Right now.
What in the world just happened?
"..."
In the silence, I stared at the 'someone' who had appeared behind me.
A black suit and an animal mask.
The moment I saw that distinctive attire, I recognized their affiliation. After all, I was dressed in the same style of Exterior.
'A Field Investigation Team employee from Daydream.'
But the moment I glanced down at my own clothes.
I sensed a subtle difference.
The way his hair was styled.
The way his suit was tailored.
Impressions, based only on feeling, that 'this is somehow different from the present.'
That style, more classic than my own.
[Oh my, the era is different.]
That's right.
The employee before me was clearly not a person from the 2020s.
A person from decades ago.
That… distinctive Wolf Mask.
"..."
I knew a famous figure from the past in the
'…The Elite Team B Leader.'
J3.
The Security Chief's past.
A fleeting moment from the past that had brushed by when I took the Nostalgia Candy was now standing before me as a vivid, continuous entity.
I faced it, frozen.
And…
"You're not answering. Should I just call you Employee Yong?"
"…!"
At those words, a sense of reality struck me again.
Wait a minute.
'Where are the others?'
I reflexively looked toward the opposite aisle of the library where the rest of my party had been, but there was no one there.
Only a silent passage of bookshelves continued on, feeling alien.
'…!'
I'd lost them.
An eerie premonition washed over me.
And in this space, the only human presence was the man in the Wolf Mask before me.
"..."
I was beginning to understand.
'This is an Anomalous Phenomenon.'
That this man in the Wolf Mask was also a bizarre being created from J3 by the history of this 'Hanbit Library,' of Segwang Metropolitan City.
'Don't provoke him.'
For now.
-It's safer not to make loud noises in this place.
I would respond as a Daydream employee who had entered a ghost story.
'I won't mention J3.'
After taking a deep breath, I took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it with a pen.
The man in the Wolf Mask stared at the paper.
-This was a library, so I'd prefer we communicate through Written Conversation.
Then I offered him the pen.
To him.
"..."
"..."
The man in the Wolf Mask did not take my pen.
Instead, he smoothly pulled a pen from his own breast pocket and wrote on the paper I had offered.
-A library, you say.
Could it be…
-Did you not know this was a library?
The man in the Wolf Mask only showed the lower half of his face, which was smiling faintly.
-Where were you just before this?
-Well now. I'm sure I entered a subway station to explore a vending machine Darkness, and the next thing I knew, I was turning a corner in this maze of books.
"..."
-You seem accustomed to this environment, Employee Yong. Were you in the middle of exploring this labyrinth of bookshelves?
-Yes.
I wrote calmly.
'There's no need to correct him and say my codename is Roe Deer.'
As long as the Security Chief was in this state, I had to maintain a friendly relationship as gently as possible and somehow, safely…
-Then which team does Employee Yong belong to?
-Team D.
Right. I'll just say I'm a newly assigned rookie.
But at that moment.
-Team D.
The gaze from beyond the Wolf Mask changed.
'…Huh?'
And I felt my mind go blank at the reply that followed.
-There's no such team.
"…!!"
Immediately after, a chill ran down my spine as I realized why things had turned out this way.
'A difference in the established lore…!'
Let's look at the
'That was when the lore of Daydream was just starting to be fleshed out.'
It was a time when the company's details weren't as complete as they are now. A time when searching for 'Daydream Company' would bring up just a single document page.
Do you know how the employees were classified then?
Daydream Company
A nefarious company that extracts raw materials for medicine by pushing countless employees into ghost stories like they are machine parts.
The employees, who thought they had joined a major corporation, met countless gruesome deaths inside the ghost stories.
Among the employees used for raw material supply, only those who excelled in high-level explorations could belong to the Elite Teams, designated by the letters A, B, and C, and be promoted to executive positions in the company.
That's right.
The Elite Teams.
And the rest.
In other words, all Daydream Inc. employees who were not classified as A, B, or C were nothing more than expendable units to be ground up in ghost stories.
There were no ranks or promotions for these employees in the first place. They were all just employees. Just rank-and-file workers with experimental code numbers written next to their names on documents.
It faithfully embodied the chilling essence of the ghost story: 'I thought I'd joined a major corporation, but I'm actually a lab rat.' That was what the employees of Daydream Company were…
'And there were already ghost stories created based on this lore.'
To satisfy the continuity of those stories…
5.1 Daydream Company (Early Period)
A nefarious company that extracts raw materials for medicine by pushing countless employees into ghost stories like they are machine parts.
Everything had been designated as a thing of the past.
'Daydream before it became an incorporated company.'
Daydream Inc. had grown from a vague past setting that only had the characteristics of a ghost story into a power in the world-building, with added details as it took on the aspects of a massive pharmaceutical company.
'....'
I can feel it. A gaze.
The gaze of the past Elite Team Leader, looking at me.
A piercing stare, as if trying to determine whether I was something merely imitating a person.
…And I know.
The specific classification method used for the early Elite Teams.
5.1.4 Team B (Early Period)
An Elite Team of Daydream Company.
A team for employees who repeatedly demonstrate an outstanding ability to find the correct answer in true/false or either/or situations.
And that man is the leader of Team B.
I know that a clumsy lie won't work.
Therefore.
-It exists.
It's better to face it head-on.
-In my time, employee teams exist all the way to Team Z. Because I am a Daydream employee from the year 202■.
"…!"
I tell the truth.
-And I've heard stories before. …That decades ago, there was a team leader in the Elite Team who wore a Wolf Mask.
I looked at the man in the Wolf Mask.
-I guessed from the differences in your speech and information, but could it be… that you are that Team B Leader?
The man looked at me without a word.
Then, just as cold sweat began to bead on the back of my neck, he picked up his pen again.
-That's right.
Hoo.
-A library is a space of connection, where knowledge of the past reaches the future.
-So I surmised that perhaps the timelines of the past and future have met in this mysterious library ghost story.
The man moved his pen leisurely.
-A rather interesting guess.
-Or you were just exercising your imagination, which you yourself don't believe, under the guise of a guess.
I almost swallowed hard.
…The Wolf Leader's hand pats my back....
-I'm not sure about that myself. I suppose we'll have to find out from now on.
-I'm counting on you, Employee Yong.
And so, a strange partnership began.
We are walking through Hanbit Library, a great cavern of bookshelves, muffling our footsteps.
The Wolf Leader, having familiarized himself with the 'Library Rules of Use' on the floor that I had pointed out and he had confirmed for himself, is walking in silence.
I can sometimes feel his gaze on me.
-Hmm. Should I just call you Leader?
-Yes, Leader.
Naturally, I couldn't ask the Wolf Leader his name. If I did something as suspicious as asking for a real name inside a ghost story, our relationship might truly turn hostile.
Still, walking alongside a past, pre-Contamination Security Chief, a famous employee from the
The tension.
…Get a grip.
'I have to find the others.'
I looked down at the Yarn I held in my hand.
…The Wolf Leader had recognized the purpose of this Yarn as soon as he saw it.
-Did you tie that to the entrance of this library before coming in? Like Ariadne from Greek mythology.
-That's right.
-Then let's keep using it.
…And so, from the fork in the road where my party had vanished and I had met the Wolf Leader, I had hooked the Yarn into a suitable crevice of a bookshelf and was now walking down the opposite path, the one where my party had disappeared.
'If by some chance the others see this Yarn, they'll be able to follow it.'
And I maintained my composure, knowing that even if the path became confusing, I would realize it right away.
But a moment later.
I witnessed a shocking sight.
"..."
"..."
A familiar corridor appeared again.
[Good heavens!]
We had returned to the starting point, where the book that someone in a school uniform had dropped was still lying on the floor.
As if by magic, only the Yarn stretched out chaotically into both passages, now forming two lines.
'Damn it.'
-It seems this place has a physically impossible structure. This labyrinth of books.
I slowly nodded my head.
-And the flashpoint must be that book.
"…!"
-You keep looking at it. You wanted that book, didn't you?
Damn it.
-I suppose so.
-I see. For now, let's not touch it and keep walking. The same way we left before.
"..."
I stopped in my tracks.
-Why have you stopped?
-Are you suggesting we keep walking in 'the exact same direction' to provoke the library?
The eyes beyond the Wolf Mask look at me.
A hint of curiosity.
-Yes.
Hoo.
-There are two kinds of ghost stories, you see.
-Those that are scary just because they're there. And… those that are scary because they're watching me.
-This library seems to be the latter.
"..."
-This library is clearly the type that reacts to its users, so the more we repeat an action that elicits a reaction, the higher the chance it will show itself more overtly.
I hear a whisper.
"And you're the arrogant type."
"…!"
"You're just as clever, too. But I can also think of what you're thinking, so from now on, you don't need to ask. Smart Employee Yong."
"..."
"Let's go."
The Wolf Mask pulls his head away.
Suppressing a groan, I readjusted my grip on the Yarn and started walking back in the direction we had come from.
My legs were about to give out.
'Think.'
But even amidst the tension, my mind was racing with urgent deductions.
One of the library's rules of use.
Once you obtain one thing, leave.
Could it be that I have to touch that book to get out of this library?
No, I might be forced out automatically… and that's the bigger problem.
'What about the others?'
My entire party vanished, and the Security Chief's form has been completely altered.
And…
Is it really okay to leave the Security Chief like this?
As I walked on with a troubled mind.
"Hmm."
At that moment.
Pat, pat.
The Security Chief patted my back, making me look past the fork in the road.
The space I had stepped into just a moment ago…
Origin of the Incense Burner's Path
"…!" Red traces were scattered about chaotically. The Yarn I had left behind was strangely dismantled, forming odd letters on the floor… -There it is. The 'reaction.' 'Ha.' It was a ridiculously perfect fit, but the full-blown horror atmosphere was terrifying. Suppressing a sigh, I bent down to read the letters.
Origin of the Incense Burner's Path
"...." -What could it mean? This. -It looks like an anagram. I deconstructed and reconstructed each letter, forming a single sentence… The words I mouthed silently were, "…One Who Heads Towards the Path of Worship?" "Well done." Click. When I turned my head, I saw the Wolf Leader pulling a book from a corner bookshelf. The title,
"...." The Hanbit Library wiki updates. The text that follows is…
The faithful one who has not satisfied their curiosity may enter a deeper place. Pass the open place to the closed place to the shining place to the door and meet the master of the Mirror Reflecting Truth Hanbit Library
Bow down
■■■■■■■■■■(censored)
Something was wrong. 'No.' I frantically scribbled a memo to the Wolf Leader. I think we took the wrong pa…. -Ithinkwetookthewrongpath. Something strange is formed. 'Fuck.' I tried to snatch the paper back, suppressing a scream. But. "Just a moment." The Wolf Leader grabs the paper first. "Hmm. So your voice works." "...." "We'll keep communicating by voice. Quietly. Never raise your voice." "…Yes." I immediately nodded. "Don't step on the Yarn. We're going to turn around and leave slowly. Got it?" And so, muffling our footsteps, we walked out of the passage with the red rules of use. Still, the dark path created by the retracted bookshelf didn't disappear. It remained there, gaping like a void, with an atmosphere that felt like it would suck you in. 'Hoo.' That was close. "...." I shuddered and closed the wiki. And so, this time, I followed the Yarn back to the starting point.
--- The fact that you're reading this means you're an agent the will-o'-the-wisp can recognize, which must mean the rescue in Segwang Metropolitan City has resumed. I pray that at least the students can be rescued. Don't look for us. We failed. ---Dispatch Rescue Team Blue Dragon "…!" [Oh, the ones who provided their friends with a shabby workspace because they had no budget. Could this be a memo left by those civil servants?] …Yes. The Emergency Rescue Squad was definitely an organization under the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau. This was clearly a trace left by one of the agents. 'But…' My eyes stopped on the unfamiliar team name. 'Blue Dragon Team?' Then. "Disaster Management Bureau?" "...!" …I heard the voice of the Wolf Mask, who had been reading the text beside me. "Employee Yong, are you… an agent of the Disaster Management Bureau?" Dammit.