Chapter 123

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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[Oh dear.]

The nostalgia candy that was held in my hand vanished.

“…!”

[My goodness! Mr. Roe Deer, were you making a meal out of candy?]

“Haha….”

[This sort of thing is not good!]

The vanished nostalgia candy appeared in Brown’s gloved hand like magic, and then vanished again with another magic-like hand movement.

…It had completely vanished.

“…….”

Ah, was I supposed to applaud?

Clap, clap, clap….

When I clapped my palms, Brown bowed in greeting like a magician.

“Um, where is the candy…”

[Mr. Roe Deer, to think your first meal in a month is an old, stale candy from who knows when! Oh, this is an insult to the catering.]

Snap.

The host snapped his fingers.

[Some say the passion for creation comes from hunger… but my standards are a bit different!]

[Let us have a proper meal first.]

At the host’s request, the faceless staff opened my waiting room door and greeted me cheerfully.

Then, a white tablecloth was spread over the table in one corner of the room, and food began to be laid out in perfect order.

It was Western cuisine, steaming hot.

A dinner that felt like it should be served as a course meal was placed on the table all at once.

[Since Mr. Roe Deer did not apply separately, Brown has carefully selected today’s menu.]

[Now, you will feel energized once you finish your meal….]

“…….”

…I suddenly realized it had been a very long time since I had seen warm food.

The host sitting opposite displayed a smiling emoticon on the TV and waved the tableware on both sides.

Bon appétit!!

…Somehow, the surroundings were dark.

It felt like a spotlight was shining solely on the dinner on the table…….

Flash.

The silver ring flashed under the light illuminating the table, then grew dull, overwhelmed by the light reflecting off the fork.

“…….”

I hesitated, then picked up the tableware first.

But while I was contemplating what to eat….

[As for the drink to go with it… Yes, Mr. Roe Deer. You mentioned you like grapes, right?]

“……!”

At the host’s hand gesture, a curved glass bottle filled with sloshing ruby-colored liquid popped onto the table.

A wine bottle.

[It is a very high-quality wine. I received it as a gift while hosting a quiz show in the past, and I got to open it to celebrate my friend’s successful first appearance….]

I casually read the production year written on the bottle. Vintage 1999.

It was the selling year of the ‘Happy Ending Teddy Bear’ edition, the guest I had recruited this time.

“…Did you match it with the production year of the guest for this broadcast by any chance?”

[Ah, an audience member who catches the intention is always enjoyable. That’s right!]

[I prepared it to celebrate. Wasn’t it your first debut stage!]

[Ah, a great entertainer must take care of these details for the sake of moving the audience. Sol-eum, I hope it serves as a good lesson for you….]

The host opened the wine himself.

Then, the sloshing ruby liquid filled the glass, placed in front of me.

[Now… then, a glass?]

……Mmh.

It would be strange not to drink it after coming this far, but somehow my appetite arose, yet my motivation did not.

[…Oh dear. Is it not to your liking, Mr. Roe Deer? My skill in reading a friend’s heart was lacking. How embarrassing as a broadcaster….]

“Ah, no. It’s not that.”

I grew anxious.

I lifted the wine poured into the glass and….

Drank.

…….

“It is delicious.”

[Right? Please enjoy it comfortably….]

“Yeah.”

I picked up the tableware.

“…….”

The meal continued.

Somehow, the more I ate and drank, the clearer my head felt.

As if nutrients were entering a weary body… No, it was not a metaphor; it was precisely that situation.

‘I thought I was in good condition.’

Perhaps I was more exhausted than I thought.

…….

…No, wait a minute!

‘Of course it would be so if I haven’t eaten for a month!’

Common sense-wise, does it make sense for a human to be fine without eating for a month.

‘It would be normal to have died.’

My goodness. Did I just realize this now?

[Hmm? Mr. Roe Deer, is there a problem with the food?]

“No. It’s not that.”

I continued eating.

The more I ate, the more I felt my brain working.

‘Even if I wasn’t polluted by this Dark, it seems true that I was being influenced by it to some extent.’

My mind must have been in a daze.

Even after entering this place, I was just blindly working hard.

Was I too excited because it wasn’t scary anymore… Anyway.

‘It would be better to check.’

I was about to pull out a new candy from my tattoo, but decided against it, feeling it would be a waste.

Since I also had to get the great host’s permission.

“Brown, can you return the candy you took earlier?”

[Hmm?]

“Since I finished my meal, I’m thinking of having one as a snack.”

[Oh… I see. Understood.]

Brown placed the candy back onto my palm.

Nostalgia Candy.

[Here it is, Sol-eum!]

Now I remembered clearly.

‘Did eating this candy return me to my body’s peak state within the last 10 years?’

Thanks to this, I survived Sekwang Technical High School.

‘Good.’

I threw the candy into my mouth.

…….

Mmh.

‘Nothing changed?’

It just felt… like confirmation of my state.

‘This seems to mean that my current state is my peak state.’

They say stress is the root of all evil, and indeed, it seems important for a person to do work that fits their aptitude.

In the future, let’s just…… not work without eating….

No matter how much it felt like skipping meals didn’t cause problems because I worked on a supernatural talk show, it had still influenced me like this.

‘Come to think of it, just working was also a bit strange.’

Setting down the empty wine glass, I spoke seriously.

“Brown. No matter how much I think about it, I must say this…”

[Hmm?]

“My employment contract. Shouldn’t we discuss things like vacation or salary?”

[Oh… Sol-eum.]

Brown looked at me somewhat awkwardly, and the emoticon in the TV placed a hand on his forehead.

[Naturally, sufficient vacation and silver coins are guaranteed for my show’s crew…. I am flabbergasted by what kind of explanation you heard on the first day.]

Is, is that so?

‘Was I out of my mind because I hadn’t eaten?’

Come to think of it, my memories of the first few days after starting work here were blurry.

It even seemed like I had lost all the items I used at Daydream Co.… This is crazy.

“Sorry. But I would like to negotiate the working conditions even now.”

[Of course, Mr. Roe Deer!]

After eating well, I completed the employment contract after a fierce negotiation with the host with a clear mind.

Resting two days a week, receiving summer and winter vacations, receiving 50 silver coins of the Strange Ones, and receiving bonuses based on performance every half year….

Mmh. That’s decent.

[Then let’s sign the contract before this week passes!]

“Got it.”

[Now you will officially be working at the talk show. Ah, that’s right. I also had a surprise idea that came to mind while conducting the live broadcast today!]

[I stopped by the waiting room to tell you that, but I was so shocked to see you stuffing candy into your empty stomach after fasting for a month that I forgot. Good heavens!]

“Haha… well. Sorry. What is it?”

Brown pointed at my forearm with his gloved hand.

[Mr. Roe Deer’s tattoos.]

Ah.

I raised my arm and looked at the letters.

My forearm, where the makeup was patchily erased, was red.

[It must be annoying to get makeup every time you appear. Oh, a workaholic like Mr. Roe Deer who tries to work even when given break time would feel it even more! In that sense….]

[How about erasing them altogether?]

“…….”

[Let’s think about it. It’s a chance to save time and escape from annoying bindings….]

“Wait a minute.”

[‘Wait a minute’? Aha, is there something on your mind?]

“These tattoos have been very useful in many ways.”

[Haha! Is that all!]

[That was when you were attending that painful company that has neither fun nor proper treatment.]

[Aren’t you a crew member of this wonderful talk show now, Sol-eum! You will be treated well wherever you go. You can even eat free sundae ice cream at the boutique. Come, come, let’s cleanly erase these dirty scraps of text.]

Hmm.

“Still, I think I could use this in a fun way.”

Especially the inventory tattoo.

‘I think it could be used for various fun directions on the talk show too.’

Like pulling something out of an arm like magic to surprise the audience. Even if I didn’t step on stage, wouldn’t it be good to help the staff carry sets or lights in an emergency?

“Why should I get rid of an ability I already have? I’m asking because I’m not really convinced.”

[Hmm.]

The host clasped both hands.

[Right, Sol-eum. Now that you’ve had a meal and gained energy, you are showing a more inherently proactive side…. Excellent!]

[If so, I will look into this separately. Let’s find something that can produce a very similar effect.]

[To even covet a magician’s trick! A passionate attitude, it’s touching. Haha!]

An emoticon wiping tears appeared on Brown’s TV screen.

[Then have a comfortable remaining break time, friend!]

“Sure. Thanks.”

The host confirmed that the caterers cleanly cleared the remains of the meal in my waiting room, then waved and left my waiting room.

“Phew.”

I sat on the sofa.

I wasn’t appearing on the next talk show, and the guest recruitment and directing meetings for this week were already finished, so I had some spare time.

‘Then should I do some organizing?’

Since I might end up erasing the tattoos, it wouldn’t hurt to organize the items inside them for now.

Since I also noticed I had lost the items I received from Daydream Co., I could check properly what was inside as well.

Thud.

I stuck my hand inside the inventory tattoo, pulled out various items, and began to lay them out on the table.

‘Most of them are perfectly fine.’

Except for company items, the only thing missing was the blood tub… Ah, that was in the bathroom too. In that case, it wasn’t here.

Even the custom equipment made by the company was perfectly fine….

Among them, there was one I didn’t make, but received as a gift.

“Ah.”

I pulled out a black button the size of a fingernail.

…It was Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s communication button.

‘Could this button be the one Manager Lee Ja-heon was talking about?’

Mmh, it must have meant to keep in touch.

‘How nice of her.’

I will go out and try using it once I get vacation. I took the button with a smile.

And passing the Happy Maker, emergency rations, vampiric knife, wrapping paper, and Necronomicon….

I also saw a red button.

We Help! – ₩66,666,666

‘Surely he couldn’t have been talking about this button.’

Isn’t this the kind of thing you press in a desperate moment!

There was no reason or need to recommend it to a career-changer who was working perfectly well.

I casually put it on the table.

‘Is that almost it?’

Now there was almost nothing left in the tattoo… Ah, there is one more.

A paper bag with the theme park mascot drawn on it emerged from the tattoo.

Filling the bag was a dragon-shaped churros.

[Blue Soda Churros]

Wow.

‘It’s been so long I can’t even remember when it got here.’

Didn’t I keep one after selling one to a Disaster Management Bureau official?

Still, since I stored it in the inventory tattoo, it didn’t seem to have spoiled.

I was about to put it on the table… but paused to examine it as a strange feeling arose.

Letters I couldn’t read before were now readable.

Ecstatic Taste

Healthy Snack for Children

A healthy snack.

‘…Is it fine to eat?’

Because, well, the host said I could eat candy too.

And because he told me to take good care of my meals!

‘It will spoil if I erase the tattoos, so maybe it’s not bad to eat it quickly before then.’

Isn’t it a waste otherwise.

‘Sure.’

I put the churros in my mouth.

The churros, which had a texture like junk food popping in my mouth, was chewed and went down my throat….

And.

And…….

“~~!!”

Something surged up my throat.

Splat, splat.

Dark blue water began to pour out of the mouth that had swallowed the churros.

Seawater smelling of salt.

“…!! ~!!”

With seawater completely filling from my throat to my mouth, it poured frantically onto the floor of the talk show waiting room.

I, I can’t breathe!

I cannot breathe!

‘W-What is this….’

What kind of healthy snack is this, fuck… No! I must not curse! But what on earth do I do in this situation….

Ah, no. Whether the oxygen is thinning, my consciousness is fading. D-Dying…….

…….

‘That.’

We Help.

I barely placed my hand on the table.

After rummaging haphazardly through the laid-out belongings, the moment the red button touched my hand.

“~!!”

Hitting the table frantically with my arm, I pressed the button.

Now, seawater trickled out from my eyes, nose, and ears as well.

‘S-Save me….’

And.

Beeeeep!

An alarm went off frantically inside my head and…….`

Emergency Call Completed

My mind was bounced out.

* * *

-Supervisor Kim Sol-eum.

“…….”

-Supervisor Kim Sol-eum.

“Gasp…!!”

What the fuck!

Startled out of my wits, I jumped up.

No, I thought I had stood up, but….

The surroundings were pitch-black.

…….

Nothing was visible. No, nothing was felt. There was no sense of touch. Neither smell nor hearing was there! There was nothing! There was nothing…

-Are you awake.

“…!!”

A familiar tone echoed inside my head.

That was….

“…Group Leader Lee Ja-heon?”

`-Yes.

At that moment.

Thump!!

The world vibrated.

‘W-What is it!’

`-Please wait a moment.

And a few seconds later.

Suddenly my vision opened up.

My waiting room, half filled with water. It was the scenery I saw right before losing consciousness.

However, I was not seeing it ‘directly’.

As if… peeking through someone else’s field of vision, a CCTV-like screen floated in front of me…….

“……!”

The field of vision in the screen checked its limbs.

My tattoo exposed between the wrists.

…It was me.

It was a field of vision where someone else was controlling my body!

`-I will move.

And the field of vision began to move.

Uh, uh?!

‘Wait, by any chance, is this….’

“W-Wait a second. Are you moving my body right now, Group Leader?”

`-Yes.

I swallowed my saliva.

“……Were you summoned by the ‘We Help’ button?”

`-Yes.

“…….”

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute!

With the ‘We Help’ button sold at the Alien Shop… Manager Lee Ja-heon was summoned?

“Group Leader.”

I swallowed my saliva.

“…Are you perhaps the alien of the Space Shopping Mall?”

`-? Yes.

Aaaaack!!