Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: posted in discord

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Yoo Ji-yoo spread a plague. Having caught a nasty cold somewhere, she infected not only the team leader but also Choi Jae-min, the parent detector about to graduate, paralyzing the investigation team.

The department that usually kept running smoothly even through considerable incidents and accidents was now wiped out, from the department head to the reserve personnel, by a mere cold.

The team leader and Yoo Ji-yoo contacted Yeonwoo with their voices heavily congested.

"Hey, Yeonwoo. You\'ll have to temporarily take charge of the investigation team. Just reject any incoming work and postpone everything."

"Well, I guess it\'s not so bad if we consider it paying our dues. A cold is better than some weird accident happening."

Yeonwoo, resisting with the vitality from the rain, readily took charge of the investigation team.

"Alright. Get plenty of rest."

Answering phones for a few days was no big deal. It wasn\'t even for strangers or an unfamiliar department.

So Yeonwoo began working as an investigator again after a long time, guarding the quiet building alone. Just killing time until work came in.

Rejecting calls when they came.

"Yes, this is the investigation team. Oh, the team leader? He\'s resting now with the flu. Yes, please call back later. Investigation work? We don\'t have any available investigators right now..."

Yeonwoo clicked his mouse, halfheartedly answering calls.

While responding in an unenthusiastic voice, his eyes browsed the company intranet.

\'The experiment proposal is under review. Ah, there\'s nothing to do.\'

The report and proposal related to the Human Qualification Certificate seemed like they would take quite a while. In the end, Yeonwoo, with time to spare, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Might as well take a nap."

The sunlight was warm and the heating was just right, perfect for sleeping. His tension loosened. His body sank into the chair tilted far back.

Wheeze, wheeze, his breathing continued. Yeonwoo\'s consciousness sank deep down.

And then, his consciousness connected somewhere. Past individual unconsciousness or dreams, to a strange mental space.

------

"...Huh?"

Yeonwoo blinked. He was sure he had fallen asleep in the office. When he opened his eyes, it was an unfamiliar world.

An endless expanse of sand in a desert. A temperature neither hot nor cold. In the blue sky, various clouds floated lazily.

Above all, there was a building in front that didn\'t fit the desert. Yeonwoo looked up at its sign. The ever-changing sign transformed into Yeonwoo\'s language.

"Dream Exchange?"

Yeonwoo\'s expression soured.

He had been through all sorts of incidents and accidents. It was easy to distinguish whether this was a simple dream or reality involving an anomalous entity.

Yeonwoo scratched his head vigorously. A sharp, irritated look flashed across his face.

\'Come on, what is this? I just took a nap, why am I getting mixed up with an anomalous entity again?\'

It didn\'t look dangerous, but he didn\'t like it one bit. After searching for his dice first, Yeonwoo considered going back with them, but then slowly stepped forward.

\'Movement is scary if a critical failure comes up. Let\'s go inside for now.\'

Since it had brought him here, the way to send him back should be in that shop too.

Yeonwoo entered cautiously, quietly tense, carefully opening the wooden door. Ding-a-ling, a bell rang cheerfully, and from inside, a hooded shop owner greeted Yeonwoo.

"Welcome! This is the Dream Exchange, where we find dreams for you or connect your dreams to suitable people!"

"..."

Yeonwoo didn\'t answer. He just looked around widely, taking in the shop owner and the shop.

The shop owner\'s face wasn\'t visible. A deep shadow covered their face under the hood.

\'The shop has an antique store feel.\'

On the neat shelves of the shop, items like music boxes, crystal balls, pianos, soccer balls, guitars, microphones, test papers, and stethoscopes were scattered about.

Yeonwoo fixed his gaze on the shop owner.

"Did you call me here?"

"Well, I wouldn\'t say I called you, rather your soul sought out the Dream Exchange-"

Nonsense. Yeonwoo waved his hand dismissively, cutting off the shop owner\'s words.

"I\'m not interested, so please send me back."

"Ahaha. People who have lost their dreams all react like that. But since we\'ve met, why not listen for a bit? It\'s all just a momentary dream anyway."

The shop owner waved their gloved hand slightly. Wooden chairs appeared, and steaming tea rose up on the counter.

Yeonwoo frowned. He asked briefly.

"Is this the Goldberg Club?"

A shop that buys and sells dreams. Naturally, the Club came to mind first. But the shop owner shook their head and laughed it off.

"Ah, the Goldberg Club. Humans dreaming golden dreams! I\'m not such a materialist. This work is far more grand, beautiful, and noble!"

Yeonwoo muttered to himself.

\'What is he talking about?\'

Regardless of Yeonwoo\'s reaction, the shop owner straightened their shoulders and began speaking confidently.

"Those who can\'t achieve their dreams will sell their dreams to find freedom, and those with ability but no dreams will buy dreams to achieve them. In other words, it\'s the beautiful work of making flowers bloom that would otherwise wither and die!"

"Ah, yes. You\'re doing good work. So where\'s the way back?"

"..."

The shop owner stopped. They hunched over as if they had never been excited, and let out an ominous voice.

"You\'re not listening to me."

"You\'re not listening to me either."

Yeonwoo also spoke irritably.

\'What\'s with this dream peddler? I said I\'m not interested, didn\'t I?\'

Dreams. The mysterious shop that traded in these vessels of human passion and hope was degraded to a mere peddler in Yeonwoo\'s eyes. No, Yeonwoo saw it as even worse than a peddler.

"I\'m not buying or selling. You\'re not trying to kidnap people and force sales, are you-"

That was when it happened.

As the shop owner\'s mood soured, the shop began to change. Darkness rippled like a nightmare, and instead of the beautiful dreams scattered about, dark and terrible dreams crawled out.

The shop suddenly plunged into darkness.

Beyond the darkness came sounds of crying, lamentation, and screaming.

Yeonwoo quickly sat down in the chair.

"This is really interesting. What can one receive for selling a dream? And what kind of dreams do you sell?"

Yeonwoo blinked innocently. He leaned forward as if focusing on the shop owner. His sleepy mind woke up.

\'The thing in front of me is an anomalous entity. I need to be careful.\'

He didn\'t want to carelessly provoke it and have an accident. It was best to get through this smoothly.

The shop owner was speechless for a while, then let out a small sigh.

"How did I end up with a customer like this."

The darkness receded, and a dreamlike atmosphere settled over the shop again. Various objects representing people\'s dreams glowed softly.

Yeonwoo breathed a sigh of relief, and the shop owner spoke gruffly.

"Be careful. I\'m more amazing than you think, and I\'m doing good for everyone."

"You\'re wonderful, sir!"

Clap, clap, clap, Yeonwoo\'s soulless applause and admiration.

The shop owner waved their hand, making the tea disappear. There was no tea for Yeonwoo. The owner spoke unkindly.

"Dreams aren\'t something you can buy just because you want to. I only sell them to people who have the ability to achieve that dream. But you..."

Yeonwoo pretended to listen attentively, and the shop owner looked Yeonwoo up and down.

"You don\'t qualify to buy dreams. You need to have the ability to achieve something."

"Ah, I see. Then I guess I don\'t qualify as a customer. Regrettable, but I should go back."

Yeonwoo smiled broadly. In a way, he had been insulted, but to him it meant he could go back without any problems.

But the shop owner continued speaking.

"Still, your dream is quite good. Pure survival instinct. A thirst for life. This is something you\'d usually only see in terminally ill patients. I like it. I could sell it to someone who has lost hope in life."

The shop owner could see Yeonwoo\'s dream.

Survival. That primal and pure dream.

The shop owner nodded their head. A pleased voice flowed from the darkness under the hood.

"Why don\'t you sell that dream to me? I\'ll pass it on to someone more suitable. Someone who can fulfill that dream better than you will make it shine like a jewel."

"..."

Yeonwoo didn\'t answer. He just stared blankly at the shop owner.

The shop owner brought both hands together on the counter. They spoke kindly, as if persuading.

"How painful must it be to have a dream you can\'t handle when you don\'t even have the ability? If you give up your dream cleanly, you can be free from it. Someone else will fulfill your dream for you."

"I\'m not selling."

"Pardon?"

At that point, Yeonwoo stood up. There was no need for further conversation.

\'If I sell my dream, I might live more comfortably and freely. I\'d retire from the company and enjoy life with the money I\'ve earned. But that\'s all.\'

Survival. The moment he lost that fundamental drive, everything would start to fall apart. He might let his guard down and die soon.

\'Let\'s get out of this shop first.\'

Yeonwoo didn\'t look back. He approached the shop door and grabbed the handle. He gripped it tightly and pulled.

Clunk-

The door didn\'t open. Instead, a voice came from behind.

"You might think that if you don\'t know. It\'s okay. I\'ll free you from your dream. You\'ll thank me when it\'s all over, won\'t you?"

In an instant.

Yeonwoo lost something. Whatever you call it - heart, mind, soul - something fundamental at the root was gone.

Yeonwoo, having lost the dream of survival, slowly turned around.

The shop owner was holding a heart-shaped model in one hand. A ceaselessly beating heart model.

"Good. It\'s an excellent dream. Strong and pure. Who should I give this to so it shines beautifully?"

At that moment, the shop owner looked at Yeonwoo, and their gazes crossed. The shop owner spoke.

"How does it feel? To be free?"

"I\'m not sure."

Yeonwoo spoke blankly. His mind was being reconstructed, replacing the lost survival instinct. Newly, based on all the memories he had experienced.

Yeonwoo\'s confused and unsettled atmosphere began to change.

"Now, you\'re no longer bound by dreams and free to..."

The shop owner spoke with a voice tinged with laughter, then stopped. Something felt off.

Yeonwoo muttered coldly.

"People die someday."

His values were reestablished. The accidents and anomalous experiences he had been through. The world like thin ice. The vast universe and anomalous world.

There is no eternity in this world. Struggling to survive day by day like a mayfly is nothing but futile effort.

The right thing to do is to live each day fully, to live so that you can die satisfied even if you die tomorrow, to live as your heart desires.

And where Yeonwoo\'s heart was heading now was...

"You took my dream as you pleased. I\'ll take my compensation as I see fit."

It would be dangerous. The opponent was an unknown anomalous entity, and the dice\'s risks were still there. His survival instinct was quietly screaming.

But he didn\'t care. Resolving this unpleasant feeling was more important. Yeonwoo called upon the dice.