Chapter 342

Honestly, I couldn’t be sure.

Had Section Chief Lee Jaheon really been swept into this disaster day as just another citizen like me?

I’d encountered the two people I’d put into my tattoo in different ways, but Section Chief Lee Jaheon had... definitely died before me.

I remembered the sight—Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s remaining upper half dragging me out of the heap, then dropping with a dull thud onto the concrete floor.

So every time I thought of him, uncertain anxiety surged up, and I forced myself to assume, He’ll be here. He has to be.

And he really was.

I just didn’t expect to meet him like this.

“...??”

I stared at the tall man in a white coat standing among the bodies.

Now that I looked, I felt like I could recognize him by his build alone.

Sure, but—sure, but....

Why was Lee Jaheon a Pleasant Research Institute researcher?

And why does he not have a face...!

My brain froze for a second from the shock, but then I realized what I had to do.

A way into the Pleasant Research Institute hidden inside the mechanical room.

I had to persuade him.

“Are you an employee of Pleasant Research Institute?”

“Yes.”

Section Chief Lee Jaheon—no, Researcher Lee Jaheon’s gaze turned toward me. Come to think of it, it looked like he had eyes?nohedoesnothasnothingatall

Ha....

I lowered my gaze to around his throat. I steadied my breathing as it roughened.

Then, with difficulty, I spoke in a serious tone.

“Our party went in here. In this chaos, it looked like they were going to try to clean something up.”

If I excluded the fact that it was Section Chief Lee Jaheon, this was just me encountering a person in charge in front of a secret entry route into Pleasant Research Institute.

To enter the mechanical room without trouble....

I have to gamble.

I pulled it out of my tattoo.

ID card

Name: ■Heo Un

Se-gwang Transit Corporation

Mr. Heo Un’s ID card—the one I’d found in the station office.

I slyly covered the blood-dried surname area with my thumb and showed it from a reasonable distance.

“He left it and said it was his access card—so is this the right way in? I have something urgent to tell Researcher Heo Un. About this situation.”

Straight-up impersonating an insider acquaintance.

And to keep him from pressing me, I deliberately barrelled forward, changing the subject as if I couldn’t pause—looking around the tracks and nearby as if it were fascinating.

“But is it okay for the path to the institute to be in such an open place like this?”

“Yes.”

“...You mean even if it’s here, other people can’t see it?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re using a supernatural principle. I’m curious what principle.”

“I see.”

Researcher Lee Jaheon walked closer. With one hand, I covered the ID completely to hide how strangely worn it was, and I took a small step back.

Standing in front of the door, the researcher said,

“This door is a kind of darkness. Anyone who doesn’t know the door’s function cannot perceive a situation in which someone interacts with the door.”

...Was that so.

“I see. That must be why they just handed out the card key so openly.”

Researcher Lee Jaheon didn’t answer.

I moved first.

“Then do I tap the card here?”

And before any reply could come back, I placed the card key against the mechanical-room panel.

Beep.

With a short sound, it unlocked.

A cool, exhilarating chill climbed from my fingertips all the way up to my head.

I moved to grab the mechanical-room door immediately, but—

Thud.

Researcher Lee Jaheon grabbed the handle first.

“Step back for a moment.”

“.......”

That was it.

He didn’t ask who I was, or what relationship I had with Researcher Heo Un.

Either he finds me suspicious, or he really thinks I’m an insider....

At the very least, I wanted to read how a “Pleasant Research Institute researcher” reacted when faced with a Disaster Management Bureau agent.

But nothing showed.

That was how he’d always been, but with no face, I couldn’t read expressions, so it felt even more that way.

...It looks like other people can see his face.

I checked Ryu Jaegwan and Reporter Eun Haje’s expressions.

One was simply watching the researcher with tension and focus, bracing for what would happen.

The other’s eyes were shining.

It didn’t look like he was admiring someone’s looks anymore—more like he’d started finding the situation interesting.

Hoo.

In the meantime, Researcher Lee Jaheon opened the door.

Whoosh.

The air of a maintained office flowed out through the doorway and touched my nose.

Strangely, it was a little sweet.

“Follow me.”

“.......”

I tried to step into the mechanical room, following Researcher Lee Jaheon inside.

“You two stay here—”

I stopped.

They both wore faces that said they would never stay behind.

And thinking about it, leaving them among corpses and refugees was worse than keeping them with me.

If it came to it, I could shove them into my tattoo.

“......Let’s go quietly. We can’t be a burden to the researcher.”

“Yes.”

“Of course, of course.”

Leaving the two of them nodding hard, I cautiously looked down the corridor again.

And I went speechless.

The exact same office corridor layout I’d seen beneath Daydream Inc. headquarters was spread out in front of my eyes.

Not a burned-out corridor, but a vivid, living office hallway.

But it was another world.

Kkyahahahahaha....

Every corridor was stuffed with toys and decorations.

Colorful fireworks burst out of golden frames on the walls, and laughter rang out.

Rainbow confetti melted away the instant it touched the floor, vanishing, and on top of it ran intricate wind-up dolls and tiny toy trains.

Whooooosh!

From the toy trains, instead of steam, pale pink and pale blue—like a Milky Way—popped and sprayed, then vanished into the air.

“Ah.”

So this was its original form.

Red and blue velvet curtains fluttered here and there, and carpets covered the floor.

It was so overwhelming my thoughts nearly stopped.

And....

In the middle of the corridor wall, a polished brass nameplate gleamed.

Pleasant Research Institute!

For all the children in the world

We research safe enjoyment.

<img src="https://novelight.net/media/uploads/Santos/2026/01/16/image.png" />

I understood without being told.

This was the core floor of Pleasant Research Institute.

“.......”

I looked below the nameplate.

Under it, embossed shapes of animal dolls were carved.

Rabbit, fox, ...dragon?

I felt the urge to stare closer, but Researcher Lee Jaheon’s footsteps never slowed.

Into a maze-like corridor.

In the end, I tore my gaze away and kept following him.

“Ah...!”

Ryu Jaegwan ducked to avoid a burst of fireworks, then followed carefully, dodging a soldier wind-up doll coming at him.

With each step, Reporter Eun Haje raised his eyebrows and pulled out a notebook from somewhere, scribbling furiously.

And as the literally “pleasant” spectacle continued—so much that my mood started to feel oddly uplifted—

a sharp voice cut through the children’s laughter.

Adults yelling.

Confusion, anger, coarse emotion.

“...!”

Researcher Lee Jaheon didn’t stop.

I caught sight of an antique elevator at the far end opposite us, but an A4 sheet was slapped above it with scrawled writing: “FIRE! OUT OF ORDER!”

Researcher Lee Jaheon changed direction.

The deeper we went into the corridors behind him, the clearer and louder the voices became....

Two voices.

And one of them was—

—“There isn’t any?”

A voice I knew.

That voice, speaking like he couldn’t believe it, was definitely....

Hoyuwon.

Click.

Researcher Lee Jaheon finally stopped at one office and pulled the door open.

😁 Room 1004

The door with the plaque swung wide, revealing the inside.

The first thing I saw was the dream incubator.

In front of the machine—empty, with no solution—two figures stood arguing.

“There isn’t any, what the hell does that mean—”

Then, when the door opened, they flinched and turned this way.

I recognized the Counseling Teacher’s pale face among them.

And.

“Researcher Lee Heo Un.”

...!

“They said they came looking for you.”

“What? In a situation where everyone at the institute is evacuating, what are you—”

The researcher who’d been standing in front of the Counseling Teacher—brown long hair tied back in a ponytail—met my eyes.

I stared at him like I’d been struck by lightning.

The person I’d only ever encountered as traces until now, someone I’d assumed was already dead.

“Do we... know each other, Agent?”

A researcher at Pleasant Research Institute.

A living Lee Heo Un was standing right in front of me.

My god.

I’d expected I might meet a living researcher on disaster day, but now that it was real, my hands were shaking.

A lead was right in front of me.

“I’ve never met you before—how did you get into the institute? What in the—”

When he saw the bloodstains on Reporter Eun Haje’s body behind me, his face turned a sickly blue.

Everything about his speech, his build, his movements—

[My goodness, he looks exactly like my friend’s resort employee’s doppelganger!]

...It was frighteningly similar to Mr. Jang Heo Un.

A chill ran up my spine, but I looked at him steadily.

His expression held confusion and wariness, but oddly, he didn’t show outright hostility—more like he was stunned.

Even though he’d immediately identified me as an agent.

...Because of the Counseling Teacher?

You could guess as much just from the fact he was alone with a cooperative spirit in the first place.

...If that’s the case.

Then it would be easy to shock him.

I pulled out the glass hand cannon and aimed it at him.

Lee Heo Un’s expression changed.

“Th—!”

“Researcher.”

“...Yes?”

“I came because I received a tip from an involved party that the cause of this massive supernatural disaster is Pleasant Research Institute.”

Lee Heo Un’s face went dead white.

“Who—no, that’s not it, we—”

“You’re saying you have nothing to do with it? That can’t be true.”

I had to press him and squeeze out information...!

I flicked my gaze toward the dream incubator—empty, with no solution—and spoke.

“The children’s paradise syrup you were researching. Isn’t that what caused all of this?”

“......!”

“People outside are dying in astronomical numbers. Answer honestly. Is Pleasant Research Institute the cause of this disaster?”

“It isn’t!”

The answer burst out like vomit.

“What we research isn’t that. Someone tampered with it!”

“Then what did you research.”

“That’s....”

Watching the researcher trail off, I crossed my arms.

“A way to make a world without urban legends?”

“...!”

The researcher’s face froze.

And slowly, slowly, he looked at me....

“...If you know about children’s paradise syrup, then you must know that, too.”

He let his shoulders droop as if he’d given up on something.

Then he stepped over to a framed picture hanging in the office.

It was a photo of animal plush dolls.

Behind a deer doll, there was a massive black shadow—an enormous silhouette with a strange shape....

Good Friend

“This world is too dangerous. Urban legends, darkness, supernatural disasters... these anomalous phenomena—called by many names—have become more frequent in modern times.”

Researcher Lee Heo Un traced the black shadow with his fingertips.

His eyes shone kindly.

“Dangerous places—places that aren’t reality—are being projected.”

“.......”

“This institute has researched ways to process those anomalous phenomena as safely and pleasantly as possible.”

“...!”

Right.

Toys.

Board games.

Children’s shops.

Countless inventions and products made by Pleasant Research Institute all took the form of children’s entertainment.

Even the syrup they made.

“Children’s products are safer and more harmless than adult products. Because urban legends are influenced by concepts and rules, we tried to accept everything as children’s products....”

Like censoring content for an age rating.

Like “children’s Shakespeare,” “children’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

Pleasant Research Institute tried to censor urban legends.

As everything clicked into place in my head, a sharp, thrilling shiver spread.

And Lee Heo Un’s eyes moved to my chest.

“...Like that doll of yours.”

“......!”

“It’s a good friend, right? ...The form is a bit different. Looks like an improved version made by a different department.”

[Oh my, this stuffed body is a limited edition my friend personally produced at the resort. You could call it a rare handmade piece! ...Oh, friend!]

I reflexively patted Brown and pressed him slightly deeper into my front pocket.

Watching that with somewhat warm eyes, Researcher Lee Heo Un made me open my mouth.

“That wasn’t where it ended. You....”

I looked at the dream incubator machine.

“You started using dreamscape solution.”

“...That’s right.”

Lee Heo Un’s voice dropped.

“We realized this alone wasn’t enough. No matter how hard we tried to make children’s products, the fundamental danger didn’t disappear. Because an urban legend is still an urban legend.”

“...So you began researching a way to make the anomalies... disappear entirely?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Heo Un’s voice sped up.

“But it was impossible. You can’t use mysterious power to erase mystery. Like you can’t cut off your left hand with your left hand.”

“.......”

“So we had a new idea. ‘What if... we create an entirely new world where there are no urban legends?’”

His words came faster.

“World creation. It’s enormous, but if you think of it as children’s, it isn’t impossible. Children imagining an imaginary friend and imagining their own small world happens all the time. But this also ran into a wall....”

“...To make a real world, you would have needed materials.”

“That’s right.”

My heart began to pound ominously.

“Following the proposal of a certain spirit, we began cooperating with a company to extract the driving force of anomalous phenomena. It was imagination and unknown power—shining with a mysterious golden light. We....”

Lee Heo Un placed a hand on the dream incubator.

In a slightly dreamy, hazy voice, he said,

“We decided to call it dreamscape solution.”

“.......”

I looked at the incubator’s emoji buttons.

“After some trial and error, we developed a syrup that could manipulate reality. And one of them was children’s paradise syrup.”

But on that machine, there was no slot for a children’s paradise syrup button.

The lower center was simply finished smooth, and an angel-halo emoji was only mixed among the other emojis on the upper row.

“...At first, it was just a potion that let you dream a wonderful daydream.”

With affection, Lee Heo Un gently touched that button.

“But at one researcher’s suggestion, using that potion as a base, we developed one more potion—something that would create ‘a world without urban legends.’”

I remembered the note I’d seen in the burned-out Pleasant Research Institute inside the subway.

For this invitation research

Use children’s paradise syrup

-> my suggestion!

...Wait.

“Then why is it called ‘invitation research’?”

“Huh?”

“Why was it a method of inviting someone?”

At my question, Lee Heo Un hesitated, like he wanted to make excuses—then spoke as if he’d thrown everything away.

“...Because we realized a way to create a world very naturally. You insert it as a premise.”

“A premise.”

“Like this. If we invite Cinderella, then there exists a world where a fairy godmother and magical glass slippers exist.”

Wait.

“If we invite the wicked gray wolf, then there exists a world where Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother gets eaten by the wolf. ...So if.”

Wait—.

“If we invite someone who lives in ‘a place without urban legends.’”

“.......”

“Then a place without urban legends will exist, too.”

I froze.

“We’ve been researching that until now.... And today, we attempted the invitation.”

I understood.

The one they invited was me.

Se-gwang Special City’s supernatural disaster occurred as part of an invitation ritual—inviting Kim Soleum from a world without urban legends.