The last time I met Jang Heowoon—
…no, the last time I “called” him and he appeared, he had still been a resort employee.
A Ghost Story working at a Ghost Story resort.
Once human, but now no longer human. An eerie existence.
But what stood before me now was….
“Uh, so, I… what?”
A person.
“Brother!”
Too much like a person. The way his eyes met Kim Heowoon’s and tears immediately streamed down his face before the two of them grabbed each other in a tight embrace.
It was the 모습 of someone meeting family again whom he had thought was dead.
A person. In the shape of a person….
[Oh, how moving. A family reunion!]
……!
Right.
Just because something expresses emotion naturally doesn’t automatically make it human.
In the first place, if he were human, he couldn’t have appeared like this.
The person named Jang Heowoon had died, and only the resort employee remained. That was why he could be summoned into this “leased space” I had designated as a new resort site.
So, in other words…
He is still a being of the Dark, but one that appears as though it has regained the personality it had in life… something closer to that.
…But how?
Something I couldn’t tell was awe or fear ran down my spine.
In the meantime, Jang Heowoon, who had only just managed to finish that reunion, turned to me and spoke.
“Um, Mascot-nim. Thank you…! Was this something you did as well, Mascot-nim…?”
…Silently looking at that employee, I asked:
W h o
a r e
y o u ?
He hesitated.
“…Pardon? I, well… Bison, I mean… I’m Bison, who worked at Baekilmong and then, um, came to work at the resort.”
W h o
a m
I ?
As though he understood something, Jang Heowoon’s expression changed.
“I know that Mascot-nim was… Mr. Roe Deer.”
…!
“Ever since I was on the Cleanup Team, I only ever received help from you. …Mascot-nim.”
Jang Heowoon swallowed.
“I… died. Didn’t I?”
…….
“In that resort room, by another employee…. And then Mascot-nim saved me, so… I survived as an employee of Flower Golden…