Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 223.3

Agent Haegeum smiled faintly.

“What’s with that look? You even hired me as staff at your resort.”

Ah.

“Events that alter existence to that degree always leave a scar. For example… being able to recognize a former employer.”

But despite calling it a scar, her expression wasn’t unkind.

She crouched slightly toward the carrier and spoke.

“And I owe you thanks.”

…Thanks?

“Thank you for safely sending home all the civilians caught up in the resort incident.”

……

“You hired the adults even without payment, and gave the kids vouchers so they could stay the night.”

[My word. Friend, were you running that business out of charity?]

“If that had happened back when the Red Zone existed, that supernatural disaster would’ve been classified as a Fracture-sanctioned anomaly. But thanks to you, it’s only registered as a phenomenon.”

I stared at Agent Haegeum, shocked for reasons I couldn’t explain.

Right.

That was… indeed a choice I’d made long ago.

And I was still the owner of that resort.

Even after everything that happened, that fact hadn’t changed.

“About that…”

……

“No matter how I look at it, you just don’t seem suited to Daydream Inc.’s style, Resort Owner.”

Ah.

“Are you bound by a contract?”

…!

“Looks like Daydream Inc. has actually managed it. Figured out a way to bind a supernatural being.”

……

“A pure existence is easy prey for such corrupt deals. Because they don’t truly understand human malice.”

Negative

“Not to that extent? But… your energy feels different.”

Agent Haegeum tapped on the carrier. When the sergeant tried to intervene, she raised both hands slightly to signal peace, then continued speaking…

“You seem very tired.”

……

“You’re not the vibrant, lively figure I once saw at the resort. Now… there’s a murkiness. Makes me think of that Magic Bunny, the red mascot’s true form.”

…I remembered.

That grotesque, melted red mascot form that had been consumed by its mask.

And the Blue Mascot who never wanted anyone to see what lay beneath its mask.

“Do you want to run? Before you lose even more.”

……

Impossible

“Hm… I see.”

Agent Haegeum’s brows, which had drawn together in pity, relaxed as she sank into thought.

“Then what do you desire most right now?”

……

A form that at least resembles a human.

That would have been the correct answer.

It was, after all, my interim goal.

But… unconsciously, my smoke moved on its own…

To find myself again

A vague, impractical statement.

I hadn’t ‘lost myself’. This was always what I was. I had only uncovered the truth.

I was about to take it back when…

“…Hmm.”

To my surprise, Agent Haegeum began searching her pocket.

“Team Leader Hong compared you to a lantern, but for someone like you, always wreathed in black fog, this might suit you better.”

She held something out in front of the carrier.

A small object.

A round ornament of jade and silver…

“Even if you cannot see, you can hear.”

A bell.

“When you’ve lost yourself, when you can’t see an inch ahead, when the world blurs with confusion and doubt…”

“Follow the sound.”

Jingle.

“Realize. Who you truly were.”

The clear ring of the bell filled the air.

Team Leader Haegeum handed it to me.

“It will help.”

……

I formed a hand within my smoke and grasped the bell.

* * *

At the same time.

Outside the officetel, in an alleyway in Seoul.

“Huuu.”

Kang Yihak sighed as she walked.

‘Didn’t earn a single coin from this place.’

What a shame! By all accounts, and in a situation like this, she should’ve been able to snag at least an item.

She glanced back at Lee Seonghae, who was walking behind her at a distance, and clicked her tongue in disappointment.

‘No betting instincts, huh.’

Too bad. Next time, she’d figure out how to use this superior and squeeze out some side income!

Of course, if she was going to work with the elite team, she’d rather work with a different boss.

‘Assistant Manager Jin Nasol spends money way more freely!’

Not that employees got to pick who they worked with. It’s a company, after all.

‘Still, at least I made my base pay.’

She resolved to work harder and shrugged inwardly before flashing a genial smile at Lee Seonghae.

“Assistant Manager, will the company cover our taxi fare back to the main branch too…?”

Lee Seonghae stopped in her tracks.

……?

“I knew it.”

At that moment.

Kang Yihak felt a sharp premonition prickle the back of her neck as she spotted someone walking out from the far end of the alley.

A sense of, ‘We’re fucked’.

“This way, then.”

Another agent.

Someone who had finished his own rescue operation and, instead of being dispatched to the broadcasting station, was set to return to the bureau to report.

An agent summoned by Agent Choi when he’d rushed to the station.

Bronze.

“PSA. Anyone who has experienced a supernatural disaster will be placed under protective custody by the National Disaster Management Bureau, ranging from a minimum of half a day to indefinite isolation, for debriefing and protection.”

Kang Yihak immediately turned to bolt. She had already decided to use an item if necessary.

Then she saw it.

Lee Seonghae, standing behind her, urgently raising a hand.

‘…!’

It was a gesture as if she were about to use some equipment or ability, and reflexively Kang Yihak hesitated.

……

‘Ah.’

Behind her, Lee Seonghae smiled and waved that raised hand at her.

In farewell.

“Commencing transport.”

Just before darkness fell, Kang Yihak saw a massive glass barrier descending over her.

Salt Goblin

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