Chapter Text
It was evening when he first woke. The last rays of sunset started to disappear as everyone began to stir. Rain began to pitter and patter as the piano notes played, softly like it was gently rousing the school. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Lee Gyeol had a vague recollection of a dream where the seniors had a graduation ceremony.
Every person started yawning and stretching, like they had a really good night's sleep... No one had known it yet but they finally escaped a nightmare where time kept repeating itself over and over again.
All throughout Segwang Technical High School, students started waking up one by one.
.....
Then came the announcement...
Jingle
Everyone had an out-of-place, inadvertent compulsion to be silent for a few seconds of silence when the announcement jingle came on...
[With the great cooperation of the teachers and staff, the Agents from the Bureau have confirmed it.]
He continued to watch, as the teachers and several people wearing blue jackets ran through the hallways and began checking up on everyone through the classroom windows.
[Segwang City is now free!]
It wasn't just the school...?
Then, as the people wearing jackets reassured them the situation was fine, Lee Gyeol thought how some of them looked familiar. They're Bureau Agents. But how do I know that...?
He found himself looking over the crowd, like he was looking for someone in particular. His eyes eventually led to where a noona with long hair and a man wearing a lion mask stood. They were talking with a man who had a scar on his neck.
...!!!
It finally clicked.
The transfer student... Where could he be?
I have to call him as soon as possible!
Lee Gyeol watched his reflection with wide-eyed panic as he fast dialed, hoping that the call be picked up soon as possible.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling!
Your running will not be long.
You shall stop.
Lee Gyeol kept making the call connect, static disrupting awhile.
For I have come in response to the call.
Turn around and meet me.
My lovely lover.
The phone cord for emergencies was cut...!
“Civilian!”
Please pick up...!!
Ring-a-ling-a-ling!
Thankfully, the welcome sound came.
Click
–Agent!! Don't come!! I'm escaping now!
“What do you mean... Civilian!”
Just how badly had the situation deteriorated?
–That's right. Keep the call going like that, Agent!
He could hear the relief and the urgency.
The steps were fast, as if being chased and then the sound of something being shuffled and thrown.
–I'm submitting an additional item!
An additional stamp...? Did he really go down the basement?!
There were so many questions he wanted to ask but it had to wait. Judging by the sound, he's stepping on dirt now and stumbling. Then a faint thud seemed to indicate he rolled on the ground.
Chhh-
The sound of flesh... Disturbingly clear despite the ongoing static.
I wait so long, yet
you do not look back.
Chhh-
Thwack
Chhh-
Limbs? Or flesh kept slamming into each other like it bent forcibly. It was hard to tell.
......He did not want to know if it was the entity or the Civilian's own body making the sound.
“Civilian!”
The disturbing sound finally stopped.
He called out but it was more so because Lee Gyeol couldn't hear anything on the other side anymore. The footsteps he had been listening to abruptly stopped to a halt.
A gasp resounded out.
–Heugh!
The sharp, erratic breathing seemed to suggest that the person on the other side of the line just saw something quite horrifying.
It must be quite an entity...
While he listened to the Civilian regaining his breath, his thoughts wandered. An idle thought that kept nagging at the back of his head. A suspicion and a similarity.
He thought the voice had sounded familiar.
Let's relax... Slow down.
First, this particular Disaster was infamous for the fake poster found inside the house with a window. Whatever entities were in that place, they had successfully mimicked one of the Bureau's helpline. This was also the reason why Lee Gyeol had jumped to the conclusion and assumed he was Contaminated with certainty.
Secondly, this civilian was too calm. Even if he says he had experienced Ghost Stories in the past, most callers at this situation are half-panicked or in full blown hysterics by this point. Under the manual, this part of the call usually takes the longest and with the most patience you can possibly exercise.
He was understandably nervous at first. But then at some point he was the one comforting me. In which case...
–Thank you! Are you with Team Hyunmu? Or Team Baekho? Whichever team you're on, good luck with your work!
How... How would he even know about something like that...!
A faint chuckle sounded at his surprise.
He must've said it out loud.
–I'm leaving. I wish you good health! Do not mobilize!
“......”
It really was similar.
There was someone like that.
A person he met back then in Segwang Technical High a long time ago.
After all, he's the reason he gained awareness inside that place through that simple act.
...Someone clearly used to Disasters and the methods of escape.
–Is there... Anything I could try to do to get out of here on my own?
–Thank you for being quiet. You were being considerate in case I was in a situation where I'd be in trouble if I get caught, right?
Someone familiar enough with the Bureau's teams and their jurisdictions.
–Thank you! Are you with Team Hyunmu? Or Team Baekho? Whichever team you're on, good luck with your work!
...Someone who has worked in the Bureau before.
–If I end up in a situation where I do have to make contact... Is it better to die or is it better to make contact?
How would that person feel now if he told him he was the reason he joined the Bureau?
But the moment he finally connected the pieces together...
“.....”
“...Transfer student?”
The slight gasp he heard was all the confirmation he needed.
Click
The transmission cut off.
Lee Gyeol thought bitterly. What a shame this call ended too soon.
At least he had escaped successfully.
~~~~~
Back in the Namhae Branch, Kim Soleum was gasping for breath outside the door of a containment cell. Holding a broken receiver and his other hand covered with blood.
[Z999, no, Y492 returning!]
He lived.
Kim Soleum, the Civilian... had managed to successfully escape the Darkness.