Chapter 143: Ch 143: Worker’s compensation
A few days inside that eerie supermarket ghost story.
Days filled with mental strain, severed limbs, cold sweat, tension, shock,
and fear.
’Ah.’
My arm hurt.
But it was fine.
Because I was out now.
From now on, I could relax...
It doesn’t seem like that to me though?
...
What?
Still feels like that place, right?
I lifted my head.
Looked around.
The dimly lit, eerie second-floor food court of the supermarket.
I... was still standing there.
"..."
I’m still here?
Was escaping just a dream?
Was escape... impossible all along?
Had I misjudged everything?
Then why had I cut off my arm?
I...
– Oh dear, looks like you’re having a nightmare, Friend!
"...!!"
I jerked awake.
Sunlight stabbed into my eyes.
A clean, peaceful hospital room. Soft late-winter sunlight filtered through
the window.
...This wasn’t the supermarket.
I gasped for breath.
It was peaceful.
’...This is reality.’
Yeah.
After successfully escaping Looky Mart, I had been taken away in an
emergency vehicle sent by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
And then I lost consciousness...
"Ah, you’re awake."
"...?!"
I turned my head—
And saw someone in a bureau agent uniform, casually sitting in a
caregiver’s chair, peeling an apple.
...?
"Did you sleep well? Looked like you were having a nightmare."
He had the neat appearance of a salaryman, but his neck bore a conspicuous
scar.
A stranger.
Who...?
As our eyes met, he handed me a slice of apple with a grin.
"Nice to meet you, hoobae! Thanks to you, I got to experience entering
Looky Mart... and leaving in just three minutes."
"...!"
Ah.
"That’s right. The agent you summoned? That was me."
I had made that high schooler send a distress message to the Bureau,
forcing Looky Mart to resume business.
’So the person dispatched because of that was...’
This person.
"I heard the story. You came up with that ’reverse strategy’ to force the
supermarket to open, huh? That’s exactly the kind of thinking we need in
this job."
"..."
"Come on, don’t look so shy."
As I lowered my gaze, the man laughed, stood up, and held out a hand.
"Let me introduce myself. Hmm, I don’t really like using my agent
codename, but..."
Wait.
That line...
"Just call me Agent Choi."
"..."
Holy.
’It’s him.’
/ Start of recording
Agent Choi : So, I’m on the third floor, and I’ve
just found a door leading to the fourth floor.
The sole concrete exploration log I remembered regarding the fourth floor.
Agent Choi : Welcome to Looky Mart!
A Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau agent who had once explored
the fourth floor and met a horrifying fate.
’An early named character...!’
Yes.
He was a named character from before the wiki’s worldbuilding expanded
to include the rule that agents of the Supernatural Disaster Management
Bureau were referred to by codenames.
Agent Choi.
He was one of the key figures who had been active back when the Dark
Exploration Records only contained government investigation logs, without
any data from other organizations.
’...That neck scar.’
I knew how he got it. That was... from the Cold Storage ghost story.
I swallowed hard.
’An agent who appeared frequently in the early exploration logs...’
Even though his ultimate fate had been a horrifying disappearance.
His tragic ending had caused quite a stir at the time. People argued whether
it was too cruel to kill off an early named figure so brutally. But in the end,
it was approved with people saying, ’Isn’t that just in line with the spirit of
a creepypasta universe like this?’
Yet now...
’...Something changed, didn’t it?’
Because of what Go Yeongeun and I experienced, the fourth-floor stairwell
would be repurposed.
’A warning will probably be added to the official records.’
Which meant, the timeline had shifted.
Agent Choi might never open the fourth-floor door at all.
This time, he had entered Looky Mart and left in just three minutes.
’Holy shit.’
The fate of an early named agent had changed.
A strange, indescribable feeling washed over me as I looked at him.
Then, belatedly, I managed to respond.
"Yes, Agent Choi."
"You can call me Choi-sunbae, you know."
He winked playfully. However, as he glanced at my severed right arm, his
smile faltered slightly.
But he still kept his cheerful demeanor.
"Don’t worry about your arm. We’ll take care of everything."
"..."
"For now, just rest. No wait, hold on!"
Suddenly, he swung open the hospital room door and pushed someone
inside.
...Agent Bronze.
He seemed to have tidied up his appearance and was dressed in casual
clothes instead of his agent uniform, but for some reason, his complexion
didn’t look too good.
"...You’re awake. That’s a relief."
"Yes."
A strangely awkward atmosphere filled the room.
But Agent Choi, the sociable type that he was, clapped Agent Bronze on the
back and casually offered me another slice of peeled apple.
"Jaekwan— I mean, Bronze immediately threw you into Black Tortoise
Team 1, huh? That stiff guy skipping protocol to bring in a rookie?
Goodness. I was wondering why, but yeah, you’ve got talent."
Then, he held out his hand to me.
"Welcome to Black Tortoise Team 1. You’re going to do meaningful work
here."
"..."
"Come on, don’t you feel like calling me sunbae already?"
Uh...
About that.
"No. I..."
I deliberately lowered my head, putting on a fearful, dejected expression.
"Please, I want to transfer to another team."
"...?!"
...Sorry, but I planned this.
’Escape route from the rescue team...!’
Honestly, once I had already been registered with the Dispatch & Rescue
Unit, getting out wasn’t going to be easy.
Even in a normal modern workplace, you can’t just cling to your boss’s leg
and beg for a department transfer. You’d just end up branded as a problem
employee.
’And that would be the worst thing for a spy...’
But in the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, there was a loophole.
That’s right... Traumatic experiences!
’That’s the weakness of ghost story explorations.’
You never know what’s going to happen.
And a rookie, on their very first mission, cut off his own arm in a desperate
attempt to escape?
If I claimed psychological trauma, the bureau was at least understanding
enough to release me.
’This has to work.’
The only problem was...
I might have done my job a little too well.
"Just try one more time! Just one!!"
The early-era named agent, acting like that meme of a man tearing his hair
out, was desperately trying to convince me...
"This job is perfect for you! You survived an irregular Disaster, rescued
your fellow agents and even saved those civilians! Do you have any idea
how insane that accomplishment is?!"
He sounded like a man refusing to let go of valuable manpower.
A classic overworked civil servant.
Gone was the relaxed, well-adjusted professional I had seen earlier...
Now, he was pointing at my severed arm in desperation.
"And that decisiveness—willing to cut off your own arm—no, your sheer
willingness to sacrifice your body—"
Ah.
"About that."
I took a shaky breath, my face pale.
"That was a crazy thing to do."
"..."
...Apologies, but I’m about to weaponize guilt.
"I-I don’t even know what I was thinking when I did it."
I do.
"I just... feel sorry. I know this makes me seem weak, but... I can’t do
this."
But... even though these were pre-planned lines...
The more I spoke, the more real they started to feel.
"I feel like I’ll die from stress."
I clenched my remaining hand into a fist, lowered my head, and mumbled.
"I was terrified the whole time that the kids would die..."
"..."
Agent Choi opened his mouth—then closed it.
"I just can’t... do this anymore. I’m sorry."
"..."
A heavy silence fell over the hospital room.
"Mmh... yeah. That’s understandable."
Agent Choi finally sighed, settling back into his caregiver’s chair with a
practiced air of sympathy.
"But look, if you transfer teams after just one mission, it won’t reflect well
on you. ...People might misunderstand and think you got kicked out, and
you’ll end up branded as a burden."
His voice was calm and concerned, framing it as if he was worried about
my future.
And then, in a subtly coaxing tone, he added,
"Of course, you wouldn’t lose your job, but the rumors..."
"I will restore his original status."
"Jaekwan!"
Agent Bronze interrupted, ruining Choi’s momentum.
Then, after a glance at me, he turned his gaze away, his expression dark.
"...You’ll be allowed to work with different teams as you wish. After three
weeks, you can report back to me with your final decision."
"...!"
"I can arrange at least that much on my authority."
"...Thank you."
"Ugh, at least meet the elders on your team first... Ah, forget it."
Agent Choi let out a deep sigh.
"Fine. Three weeks to experience different teams. Yeah, that’s reasonable."
And just like that, it was settled.
– Agent Kim Soleum will rotate through multiple teams for three weeks
before reporting back to Agent Bronze with his decision on his final
placement.
– Agent Bronze will use his senior authority to formally recommend Kim
Soleum’s preferred assignment.
...Just like that.
"Think about it. We’re a really great team."
Agent Choi kept nudging me, telling me to keep my options open.
He threw out various selling points. That I was talented, that everyone on
the team was unique and fun, that the job was incredibly fulfilling...
And then, finally, he brought up this.
"And those kids you saved."
"...!"
"Don’t you want to know what happened to them?"
The students we had rescued.
Agent Choi lightly nudged Agent Bronze, signaling him to speak.
"Tell him, Bronze."
"...All three returned home safely."
Ah.
Agent Bronze calmly explained their whereabouts.
Their injuries were properly treated, and they had emotional reunions with
their families.
And the high school student I had personally looked after was even actively
participating in interviews with the Bureau, emphasizing how much I had
helped him in Looky Mart.
"...He kept asking if you were okay. Now, I can finally give them a proper
answer."
As for Lee Soobin, the student who had suffered severe psychological
trauma, he had undergone mild memory erasure treatment and was
reportedly doing much better.
And during the process, Agent Bronze had even covered for me regarding
the Nostalgia Candy, presenting it as a government-acquired anomalous
food item.
He had been so casual about it that I almost missed the fact that he had done
me a huge favor.
’...I owe him one.’
"All three of them wanted to thank you in person."
Since direct meetings weren’t permitted under bureau guidelines, they
would be sending letters instead.
"...That’s all."
It seemed like everything had wrapped up well.
Even Go Yeongeun.
"And the agent you saved is recovering. She’ll be back on duty soon."
"...I see."
I let out a deep breath and leaned my head against the bed. And without
even realizing it, I savored the moment.
Everyone’s safe.
Everyone made it out alive.
"Feels good, doesn’t it?"
"..."
"Yeah, I figured. This job suits you— Argh!"
Agent Choi grinned right before Bronze shoved him toward the door.
"Ah! Jaekwan’s trying to kill me!"
"For now, just rest. Don’t worry about anything else."
"Yes, sir."
Still seated, I bowed my head toward Agent Bronze.
"Thank you for being so considerate."
"...It’s nothing."
His expression was complicated as he looked at me.
But in the end, he simply turned toward the door.
"That rookie really belongs in Black Tortoise Team 1..."
Seeing Agent Bronze’s piercing glare, Agent Choi finally shut up.
And with that, the two left the hospital room.
Ka-chak.
"...Phew."
It was over.
I let out a deep sigh of relief and sank back into the bed.
’Escape from the Dispatch & Rescue Unit... success.’
A perfect outcome.
But...
’Feels weird.’
Both the missing arm and my dynamic with Agent Bronze.
’He’s been looking out for me, but I get the feeling he’s also kind of hurt?’
Still, at least I was definitely no longer under suspicion as a spy.
"...Ugh."
I stretched deliberately, trying not to think about the pain of my missing
right arm.
And as I did, one particular sentence resurfaced in my mind.
– Don’t worry about your arm. We’ll take care of everything.
...’Take care of it,’ huh.
I recalled the various options the bureau had for handling agents with
missing limbs.
Including the most impressive and exciting one.
’Well, even if that’s too expensive, they won’t just leave me like this...’
And more than that.
Before the Bureau could ’take care of it’ for me, I had a chance to secure an
alternative method myself.
"Hmm."
I reached toward the bedside table and retrieved my phone.
Then, I checked a message I had received last night.
[ Consultation Appointment / See you this Friday,
Mr. Soleum ^^ ]
It was time for my first report on the spy network to Director Ho.
But this meeting wasn’t just about delivering a report.
’I need to extract as much as I can from him.’
* * *
"Director, I’d like to file for workers’ compensation."
"...!"