“…You mean things like high-grade Darkness exploration manuals?”
Kim Soleum gave him a completely unimpressed look.
Yeah. No way he’d be asking for something that boring.
“Why would I care about that?”
“……”
“Company rumors, staff reassignments, employee gossip. Just bring me anything that you think would be valuable to an insider.”
“…Why?”
“Because I’m curious?”
“……!!”
This goddamn…!
Baek Saheon barely stopped himself from screaming his head off.
If it were any other human being, this would be an obvious bluff. A way to avoid admitting the real reason.
But this was Kim Soleum.
‘Shit, he might actually be telling the truth.’
It was entirely possible that this lunatic just enjoyed hearing company gossip and was trying to get his fix.
Which made it even harder to figure out what the hell was going on in his head.
‘Haa…’
“…So? Are you going to bring me information in exchange for items?”
“Information—”
……
……
“—I can bring it, sure.”
Baek Saheon made up his mind.
‘Who cares.’
If the company found out?
He could just say he’d been threatened or brainwashed—simple.
As long as he wasn’t selling company masks or Dream Essence Collectors on the black market, the higher-ups wouldn’t really care what the Field Exploration Team got up to. ꭆ𝘈ƝΟĚś
Answering a few casual questions about ‘company atmosphere’? That wasn’t even a crime!
Sure, the company had ‘misunderstood’ and officially declared Kim Soleum dead, but how was that his problem?
There was no way this would get him fired.
‘It’s not like I’m selling classified research to the Disaster Management Bureau or something. Right?’
He wasn’t even a section chief, and he had no access to the Research Team’s secrets—nothing that would actually put him in trouble.
‘Alright.’
Yeah, no matter how much he thought about it, this was a deal worth taking.
……And as much as he hated to admit it, Kim Soleum wasn’t the type to scam people out of their payment… He never shortchanged people or humiliated them by withholding promised rewards.
‘I’ll go for it.’
Eat now, think later!
As soon as he saw an opportunity, Baek Saheon’s usual cocky smirk slid back into place.
“But, you see, Supervisor—ah, goodness, goodness. You’re not even a supervisor anymore, are you?”
“……”
“Anyway, how do I know you can trust me with this? What if I just lie to you?”
Translation: Hand over an item in advance if you want to buy my loyalty.
Kim Soleum smiled broadly.
“Oh, you want to lie? That sounds fun. You should try it.”
“……”
‘Son of a bitch.’
“Still, if you bring in more interesting information, naturally, the items I give you will be better. That’s how transactions work, right?”
“…!”
So he wasn’t planning on lowballing him.
Which meant, if Baek Saheon played this right, he could actually get some useful shit out of this.
So, he forced a grin and extended his hand.
“Alright, sir. I’ll bring you some ‘interesting information’.”
“Good.”
Kim Soleum shook his hand.
Just like that, he had successfully planted a highly opportunistic corporate informant within the company.
‘Phew.’
He had survived.
Kim Soleum let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Unofficial informant… secured.
Director Ho had deliberately framed the conversation to make it seem like he and his ‘fellow batchmates’ would be on the same playing field, trying to obscure the reality of the situation, but Kim Soleum knew.
He and his fellow employees were not in the same position at all.
‘I’m the the only one who’s officially pronounced dead.’
And on top of that, he was terminated from the company.
Which meant that every natural channel through which he could have kept up with company affairs had been completely cut off.
‘And Director Ho is the kind of boss who would happily exploit that isolation.’
Kim Soleum recalled Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s words perfectly.
– I don’t even know what the other team members are doing. Director Ho doesn’t allow us to talk to each other if our roles don’t overlap.
There was no way Director Ho would voluntarily provide him with any useful information.
Which meant, he needed another source.
‘But not the D-squad.’
Director Ho had already caught onto that link. The way he had sent the doorplate through Assistant Manager Eun Haje was proof enough. It was too obvious.
That was why Kim Soleum had already been planning to target either Baek Saheon or Kang Yihak.
And the situation had just played out perfectly.
‘Honestly, Kang Yihak… I could already imagine it. I could pay her to keep her mouth shut, but if the price is right, she’d sell me out in a heartbeat.’
Just thinking about it made him break into a cold sweat.
That’s why Baek Saheon was the better choice.
This guy was moderately scared of Kim Soleum and was also wary of other people. On top of that, he had strong survival instincts.
Kim Soleum glanced at his former roommate one last time before giving a small nod.
“Alright, bye.”
“What? Oh, uh… you seem busy.”
Soleum nodded again at Baek Saheon’s half-hearted response.
“I have work to do.”
He had less than a few weeks before his deployment to the Disaster Management Bureau.
‘Not much time.’
He needed to prepare.
Not as a Daydream Inc. rookie, but as a bureau agent!
February 22nd.
“Agent Bronze, the aptitude test for new recruits is ready.”
“Understood.”
Ryu Jaegwan, an agent of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau with the codename ‘Bronze’, stood by the glass window, reviewing the documents in his hands.
The glass was one-way—to those on the other side, it would appear as nothing more than a mirror.
Beyond it, the candidates for the bureau’s newest recruitment cycle were waiting.
Seated around the room, their faces carried an unmistakable tension—yet beneath it, there was a quiet determination.
All that remained was the personality test.
And yet, this was the most critical stage of the process.
Those who fail the aptitude test won’t just be rejected.
‘They’ll forget they even applied in the first place.’
They wouldn’t be given a second chance, because failing meant there was no point in trying again.
It meant they were either psychologically unfit to handle the work, or that they possessed a morally compromised sense of ethics.
Either way, such individuals could never be allowed to work here.
“……”
Still, Ryu Jaegwan was aware.
Most of the people sitting in that room had their own reasons for being here.
Some were searching for missing family members.
Some had supernatural threats they needed to eliminate.
For those applicants, more than anyone, he quietly hoped they would pass.
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes, sir!”
Of course, Bronze wasn’t the type to go easy on anyone. No matter what he personally felt, his strict evaluation criteria would not be changing.
The assistant examiners sitting beside him swallowed nervously.
They were acutely aware of Agent Bronze’s reputation.
‘I heard he’s seriously strict about his passing criteria.’
‘Too bad for the applicants in this room.’
The assistant examiners exchanged glances before proceeding with the aptitude test, following Agent Bronze’s instructions.
– Group ‘다 (Da)’ candidates 1 through 4, please step forward.
The announcement echoed through the room beyond the glass.
Four final candidates stepped into the center of the room.
Candidate #1, age 25, visibly tense. Candidate #2, age 38, appearing calm but unnaturally pale. Candidate #3, age 31, eyes burning with intensity. And…
“Pfff—!”
“S-Sir…?”
Ryu Jaegwan barely stifled a choking cough.
For a moment, he thought he must be hallucinating. But, no. The reflection in the glass remained unchanged.
A face he had unexpectedly seen far too many times from within supernatural phenomena—that peculiar yet virtuous person…
‘…Agent Grapes?!’
Kim Soleum.
Standing directly across from the mirror, adjusting his glasses awkwardly while looking a little tense—the former Daydream Inc. employee!!
He was Candidate #4 for the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau’s Group ‘다 (Da)’ selection.