The security sergeant handed me a towel so I could clean the blood off my stained cleaning uniform.
I mechanically wiped it down, making sure not to look to my side. Over there lay the grotesque corpse of the Church of the Luminous Unknown cultist, their head crushed by the sergeant.
– Hmm. Certainly not a pleasant sight! It lacks any aesthetic refinement as it stains the floor… Oh! Mr. Roe Deer, something interesting is happening!
"...??"
I instinctively turned my head.
The bloody mess of flesh and the crushed head that had been lying there was now melting away.
As if time were being rapidly rewound, the bloodstains on the floor dried up and transformed into the desiccated body of someone completely dried out and unrecognizable.
From the gaping mouth of the shriveled corpse, a tightly curled, aged piece of paper fell out.
The inside surface of the paper, originally marked with unreadable golden characters, writhed the moment my gaze fell upon it, transforming into readable Korean.
The Mimicry Sect's Scripture, Verse 4
Story Usurper
"...!"
A sacred law.
In essence, it was like a ghost story generator for the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
Initiates could swallow fragments of the sacred scripture and, through ritualistic offerings on an altar, gain access to the corresponding powers.
The security sergeant slowly approached and crouched down, seemingly intending to collect it.
"Fourth-rank, huh… Hey, do you want it?"
Pardon me?
"The company… I think they buy these at a pretty good price. Just say you found it somewhere else and sell it later."
"…Jay-ssi, you were the one who dealt with the situation, so is it really okay for me to keep this for personal use?"
"It doesn't matter…"
"..."
"I don't really… have any use for money."
Actually, what I meant was whether it was appropriate for me to keep it after a company security intervention, but… since he was offering it, I quickly took it.
"Thank you."
Several immediate uses came to mind, even beyond selling it to the company.
'The more cards I have to play, the better.'
Besides, after all this suffering, I deserved to leave with something. To be safe from any possible effects, I wrapped the item in 'Wrapper 12B357나' before pretending to put it in my pocket and slipping it into my inventory instead.
'Huu.'
"Thank you again for saving me. I owe you my life."
"No prob…"
Meanwhile, the memories of the past two days slowly began to return. The mundane, uneventful routine.
Days that passed in a blur, with nothing noteworthy enough to write in a journal.
Days that, in a year's time, I likely wouldn't even remember—what you might call 'skipped narration' in a novel.
It gave me chills.
It felt like time had been drained from me.
'Church of the Luminous Unknown… They're the worst.'
There was a reason I least wanted to be involved with this particular faction out of the three major ones.
'Creepypastas blending seamlessly into reality.'
I never thought I'd encounter one while cleaning.
Sure, I knew the Church of the Luminous Unknown had infiltrated Daydream Inc., but I never expected to come across a rogue entity from the isolation room without any preparation.
'I'm lucky to be alive.'
I let out a long sigh of relief.
I just wanted to go home and rest…
"Oh, here he is. In the corridor."
Screech.
Beyond the door to Isolation B, which the security sergeant had opened, a man in an orange cleaning uniform collapsed unconscious onto the floor. The other cleaner who had come in with me.
"…Supervisor Badger!"
Ahhh!
So he was here on the third day, too!
Fortunately, Supervisor Park Minseong regained consciousness not long after being moved to the break room.
"…Huh? What? Over there… Someone pushed me though…"
"There was an escape incident involving one isolation room."
"Huh?!"
I explained everything I had experienced so far.
The security sergeant, by the way, occasionally nodded when asked but otherwise showed no interest in questioning me about my knowledge of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
It honestly looked like he just didn't want to deal with it.
'Well… He's a tenured employee, so I guess I can't blame him.'
I understood.
After hearing my explanation, Supervisor Park Minseong's expression darkened.
"Now that you mention it, I really don't remember much about what you did on days one and two… Just that we cleaned up without any issues. That's what's left in my memory."
"..."
"Creepy. That cult is terrifying."
"Exactly."
The Mimicry Sect cultist of the Church of the Luminous Unknown had absorbed and nullified even the very incident it caused.
As if it had never happened. Calm and mundane.
'And that's only at rank 4?'
A form of reality manipulation, in other words.
To be honest, if I were to compare it to Daydream Inc.'s classification, it would be somewhere between a B-grade and C-grade—not exactly low-tier. The problem is, there are countless fanatics within the Church of the Luminous Unknown who possess creepypastas classified as 'powers' ranked 4 and above.
Recalling the Mimicry Sect cultist from earlier, which barely resembled a human, I swallowed hard.
Please, I hope I don't cross paths with them again until I've collected all my wish-granting points.
"Um… Since the cleaning is finished, you should change clothes too."
"Ah, right. I'll go get changed quickly, Roe. Just give me a moment!"
"Yes."
I bid farewell to Supervisor Park Minseong as he left the room.
Beside me, the security sergeant was sweeping up the papers that Park Minseong had dropped and tossing them into the trash bin. Among them was that strange work tip sheet.
"..."
"By the way, this tip sheet…"
The security sergeant spoke first, as if he had been waiting to bring it up.
"I was going to ask about it anyway—it's too suspicious. Was this really a tip circulating within the Security Team?"
"Yes… it is. But… we would never have given it to that person."
"…What?"
"To Supervisor Badger…"
The security sergeant murmured softly as he looked toward the doorway where Park Minseong had just left.
"That person… He was completely contaminated in the 'Hungry Hangman' case. He shouldn't be coming into contact with any form of work regulation sheets… He's already been contaminated by a similar type of Darkness after all…"
"...!!"
Wait, right!
'Supervisor Park Minseong was already contaminated through that kindergarten training manual, so any similar written material could be dangerous.'
Even if the severity differed, the fact that he had experienced a similar form of contamination made me feel queasy.
Restricting access to anything that could trigger the contamination made perfect sense.
But the security sergeant wasn't done.
He was about to reveal something even more chilling.
"Supervisor Badger can contaminate any rulebook simply by reading it."
"..."
What did you just say?
"If he realizes it, the contamination could accelerate due to overconsciousness. But so far, he probably doesn't even know."
So, then…
"Are you saying someone intentionally gave the forbidden tip sheet to him? To make him read a tip sheet that he would contaminate?"
The sergeant nodded slowly.
– Aha, a classic trap! How traditional.
My response was equally traditional: sticking to the basics.
"Can we review the security footage?"
"There's no CCTV in the Security Team dorm area… Too much risk of something dangerous getting recorded."
"Whoever did this must've known about that."
"Probably…"
Who could it be?
This was a perfectly targeted strike against Supervisor Badger's assignment. It wasn't just a coincidence or bad luck that led to the escape of the Mimicry Sect cultist.
'Was this a collaborative effort by another faction of the Church of the Luminous Unknown within the company?'
But with this method, it didn't seem like they could have helped the cultist escape the isolation room properly—it would've just caused chaos.
'Then maybe the goal wasn't for someone to escape…'
If the real target was the cleaning staff on duty that night…
'What if the goal was to mess with me?'
"Jay-ssi."
"Yes?"
"Is it possible that some Research Team members know a lot about the underground Security Team areas?"
"Hmm… Depending on the team…"
The sergeant's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is there someone in the Research Team you're suspicious of?"
"…A little bit."
"Who?"
"..."
I hesitated briefly.
But since the security sergeant was in charge of this area's security tonight, he had the right to know.
'And he could be a witness to the whole situation.'
Fine. I decided to speak openly.
"Section Chief Kwak Jaekang."
"..."
"He's the one who got me assigned to this disciplinary duty in the first place because I didn't follow his orders. He wanted me to leave a RoundOff Team member behind in a dangerous spot, and I ignored him."
"..."
"I'm not accusing him directly—just considering the circumstantial evidence…"
"I understand."
"...??"
"Wait here for a moment."
Bee-bee-beep.
The security sergeant walked over to the landline phone in the break room, picked up the receiver, and seemed to be thinking for a moment before pressing a few buttons deliberately.
The short dial tone rang, and then—click.
[Yes-yes, Kwak Jaekang speaking!]
"...!!"
I gawked in disbelief as the security sergeant directly called the section chief of another department in the middle of the night.
But the sergeant's expression didn't change at all.
"Um… this is J3, Sergeant of Security Team Unit 3."
[…J3? …Wait—who is this again?? Squad Leader of B-squad, right? …Ah, oops, never mind! You're no longer part of the elite team, correct? Haha, you're not even part of the Field Exploration Team anymore, my bad!]
"..."
[Still, how long has it been? I did hear that you're now a sergeant in the Security Team. Wowie~ Talented employees like you really stand out! Shame you can't enter Darknesses anymore.]
'Is this guy picking a fight or what?'
Actually, there's no need to wonder. It's obvious that he is, isn't it…?
[So, what's this call about? Were you on duty today? That's a phone line from the Security Team's area, right?]
[Is there an incident? Oh, don't tell me you're calling because you want to enter Darknesses again. If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I can't help you. Haha!]
I glanced nervously at the sergeant.
"Um."
[Yeah?]
"Just to let you know… I may not be able to enter Darknesses, but… I can still kill people."
[...!]
"Just saying."
And then he hung up.
"..."
Whoa.
"Are you sure that's… okay?"
"Yes… well."
The sergeant shrugged.
"But it probably won't have much effect. Those with higher ranks in the Research Team are… hmm."
He carefully chose his words.
"They're crazy."
"..."
Well, no, it didn't seem like he put much effort into choosing his words after all.
I barely managed a response.
"Anyway, judging from his reaction, um. It seems like my suspicions are valid…"
After all, he indirectly asked, 'Did something happen during your shift in the Security Team's area today?'
No matter how I look at it, Kwak Jaekang must be involved.
'I thought he got tired of my so-called MZ antics and gave up on me.'
But it doesn't seem like it'll end that easily.
'This is exhausting…'
I'll have to rethink my approach.
Regardless, I nodded toward the sergeant.
"Thank you, Jay-ssi."
"Well, then… next time…"
Aha.
"I'll bring some snacks when I visit again. Like donuts."
"Okay."
Turns out bribing him is easier than I thought.
"Anyway… be careful… You never know what that guy might do…"
"..."
I hesitated briefly before asking,
"Would it be alright for me to ask, Jay-ssi? If you've had any bad experiences dealing with the Research Team, or conflicts of any sort?"
"..."
The sergeant averted his eyes.
"It's not… a very interesting story."
A short silence.
"I got trapped in a strange fairy tale… and I only came out much… much later."
The sergeant said no more after that.
"..."
'A fairy-tale creepypasta caused by the Research Team.'
I didn't need more context to figure out which one it was. I could easily guess what kind of Darkness had contaminated the sergeant. And naturally, a certain well-known name from the elite team came to mind.
That character.
Then, the tragic exploration records of that character who ended up in the Security Team.
The audio logs from the missing employee during the Qterw-A-37 research project—confirmed under the document titled 'And They All Lived Unhappily Ever After'.
'I could pretend not to know and dig deeper.'
That way, I could confirm the identity of another named character.
"..."
But I decided not to say anything more.
I chose to respect the sergeant's silence.
A moment later, Supervisor Park Minseong returned, having changed into fresh clothes. The sergeant turned to him and said,
"Well, then… You've successfully completed the three-day cleaning assignment… So, um, now… you should be eligible for Security Team duties…"
It was the sergeant's way of declaring the first stage of recovery.
"...! Really?!"
"Yes… and you should be able to go outside now."
"Whoa."
"But only after the sun has set…"
Hmm.
"Then… could he go out today? Since the sun has already set?"
"R-Roe? It's okay. I can wait and go another day—"
"Hold on…"
The sergeant typed something into the old computer and submitted a report. Then he announced,
"You can go today."
"Whoa!"
"From now on, you'll be allowed one outing per week…"
"Whoa!!"
Supervisor Park Minseong's pale face lit up with life, and a smile spread across his face.
It was the same expression I remembered from our days back in the D-squad.
"..."
"Just make sure you return before sunrise."
"Uh… what if he doesn't make it back on time?"
"In that case… the company will deploy a rescue team."
"..."
"Don't do that unless you want a lifetime contract."
Park Minseong lowered his head.
"Yes. I'll be sure to return on time. Thank you."
"You're welcome…"
The sergeant scratched his cheek.
A moment later, with his outing preparations done in record time, I climbed the stairs alongside Supervisor Park Minseong.
"See you again…"
The Security Sergeant raised his hand slightly to bid us farewell as we left the underground area.
"Wow! Walking outside feels amazing!"
Supervisor Park Minseong beamed, raising both arms in the air. Though it was past 3 a.m. and the streets were relatively empty, Seoul was still alive with lights twinkling here and there, and people moving about.
"It really feels like ages since I've been outside breathing fresh air… I can even see the stars!"
He was wearing a mask and a hat pulled down low, as if he was trying to hide his face as much as possible.
The outdoor time allowed to him today was conservatively set at three hours, until sunrise.
'Good thing it's winter.'
"Are you heading home, Supervisor?"
"Ah, well… I'm planning to visit the hospital."
"..."
"My family member is hospitalized. Probably asleep, but I thought I'd at least take a look."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Actually, I'm saving up my points for a wish ticket for my family."
Damn.
"May I ask which family member?"
"Oh, my younger sibling. Super sweet! And a genius. A violin prodigy!"
He then enthusiastically explained how his younger sibling was such a kind and talented child growing up, having such passion and talent for the violin.
But he didn't say a word about their current condition.
"..."
"Anyway… that's why I really need those points for my sibling. So, if possible, I'd rather not quit this job."
"Then, will you be returning to the Field Exploration Team?"
"…Hmm. That seems like it would take a bit too long."
He trailed off, then added in a slightly brighter tone,
"Apparently, there's a department within the Security Team that offers a lot of points. They say you can earn more than in the Field Exploration Team."
"...!"
…Ah.
That place.
"…There's probably a reason why they give out so much, don't you think?"
"Yeah, you're right… but."
He murmured softly,
"Sometimes you need to take risks to make your wishes come true."
"..."
"Ah, we've reached the company dorm, Roe!"
He patted my back.
"Go on in. I'll grab a taxi from here. Take care and get some rest, Roe. You've really worked hard!"
Then, in a lower voice, he added,
"Don't worry about me too much. Honestly, I knew what I was getting into when I took this job. Things actually turned out better than I expected… and that's thanks to you, Roe. Thank you."
"..."
I smiled faintly and shook his hand.
"Whatever you decide to do, I'll be rooting for you. But if possible, I'd love to work together again someday."
"Yeah, I'd like that too."
With that, we said our goodbyes, and he took a taxi to the hospital.
"Huu…"
I exhaled as I entered the officetel building.
If I wasn't imagining things, there was a strange hint of obsession in the way he spoke about wishes.
– Ah, he used to be so ordinary, but now he's finally gained some interesting quirks.
Don't say scary things like that, Braun…
'Anyway, I can finally sleep.'
Getting a day off on the last day of the year wasn't bad, though I hadn't expected to spend it sleeping.
I entered the dimly lit dormitory, switched on the warm and bright flashlight of my smartphone to chase away the eerie feeling, and headed to my room. Then, I went straight to sleep.
'I'll think about countermeasures for Kwak Jaekang after I wake up with a clear head… Please, I just need some rest for now.'
Exhausted from the mental and physical labor of the night, my overworked body gratefully accepted the sleep.
It had been a long time.
A long time since I fell asleep without needing to watch children's cartoons or comedies beforehand.
I enjoyed a deep, dreamless sleep, the kind that makes you feel completely refreshed, as if you had merely closed your eyes for a moment. And when I woke up, as though I had just blinked—
"Ah, you're awake."
"...!"
I shot up from bed.
– You've got an unannounced guest, Roe.
Someone was standing by the faintly lit window.
A tired face, casual clothes, hair tied back—
And a missing left hand.
"It's been a while, Roe. …I heard you were on cleaning duty with Minseong."
It was the real Assistant Manager Eun Haje.