Chapter Text
It seemed innocent enough, right?
Wrong!
There is nothing innocent about a supermarket that makes people go missing. Its bright product colors, posters of cheery ads everywhere, and aisles upon aisles of items, all of it, it was all nothing more than a lie.
A lure, if you will.
Like bait, for the unfortunate fish foolish enough to bite it.
One should remember to think carefully lest they end up uprooted from their home and taken far, far away.
Never to be seen again.
So, please…
Tell her…
Is she an unfortunate foolish fish for biting the lure despite knowing it was a lie? Or perhaps, is she even more thoughtless because she knew?
Go Yeongeun isn’t sure of the answer herself. Maybe the latter?
Ever since joining this godforsaken corporation, her life has been somewhat of a downward spiral of pain and misery. Darknesses, terrifying and the kind of stuff that will make you question reality as you know it with how bad some of them can be. It’s awful when death, injuries, or disappearances are so common that one becomes desensitized to it, like white noise in the background whenever news of another employee getting killed on the job. On top of that, her company gives little regard for the lower employees constantly fighting to get even one more point for those damn Wish Tickets. They just sit back and dangle the grand prize from above, picking favorites from the pile to have as their personnel or personal use.
She often found herself thinking of just quitting to get away from it all. To leave while she could and never look back. She’d done it before with her medical career. Why not do it again?
But…
She can’t.
She’s too deep now.
She did it once already and look where it landed her.
Too much effort, time, blood, sweat, and tears. All those sleepless nights, spent awake from all the nightmares of colleagues getting dragged off, horrific monsters, wondering what happened to those taken away, and so many others…! It had to be worth it somehow.
She can’t just leave when things get hard. Not when the prize at the end of this hellish race was worth it. It should be worth it.
It just has to be. Otherwise…
What else does she have?
Where would she go?
That’s why she had to do it. To take whatever opportunity she could to get that Wish Ticket. She needed it.
Accepting Director Ho’s proposal was easy in a way. It ensured the fastest way to earn points. Points towards reaching the end. Even if it seemed dubious and could’ve been a lie as well, she had to take it.
When put simply, the job sounds innocuous, maybe even easy to some. Would spy work be considered easy if you don’t know what you’re looking for? Because that would be how Go Yeongeun describes her current situation.
Lying about herself and infiltrating a government branch that deals with paranormal activity was certainly no easy task. She stresses constantly about being caught by one of the agents or if she’d die while out on a mission. It’s one more thing to worry about as a Daydream Inc. employee.
Working for the Disaster Management Bureau was in a way, better than working for Daydream Inc. while simultaneously being worse as well. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
It wasn’t all that different but the main change would be the change in objective when going into Dar—Disasters. Namely, she had to help people now, rather than leave them behind. She thought it’d be okay and that focusing on saving people wouldn’t be too bad since surely, people who get trapped or needed help surely wouldn’t be that difficult to save, right?
Oh, how wrong she was.
Here she is, trapped in a Disaster taking place in a shopping mall type ghost story, being assigned to rescue some civilians caught inside, and yet not a single trace of who had even summoned her and her coworker in sight.
To make matters worse, her superior officer had accidentally damaged some of the products on display when running away causing the employees to focus their attention on the both of them.
It was just her and her boss, in this Fracture-sanctioned Disaster, without any backup at all. At least not for a while, considering she'd only barely been able to send a distress signal.
Being stuck here with her new boss, she wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than being all alone in this creepy place.
Maybe worse considering her superior kept pulling every which way without so much as looking her way for what she wanted to do or if she was even doing okay. Though, she supposed that it’s to be expected when he didn’t seem all that concerned with all the crazy flashy balloon monsters masquerading as humans roaming around them.
The memories of her previous squad leader back at the company kept flashing before her eyes every time her superior opened his mouth or yanked her around like a prop.
It wasn’t like she could just stop him either.
She was just a rookie. A green sprout that just came in with the latest batches of government agents. This was one of her first assignments as a new recruit for the Disaster Manage Bureau. She had no power of her own, not yet at least. It somewhat reminded her of when she first joined Daydream Inc.
It was honestly worse in some ways with how her death was almost guaranteed on her first mission as a civil servant. Being sent into various dangerous Disasters to save unfortunate people or entering unknown ones to gather intel. Maybe being sent in to clean up the aftermath was less lethal but still it wasn't great either. At least Daydream made their rookies start off with relatively harmless, low death rate Darknesses with some personal benefit afterwards, only allow for them to take on harder Darknesses when they proved themselves.
To be fair though, people usually send distress signals from the more dangerous and lethal Disasters so the work available might be on the more unpleasant side.
Such was the fate of a rescue agent.
But being trapped in a Darkness herself, being forced to hide and run around like headless chickens with her boss, has to be in the top ten of worst things to happen in her life.
Top five even!
“I think this is the door to the upper floors. Let’s go!”
“But…wait! Sir, please, just hold on a minute!”
“This is for the best. We can hide in the stairway for a bit and go upstairs to investigate. Come on!”
“Please, sir!”
Go Yeongeun tried desperately to pull her arm out of the man’s tight grip. Yelling her protests and pleas to try to make the crazed agent at least let her go or pause long enough to listen to her words.
“We don’t know what’s on the fourth floor, sir! There’s no guarantee that it’ll be any safer than the current floor we’re on!”
“We have to!”
‘Let go already! I don’t want to go with you! You can get yourself killed for all I care but don’t bring me down with you!’
Overpowered by the much larger agent, she was dragged to the door leading to the stairs and pulled into the eerie dark room.
It’s normal for the most part.
The stairwell looked like any other stairwell in modern day reality. Its square spiral staircase with steel railing lining the edges and she could see the doors leading to what was probably the other floors or different parts of the building. They were on the third floor at the moment and seeing as the fourth floor was the top most floor, the ceiling could be seen more clearly with its blinking lights.
A door with the number ‘4’ on it was the closest door above them. The door to the roof presumably.
It’s unclear what's behind it but no one ever comes back from it when they enter.
Go Yeongeun found herself going unwillingly closer to it by the second. She couldn’t seem to break free no matter how hard she struggled.
“It’s here! There it is!”
“Sir! Please! Let go! It’s not safe!”
“We need to go in. My family……they’re in there! I need to find them!”
“….!”
Just then, as her superior placed his other palm on the doorknob and twisted the handle, she miraculously her trapped hand pulled free and took a step back from the officer. She would’ve run back down but was caught by something she knew would spell the end for them.
Na~Na~ Welcome to Looky Mart! Na~Na~
A jingle played as soon as the door was opened and the other senior civil servant dashed into the floor like a man on fire. Not even sparing a glance for his subordinate whom he had just left behind.
Quickly slamming the door shut, Go Yeongeun tried to cover her ears and turn away from the closed door to protect herself but it was too late.
She could feel her mind getting foggier and it was starting to become more difficult to remember why she was here anymore. She could remember what her own name was. Her arms and legs felt sluggish and heavy, almost like they were too heavy to lift or move anymore. She couldn’t see anything at all and felt like she was sinking for some reason.
An odd urge to go further towards the door filled her as she tried to walk back up the stairs clumsily. But she couldn’t move. Her arm was tightly gripping onto the metal railing right before the door, not budging in the least. It was reminiscent of how her senior agent had grabbed a hold of her not too long ago.
The music could be heard faintly playing in the back of her mind even when she tried to shush it.
The repeating cheerful melody played over and over in her mind that she found herself saying the lyrics out loud.
“W-Welcome to…Looky…..Mart..”
The only thing on her mind now was…was……
……
……………
…………………….
She couldn’t quite remember.
Standing up straighter, she tried to remember why she was here. In fact, how did she even get her?
“……”
She was just looking for a supermarket to get some things. What did she need again?
Hmmm…
It likely wasn’t important!
Actually!
Why was she so tired just now? She needed to be presentable to greet the customers. Tomorrow was going to be another very busy day, so she needed to prepare as soon as she could.
But where was she assigned again? The fourth floor? That sounded right but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to move towards the door.
Looking down at her hands and then back at the door to the roof, she pulled herself as forward as she could. She continued to do so until she stopped and stood in the stairwell motionlessly.
“……”
“……”
“……”
“…Wel—Welcome to Looky Mart!”
-///-
A distress signal was called recently. It was a call from some high school students who found one of the leaflets lying around when they realized they had trapped themselves in the Looky Mart Disaster. Apparently, they tried looking for a friend who went in earlier but got lost and couldn’t escape anymore once the shopping mall closed.
Left with no means of escape on their own, they called for the Disaster Management Bureau to rescue them to which help was immediately dispatched to the scene.
That help ended up going missing and more help was deplored to aid them or save the civilians themselves.
Whichever came first.
The help to help the aforementioned missing help that was sent out was a singular man.
Agent Bronze.
Ryu Jaekwan was now standing in front of the market doors. Alone and fully equipped to grab the civilians and leave before the store closed.
He needed to locate the two teenagers as soon as he could since it was almost closing time already.
Stepping in, he was bombarded by noises from all around. The sound of chattering of customers, children, employees, machines, shopping cart wheels could be heard everywhere as soon as one entered the market. It sounded like any other supermarket down the street in one's neighborhood.
If a bit dated.
The customers who couldn’t see him, all wore clothes that were trendy ten to twenty years ago and he could faintly hear old-fashioned music being played on the store speakers up above.
They all walked past him as he traveled further into the building towards the lower levels. The distress call said that they were trapped in what appeared to be a basement.
As he looked around the store for the way downstairs, something caught his eye.
A person.
Standing in front of one of the stores with his back turned to him while looking down at the sign near the doors was a recognizable tall man with long antlers and dark hair dressed in a cozy sweater, dark colored pants, and casual shoes.
Roe Deer.
“…!!”
Hastily walking over, Ryu Jaekwan called out to the other with an almost abnormal amount of relief flooding into his chest. The sense of dread and weary slightly diminishing as he drew closer to the mysterious yet comfortingly familiar being.
It should be irrational how much seeing this nonhuman brings him such a sense of calm and tranquility, dangerous even, but it couldn’t be helped. He has long since come to terms with the fact that he was somehow being influenced in some way that wasn’t entirely natural or sane but he just couldn't shake the feeling of peace that followed Roe Deer everytime he appeared.
Perhaps, internally, he could sense that this being meant no harm to him. He could relax, just a bit, when around Roe Deer.
His feelings on the matter only enhanced after all the other witness testimonies and records of others who have encountered Roe Deer.
Roe Deer is not malicious, not inherently at least. He is even quite kind to those he comes across should he feel you are in need of help or some kind. Either by guiding those who were unlucky enough to wound up lost out of whatever Disaster they got caught up in or by taking them to his home to recover and recuperate.
To come across him was considered to be a stroke of good fortune.
Ryu Jaekwan wasn’t the type to rely on luck or divine intervention but he couldn’t help but feel excited and happy at seeing Roe Deer. Because it meant that things would be okay for the most part. That they could even somehow put an end to this Darkness if Roe Deer offered up the solution to it.
“Huh? Mr. Ryu Jaekwan! I wasn’t expecting to see you here of all places.”
“Mr. Roe Deer. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Ryu Jaekwan bent his waist a bit in a display of politeness to the other.
“Ah…there’s no need for that. It is also good to see you. I see you have recovered well from the last time we saw each other.”
“Yes. That reminds me. I would like to formally thank you for your aid and guidance in the previous Disaster.”
“Oh, no! You ended up doing most of the work, Mr. Ryu Jaekwan. Had it not been for you, those students would’ve been trapped there for much longer and more humans would’ve been pulled into the school. Really, it was the least I could to make it somewhat easier for you.”
The man shyly looked down at his hands as he turned towards the government agent. As he fully revealed himself, he couldn’t help but notice how much larger his antlers seemed to have gotten since they last met. He found that he couldn’t get too close to the other lest he risk getting poked by said antlers. It was a marvel how the man could carry his head with that extra weight on them.
“You…”
“Hm? Mr. Ryu Jaekwan?”
“Your antlers…they seem larger than last time…”
“Oh..! Ah, well they are…do they bother you by chance?”
“Not at all. I couldn’t help but notice it all. Ah! I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable.”
“No, not at all. I find myself curious about you humans as well. I’m not surprised when humans are curious about me as well.”
“Is that so? Ah..!”
A sudden thought snapped into his mind as he remembered the main objective of why he came to this place.
‘The students!’
“Mr. Ryu Jaekwan? Is something the matter?”
“I’m sorry to cut our conversation short but have you by chance, seen two lost high school students roaming around in the store?”
“Hm…no, I don’t believe so. Are you looking for them?”
“Yes…”
Although he knew how unlikely it was, he could feel a tinge of disappointment at the other’s answer as it meant that task would not be as simple as he would’ve liked. The students were likely trapped in the basement for a bit longer than he’d initially thought and Roe Deer only recently appeared in this Disaster.
“……”
“Mr. Ryu Jaekwan?”
“……I apologize for asking this of you but for the sake of these lives at risk, Mr. Roe Deer… could you please lend me your aid for this rescue? I will repay you however I can.”
“……”
“I swear upon my name to repay the debt.”
“…there’s no need to go that far. I would help you free of charge if you ask. Your job right now is to find some missing students, right? Is it not similar to what I asked of you last time?”
“I suppose…that is true.”
“Then, of course, I will help. Tell me what you need.”
“Well…”
At a loss for how to respond to the unexpected enthusiasm, Ryu Jaekwan just went along with it and explained the situation to Roe Deer. It made sense the more he talked to the other about what the goal of his mission was. Roe Deer back in the Sekwang Technical High School did seem to have a soft spot for kids. He wasn’t sure what to make of that thought.
“Then we need to hurry if we wish you to leave before business hours are over.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
They eventually found the students huddled together under the escalator on the first basement floor. They were clinging onto each other as tears streamed down their faces.
It was a rather pitiful sight to behold.
He and Roe Deer began approaching the two frightened children to catch their attention when one of them screamed once they locked eyes with him.
“AAAHHH!”
“…!!!”
They backed further into the corner they were in, like little scared feral kittens in an abandoned alleyway.
“W-Who are you!? P-Please don’t hurt us!”
“Wait! You can see us, right!?”
One of the kids noticed how the adult-like beings could perceive them unlike the ones from before. They looked hopeful but wouldn’t approach closer, seemingly frightened by something.
‘What are they—ah…’
Turning to his new companion, he saw that Roe Deer seemed to have come to the same conclusion as well.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. If you’d like, I can leave or I won’t come any closer. This man here is a government agent. He will help you escape. I promise.”
Even from a distance, Roe Deer tried to not scare the students and even comfort them in his own awkward way. Perhaps it was due to his experience as a guest instructor at the Sekwang Technical High School.
‘He really would be perfect for the Disaster Management Bureau. I should ask after this is over.’
“Are you human..? You have…!”
“No, I’m not, but I promise I won’t try to harm you in any way.”
The students appeared skeptical but seeing as they had no choice, they came forth from where they were huddled up and stood shakily next to them. If they stood closer to Ryu Jaekwan, no one pointed it out and Roe Deer didn’t seem particularly offended by it.
“H-How do we get past the ghost at the entrance? Can we really get out?”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
Roe Deer smiled gently and gestured towards Ryu Jaekwan to which the students looked over as well.
“This agent here is very capable at his job. As long as he is here, both of you can make it out.”
“Wow…”
“Thank you so much..!”
Despite their fear, both of them seemed reassured by Roe Deer’s words and looked at Ryu Jaekwan with hope shining in their eyes. The weight of their expectation felt heavy but wasn’t something he wasn’t already used to.
Rather, it was the weight of Roe Deer’s belief in him that felt like he might struggle with it on his person. He wasn’t sure why he had the other’s faith but he couldn’t help but worry if he’d be able to maintain it.
“So, w-we’re leaving right now?”
Eagerly stepping closer to the civil servant, the students tried to control their excitement at the thought of finally escaping. One of them even latched on his sleeve to hide the shaking of his hands.
“Let’s leave now. There’s still time until—!”
Na~Na~ Welcome to Looky Mart! Na~Na~
!!!!!
The main theme of the Looky Mart suddenly blasted on the speakers around the store. The melody for whatever reason, staticky and slightly distorted in some parts, like something was wrong with the audio.
- Hello, dear customers. Thank you for shopping at LOOKY Mart today.
- As previously announced, in celebration of Labor Day, May 1st, our store will be closed at 8:30 PM rather than the usual 11:00 PM.
“……!”
- Customers in the store, please follow the employees to the exit.
- Thank you for listening and thank you for your shopping!
“Wha—!?”
Roe Deer immediately rushed forward and covered the panicked student’s mouth with his hand and gestured for him to stay silent.
- To reiterate the announcement .
- Please follow the employees’ guidance to the exit.
- Thank you very much.
Na~Na~Na~Na, Na~Nan~Na~Na, Na~Na~Nan~
“……”
‘Why now of all times?’
Of all the ways things could’ve gone wrong, the store closing early was definitely one of the worse to have happened. Getting trapped here sas essentially a death sentence for those unfortunate enough to not make it out in time. Following the staff to the exit was guaranteed to make you disappear forever and trying to find it in this shopping mall was much harder than one might think.
It’s generally best to escape as soon as you can so that this sort of event doesn’t occur.
Now that option was no longer on the table.
The lights in the store began going out in droves until the place was almost entirely pitch black with barely enough light to make out the people standing next to him.
The high school students’ breathing became much heavier and more fearful as the situation looked to have gotten more dire.
It was too dark to make out what was wrong with Roe Deer but he figured the other must also be started by the sudden closure of the store. The students clinging onto him made it hard to focus on anything but prioritizing their safety.
‘Shit..! How do we—wait!’
‘That’s it!’
“Mr. Roe Deer!”
“Yes..?”
“Could you take these students to your home? I apologize for imposing but perhaps…!”
“……I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I can't teleport if that’s what you’re referring to.”
“……but the previous people…”
“I brought those people over, yes, but I simply took them when I could. I can’t break the rules of wherever I am to bring people with me.”
“…!”
‘So he isn’t all powerful…I suppose it’s my own fault for assuming he’d be able to solve all our problems.’
“I’m truly sorry, I wish I could do more.”
“…no, it’s alright. I apologize for expecting you to take all the work when I was the one originally sent for this mission. I assume you’re not unable to leave as well now that the store is closed.”
“……”
“Then, just stay close to us. We can get out together.”
“Thank you…”
Roe Deer looked surprised at the invitation but nodded slightly with a small purse on his lips. He seemed embarrassed for some reason.
Scre-e-e-e-k.
The scaling metal sound of some doors pierced through the air indicating the release of the employees.
Turning towards where the sound came from, Ryu Jaekwan could see a fleshy balloon creature resembling a mockery of a human being waddling out of one of the staff room doors and into the depths of the store. The sight was as disgusting as he’d seen previously.
“Hurry. Let’s get moving. There might still be time before the doors officially close.”
“Yes, let’s.”
The four of them made a beeline to the exit as fast as they could without being noticed by the employees. It helped that the customers still there didn’t see or even perceive them.
Coming up the first floor, they all came to a screeching halt when they came across a truly revolting sight.
- Mmph! Uuugghhh!! Mmph, Mmph!!! Uuggh !
A cardboard cutout.
Or more accurately, what was supposed to be a cardboard cut out. Instead it appeared to be someone who likely also wandered in and been turned into advertising via pressed completely flat and forced to smile until they died. Tears and saliva dribbled down its flat face as its eyes darted around to signal the group for help.
But there wasn’t anything to be done.
That person was doomed. Already processed and made into a part of the store. There was no way of saving him anymore.
“…!”
“Hiie—!”
“Quiet. We need to keep moving.”
It was cruel to shush the terrified students after they’d just seen such a horrifying scene on a fellow human but it was necessary as time was rapidly running out. They needed to get out otherwise they might all share the same fate as that cutout.
“…huuu…”
A soft breath from his side alerted him to his new partner for this mission, causing him to turn towards Roe Deer. Expecting to see the same neutral face he’d always seen.
But no.
Instead he saw something completely unexpected.
Tremors.
Roe Deer was trembling and had the sickest looking expression he’d ever seen on him. He appeared as if he’d cry at any moment but couldn’t bring himself to. Brows knitted together and his lips twisted downwards as he tried to look away from the cutout still struggling in its confinement.
“Mr. Roe Deer..?”
“..!”
Just as soon as he called out to the other, the expression was wiped clean. Replaced with a serene blank canvas, one that was more familiar but now seemed more unsettling to see form.
“I apologize, please, let’s be off.”
Turning away so that he couldn’t see what ever look the other had now, Roe Deer ushered the student near him to move along with faintly shaking hands. His voice, calm and steady as it usually was.
‘What could’ve shaken Roe Deer so much? Could the sight of someone hurt have caused him anguish somehow?’
There was no time for those kinds of thoughts unfortunately. He needed to prioritize taking these kids out as soon as possible while the clock was still ticking away.
Jogging along while essentially carrying one of the students, Ryu Jaekwan started explaining the plan to efficiently exit the premises.
They needed to steal an item without alerting the remaining customers or the staff stationed around the checkout area. In order to do so, both Ryu Jaekwan and Roe Deer would take turns using an item the Disaster Management Bureau lent to him to distract the staff members. It should buy enough time for the students to grab something swiftly.
Assuming they don’t mess up.
Ryu Jaekwan couldn’t help but have doubts as he used the fishing line item and watched as one of the students successfully took some dental floss from a customer’s bag. Cheerfully waving it to Roe Deer who had encouraged him. The moment the student he’d been carrying around tried to take something, he grazed the shopper, causing them to freak out and put the store employees on high alert.
Both of them grabbed the frozen students and bolted opposite of the exit as dozens of employees hurled towards them.
Squeek, squeek.
Squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek-squeek.
The human balloons kept multiplying every time they took a turn, rubbing against each other as they tried to catch them. With no choice, their group ran through the store aisles away from the checkout area.
As they rounded the corner of an aisle, Ryu Jaekwan turned to look back at the doors to see them being closed by an employee, signifying the end of business hours.
‘Dammit…too late.’
‘Need to take cover now.’
‘But there’s too many of us here..! We need to…’
Locking eyes with Roe Deer, they both nodded as each split up in different directions with their respective students in their arms.
The human balloons sounded as if they were mostly following him and his student so he moved as quickly as possible to get away.
Sprinting as hard as he could, he ran to the side until he found the unmoving escalator. Seeing that there was no staff yet patrolling the area, went up the steps and hid in one of the aisles.
The sound of squeaking began to die down as employees stopped their frantic search for him from the floor below. They’d made it to the second floor of the building. The floor with hardly any staff at all. A relatively safe zone for trapped customers such as themselves.
“Haaaahhhh……”
Ryu Jaekwan exhaled as he lowered the student he was carrying onto the ground. The poor child shaking violently and lost in a trance of fear and despair. Jolting when he removed his hands from his person.
“..!!!”
“It’s alright. We’re safe for now. This floor doesn’t usually have employees patrolling it.”
“……I’m……”
“Hm? What is it? Are you hurt?”
If the student turned out to be injured in some way during that chase, things could get more complicated and more difficult for them. It would be a struggle to escape effectively while carrying around someone who wasn’t at least capable of getting away themselves.
“No..No! It’s just…I..I’m….I’m so sorry…!”
Struggling for a minute, as soon as those words were blurred out, the student clinging on to his arm bursted into sobs, muttering apologies after apology. Tears and snot ran down the boy’s young face as the strength left his legs and he slumped down, dragging the stunned agent with him.
“I-I didn’t mean to..! I’m so s-sorry! If not for me…!”
“Sh..shhh…it’s okay. It’s not your fault. These things happen.”
“Waaahhhh…! I’m so sorry..!”
Ryu Jaekwan wasn’t unfamiliar with these types of reactions but it didn’t make it any easier dealing with them. The sadness and misery in the boy’s voice and general being was palpable and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Even if logically speaking, he was at fault to a degree for their current predicament.
This was just a lost child who needed help.
It can’t be helped when they make mistakes when they’re scared.
The sobbing didn’t lessen no matter what he said, so he simply sat there as the student cried himself into exhaustion and fell unconscious. Seeing as they weren’t in any danger, he picked up the student again to go further into the floor.
Once the student woke up, they’d go back down the escalator to meet up with Roe Deer and the other student.
For now…
They needed to rest.
'……stay safe Mr. Roe Deer.'