That day, after my shift ended, with so ti left before rest—
“Eeyah. Did you enjoy your shift, Mr. Employee?”
I silently stared at Kwak Jekang, who had co to see .
“……Um. Mr. Employee?”
And just as he began puzzling over the situation, I displayed words.
Permission to confess
“…Confess? Haha, I do have quite a lot to confess, but well, since it’s you, Mr. Employee…”
Topic : Today’s visitors to the annex
……
“Ah. Hahaha…”
Kwak Jekang picked up a file folder.
“You an the new hire, Jang Heowoon, don’t you?”
I did not respond.
“Wait a second. I didn’t send him. No… I’m telling the truth! I can’t lie to you, right? And it’s not like I could stop him if he insisted on going…”
I stayed silent, as if willing to listen to his excuse.
As if I were suspecting him of provoking just to extract specialized data.
Until the fear, branded into him when he felt his life was in danger during my escape, rose up the back of his neck.
Because really.
‘There’s no way you didn’t know.’
Even if he hadn’t summoned him directly, he would have been thrilled to draw attention.
He surely watched everything through the CCTV, observing and recording the conversation.
So.
Prove it
“…How?”
Submission :
Today’s duty log for 130666
“……Haha, yes.”
Whether from excitent or fear, Kwak Jekang’s hands trembled slightly as he handed the file folder.
I accepted it with a gloved hand.
Flipping past my profile, operating instructions, and observation records, I found today’s log entry.
The record of all visitors I had interacted with.
Scrolling down to the ti slot for the new hire who introduced himself as ‘Heowoon’…
2:12 a.m
Interaction(s) : Employee Kim Heowoon
‘……!!’
Kim… Heowoon?
130666 inquired whether the employee was personally acquainted.
It is presud this inquiry was based on prior contact during the New Hire Orientation experint.
The employee confird familiarity, after which 130666 issued the annex access pass to the other party without any further response.
…Up to this point, the report was refined and reasonable enough that ‘Director Cheong’ would not find it suspicious.
However, the next entry was this.
Special Note : During the orientation experint, the employee used the na ‘Jang Heowoon’ in place of his legal na.
……
In a subsequent interview conducted after the experint, the employee stated that this action was taken ‘to gain courage’.
The employee repeatedly claid to have been an acquaintance of Supervisor Jang Heowoon (stationed at a branch office at the ti) and to have been aware of his employnt at the company.
“Ah, have you read that part?”
The researcher’s voice, previously suppressed by fear, now carried a spark of curiosity.
“It’s a rather flimsy excuse… but at least that’s what they said in the interview.”
Then, glancing at , he added,
“Haha, at the ti I was curious how that na would sound to you, Mr. Employee. They do look a bit alike, too.”
Wait a mont.
So, they’re saying it was just a person with the sa na but a different surna?
And an acquaintance of Jang Heowoon-ssi?
That’s all?
‘…No.’
That felt strange.
I clearly rember.
After the deceased Jang Heowoon beca corrupted and was resurrected as a resort employee, he had casually shared his past with .
– I was an orphan and grew up in a facility, but three years ago, there was a huge fire, and all the family I lived with died in it. I just barely survived, by chance.
And now there’s supposed to be another person close enough to know that he’d joined this company?
The very fact that soone would show up claiming that felt unnatural and suspicious.
Moreover, that person recognized .
That much I was certain of……
……
But is that really the case?
What if that person was just expressing kindness toward the ‘friendly monster’ he had t on Basent Floor 13? What if I’d misread the context? What if my crushed brain wasn’t functioning properly? What if—
Jingle.
Huu.
‘…Let’s not spiral.’
I discreetly shook the bell once more within the smoke, organizing my thoughts.
At the very least, I needed to rember two things clearly.
First, during the two tis we’d t, that person showed no signs of sudden or dangerous behavior.
And second, since he was working as part of the Field Investigation Team, the Dream Essence Collector had deed him human.
Those two facts would be enough to hold onto.
[Suspicion is a companion of wisdom. But if it is too sharp, it wounds as well. Oh, Mr. Roe Deer, your careful and polite approach is admirable.]
Yeah. Thanks.
“…Aha, so that person is really bothering you, isn’t he?”
Damn it.
“In that case, perhaps I should designate them for special monitoring, just in case……”
Denied
“Ah… understood.”
Let’s not cross that line.
Restrictions
► No personal summons involving the individual in question
► No assignnt of tasks related to 130666
► Prohibition of any additional troubleso actions
I continued to impose comprehensive restrictions on Kwak Jekang, suppressing a sigh.
‘…That new hire definitely said he’d co back.’
In that case, I’d better keep my access privileges at the annex front desk open so I could remain stationed there.
I had a feeling that if I probed through Kwak Jekang’s side recklessly, I’d end up hitting a nerve I shouldn’t.
‘And… it’s not as if that’s the only way to get information.’
The whereabouts of the Wish Ticket.
…No matter how I looked at it, speaking to Go Yeongeun-ssi would be the right call.
I’d need to figure out a way to reach her.
“Hm. Understood.”
Kwak Jekang seed to wipe away a nervous sweat, but quickly recovered.
Once I returned the folder, he even looked a little disappointed that nothing more dramatic had happened.
“Well, this was certainly an intriguing conversation…”
But surprisingly, aside from that slight disappointnt, he didn’t seem overly excited or scheming.
I realized why after seeing his expression.
There was sothing else far more important on his mind.
“Now then, would it be alright if I returned to the reason for my visit today?”
……
Affirmative
“…! Excellent!”
Excitent returned to his smiling face.
“Well, Director Cheong’s orders have finally co through!”
…!
“Mr. Employee, it’s ti… to prepare to excavate Darkness in the main building’s underground Cheerful Research Institute! Hahaha!”
AuthorRecent Posts
Salt Goblin
Latest posts by Salt Goblin (see all)
Reviews
All reviews (0)