Chapter 128: Ch 128: New Beginnings
Dream Essence Collector.
As the name suggests, it was a piece of equipment issued by Daydream Inc.
to the Field Exploration Team members, designed to collect the liquid
known as ’Dream Essence’ from within ghost stories.
The concentration of the liquid collected depended on the grade of the ghost
story cleared.
And the highest-grade liquid I had ever seen with my own eyes was...
’A-grade.’
During the anomalous manifestation of <Chorus of the Sacrificial Lambs>
in Tuesday Talk Show, and inside Sekwang Technical High School when
dealing with <Within the Shadow of Darkness>.
Both times, the liquid had been a brilliant, luminous gold.
But the one I was holding right now...
’Good lord.’
On top of its golden glow, it had an iridescent holographic sheen.
The way its radiance shimmered made it look almost like some kind of
elixir.
’...It reminds me of that Wish Ticket potion I saw when I first joined the
company.’
It was eerie how similar it felt. Maybe because this was raw Dream
Essence?
No—this wasn’t the time to focus on that.
The important thing was...
’Does this mean this is S-grade...?’
I turned the cylinder in my hand. Its glow flickered, gleaming.
It didn’t feel real.
’That grade isn’t just arbitrarily assigned to dangerous ghost stories.’
Abyss (S) Grade.
The creators of the Wiki had all agreed on one thing.
’For something to be given an S-grade, shouldn’t there be a more special
criterion?’
Until then, Daydream Inc.’s ghost stories had always been ranked based on
an unspoken consensus—something like, ’If it’s this extreme, it should
probably be graded high.’
Factors like danger level, uncertainty, ominousness, scale—all the things
one would naturally associate with ghost stories—were used to determine
grades.
But when it came to A-grade and above, something more was needed.
That’s why they came up with this condition.
Who exactly do you meet in the darkness?
A story wasn’t just cosmic horror-themed—it had to be cosmic horror itself.
Only when a ghost story forced you to confront an existence beyond human
comprehension—not just its atmosphere, but the horror itself—could it
surpass the A-grade threshold and be classified as Abyssal (S) Grade.
’But was Braun’s Late-Night Talk Show seriously on that level?’
Sure, I worked there for a whole month as a crew member before escaping,
but this felt like overkill.
Braun was definitely a deranged talk show host and an incredibly powerful
supernatural entity, but did he really qualify as a cosmic horror? If anything,
he seemed oddly close to a human being.
Maybe the Dream Essence in my collector hadn’t been gathered during my
time there—maybe it was just a bonus feature attached to the merch itself.
’And the reason I got this merch now...’
Since I cleared a high-grade ghost story without a Dream Essence Collector,
the system probably decided I had earned the right to be issued a new one.
But more importantly...
’...If this really is S-grade, how much would it be worth in company
points?’
A corporate payout memo flashed in my mind.
S-Grade: Subject to special review.
I swallowed hard.
A-grade was worth 100,000 points.
Given the increasing trend in rewards...
This could be worth 500,000 points.
’...That’s enough to exchange for a Wish Ticket immediately.’
Holy shit.
That meant I didn’t even need to worry about whether I’d been sacked.
If I just submitted this collector, the company would—
...
Oh.
’Fuck.’
My whole body sagged.
There’s no way to submit it.
– Make sure you don’t lose it—those things have serial numbers, and it’ll be
a nightmare to explain if anything’s off.
I remembered Assistant Manager Eun Haje telling me that once.
It’s exactly as she said.
Every single Dream Essence Collector was serialized and individually
registered to an employee.
Meaning that having a spare was not just weird—it was downright
suspicious.
This would be the equivalent of finding an extra bullet casing during an
inventory check and cheerfully reporting, ’Oh hey, I found another one!’
’They’d demand an explanation, and I... had none.’
There was no way I could just say, I bought it at a pop-up merch store.
Especially not this Dream Essence Collector.
"...Haa."
The Elite Team Edition was smaller and fancier than a standard collector,
too.
I silently peeled off the product sticker from its side.
Dream Essence Collector (Elite Team Edition)
It wasn’t a regular collector—it had been released as merch for a reason.
’Because it came from a famous game based on the <Dark Exploration
Records>...!’
It was a game adaptation of a certain exploration log, where the Elite Team
Cylinder served multiple roles: as an identifier for important NPCs, a
collectible required to unlock the true ending, and an item crucial to
gameplay.
To avoid lore conflicts with the wiki, the game developers even came up
with this backstory.
Elite Team Cylinder
A special piece of equipment once produced for the Elite Team, but
discontinued due to budget constraints as the design was standardized for
all team members.
So, if that in-game lore applied here...
– A piece of equipment, originally produced in limited quantity and owned
by only a select few, suddenly appears in the hands of a rookie employee
who had been missing for a month.
That’s insane.
’And if this wasn’t based on the in-game lore, that’s an even bigger
problem.’
Bringing back a Dream Essence Collector that doesn’t match the company’s
standardized models?
Anyone would see that as a tech leak. The Development Department would
have a complete meltdown.
’They’d think I was a corporate spy.’
Or worse, they might start suspecting I was some kind of parallel-world
anomaly.
A missing employee, presumed terminated, suddenly reappears with
unknown technology?
I could see my future clearly... as a test subject...
’...Nope. Absolutely not.’
I swallowed hard.
For now, let’s put this on hold!
"Huuu..."
I shoved the cylinder back into my pocket.
Even so, my heart was racing.
A raw potion-like liquid, capable of granting wishes.
There was no way the wiki would simply describe this as ’used as raw
material by a ghost story specialist corporation’.
’There’s got to be other uses for this.’
It wasn’t just something to hand over to the company for points—there had
to be other ways to use it.
’That’s what I’ll aim for.’
For now, though...
"First, I need to call someone."
I left the park, just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon.
After getting my left arm treated for fractures and bruises, I immediately
used a free public phone charger to power up my phone.
Then, I made the call.
To the one true boss of this era—the person who had played the biggest role
in my escape.
* * *
That evening—
"Kim Soleum-ssi."
"Squad Leader."
The moment I saw Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I bowed my head. Deep.
Because I owed him. A ton...
"Thank you. Truly, sincerely... thank you."
"Yes."
I may have spent 66,660,000 won, but honestly?
It was the best deal I’d ever made.
’Physical strength... is an amazing thing.’
No wonder Employee D was a staple character in so many special
exploration logs.
...I just never expected him to be an alien.
’Maybe I should’ve suspected something when he literally had a lizard’s
head.’
I exhaled in relief as I looked at Lee Jaheon’s still-lizard-like face.
Who would’ve thought his ’Coalition’ was connected to the bizarre Space
Shopping Mall—one that could even bombard creepypasta entities with
orbital strikes?
’He did call it the Coalition... right?’
There was no mention of this in the wiki’s Employee D entry.
I couldn’t suppress my curiosity any longer.
"Uh... Squad Leader. May I ask what exactly this ’Coalition’ you
mentioned is?"
"You may not."
"..."
Ah. Gotcha.
Guess we’ll move on to the main topic.
I made sure to get a firm agreement first that he wouldn’t report anything to
the company—then I showed him the Dream Essence Collector.
"This liquid inside the collector."
His vertical slit pupils stared at the device—an unusual design, even by
company standards—as if trying to dissect it...
I took a steady breath and asked,
"This is... an S-grade essence, right? That is, Dream Essence of an Abyss-
grade Darkness?"
A tense silence.
Then.
"No."
Ah.
"It exceeds the standard concentration for ’Grade: Void (A)’ classification
within the company database. However, it does not qualify as Abyss-grade."
I let out a long breath.
’Knew it.’
There was no way S-grade would appear that easily.
’So this is basically A+ or something.’
Satisfied, I put the collector back into my pocket.
"Then... what color does an actual S-grade look like?"
"There is no precise term in the language currently in use. However, upon
witnessing it, one would have no doubt regarding its concentration."
"...I see."
Wow. He really just screamed ’I am an alien’ in the most roundabout way
possible.
Suddenly, another thought struck me.
’What exactly is Lee Jaheon’s connection to the Space Shopping Mall?’
And more importantly—why is he working at Daydream Inc. in the first
place?
I had a lot of questions.
But right now, the real issue was...
Could I even keep working for this company?
"Squad Leader, I was under the impression that if an employee goes
missing for a month due to unexcused absences, they are automatically
processed for termination."
I swallowed hard.
"Does that apply to me as well?"
"Yes."
Damn it!
"Would it be possible for me to return if I claim that my absence was due to
being caught up in a Darkness and was therefore unavoidable?"
"Yes."
Phew.
That was a relief. As long as I could talk my way through this, I should be
fine. Letting out a sigh of relief, I spoke,
"Then I’ll just—"
Bzzzzzt—
At that moment, Lee Jaheon’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen before speaking.
"Kim Soleum-ssi."
"Yes?"
"There are people who wish to meet you."
.
.
Moments later.
"Roe!"
I came face-to-face with familiar faces outside Lee Jaheon’s residence.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje and Supervisor Park Minseong.
The very people who had gone looking for me, even delving into a ghost
story in their search.
Seeing them again made my chest tighten strangely.
’They really went through so much.’
Barely surviving the Chorus of the Sacrificial Lambs, only to deliberately
enter its sequel, Braun’s Late-Night Talk Show—that wasn’t just
determination.
One of them had to constantly avoid company surveillance, while the other
was practically confined from even stepping outside.
Yet, when I had been fully immersed in the show, becoming one with the
Darkness, I hadn’t been able to feel anything.
But now—standing here, seeing them again—I was overwhelmed with an
indescribable emotion.
I bowed deeply.
"Thank you. The candy you gave me helped me find a lead."
That clue had ultimately led me to press the ’We Can Help’ button.
Eun Haje waved it off.
"It’s fine. We didn’t do much, really."
"I only found out about it because these two talked about it, and then I just
went in at the end," Park Minseong added with a grin.
He did look far more stable than when we had last spoken—during the New
Year’s isolation room cleanup—but...
My gaze drifted to his outfit.
Unlike before, he was wearing black casual clothes instead of a suit.
"Supervisor... have you returned to work?"
"...Yeah. I’m with the Security Team now."
He was no longer part of the Field Exploration Team.
And he didn’t elaborate beyond that.
He simply said, "It’s nice to be earning points again."
"..."
I didn’t press further and let him change the subject.
"Oh, by the way, Sergeant Jay from the Security Team asked about you
sometimes. I didn’t say you got lost in a Darkness or anything... but a few
days ago, he seemed to have figured it out already."
"...I see."
I had intended to simply nod along—
But then, a realization hit me.
Wait a second.
"Are you saying the company already knew I wasn’t just skipping work, but
that I had gone missing inside a Darkness?"
"Uh, yeah. They decided that you’ve just disappeared on the ’Tamra
Express’."
Oh!
"Then—does that mean the company hadn’t actually given up on finding
me this whole time? Or at least... they still officially considered me
missing?"
"..."
"..."
My two superiors suddenly avoided eye contact.
’...They already declared me as dead, didn’t they?’
What a phenomenal company.
Well, not that it really mattered. I fought the urge to pinch my temples and
nodded.
"Understood. Then I’ll just report that I’m alive, that I cleared the Darkness,
and—"
"R-Roe! About that..."
"You can’t."
"...?!"
Eun Haje cut me off.
"...Assistant Manager?"
"Listen, Roe. The company put an unusual amount of effort into searching
for you these past few weeks."
Park Minseong quickly jumped in to elaborate.
"And if the auditors determine that you weren’t lost due to company work
but were just absent on your own..."
"..."
"...They’re going to charge you for all the costs."
"..."
...Excuse me, what?
"I didn’t make the rescue request myself, so wouldn’t that mean there’s no
justification for covering my expenses?"
"Justification is just a matter of framing."
"..."
"The points we earn aren’t salaries—they’re ’welfare points’. If the
company really wants to penalize you, it’s not like they don’t have ways to
do it. ...At minimum, they could suspend your point payouts as a
’disciplinary action’ for a few months."
A chill ran down my spine.
"So, if they find out this wasn’t a work-related accident, but rather just you
getting caught up in a random Darkness incident? The company would
realize they’ve suffered a loss."
Eun Haje spoke with a sharp, almost biting tone.
"They’ll argue that this was a personal accident, that you were absent for
personal reasons—so your absence caused them damages."
"...!"
"If you never came back, there wouldn’t be much they could do. But if you
return as an employee..."
It’s complete bullshit.
But the problem is—this kind of corporate nonsense happens in regular
companies too.
"What if we just use the escape method and turn it into an official manual?
If we can frame what we did as a documented escape method, it could be
considered as work. That way, the company can’t penalize Roe for it,
right?" Supervisor Park asked.
"That’s impossible."
"..."
The way I entered was already an exceptional case. And the method I used
to escape?
There was no way that could be turned into a manual.
Not to mention, spending an entire month working as a staff member inside
a creepypasta talk show before escaping wasn’t exactly a normal case
either.
’If I could just submit the Dream Essence, I’m sure this would all get
smoothed over...’
The fact that I couldn’t was frustrating.
’...Should I just accept the point loss and move on?’
No way. No matter how I looked at it, that was unacceptable.
Not just frustrating—it was infuriating.
’I collected over half the points I needed.’
I worked so hard throughout those months, dancing to the tune of the higher
ups the entire time... But now, the company wanted to take them away just
because they could? There was no way in hell I was going to accept that.
And the problem didn’t stop there.
"In any case... Let’s say you describe how you escaped. If you mention that
you spent an entire month as part of the ghost story..."
Park Minseong swallowed hard.
"They might decide you’re contaminated. You could end up... going
through the same process I did."
"..."
Right.
Normally, if someone spent a month inside a high-grade Darkness, there
would be no way they’d be considered mentally fit to return to the Field
Exploration Team.
Instead, they’d be analyzed, reassigned, or even quarantined.
"In that case, you might never be able to return to the Field Exploration
Team."
"..."
At this point, anyone else would be screaming ’Screw this company! I
quit!’
But I couldn’t afford to quit out of frustration.
I needed a Wish Ticket.
I had already confirmed it during the Elevator Creepypasta. A Wish Ticket
could send me home...!
’Besides, if I’m going to keep my promise and call Braun again... I need to
get my hands on a plush from the Cheerful Theme Park creepypasta.’
I had barely secured a stable friendship with him. If I broke that promise
now... I had no idea what an Otherworld entity, summoned under a contract
for ’eternal companionship’, might do.
I gritted my teeth. I could still feel the weight of the coin in my jacket
pocket.
’The situation has turned into a mess, but... No. There’s definitely a way
out.’
I had a high-grade Dream Essence in my hands.
I had escaped the ghost story in one piece.
Things weren’t worse than before.
There had to be a solution...
"..."
As I looked at the worried expressions of my superiors, a thought suddenly
came to me.
Maybe.
"Assistant Manager."
I turned to Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
She was someone who had changed departments.
"Could you get me in contact with Director Ho?"
"...!"