Agent Bronze—Ryu Jaekwan—stood in a corner of the room, keeping any signs of restlessness off his expression.
The room where the final successful candidates gathered.
Several rounds of announcements had already called out the names of those who had passed, and most of the prepared seats were now occupied.
But…
‘Why isn’t he here yet?’
As successful candidates were steadily called in and took their seats, the one person he had no choice but to pass still hadn’t arrived.
‘Kim Soleum!’
His number had already been called three times!
– Candidate #4 from Group ‘다 (Da)’.
– You have passed. Proceed to the designated location. If that announcement repeated one more time, his application status would be put on hold.
It would be considered an automatic forfeiture.
‘Why in the world…’
He had gone through the entire aptitude test—only to give up now?
Even Ryu Jaekwan himself found it incomprehensible. The frustration was starting to eat at him when—
Thud!
“I-I’m so sorry!”
The door to the already nearly full room burst open, and a man stumbled in, his face flushed bright red.
He was gasping for breath as if he had sprinted all the way here, and his suit sleeves and collar were dripping wet.
[다-4]
The candidate who had been one call away from disqualification.
Kim Soleum.
From the looks of it, he had splashed water on his face out of sheer nerves.
…If he were really a spy, would he go out of his way to draw this much attention to himself……
‘Damn it!’
No. No leniency. Ryu Jaekwan pressed his lips shut, maintaining an unimpressed glare.
– Take your seat.
“Y-Yes, sir…”
Kim Soleum adjusted his glasses and quickly shuffled to the farthest back corner, sitting down quietly.
A candidate beside him hesitated before speaking up.
“Are you okay? Here, take this…”
“Ah, n-no, I’m fine! Thank you…”
At the kind offer of water, Kim Soleum startled so visibly that Ryu Jaekwan, knowing his true background, could see it all the more clearly.
Like someone who had spent too long among corporate cultists in an immoral pharmaceutical company, where basic human kindness was an alien concept…
“……”
Ryu Jaekwan said nothing. He simply watched.
– We will now begin the appointment process.
The Disaster Management Bureau’s Agent Appointment Ceremony.
It was a simple, streamlined process. First, register funeral arrangements in case of death. Then, receive a temporary identification pass. A brief training orientation shall commence, and after that, there will be an overview of assigned missions.
There were no bureaucratic formalities like in the public sector, nor did it have the rigorous military training of special forces.
Because supernatural disasters—horrifying, unearthly anomalies—were not something any amount of training could prepare an agent for.
Only experience could forge resilience.
And most recruits were people who had lost family or loved ones to mysterious, unexplainable incidents.
Even those who hadn’t suffered personal losses carried a grim sense of duty—the unshakable knowledge that they had glimpsed the hidden world and could never turn back.
That atmosphere saturated the room.
– Candidate #4 from Group ‘다’. Kim Soleum.
“Th, thank you, sir.”
Kim Soleum bowed slightly as he accepted his temporary pass.
Looking at him—his timid, withdrawn demeanor—it was clear that if someone with his personality had chosen to apply, it could only mean he had an unshakable resolve.
Though, of course, there were also a few eyes filled with skepticism, as if wondering if he was just unqualified instead.
– For the next three weeks, you will undergo training and supervised field assignments.
– At the end of this period, your permanent division placement will be determined.
– Until then, follow the instructions of your assigned senior agent without exception.
This was when the interviewers appeared.
Each one stepping forward to take direct responsibility for the recruits they had selected.
That was standard bureau policy.
Although, in cases where a match wasn’t ideal, existing senior agents could also be assigned instead.
But at the very least—for ‘noteworthy’ recruits, the original interviewer was almost always the one assigned as their mentor.
And in Kim Soleum’s case…
Thanks to the subtle support and recommendations of the assistant interviewers—
– The agent standing before you will be your direct senior.
– They will oversee your training for the next three months.
Ryu Jaekwan stepped in front of Kim Soleum.
“…!”
From behind his glasses, Kim Soleum’s face went deathly pale.
The exact moment he recognized him.
* * * “Follow me.”
“……”
Ryu Jaekwan could hear the quiet footsteps of Kim Soleum, his newly assigned recruit, trailing behind him.
Then, as they entered an unmaintained, isolated room in a desolate corner of the aptitude test facility, leaving only the two of them inside—
Rustle.
“…!”
He heard the sound of something being pulled out.
‘A weapon?’
Ryu Jaekwan’s hand moved instinctively, ready to subdue him—
“Um, Agent.”
“……”
“I… wanted to return this.”
It was…
The temporary agent badge and pistol.
The very items that had been given to Temporary Agent Grapes during the Sekwang Technical High School incident.
Things that, in the chaos of the situation, even Ryu Jaekwan himself had forgotten about.
“I should have returned them earlier, but I never had the chance. I apologize, sir…”
“……”
Ryu Jaekwan studied Kim Soleum.
If he had just kept his mouth shut, no one would have known.
And yet, here he was—turning himself in, looking as if he had already accepted the worst possible outcome.
As if he were fully convinced that the agent standing before him would report him as a corporate spy for that pharmaceutical company.
…Ryu Jaekwan’s initial wariness simmered down.
“Does that company know you’re here?”
A slow shake of the head.
“No, sir.”
How could he possibly believe that—
“As far as the company is concerned, I’m already dead…”
“…!”
What?
“What do you mean—”
“I was trapped in a Darkness—uh, I mean, a Disaster—for over a month.”
Kim Soleum’s face turned slightly pale.
“Once it’s been over a month, they just assume you’re dead. So, as far as the company is concerned, I’m already a deceased employee—or rather, a former employee.”
“……”
They finalized an employee’s status as deceased without even attempting a rescue?
Ryu Jaekwan was momentarily at a loss for words at the sheer brutality of that system.
But then, another realization struck him.
“You were trapped in a supernatural phenomenon for over a month?!”