Daydream Inc.'s ethics may be questionable, but the effectiveness of their potions was undeniable.
Like magic.
"…!"
As soon as Agent Bronze drank the C-grade Regeneration Potion, flesh burst forth from the stumps of his severed thighs, rapidly reconstructing into the shape of fully restored legs.
Go Yeongeun swallowed hard. She had used the same potion on herself before, but this was her first time witnessing it in action, and she was in awe.
I felt the same way.
Seeing such a large area regenerate instantly—and it was only a C-grade potion?
'…Didn't they say it costs about 10,000 points?'
It was an effect so overwhelming that anyone watching would be shocked and mesmerized.
I unconsciously tried not to touch my right arm, which had been restored by Nostalgia Candy, as I continued watching the scene.
"Huu."
Soon, Agent Bronze mechanically tested the movement of his legs. Then, standing up barefoot, he grabbed the Binding Rope that restrained the employees… before lowering his head slightly, avoiding my gaze. "…Thank you."
"Yes."
As if she couldn't hold back any longer, Go Yeongeun muttered under her breath.
"...You could afford to be a little more grateful."
Ah.
"What do you…?"
"Let's talk outside."
Hurriedly, I cut off their conversation and suggested returning to the base camp that Agent Bronze had set up.
But the Binding Rope began to tremble.
"…!"
The two deflated employees, who had been subdued with holes in their forms, started to twitch.
And over there.
The door to the staff-only area we had come from.
Dudududududududu!
A heavy, repetitive thudding sound rang out—
Then, with an ear-piercing creak, the metal door burst open, and employees poured out.
"...!"
"This way—!"
We barely dodged the stampede of employees rushing toward us, hastily pulling Agent Bronze beneath the candle's shadow.
Three people.
With the group full once more, we pressed ourselves against the wall, avoiding the terrifying wave of employees flooding into the area.
"…!!"
"We'll be fine. We're inside the candle's range…"
Agent Bronze glanced at the candle in Go Yeongeun's hands. "…Is that originally yours, too?"
"...Yes."
I deliberately lowered my voice as I looked back at Agent Bronze. "Um, I… I told them I got it from you—so, um, I'd appreciate it if you could go along with that."
"..."
Agent Bronze gave a slight nod.
'…He's cooperative.'
Even though he knew the item came from Daydream Inc., he wasn't questioning it.
It seemed like giving him the regeneration potion had earned some goodwill.
ScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreekScreek
'Damn it, I can't even think straight…!'
The number of employees kept growing, their presence suffocating. Go Yeongeun backed away instinctively, her ears turning pale.
The Binding Rope lost its effect. The two distorted employees who had been shot with the Glass Handgun began grotesquely oozing out of their restraints.
And the other employees that had poured out surrounded them, circling frantically, like a bizarre ritual.
Their arms were crushed under the weight of the swarm, heads flattened— but then popped back up, reshaping unnaturally.
It looked like some kind of bizarre ritual.
"It looks like they're looking for the person who harmed an employee…"
"If you harm an employee in this mart, and they see it happen… they'll hunt you down until you're caught."
"…!"
Yet he shot them without hesitation and sat on top of them?
Agent Bronze's expression hardened.
"…I figured this would be my last mission anyway, so I was prepared to handle the consequences."
"~!!"
Go Yeongeun seemed ready to argue again, but held back.
"Let's move. Now."
"Yes."
We hurried away from the disturbing ritual-like gathering. Still, the relentless screeking sounds echoed behind us, an unsettling, high-pitched noise.
'Huu.'
I looked down at the floor.
Then at Agent Bronze's bare feet against the cold mart tiles.
"Agent, do you have spare shoes…?"
"…In the camping section."
Okay.
I checked my wristwatch for the time.
Luckily, we had found Agent Bronze fairly quickly—at most, two or three hours should have passed.
Even if I accounted for some distortion in my perception of time, it should still be around evening.
Maybe around 19:00. At least, that's what I thought…
Until I looked at my watch.
[ 09 : 04 ]
Nine o'clock. In the morning.
"...!"
I looked again.
But the time was still exactly ten hours off from my estimate. It obviously wasn't the past which meant…
'...It's the next morning?'
"The time is acting… strange…"
And at that moment, I realized it.
"Agent Grapes. Time does not flow consistently in the staff-only area of this supermarket."
"..."
So that's why the layout felt nonsensical, like spaces were stitched together without logic. It wasn't just confusing. It was designed to be terrifying.
'A horror cliché.'
Maybe it had been mentioned in the [manual], but it was such a common phenomenon that I must not have paid attention, but… That wasn't the issue now.
'…How long have the kids been alone?'
To make matters worse—
Agent Bronze muttered grimly.
"…Nine o'clock."
"…Yes."
"Let's move as quickly as possible. …The barrier I set up in the store doesn't have much time left."
"…!!"
We sprinted toward the camping section—almost at full speed. The fact that we didn't drop the candle was a miracle.
"Hahh… haah…"
And we were just in time.
The high schoolers were on the verge of fleeing.
"They're not coming back! And something's wrong right now!"
"T-That's…"
'Damn it.'
The agents hadn't returned for over a day, and the store had been filled with the relentless sounds of moving employees.
Understandably, the students had panicked and were preparing to escape to another floor.
They had been desperately debating how to transport their catatonic friend, whether to leave him behind, and what to do next. But the moment they saw us, they collapsed on the spot.
"Ahhh!"
"A-Agent…!"
This was a nightmare.
We led the high schoolers—who were simultaneously crying in relief and yelling at us for being so late—back toward the center of the camping section.
Meanwhile, Agent Bronze swiftly checked the barrier he had set up.
"How much time is left?"
"About an hour."
Damn it.
"At least we're guaranteed an hour of safety. Let's use it to regroup quickly."
Go Yeongeun immediately extinguished the candle, checked on the students' condition, and started piecing together what had happened.
…She's so reliable.
'Phew.'
"I'll keep watch. You should focus on getting changed."
"…Understood."
While Go Yeongeun was inside the tent, Agent Bronze took the chance to change into a spare agent uniform he had brought with him. Meanwhile, I listened carefully to our surroundings, trying to figure out our next move.
'The stairwell is too narrow.'
…I wanted to hope against hope that the store would open today, but counting on something that convenient was bad for my sanity. I swallowed the sugary aftertaste of the Nostalgia Candy, then distracted myself with another concern.
"How are you holding up?"
"...I'm fine."
Agent Bronze reached into the bloodstained pockets of his old uniform pants, quickly re-equipping some of his gear.
But, one item stood out.
He had been casually retrieving and organizing his belongings until he picked that one up and froze.
…A white popsocket.
A label was stuck to it—handwritten.
Must be delivered
It reminded me of the Memorial Popsocket.
It looked like something from the Disaster Management Bureau.
"Agent, that's…"
"..."
Agent Bronze silently stared at it for a moment.
Then, without a word, he tucked it into his new uniform and muttered. "It belonged to another agent. I found it… in the supply warehouse."
And from his tone, I realized.
'…There were other agents in the warehouse.'
Most likely, he had taken it from a fellow agent's corpse, one that had been 'stored' in the supply warehouse for a long time.
Now fully dressed, Agent Bronze looked up and met my gaze. Then, he asked in a low, quiet voice, "Did you enter the supply warehouse?"
"..."
I shook my head.
For a brief moment, relief flickered across his face.
"You did well. From now on, avoid places that 'feel wrong'. Human instinct is surprisingly useful in dealing with supernatural phenomena."
"..."
What the hell was inside that warehouse?
I didn't know the details, but the [manual] had given me enough descriptions to guess.
'…Dozens of dying people, processed into 'supplies', rotting and mutating inside.'
I forced myself not to imagine it and changed the subject.
"So, what does that item do?"
If it was useful, Agent Bronze would have mentioned it already. And sure enough, his expression darkened slightly.
"…It ensures a guaranteed transmission of an emergency rescue request to the Disaster Management Bureau."
"..."
Ah.
"It's an attachment for a smartphone. I thought maybe I could send out a message from here, but… it seems like it only works if the user is designated as a rescue target."
So it was specifically designed to function only for missing persons.
'…That agent must have been carrying it to give to someone else.'
Under normal circumstances, it was an invaluable item.
But here—where it didn't recognize us as 'rescue targets'—it was useless.
I couldn't even begin to imagine what Agent Bronze had gone through, enduring inside that warehouse.
"Um, are you done changing?"
"…! Yes."
Go Yeongeun stepped out of the tent.
"Agent Bronze, I think you should talk to the students. They already know you're the highest-ranking agent here."
"..."
After a brief nod, Agent Bronze entered the tent.
With a deep sigh, Go Yeongeun sat down beside me.
"…How are the students holding up?"
"They're alright. Now that all the agents have returned and even managed a rescue, their morale has skyrocketed."
…Because they still didn't realize we would have to flee this tent section right away.
Huu.
Both Go Yeongeun and I sighed at the same time.
"I really hope the store reopens today."
"…Yeah."
Please, please.
I agreed wholeheartedly, slumping down.
"I mean, it was running just fine when we first entered, but how many days has it been closed now…?"
Exactly.
Every word hit home.
'It was open when we arrived…'
…
…
Wait a minute.
"G-Grapes?"
I shot up from my seat and sprinted toward the tent.
Then, I threw open the entrance.
"Agent!"
Agent Bronze and the high schoolers looked up at me in shock.
"That emergency request item—can we use it right now?"
"Huh?"
Agent Bronze stared at me, momentarily confused, but soon, with a surprising amount of patience, he answered, "The item itself is functional, but agents can't use it."
"What if one of the students uses it?"
"Duplicate requests… are deprioritized compared to the first report."
The high schoolers flinched.
Right. They had been the ones who sent out the initial request, which was why we entered this damn Looky Mart in the first place.
But.
"There's one more student."
"...!"
I thought of the student still lying blankly in the other tent.
The friend of these high schoolers, the one Agent Bronze had found. The missing person who had never sent a rescue request to the Disaster Management Bureau.
"Calm yourself, Agent."
Agent Bronze spoke gently, as if trying to steady me.
"This device only allows for a 33-character message, and detailed explanations are impossible."
"That's fine."
I wasn't planning to explain our situation with it.
"The student can request rescue however they see fit. …As long as they do that, then."
If my theory was correct.
I swallowed hard.
"…The supermarket will open today."
"…!!"
I rushed to the adjacent tent.
Then, from the three remaining Nostalgia Candies, I took one and fed it to the unresponsive student lying there.
The student named Lee Soobin.
Unlike the others, this student had gone missing days earlier—before the initial rescue request was even made.
Go Yeongeun had suggested that a familiar face nearby might help ground him, so the other high schoolers stood beside me, anxiously watching.
I tore open the wrapper and placed the Nostalgia Candy into Lee Soobin's mouth.
"..."
"S-Soobin? Are you okay?"
Drip, drip.
Tears streamed down his face.
And then, he started sobbing.
"Huuhp, hiiiic…"
"It's okay, i-it's okay…"
The high schoolers rushed in, hugging him tightly.
…Nostalgia Candy restored a person's body and mind to their peak condition, but it didn't erase their painful memories.
I stood back and let them help him recover, checking the time.
[ 09 : 22 ]
And then, when we couldn't afford to wait any longer—
[ 09 : 43 ]
I finally spoke.
"Student Lee Soobin."
"Hiiiic… Yes…"
"To be honest with you, to get out of here faster, we need your help."
I handed him the smartphone with the emergency request attachment.
"Write down your name and ID, then type 'Looky Mart' and send the rescue request."
"..."
"Please."
With trembling hands, the student took the phone.
And then, he frantically started typing.
[HelpmepleaseI'mtrappedinLookyMartIlivein■■districtplease]
It was a message filled with pure desperation. Tears dripped from his eyes as his fingers moved.
Then… he sent it.
"..."
"You did well. Try to rest now."
I couldn't bring myself to tell him to spit out the Nostalgia Candy.
…If my theory was wrong, then maybe I would need to save it after all.
'For now… we wait.'
Leaving the students behind, I stepped outside the tent.
Ziiip.
Go Yeongeun, who had been sitting nearby, looked up at me. I sat down beside her and kept checking my watch.
Waiting for that time.
For 10:00 AM, the opening hour.
[ 09 : 51 ]
Agent Bronze began preparing to retrieve the protective item.
[ 09 : 54 ]
I calculated how long we could hold out in the second-floor food court if we failed.
[ 09 : 58 ]
In the worst case… who should receive the two escape items?
Then…
[ 09 : 59 ]
The moment approached.
All three of us lifted our heads, staring at the ceiling and the air above. Waiting for the signal.
And…
[ 10 : 00 ]
Time was up.
"..."
"..."
"Agent Grapes, are you alri—"
Na-na-na-na, na-na-nan-na-na-na, na-na-nan~
"…!!"
A chime-like melody suddenly filled the store.
– Looky Mart's doors are now open. We welcome our valued customers with bright smiles today~
A cheerful announcement.
The familiar store jingle played without distortion, ringing through the mart loud and clear.
Flicker, flicker, flicker.
Bright fluorescent lights flickered on.
Sunlight began streaming through the glass windows.
And the grotesque employees vanished as if rewinding.
With an eerie, creaking noise, they were sucked back into the staff-only area, disappearing through the gaping metal doors…
Thud.
The doors slammed shut.
Every single one of them was gone.
Not a single trace left behind.
"..."
The supermarket… had finally reopened.
"Hahhh…"
'…We survived.'
I collapsed onto the floor.
"It worked! It actually worked!!"
Exactly.
Go Yeongeun, looking more excited than I had ever seen her, clapped me on the shoulder, her face flushed with relief as she glanced around the mart. "How in the world did you— No! It doesn't matter! Let's just get the hell out of here first and talk later!"
But Agent Bronze, who had been staring at the store in a daze, suddenly turned to look at me.
"The emergency request… This was…"
"Yes."
Had he figured it out?
I finally smiled and answered.
"The store has to be open for a rescue agent to enter."
"…!"
Yes.
'Kind of like reverse logic.'
I forced the mart into a situation that 'made sense' where it had to reopen. Right… by changing the conditions.
"You said before that there's no way to stop people from entering Looky Mart."
It wasn't just in the agent handbook I received. The [manual] also stated it explicitly.
A known method to end or seal it does not exist, and proactively preventing disappearances is likewise impossible.
Even the entry conditions were documented.
Looky Mart entry condition : Roam around for over twenty minutes, within a 3km radius of the old Lucky Mart location, searching for the store.
Which meant—
'As long as someone follows that condition, they will be pulled into this cursed Looky Mart ghost story.'
But now, let's flip that logic.
"Then, if someone is about to enter, Looky Mart must be open for business."
—Looky Mart must be open for new victims to enter.
"And…"
"That means… a new agent is coming today."
Go Yeongeun blurted it out, her face flickering between shock and realization.
"Because the high school student sent a rescue request—a new agent will be entering!"
Correct.
So, if the Disaster Management Bureau had received that request and sent someone…
"Yes. Today, the store had no choice but to open."
I smiled.
Go Yeongeun briefly smiled along—but then, confusion settled into her expression.
"…? Wait. Then doesn't that mean the cause and effect are reversed?"
Exactly.
"It's not that the store opens, and people go missing. People need to go missing for the store to open, so it starts business every morning."
"That's completely out of order."
"That's why it's a ghost story."
A bizarre, twisted reality that doesn't follow the laws of logic…
Just like how the infinitely repeating third floor made no sense.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
The confusion on Go Yeongeun's face shifted into grim understanding. She looked like she wanted to run out of this supermarket immediately.
…Honestly, I felt the same.
So let's get out of here.
We quickly got up and started preparing to leave.
'We have gift certificates. We have escape items.'
That was more than enough to get all three high schoolers and the three of us out.
"Well done."
As we packed up, Agent Bronze whispered quietly.
Then, with a glance, he motioned toward the three students stepping out of the tent, faces lit with hope.
"These civilians… are being rescued thanks to you."
Honestly? That wasn't true. If either Agent Bronze or Go Yeongeun hadn't been here, we all would've died…
Still, just as I was about to thank him—
"..."
Suddenly, I had a strange thought.
It felt too easy to speak.
The usual obstruction in my mouth… was gone.
'Ah.'
And I realized I could no longer taste the sugary sweetness of the Nostalgia Candy.
"..."
The candy had completely dissolved.
Which meant…
"...!"
"Agent!"
Agonizing pain exploded from the right side of my body.