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[Qterw-B-207]
[Look in the mirror! Everyone’s dressed up like circus clowns!]
[A Darkness featuring a classic tale that will assign roles based on your personality!]
[Make sure to put on a good show for the audience!]
[Clap! Clap! Clap!]
It was a workplace accident, An error by a young researcher, to be exact.
The entry point to the Darkness code-named [Stories you like] was a palm-sized mirror capable of mimicking whatever object was reflected in front of it, pulling anyone who looked into it straight into the Darkness.
In this case, after several Field Exploration Teams were dispatched into the Darkness, the cover sealing the mirror was accidentally opened.
Every researcher in the Research Team 1 office touched an item replicated by the anomaly and got sucked right in.
J3 looked around, slightly annoyed. Adjusting his cap, he slowly took in every detail of the now-empty room.
His focus landed on the head researcher’s desk—specifically on a neatly folded black tie. It was the only object carrying a scent distinct from everything else in the room.
"Be careful, Sergeant."
Park Minseong, his teammate, seemed worried about him.
And reasonably so. The Darkness they were dealing with was a classic fairy tale type, almost identical to the one that had contaminated J3 in the past.
"Yeah."
The security officer moved forward, having already retrieved the item's containment cover from one of his colleagues. Stepping toward his target, the object gleamed faintly under the sunlight.
He covered it up, and beneath the cloth, it shifted back into a simple mirror.
"Badger... lock this place down... until, well, whenever."
The teammate behind him hesitated. "How about I go in instead of you, sir?"
Nobody knew which classic story this Darkness had prepared. J3 might end up facing that little girl in the red riding hood again—the one who sweetly offered him blood-drenched cookies.
He glanced back at the chief researcher’s desk, which was littered with sticky notes. Reading a few, he let out a amused huff, suddenly remembering he had to answer his teammate's offer. "Your contamination is... way too... unstable."
J3 lifted a corner of the cloth covering the mirror. His own tired face and messy hair stared back at him.
Pathetic.
Obviously.
. .
His eyes fluttered open. Something was off. He was sure he had entered a different Darkness, so where was his Squad member?
B Squad Leader blinked, his mind a bit scrambled. And where on earth was he right now?
He scanned his surroundings, but there was only void. Pitch-black darkness made it impossible to even gauge his own presence.
Then, a flicker of candlelight off to his side caught his attention. He turned.
Kwak Jekang?
His junior, someone he knew quite well, looked curious. Well, a little different, actually. Kwak Jekang looked older than he remembered. Hadn't it only been a few minutes since they last saw each other?
Besides looking older, Kwak Jekang’s hair had turned completely white, like a stroke of premature gray.
Knock.
Knock.
"Is there a mechanism I don't know about?" Kwak Jekang muttered, his green eyes reflecting the warm glow of the candle.
He looked far too alive to be a simple trick constructed by the Darkness.
"Hmm, let's try a line from those kids' cartoons."
Kwak Jekang tapped the rim of the glass again, his face brightening up like a little kid eager to build a snowman with an extremely antisocial older sister.
"Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"
B Squad Leader chuckled quietly.
Yet, against all odds, the spell seemed to work. He felt the invisible force binding his mouth slowly melt away.
Was he supposed to play the role of the magic mirror?
He blinked, searching every corner of his vision, but found nothing. No script, no prompts, no choices for what he should say.
Once more, Kwak Jekang repeated the phrase.
"Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"
Was he supposed to follow the storyline of the ongoing fairy tale? Still, something felt wrong.
If he assumed the role of the magic mirror, then Kwak Jekang was the evil queen—the one destined to die at the end of the story. If that happened, would Kwak Jekang ever make it back to the real world? Or worse... would he become fully contaminated?
Knock.
Knock.
Kwak Jekang tried one more time.
"Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"
[You^^]
Kwak Jekang blinked, his expression instantly flipping into a pout.
Oh? Now isn't that even cuter?
"That's off-script."
[Doesn't the magic mirror speak only the truth?]
"Have you even seen Snow White's actor yet? You should've checked him out first! Show me Snow White's face!"
As if on cue, the face of the actor Kwak Jekang mentioned filled the mirror's surface.
It was a tall, sturdy young man whom B Squad Leader didn't recognize.
Hair as white as snow.
Eyes as red as blood.
Strikingly handsome.
And yet...
[But didn't you ask who was the fairest of them all?]
[He is handsome—the kind of handsome that would have kids following him in line.]
[However, to me, you are the most beautiful person here.]
"Nonsense."
Was Kwak Jekang offended?
"If you talk like that, the plot changes. I won't have a reason to hunt Snow White down."
Ah, so that's why...
"We might never get out of here!"
[You just need to accept the fact that you're beautiful.]
"That's no fun," Kwak Jekang sulked. "It'd be way more exciting to watch Snow White struggle desperately to survive. Besides, with an actor like that playing Snow White, I really want to see how he manages to coax the dwarfs."
"Still, how does this Darkness pick its cast anyway? What kind of compatibility is it looking for?"
"Lizard playing Snow White is just weird. I mean, sure, he's handsome—" Kwak Jekang stopped, his lips puffing out into another pout. "The kids that day confirmed it, but where's the 'kind-hearted girl' aspect of Snow White in him?"
[Are you curious why you didn't get picked as Snow White?]
"Who even are you? I'm filing a complaint because you dare talk back to the research team leader and refuse to cooperate properly."
Research team leader, huh?
Was there a timeline overlap happening here?
That explained why Kwak Jekang looked older. But thankfully, Kwak Jekang was still alive and hadn't changed all that much.
He made a note to tease Kwak Jekang relentlessly once they cleared this Darkness.
[For now, I'm just a magic mirror who loves telling the truth^^]
. .
"Magic mirror, I successfully sent a huntsman to go after Snow White."
B Squad Leader watched Kwak Jekang smile brightly—almost like a sociopath relishing someone else's suffering. The Kwak Jekang he knew had always been like that.
"Ahem, I know he'll survive though, because the huntsman is going to betray me."
Except, that statement turned out to be wrong.
B Squad Leader displayed what was actually happening on the mirror's surface. Snow White hadn't been let go, he was fighting back. The assigned huntsman had no intention of betraying Kwak Jekang—he was genuinely out for Snow White's blood.
Bullets flew through the air. The white-haired youth on screen took cover behind a tree.
The forest grew wilder, turning the hunt into an intense game of survival. The huntsman kept firing, but this time, Snow White charged through the barrage, closing the distance toward the unprepared huntsman at terrifying speed.
And when he caught the huntsman's gun...
The sound of a long-barreled gun snapping in half with bare hands echoed through the screen.
B Squad Leader blinked. If he ever saw that man's resume on a list of new applicants, he'd recruit him into his team instantly.
Meanwhile, Kwak Jekang clenched his fists.
"So annoying! Hey, Mirror, how do I kill Snow White?"
[Does there really have to be a murder in this story?]
[Can't you just be a nice stepmother?]
"So you're Badger."
Which employee was that again?
"Besides, it's not like your former team leader is the one dying at the end."
[Are you the one who's going to die?]
"I don't plan on dying—not before I force that sergeant to look presentable. If you ever get back, tell him to clean himself up. He looks way too scruffy."
Kwak Jekang's voice dropped slightly, carrying a hint of disgust at the end of his sentence.
Who was he talking about?
B Squad Leader noted down the names being dropped.
Employee Lizard.
Employee Badger.
The Sergeant...
He would make sure to thank them for taking care of Kwak Jekang, or at least for being close enough that his junior felt comfortable complaining about them so openly.
Pfft.
It was cute and entertaining. Might as well roll with the misunderstanding.
[I'll write that down.]
"Make sure he eats properly, too. His posture looks like someone severely malnourished. Exactly how much of the security team's budget is being embezzled?"
So Badger was a member of the security team...
B Squad Leader wasn't too surprised. Kwak Jekang had always been fond of things coming out of a Darkness, whether it was an item the Field Exploration Team fought hard to retrieve, or a contaminated employee.
Yep, Kwak Jekang never changed.
He noted it down, he'd have to gather a few samples and give them to Kwak Jekang as an apology for deceiving his junior like this.
"Come to me if you guys want better treat."
The smile curling on his junior's lips was deeply suspicious.
. .
"Look at this!"
Kwak Jekang showed off a purple-covered book bound with leather straps. Faded Latin lettering lined the pages, making it hard to read what was written.
"I could only unlock this book after Snow White met the dwarfs. Want me to read it to you?"
[See? I told you that you should've been Snow White, you're so kind-hearted.]
"Hmm?"
Kwak Jekang narrowed his eyes.
"I was pretty sure you were Badger, but on second thought, he doesn't fit the magic mirror profile. He's actually a much better fit for Snow White."
Hmm.
So Badger was a kind-hearted employee.
"I'll read out a few interesting potion recipes. A poisoned apple, that's the most outdated method. There's even a version where Snow White almost died not from the poison, but because a piece of apple choked his airway."
"Then there's the poisoned comb. Combing your hair with it can cause severe allergies or even death. Fascinating. What if I keep this item for further research?"
[I wouldn't recommend that.]
[How about something pretty, like a hairpin?]
"What's the effect?"
[It makes you even more adorable.]
"Boring."
Kwak Jekang flipped through the pages again.
"Poisoned dress. Forget it, who'd want to wear a tacky dress like that anyway?"
[Can I make a request?]
[Is there a spell that allows physical transformation? I feel a bit trapped in here.]
Kwak Jekang blinked. A second later, his expression brightened significantly, verging on unhinged.
"Exactly! We have to do this. I want to see who the useless bastard sitting in front of me actually is."
[your language...]
Future Kwak Jekang was much more rude, wasn't he...
Still, he chose not to comment, simply watching as Kwak Jekang thumbed through the book again. His junior's smile widened as he found a spell that seemed close enough to the B Squad Leader's request.
The researcher began pacing back and forth, gathering ingredients.
Watching Kwak Jekang like this brought back a sense of nostalgia.
Back when they first met, his junior used to follow him everywhere for interviews. Those green eyes had sparkled so brightly whenever B Team Leader answered his questions, addressed his theories, and introduced him to the most efficient methods for assessing human behavior.
He smiled fondly.
"These ingredients are telling me I can only make one potion either the poisoned apple or a body for you."
[Please prioritize whatever you think is right^^]
"Wow, did you just say that with a straight face?"
How stingy of him.
[My fairest Queen]
[I shall surrender my entire body for your plan.]
Kwak Jekang smirked. Both of them knew exactly what the other meant. Those words meant only one thing, taking the place of the poisoned apple to kill Snow White.
B Squad Leader would take on that duty.
"If you mess this up, you're dead."
[^^]
Afterward, B Squad Leader watched Kwak Jekang work tirelessly. Just like conducting research, brewing a potion demanded utter focus.
Kwak Jekang enjoyed it, occasionally stopping in front of the magic mirror to guess which employee was possessing it, rambling about his evil plans to throw that employee into a sabotaged Darkness.
Wasn't that a threat?
B Squad Leader could only massage his temples and let out a soft laugh.
He was a little curious, would Kwak Jekang actually follow through with those threats if he found out the B Squad Leader was the one inside?
"The potion's ready."
[My Queen is so talented^^]
"Seriously, I'm starting to get real curious about who you are."
[I'm actually surprised you still haven't guessed.]
"No employee would have the nerve to compliment me like that."
Kwak Jekang looked slightly solemn for a second, but in the blink of an eye, that expression vanished as if it had never happened.
"Hmm." Kwak Jekang he knew would sometimes get gloomy and annoyed when disturbed.
He recalled last year's summer. His junior had been sitting on the window sill in the quiet office long after work hours had ended. His face had slowly turned somber and pouting, refusing to give B Squad Leader a single moment of peace after he arrived late for their promised meeting.
Senior, you owe me an apology for making me wait.
"You owe me a promise."
A strikingly similar choice of words.
Ha....
[Of course^^]
Kwak Jekang began sprinkling the potion, and its icy sensation seeped through to the B Squad Leader's skin.
"Can you reach your hand out?"
B Squad Leader slowly extended his hand. It worked, his arm broke through the glass surface. Kwak Jekang looked pleased, pouring the potion into a small bottle before placing it into B Squad Leader's palm, which was still extending out of the mirror.
"If you spill it, you'll be stuck in there forever, you know."
[If it means I get to observe my Queen longer, I don't mind.]
"You've got a silver tongue."
[Thank you.]
He stared at the bottle now held firmly in his grip. Should he drink it all?
Yes.
He downed it in one go.
"Come out."
[You need to turn around first.]
"How dare you? I really am filing a complaint, whoever you are."
[Turn around^^]
Eventually, Kwak Jekang turned his back. "If you try to stab me in the back, I'm cursing you."
His junior was terrifying~
B Squad Leader reached out with both hands as a cool breeze brushed against his skin. Stepping forward, he ducked slightly, fully emerging from the large mirror where he had been trapped.
He blinked.
Dozens of notifications flooded his vision like neon billboards.
'AWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOME'
'The magic... mirror... Want to be a killer....'
Clap!
Clap!
Clap!
A vertical meter glowed bright red, nearly reaching the heart icon at the top—likely a gauge of the Darkness inhabitants' approval.
The sensory overload hit his head all at once. He stumbled backward, his hand instantly reaching for the table to steady himself.
It wasn't enough, he collapsed rather awkwardly. The sound of thunderous applause still echoed in his mind, but he tried his best to calm down.
Everything will be fine...
Ha.
Ha.
"I knew you were gonna—"
B Squas Leader looked up, forcing a smile in hopes that Kwak Jekang wouldn't worry too much. But the expression meeting him was one of complete shock and pale horror.
"Badger?"
Did his face change into someone else's?
B Squad Leader glanced back at the mirror. His face was the same—jet-black hair, amber eyes resembling the flicker of candlelight in the room.
He turned back toward Kwak Jekang.
"Team Leader Wolf?"
"Yeah?"
He tried to stand up, which thankfully proved easy enough.
"How is this possible?"
The question felt strange. He didn't answer because he didn't have one. His junior stepped closer, those slender fingers feeling cold against his cheek.
"How is this possible?"
The question was repeated.
Kwak Jekang shook his head, his shock slowly giving way to sheer determination. "How did you end up here?"
"My last memory was entering an unregistered Darkness."
Kwak Jekang's hand moved up to his cheek, pinching his elastic skin. Was that guy checking if he was a ghost?
"Ow..."
"What date did you enter that Darkness?"
"January 12th."
"Year?"
"19XX." B squad Leader caught the look of disbelief reflected in Kwak Jekang's green eyes. He posed a question of his own: "What year did you enter this Darkness?"
No answer. Alright, that confirmed the Kwak Jekang standing before him was from the future.
"Did you miss me?"
He opened his arms wide, and sure enough, Kwak Jekang leaned straight into his embrace.
"So much. I almost went crazy because of you."
Also...
He was pretty sure he was going to face some serious trouble in the future.
. .
J3 stared at the ceiling, which now resembled a giant one-way mirror. A movie... or whatever it was playing right in front of him.
"...."
He looked down, reading the sticky note with absolute clarity.
'Make sure our sergeant gets this tie.'
Another sticky note was pasted right beside it: 'Force him if necessary.'
Glancing back at the mirror, no portal opened; the entry path remained blocked.
He had to wait until a small opening appeared.
Keep waiting.
Hoping Kwak Jekang wouldn't get contaminated.
His hand gently touched the black tie neatly packed inside the box.
He really wanted someone to put that tie on him.