“Excuse me...”
“Excuse me.”
I snapped my eyes open.
A familiar face came into view.
“...Sergeant?”
“Yes...”
Dressed in a security uniform, with a slender build, light-colored hair, and a name tag reading ‘J3’.
The very same security officer who had been involved with me in the Changgwi Darkness!
I tried to get up in a hurry, but a massive headache struck me—wait, what?
Jingle.
I froze.
The red yarn tied tightly around my hands, dangling little silver bells, caught my eye.
‘Yarn?’
The look and purpose felt oddly familiar... Oh.
‘This is one of the Security Team’s equipment...’
========================
Dark Exploration Records / Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau
/ Items
Nostalgia Kitty
A red yarn with silver bells attached, classified as an equipment-type item.
Temporarily reverts the subject to their physically and mentally healthiest state within the past ten years.
The more severe the subject’s mutation, the faster the yarn breaks.
※ Health criteria determined based on usage records.
========================
A device that allowed anyone to temporarily ‘return’ to a better state from their past.
Knowing this calmed me down a little.
I relaxed, and...
No, wait.
Why am I restrained??
I quickly raised my head.
The sergeant, looking mildly annoyed but also slightly amused, met my gaze. He gave a small wave.
“We meet again...”
“Yes. But...”
I raised my bound arms as high as I could.
“What is this about?”
“You said... you rescued a contaminated employee...”
“Yes, but why am I...”
The sergeant pointed at me.
Ah.
“...Are you saying the Security Team thinks I’m the one contaminated?”
“Looks like it... yeah... There’s no one else.”
He raised his hands slightly, his expression an odd mix of anticipation and embarrassment.
“Uh... welcome to the Security Team...?”
N-No.
Is this some kind of initiation for me as a new recruit...!
“It’s not me.”
“...Huh?”
“Um... yes, it is.”
“Then you can see that I’m speaking with a clear mind.”
The sergeant stared at me.
I swallowed again.
“When you’re ready, I’ll bring out the contaminated employee.”
“Oh.”
He blinked, clearly unconvinced but willing to humor me, and slowly replied,
“Fine... go ahead...”
“Do you need any special preparations? I only have one chance, as I’m using a disposable item.”
“Well...”
He tapped his chest lightly.
“I’m enough.”
Though his words might have sounded arrogant, his tone was straightforward and wearied, giving no impression of boasting.
‘And he’s a sergeant.’
I’d seen his capabilities in the changgwi ghost story. He was a professional in ‘Darkness suppression’.
Good.
“All right.”
I took a deep breath.
Then, I reached directly into my tattoo.
I didn’t have to search. My hand immediately grasped the target.
Keeping fellow teachers locked away is against the rules!!
‘Pull!’
As my hand emerged from the tattoo, it dragged something along with it.
Riiiip.
With grotesque sounds, the ‘teacher’ began to emerge from the tattoo.
And then—
Thunk.
The yarn snapped from the strain.
Blood spurted from my forearm like a fountain—the wound inflicted by the blood-sucking knife earlier had reopened.
“—!”
Fuck!
I wanted to scream from the pain, but I held back. The contamination was creeping back as well.
But more pressing than that was—
“Teacher Soleum! Such mischievous behavior is a punishable offense at ■■ Kindergarten...”
Flinch.
Supervisor Park Minseong—or rather, ‘the teacher’—paused mid-sentence, smiling softly.
Then, he stopped entirely, glancing around blankly at his surroundings.
“This is not the kindergarten!!”
Damn it.
“This is not the kindergarten! This is not the kindergarten! I left without permission, unauthorized—I am not a perfect teacher. I... I broke the rules...!”
There was no way to respond. I could only feel the guilt crashing over me.
I’m so sorry, teacher. I made the wrong decision. I shouldn’t have done this. I’ll take your punishment and read the handbook aloud instead. I’ll grab the handbook of ■■ Kindergarten and—
“Up you go.”
Grab.
Someone seized my face.
Then something was inserted into my ear.
“Some kind of... sleep sedative.”