Chapter 204 - [Glass Prison], III
A video starts playing on the glass wall. Unbelievable! I’m trapped in this bizarre prison! Where could this place be? Aha, this is the crystal cave in ■■ City, you say? Thanks, Braun! What? You’ll even explain how to get out? Thank you so much! As expected, we’re the best of friends! It’s a miniature-style classic animation. The main character, dressed exactly like me, and the rabbit doll have a conversation. Strange. Just strange…
I turn my head. But there’s a video playing there, too. I see! I’m supposed to break the glass marbles around me, kill the other inmates, and use them as bait to lure out the prison guard!
‘…!’
The video seems to follow my gaze, moving wherever I turn my head.
It’s playing on every glass wall.
What an easy method!
You really are amazing, Braun!
The rabbit doll, identical in size to the me in the video, kindly explains how to escape, moving through the space as it demonstrates. How to move through the glass, how to torture the prison guard, even the maps and the escape routes. It calmly explains methods that are shockingly detailed and outrageously vicious.
Just like an instructional segment in a children’s cartoon…
Ah.
– That’s right! Doesn’t it suit your preferences, Mr. Roe Deer? It’s very immersive, isn’t it? Truly quite excellent…
The cartoon, which has gone to extremes in its children’s art style, shows blood and screams, the prison guard’s severed limbs, Disaster Management Bureau staff fleeing for their lives.
And it ends with the ‘main character’ and the rabbit doll Braun high-fiving each other as they watch.
Alright! This is how you escape!
The final words of the video echo in my ears… and applause sounds.
Clap, clap, clap.
The crisp sound of gloves striking each other.
– Huu! It was a short but spectacular journey! So, what do you think, Friend? Are you now ready to escape, just as Mini-Braun taught you?
“……”
The video on the TV is intense, flamboyant, and all the more chilling for its old-fashioned style. It’s just the sort of production I should have expected from Braun by now.
But I noticed one thing.
– Oh, don’t worry. Like I said, watching TV is just an ordinary, everyday thing, isn’t it!
‘No.’
– Hmm?
I looked at the shadow of the rabbit doll.
‘You didn’t break the rules of the Glass Prison that way.’
– Oh?
Because…
‘The video is being played outside the Glass Prison.’
It’s only being projected into this cell. Just like when I was talking to Agent Bronze through the glass wall.
‘That’s where you got the idea from, isn’t it?’
That’s how it evaded the rules.
‘It’s designed to make it feel like it’s happening inside the Glass Prison, for maximum impact.’
After a short silence.
– Heavens… Correct, Friend! Your keen eye and sharp reasoning would be any magician’s nightmare!
– Such impressive talent. Oh, yes indeed. Every time I’m so impressed, it feels almost wasteful…
– But that’s not what’s important right now, is it? I still haven’t heard your thoughts about the program!
“……”
– So, what do you think?
I opened my mouth to speak.
‘I have a question.’
– Oh, a question about how to escape?
‘No.’
That’s not it.
What I’m curious about is…
‘How much of my thoughts do you actually know?’
……
– Aha.
– I know as much as is needed for understanding between friends!
‘Is that so.’
It was somehow the answer I expected.
Ever since the Late-Night Talk Show incident, I realized that the host could read quite a lot from inside my mind. Maybe even the stray bits of information I let slip through my thoughts.
Maybe even the Glass Prison escape method I just saw was based on that information.
But…
‘Only until that point, huh.’
– ……
– Mr. Roe Deer. There’s a rather strange nuance in your words… Oh, haha. That must be my imagination. Surely you don’t mean that This Braun here doesn’t understand my friend well enough?
‘No.’
A faint, sardonic smile appeared on my lips.
‘You understand exactly as much as you need to.’
And you’re just picking and choosing.
Based on whatever is most important to you.
‘Entertainment, of course.’
A cheerful voice rings out.
– There’s nothing more important to an entertainer than that!
– And this is something you yourself willingly promised, Mr. Roe Deer. I distinctly remember you declaring that you’d entertain me…
‘That’s right. But… I realized I was a little mistaken.’
– Mistaken? Could you share what you mean by that?
I spoke, holding back a sigh.
Now I could finally face it.
‘I unconsciously assumed you’d consider my perspective first, before the enjoyment of the show.’
Honestly, it was a completely unreasonable expectation.
I don’t even know what I was hoping for from a bizarre talk show host straight out of a ghost story.
But after sharing so many secrets and incidents, and even escaping the talk show together by mutual agreement, I guess I developed a kind of vague trust that didn’t align with rational judgment.
The sense that, ‘somehow, it just feels like you would.’
I even forgot the logic I always used to persuade him was ‘for a more entertaining show’.
That’s probably because he helped me out at every crucial moment, and it inevitably led to an emotional bias.
Toward that ‘Good Friend’.
It was a one-sided trust that had accumulated inferentially.
‘I won’t do that anymore.’
And honestly, even saying this doesn’t mean much. I just need to be more careful.
But…
At least this much I can say.
‘You said you felt hurt earlier, right? I felt the same.’
……
– Heavens.
The host let out a sigh.
– So that’s what it was… I did suspect it, but now I understand. Mr. Roe Deer, now I see that you were deeply disappointed when I refused to help you a few days ago.
Huu.
– Such a misunderstanding! This Braun here only ever wanted to give the very best help to my friend. Now, let’s think about this together…
The host’s voice grows lower.
– If I had ‘just’ helped you then, what do you think would have happened? You would have vanished as if by magic.
– You wouldn’t have been able to continue this wonderful spy role of yours, and would have had to just flee, completely out of context.
Unbelievable.
– All the stories you’ve built up until now would have ended in such a hollow and abrupt way. Is there a more futile conclusion than that? Is that really what you wanted, Mr. Roe Deer? Of course not.
“That’s…”
At that moment, the dokkaebi flame that had been stuck to the wall drifted over to me.
Huh?
“What is it?”
I gently picked it up in one hand. The dokkaebi flame, as if summoning courage, stretched itself toward the rabbit doll and made a gesture.
A thumbs-down.
“……”
Then it (probably) buried its ‘head’ into my side and hid.
– Oh, dear.
‘Don’t be angry. It’s kind of fun, right? So you have to endure it.’
– ……
‘Sorry. But isn’t this similar to what you said yourself?’
It felt a little crazy to do this so openly, but somehow it brought me some relief.
‘Anyway… that’s all I wanted to say. I’m not saying your actions were wrong.’
The host’s reaction was just as I expected.
…I won’t be disappointed from now on.
I’ll just be content knowing I have someone I can talk to, someone who might, just by chance, help me.
– …Friend. You don’t trust what I say.
– Very well. Misunderstandings always accompany any relationship. I suppose that’s also my share to bear…
There were a few sounds of disgruntled footsteps, but soon they faded away.
That was a bit surprising. I didn’t think he’d hold back.
‘Is it because there’s something more important ahead?’
– Right now, there’s something more urgent than an argument between friends. It’s not pleasant to see you wasting any more time trapped in this narrow, stifling place.
Escape.
– Do you feel ready now?
Hmm.
I got up from my spot.
A small glass orb, a circular solitary cell comes into view.
And by now, the ‘escape method’ from the video was etched into my mind.
Now, strangely enough, I know how to escape from this notorious Glass Prison by causing a horrific disturbance.
If I did as shown, it would become an irregular incident worthy of being recorded in the <Dark Exploration Records>.
But…
……
‘No.’
I considered it.
And I came to a decision.
I would choose the best method available to me right now.
– You’re not seriously planning to just undergo the interrogation, are you?
……
‘Actually, yes, I am.’
I sat back down in my chair.
‘…I’m going to go through with the interrogation. All of it.’
“……”
Agent Choi lowered his head.
Inmate : Kim ■■ (Agent Codename : Grapes)
Affiliation : Black-Tortoise Team 1, Dispatch & Rescue Unit (Suspended)
He held the updated interrogation records for the inmate in his hands.
Each page he turned showed the miserable week of interrogations.
Refusal to testify, deteriorating health, increasingly extreme forms of questioning.
But after that painful stretch, a change began to appear.
Like this.
Inmate status : Poor. (Recovering)
After the previous day’s interrogation, a significant change was observed in the inmate’s attitude.
Non-cooperative behaviors, such as intentionally causing auditory or visual disturbances to avoid hearing questions or maintaining persistent silence during interrogation, were markedly reduced.
Time spent sleeping and eating increased to levels similar to the recommended amount. The inmate was also observed caring for his dokkaebi flame or checking on his doll (self-identified as a ‘friend’).
It is presumed that these changes resulted from the appointment of a new interrogator with whom the inmate is personally acquainted.
It started from the time Ryu Jaekwan arrived.
The majority of relevant personnel concurred with this assessment without objection.
And so the pages accumulate.
Inmate Status : Poor. (Recovering)
Special meal (galbitang) permitted. The interrogator brought the same menu and ate together with the inmate during questioning.
The inmate earnestly participated in Q&A.
He acknowledged that the traces of contamination originated from separate supernatural disasters experienced prior to his work at the Disaster Management Bureau.
The inmate, confined in the Glass Prison, began to talk about more and more things, and there are hints everywhere that the interrogator and inmate had deeper conversations.
Personal stories, character, affection for the bureau, fear of supernatural disasters, even the relief and sense of reward felt when rescuing civilians.
Several days pass like that…
Eventually, it reaches this point.
The inmate testifies that he previously worked for ■■■ Inc.
He affirms that there was external pressure involved in the process of applying to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, and that there was a separate objective he had to achieve while employed.
However, it is established as fact that a binding as powerful as a death curse was placed on him, that there was no intention to harm the bureau, and that during his employment, no actual harm ever came to the bureau as a result of the inmate’s actions.
It is confirmed that the inmate wishes to continue working, regardless of his initial reasons for joining.
The interrogator reports this testimony to the higher authorities.
“……”
The agent, whose hands had begun to tremble slightly, composed himself and turned the next page.
The final page.
Inmate Status : Good.
And.
Release of 37-999 (Agent Codename : Grapes) from confinement and reinstatement of agent status approved.
Scheduled for release tomorrow.
And that ‘tomorrow’ is today.
Tak.
Agent Choi closed the file.
A mix of tension and relief crossed his tired face.
“He’ll be coming out soon.”
“Yes.”
“Stop pacing.”
“I should.”
But even so, Agent Choi continued to pace back and forth in the waiting room.
Because his plans for the future were already taking clear, concrete shape in his mind.
‘This isn’t the end.’
Since it was all but officially recognized that he had been a spy, he might have to go through quite a difficult process.
But that was a matter of gratitude and discipline given to agents.
Kim Soleum would undergo the relevant investigation as a member of Black-Tortoise Team 1…
‘Then, I’ll be able to help somehow.’
That was what mattered.
Now, the being in charge of the Glass Prison would retrieve the glass marble in which Agent Grapes had been confined, lift the binding, and then transfer him into their custody.
Before the disciplinary process, there would need to be a proper conversation about Daydream Inc., as well as the secrets, items, and abilities he had been hiding…
‘But that can be done gradually.’
The important thing was that the interrogation process had ended well, and that Kim Soleum had regained stability.
It had been a long way around, but it was a success.
Agent Choi finally let out a sigh of relief.
The nerve-racking past two weeks had come to an end.
He had no idea how many different methods he had tried to reach this conclusion. And then…
“…Jaekwan-ah.”
“……”
“Thank you. You worked hard.”
Agent Bronze, who was sitting across from him, gave a small nod.
His attitude was blunt, but Agent Choi could read a gentle gesture of reconciliation within it, and he simply gazed quietly at his junior.
A smile returned to Agent Choi’s face.
Feelings of apology and gratitude mingled together.
“First, the three of us should go to the hot springs. Seriously. I’ll pay for everything we do there.”
“Yes.”
It was as he was patting Ryu Jaekwan on the back—
Knock knock.
“…!”
The door opened, and the custodian appeared.
“The detention has been lifted.”
“Then…”
“Yes. Agent Grapes is waiting in the lounge right now.”
“Thank you.”
Agent Choi hurriedly shook hands with the custodian, then quickly made his way forward.
“W-Wait…”
He already knew where the lounge was. Without hesitation, Agent Choi entered the cave and headed for the iron door with the nameplate near the entrance.
He should be inside.
Kim Soleum.
“……”
…He still had no idea where to start the conversation.
Honestly, he still didn’t know the whole truth.
‘What on earth was that?’
That bizarre laboratory and the appearance of the supernatural entity, too.
But what he could be sure of was that, on the night the binding was placed, Kim Soleum had tried to save him.
Risking his life.
“……”
So, he thought,
‘I can start learning from now on.’
Without hesitation, Agent Choi swung the iron door open. And…
There was no one inside.
“……”
The lounge was completely empty. There was no trace of anyone.
As if there had never been anyone there at all.
“Agent?”
Agent Choi stood frozen for a moment, then looked around the lounge again.
On top of a steel chair, only something stark white remained, unnaturally out of place.
A single, neatly folded piece of paper.
On the front, just one word was written.
Resignation
Agent Choi picked it up.
Small objects tumbled out onto the floor. Round candies, stick-shaped syringes.
They looked like mere odds and ends, but each was probably an item.
“……”
He stood frozen for a moment, then unfolded the folded paper.
Handwritten, pressed-down letters appeared.
Hello, Agents.
I want to sincerely apologize for everything that’s happened so far.
I am truly sorry.
Thus began Agent Grapes’s letter.