Chapter 23
We have been stopped for far too long.
The seasons turned back at the threshold, and the years could not pass through the village.
We lost nothing, yet gained nothing.
And so, I intend to leave.
Beyond there are storms, loss, and death.
But they do not exist here.
So even if you see me, do not stop me.
I am going to reclaim change.
***
“Hee, then you haven’t even gotten your paycheck yet, oppa?”
“I got the hospital travel allowance.”
“Your allowance? You can get that along with your salary.”
As my butt felt every jolt of the unpaved road, Kang Chaeyoung’s mouth never stopped moving.
She filled the air with nonstop questions and responses, as if we were doing a 100-question Q&A.
Thanks to that, I was too busy answering her to even open the gallery for a moment.
While we talked, I was able to learn quite a bit about Kang Chaeyoung.
Twenty-four years old, in her first year after joining the company, and the youngest member of the field response team until I arrived.
Of course, many new recruits had come in over the year, but in the end the youngest slot went back to her.
The last person to hold that spot had only lasted three months.
I felt there was still a long way to go.
I thought I might understand why senior Choi Yuna had treated me so well.
“We’re here. Please get off~.”
“Yes.”
The truck stopped at the end of the dirt road.
“If you drive any farther from here, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“Is this an entity’s territory?”
“Not quite a territory, um~. The place you can see from the veranda?”
At that point, isn’t that basically a territory?
“It’s a place you can see, but can’t touch. We’re going inside, so there’s no need to add any extra drawbacks.”
“Then we’re being observed even now.”
“Correct~. Make any calls or texts now. Once we go in, you’ll be out of service~.”
She said the work report had already been taken care of in advance, and that Kang Chaeyoung had made the entry call.
There wasn’t really anyone I needed to contact. Being an orphan does make things easier.
“Not particularly.”
“Then shall we go in?”
I followed Kang Chaeyoung, who hummed as she led the way, and walked into the forest.
Rustle rustle.
We walked along a path that had been somewhat cleared of debris from the ground and surrounding brush.
A mountain should normally have birdsong or the sounds of insects.
But the surroundings were so silent that only the sound of dry twigs snapping underfoot rang out between Kang Chaeyoung’s humming.
Could I post this on the gallery?
I checked my device: the latest post was from 20 seconds ago.
We’d been inside for about fifteen minutes, so I could tell the bureau app was still working properly.
Come to think of it, it had worked even in that liminal space.
[On my way to support duty on the outskirts of the Village Where Time Stopped]
Author: GallerySurfingIsEasy
The forest is oddly, weirdly quiet,
but if the senior is humming, I guess it’s fine.
I’m only staying one day, so nothing should happen, right
Strange. I should’ve asked for some information about this place before coming.
Why didn’t I ask when I said I was going on a business trip?
Anyway, I’ll post updates here and there. Later
[Comments]
“What are you doing, oppa? Your phone won’t work here, though?”
“I have a habit of taking notes.”
“Oh…. Anyone watching would think you were the senior.”
“That’s usually how it is.”
Since Kang Chaeyoung wasn’t walking fast, I was able to leave a short post in the gallery without falling behind.
“Come to think of it, Senior.”
“What is it?”
“I heard you can’t see the entity report on the Village Where Time Stopped from Seoul.”
“Ah~. There are guidelines once you get to the worksite. No internet, so I can’t send it to you on your phone.”
Then wouldn’t it have been better to send it before we came in?
Something was off.
I kept following Kang Chaeyoung along the mountain path, feeling as if a screw inside my head had loosened.
“Today’s worksite is here!”
Beyond the mountain path, what appeared was a shabby thatched-roof house.
A thatched house that looked like it had been taken straight out of a folk village or a drama.
The straw laid on the roof glowed a bright yellow, as if it had just been woven on.
The ocher walls had not a single crack, and the floorboards were spotless.
It looked like it was being maintained regularly.
If not for the bag that seemed to belong to Kang Chaeyoung and the scattered romance comics, it would have been a house so perfectly suited to the scenery that I’d have thought I’d time-traveled.
“Oops, I forgot to tidy up.”
Kang Chaeyoung winked as she moved the books and bag to the corner.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just the two of us.”
“Right? You know a thing or two, oppa.”
Saying that, Kang Chaeyoung held out a sheet of paper to me.
It was, of course, an entity report.
++++
[Entity Report] - For Support
The Village Where Time Stopped
Rank: Level 1~4 (Current: Level 1)
Classification: Composite (Entity Type + Location Type)
The Village Where Time Stopped is a location-type entity located in Gilan-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The village currently confirmed resembles a rural village from late Joseon in 1867, and its buildings, clothing, and way of life likewise retain the forms of that period.
Investigation confirmed that this entity was created under the influence of the tool-type entity “Stop Right There!”, made by Scientist Madnificent.
※ Detailed information about the inside of the village is not included in the support mission guidelines.
Investigation confirmed that numerous entities active since the Joseon era have flowed into the interior of the Village Where Time Stopped.
It is currently estimated that approximately ■■■ entities exist inside the village, and for that reason the entity is classified as a composite type with both location-type and entity-type traits.
The danger level of the Village Where Time Stopped is not fixed.
After midnight each day, two to three entities move out from within the village, and the village’s overall management rank changes according to the danger level of those entities.
Because of this, the Village Where Time Stopped fluctuates flexibly between Level 1 and Level 4.
The bureau established a limited information-exchange system through negotiations with the entity “Gatekeeper,” who manages the village entrance.
At present, the Gatekeeper provides information on entities expected to come out of the village within the next three days in exchange for a fixed payment.
Through this, the bureau can now predict the village’s danger level in advance and predeploy the necessary response personnel and equipment.
Since that agreement was concluded, the field response team’s casualty rate has reportedly decreased by about ██%.
Personnel assigned to support missions must familiarize themselves in advance with the characteristics of the entities that appear at dawn.
Most of the entities ask specific questions, and if you provide an appropriate response and guide them outside the village, they move without much resistance.
The purpose of the support mission is not to isolate or eliminate the entity.
The main purpose of the mission is to respond appropriately to the questions posed by the manifested entity and verify the accuracy of the information provided by the Gatekeeper.
Below is a compilation of the entity information provided by the “Gatekeeper” and the observations gathered from the entities that have emerged from the village so far.
.
.
.
++++
Whoa, whoa, whoa—what the hell is this?
And who the hell is Scientist Madnificent all of a sudden?
An entity made an invention that created another entity capable of turning into Level 4?
And in the Joseon era, no less?
No, Earth Author, when exactly did you start making stuff like this for fun?
There’s no logic to this at all, no logic….
Too much information flooded into my head, and it hurt.
Since coming here, it wasn’t like I’d never had that happen before, but this was one massive info dump.
“There’s just too much information being thrown at me.”
“Huh? If you just read the entity part, it shouldn’t be that much, though?”
“Isn’t the overview important too?”
I hadn’t even read about the entity that was supposed to appear today.
“Oh~. You’re kind of a stickler, oppa? I thought you came here to coast since it was a support mission.”
“My life is the collateral, so that’s a bit much. It’s not just my life on the line, either.”
“Whoa~. The team leader picked the youngest one well.”
I just did as I was told, and it turned out to be the field response team, though.
“It’s fine, oppa! Anyway, today’s Level 1 and it’s support work, so you don’t have to bet your life on it.”
“…What’s the worst that can happen?”
“A leg?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Yeah, even if you say that, there’s nothing to do until midnight. Just watch what entity comes out and take it easy.”
Kang Chaeyoung said that, then walked over to the belongings she had tidied earlier and opened a romance comic.
“I’ve memorized everything, so just think of it as getting familiar with the entity. The team leader probably sent you here for that too.”
“Is that so.”
If a veteran who’d worked here all along said that, it was believable.
Besides, this was a place the team leader had picked out and sent me to.
Feeling my mind lighten a little, I leaned against the wall and opened the gallery.
Because quite a few notifications had come in while I wasn’t looking.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, no. There were a lot of typos in what I’d noted down earlier.”
Comments had blown up on my last post.
But that wasn’t the problem. Well, that was a problem too, but—
I had never written a post like this.
[On my way to support duty on the outskirts of the Village Where Time Stopped]
Author: GallerySurfingIsEasy
The forest is somehow too quiet.
However, seeing my senior humming along makes it seem like there’s no trouble.
It’s only a matter of staying one night and returning, so what could possibly happen?
Though now that I think about it, it is strange.
I should have asked more about the situation here before coming.
How strange that I said I was going on a business trip, yet asked nothing at all.
Anyway, I shall send updates from time to time, so take note.
[Comments]
SettingTweaker: ? What the hell is this guy? Has he lost it?
MartialDad: Mind contaminated?
ㄴManagementManager: Once mental contamination progresses, access to the gallery becomes impossible
GayWeirdGuy: No, fuck, you're telling us this now while heading to the Village Where Time Stopped?
OrphanCrusher: Calling that Level 1 is bullshit, lol. I have no clue how badly the team leader wants this bastard dead.
GhostNo. 1: Damn it, from the way he's talking it sounds like he went on a support mission, but is he clueless about the situation?
EntityFreak: Does this bastard have some kind of hormone that attracts entities?
Why are you guys like this.
It wasn’t this kind of reaction even at the hospital.