The exit leading to the surface.
The crumpled paper that left my hand flew in a parabola toward that place where the distorted figures were reflected…
and was swallowed.
"Oh."
"…Could you see the paper go through?"
"Not really, it just disappeared."
Hoo.
'Did that actually make it outside?'
I held my breath and waited.
The silhouettes outside the exit rippled as if a pebble had been thrown into a spring, and then…
…Thud.
"…!"
The crumpled paper came back into the railway tunnel.
I resisted the urge to pick up the thing rolling on the ground, leaving it for a moment, and only after confirming there was nothing else amiss did I hastily grab it.
"How strange. It was like it disappeared for a second, then hit a wall and bounced back."
"…I see."
And the same words were written on the paper I unfolded.
I see.
…Manager.
Did you escape to the outside?
And the moment I read that sentence, I saw the Manager's handwriting disappear from the crumpled paper.
"…!"
…As if it were being dragged back to the surface of the sealed Segwang Metropolitan City.
"..."
I pressed down hard and wrote a reply below the vanished words.
Yes.
I quickly wrote that I was able to get out with the Counselor's help, and that I was safe.
"Are there people out there who haven't woken up yet?"
"Yes."
And…
Was it impossible to escape through the outskirts?
…The three of them have still not woken up.
'Circumstantially, the escape… failed.'
It seemed that, unlike with the train, there was a problem with leaving the city on foot.
'Is it because it was through the ground and not through the air?'
And when I thought about why these people were standing at this railway exit…
Perhaps Manager Lee Jaheon had a similar idea to mine.
So you came here to find a way back into the subway using the passage the Train Shelter came out of?
This maintenance railway was the only way we had experienced getting from the underground to the surface.
So he must have been researching whether it was possible to return to the subway, not to May 4th, by going in reverse…
Sure enough, a short answer was written on the paper I sent.
Yes.
Escaping through the outskirts is not suitable for those two.
So that was it…
Wait a minute.
'Does that mean he met those two over and over and brought them all the way here each time?'
How many times did you try?
Have you been trying continuously while May 4th repeats?
I anxiously crumpled it up again and threw it outside.
Once again, the paper was swallowed by the outside, and then it returned.
However.
It has not been repeating.
…Huh?
My mind went blank the moment I read the next words.
2 hours and 17 minutes have passed since Mr. Roe Deer disappeared from the collapsed station facility.
Wait.
You mean it's still
the same day I escaped?
....
Yes.
I steadied my mind, which had been on the verge of reeling.
[Oh, my goodness! It's as if only the time over there has frozen!]
What… on earth is happening?
But the moment I saw the exit, shimmering and reflecting the silhouettes, a prediction flashed in my mind.
An unstable seal.
'Did an issue with the Sealing Ritual cause May 4th to become fixed…?'
Like a cracked hourglass.
As if a hole had formed in the flow of time that was supposed to return to the morning of that day, letting the sand leak out so it never fills.
It seemed as if May 4th was slowly solidifying inside there…
Wait, just a moment.
'This raises the difficulty of the termination attempt…'
My original plan was to run to City Hall early in the morning, the moment the disaster began.
I would use the Cheerful Research Institute's Segwang Station floor, dash through the corridors of that place before it burned down, and take the emergency stairs to the rooftop.
That way, I could end it when it was least dangerous, before the disaster alerts spread and pandemonium broke out.
The safest and most plausible method.
But if this is the case…
'That becomes impossible.'
I would have to carry out the termination attempt in the afternoon in Segwang Metropolitan City, with the disaster in full swing.
Breaking through the rooftop where the cocoons have already swelled.
'…Damn it.'
It was dizzying just to imagine.
And even if I were to succeed.
'That's the end.'
The May 4th I experienced would become fixed.
The dead agents and people would remain as they were.
…The Counselor, too, would end up in the state she was in after sending me off, melted down.
"..."
Perhaps it would be better.
'Should I just let the Disaster Management Bureau… reseal it…?'
Should I make May 4th repeat again?
Then I could attempt the termination on the morning of that day. Under the best conditions…
'No!'
Sinking into thought, I froze cold.
'The moment it's resealed, I'll forget everything about Segwang Metropolitan City too.'
It's an impossible plan to begin with!
From that point on, information and awareness about Segwang Metropolitan City would be erased once more, so perhaps this time, not only I but also Ho Yuwon might forget about Segwang Metropolitan City.
'Then it's just over.'
Everything about the Cheerful Research Institute, about Segwang Metropolitan City… all of it.
Besides, that wasn't the only thing that bothered me.
'…I don't know what the hell Agent Choi might pull in the meantime.'
That man seemed to be aiming for the resealing attempt itself to cause some kind of trouble.
....
'Ha.'
Feeling like my brain was about to burn out from stress, I took a breath.
This is driv—
"Ooh."
…?
"This looks about right."
I turned my head.
Deputy Lee Seong-hae, who had been next to me at some point, was rummaging around near the tracks.
After looking over the fallen materials here and there, she picks up a long… piece of rebar…?
"What, what are you doing?"
"Making something to try out. Ugh-cha!"
Seong-hae smiled, holding out the rebar, which was easy to grip.
"Try sticking this outside!"
I reflexively looked back at the exit.
And it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
"You mean to have them grab this from the other side?"
"Yep. They seemed to recognize the paper, right? So I thought they'd recognize the rebar too!"
"…!"
It was definitely worth a try!
"I'm strong, you know. Hurry."
I reflexively took the rebar.
"Dolphin, you said you couldn't perceive the exit, right?"
"Yep. So you have to stick it out, Mr. Roe Deer! If they grab it from the outside, we'll give it a pull!"
"Understood. Just a moment."
I will stick out an iron rod, please grab it. We will try to pull.
I threw the paper beyond the exit, then waited a moment.
Time seemed to flow properly only when I was communicating, so a short wait should be enough.
And after the paper returned.
Yes.
I grabbed the rebar and stuck it out of the exit.
"…!"
A strange resistance.
Or a feeling of being sucked in. When the rebar was about halfway out, I tightened my grip on it.
"Oh, it looks like it's completely halfway gone."
Over my hand, Deputy Lee Seong-hae's hand joined mine in gripping the rebar.
And after waiting a moment.
We slowly began to pull the rebar.
…A heavy resistance could be felt.
"Pull harder!"
I had no time to answer and just pulled the rebar. With a crackling sound, the scenery outside flickered into sharp focus and then distorted again. I kept pulling, pulling on the rebar…
A limp right hand shot out of the exit.
"…!!"
Seeing the pale white hand resting on the rebar, I pulled even harder. After it came an arm, a left hand, a shoulder, and then…
The moment the rebar came completely out of the exit.
The bodies of two people hanging from it tumbled onto the tracks.
"Heup,"
I let go of the rebar and immediately grabbed them both with my hands....
Cold.
"..."
Cold, stiffly hardened, limp human forms were in my hands.
Beside me, Deputy Lee Seong-hae lifted Assistant Manager Eun Haje's arm and let it go.
Thud.
"Oh dear, they're corpses."
"..."
I looked at the corpse of Agent Bronze that I had caught as it fell toward me, at the pale complexion of the deceased.
The bodies of the two who had died in Delusion Home Shopping were in my hands.
"~!"
I endured the goosebumps and terror crawling up my arms. And slowly, slowly, I laid the two of them on the ground…
My heart was pounding violently.
But in the space left by the shock, a positive signal flashed briefly.
'…Is this a success?'
Right.
Originally, if you died in the subway, you were supposed to wake up outside, so for them to return as immobile corpses… isn't that actually normal?
'It seems like a sign that they woke up outside.'
It had been strangely twisted because of the Delusion Home Shopping contract, but looking at the situation now… it seems that passing through the even more distorted surface of Segwang Metropolitan City might have released that restriction.
Perhaps they both woke up in reality.
My head cleared at that assumption.
'…But why can't I see Section Chief Lee Jaheon?'
I hurriedly lifted my head and stared at the sunlit exit…
....
"I can still see the silhouettes."
"Huh?"
There were still three of them.
I was holding the two corpses in my hands right now, but the two figures behind Section Chief Lee Jaheon that I had seen outside the exit were still visible.
"..."
My blood ran cold.
I put down the bodies and wrote a note with fumbling hands.
The bodies of the assistant manager and the agent have come through.
But why do I still see three figures?
And did you intentionally not grab the iron rod, Manager?
A cold sweat ran down my back.
But the reply, this time too, was clear.
Yes.
"..."
I placed the two of them on the iron rod first.
Considering the difference in our physical strength, it was a decision made in case Mr. Roe Deer's plan did not proceed as predicted.
…It seemed he sent the two of them first in case I was dragged outside by Lizard's own insane physical strength.
I could understand that much. But…
However, the iron rod disappeared again at the exit, and the two of them fell into the subway tunnel.
They have now returned to their original positions.
Can you see them?
I can.
So, the dead bodies of the two people, judged as 'objects' via the rebar, came over here…
But they are also over there.
Reporter Eunhaje and high school student Ryu Jaegwan.
'...What on earth is this?'
What are they?
[My, what a puzzling situation!]
['What comes inside but also remains outside?' If this were a nonsense quiz, the answer would be something like a button, but unfortunately, the situation is quite literal.]
A literal situation.
I looked at the two bodies in my arms, then looked outside again…
And a thought occurred to me.
Wasn't my premise wrong?
'…They weren't alive in the first place.'
The two of them were dead bodies even inside the train.
It was just that their minds were trapped here, bound by the Delusion Home Shopping contract.
So, the conditions were different for them than for me or Section Chief Lee Jaheon from the very beginning.
Already trapped beings.
'Entering May 4th as corpses…'
And the two people I met were in a completely past state, with no memories, unlike the two of us.
That… perhaps.
It wasn't that they lost their memories.
'Were they truly beings from the past from the very beginning…?'
Were the minds of high school-era Ryu Jaegwan and reporter-era Assistant Manager Eun Haje truly dragged into that place and trapped…?
—Escaping through the outskirts is not suitable for those two.
"..."
Was it impossible to escape through the outskirts… because of this twist in time?
'This is insane.'
What the hell is the sequence of events?
No, first of all…
Are the two of them safe?
Is there anything else wrong?
I threw it toward the exit again.
And I opened the paper that came back.
Agent.
…It's high school student Ryu Jaegwan's handwriting.
The slightly trembling script, as if holding back fear, was written with firm pressure.
Both the reporter and I are fine.
I'm glad you're safe.
"..."
A sigh escaped me unconsciously.
'…How can I save them?'
First– first, I need to assess the situation.
"Deputy Manager Dolphin, could you please check for news from the Fox Counseling Room? I'd like you to see if Deputy Manager Falcon has woken up."
"You want me to go check by myself?"
"Yes. I'll stand guard here. There are people right outside, so I need to be prepared in case of an unexpected situation."
But I wouldn't keep communicating with the outside just because I was anxious.
If the time on the surface of Segwang Metropolitan City was truly solidifying, it would be better not to communicate unnecessarily and cause more time to pass.
I watched the letters disappear from the returned paper.
…The bodies, perhaps because they originally belonged here, weren't sucked back in.
"Just a moment."
Click.
When I turned my head, a toy handcuff was fastened to my wrist and connected to the railway track.
"…?!"
The strangely rusted plastic thing had the eerie graffiti 'Tagging Ghost' on it.
My hand felt strangely cold. As if caught by a ghost.
"Ah, it's a simple restraint item. You asked me to hold you so you don't go out the exit, so I'm leaving something to do it for me!"
"…Thank you."
She's incredibly thorough…
"I'll be going then!"
And Deputy Dolphin walked away behind the tracks.
And so, I was left in the sunlight with the two bodies.
"..."
Silhouettes were still visible outside the exit.
Worried that I might affect the time, I intentionally sat with my back to it and thought.
…My head feels heavy.
'No, I still have to do it.'
There's still time, and I will find the best option in this situation.
"I can do this."
Saying it out loud made me feel a little better.
Okay, first…
My deductions.
"First. Time on May 4th in Segwang Metropolitan City is currently flowing very slowly."
The day I experienced is continuing, so it's impossible to aim for the morning of a repeating day to enter before the seal ends.
…The current situation. I have to enter in the afternoon and break through. By whatever means necessary.
"Second. The reporter and the high school student are truly people from the past."
The fact that Assistant Manager Eun Haje and Agent Bronze's bodies were recovered by the subway, but those people didn't come over, means their minds didn't originate from the subway in the first place.
It seems that the moment May 4th restarted, it revived the bodies and, to fill the void in their consciousness, it truly summoned people from the past…
And in all this, my task hasn't changed.
"Before it's resealed, termination…"
....
And.
If those two are really people from the past, will they return to their own bodies at that past point in time the moment the seal is broken?
How on earth did people from the past get in? Were only their minds drawn in?
"Was it mixed with a different past?"
"Since the Segwang Metropolitan City Sealing Ritual deals with time, it's possible for beings from the past to appear jumbled up inside. …Grapes-ie."
…!!
I turned my head.
I saw a figure walking up from down the tracks.
Not short and petite like Deputy Lee Seong-hae, but a person with a much taller frame.
It was Agent Choi.
"..."
I reflexively almost backed away, then stopped when I realized the surface of Segwang Metropolitan City was behind me.
The handcuff on my wrist rattled.
Seeing it, Agent Choi's expression turned strange.
"What in the world is that…"
"..."
"No, it's fine. Whatever."
The bewilderment on Agent Choi's face was momentary, and it soon settled back into a weary complexion.
It was a completely unexpected encounter, but I clenched my fists instead.
'This is an opportunity.'
This must be the time.
I will somehow get this person's cooperation and improve the situation.
This wasn't the time to be emotional. It was a situation where I had to reach an agreement, share all the information I had, and persuade him.
'…I have to get something out of him.'
I stared at him with a clear mind.
Agent Choi gazed at the tracks and opened his mouth.
"…You weren't at the counseling room."
"..."
"I figured, if it was you, you'd probably be checking for a way in by now."
"..."
"…Want to sit there?"
With my back to him, I cautiously asked, preparing for any contingency.
"Did you come here to talk?"
"Yes."
And Agent Choi sat down first.
In a distant spot, at least twice an adult man's height away from me.
'How should I start?'
I chose my words calmly.
…This person doesn't believe me. If so, wouldn't it be better to say something that's easier for him to believe?
But the moment I thought that far.
"I'll tell you everything you wanted to hear."
…!
"Everything, right down to what I'm trying to do."
Agent Choi began to speak in a low, numb voice.
About the method he intended to use.