Chapter Text
*Clap*
"We're going to play!"
*Clap*
"We're going to play!"
The synchronized clapping and chanting of dozens of children echoed through the hallway.
The corners of the children's drawings pinned to the walls quivered ever so slightly with the rhythm and the gentle current of air.
A group of preschoolers marched forward in a formation orderly enough to astonish anyone watching.
The children advanced in a neat column without breaking ranks. Half-transparent figures walked side by side with solid, living ones, confidently following the child leading them.
The shadowed faces of the ghosts and the discernible features of the living alike betrayed traces of fear, yet determination was far more evident.
At the very front walked a boy in a formal black suit, his face concealed behind a wooden horned mask.
Kim Soleum took a quiet deep breath, setting the rhythm of the claps and chants while forcing his fear down.
He guided every ghost and civilian following him toward what he believed to be the way out of this Darkness.
[- These thunderous cheers follow you wherever you go, my friend! To unite the hearts of so many listeners of every age – what extraordinary charisma, worthy of Braun's dear friend! Where does this perfectly synchronized procession march? Like a shepherd leading his flock, where are you taking them? What awaits this group, burning with such unwavering resolve?]
Braun's enthusiastic voice rang inside his head. Kim Soleum wasn't sure whether Braun was speaking aloud or merely projecting his thoughts into his mind.
Either way, it didn't matter.
The sound of clapping swelled like an avalanche, drowning out every other noise.
This had to work.
Qterw-D-1514 [Listen up, kids!] was a D Grade Darkness belonging to Daydream.
The Darkness took the form of the three-story Sunday Kindergarten, enclosed by a fence and surrounded on all sides by a sea of gray fog.
A person could enter the Darkness by playing with toys manufactured by the Fun Research Institute for at least fifteen minutes while ignoring anyone who attempted to speak to them.
Inside, the kindergarten operated according to a normal daily schedule: meals, naps, playtime, outdoor play, and group activities.
Most of the children attending the kindergarten were ghostly figures that obeyed the rules. Mixed among them were also civilians, identifiable by the absence of the characteristics typical of the local ghost-type entities. Whether these victims were actual children or adults transformed into children remained impossible to determine.
Every child was supervised by teachers who, in cases of disobedience, administered various forms of punishment (see Appendix 1). The fate of those taken away after their punishment remained unknown.
No one who attempted to leave the grounds through the gray fog had ever been confirmed to return to the real world.
One peculiar trait of [Listen up, kids!] was that everyone entering the Darkness was physically transformed into a child.
Such a drastic alteration of the human body should have resulted in severe contamination upon returning to reality.
Yet somehow, it never did.
This was precisely why the Darkness had only been classified as D Grade: civilian survival rates were so high.
The Darkness wasn't particularly well-known within DER. Only five investigation records existed: two self-escapes, two fatalities, and one rescue carried out by Bureau.
Apparently, toys created by the Fun Research Institute were still somehow circulating among civilians, causing unsuspecting people to be drawn into the Darkness on a regular basis.
After entering the kindergarten, the toy used to gain entry remained in the person's hands.
Once someone escaped the Darkness, however, the toy they had brought with them burned to ashes.
If they died instead, the toy simply remained in the playroom.
Either way, the "key" used to enter would remain here forever.
Daydream could continue sending its employees inside because they possessed the Toy Maker of the Fun Research Institute. But if the Fun Research Institute no longer existed, how were civilians still obtaining toys that disappeared without a trace after use?
That would only be possible if there were another source of the toys...
Stop.
Don't think about that.
The moment Kim Soleum learned that he would be dispatched to this Darkness, he immediately began reading the DER reports on his phone.
Despite the scarcity of records, each one documented different mechanics of the Darkness.
Escaping was, in theory, fairly simple.
All one had to do was obey the teachers and follow the daily routine for three consecutive days.
After that, the Darkness would eject the person back into the real world – having thoroughly taught them the virtue of obedience.
...There was another escape method, the one a Bureau agent had used to rescue a missing child.
But it was so difficult that it was effectively impossible for ordinary people.
That option could be ruled out.
{Disobedience would be punished by the teachers.}
One DER report caught Kim Soleum's attention more than any other.
A civilian, exhausted after another grueling day at work, had reminisced about childhood by playing with his old toys while absentmindedly ignoring everyone around him, thereby fulfilling the conditions required to enter the Darkness.
Once inside, now trapped in the body of a child, the forty-year-old burnout ignored the teacher entirely and headed straight for the cafeteria.
It had happened just before lunchtime.
No punishment followed.
There was a loophole.
Kim Soleum formed a hypothesis, then put it to the test.
He had been inside this Darkness for less than six hours. During that time, he had already gone through playtime, lunch, and naptime.
After pretending to eat until the lunch break was over, Soleum clapped his hands and stood up from the table. In a loud voice, he announced to everyone that he was going to take a nap.
Every teacher turned their lifeless faces toward him, their black, unwavering gazes making something deep in his stomach tighten with discomfort.
But no punishment came.
This was the escape method he had devised.
Both the method of entering the Darkness and the DER reports suggested that the core concept of this place was punishing those who failed to listen. In other words, its purpose was re-education.
But what if none of the children here needed the teachers' instructions or supervision anymore to do exactly what they were supposed to?
As demonstrated by the forty-year-old man, the teachers' authority ranked below the schedule itself.
Which meant that following the schedule was more important than obeying the teachers' words.
Or perhaps the teachers' words merely served as reminders of the schedule.
Before every activity change, the teachers would clap their hands and loudly announce what came next, just as they did in ordinary kindergartens to get the children's attention.
Soleum wondered:
If he imitated that process and removed the need for the teachers themselves to remind everyone of the schedule, wouldn't the Darkness simply dissolve?
[ - Brilliant reasoning, Mr. Roe Deer! Exactly what one would expect from Braun's dear friend. While a stage schedule is one of the key elements of our profession, any Prop that has lost its purpose should naturally be thrown away once it has served its role.]
Braun's words sent an involuntary chill down Kim Soleum's spine.
...Was that also a reminder not to become uninteresting in Braun's eyes?
[ - How could you even think such a thing, my friend! Watching you is always as delightful as attending a magnificent performance. I can confidently say that throughout our friendship, I have never once been bored. I sincerely hope you will continue entertaining me with your extraordinary adventures!]
...Yeah.
Kim Soleum turned his head to make sure every child was copying him.
There were quite a lot of them.
Most were ghosts, but Soleum counted around fifteen civilians.
It still wasn't clear whether they were actual children or adults trapped inside children's bodies, but barely concealed fear was written across every one of their faces.
Just in case, he had searched every hiding place in Sunday Kindergarten during playtime while pretending to play hide-and-seek himself.
Some people might have been hiding from the teachers, just like in that Bureau report.
It was an extremely dangerous strategy.
Missing even a single scheduled activity would cause the teachers to administer punishment the moment the person was discovered.
And someone in hiding would inevitably violate the daily routine sooner or later.
At that point, continuing to hide was actually safer in hopes of avoiding punishment.
The problem was that after three days, those people were never expelled back into the real world.
Apparently, they failed to fulfill the condition of being "re-educated."
Unless someone could replicate the Bureau's escape method, they were doomed.
Fortunately, Soleum hadn't found anyone this time.
The hardest part of his plan had been convincing a group of preschoolers (or terrified adults trapped in children's bodies, which wasn't much different) to follow his instructions.
The Silver Heart badge made all the difference.
Kim Soleum once again witnessed just how powerful the artifact truly was when every child obediently repeated exactly what he asked them to.
The children's clapping and enthusiastic declarations of what they were about to do echoed throughout the building, drawing every teacher into the hallway.
It was exactly three o'clock.
The scheduled play period had begun.
The column of children entered the playroom, where each of them picked up their own toy.
I wonder, were the ghost children the people who had never managed to escape this Darkness?
Kim Soleum closed his eyes.
The thought was far sadder than he had expected.
He lowered his gaze to the toy fire truck in his hands, absentmindedly rolling it back and forth as though playing with it.
He was honestly relieved that the entry prop Daydream had issued him wasn't a stuffed animal.
He already had Braun with him in the form of a rabbit.
Two plush toys would have been excessive.
[ - My friend, how could you! This Braun is not merely a stuffed toy. I am your steadfast companion, always ready to accompany you. No childish plaything could ever be as precious to my dear friend as his trusted companion. Or are you suggesting you would place me alongside these poorly made imitations?]
Soleum nearly bit his tongue.
He really had to choose his words carefully.
- What are you talking about, Braun. I was only worried someone might misunderstand and think I have more than one friend as wonderful as you. After all, I'm in a child's body right now. It would be easy for people to mistake every toy for one of my friends.
[ - Oh, do not trouble yourself over such matters, friend! This Braun is always happy to explain the true nature of our precious relationship to anyone incapable of understanding it. Naturally, my dear friend would be kind enough to support me should that become necessary.]
- ...Within reasonable boundaries.
Please don't make me explain what " reasonable boundaries" means.
[ - Exactly as expected of my friend! I always know I can rely on you!]
Crisis averted.
The children around him were immersed in their games.
Or at least pretending to be.
According to every DER report, the teachers never interrupted playtime.
This time, however, the dark, faded figures – as though cut from old photographs – walked directly into the crowd.
Each one stopped beside a child.
The hairs on the back of Soleum's neck stood on end as a pair of unnatural legs came to a halt right beside him.
So close they were almost touching.
A quiet, distant voice whispered only two words.
"Listen me up."
Its tone lay somewhere between a weary command and a desperate plea.
Soleum looked up, meeting the black voids where the teacher's eyes should have been.
"Yes. Did you need something, Teacher?"
Almost simultaneously, the same thing happened beside every child.
And every one of them gave a similar answer.
He didn't know the exact trigger.
But the meaning of the response was what mattered: {I heard you, and I'm ready to listen.}
That was all.
The very next second, every dark figure dissolved into nothing.
Both the ghost children and the living children calmly began walking toward the kindergarten's exit.
The desire to leave came suddenly, but it wasn't overwhelming.
It felt like hearing the final school bell before summer vacation.
The same anticipation.
The same exhilarating sense of long-awaited freedom.
The kindergarten day had come to an end.
The toys left behind in the playroom began to smolder.
As the children walked away, each was consumed by a small but brilliant flame.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four...
Eight.
Nine.
Ten...
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Including the toy fire truck melting in his own hands, Soleum counted sixteen burning toys.
Only some of them caught fire.
The toys that had belonged to the ghost children remained lying quietly on the carpet.
...It left behind a strange mixture of relief and bitter sorrow.
He didn't look back again.
Instead, he headed for the exit together with everyone else.
Catching up to the last child – a boy with chestnut-colored hair – they stepped through the gates of Sunday Kindergarten together.
The dense gray fog dispersed, revealing an endless white emptiness stretching in every direction.
The only new thing was a tiny yellow sun hanging from the blank white sky.
Suspended in the middle of nowhere.
Like one of those simple drawings a child proudly tapes to the refrigerator.
With every step across the white expanse, the civilians in children's bodies drifted farther away than their footsteps should have allowed.
Their figures grew brighter and brighter, as though sunlight shone upon them with increasing warmth.
Kim Soleum turned to look at the ghost children, who had been the last to leave.
With every step they took, they became more transparent.
It was as though the sunlight simply passed through them.
Yet the more invisible they became...
...the happier their smiles grew.
Soleum stood there for a while, watching them almost disappear.
Then, all of a sudden, he called out to them and waved his hand – just like children from the same kindergarten class saying goodbye at the end of the day.
The ghosts waved back.
Just as happily.
Kim Soleum is afraid of ghosts.
Even so...
He couldn't help smiling back as he walked away.
I hope those people – whether they were truly children or not – finally find peace.
The weather in the real world was just as sunny as it had been during the final moments at Sunday Kindergarten.
But...
Why hadn't he returned to Daydream's office?
Sunlight filtered through swaying blinds, illuminating a crowd of bewildered, disoriented people of all ages who had just escaped the Darkness. Every one of them had regained their original appearance.
There were only three actual children among them.
And one of them was...
...him?
The sleeves of his black business suit hung loosely past his hands, while his trousers had slipped down from his waist, far too large for him now. His feet slid effortlessly inside his shoes, and his tie hung so loosely around his neck that it would have fallen off if he simply tilted his head.
He reached up to check his face.
The mask was still there.
His suit jacket.
Braun, in his rabbit form, was still tucked safely inside the breast pocket.
Grabbing the plush rabbit and giving it a gentle squeeze, Soleum tried to calm himself.
When and why had his contamination become this severe...?
Everyone who escaped this D Grade Darkness normally returned to their original appearance without issue.
Even their clothes reverted to their proper size.
Was there something wrong with his escape method?
Then why had everyone else returned normally?
Still frozen in confusion, Soleum suddenly found his child-sized body lifted into the arms of a tall man, who slipped an arm beneath his thighs and settled him against one forearm, facing him.
Startled, Soleum instinctively grabbed onto the man's jacket with one hand.
He didn't dare look up.
If he understood the situation correctly, this half-empty room, resembling a neglected office, was a government facility.
He had read about rooms used for the safe reception of people exiting Darknesses in the DER records of one particularly famous organization – records that happened to be his favorites to read.
To be precise, after all the civilians escaped [Listen up, kids!], every single one of them had somehow appeared inside a building belonging to the Bureau.
Kim Soleum, a newly hired employee of the pharmaceutical company Daydream, was currently inside the Bureau of Supernatural Disaster Management. The very organization that regarded his employer as its enemy. Something akin to a cult.
Which meant the person carrying him was a… Bureau agent.
Taking a quiet breath to steady himself, Soleum finally raised his head.
Looking back at him was a man wearing a dark navy jacket zipped all the way to the high collar.
The moment their eyes met, the man flashed him a broad, friendly smile.
"Hello there, mister!"
Soleum studied him carefully.
Given his luck, he'd half expected to run into Agent Ryu Jaekwan.
Instead... it was someone else.
[ - My friend, your luck isn't quite so dreadful that you'll keep running into that dull agent forever. Though I must admit, it has happened with remarkable frequency before! If memory serves, the two of you did not part on particularly pleasant terms last time. To your great relief, this is a different agent!]
Yeah. Thanks for the reminder, Braun.
[ - Anything for my dear friend!]
"...Hello."
Soleum gave a slight bow, awkward though it was while being carried in someone's arms.
Hopefully he'll take the hint and put me down...
"Oh, don't be so reserved! You're at the Bureau of Supernatural Disaster Management now. You're completely safe here."
Kim Soleum would have found that reassuring smile much easier to believe if the agent's gaze hadn't remained fixed on the object still covering his face.
The standard equipment worn when entering a Darkness.
The unmistakable mark of a Daydream employee.
His mask.
"I'd like to have a proper talk with you about how you escaped that Darkness, Mr. Roe Deer."
Soleum froze.
His fingers slowly loosened their grip on the agent's jacket before both hands instinctively clutched Braun instead.
[ - Gentler, my friend!]
Sorry.
He cautiously glanced back at the agent, only for their eyes to meet again.
The man still held him securely.
Apparently, he'd noticed his unease.
Soleum had the distinct feeling that if the agent hadn't been carrying him, he would have raised both hands in an I'm unarmed gesture.
He didn't believe that for even a second.
Realizing there was nowhere to retreat, Kim Soleum gave in.
The agent's grin grew wider as Soleum's hand slowly reached toward his mask.
He removed it.
"Finally, I get to see your face~. Listen, a cute face like this shouldn't be hidden behind a mask outside a Darkness. You really ought to stop being so modest! Just look at these chubby little cheeks~"
The strange agent immediately began pinching his cheeks.
[ - The audacity! Only the host during a performance and the makeup crew are permitted to touch an actor's face. By what right does he presume otherwise? Shall I do something about this, my friend?]
...
Thanks, Braun.
It's fine.
Really.
There's no need.
This is simply the friendly behavior government employees show toward civilians.
He needed to convince himself of that just as much.
[ - If you say so! But remember, friend. This Braun will always stand ready to defend your interests.]
That somehow sounded far more threatening than reassuring.
Soleum decided it was healthier to focus on literally anything else.
Carefully, he tried to remove the man's hands from his face.
"...Please stop. Yes, as you've already figured out, I'm working at Daydream. My current appearance is the result of contamination from that Darkness. I need to return to the company so they can restore—"
"Hop la."
The agent grabbed him beneath the arms and lifted him higher, inspecting him from every angle as though making an important decision.
After humming thoughtfully to himself, he casually settled Soleum back onto his forearm.
"No matter how I look at you, you're a real kid. We're clearly dealing with a civilian whose contamination manifested inside the Darkness. And there hasn't been a single recorded case like this in this particular Darkness before. You'll need to remain here until we determine exactly what happened."
The agent began gently rocking him back and forth.
As if soothing a small child.
It was... humiliating.
"As I said, I'm not a civilian. I'm a Daydream employee, so there's no need for you to investigate this—"
"Haha, Mr. Roe Deer! Has anyone ever claimed that Daydream employees aren't citizens? You're a private company, sure, but you have exactly the same rights as everyone else."
...Didn't every Bureau agent believe Daydream employees were a bunch of dangerous fanatics?
A meaningful expression briefly crossed the agent's face.
Then he suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Besides, the Bureau specializes in dealing with contamination. And from everything I've heard... our organization is considerably better at it than yours."
He was probably referring to the Security Management Department.
"Whew, what a mess we all got ourselves into! I was sweating with worry."
As he spoke, the agent casually pulled down the zipper of his jacket.
...Wait.
"We all got ourselves into"?
Beneath the dark navy jacket was an unbuttoned dress shirt over a black T-shirt.
Grabbing the open sides of his shirt, the man began fanning himself.
A bead of sweat slid down his neck.
Across an enormous, gruesome-looking scar.
As a devoted DER reader, Soleum recognized it instantly.
He had already begun suspecting who this man was simply from the way he spoke.
Now there was no doubt.
This was the very same agent who, in the only DER record describing a Bureau rescue, had figured out the other escape route – the difficult one almost no one could accomplish – the second... or rather, by this point, third method of escaping Qterw-D-1514.
The person holding him in his arms was Agent Choi.
"Haha, why are you looking at me like that, Mr. Roe Deer? You look as though you've seen a ghost."
The very much alive Agent Choi laughed cheerfully, as if their meeting were the most natural thing in the world.
"Jaekwan told me a lot about 'Daydream's kindest employee.' About how much you helped my hubae. As the senior of his squad, I'd like to thank you on his behalf, Mr. Roe Deer. Or perhaps... should I call you Agent Grapes instead?"
Still in the body of a child, Soleum looked away.
He couldn't decipher the meaning behind Agent Choi's smile.
He had a feeling that, for the sake of his own peace of mind...
...he really shouldn't try.
[ - Ah, so that's why this man kept watching you throughout that Darkness, Mr. Roe Deer.]
Wait, what?
You knew about that?
[ - Of course! There is nothing this Braun does not know, my friend!]
Then why didn't you tell me?
[ - Does it embarrass you, my friend? That suspicious agent is right about one thing! A star as brilliant as yourself should be less modest and more prepared for the countless admirers eager to follow your every step. Besides, I was curious to see what he wanted from you.]
...So you stayed quiet because you thought it would make the story more interesting.
[ - You know me so well, my friend!]
It felt as though the weight of the world had suddenly landed on Soleum's shoulders.
He really needed to remember this once and for all.
Braun was his ally but having him around could occasionally backfire.
The two of them viewed some things in fundamentally different ways.
It would be better not to rely on him so much.
Soleum had become far too comfortable simply because his good friend was always watching over him.
"You shouldn't call me that. I'm not a Bureau agent."
Soleum answered flatly, hoping Choi would let the subject drop.
He had no such intention.
"A temporary employee is still an employee, isn't he? If we're speaking in your company terms, just think of yourself as still being on probation with us, Grapes-ie."
"...That's impossible. I'm still employed by Daydream. I already have a job."
Choi said nothing.
He simply smiled.
Soleum could already feel a headache coming on.
"Anyway, don't worry so much, Grapes-ie! I'll take good care of my hubae while he's staying here at the Bureau. Jaekwan will be thrilled to see you."
Who's your hubae?
Agent Choi gently poked him in the forehead with one finger before immediately pulling his hand back.
Soleum rubbed his forehead with a protesting expression.
And Ryu Jaekwan...
Their last meeting...
He seriously doubted the man would be all that happy to see him.
A chorus of approaching footsteps echoed through the hallway.
At least ten more Bureau personnel entered the room.
The navy-blue jacket Agent Choi wore had a design similar to the standard Bureau uniform, but it lacked the Bureau insignia.
That was why Soleum hadn't recognized it.
Especially since it had looked much smaller while being worn by someone looking as a child.
The newly arrived agents began helping the rescued civilians understand what had happened while calming them down.
Even so, Soleum could still hear whispers behind his back.
A child dressed in oversized adult clothing, being carried around by Agent Choi was definitely attracting attention.
Precisely with the roe deer mask still identifying him as a Daydream employee.
Kim Soleum sincerely hoped they wouldn't beat him up while he was stuck in a child's body.
He wouldn't even be able to run away.
...He was being overly dramatic.
Bureau agents didn't assault civilians.
Unfortunately, he wasn't exactly a civilian.
He worked for Daydream.
No one could blame him for being a little pessimistic.
"I still think it would be better if I returned to the company… sunbae."
He definitely wasn't imagining that Agent Choi's smile became more genuine the moment Soleum played along with the senior-junior dynamic.
"If I'm gone for too long, people at work will start worrying. The company might even send more employees to look for me. And if Human Resources gets involved, I could end up in trouble."
It was an audacious lie. Considering they both knew perfectly well that Daydream was a man-eating company that placed little value on human lives.
"It's fine. I've already notified your company, Mr. Roe Deer~. No one's going to lose track of you!"
"...What?!"
Isn't that even worse?!
Choi smiled innocently.
Holding Daydream's most promising newcomer – who was doing his best to hide his anxiety – in his arms, he listened to his colleagues whisper excitedly as they looked at the child he was carrying.
"Whoa... that little kid must be that Roe Deer."
"His feet are bare. Did he lose his shoes somewhere? Really, so cute."
"Isn't he the one Jaekwan met last time? He helped us out a lot at Segwang Technical High."
The reputation of "that Roe Deer from Daydream" had spread much farther than the young man himself realized.
Choi couldn't help chuckling.
He had hit the jackpot.
"Mr. Roe Deer, there are tons of people here at the Bureau who want to meet you! You're a genuine popular star even here."
[ - Exactly as I said, my friend!]
Please, just stop talking...
"Is it really normal to tell an employee of a cult-like company that he's treated like a celebrity here?!"
Unable to hold back his irritation any longer, Kim Soleum finally snapped.
Who knew what kinds of rumors had been circulating around the Bureau?
He couldn't be confident about his reputation.
People at Daydream already talked about him constantly.
Who would have thought the Bureau would pick up the trend too?
Is someone feeding them these ideas or something...?
"Shouldn't we introduce ourselves properly by now, Roe Deer, Grapes-ie~? You can call me Choi. Your sunbae ^^."
Accepting that Agent Choi clearly had no intention of letting him go peacefully, Soleum decided it would be easier to simply stop resisting.
"...Alright. It's nice to meet you, Agent Choi. My name is..."
If this really was that Agent Choi, then he had almost certainly already investigated him.
Besides, it was hard to imagine someone like Choi not having heard of Daydream's most promising rookie.
There was no point hiding it.
"Kim Soleum."
...I really want to go home.