I took a breath.
Getting to Director Ho wasn't difficult, methodologically speaking.
I was part of Director Ho's Project team, and since I often acted alone, the director had given me free access to his domain.
Unlike the agents who had spirited away Director Ho's sleeping project members, I still had that 'authority.'
In a material form.
Fox Counseling Room
"..."
I took the warmly colored nameplate out from my tattoo.
"…Are you going?"
"Yes."
The two agents decided to stay behind so as not to provoke Ho Yuwon.
…Though the process of persuading them had been a bit intense.
[He was a truly persistent fellow. Phew!]
Walking the rough path out of Agent Choi's hideout, I felt a faint smile touch my lips as I recalled Braun's criticism disguised as a joke.
Some of my tension eased.
Still, my hands were stiff at the thought of what was to come.
"..."
A rural street in Gangwon Province.
I hung the nameplate on the front door of one of the sparsely scattered empty houses and pulled the old door open.
Creeak
Sunlight poured in.
A peaceful, soft, and well-prepared interior revealed itself.
The Fox Counseling Room.
The warm space of the counseling waiting room, neatly prepared to receive clients.
When I first set foot in here, I had viewed even this comfortable atmosphere with suspicion, seeing it as just another component of the ghost story's gimmick.
Even after that, every time I entered, the cozy atmosphere put me on guard.
But not now.
That was…
Perhaps because I had come to feel how sincerely this being devoted himself to counseling, to his clients.
Even if only for the single, eternally repeating day of May 4th.
"…There's no sign of anyone. Shall we go in?"
"Yes."
I stepped cautiously inside.
"Ho Yuwon."
There was no answer.
But I continued deeper inside.
Past the table set with tea and refreshments, I headed for the inner door.
Long-Term Inpatient Room
The door bore a plaque that read, 'A resting space for inpatients.'
It was the very place from which we had entered the Segwang Special City Subway.
I carefully grasped the doorknob.
At that moment.
"Roe…?"
…!
"Chief Badger."
When I turned around, a large man with a warm expression was standing there.
It was Supervisor Park Minseong… whom I hadn't seen in a very long time.
The familiar face, his eyes trembling, looked at me and then hurried over.
"You're awake, you're safe! I'm so glad…!"
Had he recovered from the Contamination to some extent? I felt a sense of relief seeing Supervisor Minseong with his limbs intact, able to converse normally.
…In this moment, the gap of the last 293 days didn't feel entirely like a bad thing.
"This is… Ah, Ms. Goral. Did you come together?"
"Yes…. Hello, Supervisor."
Ms. Go Young-eun greeted him softly.
But I saw a strangely complex expression flicker across her face.
…Why?
I had a vague sense of foreboding, but Ms. Go Youngeun quickly composed herself and wore a polite smile.
Instead, the look of pleasure on Supervisor Park Minseong's face soon faded, replaced by tension.
"This place… No, it's better if you both leave for now. While Director Ho is away…."
"It's fine. I have something to say to him."
"Th-that's not a good idea either…. Uh, if you just woke up, you might not have heard the news… Director Ho, his condition seems to be getting stranger and stranger."
Supervisor Minseong lowered his voice.
"Almost half the people who went in for counseling have gone missing. A while ago… someone important from the company's HR team came, but they were transferred to a secure area and never came out."
"..."
"It's getting harder to have a real conversation, and now… he barely feels human."
"I still have to talk to him."
Supervisor Park Minseong's face seemed to harden, then it melted into a strangely affectionate expression.
"Why are you so stubborn… ?You should listen to what the teacher says… no, no…!"
…!
…Supervisor Park Minseong, who had been gasping for breath with his face in his hands, suddenly lifted his head and spoke.
In a slightly dazed tone.
"Hey, I'm going to go in."
"…Pardon?"
"Into the Segwang City Subway."
…?!
"Th- the project, yeah, I've been doing some exploring too. In the subway station… I'm off-duty right now? I was just staying here for a bit, but it felt like someone inside woke up. Huh? Ah, he's coming out."
The door to the Long-Term Inpatient Room opened.
"…!"
The person who emerged… was a gaunt man with faded, shaggy hair.
A man still wearing a worn-out security guard jacket.
J3.
"…Mr. Jay."
"I'm going."
And Supervisor Park Minseong, as if fleeing, went through the door the Security Chief had just come out of, entered the Long-Term Inpatient Room, and shut the door behind him.
Thud.
....
The Security Chief, who had been staring blankly at the scene, turned his head toward me and opened his mouth.
"Hey, want some tea…?"
"…Pardon?"
He tried to take out the refreshments on the desk with somewhat clumsy hands, so I hastily stopped him.
"It's alright. I, I think it would be good if you had some, Mr. Jay. It looks like you just finished work."
"Yeah…."
He then glanced at me a few times before quietly pushing a few of the snacks in my direction.
'So that was his way of showing he was glad to see me….'
Still, it was strange how he accepted the fact that I was awake as a matter of course.
But that, in turn, made the words tumble out of my mouth.
"Just now, Supervisor Badgers's behavior…"
"Ah."
I heard the Security Chief's slow reply.
"Badger… um.... He wants to stay in the subway… all the time?"
...!
"As I thought…"
I heard Ms. Go Young-eun mutter.
When I turned my head, our eyes met.
"Actually, I've secretly observed Director Ho's Project team inside the subway. And at that time… I saw him trying to stay behind by himself when everyone else was trying to leave."
"..."
Suddenly, I recalled what happened when Supervisor Park Minseong and I were exploring Hanbit Library.
—Hey, should I just stay here?
…That anxious voice.
Now I thought I understood why the Contaminated people in the subway were relatively sane.
Could it be that those who were sane and free of Contamination on 'that day of May 4th' were influenced by the distortion on the surface, causing them to revert to their mental state from that time?
It might have been further strengthened by the influence of a 'world without ghost stories.'
The important thing was that Supervisor Park Minseong had become obsessed with that effect.
"Yeah…. In the subway… you're not swayed by the Contamination…. It must be nice because it's quiet…."
"Still… leaving him like that."
"Well, in the end, it's something he has to bear himself…?"
"..."
"He has to control and accept it… himself…."
That coolly detached observation seemed to evoke a faint image of his old self….
Although this man had been Contaminated long before 'that May 4th' and remained the same even in the subway, I could see a glimpse of the Wolf Leader I had seen in Hanbit Library.
"...You've been working on the project all this time."
"Yeah..."
"Is the work and your condition okay?"
The Security Chief adjusted his hat.
"I guess…. For me… it can't get any worse… so…."
"..."
Somehow, it felt a little bitter.
Still, it was a relief that he hadn't been under Director Cheong.
I hid my bitterness and asked my main question.
"I heard that this project team is meeting with researchers in the subway and… um, protecting them. Could you tell me who they are?"
"That's me…."
…?!
"Y-you're the one protecting them, Mr. Jay?"
"Less protecting… more like finding and capturing…?"
"..."
"I was watching them…."
So… that's how it was.
'That's actually a relief….'
At least the Security Chief wouldn't have deliberately harmed them or sought revenge on the Researchers.
If anything, Kwak Jegang would have been the one to pick a fight… but no, with a disposition like his, he would have just ignored him, so it should be fine.
In any case, some of my tension subsided.
"Are those people doing well?"
"I guess…? But I'm on… shift change now.... Dolphin… um, that person is probably watching them…."
So Seong-hae was still involved….
I was about to ask about the Daydream Potion Maker that the Researchers must have been fixing.
But the Security Chief was staring intently at me.
"Is this why he told me to come out…?"
"…Pardon?"
"He made me come out…. I guess he must have known… that you woke up…."
Who…?
But before I could come up with the answer myself, I heard a sound.
Click.
"…!"
I reflexively turned my head.
…In the back,
The door to the counseling room had opened on its own.
Next client, please come in.
"..."
Client Kim Soleum, please come in.
"Mr. Roe Deer,"
Ms. Go Young-eun, breaking out in a cold sweat, grabbed my back as if to stop my impulsive action.
I gently removed her hand.
"…I'll be back after my 'counseling'."
"..."
"Uh, Mr. Jay. Ms. Goral's safety…"
The Security Chief's yellow pupils looked down at Ms. Go Young-eun.
"It's fine…. I'm here…."
I slowly nodded.
And cautiously, but without hesitation, I took a step forward.
Into the counseling room.
....
....
A warm space.
A counseling room expertly designed for psychological effect.
But beyond the large window, where the 'counselor' used to appear in the client's exact likeness, there was only black darkness.
The simple, beautiful green backyard was no longer there.
A pitch-black night.
"..."
I walked forward and sat on the sofa in front of the window.
I heard someone walking up behind me, then two hands grasped my shoulders as he spoke.
"Soleum-nim."
....
"You've awakened. Very good. Now, it's time to tell me what you saw and heard. Before that, raise your hand…"
"Hello, Teacher."
My counterpart stopped.
"Have you been well? You must have had a very difficult time, waiting without any news for nearly 300 days."
"..."
The hands fell from my shoulders.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"I also heard that you've been protecting the citizens of Segwang Metropolitan City you recently counseled. When you faced them directly, you must have felt both relief and anger at seeing your clients with all their memories gone."
"..."
"Did the Management Bureau tell you to say that?"
"No."
I spoke slowly.
"I haven't met anyone from the Disaster Management Bureau on my way here. Except for those who were part of the project."
"Ah, those agents who spirited away the sleeping project members…."
"But I found it strange."
"What did?"
"This Fox Counseling Room isn't just a space, it's you yourself, isn't it?"
The presence behind me froze.
"You're maintaining this space out of a strong compulsion to preserve your identity as a counselor, right?"
"That is-"
"But spiriting something away from here would be difficult without your tacit permission, Teacher."
"...!"
"At that moment, you must have been surprised by your own impulse to turn a blind eye to the agent. …But you couldn't do anything, and you let them go in that instant, didn't you?"
"I wonder."
"Weren't you confused about where that impulse came from? Have you ever thought about why you feel so much sympathy for your clients, why that feeling deepens with regular counseling, and why you then want to protect that person by hiding them from the outside world?"
"Right now."
A low, eerie voice sounded.
"Are you trying to counsel me in return?"
"Perhaps."
I managed a difficult smile.
"I am imitating you, Teacher."
"…Pardon?"
"Yes. I am imitating the you that I experienced. A counselor who stayed in one region for a very long time, grew fond of the people there, and tried to protect those clients."
"What you're describing now is…."
"Do you happen to remember? The time you first counseled me."
I looked at the large window.
"I was Contaminated by the Hungry Hangman Darkness, and I entered this counseling room carrying the manual. You… counseled me from beyond the window, in my own form."
And….
"When the counseling ended, I saw a small fox run into the garden."
"..."
"Is that also a form of yours?"
"The Darkness has many facets. But I don't see what meaning this conversation has. Is this a ploy to buy time?"
"No. It's because there's something I want to tell you, Teacher."
—Soleum-nim.
Why did Ho Yuwon, and only Ho Yuwon, use such high honorifics for me?
That was…
As the puzzle pieces fell into place, I felt a surge of emotion and opened my mouth.
"By any chance, Teacher… when you came to your senses outside Segwang Metropolitan City, weren't you in the form of a small fox?"
"..."
"And when you came out, didn't you feel like you came out with someone?"
"You-"
"You came out pushing someone larger than you, Teacher, but when you came to your senses, weren't you alone?"
"..."
"It couldn't be helped."
Because….
"We each went to our own timelines."
"..."
"You came to your senses a few years ago, on the afternoon of May 4th, the Day of Disaster, and I came to my senses yesterday."
I turned my head.
And I met the eyes of Ho Yuwon, his expression gone.
—I'll give you a push…. with the little fox attached. As if I'm letting you slip out through the back door of the counseling room.
The Counselor.
The being I had met in Segwang Metropolitan City, the small avatar he had sent with me to see me off, was right before my eyes.
"Thank you, Teacher."
I held out my hand.
"Thanks to you… I made it out safely."
The counselor of the Fox Counseling Room looked at my hand with trembling eyes.
And slowly, he shook it.