Kang Yihak caught it as it was dropped into her hand.
By touch, she could tell.
‘Solid gold.’
By weight, she knew.
‘At least ten don.’ [1]
Even without accounting for craftsmanship or historical value, the raw gold alone would be worth over 5 million won.
(Approx. 3600 USD)
With jade included… this…!
“Impressive, right? As long as our Q&A goes well, you can walk out with that. We won’t stop you.”
“Agent.”
“And if your intel proves really useful… who knows? I might ‘accidentally’ slip you another piece.”
“Agent, I see now. The bureau isn’t just a noble, righteous institution working tirelessly for civilians’ safety, but also one that knows how to be flexible for efficient operations!”
“Right. Of course it is.”
“Please ask away, I’ll answer anything, sir. Heck, I’d even give you my dad’s columbarium number.”
“Aigoo, no need for that.”
Agent Choi didn’t stop Kang Yihak from eagerly pocketing the jewelry.
Instead, he asked lightly,
“Let’s start with this one, as a test question…”
That question was.
“Do you know who Roe Deer is?”
Agent Bronze froze.
At the sa ti, he barely managed to keep his hands from clenching at the surge of tension.
Roe Deer.
…Agent Grapes.
He had been untraceable for half a year.
Go Yeongeun, another pri suspect in corporate espionage, had repeatedly testified she had no knowledge of his whereabouts, and it had been the truth.
In his letter, Kim Soleum had said he’d gone to Daydream Inc. for the Wish Ticket, wanting nothing more than to return ho.
Then he’d vanished as if erased from existence.
And just yesterday, when Agent Choi urgently called and requested the transport of this Daydream employee, his voice had wavered slightly.
– Grapes, he… used the Wish Ticket.
– ……
No one in the bureau truly believed in the Wish Ticket’s power.
But if Kim Soleum had indeed used it, safely quit, and fulfilled his wish… then where was he now?
Questions. Only more questions.
And once again ca the sa answer Bronze had heard too many tis.
“Ah, yeah, we were in the sa intake batch. Then he went missing. Isn’t that sothing you already know all about? But I didn’t know about the Wish Ticket, honestly.”
“……”
“I’m telling you with 100% honesty. For the sake of future trust.”
Trust, huh.
She must have guessed the bureau could prevent false testimony. Yet her tongue remained intact.
Bronze frowned slightly, while Agent Choi fell into a long silence, then finally changed his question.
“How much do you know about the Security Team?”
“The Security Team?”
“Yes. You were even accompanied by one of them, weren’t you? The Field Exploration Team’s squads don’t usually work with Security Team mbers… Was it a special assignnt?”
“……”
Agent Bronze had heard this line of questioning too.
‘Wasn’t it the Security Team that ntioned the Wish Ticket?’
He thought Agent Choi might be digging in that direction, but instead, the conversation veered off to an unexpected path.
“Do you happen to know about this particular Security Team mber?”
A description of a peculiar employee.
“Black smoke trailing around them. A massive cluster of horns on their head. Wearing a gas mask… And their eyes… were yellow.”
……
“Agent, that’s…”
Agent Choi nudged Agent Bronze’s leg under the table with his own to quiet him, then continued speaking.
“The Security Team mber you were with… seed to be familiar with that employee, too.”
“Huh?”
Kang Yihak blinked.
“Agent, you t them there as well. That ‘employee’.”
“……”
A heavy silence settled.
“What are you—”
“I thought you were asking because you already knew!”
Kang Yihak answered casually.
“The carrier, I an. The one that the Security Team mber was holding.”
……
“The carrier.”
“Yes!”
35 cm wide, 50 cm long, 36 cm tall.
An opening barely the span of two adult hands, barred with tal.
Portable equipnt.
“That employee.”
A strange chill[2] crawled through the air.
“He’s inside that case.”
* * *
I erged from the carrier.
In my hand, hidden away, was the bell Agent Haegeum had given .
Jingle.
[Oh, Friend. What an action-packed day it’s been, don’t you agree?]
Yeah.
Or, rather…
If I’d had a physical body, I’d probably have been drenched in cold sweat.
‘Crazy.’
Lying on the bed of the containnt room, I recalled everything that had just happened.
Agent Haegeum had handed over only the bell before generously letting us go, and the sergeant and I had safely returned to the company.
‘I heard Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae also made it back safely and submitted the USB.’
It seed the mission was marked as a success, though official processing would probably be finalized once working hours resud tomorrow.
The sergeant had already returned to his assigned quarters, leaving only my carrier in the containnt room, as dictated by my new containnt protocols.
Jingle.
‘He’s probably eting with Supervisor Park Minseong right now.’
Now I had ti to rest too.
In any case, it was a relief that everything had been resolved safely… though there was a bitter taste in knowing we’d dumped the problem onto the Supernatural Disaster Managent Bureau.
‘Daydream is just being Daydream, I guess…’
Still, after all that, walking away with sothing from Agent Haegeum as a ‘token of gratitude’ felt strange.
…Though realizing that I still retained my identity as the owner of the resort left a strange impression on .
‘Am I happy about that?’
Maybe.
I adjusted my angle so the CCTV wouldn’t catch it, then raised the bell in my hand and gave it a slight shake.
Jingle.
I’d heard it even from inside the carrier, and its tone was pure and clear.
It felt like a cleansing chi, as though so lingering filth was being shaken loose.
‘…Is this why the agents all carry bells?’
Like the one attached to Agent Choi’s jakdu.
Not that it really… mattered.
Maybe it was ant to ward off contamination… though I wasn’t sure if it would have any effect on .
Jingle.
Regardless, the sound was pleasant. It made want to keep listening, and I almost felt my head grow lighter.
Jingle.
I found myself oddly entranced by that sound.
…And I wondered if Braun could hear it too.
[Mr. Roe Deer.]
Can you hear this?
[But of course, loud and clear! Oh, and I have a question for my dear friend as well.]
[How do you feel right now?]
How do I feel? Restless.
Realizing I’m not human and knowing my body will collapse into sludge without this suit, it’s hard to feel good about that…
Not to ntion signing an exploitative employnt contract that pawned my life to Daydream…
……
Jingle.
Wait.
[Ah, finally.]
I shot up from the bed.
‘…What is this?’
Why.
Can I think?
My thoughts no longer felt dulled, lted, or swallowed by fog.
There was motion.
Fluidity.
No strong emotions, but the habitual, natural flow of thought I’d once had……
It’s back.
Jingle.
‘……!’
[To think you’d recover your losses from the resort in such dramatic fashion. What a stunning twist.]
[Congratulations, Friend!]
I… was myself again.
Note/s:
[1] Don – as a unit of asurent ans a weight roughly equivalent to 4 grams, so the bracelet Agent Choi presented to Kang Yihak is 40 grams of solid gold and pure jade. ↵
[2] Chill – the word used here was the homonym of Soleum’s na (소름), which ans chill or goosebumps ohoho ↵
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