NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
The memories of my childhood are a bit fuzzy.
While others claim to remember things from kindergarten, for some reason, I can’t recall any memories before elementary school at all.
The only thing I do remember is that I had a really close friend.
She was a girl who loved to wear a black dress.
I remember having fun playing with her, but honestly, I have no clue what exactly we did for fun.
There was something she said to me, but I can’t remember what it was.
What did she say back then?
I’m sure—
“How do I look?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a quiz? I’m terrible at quizzes.
With a lively voice, Yu Da On started spinning in front of me, and I had no choice but to stop thinking and watch closely.
“…..”
“….How do I look?”
What’s different?
I stared intently at Yu Da On.
Her black hair flowed down like a waterfall, her black eyes still sparkled with curiosity, and I’ve seen her clothes rip more than a few times, so I could now somewhat picture her body shape.
“…Nothing’s different.”
“Really? Awesome!”
She seemed to like it instead.
As I looked at her with a bewildered expression, only then did she notice my look and began to explain with an “Ah.”
“Actually, I got a new outfit today.”
“A new outfit?”
“Why? The one I ordered back then, remember?”
“Oh.”
You mean the outfit that doesn’t tear easily.
I was kind of relieved but also felt a bit disappointed.
“I was worried it might look different.”
“Ah. If that’s the case, I don’t think you need to worry.”
But it’s still just a formal outfit. What could possibly be different?
However, Yu Da On seemed to seriously think otherwise.
“Wanna tear it?”
“Are you insane?”
An adult woman shouldn’t say things like that in the office.
“Should I tear it?”
Before I could respond, Jang Chae Yeon chimed in.
The team leader was peeking at us intently.
“No, I’m serious, tear it!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Yu Da On nodded confidently.
In the end, I had no choice but to take out a cutter blade and press it against Yu Da On’s stomach.
I felt like if I didn’t do it, Jang Chae Yeon would actually tear it.
“…Shall I?”
“Yes, yes!”
How lively.
Yu Da On nodded, and I took the cutter blade and pressed down lightly, but enough to tear the fabric.
-Creak.
Nothing happened.
If there were a soft metal plate, maybe it would feel like this. The fabric was soft yet firm—such a contradiction.
“…What is this?”
I’m a bit envious.
“They say it’s a new material made by the Management Agency’s research team.”
“New material?”
“They didn’t tell me what it is! They said it’s better to not know.”
“Ah.”
Right. Sometimes not knowing can be a blessing.
The radio that the team leader had on played the news again.
“The Red Lady sold out in just a second on its fifth re-performance, proving the show’s charm. The Presidential Office announced that the new K-culture is embodied by the Red Lady—”
What exactly is this Red Lady that’s so popular?
The team leader would know more about this than I do.
“Team leader, do you know about the Red Lady?”
“It’s hot these days. They say once you watch it, you can’t help but binge-watch it.”
“No way, how good can it really be?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a fan of it.”
“Are you jealous?”
“It’s not like that.”
Seeing the team leader sulk with a serious face made me feel a bit off.
“That’s so annoying.”
I don’t like seeing a middle-aged, balding man frowning seriously.
“Anyway, I don’t think I’ll go see it. My kids won’t see it either.”
Hearing the team leader put it that way, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.
I should avoid watching it too.
I could never get tickets that sell out in a second to go watch a play.
I should just grab some coffee.
“Team leader, can I go to the cafe?”
“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”
The team leader nodded while returning to his mobile game.
But seriously, isn’t this a bit too relaxed?
*
Leaving Yu Da On, who insisted on staying behind to organize paperwork, I walked down the corridor with Jang Chae Yeon.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Breathless silence.
“…Chae Yeon.”
“Yeah.”
Jang Chae Yeon replied immediately without a second delay.
“Now that I think about it, I have something I’m curious about.”
“Tell me.”
“Are we being monitored or anything?”
“…?”
Jang Chae Yeon looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
“Out of the blue? Do you feel something?”
“No, not at all.”
I can’t see anything.
However.
“I mean, is it really okay to leave us like this, me and you, Da On?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well… both of us are a bit out of the ordinary… like… immortal or telekinetic or something…”
“Ah.”
Jang Chae Yeon nodded as if she finally understood.
“Don’t worry.”
“What about?”
“The Management Agency is always dedicated to humanity. That includes us.”
“Excuse me?”
“And there are many people weirder than us in the Management Agency.”
“Weirder people?”
“Do you know the ace of the Gangseo Branch’s Isolation Team?”
“Is there even such a thing?”
“That guy is the weirdest.”
“Really?”
“Everyone in the Gangdong Branch’s Isolation Team and Research Team are all oddballs too.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s hard to explain, but you’ll get it when you see.”
Jang Chae Yeon stuck right next to me again and looked up at me.
I could smell the soap.
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Let’s go then.”
So, we walked closely together, and she did not leave my side until we arrived at the cafe.
“Ah.”
As soon as we entered the cafe, I saw a vaguely familiar face.
“It’s the Human Resources Team.”
With her wavy purple hair and tight-fitting jeans and white T-shirt, Song Ah Rin squinted and looked at me.
[Name: Song Ah Rin]
[Age: 21]
[Specialty: Hypnosis]
[Talent: – ]
[Background: Possessing an imperfect hypnosis ability, she has no choice but to be sensitive about everything. Nonetheless, the Management Agency is the only place she can belong.]
[Weakness: Just grab her head and hit it when she acts up.]
“I don’t know what it is, but if it’s calling for us at the scene, I’m not going.”
“Really?”
“To be honest, I’ve been there twice already.”
If we include the basement, then it makes three times, but I decided not to mention that.
I really felt like I’d get caught if I said that.
But why is she, 21 years old, speaking informally to me?
Thinking about it, Jang Chae Yeon, too, at 25, speaks informally to me.
These rude people.
“Are you really not going?”
“I’m really not going.”
“Damn, it’s urgent.”
“Call the entire Isolation Team. I heard there’s an ace in the Gangseo Branch’s Isolation Team.”
“That one’s a weirdo.”
“What about the rest of the Isolation Team members?”
“About 80% of the Management Agency’s Isolation Team has already been dispatched.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
Song Ah Rin sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets.
“There’s a big incident going on.”
“…What’s going on?”
“I can’t say. Or rather, it’s good for your brain not to hear it.”
After hearing that, it’s best not to know.
“…So, are you really not going to help?”
“…Honestly, that’s just how it is. We’re in the Human Resources Team.”
We’ve already been here and there twice.
“That’s… true.”
Song Ah Rin sighed again.
“I’ll be honest. Right now, there are very few people at the Management Agency who can resolve the phenomenon due to an incident.”
“…”
“Please understand my silence. As soon as you hear it, you’ll get dragged into it, and we don’t want that.”
“…”
“But incidents occur every day, and we’re starting to run very low on manpower.”
“…”
“So no matter how hard we try, we can’t stop everyone who pops out. Especially this time, it seems like the situation will become even more serious. It might endanger many people.”
With that, Song Ah Rin raked her hair in frustration.
“I’ll give you as much money as you want… well, not really, but I’ll give you as much as I can. So please help us.”
[If you can, help others. But don’t overdo it. But I believe you can do it well.]
A child’s voice echoed in my head.
“…”
A headache pulsed.
“This time only. For real.”
“…! Thank you!”
Song Ah Rin’s expression brightened up immediately. Then it crumpled again.
“Then I’ll give you this.”
Song Ah Rin handed me a piece of paper.
Is this… a ticket?
“It’s a ticket, right?”
“It’s a ticket for the Red Lady.”
That musical?
“What do I do with this?”
“Let’s go see it together.”
Jang Chae Yeon flinched behind me.
“Just the two of us?”
“Not anyone else. Just you and me.”
“…Sure. But is this the end?”
“I hope so too.”
Song Ah Rin replied dryly and stood up from her seat.
“Tomorrow at 7 PM. I’m sitting next to you, so let’s meet up.”
“Wait—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Song Ah Rin marched out of the cafe.
“…Are you going?”
Jang Chae Yeon stared at me, and I had no choice but to sigh and respond.
“I guess I have to go.”
*
The next day,
I told the team leader about taking a break from my regular shifts and headed to the theater.
In my pocket was the pistol the team leader had given me.
Even without a Critical situation, one gun should be enough.
I let Jang Chae Yeon and Yu Da On know that if I hadn’t shown up by tomorrow’s work hours, they should come to find me.
Both agreed without hesitation.
For the first time in a while, I walked through the city.
Usually, I just had night shifts or recent external work, so it felt like it had been ages since I walked through a bustling street in broad daylight.
I pressed my way through the crowd toward the theater.
The theater, the theater…
Finding the theater was not difficult.
A swarm of people stood in front of the theater.
“…”
“…”
It was quiet.
Many people stood in front of the theater waiting for the doors to open, yet I couldn’t hear a whisper.
As if everyone had forgotten to make a sound in a trance.
What was even scarier was that countless others walked past them as if that was perfectly normal.
It felt like I was the only one sensing the strangeness.
“Isn’t it strange?”
The voice I heard yesterday came from beside me.
Song Ah Rin stood there with her hands stuffed in her pockets, staring ahead.
“That no one knows this.”
“…”
“Let’s go.”
The doors opened, and people surged inside.
I only heard the sound of footsteps; no one shouted or talked.
“The first instance of the anomaly was during the third performance.”
Song Ah Rin began walking and talking.
“Normally, we would have addressed it immediately, but as I said, due to the shortage of personnel, we thought it was just the musical doing well, and that was our enormous mistake.”
“Ugh.”
“This musical has mind control abilities.”
As she said this, Song Ah Rin settled into her seat.
“So we needed to find someone with a strong mental barrier, but all of the people from the Isolation Team who have a strong mental barrier have been dispatched without exception.”
I also sat down next to her.
“I may not have a strong mental barrier, but if something happens, I can have hypnosis cast on me in advance.”
The curtain rises.
“So you’re the only one left.”
The music began, and Song Ah Rin looked at me.
“I’m going to feel a bit dazed. If I don’t, I’ll be affected too.”
“Wai-”
Soon, her eyes glazed over.
“Could you give me at least a moment to say something?”
Tsk, I sighed and turned my attention to the stage.
The actors came out to take their bows.
None of them had any focus in their eyes.
“Now, from this point onward, b-b-b-b-blue—”
As the front man stammered, the man behind him continued.
“S-s-s-so the Red Lady—”
With a booming sound, my vision turned black.
What’s happening? What’s going on?