Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 250.2

‘What the hell.’

He’d slipped in so smoothly I couldn’t tell when he’d gotten here.

That pleasant-looking young man’s face swept over us.

“Everyone. Congratulations.”

“……”

“You went there, didn’t you?”

Sekwang Special Metropolitan City.

His lips formed the words while his expression was the very picture of calm, yet I caught the strange mania overflowing in his eyes.

“How was it? You entered a special, secret place no one else can perceive. Was it fun, or tense? Or was it agonizing because you were in a situation where you couldn’t say anything to your own organizations?”

“……”

“I hope you’ll speak freely.”

I realized that, although the agents looked frozen with tension, they were actually scanning the surroundings and checking their gear.

This is a restaurant packed with civilians…

“Don’t worry. Everyone else here will be fine.”

“…!”

“I don’t like causing scenes, and I don’t casually bear malice toward others.”

“Oh…”

Agent Choi bared his teeth in a tight smile.

“And a person like that suddenly shoves others into a supernatural disaster where they’ll suffer and die?”

“I’ve already explained that part.”

Ho Yoowon said it gently.

“The Disaster Management Bureau can handle it, right?”

It was a rational-sounding kind of madness, chilling in its way.

Holding individuals within a group responsible for the group’s grievances : Illogical

“Hm? You’re saying something odd… Emotions aren’t logical by nature, 130666-nim.”

Huu.

Recommendation : Alternative forms of address for 130666

→ Roe Deer

→ Grapes

Grapes.

As he read the agent name, something—anger, or some twist of feeling—flickered across Ho Yoowon’s eyes, but it was smoothed away without a trace.

“Haha, you like unofficial forms of address, Mr. Roe Deer.”

I picked up something out of place in him.

Impatience.

Swallowing his anger because he wanted to move the conversation along quickly.

“Hold on a moment.”

Agent Bronze spoke up.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“That the well could connect to a specific area. Was that your goal from the beginning?”

“And if it was?”

“……”

“If it was, then that’s even better, isn’t it? It means our objectives align.”

Clap.

Ho Yoowon smiled and brought his hands together.

“I’ll spare no support to help you bring back Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae.”

“…!”

“Think about it.”

A voice so gentle it felt crafty.

“Will the Disaster Management Bureau really spend that kind of time and resources? Pull already overworked field agents for it?”

“……”

“If it were me, I could help you no matter what…”

The air around the table wavered.

“And I’m not asking for much in return. Just a modest favor, to find one thing for me in Sekwang Special Metropolitan City—”

“Oh~ Then why don’t you do it yourself?” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“……”

“You know the route. If it’s so modest, you could just go in and do it. Hard to see why you’re flapping your lips here.”

In Agent Choi’s voice, a stab of anger cut through his forced cheer.

“Could it be… you can’t go in?”

“……”

“That’s it, isn’t it.”

We realize it in the silence.

That’s the truth.

For reasons unknown, there’s a high probability Ho Yoowon can’t enter Sekwang Special City.

Which is why he keeps roping employees into the project, and why even now he’s using Assistant Manager Eun Haje.

“That’s right. Unfortunately, I cannot go in there.”

But without a flicker of agitation, Ho Yoowon put on a deeply crestfallen face.

“Doesn’t that make me more trustworthy? Since I can’t go in myself, I support every action taken to attempt an exploration of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City. It all adds up, doesn’t it?”

In that case.

Proposal :

Trust-guarantee binding (Target : Ho Yoowon)

“……!”

“Oh, Grapes has a good suggestion.”

Ho Yoowon’s eyes turned to me.

“Right. You’re not the sort to slap bindings on others while wriggling out of them yourself like some spineless creep, are you~”

A heavy silence fell.

Then.

“Sure.”

“…!”

“Shall we make it a mutual binding? Let’s set it up so neither side can betray the other until the exploration of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City is over.”

Smiling, Ho Yoowon laid a hand on the table.

“Shall we do it now?”

“……”

“Looks like you need to prepare. Alright. I can certainly wait…”

He rose from the table.

“But thinking of the person you’re trying to rescue, we should move quickly. No one knows how long she can hold out, or in what state she’d be in.”

“……”

“You can contact me through Assistant Manager Eun Haje. Then.”

And when we looked back…

It wasn’t Ho Yoowon anymore. Just a regular part-timer was carrying the grill plate back to the kitchen.

“……”

“……Huu.”

“Hard to ruin the taste of hanwoo, but he pulled it off. Just proves upper management shouldn’t join team dinners, huh.”

“Haha…”

That night.

With everyone sunk in thought and mulling things over at the table, the dinner ended.

With an unbelievable backer now on the table.

* * *

‘Huu.’

After the team dinner.

As the others returned to their respective quarters, I too was escorted back to the secured space for supernatural entities in the main building where I’d been staying.

‘Honestly, I’m surprised they let me out at all…’

They probably assigned agents, kept things safe, and used it as a test run to see how stable I am.

And this time, I passed.

‘Thank goodness.’

In truth, after Agent Haegeum helped me come to my senses, the extreme isolation eased a lot.

This place isn’t just a simple room, hm… more like a small isolation space projecting some outdoor wooden veranda. It seems to be a facility meant to stabilize a supernatural being’s mind.

‘I haven’t even properly paid taxes yet…’

I felt oddly sorry, like I was freeloading off the facilities.

And after going through several jade beads, I had this weird guilt that I ought to earn my keep.

[Feeling guilty over receiving such a trifling space, goodness. My friend is almost too modest for his own good…]

Of course someone would say that kind of nonsense…

But right now…

‘……’

Nothing.

‘Has it already been about two weeks?’

Since I stopped hearing Braun’s voice.

Like when I was working on Basement Floor 13 of Daydream’s annex, in the 130666 state I couldn’t perceive Braun’s voice at all.

‘But once I came to, I thought I’d hear him again soon.’

For some reason, I still can’t hear him.

And the merchandise—no, the substitute plush—was collected by the Disaster Management Bureau and I haven’t gotten it back.

‘…If I wait, will he speak, I wonder.’

Last time, too, there was a delay between me regaining my wits and hearing Braun’s voice, so for now I’m waiting.

Or maybe the overinvested Braun can only speak when the merchandise is present.

‘I hope it’s the former.’

Just as I was thinking that—

Jingle, jingle…

‘…!’

A wind chime.

It means there’s a visitor to this isolation space.

From what I’ve experienced these past few days, it’s usually today’s duty officer standing beyond the sliding door, conversing at a safe distance and noting my condition…

Today, a peculiar guest came along.

“The Elder of Black-Tortoise Team 1 requested this… Would you like to take a look?”

Inside the small lantern the officer was holding…

A small dokkaebi flame likewise poked its head out.

‘…!’

The dokkaebi flame that had once been my arm flickered.

Salt Goblin

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