‘…Nope. Absolutely not.’
I swallowed hard.
For now, let’s put this on hold!
“Huuu…”
I shoved the cylinder back into my pocket.
Even so, my heart was racing.
A raw potion-like liquid, capable of granting wishes.
There was no way the wiki would simply describe this as ‘used as raw material by a ghost story specialist corporation’.
‘There’s got to be other uses for this.’
‘That’s what I’ll aim for.’
For now, though…
“First, I need to call someone.”
I left the park, just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon.
After getting my left arm treated for fractures and bruises, I immediately used a free public phone charger to power up my phone.
Then, I made the call.
To the one true boss of this era—the person who had played the biggest role in my escape.
That evening—
“Kim Soleum-ssi.”
“Squad Leader.”
The moment I saw Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I bowed my head. Deep.
Because I owed him. A ton…
“Thank you. Truly, sincerely… thank you.”
“Yes.”
I may have spent 66,660,000 won, but honestly?
It was the best deal I’d ever made.
‘Physical strength… is an amazing thing.’
No wonder Employee D was a staple character in so many special exploration logs.
…I just never expected him to be an alien.
‘Maybe I should’ve suspected something when he literally had a lizard’s head.’
I exhaled in relief as I looked at Lee Jaheon’s still-lizard-like face.
Who would’ve thought his ‘Coalition’ was connected to the bizarre Space Shopping Mall—one that could even bombard creepypasta entities with orbital strikes? ṚãN𝘰𐌱ÈṨ
‘He did call it the Coalition… right?’
There was no mention of this in the wiki’s Employee D entry.
I couldn’t suppress my curiosity any longer.
“Uh… Squad Leader. May I ask what exactly this ‘Coalition’ you mentioned is?”
“You may not.”
“……”
Ah. Gotcha.
Guess we’ll move on to the main topic.
I made sure to get a firm agreement first that he wouldn’t report anything to the company—then I showed him the Dream Essence Collector.
“This liquid inside the collector.”
His vertical slit pupils stared at the device—an unusual design, even by company standards—as if trying to dissect it…
I took a steady breath and asked,
“This is… an S-grade essence, right? That is, Dream Essence of an Abyss-grade Darkness?”
A tense silence.
Then.
“No.”
Ah.
“It exceeds the standard concentration for ‘Grade: Void (A)’ classification within the company database. However, it does not qualify as Abyss-grade.”
I let out a long breath.
‘Knew it.’
There was no way S-grade would appear that easily.
‘So this is basically A+ or something.’
Satisfied, I put the collector back into my pocket.
“Then… what color does an actual S-grade look like?”
“There is no precise term in the language currently in use. However, upon witnessing it, one would have no doubt regarding its concentration.”
“…I see.”
Wow. He really just screamed ‘I am an alien’ in the most roundabout way possible.
Suddenly, another thought struck me.
‘What exactly is Lee Jaheon’s connection to the Space Shopping Mall?’
And more importantly—why is he working at Daydream Inc. in the first place?
I had a lot of questions.
But right now, the real issue was…
Could I even keep working for this company?
“Squad Leader, I was under the impression that if an employee goes missing for a month due to unexcused absences, they are automatically processed for termination.”
I swallowed hard.
“Does that apply to me as well?”
“Yes.”
Damn it!
“Would it be possible for me to return if I claim that my absence was due to being caught up in a Darkness and was therefore unavoidable?”
“Yes.”
Phew.
That was a relief. As long as I could talk my way through this, I should be fine. Letting out a sigh of relief, I spoke,
“Then I’ll just—”
Bzzzzzt—
At that moment, Lee Jaheon’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen before speaking.
“Kim Soleum-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“There are people who wish to meet you.”
.
.
Moments later.
“Roe!”
I came face-to-face with familiar faces outside Lee Jaheon’s residence.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje and Supervisor Park Minseong.
The very people who had gone looking for me, even delving into a ghost story in their search.
Seeing them again made my chest tighten strangely.
‘They really went through so much.’
Barely surviving the Chorus of the Sacrificial Lambs, only to deliberately enter its sequel, Braun’s Late-Night Talk Show—that wasn’t just determination.
One of them had to constantly avoid company surveillance, while the other was practically confined from even stepping outside.
Yet, when I had been fully immersed in the show, becoming one with the Darkness, I hadn’t been able to feel anything.
But now—standing here, seeing them again—I was overwhelmed with an indescribable emotion.
I bowed deeply.
“Thank you. The candy you gave me helped me find a lead.”
That clue had ultimately led me to press the ‘We Can Help’ button.
Eun Haje waved it off.
“It’s fine. We didn’t do much, really.”
“I only found out about it because these two talked about it, and then I just went in at the end,” Park Minseong added with a grin.
He did look far more stable than when we had last spoken—during the New Year’s isolation room cleanup—but…
My gaze drifted to his outfit.
Unlike before, he was wearing black casual clothes instead of a suit.
“Supervisor… have you returned to work?”
“…Yeah. I’m with the Security Team now.”
He was no longer part of the Field Exploration Team.
And he didn’t elaborate beyond that.
He simply said, “It’s nice to be earning points again.”