Ho Yuwon.
The director who knows more about Jang Heo-un than anyone else at this company.
"I imagine you have many questions."
But an untrustworthy individual is smiling at me.
In a hallway from a ghost story, where corpses are piled high, reduced to a skeletal ruin of fire and smoke.
He asks me, 'Do you have anything to ask?'
'…If so.'
This is how I can approach it.
I conjured smoke.
Proposal: One-on-One Q&A Ritual
"Hmm?"
Conditions: 2 people
▶ Questions and answers will alternate in order.
▶ You must answer the other party's questions truthfully.
▶ If a question cannot be answered, state 'Cannot answer' in words and then receive the next question.
▶ Answers cannot be delayed for more than 96 seconds.
[Ah, this is interesting. Setting such specific conditions for no reason. The structure has a slightly shamanistic feel…]
I did it on purpose. Because I'm dealing with a non-human entity.
And…
'This side definitely has questions for me too.'
If it's in a ritualistic format like this, exchanging questions formally, they'd be hooked.
And.
▶ Intentionally concealing the truth during the ritual will result in punishment.
"…Haha! Are you imitating me?"
Yes. Let's see how it feels to be on the other side.
Ho Yuwon chuckled a few times and answered refreshingly.
"But it's good."
Yet, a flicker of something danced in his eyes.
"It's fair, isn't it? I could even place a restriction on you to receive punishment… but I won't. I want to believe in you, Mr. Noru."
Lies.
He's saying that because he can't easily place one anyway.
'He tried to place a restriction but got hit by me.'
But it doesn't matter.
Agreement
: One-on-One Q&A Ritual
From now on.
Ritual Start
Clap.
"Alright. Then… I'll let you, Mr. Noru, ask the first question as you proposed."
And so, on the 96th basement floor, at the site of the Pleasant Research Institute's bizarre fire, the two ghost stories began their exchange of questions and answers.
[Friend, what fact do you wish to know first?]
From the most crucial point.
Question:
Everything Ho Yuwon knows about Jang Heo-un.
"That's a very comprehensive question, Mr. Noru."
Ho Yuwon replied.
"What I know is this. Male, 20s, no family, raised in a religious social welfare facility in the countryside. Three years ago, based on his year of entry, the facility was completely consumed by a fire, and he was the sole survivor."
....
This information matches the testimony I once heard from the contaminated Jang Heo-un.
"So, his wish is probably related to that fire… perhaps to bring back the dead, or to make the fire as if it never happened."
Accurate.
'Did he investigate more closely while selecting me as a spy?'
"Then it's my turn to ask a question now, Mr. Noru."
Ho Yuwon looked at me.
"If you already knew what I just told you, who did you hear it from?"
…!
"Precisely, from what kind of entity?"
....
Answer:
A Flower Golden Resort employee – Bison
"Ah, I see."
The rekindling flames cast a shadow on Ho Yuwon's face in the backlight.
"I saw the report from the Field Investigation Team about someone who died at a theme park and then came back to life as a resort employee… but to hear it directly from them."
....
"You didn't just help revive him… you are his subordinate, aren't you?"
Hoo.
"Ah, this isn't a question. It was a certainty… As expected, Mr. Noru, you are quite human. Making choices you'll regret."
It was an ominous remark, yet it seemed to carry a hint of faint regret.
Instead of getting angry, I just looked at Ho Yuwon.
"In any case, you're curious about the three 'Heo-uns' with different surnames, right? I'm curious too, so perhaps we could deduce things through our Q&A… Shall we continue?"
Without faltering, to the next.
Question:
What is known about the new employee, Kim Heo-un.
"…This is where it gets a bit interesting."
Interesting?
"His background is identical to Jang Heo-un's."
"…!!"
Male, 20s, no family, raised in a religious social welfare facility in the countryside. Fire trauma.
"For someone who grew up in a similar environment, the keywords are too identical, aren't they? As if they were playing the same role in a game."
....
The puzzle pieces are gathering in my mind.
"Then it's my turn to ask a question. …Did Mr. Noru distribute the Wish Tokens he received to the Daydream employees who infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau? Precisely who received how many?"
Answer: 2 tokens to employee Sanyang
-Request to deliver to employee Bison later.
"Ah… as expected."
Wait. 'As expected'?
That sounds like… you already knew that.
Question: Whether the usage of the three Wish Tokens has been tracked.
"Ah. It's not tracking, I just know."
…!
"The Wish Tokens I gave you were my personal possessions. So, I applied a slight treatment to the bottles… I can tell if they've been used or not."
Ho Yuwon smiled.
"And the three Wish Tokens I gave to you, Mr. Noru, have all been used. …You used one, didn't you?"
That means…
The two that went to Ms. Go Young-eun have also been used.
A chilling sensation ran down my spine.
'Ms. Go Young-eun used both of them?'
Unless they were taken from her… No, the probability of them being taken is low.
Ms. Go Young-eun is the type of person who carefully manages risks.
And she's also someone with the character who wouldn't carelessly use Jang Heo-un's Wish Token.
So, the probability that she used them for Jang Heo-un is high.
'But….'
Why is Jang Heo-un the way I saw him?
"Then we can make an interesting speculation here. …Did someone make a wish incorrectly?"
Ho Yuwon said with a sympathetic laugh.
"After half a year, the pitiful employee Bison shows no sign of recovering from his contamination and returning to human form, so perhaps out of impatience… he used it arbitrarily."
....
"But due to some error, instead of 'Jang Heo-un,' 'Kim Heo-un' appeared in this world, and the wish was granted, wasn't it?"
It was a chilling speculation.
[Hmm. Is that so? Then let's speculate more concretely.]
So, what it means is.
If Ms. Go Young-eun made a wish like 'Please let Heo-un live as a human in this world.'
'Instead of the contaminated Jang Heo-un returning to human form, a person that Ms. Go Young-eun could accept as 'Heo-un' might have appeared in the world…!'
Wish Tokens are personally omnipotent. So, it's a plausible, ghost-story-like situation, but…
Skeptical: Judgment suspended
"Huh?"
If that were the case, there's a puzzle piece that doesn't fit.
'This person from the Pleasant Research Institute employee ID card.'
Pleasant Researcher
Lee Heoun
This researcher, Lee Heoun, is left alone.
This person existed in the past Pleasant Research Institute, seemingly unrelated to the Wish Tokens used now.
'…There's definitely something else.'
Heo-un, Heo-un, Heo-un…
It feels strange.
'The keyword 'fire' also overlaps.'
Someone whose acquaintances all died in a fire at the facility where they lived.
Looking at the situation on the 96th basement floor, isn't it the same for the Pleasant Research Institute employees? Why do they have such similar backgrounds to Jang Heo-un… Wait a minute.
'No, it's the opposite.'
If we think chronologically…
'Jang Heo-un and Kim Heo-un have backgrounds similar to this Pleasant Research Institute employee…'
Rustle.
....
Rustle.
"Mr. Noru."
....
"Did you see it?"
I saw it.
Just now.
The pile of corpses seemed to move.
No, it looked like the piles of corpses in front of the elevator moved.
Because something buried beneath them moved.
-Who's there?
"There was still a living individual. Haha…"
A Pleasant Research Institute employee recognized us.
The unseen, unheard entity pushes through the corpses, rises, and sees intruders who don't belong in this space… The hallway distorts.
Flickering, the space beyond the office is glimpsed chaotically in my vision…
Through the flickering vision, the twisted lower half of someone wearing a gown, unseen before, seems to appear.
Who's there, who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who who 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who
Hoyu-won.
The director who knows more accurately about Zhang Heyun than anyone else in this company.
"I think you might have a lot of questions.""But an untrustworthy person is looking at me and smiling."
In the corridor of a horror story, reduced to a desolate ruin by fire and smoke, where corpses are piled up.
They ask me, 'Do you have anything to ask?'
'...Then.You can approach it this way.
I lit up a cigarette.
Suggestion: One-on-One Q&A Session
"Huh?""Conditions: 2 people
▶ Questions and answers alternate in order."
▶ Always answer the opponent's questions truthfully.
▶ If it is a question that cannot be answered, describe it in words as 'unable to respond' and then receive the next question.
▶ The answer cannot be delayed for more than 96 seconds.
Ah, that's interesting. To set specific conditions without meaning. It has a slightly mystical feeling structure...I did it on purpose. Because it's something done with beings that are not human.
And....
'You definitely have something you're curious about too.'If this is a formal and conscious way of exchanging questions, it is irresistible.
And.
▶ If one intentionally conceals the truth while conscious, they will be punished.
"...Haha!" Are you following me?"Yes." Try to feel empathy.
Hoyu-won smiled a few times and then answered refreshingly.
"But it's nice.""However, there is a hint of anxiety in the eyes."
"Isn't it fair?" I could actually impose a ban on giving punishment, but... I won't. I want to trust you, Mr. Deer."Lies."
It's just talk because I won't be able to walk easily anyway.
"You got caught in the gold trap and ended up hitting me."But it doesn't matter.
Agreement
: One-on-one Q&A session
Starting now.
Ceremony begins
Snap.
"Okay." Then... I will let the person you suggested, Mr. Deer, ask the first question."Thus, at the bizarre fire scene of the Pleasant Research Institute on the 96th underground floor, the two ghost stories exchanged questions and answers."
[Friend, what fact would you like to know first?Starting with the most essential thing.
Question:
Everything that Ho You-won knows about Zhang He-yun.
"You are asking a very comprehensive question, Mr. Deer.""Hoyu-won answers."
"What I know is this." Male, in his 20s, no family, grew up in a religious social welfare facility in a rural area. The welfare facility was completely destroyed due to a fire incident three years prior to the year of joining, and the survivor was the only one."
....
Information that matches the testimony I once heard from the contaminated Zhang He-yun.
"So perhaps his wish is... related to that fire." To bring back the dead, or to make a fire disappear as if it never happened."It is accurate."
"Did you learn more details while selecting Spyro?"
"Then it's my turn to ask a question, Mr. Deer.""Hoyu-won is looking at me."
-Recommendation: Suspend the conversation "..." I looked at the door. -Those who are standing in front of the elevator door The door opens. What you see in front of you." Hello, staff." This is Kim Heo-woon, a new employee. "I'm here again."