“Uhh, sure… go ahead.”
“First, to enter this Darkness, you must have seen the pre-entry ad, ‘The Clown Hates You,’ right?”
“That’s correct.”
“But, the clown is not actually a clown.”
“……??”
“Clowns wear colorful makeup, smile cheerfully, and perform tricks. They’re a type of traditional entertainer.”
And?
“But this clown wears monochromatic makeup and has a frowning face.”
“……!”
“There’s a clear distinction.”
A faint smile flickered on Kim Soleum’s pale face before disappearing.
“And since the ad says, ‘The Clown Hates You,’ I assumed it wouldn’t chase us.”
After all, entertainers don’t chase people they dislike.
“So I looked for the portrait with monochromatic makeup and only red lips, and I avoided all the other portraits.”
“……”
“To be cautious, I kept a safe distance of 3 meters and remotely touched the portrait.”
He considered all that while clearing a ghost story in just half an hour? And based on the outcome…
“The clown didn’t come out of the portrait.”
“……!”
“Instead, it quietly disappeared from the painting.”
This rookie had identified the correct solution.
While previous civilians had been chased by clowns falling out of various portraits, D-squad, interacting only with one from a safe distance, had figured out the situation perfectly.
The researcher felt chills running down his spine.
The rookie even factored in other variables.
“There was a record stating that shining light on the portraits would cause all the clowns to jump out, so we didn’t use any light sources.”
“Huh? Then how did you manage to identify the portraits from 3 meters away in such Darkness?”
“Oh.”
Kim Soleum blinked.
“The Section Chief could see them just fine.”
“……”
Ah.
Kwak Jaekang tried not to turn and look at D-squad’s section chief, who seemed like the embodiment of ‘strength in human form’.
“From now on, I believe future entrants should bring night vision goggles, and they should have no problems.”
“Ah, I see… that makes sense.”
“That concludes my report.”
Another heavy silence followed.
Kwak Jaekang muttered quietly to himself.
“He figured all this out just from reviewing the pre-entry information?”
“Yes.”
The rookie added, as if he’d just realized something.
“Maybe none of the people who entered before were familiar with American pop culture.”
“……”
Could it really be explained that simply…?
“Uh, Soleum-ssi, did you study abroad or something?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Kim Soleum answered immediately.
“I just happen to know a lot of random stuff.”
“……”
The researchers witnessed the rare sight of Kwak Jaekang, usually a smooth talker, at a loss for words!
“Oh, I’ve also written a temporary manual based on this theory. Supervisor Park Minseong was kind enough to lend me a notebook…”
“Oh, I didn’t do anything~ Roe, you did it all~”
As Park’s words echoed in the background, the researchers watched as Kwak Jaekang received the notebook from him.
They craned their necks to peek inside.
Sure enough, the hypothesis Kim Soleum had explained earlier was neatly organized in the notebook.
‘……!’
Kwak Jaekang quickly skimmed through it, then closed it with a smile.
“…Interesting. Let’s test it.”
“Yes.”
Thus, the prototype manual was completed, all thanks to a single person—a rookie, no less.
“……”
The researcher who had made the bet earlier briefly wondered if he was dreaming. Even if Soleum had known about clowns by chance… how could someone come up with a theory and escape in just thirty minutes, even in a life-threatening situation?
No. Does that even make sense?
‘Could he be some kind of monster pretending to be human?’
But then again, there’s no way something like that would get hired by the Field Exploration Team. And besides, the Dream Essence Collector only reacts to humans, right?
“Squad Leader, the Research Team wants that piece you brought back from the Darkness.”
“Alright.”
Meanwhile, Section Chief Lee Jaheon handed over a piece of cloth he had been holding.
“What is that…?”
“Oh, Squad Leader Lee grabbed it when the portrait clown tried to escape…”
It was a torn piece of fabric from when Squad Leader Lee had sprinted 3 meters to grab the clown by the collar, preventing its escape.
“……”
‘Are they birds of a feather?’
Were the two somehow related? Now that he thought about it, they did resemble each other a bit. Both had a slick, sharp appearance. The researcher nearly let his imagination run wild with absurd thoughts.
And, back to the rookie who had caused such shock and alarm…
‘I, I’m alive.’
His heart was still racing from acting impulsively, not thinking of the consequences.
‘Why did the clown have teeth?! Why was it peeling off people’s skin?! Why was it sucking people into the sewer like balloons?!’
Having witnessed all sorts of terrifying, animated clown portraits, he’d probably developed a fear of clowns for life.
‘Another reason for insomnia added to the list…’
What amazed him was how he had managed to bluff his way through the situation, talking his way out of it.
‘Wait, did I really pull it off?’
Wasn’t I acting too suspicious?
I hope they don’t think I had a cheat sheet and end up dragging me to some secret lab in the basement of Daydream Inc.!
Just as Kim Soleum was about to let his anxiety take over, Kwak Jaekang, who had quietly been holding the notebook, finally spoke.
“…New Hire Kim Soleum. Haven’t you gotten your business card printed yet?”
Kim Soleum, snapping back to reality, responded promptly.
“No, new hires don’t receive business cards yet…”
“Oh, don’t play dumb. You know what I mean.”
“……”
Suddenly, something came to mind.
The business card the host had handed him at the welcome party.
───
If needed
010-0153-24865
───
The Research Team 1’s section chief smirked.
“If you want to earn points faster, contact that number.”
“……”
“I have a feeling you’ll be calling soon.”
It sounded like a tempting offer.
However. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“No, thank you.”
Kim Soleum responded without hesitation.
“…Hmm. If that’s your decision.”
Kwak Jaekang shrugged and let it go lightly.
“Is there any particular reason not to? Haha.”
“……”
The reason was simple.
‘More terrifying events? No, thank you.’
His heart, still shaken by the recent ordeal, couldn’t take it.
Kim Soleum had already decided to settle for the current ‘triple points event’ and leave it at that!