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“…That’s a person, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jang Chae Yeon, who was confirming beside me, slowly nodded her head.

I looked at the man once more. His forehead was indented, and every bone in his body seemed crushed, but he was indeed a person.

Could it be that we killed someone?

Just as a jolt ran through my heart, Song Ah Rin shook her head vigorously in denial.

“He’s a person, but he’s not alive.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t have consciousness.”

“Consciousness?”

“So, um… there wasn’t anything to begin with…? It’s hard to explain, but he was someone who couldn’t be hypnotized. He didn’t have the intelligence to get caught.”

Song Ah Rin replied vaguely, resting her chin on her hand.

“Is he like a zombie?”

“Well, compared to zombies, he’s different in many ways, but if we’re just considering the lack of will and his destructive side, maybe you’re right.”

Song Ah Rin began to examine his clothing closely.

“This… but, um… it’s old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

“Old-fashioned?”

“It’s clothes from the past that you’d find in the Management Agency’s old photo albums or documents.”

Song Ah Rin squinted her brow as she inspected the clothing.

“Oh, right.”

Yu Da On, who had been scratching her forehead from behind, spoke up.

“The bones are soft.”

“What?”

“I just slammed my forehead into him, and I had a concussion, while that guy’s bones are collapsed, right?”

“Isn’t it because your head is hard?”

“That’s a bad thing to say!”

While Yu Da On glared at Song Ah Rin, I looked back at the man again.

Nothing came to mind above his head.

An old Management Agency uniform, and a body that was barely distinguishable from a corpse.

Lastly, a long scar etched from his head down to his back.

“…Da On.”

“Yes?”

“Doesn’t this seem a bit familiar?”

As I pointed to the scar, Yu Da On also widened her eyes when she saw it.

“Uh…?”

“Right?”

“Really, it does?”

“…What is it? Don’t keep secrets between just the two of you, let us in too.”

Song Ah Rin said with a dissatisfied tone, and Jang Chae Yeon nodded in agreement.

“Well. It’s not exactly identical, but…”

“It’s kind of similar to the Dream of the Butterfly incident…”

It felt like our words lined up, and upon hearing it, Jang Chae Yeon blinked at me.

“If it’s about the Dream of the Butterfly… are you referring to the Gangseo Branch containment object escape incident?”

“That’s correct.”

“Weren’t they wiped out?”

“Well, at least as far as I know they were.”

The sound of shuffling stuck in my mind as memories of a black something disappearing into the abyss resurfaced.

“Ugh.”

That’s chilling.

“Anyway… let’s go.”

“Right. There’s nothing that’s going to change by staying here.”

I stole a glance at the corpse.

Still dressed in old clothes, it revealed nothing.

What on earth was he here for, and what kind of fate did he meet?

I looked at Yu Da On, who always took the lead.

We needed to talk about this.

“Da On.”

“Ah, Jae Heon! Isn’t it dangerous to go ahead?”

As I stood beside Yu Da On, she looked at me with concern.

“You’re going to defend us well, right?”

“Hehe.”

Her smile at my words made her gaze meet mine again.

“Is it about the wound from earlier?”

“That’s right.”

The scar that ran from the head down the spine.

It was too similar for it to be just a coincidence, so I couldn’t ignore it.

“But there wasn’t anything inside, right?”

“No.”

But something should exist inside, wrapped in the human shell, yet after defeating him, nothing happened. There was nothing visible to my eyes.

“That’s strange…”

“Oh, speaking of which…”

“Yes?”

Old memories resurfaced.

Before entering the Isolation Room, Yu Da On had pinpointed the scent of the entity.

I remembered her saying it smelled sweet.

“Didn’t it smell sweet?”

“A sweet smell…? Oh.”

She narrowed her eyes as though she understood what I was getting at, then shook her head.

“It doesn’t seem to have a sweet smell.”

“I see.”

Something felt odd.

“…”

“…”

An uncomfortable silence.

As I pondered what to say next, Yu Da On spoke up.

“By the way, what did you do when you were young, Jae Heon?”

“What did I do? I just played, I guess.”

“Hmm… what kind of kid were you? A mischievous one? A quiet one?”

“Uh…”

Come to think of it, what kind of kid was I?

“A curious kid?”

“I can see you being like that, Jae Heon.”

Yu Da On nodded.

“Were there friends?”

“Of course, I had some.”

“Do you remember who they were?”

“…Hmm.”

An image of a girl in a black dress popped into my head.

She occasionally speaks to me even now, planting thoughts in my mind.

What on earth is she doing to send me telepathy?

Unless…

I shifted my gaze to the manual I was holding.

“No. I don’t remember them well.”

“That’s understandable.”

Yu Da On spoke lightly as she kept walking.

“They say forgetting can sometimes be a blessing, don’t they?”

“…”

Just as I was about to ask if she knew something, Yu Da On ignored my gaze and stretched her hand forward.

“Isn’t that a mountain lodge?”

“Yes?”

Following her hand, my eyes finally fell upon a mountain lodge.

“…What’s something like that doing there?”

The nightmare of the workshop flashed back.

“But if it’s a place we can rest, that would be nice!”

Yu Da On smiled and marched ahead, soon joined by Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin at my side.

“Is that really a mountain lodge?”

“It seems to be.”

“What’s it doing there?”

I shared the same sentiment as Song Ah Rin.

“Chae Yeon, what time is it?”

“…8 o’clock.”

As Jang Chae Yeon checked her wristwatch.

Is it already that time?

Walking in the dark had completely twisted my sense of time.

“If that’s the case, should we regroup a bit? There might be useful things inside the lodge.”

“That’d be good. I was about to start feeling some fatigue in my legs anyway.”

“I was fine.”

“Don’t lie. Your stamina is the weakest among us four.”

“…”

“What are you going to do if you glare at me, huh? Turn me back into a dog?”

“Okay, okay, let’s go in already.”

How do we end up fighting like this every single day?

I opened the door to the lodge.

“Look! It’s way cleaner than I expected!”

Yu Da On had put down her bag and started looking around.

“It is clean.”

“…Except for a little old stuff.”

“…”

Song Ah Rin was right.

It seemed like a well-organized lodge from a hundred years ago.

Filled with unnecessary decorations, and there was one bed suitable for two people, a sofa with no mold but soft enough to sink in, and finally, a wooden desk waiting.

Aside from the musty smell, it wasn’t a bad place.

A desk, huh.

I bypassed my friends, who were unpacking and chatting joyously, and headed toward the desk.

On the old yellow paper, something was inscribed in various handwriting.

[Management Agency Lodge Journal]

[1952, Park Young Ho, arrived at the forest for the first time. All my colleagues except me are dead.]

[1961, Kim Jae Ho, arrived at the lodge during the 9th forest expedition. I have no choice but to sleep in bed.]

[1972, Lee Sung Hoon, second wedge operation deployed. I miss my mom.]

[1985, Nam Gung Hyun Woo, 17th wedge operation deployed. Things did not go well. I’m sorry, Yae Eun, for not being able to protect you.]

[1994, Park Jong Deok, 30th wedge operation deployed. This operation has failed. I can hear the bell ringing.]

[2007, Lee Soo Young, 46th wedge operation deployed. I don’t want to die. I want to go home.]

[2013, Choi Hyun Dong, 51st wedge operation deployed. Humanity has perished. I’m sorry.]

“…”

It was the records of my seniors.

They were all records of failures, but still…

“There’s clothes here too!”

I turned my head toward Yu Da On’s voice.

She was gaping at a wardrobe, opening it, while chatting away with the others.

“…”

The clothes were folded so neatly that it was almost reverent, with not a speck of dust on them.

“Look at this, from old military uniforms… to suits… there’s not a bit of dust?”

“It seems like clothes worn by our grandparents’ generation. How are they so well maintained?”

The three of them began to huddle together and chatter.

I opened the manual.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[Gangseo Branch, Lodge]

1. If you are heading towards a wedge, lie down on the sofa and take a nap. And pray for luck and will to be with you.

2. After a good sleep, if you open the drawer, there will be the most necessary item for you. Take that item and set off.

3. Good luck.

After a brief pause, the fourth item unfolded.

4. If you came back here from the wedge, lie down on the bed and take a nap. There’s no need for self-reproach. You did your best.

5. Before falling asleep, if possible, write what you want to say on the paper on the desk. There are and will be those like you.

6. Lie down on the bed and close your eyes. Listen to the warm words that come to you. Don’t be afraid. There’ll be no pain.

7. Thank you for your hard work.

-Slam!

I loudly closed the manual, and all three of them turned their gazes toward me.

“…What is it?”

“Let’s not sleep in the bed.”

“Why? It seems comfortable.”

“…”

“Is there something in the manual—”

“I think it’s better not to look.”

Song Ah Rin glanced at me carefully, her gaze dropping down.

“Fine. You don’t need to make such a serious face.”

“…Was there something written in the manual?”

Jang Chae Yeon watched me with worried eyes.

“There was, but I’d rather not say.”

Shaking my head at her words, Jang Chae Yeon, true to herself, didn’t pry further.

Following that, we prepared our sleeping arrangements amidst an eerie silence.

“…”

Lying on the sofa, I stared at the ceiling.

-Thunk, thunk, thunk…

A strange sound echoed, and my clear mind felt as if it were being dragged into sleep against its will.

Soon, my eyes closed, and I slipped into slumber.

I did not dream.