But… I had enough self-awareness not to bring it up now. It would be far too embarrassing.
“…I’ll go with Grapes.”
“A fruit? Simple and neat. I like it.”
For a moment, I imagined what Braun would’ve commented on my choice.
‘I miss that guy a little.’
Pushing away the sense of loss over my ‘Good Friend’, I kept the conversation going.
“And what should I call you, Agent?”
“My codename is Bronze.”
“Alright, Agent Bronze.”
The agent—Bronze—smiled faintly and nodded in satisfaction, almost as if he were looking at an intern.
‘Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of new recruit-like treatment. Is it just my imagination…?’
In any case, we continued checking below as we ascended, keeping a vigilant eye out to ensure no students were following us up the stairs.
One of us always kept an eye on the upper floor.
And finally, we arrived.
[3F]
The third floor, where the second-years stayed.
“……It’s quiet.”
The students from the lower floor had naturally left our line of sight and didn’t appear at the top of the stairs either. It seemed they had found someone else to chase.
Still, we kept glancing back at the stairwell as we stepped into the third-floor hallway.
Under the bright ceiling lights, the hallway was surprisingly clean.
No blood, no filth, no corpses. Not even people sitting frozen, tears streaming as they stared desperately at a student.
Even the student entities were nowhere to be seen.
And I thought I knew why.
‘They’ve sealed the doors.’
Someone had already locked all the classroom doors.
Chains and padlocks were even looped around some.
‘…! This has to be the work of Daydream Inc. employees.’
It matched our manual perfectly.
Students in Sekwang Technical High School uniforms exhibit some resistance to damage or destruction of school property.
When not provoked, closing and locking doors quietly has been observed to render them inactive, often seated at desks.
Moreover, sealing the doors like this meant any attempt to open them from inside would make noise.
That noise would immediately alert others to turn and look.
‘It’s a basic safety measure.’
When there were still plenty of people around to restrict the movements of the student entities, sneaking around and locking doors like this would have been quite feasible.
But as quiet as the hallway was, we needed to be just as silent.
The students are drawn by noise.
‘The second-year faculty office is just around the corner.’
‘Should we crawl there?’
A nod.
With a brief whisper and nod, we ended the conversation and began moving quietly, staying close to the wall and crawling to avoid detection.
Even as we moved, we didn’t stop watching the corners—places like the end of the hallway or the stairwells—where someone could appear silently.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
‘Just a little further, just a little more.’
Slowly.
We just had to pass through without rushing.
We had made it more than halfway when—
AAAAHHHHH!
……
A blood-curdling scream came from beyond the hallway.
‘No.’
If there’s noise…
Rattle.
Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle—
I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
The sound of doorknobs being rattled echoed from every locked door.
…The students had heard the noise too.
Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle—
The agent and I crawled frantically down the hallway, desperate to escape.
When we finally turned to look back—
Rattle…
Huu.
Fortunately, the rattling stopped, likely because the scream had been a one-time occurrence.
However, I could see faint shadows of figures standing behind some of the doors, peering out…
Terrifying.
At least they weren’t looking in our direction—that was our one saving grace.
I swallowed hard.
The only consolation was that we’d reached our first destination.
[Second-Year Faculty Office]
Turning the corner, it appeared before us.
But this office was also locked up tight. Chains and padlocks secured the doors, and the windows had been covered from the inside with something like newspaper, preventing us from seeing in.
It was eerily unsettling, yet I couldn’t have been more relieved to see it.
“Please keep watch for a moment.”
The agent slipped a thimble-like item onto his finger, then inserted it into the lock on the faculty office door.
Though the thimble didn’t seem to match the size of the keyhole, it slid in easily, and the lock clicked open.
‘Wow.’
Disaster Management Bureau equipment really lived up to the hype.
“There may still be students inside, so let’s be cautious as we enter.”
And when we opened the door—
What greeted us was completely unexpected.
“Quietly close the door.”
“Quickly.”
I shut the door behind us.
There were no students inside.
Instead, about seven people were locked in a tense standoff, glaring at one another.
High schoolers wearing animal masks stood on one side, and others, holding translucent pistols, stood on the other.
Disaster Management Bureau agents and Daydream Inc. employees.
‘They’re fighting!’
On the table in the center of their standoff was a single fountain pen.
‘…An item.’
I recognized it immediately.
Fountain Pen of Second-Year Student ■■■
It seemed they were locked in a standoff over who would claim it.
‘Instead of exploring the ghost story, they’re wasting manpower on this!’
It seemed they hadn’t noticed our entrance until it was too late.
“Agent Bronze.”
Several of the agents finally spotted the codename Bronze beside me and greeted him warmly.
But Bronze, rational as always, was unlikely to empathize with the situation…
“Let’s join them.”
Wait, what?
Before I could protest, Bronze had already stepped forward to join the agents.
And as for me…
The animal-masked Daydream employees were staring intently at me.
Especially the two who recognized me.
“??”
“??!”
Seeing Baek Saheon and Jang He-oun make identical expressions was not something I ever thought I’d experience.
Their eyes darted between the Disaster Management Bureau’s metal badge and translucent pistol I was holding, as if silently asking,
‘Why are you here…?’
And yet, the agent called out to me again.
“Agent Grapes.”
“Gr—Grapes?”
The agent responded coldly.
“Mocking codenames? Truly fitting for a company like yours.”
I’m losing my mind.
“Come here. You should step away from the door.”
‘What now?’
After a moment of frantic deliberation, I made my decision.
‘I can’t bring myself to betray.’
Reluctantly, I stepped forward and stood beside the agent.
“Yes, Agent.”
Right next to Agent Bronze.
“This… what is…!”
Yes. I cannot betray.
‘I can’t betray… my own survival…!’
And so it came to this, my dear coworkers.