats every time—must be that bond."
...
"...Sorry."
The Branch Manager apologizes, and Jang Chaeyeon shakes her head.
"Go on. He doesn't know."
"...Sorry."
The Branch Manager keeps looking back as she leaves.
Turning from her, Jang Chaeyeon slowly approaches the crater.
...
In the largest crater, shadows danced.
No, not shadows.
The writhing sound reaches her ears.
It gnaws at her mind, the sound comes.
*Splatter!*
Handprints cover the crater.
Dust blooms.
"Hack!"
She coughs reflexively,
*Gurgle!*
And vomits blood.
...
She stares at the dark red blood on the ground,
...
Then wipes the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand like it's nothing and looks ahead.
Now, no sounds reach her ears.
Her eardrums are burst.
But that writhing sound echoes endlessly in her head.
*Thud!*
Her legs dissolve like sand.
"Urk."
Supporting herself with her arms, she peers into the crater.
...
Her gaze meets what's inside.
"...Ah."
I see.
Her right field of vision floods red.
So that's what it was.
That's what's in the crater.
The writhing sound continues in her ears.
But despite it all, Jang Chaeyeon doesn't budge an inch.
With her remaining good left eye, she keeps watching the crater.
Because that's her job.
If she just waits, the man will handle the rest.
And now, her left eye starts turning red too.
She can't see properly anymore.
She crawls slowly on her arms, tumbling into the crater.
Did her sister feel this pain when she left her behind?
...
The writhing sound now threatens to burst her head, but without a single scream, she crawls forward.
A man floats in her mind.
Then, maybe she can hurt like this too.
If this is the pain her sister felt, Jang Chaeyeon wants to feel it.
And, presumptuous as it is, she wants to hear one thing from that man.
"You did well."
Of course, she would have come here gladly even without those words.
A soft smile forms on her lips.
That was her last thought.