Chapter 99

I had known that the Disaster Management Bureau kept a tight lid on information about this ghost story, the Dokkaebi Workshop.

To be precise... that was all I had known!

'I had no idea how they actually managed this ghost story...'

Records of Dark Exploration hadn't even mentioned it!

Who could have imagined they would actually station someone undercover inside the ghost story to screen visitors and monitor the equipment being made?

A Bureau employee—a human—pretending to be a dokkaebi!

[Well, well? Taking your time answering, aren't you!]

My head spun.

'... What do I do?'

Wait. What had I said so far?

Feeling my blood run cold, I reviewed our conversation as it flashed through my mind like a panorama.

A fatal mistake... Right. I hadn't made one.

'... It's okay!'

I could still salvage this. I could... salvage this.

In that case.

I deliberately let all my uncertainty show on my slightly pale face.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I haven't been given permission to share that information..."

[...]

I didn't know anything.

I was a rookie who hadn't the faintest idea that this was a human, a senior agent.

I was just startled by a dokkaebi in a ghost story prying into my personal details, floundering helplessly while trying to handle it properly!

'Please!'

I raised my head slightly, wearing an expression that said, What am I supposed to do with this dokkaebi?

[Good grief, why do you government-working Mr. Kims have so much to worry about?]

"..."

Whew.

[You Mr. Kims call those groups you belong to teams, don't you? Why can't you tell me??]

"Yes. Um, yes... I'm sorry. Those are the government's rules."

[Well, that's no fun!]

The agent pretending to be a dokkaebi smacked their lips and stepped back.

'It worked.'

Were they going along with this?

[Still, I'll let it slide for the kindhearted Mr. Kim who gave me ginseng!]

Apparently, the agent intended to keep pretending to be a dokkaebi.

'... Did my little nudge work?'

Otherwise known as teasing the rookie.

I'd encouraged the desire to have this rookie nearly faint later when a senior told him, "That was an agent."

I'd formed a guess after seeing the agent sniff out the ginseng stored in my tattoo, just like a real dokkaebi.

'Maybe imitating a dokkaebi makes their abilities and personality similar, too.'

Perhaps they were using that sort of equipment.

And dokkaebi couldn't resist pranks like this.

"Th-thank you."

Playing along, I bowed my head deeply.

[Kindhearted Mr. Kim, I still ought to repay you for that fine drink!]

[Now, tell me what dokkaebi treasure you'd like! You can sing it to me, or dance it out...]

Now they were trying to get the rookie something.

They probably figured I'd acquired that wild ginseng somewhere as a precious item, only to hand it over too readily in my panic.

'... The most natural response is...'

"I-it's all right, sir! Then... I'd appreciate it if you would be kind to the next, um, 'government-working Mr. Kims' who visit. However much your good mood inspires you to be."

[... Oh? Is that so?]

"Yes!"

[All right, Mr. Kim. I do earn my drinks!]

I smiled brightly and nodded. The dokkaebi looked rather pleased as they swayed in a little dance.

Good. It looked like I'd passed that topic.

And naturally, the conversation moved on to the Griptok in my hand.

[So, what brought Mr. Kim here today... was wanting this trinket fixed up nice and pretty?]

"... Yes."

This was the problem.

This agent had recognized that my Griptok hadn't been made here...

Cold sweat dampened my palm.

Sure enough, the agent in dokkaebi guise asked with feigned casualness:

[Where did this thing come from?]

"I, um, don't really know. It was a gift from the government..."

[Yes, yes. Do those government-working Mr. Kims run factories these days? They keep sourcing things from elsewhere...]

[Dangerous business, that.]

"..."

[Who knows when a day dokkaebi might show up!]

Right. This workshop was no longer the only place the Disaster Management Bureau made supplies for its agents.

'The Silver Heart Badge came from somewhere else, too.'

At any rate, the agent seemed to have mistaken it for something made experimentally at one of those places.

A misunderstanding I was very grateful for.

'That saved me.'

Seeing the agent keep up the dokkaebi act to the very end, even mentioning day dokkaebi, calmed me a little.

Enough to accept something with hollow resignation.

'I'm screwed either way.'

That agent would definitely remember the person who'd suddenly shown up today and even offered ginseng.

'The moment they leave this ghost story and chat with the Bureau people, I'll be tracked down as a person of interest.'

... Was there really no way out?

[Anyway, I'll fix this trinket right up, so wait here!]

"Yes..."

The dokkaebi-imitating agent whisked into the tiled-roof house—the workshop—with my Griptok.

Probably to leave it with the other dokkaebi inside.

I waited quietly, though the ominous thought of the agent figuring things out, confiscating my Griptok, and making an emergency call to the Bureau left me in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, it didn't take long.

[Here's your trinket!]

The returning agent lightly tossed the Griptok to me. Suppressing a string of curses, I caught it carefully.

The crack was still visible in the Griptok.

But something glossy now filled the groove smoothly.

An adhesive that gleamed like jade.

"Oh, is it fully repaired now?"

[Now, now. Even rice needs time to steam. You think this elder's handiwork can be finished as easily as swallowing porridge? You have to wait for the adhesive to evaporate!]

[Just don't wear it for a month. Treasure it like gold and jade, as carefully as a swaddled baby. Make wishes about what you'd like it to look like, too. Then it'll become a splendid trinket!]

A whole month?

"... Thank you."

I took hold of the Griptok gently.

'... It feels like the slightest pressure would split it right open.'

In other words, I had to handle it very carefully during the month it took the adhesive to set.

Which meant...

'I can't access the wiki for a month.'

I'd been rereading it closely every day, desperately trying to remember as much as possible with perfect clarity. Now I couldn't keep up that routine.

Naturally, human memory had its limits, so I was anxious... but there was nothing I could do. I'd have to endure it. Getting a new Griptok seemed a distant prospect.

'At least I managed to get it repaired.'

That left just one problem.

How on earth was I supposed to leave naturally?

[Now, then. Let's have some of the buckwheat cakes young Mr. Kim brought... and hear what the government-working Mr. Kims have been up to lately!]

I wouldn't know, either...

'If this conversation goes on, it's only a matter of time before I'm exposed.'

Forget being wanted later. I might be tied up right here, hauled to the Disaster Management Bureau, and put in a glass prison.

... Right.

I made up my mind.

'They'll catch me eventually anyway.'

In that case... even if it made me a little more memorable,

I was going for it!

"Yes, sir. I, um..."

Blood surged up.

Instead of holding it back, I simply coughed it out.

Clotted blood welled out and ran down my chin.

Hastily wiping it away with my sleeve, I looked at the dokkaebi in alarm.

"S-sorry..."

I wasn't merely trying to cause alarm.

Blood...

[Mr. Kim...!!]

...was traditionally a dokkaebi's most sensitive point.

R-R-R-RATTLE.

The enormous tiled-roof house shook.

Scary! Scary! Scary!

Why is it scary? Why is it scary? Why is it scary?

[Oh, come on! Stop making such a fuss, all of you! Nothing's wrong!]

Scary! Who is it? Scary! Who is it?

Even with the agent shouting, the house kept shaking. White as a sheet, I clamped a hand over my mouth and retched.

"I-I'm sorry."

[Get out, quick. The crazy bastard who sent a sick rookie into a den of dokkaebi—I'll damn well...!]

"N-no! Sir, I... I came in without knowing any better."

[Sir, my ass! You little shit, you still haven't figured it out?]

Time to pretend I was catching on.

"...!"

I widened my eyes and scrambled to my feet.

"Are you perhaps..."

The agent in dokkaebi form folded their arms.

[Be grateful your senior is here, rookie.]

"Y-yes... I'm sorry."

Looking utterly dazed, as though I had no idea what was happening, I straightened up as if barely managing to collect myself.

THUD. THUD.

Now I could hear what sounded like brooms or wooden clubs striking the door of the tiled-roof house.

Clicking their tongue at the sound, the agent barked at me.

[If you're sick, you should rest! What possessed you to crawl in here? Did headquarters put you up to it?]

Huh?

If I played this right...

"... No."

I quickly rummaged through my memory and picked out one of the various episodes that had taken place at the Bureau.

'... There was a betting culture back at the training institute!'

A sort of test of courage, where recruits competed to prove their competence and daring.

Good. This would do...!

"... The other recruits told me to get the Memorial Griptok repaired on my own..."

The agent flinched.

[... They still do that these days?]

I merely gave a bitter smile.

The agent in dokkaebi guise seemed to suppress a groan, rubbed their face, then waved me away.

[... I'll let this slide without telling headquarters. Just go.]

It worked.

"Th-thank you."

[What's your code name?]

"I don't have one yet... Um, I'm still considering what would be good."

[... Right. We'll meet again if our paths cross.]

The agent pretending to be a dokkaebi flicked a hand.

The gesture sent me hurtling backward...

[Go home and rest.]

THUMP!

I landed on my backside.

"Ha..."

When I looked up, I was on a street in Hongdae.

It was still bustling, the sun was shining, and the blue-roofed café up ahead was doing brisk business...

'... I made it!'

I'd gotten out without being exposed.

-Excellent improvisation, my friend!

I let out a long sigh and covered my face.

I'd nearly ended up sprawled flat on the roadside.

* * *

I spent the next two days genuinely recuperating.

Unable to use the Griptok, I grew anxious enough to try writing down what I remembered on paper. But I stopped, worried I might actually be inventing and distorting details in the process.

Instead, I kept compulsively reviewing everything in my head, and time passed quickly.

And then...

"Mr. Kim Soleum."

"Section Chief."

Three days later, I returned to work and saw Section Chief Lizard again.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes. Please attend another counseling session before the end of this month, Mr. Kim Soleum."

"... Yes."

Fortunately, he was fine, too.

What's more, Section Chief Lee Jaheon asked me no further questions.

Not about Braun's abilities, like turning off the spotlight, nor about the mascot made of black water that had chased me.

Even when I told him what I could, his only response was, "I see."

'Consistent as ever.'

Which made it harder for me to ask Section Chief Lee Jaheon anything more, either...

Besides, after three whole days of sick leave, there was far too much to do for me to settle in and question him.

'Wow. When am I going to finish all this?'

We'd escaped through an irregular method yet again, and immediately afterward, all of Team D had taken time off, except the two entry-level employees who'd come as backup?

We were being hounded from every direction.

I spent the day writing reports with Section Chief Lee Jaheon, giving interviews, and even calling Director Cheong to express my thanks.

On top of that, I had to mention the taxi Darkness we'd used to escape Death Row in the report. I racked my brains over how to explain knowing about it and calling it.

'Should I say I saw an advertising flyer in Death Row?'

But wouldn't that contaminate the manual?

My head was spinning when he spoke.

"The taxi you called is a Darkness still pending manual review."

"...!"

"In other words, that information cannot be obtained through normal use of the company's systems."

Wow.

A chill ran through me as I turned to Section Chief Lee Jaheon, but the lizard told me this:

"So I changed the designated caller of the taxi."

"... To whom?"

"Me."

Wait a second.

"You changed the report to say you called the taxi, Team Leader?"

"Yes."

By now, I was starting to understand how this lizard operated.

"... As a reward for my active contribution to our escape from Death Row, and to take responsibility for our joint effort as Team Leader?"

"Yes."

And that wasn't all.

"Um, do you remember, Team Leader? There was a piece of equipment you promised me in the break-room ghost story..."

"Yes. It will be ready next week."

Wow.

I resolved to respect Section Chief Lee Jaheon from the bottom of my heart.

Who cared if he was a little frustrating? He was the boss of my dreams!

'If you're frustrated, that's your problem to deal with!'

Got that, Kim Soleum?

Scolding myself, I diligently worked my way through the paperwork.

New Exclusive Equipment in the works, and a team at a new rank.

A new chapter of my working life was just around the corner.

Though before that, a new Darkness awaited me.

... Along with a face I wasn't remotely pleased to see.

* * *

"Hey, long time no see, Mr. Roe Deer!"

Kwak Jegang from the research team waved at me with a smile.

"Any interest in an abandoned elevator?"

No! Absolutely not!!