A man in his early thirties in ordinary clothes was chattering excitedly on the phone in his studio apartment.
“Yeah, yeah, I told you—I got into Daydream. Uh-huh, I only applied as a trial, you know.”
He’d applied to the sudden additional hiring notice from Daydream Inc., gone all the way to the final round, and passed.
And he was now calling everyone he could while pretending otherwise, to brag.
Especially the friend with worse academic credentials who still hadn’t found a job, in a nice, sly way.
What? You thought my eyes didn’t have the right look and I needed to prep harder for interviews?
But look at the result!
“I mean, I did somehow end up getting hired like this, but it’s kind of a shame, too. Huh? I didn’t get to try applying to lots of places. Like you.”
The thrilling pleasure of cutting down a competitor worse than himself.
He was practically fluttery at the thought of his friend later replaying this conversation and feeling his self-esteem drop.
The Daydream new hire researcher shivered inside with a jolt of pleasure and kept running his mouth.
“You should’ve applied too, you know? Oh, you did? Didn’t know. Sorry. Next time we meet I’ll tre-e-e-eat—!!”
Suddenly.
Thump.
Something black fell out of the air.
And it grabbed the researcher’s throat right then and there.
“...!!”
It was a black silhouette.
Wh—where from?
There was no duct or space in the ceiling for something like that to be. He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling but saw no trace of anything.
Then how?
“Shh.”
The black silhouette brought a gloved hand up over his face under the black mask he wore.
And in a very quiet, very slow whisper:
Hang up.
Gulp.
“I—I’m—h-hanging up... see you—!”
Click.
The hand slowly slid off the new hire researcher’s face.
But the hand on his throat stayed right there.
That pressure.
F—fuck...
A robber?
Into his frozen brain, locked up with all sorts of guesses and bleak forecasts of what came next and with cold sweat running at his temples, a leisurely voice slid.
“Hi.”
“......”
“I said hi and you didn’t answer.”
“H-hello....”
The new hire researcher, mind racing like mad, swallowed and said:
“I—I don’t have much money, but if you let me go, right now, I can take out a loan and transfer it to your account....”
“What are you talking about. Do I look like a robber?”
You do!
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! If ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) I might ask why you’ve come in here....”
“I... let’s see.”
A laugh.
“Call me your guardian angel for the day.”
“......”
He was insane.
A truly crazy bastard. I’d picked the wrong target. Definitely a serial-killer psychopath.
But the next word was more shocking.
“Hmm? Mr. Park Kyunghwan.”
“...!!”
“You just finished grad school with a PhD in bioinformatics. During the program, you stole a labmate’s dissertation topic and published it first.”
A revelation that turned his brain snow-white.
“Th-that....”
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to grill you on that.”
Thud.
The intruder lifted the hand that had been pressing the researcher’s face.
Something silver flashed there.
“I told you to keep still.”
Soon a smothered scream rattled the studio apartment.
***
[Quite a thrilling interrogation, my friend! Far more spy-movie than when you slipped in among those poor civil servants; very exciting indeed!]
More like a robbery threat than espionage....
Trespass and threat...
I did feel like I was slipping smoothly into crime, but to be honest I didn’t feel all that sorry.
Probably because I knew what that guy would do once he joined.
Researcher Park Kyunghwan
If Gwak Jegang is the type who does crazy things out of curiosity, this one is the type who, from a desk-jockey sense of superiority, orders the field exploration teams or civilians to do brutal things.
Much like what happens to the Wrap-Up Team.
Records of getting off on being cruel to the weak and making your heart race.
That’s Daydream researchers’ character for you...
In the sense that he didn’t make me feel very sorry, I was grateful.
I looked at the piece of “Researcher Park Kyunghwan” that I’d cut off cleanly.
Namely... a fingernail.
Uugh...
I obviously don’t have a hobby of clipping other people’s nails. But I took it because I needed it.
It’s the bit you need to replace Park Kyunghwan and be a one-day researcher.
And the fact Park Kyunghwan’s a new hire is actually good.
The advantages of having no seniority are as follows:
Which means even if I swap in as a one-day researcher, the odds are tiny that I’ll meet someone who’d suspect me... a special team or higher-up who could see through me.
Say, Director Cheong.
A new hire doesn’t meet a director except for the initial greeting after joining.
I, of course, did so many stunts to rack up Welfare Mall points I stood out and got called in.
...And then, unintentionally, kept meeting them afterward.
And in the end even signed that insane contract to work on the Security Team permanently.
“......”
It rose up naturally.
I brooded over the Security Team employment contract Director Cheong took.
That contract.
I don’t need it anymore.
That fact was even a little refreshing.
I could now maintain my state. Even without the Security Team identity, I could continue to exist with both body and mind intact without collapsing.
I clenched my human hand.
The problem is that “so I’m resigning” won’t fly.
Because it’s permanent.
Honestly it feels more like restraint than a contract...
[Hmm. Would you like a bit of advice from Brown?]
Hm?
...Sure. What?
[Laws and rules are often pushed aside by a more powerful priority, you know.]
Sssk.
From the plush doll came the sound of the finger area of a luxurious white cotton glove rubbing, as if it lifted its index finger.
[If there is a regulation stronger than your rude superior’s contract, wouldn’t the contract naturally be void?]
So.
Push the contract out with a different rule?
[Precisely! For instance, draft a different employment contract. Oh, with a stronger, grander workplace and employer.]
...Like Brown’s Late-Night Talk Show and the magnificent Host?
[Goodness! I won’t refuse that example!]
Yes. I had a feeling you’d say that, Host....
But in my head, a slightly different notion came to mind.
A different rule, huh.
Blink—like a light bulb turning on, an idea popped—but this seemed like a method I could only use when the right moment came.
Keep it in reserve for now.
Good.
For the moment, start with the “Daydream Dream machine theft” job.
I’ve got all the supplies.
With my mind spinning taut, I completed the infiltration plan to be a one-day researcher.
And so, a week later.
At 8:10 a.m., I found myself standing before the main entrance of Daydream Inc. headquarters, just like before.
“......”
But there was one thing different from before.
My outfit.
Hoo.
I was wearing a white lab coat.
—Don’t you usually change into lab coats after going in?
—Everyone’s a bit high on the vibe... Yeah, anyway, more than half the intake mates just come in wearing them. During probation!
Recalling my warm little Q&A with the researcher, I entered the main building.
A researcher with plain looks and horn-rimmed glasses.
“Good morning, Researcher Park.”
I was the very image of Researcher Park Kyunghwan.
“Good morning.”
In the pocket inside my lab coat, which I answered in a casually feminine register to the front desk, was a small silver-gleaming tool.
Its head was shaped like the snout of a rodent.
Field Mouse Nail Clipper
An item from a folktale that says “a field mouse that eats a person’s discarded fingernails will disguise itself as that person.”
If you use this nail clipper while there is a “clipped nail” inside it, your body transforms to the appearance of that nail’s original owner.
Each nail keeps the transformation for about half a day.
If you meet the nail’s original owner in this state, the two of you feel intense homicidal intent toward each other, and various murders and assaults occur as a result.
In short, I’d used the researcher’s nail to disguise myself as the researcher.
I figured it was probably sold pretty cheap on Delusion Home Shopping, so I snapped it up.
Judging by the situation, it was an excellent choice.
...Though it is gross that someone else’s nail is hanging off the end of mine.
Hoo.
And then....
—Yes. After going straight ahead, look for a facility with an electronic pad attached.
—That... mm. I’ve seen one, I think....
I’d gotten people who’d worked a long time at Daydream to tell me every detail of HQ and the annex’s layout and where the Dream machines were, and I’d memorized it all.
And of those, the people who knew the Research Team’s work and traffic patterns best were, of course—
Naturally, the same Research Team.
And of those, two were currently alive in Se-gwang Special City.
Still connected to me.
—Mr. Noru. Over here!
I recalled the letters the Deputy Lee Seonghae had relayed to me from the researchers.
Yes. This Se-gwang Special City entry had been done without me, in teams of three Daydream employees.
In case the shock of entering Se-gwang Special City hit me again, there was a risk my restored form might destabilize; they were being considerate.
And in that gap, I’m going to lift the machines.
Deputy Lee Seonghae—one of the three—was happy to be my courier. I was grateful.
They also told me how the others were, and the state of the station.
—Deputy Eun and the Agent got to the train safe! And also—
—There’s no such thing as a Scales Court at Morning Station. It’s just an old concourse there, you know?
“......”
The DMB courthouse seemed to be concluded.
Then I can go check out the YuKwae Research Laboratory at that station...
And perhaps see other traces of the DMB branch.
I decided to plan the next entry.
Then, recalling what the researchers had written, I pressed the elevator button and got in.
Anyway, since I publicly announced “my intent,” Gwak Jegang can’t write crap for this answer or set subtle traps for me.
And I recalled the letter content that was the reason I picked today.
—New hires in the Research Team don’t do orientation; they have a probation period to experience what they’ll do going forward. I mean, they get tasks a bit different from what they expected, right? They need an adaptation period!
The Field Exploration Team gets thrown into ghost stories with zero adaptation or anything, doing work entirely different from expectations.
That kind of pisses me off...
Anyway, having wound up researching “ghost stories,” which had little to do with their original majors, they would systematically experience what the Research Team does, one by one.
And today was—
The day to see potion production.
A day they would definitely access Daydream’s potion manufacturing machines.
—F-first we gather on the 20th floor and then move as a group!
Cross-checking the researchers’ testimony made it certain.
Good thing I came early on purpose.
After a glance around the quiet lobby, I was about to press the Close button alone in the elevator.
But at that moment—
“Hold the door, please!”
Someone ran up to the elevator.
I obediently pressed Open. Also because mashing Close like crazy would draw attention.
But when I saw who came in, I was a little thrown.
“...Thanks.”
Because it was Baek Saheon.
He checked my rank via my coat and the badge on my neck, put on a workplace smile, nodded, and casually punched a floor button.
This guy really works hard at company life.
Out earlier than start time like this. No wonder he got promoted to section chief.
Ding.
The doors closed, and the elevator began to rise quietly.
And I looked at Baek Saheon and worked my brain fast.
He’ll recognize me.
That eye patch.
How many times has he identified me with the reverse-eye item under the medical eye patch?
Hm.
Rather than let him find out later and make a fuss that screws this up, I should give him a light hint now so he behaves himself.
In the end I looked at Baek Saheon and spoke.
“Mr. Saheon.”
“...Yes?”
He showed only mild surprise that I knew his name.
But surely, as a new hire, he was cursing me inside for calling him by name, Research Team rank and all. I know your character....
So I deliberately set the mood and spoke softly.
Subtly, but with a shock.
Let’s see...
A talk-show reference would be too on-the-nose.
This is Daydream; even if there are bugs listening in, say something that won’t make them suspect “Kim Soleum” while still shocking to Baek Saheon... Right.
This.
“It’s a shame what happened to your village, but I’m glad to see it hasn’t affected you much and you’re living your company life safe and sound, Mr. Saheon.”
“...!!”
That should do it.
You know your origins are known and someone who pops up in various forms is making a loaded comment—who else would that be.
All right, now just lift the patch a little, verify, and we break off fast.
I glanced at the floor indicator and watched him.
As expected, Baek Saheon reflexively lifted a hand to the patch and raised the cloth—
...Huh?
His eye under the patch was closed.
Did he leave the item behind?
Why? With his personality, that makes no sense.
No, now I’ve pointlessly revealed my identity for nothing. My mouth tasted bitter.
“Well then, excuse me.”
I got ready to get off.
If he guesses my identity roughly, he’ll have the sense to keep his mouth shut.
Then that’s that—
“...Agent?”
Huh?
“It’s you.”
Seeing my reaction, a hint of confidence crept into Baek Saheon’s face.
“You’re the one, aren’t you.”
Hold on.
Watching an odd liveliness come into Baek Saheon’s face, I realized there was a communication error.
By what logic do you get “DMB agent”?
That is—
“You kept snooping about our company, so I guess you were doing this kind of thing.”
.......
“The paper boats—I wondered why you weren’t using them these days.”
Ah.
Aaaah...!
I stared blankly as Baek Saheon, having zeroed in on “the agent he’d been communicating with via the paper boat he’d left behind in Jisan Village,” spoke with a touch of swagger on his face....
“You thought I’d help? Talking to me even while you’re infiltrating?”
Nope. Not me.
