I hadn't expected there to be a lunatic who could recognize someone just from the veins between their glove and sleeve.
'Agent Choi.'
And even less did I expect to be the one caught by it.
'This is driving me nuts.'
A situation that went beyond chilling, to the point that it made a person freeze.
But I couldn't afford to freeze.
I just had to show a little confusion. Anything more would look suspicious. So…
"Sorry?"
Might as well reverse the suspicion.
Feigning nervousness, I swallowed audibly as I looked at him.
Then, like someone cornered by a street cultist, I backed away.
"I, I'm s, sorry, but… I'm here with someone."
"Huh??"
"I'll be going now."
In other words, I pretended not to recognize Agent Choi.
'A rookie agent, mentally wrecked after losing an arm, might very well fail to recognize a sunbae who visited once in the hospital just by their eyes…!'
Especially if that rookie had mustered their last bit of courage to step into a terrifying place like this ghost-story realm.
'This way, he might get flustered too and start explaining things…'
"Aigoo, alrighty. Take care~ See ya at work."
"..."
Wow, fuck.
'No way out of this.'
In the end, I opened my mouth.
As if I was speaking out of vague uncertainty upon hearing the word 'work'.
"…Um, are you… the, um. The superior I met at the hospital…"
"Oh~ Now you recognize me. Good."
Agent Choi patted my shoulder and casually tried to guide me toward the edge of the plaza.
Wait, hold on…!
"Um, sorry, I was actually going to buy that…"
"Eyy, I told you already, that thing's been sitting there unsold for five years, yeah? Let's talk instead. I'm just happy to see you here. …Why's a rookie who should be in a hospital showing up in a place like this?"
"..."
Deliberately, I reached under my coat and touched the fake right arm. I felt Agent Choi's gaze.
"…In this place, um, I heard that there might be something here that could be used temporarily to replace an arm."
"Aha~ And who told you that? Jaekwan?"
"I can't say, sir."
It's a trap!
Dropping a name just like that would scream 'I'm lying through my teeth to get out of this.'
It also didn't fit the persona I'd been building back at the bureau. That would've been pathetic.
"Loyal, huh."
As expected, Agent Choi chuckled and gave me another pat on the shoulder. So this approach was working after all…
"Or maybe you figured I'd see through a made-up name right away."
"..."
"Isn't that right? Uhahaha!"
Aaaaack!!
"It's fine. What agent doesn't have secrets? Maybe there's a reason you can't say."
"..."
"Let's see… you were trying to buy that, right? Mind if I take a look?"
Agent Choi turned his attention to the arm I'd been about to make a deal with.
A hand missing its pinky finger, clutching a bloodstained, crumpled scrap of paper.
"But that doesn't really look like an item linked to the arm itself."
"..."
"Why were you trying to buy it? I don't get it."
Shit.
In that case!
"…Because, um."
"Ohh?"
I lowered my head.
"…It looks desperate."
"..."
"It's gripping that paper so tightly, and there's blood on it, so… I thought maybe the hand's owner was holding onto some kind of distress message."
It's the truth.
Not right now, but that had been my theory when I first read the entry about this arm in the .
Either way, Agent Choi didn't respond for a moment.
Now's my chance. Time to explain…!
"I didn't know it had been here for five years, though…"
"Hoobae-nim, let's think about it for a sec."
Agent Choi placed a hand on my shoulder and gently turned me around. From the front, the wall of the plaza came into view, covered in undulating, grotesque arms.
"Does this really seem like the kind of place where someone would be sending a distress signal?"
"..."
"Everyone here came voluntarily into this bizarre space to sell things. Doesn't seem like a likely setting for someone in need of rescue, does it?"
That's…
"Seems like we can pass on this one then, yeah?"
…not something Agent Choi would normally say.
That is, not the Agent Choi I knew from the Dark Exploration Records.
'He was the type who would do anything to save even just one more person.'
Agent Choi was a named character of the wiki's early-era. And in the founding days of the , back when only the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau existed, the logs had emphasized the government agency's core mission—to save civilians. To enhance immersion and narrative cohesion, additional settings were added for tonal consistency and ease of story progression.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau prioritizes the lives of its agents above all else during all operations.
Moreover, they placed more weight on ending the ghost story itself than on rescuing civilians. Thus, occasional civilian casualties were an acceptable risk.
But Agent Choi had been a named character before those worldbuilding details were added.
Naturally, that meant he was the type of agent who pushed himself to the limit to save every last civilian.
In the process, he used underhanded or clever tactics, gained various abilities and items… but his essence had never changed. Not until he was presumed dead after going missing during the Looky Mart incident.
"..."
As expected.
Looks like I can go through with this.
"Still, I'd like to try, sir."
"…?!"
I suddenly pulled out the item I had prepared and reached out—
Toward the hand missing its pinky finger.
"That arm doesn't even do trades—"
Whip—
The arm lunged out aggressively.
"…!"
And then a crunching sound came, as if the hand without a pinky swallowed the item I had offered.
In return, the bloodstained, crumpled scrap of paper it had been holding dropped to the filthy floor, and I barely managed to catch it.
Meanwhile, Agent Choi narrowed his eyes as he caught a glimpse of the item I'd handed over.
"…A coin?"
"Oh, it's not just a regular coin… I, uh, got it from another ghost story."
That part was true.
Though the fact that the ghost story was a custom equipment line from Daydream Inc.—a Twilight-grade ghost story called the 'Kind Seed Kit'— was a secret.
Right.
That coin was the first custom equipment I ever created at the Field Exploration Team.
'The Third Hand…!'
A coin-shaped item that could summon a phantom hand in midair. Given the nature of this arm, the required item was blatantly obvious.
It had to be something from a ghost story originally developed, contained, and utilized in Daydream Inc.'s early days.
It had to be this.
But because Daydream Inc. employees were essentially blacklisted from this marketplace, the trade had failed to go through for five years and had just been left there, untouched.
'Got it.'
Gripping the scrap of paper, I felt a small but thrilling sense of accomplishment.
And it's not that I had rashly sacrificed my custom equipment. I've got plans to retrieve it later.
Right now, the priority was Agent Choi.
I gave the excuse I'd thought up.
"I figured currency would be immediately useful in a ghost story… I, uh, just remembered what happened at the supermarket."
For reference, the Looky Mart's vouchers had vanished the moment I left the store, balance and all. That ghost story supermarket really was run by vicious scoundrels.
Anyway, I thought that came off suitably rookie-like.
It probably looked like I didn't realize different ghost stories use different currencies and just gave it a shot.
And luckily, it worked.
Time to stick with that meta.
"Hmm… Hoobae-nim. That arm's been left untouched for five years— didn't it occur to you that any emergency might already be over?"
"Even so… the arm was still there, sir."
I finally gave a small smile.
"I figured… if a barter was accepted, that meant there had to be someone on the other end ready to take it. Um, well, it's just a theory, and I could be wrong."
"..."
Agent Choi stared at me for a moment, then—
"Ah~ I really like this!"
"…?!"
"Khheuu, right. This is it! Hard to find someone who actually uses their head and imagines things with internal logic!"
He ruffled my hat-covered hair.
Aack!!
Then, lowering his voice so others wouldn't hear, he spoke quietly.
"As I thought…"
As you thought?
"You really should join our Black Tortoise Team 1."
"I apologize, sir."
"Hiing."
I was seriously fed up…
Still, at least I seem to have avoided suspicion for now…
"But didn't you say you're too scared to join the Dispatch & Rescue Unit? And yet you've got the guts to come into a dangerous place like this alone?"
"..."
"Then… maybe you can survive in Black Tortoise Team 1, huh?"
Damn it.
Was that a threat? Join if you don't want to be suspected? My head was spinning.
But then, the next words came.
"That fear of yours in the first place. Honestly, it's probably just a hallucination brought on by overexertion during your first mission…"
I exploded.
"No, I'm scared to death! I'm really scared!!"
"…?!"
"But I have no choice but to endure it, right?! I can't just say I'm too scared to do anything! I'm a rookie!"
At this moment…
Act or die!!
"Of course I'm scared of not having an arm! I was terrified something might go wrong, but I still came all the way here!"
I practically coughed up blood as I shouted.
It was partly intentional, but as the resentment that had built up from working at a certain insane ghost-story pharmaceutical company burst out, I genuinely felt wronged.
…Agent Choi was staring at me, mouth open.
"S-Sorry?"
"..."
"Alright, alright. Hoobae-nim, congrats on your first trade, and um… Right, the note! Gotta check the note, right? How about it?"
"...Yes, sir."
I took a deep breath.
Still, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been in a situation where I could speak this honestly… in that sense, it felt a little refreshing. Surely, even after all that, he wouldn't try to drag me into the Dispatch & Rescue Unit… please.
"I apologize for yelling, sir."
"Eyy, don't worry. You're not the only one doing crazy stuff around here. Think of it as a good 3-second spotlight."
So I looked that unhinged, huh. Good to know…
I let out a sigh.
"I, um… It's been a long time since I shouted like that."
"Aigoo, guess your place doesn't have good soundproofing, huh?"
"No. I… don't have a place to go home to right now."
"..."
"I'd like to have one, though."
"Okay."
Huu.
I finally calmed my breathing and opened the note in my hand.
'Feels like Agent Choi suddenly went quiet.'
Still, since he wasn't provoking me anymore, it was better this way. I turned my attention back to the note.
The blood-soaked scrap of paper I carefully unfolded with one hand had—
Dried letters, written in smeared blood.
LOOK HERE
THAT WHICH RESPONDS TO EMPATHY AND
ATTENTION
THERE IS A TOY
The dried, crusted blood that stained the entire page had caused the letters themselves to blur and run…
'Ha.'
It looked like a prop straight out of a horror movie. I wanted to throw it away right then, but.
"Wait a sec."
Agent Choi casually took the note from my hand.
I didn't stop him on purpose.
Agent Choi began inspecting it using something like a strange form of dowsing.
That was a Disaster Management Bureau-issued tool too.
Tracking Rod: A curved stick made of glass and brass.
When placed over a substance derived from a ghost story or a medium that triggers a paranormal phenomenon, it spins in place.
But the rod showed no reaction at all to the note I'd just bought.
"Hmm, no mysterious response. Just an ordinary note. The message though…"
Agent Choi chuckled.
"Looks like it's meant to lure people in through a ghost story, huh?"
"That could be the case."
Still, I took the note back from Agent Choi and held onto it.
"Oh~ you're keeping it?"
"Yes."
I lowered my head, slightly embarrassed.
"There might really be a hidden distress call in it somewhere… I figured I'd at least take it and check it out myself."
"..."
Agent Choi didn't ask why I wasn't reporting it to my superiors, either. The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau wasn't the kind of organization that had the luxury to leisurely analyze a mysterious note left behind by some unknown person after five years of abandonment. There were way too many ghost stories out there currently killing people.
Even a brand-new rookie would know that vague cases like this would always be deprioritized.
Agent Choi himself had literally just said so.
Still… I made one last move.
After hesitating, I held the note back out to him.
"Um, sunbae-nim, if you happen to have time later… would you mind checking it just one more time…?"
"…!"
Truth was, as long as I memorized the contents, the note itself wasn't essential.
And because of its nature, there was no issue entrusting it to a bureau agent capable of identifying ghost stories.
"Sure. I'll take another look."
"Ah, thank you, sir…!"
I handed it over without hesitation. Hopefully, this would move me further out of the circle of suspicion.
After that, the atmosphere between us softened a bit.
"Not bad, right?"
"Yes. Thank you…"
Under Agent Choi's watch, I barely managed to acquire one of the items I'd wanted to buy.
That was rough.
Not just because of the surveillance. Choosing the item itself was hard too. Most of what you could get here came from standard ghost story settings. Which meant, these weren't items refined by a major corporation or filtered for customer safety by aliens.
They come with horrific side effects.
That was the premise.
They weren't objects made for humans to use conveniently in the first place.
And plenty of the sellers weren't in their right mind either, so the things they offered often weren't sane, either…
What was surprising was that Agent Choi wasn't just supervising—he genuinely tried to help me.
"This place is exactly like Hanyang. [1] The kind where you get robbed in broad daylight, you know? If you watch how your sunbae-nim does it and follow along…"
…Didn't always work, of course.
"…Someone already bought it."
"..."
"N-No worries! The next one's good too! Onward to the next arm~"
Still, true to his veteran status, he knew the origin or specific side effects of items I didn't, and helped me make careful 'purchases'.
Yeah. That was all great, but.
He made me buy something he knew.
In the end, he guided my actions under his control.
Whether that was a strong sign of suspicion or genuine concern… even I, who'd tracked Agent Choi's entire history in the , couldn't tell.
'Honestly though, I was pretty much playing into it since I'd wanted that item anyway…'
The scary part was that, even if he hadn't guided me, I probably would've ended up buying it while crying inside.
I touched the item in my pocket and let out a sigh.
'Huu…'
Agent Choi stayed with me until right before his time limit ran out, and even saw me off afterward.
Waving the piece of paper I'd bought as he did.
"Then I'll take another look at this note and return it to you later, okay?"
"Yes. Thank you…"
Honestly, there was no need for him to return it. I'd already memorized it. And there wasn't even a point in him checking it either.
Because…
That note wasn't related to any ghost story to begin with.
'A psychological trap.'
Because it was a marketplace frequented by ghost-story-related figures, of course you'd assume any message was ghost-related.
But it wasn't.
If anything… yeah.
It's a 'legacy'.
Let's go back to that note again.
LOOK HERE
The 'here' that was mentioned referred to an actual location in the real world.
In other words, a 'location'.
And the next line…
THAT WHICH RESPONDS TO EMPATHY AND
ATTENTION
THERE IS A TOY
The grammar was strange, the phrasing unnatural.
It had clearly been forced together.
'So let's break it apart.'
What's left would be…
THAT WHICH RESPONDS TO EMPATHY AND
ATTENTION
THERE IS A TOY
Three words.
And if you have three words and a 'location', it's the perfect hint for deduction.
Like the address system 'what3words', which expresses a 3mX3m location with three words. [2]
'If I plug those words into a search…'
Immediately, a small location in the old city center of Seoul comes up.
And I'm standing there now.
"..."
The word coordinates pointed to a location that slightly veered off from the building itself, spot tucked awkwardly between a cluster of small commercial buildings.
And what was there was…
A manhole.
More precisely, an old manhole cover propped up next to the wall of a vacant unit.
As if someone had just leaned it there.
As if to hint at something.
"..."
I pushed the manhole cover.
Creeeaak.
Surprisingly, it moved more easily than expected. And behind it…
A stairwell leading down to a semi-basement.
"..."
A hidden place.
Why did the hand without a pinky finger lead me here?
And why did it only accept items from the early days of Daydream Inc. as payment?
It was simple.
Because it was connected to Daydream Inc.
'Huu.'
I descended all the way down the stairs and looked up.
[Dream Incubation Room]
Daydream Inc.'s Dream Essence Synthesizer.
The prototype laboratory, built long ago, now stood revealed before my eyes.
Note/s:
[1] Hanyang: What Seoul was called during the Joseon period. ↩
[2] what3words: Check out what3words.com if you wanna see the location~ ///공감.주목.장난감 ↩