"..."
I held my breath and looked at the stairs leading down below.
It was the way back.
Long, stretching far beneath the box, and at the end of those dark stairs….
Was the place I was meant to return to.
[Oh, you've finally achieved your long-held goal. Congratulations, Friend!]
…!
"Braun!"
I picked up the Rabbit Doll lying on the messy suit beside the tank.
[Yes, Mr. Roe Deer. You've found the way. And fortunately, the reception seems to have improved!]
My mind that had been quiet now hears the sound of applause and the friction sound of someone tapping on the antenna above the tv screen.
'Once again, I was unable to hear that voice….'
Just like when I was 130666, right after I made the contract with Director Cheong.
The lump that was only my cognitive ability couldn't perceive the Good Friend. Maybe… it was because I was in a state where I couldn't make friends.
I felt nauseous when I remembered my previously crushed stare, but more than that, I felt joy.
Not being alone is always reassuring.
Even if the one by my side is the great Host with a TV for a head who wants to make me a staff member on his talk show… we've been together for a long time.
The words came out naturally.
A thought that popped up as I thought of the membrane surrounding me.
"By any chance… did I enter the egg that was inside the Dream Incubator Tank?"
[Hmm. An interesting and clever guess! Whether that's true or not, isn't this space, in any case, one created by a bottle of syrup from that incubator to grant your wish?]
…My wish.
I reflexively looked at the stairs inside the box again.
Even the paper guide that read, 'The Way Back,
It was then.
-Agent Grapes?[1]
…!
A faint voice came from outside the membrane.
"Agent Haegeum!"
I shouted reflexively.
"I'm safe. I'm okay!"
-Good!
It seemed a bit noisy outside, but the membrane blocked almost everything, so only a frustratingly small voice reached my ears.
-Has anything changed?
"What? I… there's a path here."
-A path?
"Yes. …it's the path, back home."
....
After a brief silence, her voice returned.
-Does it look safe?
"I can't be sure. But given the circumstances…."
The prototype of the Wish Ticket. The complete 'Wish-Granting Syrup' containing five million Dream Essence Points had worked properly.
"I think… I might be able to return home safely."
-....
A hoarse voice is heard.
-And you want to take that path.
I catch my breath.
"…Yes."
-Right. I understand.
And then the surroundings seem to get a little noisy again.
Were Yeongeun or the Head of Security trying to say something? It was frustrating not being able to hear them clearly.
'I want to talk to them.'
I spoke while pressing myself against the membrane.
"Excuse me, are the others there? I'd like to at least say hello…."
But–
-No, it's better if you don't.
"…What?"
-The egg is getting smaller.
Ah.
I realized.
The membrane surrounding me was shrinking.
As if it would get smaller and smaller until it collapsed, or until I broke through it….
-It started when we began talking.
-It seems that interaction with the outside world has an effect. It would be safer to minimize it.
"..."
I naturally understood.
The 'Children's Paradise Syrup' had even given me a grace period to choose.
Either break through that shell.
Or return home.
"..."
I look at the stairs.
-Agent Grapes. Have you decided on your path?
"...Yes."
I say it.
The goal I had repeated endlessly.
My wish that these people had tried so hard to grant.
"I want to… go home."
-…Right. I understand.
Agent Haegeum's voice reached me.
-In that case, don't you dare look back, just walk straight ahead.
-You're bound to get lost if you look back.
"...Yes."
I nodded, taking a deep breath.
In the meantime, the membrane gets smaller.
'Ah.'
There isn't much time.
I spoke quickly.
"Thank you!"
Yes.
"Could you please tell everyone… that I was truly, very grateful?"
I could have met my end in this Resort.
Adding one more to the list of missing persons in ghost stories, leaving a creepy exploration log ending on the wiki.
I was grateful that they prevented that from happening.
"I've received so much help until now."
To my team superiors, who helped a new employee who would appear and disappear unpredictably.
To my batchmates .
To the Security Team Chief.
To the 007 agent I met through a secondhand transaction.
To… from a certain agent who, despite doubting me until the very end, answered my call for rescue.
"Thanks to you all, I'm returning home safely from a Supernatural Disaster."
-....
-Okay. I'll definitely tell them.
"...Yes."
A lump of heat rose in my throat.
In that moment, Agent Haegeum spoke slowly, as if reciting.
As if she was relaying the words of someone standing beside her, someone who had been in the room for a while but whose presence she hadn't announced to me.
-Return safely, Citizen.[2]
And that was the end.
No more sounds could be heard from beyond the membrane.
"..."
I stood up and checked myself.
…I'm wearing a black suit.
Just like….
[You look the same as when you started, Mr. Roe Deer!]
"..."
[Oh, are you also contemplating a farewell to this Braun?]
"…!"
[Hmm. A great ending line is a concern for every Entertainer! But since we are friends, there's no need to worry about such trivial matters….]
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
"…Are you okay with it ending like this?"
[Hm?]
The Good Friend said he'd follow me anywhere.
He'd watched and narrated my every move as if broadcasting, lent me a ridiculous sum of money, and then tossed out advice only at the most critical moment….
I said it even though I knew there was no need to invite trouble by saying such things.
And….
[My, my, Mr. Roe Deer.]
The Entertainer spoke.
[All shows are more enjoyable and anticipated because they have an end.]
[However, when the guest will visit the studio again to tell another fun story is entirely up to the guest's own will.]
"..."
[Was it fun?]
Objectively, it had been horrific.
But for some reason, I didn't feel like answering that way here.
"…To some extent."
[That's a very aspirational answer. You're not satisfied, but it was fun. Well done!]
[In that sense, it seems it's about time to wrap up this shoot.]
The cheerful Host's voice comes from the Rabbit Doll.
[It has been a great honor to accompany you on this program as your Good Friend, the witty host.]
"…Me too."
I swallowed.
"I was grateful, too."
[My pleasure.]
[Well then, that's all for today's show….]
....
[Cut!]
I carefully tucked the Rabbit Doll into my suit.
And then,
I stepped down below the black box.
Thud.
The dark stairs supported my weight.
My body entered the box.
It was dark, and I couldn't see anything.
It feelt narrow and suffocating.
But far below, a faint whitish light glimmered.
I keept walking.
Thud.
With every step down the dark stairs, a new thought surfaced.
The things I was leaving behind.
The stories still in motion.
Thud.
What would happen to Segwang Metropolitan City now?
Would the agents be able to solve the Disaster Management Bureau's problems?
Shouldn't I have handled the aftermath with them as well?
I might have been able to come up with a good idea.
Thud.
Director Cheong's contract has been nullified, so what will happen to the Security Team in the meantime?
Will Mr. Jay be okay?
Deputy Manager Minseong will need a way to recover from the Contamination.
I feel like there might have been a way I could have helped….
Thud.
And what happened to the Agent Chogae?
Did the figure wearing the Lion Mask disappear, leaving only the agent from the Goblin Workshop? Or did they merge?
Did the students, teachers, and agents of Saegwang High School escape safely?
…Is Ho Yuwon still counseling?
Am I still, left there?
Thud.
With each step down the stairs, the urge to look back grew stronger.
I was getting farther and farther away, slipping out of the stories that once included me.
People I wanted to talk to more, whose futures I wanted to know, came to mind….
Thud.
I want to know the next story.
It feels like there's so much left to do.
I'm curious.
I miss them.[3]
I imagined what would happen if I turned around right now, ran back up the stairs, and tore through the membrane….
....
But I don't look back.
Thud.
I moved forward.
Thud.
I walked, watching the whitish light source grow closer and closer.
I keep going straight down the narrow stairs.
Thud.
At some point, I can no longer hear any other presence.
And....
"..."
I stopped in front of the light.
It was a door.
The whitish glow leaking through the crack was the light source I'd been following…
I had reached the end of the stairs.
Click.
I opened the door.
The indoor scenery of a department store unfolds before my eyes.
A vibrant pop-up space, filled with young students and their guardians.
[Apocalyptic Prophecy: Darkness Exploration Record]
Creeak, thud.
The door behind me closed completely.
The shape of that door shimmered faintly on the marble floor.
It was an Emergency Exit.
"..."
I looked down at my hands.
Somehow, I was holding a 'Darkness Exploration Records Real Goods Box.'
I opened it with one hand.
…At the very top, I see the 'Good Friend' Rabbit Doll keychain I received as a prize, still in its packaging.
Bzzzzing.
My Smartphone vibrates.
[Younger Sibling: Oi Kim Soleum mom said to come visit this weekend]
I opened my contacts.
Dad, Mom, Younger Sibling, Friends. Everyone I wanted to see were all there.
And when I open the gallery, I saw photos.
Records that tell me what kind of person I am. The familiar and missed traces of Kim Soleum's life, left intact.
But this is my returned world, one without any trace of the people I had been close to for the past few years.
[Younger Sibling: if you saw answer rn]
"..."
[ok]
After replying, I put the clean Smartphone, now without a Pop-socket, back in my pocket.
And I walked out….
I pass by the
A place overflowing with people.
"This is a must-buy."
"Ah, it's sold out…."
Amidst the excited young visitors, I glanced at the line for the pop-up's roulette wheel.
The staff at the front was explaining the rules, but I couldn't find the employee who had made me spin it.
"..."
I kept walking and left the department store.
Without looking back.
I didn't stop.
I took the familiar bus, retracing the path I came on.
Back to where I was before coming to the pop-up store.
I arrived.
Beep-boop-beep-boop.
I press the familiar passcode and open the door.
"..."
The place where I originally was.
It was home.
"...Haaa."
I exhaled.
A very long, slow sigh of relief, as if letting everything go.
I take off my shoes, set the giant black box by the entrance, and hurried inside.
A comfortable scent.
A familiar and cozy place.
Surrounded by things I knew well, I set down my Smartphone.
I take off my suit and changed into my pajamas.
The tension drained from my shoulders, replaced by a warm, overwhelming fatigue.
A safe, comfortable drowsiness.
'Tonight… I had to entertain a client.'
Right,
I had to go to work again.
But before that–
"..."
I set an alarm and lay down on my bed.
And I fell asleep.
A very sweet and peaceful sleep.
It was a rest.
[1] not past speech but from outside the membrane
[2] Kirinkirinki: The one that says "Return safely, citizen" says it in honorifics, like when actually addressing a civilian.
[3] might be “I want to see” but I’m not sure