Chapter 205 - Resignation Letter
The letter was calm and composed.
I am writing this to talk about the things I never had a chance to mention.
It felt like a note left behind by someone who was only going away for a while.
Kim Soleum talked about the spare glasses left on the sofa in Black-Tortoise Team 1’s lounge, the flat rear tire of a bicycle in front of HQ, and the printer ink that was still in delivery.
For a handover, these were small and fragmented details.
There was a lingering sense of regret that seemed about to surface, but then vanished in the next paragraph.
Yet the letter’s nonchalant tone maintained its course, and before you realized it, it would transition into meaningful advice, easy to overlook but significant nonetheless.
Things no new agent at the Disaster Management Bureau could possibly know.
…Advice about supernatural disasters.
It will no longer be safe to wear silk clothing in the pressing section of the coin laundry at the intersection, starting from after the rescue of the civilian in the blue dress.
Please make sure that no agent goes in wearing it, just in case.
These were the ghost stories that Black-Tortoise Team 1 had faced.
It sounded as if he’d figured it out by deduction, but strangely, the words had the certainty of someone who had known all along.
But it was clear the advice was written out of concern and care.
With trembling eyes, they skimmed quickly over the contents.
And… I’m sorry again.
The letter turned more personal.
The events of the night the binding was cast were written in extremely circumspect terms, in a way only those directly involved could decipher.
As if taking care not to expose anyone who might still be under a binding.
Next came gratitude and apologies directed toward Agent Bronze, who had given him room to speak the unvarnished truth without pressing him.
And then…
I still want to go home.
As a farewell.
I can’t just give up without even trying to return.
But I feel heavy-hearted, because it seems like my feelings have only ended up wasting the time of the Disaster Management Bureau’s agents.
Once again, I’m sorry. For not living up to expectations, for not sincerely submitting to the disciplinary action, and for resigning as if running away.
“……”
I know it’s an inconvenience, but I’ve enclosed some items I found useful.
I hope they’ll be of use to Black-Tortoise Team 1.
A detailed description of the functions and effects of the items he left behind was included.
And lastly.
Just in case, I’ll mention it.
There’s nothing significant about what I wrote on the whiteboard in Black-Tortoise Team 1’s lounge.
I thought you might hesitate to erase it, wondering if it was a hint or a marker, so I wanted to let you know you can erase it without worry.
It was something I left on impulse. It doesn’t mean anything.
The letter ended.
The agent hastily flipped the pages front and back.
…And, on the last page, in small writing.
Thank you for everything.
I hope you stay healthy and happy.
“……”
The two people reading the letter dropped their gazes to the items scattered on the floor.
Then, one bent down and slowly picked up one of those seemingly trivial things.
It looked like cheap candy.
But it was an item that could turn back time briefly to the ‘good old days’ and restore one’s condition. It was a tool that would be invaluable to the Dispatch & Rescue Unit.
The little things glinted on the floor.
“……”
“……”
Agent Choi raised his head.
The subdued eyes of the two Black-Tortoise Team 1 agents met each other.
If he had just vanished, there was a good chance he hadn’t yet left this place.
“Wait— Agents…!”
They dashed out of the lounge with the flustered custodian in tow.
To search the crystal cave.
And…
“……”
Kim Soleum, who had been standing absolutely still in the corner of the room, quietly walked out behind them.
Holding nothing but a single sheet of paper.
Through the door the agents had opened to enter this room.
– What an elegant and courteous exit. This method isn’t bad, either.
“……”
I quietly looked at the sunlight pouring down.
‘So I really made it out.’
I did my best to end things safely and smoothly… but honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know how the Disaster Management Bureau will take it.
Or how Black-Tortoise Team 1 will feel.
Earlier, I deliberately walked faster so I wouldn’t be tempted to recall the faces of the agents I’d just passed by.
After exiting the crystal cave and walking to the bus stop, and all the way onto the high-speed train, I didn’t forget to thank the host for dimming the spotlight for me the entire time.
– Oh, think nothing of it!
Thanks to that, I was able to slip out as quietly as this.
If he hadn’t helped, I would’ve had to escape in a much more complicated and emotionally exhausting way…
“……”
[The train will be departing shortly…]
I tried not to think about it.
How thoroughly they might have searched the crystal cave after I escaped, how they would handle the items I left behind, how suspicious the Disaster Management Bureau would be of me, whether Black-Tortoise Team 1 would erase what I wrote on the lounge whiteboard…
Instead, I tried to sleep.
Fortunately, the high-speed train heading up to Seoul didn’t invoke the horrors of the Tamra line, and I managed to doze off for a while before waking up.
And, just in case I was being tracked, I paid in cash and checked into any random motel.
Thud.
It was only after I closed the door behind me that I was able to calm down and start taking stock of things.
That’s when a sense of reality finally returned.
‘……Did I really leave almost everything behind?’
I only have one or two consumable items left.
Especially the ones purchased from the Space Shopping Mall, which guaranteed safety. I left most of those behind.
…Probably because I won’t be needing them anymore.
‘It makes more sense for people who face more danger than I do to use them.’
All I have left are a few equipment items and my tattoos.
However…
Pop.
A small light popped out from inside my clothes.
The dokkaebi flame.
“Are you really going to keep following me like this?”
The flame bobs up and down vigorously, as if in agreement.
This little guy followed me all the way up to Seoul.
It even left behind the glass lantern it used to inhabit.
I’d worried about being tracked, so this was less troublesome in a way, but…
“Everyone must be worried. Aren’t you part of the bureau?”
The dokkaebi flame sparkled in defiance.
– …It says it’s all grown up now, so it’ll be fine. Heavens. What a stubborn and foolish creature this is. Huu!
According to Braun’s reluctant interpretation, it’s slow, but it can ‘recharge’ itself even when alone.
Apparently, it could recover faster if it absorbed the energy of a mystical lightning bolt, but… that might be hard to come by.
At any rate, the dokkaebi flame’s intentions seemed firm.
“…Then, I’ll be counting on you a little while longer.”
The flame happily flickered as it zipped around the motel room.
……To be honest, it wasn’t just troublesome.
‘At least I still have one thing left.’
A trace that I once belonged somewhere.
Proof of the days I spent with good people… that’s what it is.
‘…Let me hold onto it just a bit longer.’
It won’t last long anyway.
I patted the dokkaebi flame once, then let it settle into my right arm as it transformed.
– Now you’re free again, Mr. Roe Deer! You can go anywhere you want. So, where will you go?
Strictly speaking, isn’t it actually the opposite?
I’d consider myself lucky as long as the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau wasn’t hunting me down as a wanted man, Daydream Inc. had already listed me as dead for a long time now.
There were only a few places I could go or contact.
‘And Agent Choi even found out about the Cheerful Research Institute’s Dream Incubation Chamber.’
Even if the binding prevents me from telling the bureau about that chamber, he himself can always come looking for it. I’ll have to make preparations, but I need to be careful.
But it wasn’t as if I’d escaped without a plan.
‘I do have one.’
– Indeed!
…The problem is, it’s an extremely uncomfortable plan.
“……”
I turned on the phone I had stored inside my tattoo.
Messages that had been left unattended for two weeks appeared.
‘It’s a relief I didn’t slip up during the interrogation.’
If I had, Yeongeun-ssi or Heowoon-ssi’s identities could have been exposed.
I shoved my phone into my tattoo as soon as I got caught in Jisan Village, and since the tattoo lost its function inside the Glass Prison, it was actually a relief.
I let out a sigh of relief and scrolled through the messages.
Most were advertising texts.
But among them, there were also several messages from acquaintances.
[ Are u okay? ]
[ Let me knw when u get this ]
[ excuse me ]
[ If ur sick ]
[ If there’s a problem, contct m e ]
It was the sergeant.
“……”
Somehow, I felt strange.
With this person, it feels like I’ve always just been on the receiving end of worry and help.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t been in touch since the binding.’
After some thought, I replied.
Then, after hesitating, I sent another one.
[ Let’s get something good to eat, too. ]
Confirmation was quick, but the reply came slowly.
“……”
That’s enough for now.
Now it was time to take care of my business.
I picked my next destination.
I wasn’t keen on it, but there wasn’t a better option.
And…
I was already prepared.
[ I’ve found the information you requested. ]
To Director Ho.
“Soleum-nim, you’re back!”
“……”
I looked up.
At the familiar table in the Fox Counseling Office’s waiting area, Director Ho was sitting there, smiling.
My stomach churned reflexively.
…A sense of resistance at the act of making this choice.
A strange feeling of guilt, as if I were betraying the people who’d even released my binding.
And at the same time, it was a contradictory feeling. Now that the binding was gone, I could finally negotiate in a way that felt like a real negotiation.
“I’ve come to collect my Wish Ticket.”
“One moment, please. There’s something I’d like to say first.”
Director Ho, still wearing a gentle smile, hesitated a little awkwardly as he spoke.
That made my skin crawl even more.
“I think the binding regarding your death was a bit excessive on my part, Soleum-nim. Looking back, it seems I made a rather emotional decision because of the situation… I’m a bit embarrassed about it.”
“……”
“It’s a good thing that it’s gone now though. Don’t you agree?”
I recalled the strange shamanic ritual led by the Great Tiger General of Daecheongbong.
And Director Ho’s bizarre reaction at the time when possessing Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s body.
‘…Even if I’m worried or curious about the assistant manager, I won’t ask.’
If Director Ho noticed me showing concern or recognition, it would probably harm Assistant Manager Eun Haje instead. My insides twisted.
Instead of nodding along easily to Director Ho’s words, I answered carefully.
“It doesn’t matter. A promise is a promise, regardless of the binding. I came here to fulfill my promise to you, Director.”
“Really? But that should be impossible.”
“……”
“You don’t even know exactly which ‘annihilation-sanctioned disaster’ I requested, Soleum-nim.”
That’s right.
Director Ho had said he’d give me more details if us spies managed to access the secret archives under Gangwon Province.
But…
I know.
I could already guess what Director Ho was after.
“I tracked it down through deduction.”
“……”
“Just tell me the name of the disaster. If the information I brought doesn’t match, I’ll accept the penalty.”
For Director Ho, there was no risk.
He could impose a penalty or another binding as he wished.
Either way, the situation had changed. I no longer had any agent allies to lift a binding for me.
So…
“Alright.”
I knew it.
Director Ho smiled and laced his fingers together.
“The name of that supernatural disaster is ‘Sekwang Special Metropolitan City’.”
“……”
“Oh, and! Don’t try to utter the name outside the Fox Counseling Office. Bad things will happen.”
Director Ho looked into my eyes.
“So.”
“……”
“Does it match the information you brought?”
I did not avert my gaze.
“Yes.”
“…!”
“Here it is.”
Thud.
A document was placed on the table in the waiting area of the Fox Counseling Office.
“This is the report regarding the ‘annihilation-sanctioned supernatural disaster’ you just mentioned, Director.”
“……”
“Please check it.”
Director Ho reached out, picked up the paper, and began to read.
And then…
“……!”
He covered the paper.
Director Ho stared at me, his expression now wiped blank.
“…How did you find out?”
So it was correct.
“That’s not important.”
The truth is.
It’s not that I found it out.
‘…I already knew.’
That’s right.
This was why I’d been so confident I could bring the information within a month.
It was because I already knew.
The fastest and surest method.
To simply write down the information from the <Dark Exploration Records>.
It was a method I’d set aside because there was no way to convince or explain it to other spies, and because I was afraid Director Ho might become suspicious and do something terrible to me. I wanted to do it as safely as possible.
But with the whole situation in ruins, there was only one option left.
‘I had no choice but to move quickly.’
If I delayed any longer, the Disaster Management Bureau would start checking for and rooting out other spies.
If Yeongeun-ssi or Heowoon-ssi got caught, they’d never be able to receive a Wish Ticket and would suffer doubly, bound by Director Ho’s binding…
Before that could happen, I had to act first.
However…
“I’m certain you were still imprisoned in the Glass Prison until yesterday. So, how could you have found this…?”
“……”
“They don’t store this kind of information in there.”
He’s right.
Naturally, the crystal cave that stores the Glass Prison doesn’t keep valuable information inside.
Occasionally, reports on supernatural disasters, based on what is obtained from prisoners, are written for updates.
But…
‘There are a few bureau-issued report forms lying around for that purpose.’
Like this, for example.
A blank Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau Disaster Report Form.
Since it’s written inside the Glass Prison, of which the location was generally unknown, it comes in a format where the branch information is automatically redacted for censorship. So…
It’s the most suitable paper to print out documents about annihilation-sanctioned disasters kept in the secret archives.
Ironically, being imprisoned in the Glass Prison became my chance to obtain exactly what I needed.
Thus, I was able to present to Director Ho the ‘Sekwang Special Metropolitan City’ document I’d crafted myself, based on what I’d read in the wiki.
“……”
But there’s absolutely no need to explain any of this to Director Ho.
It would only be dangerous.
‘I did bring my own last line of defense, just in case…’
Cold sweat beaded on my back.
Still, I had to say it.
“The important thing is that I brought the promised intel. And I received help from the other two people during this process. Without a doubt.”
“……”
“Now, Director, it’s your turn to keep your promise.”
A smile spread across Director Ho’s face.
“Very well.”
“…!”
“Congratulations, Soleum-nim. As for the collection of your Wish Ticket…”
I clenched my fist tightly.