Chapter 102
I hated the sight of the hospital, but it had become somewhat more bearable.
Jinseop had escaped right away too, making a huge fuss. Honestly, that part had even been comical. The flustered nurse was the best part.
And then I escaped safely again while doing a mother-and-son role-play with Jaaldi.
"..."
I'm already missing our Team Leader.
Anyway.
After seeing Department Head Lee Dohyeong completely smash apart the stitched world itself, the hospital isn't that scary anymore. I'd memorized all the rules long ago, too.
[Temporary Security Guard Recruitment Notice for Cheongak Mary Hospital]
The notice was still posted as it had been.
I examined it carefully, then boarded a bus bound for the provinces on the same date as in the previous loop.
As I headed down, I thought about Teacher Kim Seonghan.
The favor I owed him belonged to the previous loop. So, in this loop, you could say it had been reset.
But.
Even so, the favor I received from him hadn't disappeared. I still felt favorably toward Teacher Kim Seonghan. It hadn't been reset... it had carried over. If I remembered it, wouldn't that mean it continued?
"..."
Right.
I was curious about his identity. I wouldn't need his help in this loop anyway. In that case, looking into Teacher Kim Seonghan wouldn't be a bad idea.
When you think about it, it was thanks to Teacher Kim Seonghan that I made contact with Salhyeong.
Let's give it a try.
* * *
I arrived at the hospital.
The moment I stepped inside, the area behind me was swallowed by fog.
I headed toward the security office I remembered so fondly.
When I approached and lingered nearby,
ㅡClunk.
A pale-looking man with sunken eyes walked out.
It was the security guard.
"Ah, ahh...! Are you here because you saw the recruitment notice?"
This was the guy.
Seeing him like this, I was genuinely glad to see him.
He really was an unidentified entity, but what on earth was he? I remembered him suddenly having a fit and running away by himself.
"Yes. That's right."
"Here! Come this way!"
To eliminate variables, it would be safer to proceed exactly as I had in the previous loop. But I wasn't in the mood for that now.
"Ha, haha! Hahahaha!"
The moment I entered, the security guard burst into manic laughter, took off his clothes, and thanked me.
"Thank you. Really."
I watched him intently.
"Here. This is the duty rules booklet. Be sure to follow it. Be sure. If you don't, no one knows what might happen."
I already memorized all of it, you bastard.
The guard who had handed me the booklet immediately tried to leave.
While his back was turned... right then!
ㅡWhoosh!
I threw myself forward and grabbed him!
"Huh?"
"What are you?"
Last time, I had just stared blankly as this bastard ran away, but not now. I could grab him and ask. It was something only a loop player could do.
Now, I would uncover his identity.
Was he human?
Or was he part of the hospital?
"Are you human?!"
The moment I shouted and demanded an answer.
"Ah hahahahahahaha!!"
The guy suddenly let out a bizarre laugh, slipped out through the door like a slug being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, then dashed out of the hospital and disappeared.
No, fuck.
"Was this bastard really an anomaly?"
Was he an anomaly who had merely taken on the role of a security guard?
Anyway, I was left alone in the security office. Originally, I had entered the hospital after this and gone through all sorts of things. After getting thoroughly beaten down, I had immediately called in the Bureau.
This was a memory too.
At my signal, fake Bureau agents came swarming in and were wiped out. Among them was the famous Department Head Lee Dohyeong, but wait?!
"Huh?!"
If I didn't call the fake Bureau from here,
they wouldn't come.
They couldn't come to a place they didn't know existed.
Then... didn't that mean Department Head Lee Dohyeong wouldn't die?!
I got goosebumps.
My one action could change so many things.
"..."
I wondered whether to make the Bureau call here like last time. Honestly, there was no point in calling them. It wasn't as if I'd achieved anything.
Besides, calling them would only result in Department Head Lee Dohyeong evolving into Super Lee Dohyeong after being operated on.
Nothing good would come of it.
More importantly, the fake Bureau would send people to retrieve Department Head Lee Dohyeong. Jinseop would probably be among them. Now that I wasn't Agent Grrong, there was no way to save Jinseop.
No, wait, no!
That applied here too!
At this point, Jinseop hadn't become a fake Bureau agent yet. If so, I might be able to save him...!
"I see."
It went without saying.
That's what playing through a loop was.
You could use knowledge from the previous loop to change the course of events however you wanted.
"All right."
After calming myself, I left the security office and entered the hospital.
As expected, there was no one.
If I waited, the desk phone would ring.
ㅡRiiing!
I answered as soon as it rang.
-Come up to the office on the ninth floor. Immediately.
A voice I was very glad to hear came through.
It was Teacher Kim Seonghan's voice.
My connection with this teacher was extremely brief, in a manner of speaking. And since this was the third loop, even that connection had been reset. But hearing his voice brought tears to my eyes.
After hanging up, I went up to the ninth floor.
I'd made up my mind before coming here.
In this loop, I would learn more about Teacher Kim Seonghan. I'd memorized all the rules and everything else anyway, so I could spend that time talking about something else.
I arrived in front of the office.
ㅡKnock knock.
I knocked and went inside. A spread-out human hide greeted me. Now Teacher Kim Seonghan, with all his skin peeled off, would come out from behind that door.
ㅡCreeeak.
"Don't be startled. Please. There's no time."
"I'm not startled."
"What?"
I was Kim Geunhong now, but my experience from working as an agent hadn't gone anywhere.
"You're Teacher Kim Seonghan, right?"
"What?! How do you know that...!"
When I struck first, the teacher was horrified. I stared at him and continued.
"Your name is Kim Seonghan. You worked at Daeseong St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul. And you have a wife, right? A very noble woman from Arabia."
"H-how do you know about me...!"
This was the first time I'd seen him so shaken.
"Sorry for the late introduction, Teacher. Just know that I come from an organization that deals with supernatural phenomena like this."
Pretending to be an agent was easy.
"An organization that deals with supernatural phenomena?!"
By hitting him with one shock after another, I had completely taken control of the conversation. Teacher Kim Seonghan was now completely flayed, but an emotion resembling hope could be seen on his face.
"That's right. We determined that you'd been taken to Cheongak Mary Hospital. And I was sent in."
"H-how could you...! Don't tell me my wife! Did my wife use her influence?!"
A strange faith in his wife.
It was probably because he knew she was of noble status in the Islamic world.
Anyone who secretly possessed the Black Stone, a supreme holy relic powerful enough to shock even Salhyeong, would naturally be trustworthy.
"I'll refrain from commenting. We have a great deal to find out right now."
"Y-yes! But there's really no time right now! You came in as a security guard, didn't you?! You need to go out and start your shift for now! Hurry!"
Was this unavoidable?
"Set a time for us to talk next. You could use your authority to summon me and arrange an opportunity for a consultation."
"Understood! I definitely will!"
We could talk later.
I'd mastered my work here, anyway.
"Then, I'll see you next time, Teacher."
"Yes!"
All right, then.
Time to return to being security guard Lee Seungcheol.
* * *
"""He isn't Lee Seungcheol aaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!!!!!!"""
I answered as I heard the familiar scream.
"I'm Lee Seungcheol."
The hospital immediately fell silent.
The bastards went straight back to doing their jobs as soon as they realized it didn't work. I resumed my security rounds as well.
Ah.
I suddenly remembered the status window and opened it.
I wondered how my name would be displayed.
——————————
[●Status Window]
Name : Kim Geunhong (Lee Seungcheol)
Title : The One Who Activated the Reality Re-Recognition Device
Age : 24
.
.
Loop : 3
Number of Deaths : 20(-1)
[●List of Deaths by Loop]
[●Collected Endings]
[●Functions]
[●Solved List]
[●Owned Abilities]
[●Point Shop]
[●Mailbox]
[●Inventory]
[...]
——————————
Ah!
Parentheses had appeared beside my name, with Lee Seungcheol inside!
There really was something extremely important about names. But it was kind of funny to say that with such amazement. What could be more important than a name?
If I checked the status window from time to time like this, I should be able to notice if my name changed.
Or not?
If I fell victim to perception manipulation, would I be unable to perceive it even if I was aware? Even when I was an agent, I'd looked at the status window over and over, but I hadn't perceived that my name itself had changed.
Well... for now, I'll make sure to keep an eye on it.
Thinking that, I went upstairs.
Compared to the previous loop, almost nothing had changed. There might have been differences if I dug into the details, but it was impossible to remember all of that in the first place. Nothing particularly special happened, so I finished my work without any problems.
"..."
Suddenly.
I remembered what had happened back then.
While working security, I'd once put someone who was shouting for help inside the black room.
I'd thought he was a supernatural phenomenon merely pretending to be human. But I was wrong. He was an unfortunate civilian who had been transported here.
If things proceeded the same way, I'd face that situation again.
I knew what I had to do.
* * *
It had been a week since I started working security. Teacher Kim Seonghan still hadn't summoned me. It seemed difficult for him to set a time.
Anyway.
Today was the day.
The very day the unfortunate civilian was brought here.
I started work after steeling myself. What floor had it happened on back then? I didn't remember that much, but I did remember it was a high floor.
When I reached the seventh floor.
"Ah, ahh!"
A man who looked fragile.
I saw him cry out.
"Excuse me! Please! Please save me! Please!"
"Quiet."
I ran over and covered his mouth.
"Mmph."
"This isn't a normal place. If you want to live, stay calm. It's dangerous to make a loud noise. Blink twice if you understand."
"Mmph...!"
He blinked twice.
Good.
Let's follow the plan.
It was simple.
I just had to send him back and give him the Bureau's rules booklet, which was placed somewhere in the hospital. He could survive as long as he did exactly that. Of course, it was inhuman and horrible, but there was no choice if he wanted to live.
Even so, I wanted to save him.
I'd do everything I could.
It was a little funny that I was maintaining this kind of professional ethic even though I was no longer Agent Grrong... but you never knew. If I told Spangdal and Jaaldi about it later, they might praise me.
"Then I'll take my hand away. Please be quiet. You mustn't make a sound."
The moment I took my hand away.
"Monster! There are monsters! Aaaaaaaaagh!!!"