An LED light illuminated the nameplate on the desk.
[Director-General]
No name was inscribed beyond the title.
My social standing did not permit my name to be revealed.
I reached out a hand towards the documents.
— Choi Seong-min Interrogation Record
Management Bureau: “Of all the items available, why did you choose ‘Eye Candy’ (TL Note: A slang term for illicit drugs, literally ‘eye candy’ in Korean)?”
Choi Seong-min: “I once provided them with drugs.”
Management Bureau: “Yes. Please continue.”
Choi Seong-min: “Their reaction was most favorable when I supplied them with drugs.”
Management Bureau: “How did you know their reaction was favorable?”
Choi Seong-min: “They explicitly told me to bring this type of item.”
Management Bureau: “I see. And there were several additional drug transactions after that, correct?”
Choi Seong-min: “…Yes.”
Management Bureau: “Is it true that you purchased ‘Eye Candy’ from the shop for that reason?”
Choi Seong-min: “Yes, that is correct.”
…
Choi Seong-min: “To my mother… I have nothing to say but that I am truly sorry…”
Management Bureau: “Understood. Thank you for your cooperation.”
— A group that transforms people into urban legends.
With nothing else yet uncovered, it was a group the Management Bureau had named ‘Horripica’.
While there had been several organizations attempting to exploit urban legends, Horripica represented an unprecedented type.
The phenomenon of ‘urban legend transformation’ itself was so rare that few even within the Urban Legend Management Bureau were aware of it, and consequently, it had been maintained as a closely guarded secret.
How Horripica came to know of it remained a mystery from the outset.
‘Tsk. This is a headache.’
Following that catastrophe, most personnel had been assigned to the investigation of Horripica, yet no promising news had emerged.
The only information was their preference for illicit drugs.
Even that piece of information lacked high credibility, having come solely from Choi Seong-min.
Assuming Choi Seong-min’s words were true, why would they favor illicit drugs?
Its very simplicity rendered it unhelpful as evidence of their identity.
Given that the connection between urban legend transformation and mental state had been established long ago, they were likely attempting some form of mental manipulation.
Though the form was somewhat different, they had even succeeded.
Had it not been for the sacrifices and efforts of our outstanding employees, it would surely have escalated into a terrible catastrophe.
For now, information regarding this incident had been suppressed from leaking outside as much as possible, but if such an event were to recur, it would undoubtedly become uncontrollable.
I turned the page of the documents.
— Records Regarding the Urban Legend Shop
…
— The instigator and guide behind all of this: the Urban Legend Merchant.
Frankly, the excellence of the items they handled held insufficient value for me to consider trading.
However, the information they possessed…
That surpassed even the Management Bureau’s.
They knew the detailed methods of urban legend transformation and its solutions.
Was it simply because they were an urban legend themselves that they knew naturally?
‘That’s impossible.’
The Merchant undoubtedly knows far more.
****
– “No, what are you talking about!”
– “Come quickly! It’s too complicated to explain over the phone!”
Beep, beep, beep—
– “No, hey! Yoon Seo-yeon!”
In my bewilderment, I didn’t even register that the call had disconnected.
“The car is ready, Team Leader.”
Thankfully, Do-hyun, who was far more composed than I, brought me back to my senses.
“Let’s go quickly.”
Do-hyun’s driving was remarkably smooth.
He demonstrated the epitome of safe driving while dynamically adjusting his speed as needed, preventing any sense of frustration.
In other words, the profound frustration welling up from deep within my chest was not due to Do-hyun’s driving.
“Team Leader. Am I understanding this correctly?”
“Yes, it seems there’s a side effect. Aside from her voice being a bit agitated, she didn’t seem to have any major issues, so it doesn’t appear to be life-threatening. But it’s certainly not simple either.”
“We’ll need to ascertain if it was the Merchant’s mistake or intentional.”
“Honestly, we’ve only seen five items at most so far, and it’s only been a week since the Urban Legend Merchant first appeared, hasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Perhaps we’ve been thinking too simply.”
I gazed out the window.
Visible were the remnants of a massive scar, its precise cause never officially disclosed by the Management Bureau.
‘To think that the very item we believed to be the key to resolving it had a side effect.’
‘Only by witnessing it firsthand would we truly understand.’
The car continued its journey along the road.
Soon, as the sky became awash in the hues of a crimson sunset, the Management Bureau building began to emerge beneath the setting sun.
Yoon Seo-yeon stood before the building.
“Se-jin!”
“What kind of side effect is it, exactly?”
“Let’s get to the lab, quickly!”
Yoon Seo-yeon tugged my arm towards the elevator.
Do-hyun, trying to calm Yoon Seo-yeon, joined us in the elevator.
“This… what should I call it? It’s not an enormously significant side effect. Perhaps ‘phenomenon’ would be a more fitting term?”
“Explain it properly.”
“It seems you two haven’t spent enough time in close proximity to the clock to notice it.”
Ding—21st Floor, above ground.
“I’ll show you while I explain.”
With a rustle, Yoon Seo-yeon produced a transparent acrylic box containing ants.
“Here, take a look.”
As Yoon Seo-yeon placed the ‘Paradoxical Time’ (TL Note: Referring to a special clock-like item) inside, the ants struggled, unable to control their bodies, before eventually dying.
“It seems to accelerate the aging of living organisms near the clock. To put it simply, perhaps rapid aging?”
“This really sounds dangerous…”
“Hmm. Still, it probably isn’t that dangerous. As you can see, only short-lived creatures like insects die quickly, and the area of effect doesn’t seem wide either. Roughly measured, it’s about a 1-meter radius?”
“True, if that weren’t the case, I’d already be a hunched old woman.”
“Even so, just in case, I’ll keep it for research for a while. I’m sorry, but it seems this time, reconstruction will have to be done by human effort.”
‘It’s regrettable, but perhaps there’s no other way.’
‘Whether the village was rebuilt tomorrow or next year was of no consequence to me, yet the thought that its ruin was due to my mistake left me uneasy.’
“But if I finish my research quickly, we could use it, right?”
“Huh?”
“So, speaking of which, would it be alright if I asked you a favor?”
“…What is it?”
“Could you go to the Urban Legend Shop sometime this week and find out about the Paradoxical Time?”
‘The shop, huh…’
‘Honestly, I thought going once a week was enough.’
“Of course, whether you do it or not is your decision, so I won’t force you.”
‘However, if I bring back information, we could stabilize the Paradoxical Time more quickly.’
‘Then we’d also be prepared for any other unforeseen side effects, making it a win-win situation.’
“Alright. I’ll go soon.”
“Okay, okay. I’m counting on you.”
“Team Leader, that thing.”
“Oh, right. Yoon Seo-yeon, could you take a look at this?”
“Hm?”
I handed over the sample I had collected earlier.
“What is this?”
After hearing the explanation, Yoon Seo-yeon nodded, indicating she understood.
“Then, while you’re away, I’ll research it together with this!”
I waved my hand as I exited the laboratory.
“Do-hyun, could you pull out the business card?”
Urban Legend Shop
Operating Hours: ■■
“This means it’s closed, right?”
“Given that the map has also disappeared, it seems so.”
“Then let’s go as soon as it opens tomorrow.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
****
“Let’s take a full week off.”
‘While it would be more pleasant to see you working consistently.’
‘Since we can no longer receive customers because of the Management Bureau, let’s do that then.’
“Can you last a week?”
‘This is more abundant than anything I’ve consumed before.’
‘With this much, a week should be no problem.’
‘Having earned sufficiently this time, and with no need to accept civilian customers this month, my mind is at ease.’
‘This truly feels like a genuine rest.’
‘This is precisely why I needed to deal with the Urban Legend Management Bureau!’
“Ah… a true rest after such a long time.”
‘It doesn’t matter what you do.’
‘Will you just idle away your life for a whole week?’
“That would be nice, but… I also need to restock items. I’ll take about a day to relax, then I’ll have to get things done.”
I glanced at the library of labels carelessly left on the wall.
“I should start preparing for that as well.”
‘An excellent mindset, indeed.’
‘Now that I think about it, with my sufficient consumption this time, your power must have grown quite strong.’
“Huh?”
‘Bring forth your tentacle.’
Following the shop’s words, I extended a tentacle.
‘Just give it a simple swing, and you’ll see.’
As I applied a light force to the tentacle, it shot forward at a speed far exceeding my expectations.
“Wh-what? This is too fast, I can’t control—”
WHAM—!
Aargh!
The tentacle slammed into the shop’s wall.
‘The speed was incomparable to anything before.’
‘You idiotic fool!’
‘Damn it, I want to rip out the brain that, even for a moment, acknowledged a fool like you!’
“Ah, no.”
‘It’s not yet enough to contend with the Urban Legend Management Bureau, but still, the National Library incident from before—’
‘—I feel like I could overcome it alone with this power.’
‘And now, I’ve just slammed that power right into the shop.’
As I retracted the tentacle back into the shadows, the deeply indented scar on the wall was starkly revealed.
‘No blood flowed or anything, but for the shop, it must be like a wound.’
“Still… doesn’t it regenerate?”
‘Even if I tore off your leg, it would regenerate within an hour.’
‘Would you like to try it?’
“Hmm. I’ve been too self-centered in my thoughts, haven’t I? Were you upset?”
