The next day—
I took a whole day off, just as the agents told me I could, and only went into work late the following day.
“Agent Grapes, thank you for your hard work.”
And, thankfully, thanks to the members of Black Tortoise Team 1, who had already finished almost all of the situation report, I was able to wrap up the ‘Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace’ work with just a few simple answers.
‘Thank you so much I could cry.’
I received all sorts of compliments from the agents.
And then…
Good news, too.
“They’ve already found the guardians of more than half the children.”
“Since the entry method was so unique, it looks like there were a lot of similar cases already in our database.”
“There were no cases of rescued citizens vanishing, either. …As of 7PM last night, we’ve confirmed all rescues.”
The faces of the Black Tortoise Team 1 agents speaking glowed with rare delight.
…I probably wasn’t much different.
“And, and— Want to hear another piece of surprising news? …Someone on a neighboring team found a younger sibling who went missing back in 1989.”
“……!”
“There are quite a few agents here who signed up hoping for just that.”
To find missing family.
“Thanks to you, that agent finally got to see their years of searching rewarded, and can sleep easy at night. Together with their family.”
“……”
“So, how do you feel?”
How do I feel?
An agent who joined here after searching for their sibling for decades.
Someone who, after finally learning where their sibling disappeared, couldn’t rescue them because of distorted time.
To hear that person finally found their sibling, safe and sound?
‘My god.’
A powerful, overwhelming wave swept over me, like a chill running down the back of my neck.
This isn’t just a sense of accomplishment.
‘So this is why people do this work.’
It was dangerous.
If I’m not careful, I might actually start working here with a real sense of duty.
‘…No.’
I gripped my once-missing right hand tightly.
I have to go home.
That has to be my only goal.
Already, I’ve survived more brushes with death than I can count. For someone who used to only experience ghost stories as content in a world without them, there’s no way I can live here with my sanity intact.
‘The end and the means to reach it. I must not confuse the two.’
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart.
But my excited heart didn’t completely settle.
“Anyway, really, you did a great job.”
Agent Choi, who had been listing off rewards that fit a successful investigation, smiled and patted me on the back.
“Oh, Grapes, you’re still in your rookie period, so you have to move on to your next assignment, right?”
“Yes. They’ll assign me to a different mission.”
“Alright. I’ve kept you too long. Good luck with your work~!”
I parted with the waving Agent Choi and followed behind Agent Bronze.
Thankfully, he didn’t try to recruit me to the Black Tortoise Team again.
Good. Being on the Dispatch & Rescue Unit… I don’t think I could keep doing this kind of work. Not emotionally.
‘Ha.’
Suppressing a sigh, I walked after Agent Bronze.
And the place he led me to was…
[Preliminary Investigation Unit, White Tiger Team 2]
[1]
This was the team Go Yeongeun was on.
“Soleum-ssi!”
As soon as I entered the office, one delighted Go Yeongeun jumped up from her seat when she saw me.
Reflexively, I glanced at Agent Bronze.
He was smiling, albeit faintly. It seemed he had specifically arranged for me to join this team, out of consideration for the fact that we knew each other from Looky Mart…
“Today there’s no fieldwork, so you don’t need to work in pairs with anyone. You can just work in this office. …If you have any problems, come find us in Black Tortoise Team 1’s waiting room.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
I was truly grateful.
And the fact that it wasn’t fieldwork made me feel even more at ease.
‘Today is a bit of a breather, huh.’
Of course, I’ll do my best to show I’m someone who fits right in with the Preliminary Investigation Unit.
After bowing my head to the departing Agent Bronze, I entered the office with Go Yeongeun-ssi.
It looked just like a clean, standard office, and was still pretty quiet.
“Everyone else is out in the field right now, so I’m the only one here, but when they get back, we can greet them together.”
“Yes. Understood.”
I added, with a hint of hope,
“I look forward to your guidance. Who knows, I might end up being officially assigned to this unit and working with you.”
“Ah, um…”
…??
Go Yeongeun somehow trailed off at her answer.
Why such an ominous reaction…?
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“No! It’s not that… huu.”
Go Yeongeun made a mysterious expression.
“It’s just, being too competent is… well, it can’t be helped, I guess…”
Pardon?
“Here, would you… take a look at this?”
I took the phone Go Yeongeun handed me.
It looked barely used, like it had just been issued for work, and on the screen was—
[Agent TalkTalk Anonymous Chatroom]
A somewhat old-fashionedly named anonymous group chat.
“……”
Wait a sec.
Is there another group chat that only I’m not in…?
“Ah. I heard they usually invite you after your rookie period ends and you get officially assigned to a unit.”
“I see.”
Thank goodness.
‘Hmm.’
With Go Yeongeun’s permission, I scrolled through the chat to get a feel for the atmosphere.
– sudden fortune vending machine appearance in Seocho-dong oncall agents please check
– About the Swamp Orgel, is it actually okay to just leave it alone if it’s not working
– yeah it’s fine, it’ll be reflected in the rulebook next month anyway
– lunch menu recs pls
‘The atmosphere’s more laid-back than I thought.’
It looked like a group chat where agents would ask each other for advice when they were stuck or in a bind at work.
Given the frequent solo and shift work, it made sense to have a place to share information.
Since it wasn’t like a certain company’s death-match, survival-style competitive structure, the atmosphere was better, and useful tips seemed to get shared more freely.
‘Come to think of it, I think I read about this in the <Dark Exploration Records> too.’
That made it feel a bit familiar. I nodded inwardly as I scrolled.
It might actually be fun to get invited here at least once…
– Destruction King Rookie has gone n wrecked another disaster
“……”
Wait.
Is this… me?
‘No way.’
I scrolled down faster to check the latest messages.
– I heard that rookie rescued all thirty kids who were trapped in a regular rescue disaster? And apparently demolished the entire city
– wait for real??
– aigoo black tortoise team 1 must be jumping for joyㅋㅋ
– Wowie if it’s at that level it’s not a coincidence, that’s straight-up skill… This person’s not ordinary, might be the first since team leader hong joined isn’t it
– I wish to be friends, sir…
– Any chance you’re interested in black tortoise team 3? We’d treat you right, honestly better than that choi from team 1
– Noonim I’m here too ^^
– Uh-huh i know
“……”
And the group chat was summed up in one conclusion…
– weve got someone ready to go all-in for dispatch&rescue huh? ㅋㅋ
– YOUNGEST. TEAM. LEADER. Hope you make it~^^
Please, anyone, save me…
Note/s:
[1] White Tiger (백호) – one of the Four Gods of East Asian mythology, representing the metal element, the directional west, and the season of autumn. Among the representative gods, it is revered as the protector against bad fortune and evil beings, however it is also depicted as the one with attributes that are particularly unstable. (source: Wikipedia, NamuWiki).
Read more about it over here en.namu.wiki/w/백호(도교) and here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tiger_(mythology) ↩