Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 227.3

Question : Access card necessity

“…!”

At my words, the new hire’s pace quickened. He nearly stumbled over himself as he rushed to the front desk.

‘…Huh?’

Specifically, his reaction was to the sight of black smoke and yellow light spilling from the open carrier.

As if he recognized me.

……

……!

I quickly put up another question.

Question : Circumstances at time of joining

Visit to Annex Basement Floor 13

“…!!”

The sound of his hurried footsteps echoed as he approached the desk.

“Do you… remember me?”

That tone.

His build, likely polite expression, relatively long hair…

“I assumed you wouldn’t recognize my face, or that you wouldn’t be able to identify me…”

Question : Name

……

Slowly, from his melted, mosaic-like face, his mouth moved.

“I’m Heowoon, sir….”

……

As expected.

“…Mr. Employee.”

Once again, I was face-to-face with this employee who was from the same recruit batch as mine.

Countless questions flashed through my mind.

Reason for rejoining

“…There’s something I need to find.”

His hand, resting on the front desk, tensed slightly before relaxing.

With CCTV cameras present, we couldn’t have a more detailed conversation.

‘…So my guess was right.’

It seemed that Jang Heowoon, who had regained his humanity through a Wish Ticket, had rejoined Daydream to fulfill his original wish.

“Um, Mr. Employee.”

I wanted to talk to him more, but this wasn’t the place for it.

‘At least we’ve recognized each other. That’s enough for now.’

Issuing access card

“……Thank you.”

I granted him access to the Twilight-class Darkness he’d mentioned.

But after glancing around the annex, Jang Heowoon-ssi soon handed back the card and left.

“I’ll come see you again.”

That was all he said.

……

‘…Did he come here to confirm the rumors?’

Rumors that a Security Team employee using a fog was stationed at the annex front desk.

In other words, that I was here.

It was possible.

‘…Huu.’

At least it was a relief to confirm that he was safe and still human.

If he’d still been contaminated like when he was at the resort, he wouldn’t have been able to extract Dream Essence or even pass the Field Exploration Team’s evaluation.

‘Did I ask that guy Baek Saheon for nothing?’

Maybe I should’ve asked about something else… but I didn’t expect to run into Jang Heowoon-ssi so soon.

Since there was no one around, I quietly pulled out Baek Saheon’s paper boat from the smoke inside my carrier, unfolding it in a CCTV blind spot, beneath the shadow of the metal bars.

‘Ah.’

A response had arrived in the meantime.

It was Baek Saheon’s reply to my earlier question of whether there were any recruits who had rejoined after working here before, or if he’d seen any familiar faces.

There aren’t any

……

What?

There’s no new hires who’ve rejoined

Daydream, and there’s no one I recognize either.

Nobody looked particularly famous or anything.

Is this really what you wanted to know?

……

Wait a minute.

Then…

Who was the Jang Heowoon who just walked out of this annex?

……

Hey.

You’ve read it already so why aren’t you replying?

Thank you. I’ll contact you again.

I folded the paper boat back up and tucked it into the smoke.

A storm of possibilities crashed through my head.

The chance that one of them was lying, or that both were lying, or that both were telling the truth but there was a misunderstanding somewhere.

And then the simplest, most primitive method came to mind.

Something so obvious I hadn’t even thought of it until now.

……

‘Braun.’

[Oh? What is it, Friend?]

Thanks to the bell keeping my mind clear, my rationality asked calmly, cutting through the foggy shock that had dulled me before.

I turned to my good companion who was always by my side, someone who could recognize human faces for me.

‘That person just now… was he really the Jang Heowoon I knew, the Daydream Inc. employee who wore the bison mask?’

And Braun’s answer was this.

[Why, you’d know that better than anyone, wouldn’t you, Mr. Roe Deer!]

Me?

[Of course! But since you seem to have forgotten, allow this host to give you a hint…]

In that pleasant, old-fashioned announcer’s tone, Braun said three words.

[Flower Golden Resort.]

…!!

‘Ah.’

I may no longer have a human shape, but there’s one identity I haven’t lost.

The mascot of the Flower Golden Resort.

That’s because it was forged through contracts and achievements.

Which meant…

‘I could summon Jang Heowoon-ssi, a retainer of the mascot and employee of the resort, at any time…!’

[Correct!]

[You personally employed him as a permanent staff member of the resort, so naturally you can know anything about him and command him as you wish.]

‘Right.’

That was why I’d been able to hand him over to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau in the first place.

And I hadn’t interfered since then because he was in their custody, undergoing some procedure to restore him to human form.

‘But in a situation like this…’

It’d be better to summon him and see for myself.

If he didn’t respond to the call or if I couldn’t sense his presence, then that would mean he’d been restored as a human, and I could relax.

‘……’

I took a deep breath.

And I ‘summoned’ him.

Jang Heowoon.

“Yes! Mr. Mascot!”

I froze.

Right beneath the front desk where my carrier sat.

Someone was crouched there.

“Good morning, Mr. Mascot! My current location is beneath the front desk on the first floor of the annex of Daydream Inc., located in Seoul Special Metropolitan City.”

The contaminated Jang Heowoon.

The staff member of Flower Golden Resort, whose custody I’d handed over to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, had answered the mascot’s call and appeared.

Salt Goblin

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