Director Cheong, saying he would present Chief Park Minseong with a new labor contract to generously wring out the cost of “re-education.”
“What do you think?”
Director Cheong looks at me.
And so I recall.
The contract I received from Director Cheong.
In that horrifying process where my whole body melted away, self and flesh collapsing as I returned to my original form—faced with imminent death, I made a choice.
That was, that was...
A lifetime contract.
Eternal employment.
Forever buried in the underground of Baekilmong Corporation, with no retirement.
No.
I instinctively tried to flare up smoke to stop Director Cheong—then clenched my teeth and forced myself still.
I had already been unable to counter Chief Park Minseong’s story-time hallucination. To attack the man himself? Naturally impossible. I would be blocked.
Even Director Ho had only been physically restrained after passing through the rule of three warnings.
And to counter Cheong, the very party to my own contract, I would need far stronger justification.
For example—
Confirmation:
Whether a Badger employee was provided with ■■ Affiliated Kindergarten instructional material
To clearly establish that Director Cheong was involved in this crisis, in which Chief Park Minseong’s contamination worsened.
I could even secure testimony from the victim himself.
There was definite proof of Cheong’s involvement. If so, I could somehow pin responsibility on him and push for disciplinary action—
“You think you’re qualified to even ask that?”
...!
“From the moment you were assigned to Director Ho’s project, you lost the right to discipline other employees. You’re not Security.”
Director Cheong raised a hand and clamped down on my head.
As though restraining a dog.
“And besides—even if I said ‘yes,’ nothing would change.”
......
“One’s own contamination is for oneself to first recognize and address. Blaming a superior’s orders for your own shortcomings—is that not against the duty of an employee?”
I looked at Director Cheong.
“And yet you are rather fortunate.”
......
“When you finish Director Ho’s paltry project and return, your assigned Security officers will still be there. ...Forever.”
From the sluggish haze of my thoughts, a feeling I had not been able to reclaim until now—only faint traces imitated in the empty space—suddenly surfaced, sharp and clear.
Anger.
A sensation like blood-red boiling.
[Oh, my friend....]
That instant—
“Sorry to intrude on your grand plan, but unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to become reality....”
......!
“What do you mean.”
“That employee, I intend to treat in the Fox Counseling Room.”
Director Ho pointed at Chief Park Minseong.
“Director Cheong, it seems to me you’re exaggerating two or three occasions when the Fox Counseling Room happened to be vacant as if they were major incidents, so I thought I’d make up for it like this.”
Director Ho’s smile.
“By restoring someone in full contamination faster than the re-education facility could... I wanted to show, at least a little, my devotion to the company.”
Director Cheong and Director Ho stared at one another.
“As for the ‘accident’ where you ‘coincidentally’ worsened this Security staff member’s state—I’ll handle it neatly and report to the company. So you needn’t worry too much.”
“Worry.”
“Of course. Since you’ve shown concern for my performance, I ought to do my best as well.”
Director Ho met Cheong’s gaze with a smiling face.
“To employ a method of recovery far more effective than the re-education ward—surely, someone with far greater devotion to the company than myself, Director Cheong, would not oppose such a thing pointlessly?”
“......”
“......”
The next moment—
Cheong’s hand, which had been gripping Chief Park Minseong’s head, relaxed.
Thud. Teacher Sprout toppled forward onto his own bloodstains.
“Remember this.”
Director Cheong gazed at his hand, still smeared with the Security team’s blood.
And then.
The blood vanished without a trace.
“I, you see, don’t like mongrels who lay their hands on others’ possessions out of greed. Still less if they are diseased.”
“I see. As for me, I have no interest in what you may think, Director Cheong.”
Director Ho’s smile did not change.
Cheong watched him—then suddenly burst into laughter.
“Here’s some advice. Don’t let them catch you being impatient. It only shouts how desperate you are.”
“......”
“And desperation is a weakness.”
Between his laughter, Cheong’s nose wrinkled faintly with displeasure, but soon returned to normal.
He looked at me.
“Don’t be mistaken. All alliances are but byproducts of circumstance. How long Director Ho’s choices will align with your tastes... who can say.”
......
“And mark my words.”
Cheong drew out a sheet of paper from his coat.
Once-folded.
Beneath the printed lines, a name scrawled so wildly it had broken the signature box—
Kim Soleum.
My contract.
“That it rests in my hand.”
As the labor contract fluttered at Cheong’s fingertips—
“I’ll see you on the day this project ends.”
Cheong vanished.
As if it were all a lie.
“......”
“......”
From the far corner, where he had been collapsed out of sight, Baek Saheon gave a hoarse mutter of curses.
“Roe Deer-nim.”
I helped support Chief Park Minseong.
“For now, let’s return.”
It was two days later that Guard Captain J3 regained consciousness.
In the recovery room of the Fox Counseling Room.
Lying on the bed, he only opened his eyes, still as a withered old tree.
And beside him—
Question: Current condition
I was sitting.
“......”
The Guard Captain stared blankly at the sunlight seeping through the curtain.
Then, as if to check, he raised a hand—yet soon lowered it, realizing that sunlight was not real.
And then he looked at me, as though to check my state.
I, intact, shrouded in black smoke, returned his gaze through the gas mask.
His eyes dimmed in relief, yet his next question came low and ragged.
“...The Badger...?”
Next room
I turned toward one section of the recovery ward.
Long-term Recovery Room
(No Visits)
Behind the partition wall lay a sealed chamber. The Guard Captain’s gaze slowly shifted there as well....
Recovering
Location: Fox Counseling Room
In that instant, the Guard Captain’s pupils narrowed.
He scanned his surroundings as if to search—then his movements ceased. Again he lay quiet, like a hollow husk upon the bed.
And slowly he asked—
The result of what his own contamination had done.
“Badger’s... arms...?”
Searching for regeneration method
“......”
The Guard Captain’s reply was painfully slow.
“I see....”
......
“Phone... could I have....”
Question: Reason
“To contact Security.... For Badger’s recovery expenses... they can charge them to me....”
Since you’re a lifetime employee anyway?
Would the company even accept such a proposal, that no matter how much debt piled up it would all be the same?
And I realized, belatedly—
The Guard Captain had undergone the same process as I. He too was bound by a lifetime contract.
His state.
“......”
At last, I seized the notepad and pen on the table, writing quickly and showing him.
Don’t worry.
I’m speaking with Director Ho, so you needn’t concern yourself about the cost.
“......”
The Guard Captain gave no reply.
I don’t mean I trust him blindly, but that I know what Director Ho needs right now. That’s why I believe it will be fine.
“...And what is it... he needs?”
I did not answer.
Could I already tell him about Se-gwang Special City?
The Guard Captain had only just recovered.
To tell him of a “sealed ghost city from which no one escapes alive”—might that not be a trigger?
And besides—
The Nostalgia Candy that even worked, for a moment, on the Guard Captain.
Its version was different.
Indulge in memories yet farther away!
Nostalgia Can-dy, The Farther Flavor
I had thought the grains oddly larger than the old kind, and here I confirmed—the description on the wrapper was slightly different.
[As expected, the banal gimmick of a food company. A seasonal edition!]
Indeed. On the back, it read: “■■ 300% contained.”
Three times, then.
And with the “Farther” modifier—
Thirty years?
The original Nostalgia Candy recalled one’s peak state within the past ten years. My guess was very likely correct.
So another possibility arose.
– That the Guard Captain’s contamination had lasted not ten, but nearly thirty years.
Had the standard Nostalgia Candy been used, it might have had no effect whatsoever.
“......”
So in the end, I turned the subject slightly.
Director Ho is trying to reassign both of you entirely into his project team.
I wanted to reassure him.
At least then, you won’t be tangled with Director Cheong anymore.
But—
“...Not possible.... At least... for me....”
......
A thought came to me.
What if all the lifetime-bound Security staff had signed contracts with Cheong?
“For Badger... I hope he can....”
The Guard Captain again rolled his eyes toward the partition.
Perhaps toward the sealed chamber beyond it.
......
I’m sorry.
“......?”
It was because I asked for your help that the two of you became entangled. I’m sorry.
“No....”
I bowed my head in apology.
“It’s me who should be sorry....”
When I gave no further reply, the Guard Captain fell into silence. Then, as if to change the subject, he slowly spoke again.
“Say... remember what I asked you to look into....”
Ah.
Request: Director Ho’s background
Right.
Before entering the Bride Class ghost story, I had indeed asked the two Security officers for that.
What Ho Yuwon’s life in Baekilmong had been.
And his recent record as well.
“Director Ho... about four years ago, was suddenly assigned here as Director of Development. No one knew of him before that.... There were only rumors he had been at a Baekilmong branch....”
A branch?
I remembered then—other SDRA infiltrators besides me had all been officially “assigned” to branches.
So that was why?
Baekilmong branches might have a hidden link to Ho Yuwon. I had to remember this.
“He focused more on the Field Exploration Team than the Research Team, and had more of his own people there.... They even say Team A is entirely his line....”
Some of this I knew.
And then—
He moved on to the latest rumors.
“There were whispers about his project team too....”
The project team.
“They say, since there were no results, the higher-ups were putting heavy pressure on him.”
...!!
“They said, within this year, something had to come out. I overheard the Admin Team talking....”
......
“...Not enough, huh....”
No.
Thank you, truly.
And I meant it.
Because I had realized something definite.
Ho Yuwon is overreaching.
With Se-gwang Special City finally under exploration, he was throwing everything he had into it.
And he would not even consider it “overreach.” If he could only find what he desired in Se-gwang, he was ready to shoulder anything.
But for me, that would be a disaster.
“......”
[Roe Deer, your thoughts deepen.... Have you reached a new decision?]
Yes.
[Oh!]
And the next day.
In the Fox Counseling Room, a small meeting was convened regarding the “Se-gwang Special City Exploration Project.”
“I thought it might be good to take some time to greet our new arrival. So I prepared this!”
But silence like death filled the table.
Everyone already knew one another—and the “new arrival,” lying in his chair in a goat mask, Baek Saheon, stared stiffly and tensely.
Baek Saheon desperately avoided the gaze. The Guard Captain turned sluggishly toward the table. Only Deputy Lee Seonghae waved brightly.
And then someone who could not possibly be present in this meeting was mentioned—
“It may be untimely, but it’s nice to meet you. Minseong....”
Advisory: Adjust honorific
“...!”
A wry smile tugged at Deputy Eunhaje’s face.
“...Yes. You were the one who worked with Badger, weren’t you.”
I remembered.
– Then, Park Min—
– Call me Badger!
Chief Park Minseong, too contaminated to be called by his true name, had gradually recovered until, only days ago, he had smiled and responded when Eunhaje addressed him, “Minseong-ah.”
And now, like a lie, he had worsened to this extent in a single moment.
Hopelessly contaminated beyond reach.
– ...I see. So that’s how it is....
When they first heard the news, both Manager Lee Jahaeon and Deputy Eunhaje’s expressions had been nothing but heavy.
“Director, how is Badger’s recovery pace?”
“He is recovering, but not in the state you’d hope for. At least several weeks, I think.”
Silence fell again, but Manager Lee asked another question, calmly.
“I see. And his arms—please tell us their condition.”
“His arms... simply healed bluntly at the stumps.”
“...!”
Yes.
I had done my utmost to staunch his bleeding. I had tried to use a C-grade potion, but...
“He is wholly contaminated by the darkness that extracts stronger dreamstuff than a C-grade. Unless we obtain a higher-grade potion, I fear it’s impossible.”
In other words, it was hopeless.
But—
Director Ho smiled.
“But there is a way for him to recover as soon as tomorrow.”
“......”
“Does that way involve entering Se-gwang Special City?”
“Yes!”
Indeed.
Once inside Se-gwang, the ■■ Affiliated Kindergarten too would be cut off from external influence, and Chief Park Minseong might be freed from his contamination at once.
Like me, he would regain his mind—and potions could be used on him.
Manager Lee’s reptilian eyes fixed on Director Ho.
“You are urging staff to enter, to hasten the schedule?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
...!
“I want the exploration to proceed as far as possible. So... do you dislike me for it?”
Director Ho’s eyes, unflinching as he glanced at Deputy Eunhaje, who had risen from his chair, and at Deputy Lee Seonghae, who stared without blinking, were serene.
“In fact, I’ve done nothing wrong in the matter of Director Cheong. I only helped you when you wished to break into the annex for equipment....”
“......”
“Perhaps your resentment lies elsewhere.”
And he smiled wide.
“But I understand completely. Resentment is always easier, always aimed at those closer at hand, isn’t it? And that’s fine. Resent me all you like. For I desire only one thing....”
To find what he sought in Se-gwang Special City.
“That alone.”
......
But my thoughts were a little different.
The project must be steered more stably.
Only then, when it ended, could I prevent myself and the Security team from falling back into Director Cheong’s hands.
That contract.
Until I could somehow snatch it away.
For that, we needed one thing.
Results.
In this Se-gwang exploration, I had to bring back achievements.
Ones palatable to Baekilmong Corporation.
And achievements from Se-gwang that would satisfy the company enough to back off, while not exposing its secrets—such results were, in fact, simple.
Additional equipment recommendation for this exploration:
Dreamstuff Extractor
“...!”
At least we could test whether extraction was possible.
And so, not long after—
With Guard Captain J3 and Chief Park Minseong as new explorers, the team entered Se-gwang Special City.
Carrying the Dreamstuff Extractor.