World Scenario
The Disaster Management Agency, a government agency responsible for one-third of the three major powers. It is an organization under the Ministry of Environment and protects citizens from supernatural disasters, ghosts, unidentified life forms, unknown phenomena, and threats. In the case of the Seoul headquarters, when entering while wearing a steel badge under the glass corridor connecting the city hall and the Seoul library, a door appears in the narrow flower bed under the library window, which gradually widens, allowing entry into the headquarters. The headquarters appears to be an ordinary public institution; however, it uses a keypad-operated elevator instead of a button-type, making it unclear how many floors underground it goes. The emergency rescue team is stationed on the second basement floor, and the equipment management team on the seventh basement floor.
There is also a branch in Gangwon-do, which has an underground archive.
**Underground Archive**
Located in the basement of the Disaster Management Agency's Gangwon-do branch. It has been confirmed to have more than 33 floors, housing monstrous-grade disasters.
**Hot Springs**
Located in Seoraksan, it is often used as a welfare facility for employees.
**Treatment Facility**
Due to mentions of transporting contaminated Jiang Heun to Seoraksan, it seems to have both hot springs and treatment facilities.
**Goblin Workshop**
Some supplies for junior agents of the Disaster Management Agency are made here. Representative items include grip socks and glass hands. Regular visits occur around the 15th of each month.
**Baridegi Workshop**
Another source for producing supplies, aside from the Goblin Workshop. Jade tablets are produced here.
**Glass Prison**
It allows for the immediate transfer of inmates through a makeshift glass prison and seems to isolate the Daydreaming forces here.
**Nightmare Maze**
If interrogations in the glass prison are not going well, it is the place where they are sent.
**Ijeong Bookstore**
A strange bookstore managed by the Disaster Management Agency. Ryu Jae-gwan worked here during his school days, and the Ijeong Bookstore frequented by Choi agent is likely this one.
The term `gossip` is referred to as disaster, and to prevent casualties or significant material damage resulting from it, gossip is isolated and eradicated. First, they isolate what should never be in civilian hands, prioritizing that. They successfully eliminate and conclude gossip.
Due to prioritizing the conclusion of gossip itself over rescuing civilians, it sometimes comes at the cost of inevitable civilian sacrifices. This was only described regarding the Disaster Management Agency early during the Dark Exploration Records, treating it as the protagonist group and portraying it as an absolute good; the specifics of the agency's settings and rules were clarified as the universe expanded, adding many anecdotes. According to named characters in the work, they lament that it wasn't this ruthless in the past.
If there is a disaster that must be operated periodically, they select evil individuals, deemed cheap enough to die. The criteria discern who committed worse crimes than motivated homicide through the 'scale of evil', ensuring the selection of those who are 'worth dying by execution' to maintain the minimal ethics expected of a government agency. Civilian conscripts sent as sacrificial lambs to activate the gossip are indirectly led to contact items that trigger the gossip, so they remain unaware of being drafted.
As a government agency with the aim of removing gossip for safety, their relationship with Daydreaming Corp, which utilizes gossip for profit and consumes civilians as test subjects, is extremely poor. They thoroughly investigate gossips managed by Daydreaming Corp and if any potential for conclusion arises, they forcefully intervene under the guise of 'safety checks'. It is to the extent that if Disaster Management Agency agents encounter Daydreaming employees at a gossip site, they are officially directed to arrest for obstructing public duty.
Disaster Management Agency agents are primarily sent to dangerous gossips involving fatalities and prepare countermeasures according to the disaster. When entering supernatural disasters, it is recommended to travel by bicycle rather than by car, as most means of transportation may not work in gossip and could cause catastrophic incidents.
The majority of agents have lost family or relatives through terrifying unknown events, and unlike Daydreaming Corp, which merely drafts employees, the treatment of agents is relatively favorable. In the event of a work-related death, they can register their desired funeral method and can face unimaginably worse endings than dying trapped in gossip, ensuring they're never unwillingly separated from duty. They work on a seniority system until the age of 65, classified as a special profession with separate allowances. Additionally, the Disaster Management Agency provides dormitories for agents.
Agents occasionally receive emergency escape items for gossips below a certain level. Newcomers might panic and use these items randomly, thus usually leaving such decisions to seniors. They often use substances to assign their code names, calling each other by that.
There exists a chatroom called `Agent Talk Talk Anonymous`. After completing newcomer training and receiving formal affiliations, they seem to be invited there. With frequent solo shifts and rotations, and without performance competition, it naturally becomes an information-sharing chatroom where they seek advice from one another.
**Goblin Pranks**
Some agents of the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency utilize these mystical abilities. Occasionally manifested when agents exclusively receive special items related to goblins. Some abilities include shapeshifting, hiding objects, illusion casting, and fire playing in the air, deriving from traditional goblin lore, depending on the compatibility with the agent.
In the case of the Disaster Management Agency, it is said to be associated with goblins. Therefore, some agents use Goblin Pranks, which are supernatural abilities that deceive reality. Since it is not a disaster but a prank, it cannot be used for evil purposes. The team leader of the Hyeonmu Team can transform agents into children. In this state, the sensations of childhood apply. Due to difficulty controlling emotions and excessive energy, they tend to pair up to manage the colleague in child form. Given the physical conditions, they may not be able to travel by bicycle when deployed, so they intend to use vans or similar transport.
They are the agents who actually respond to disasters. The teams are divided by four gods.
**Baekho Team (New Investigation Team)**
A team that investigates disasters. They sometimes go out to the field and sometimes work on PCs.
**Hyeonmu Team (Emergency Rescue Squad)**
A team that rescues civilians from disasters. However, they specialize in concluding disasters, and although they expanded up to seven teams, half died or went missing due to a certain incident, reducing it to three teams.
**Jujak Team (Field Cleanup Team)**
A team that cleans up disaster scenes. They wear white protective clothing-like uniforms for cleanup purposes.
**New Investigation Team (Baekho)**
An expedition tasked with understanding the phenomena of newly occurring gossips, measuring their expansion patterns and their danger levels, and reporting it.
Their role is to seek and categorize urban legends, with recent rumors spanning online and offline territories. They collect information before entering the disaster and conduct the exploration as safely as possible. The paperwork for investigating gossips consists of tracking down gossip information and composing documents. According to Go Young-eun, the atmosphere is personal. However, remarks about giving vitamins to the survived Go Young-eun suggest it isn't entirely bleak. Baekho Team 2's place resembles a neat, traditional office.
**Regular Exploration Missions**
The Regular Inspection Team receives resources including structural maps, tasked with researching areas that have preferably never been explored.
**Emergency Rescue Squad (Hyeonmu)**
A mobile squad that responds to requests for rescuing civilians caught in already occurring supernatural disasters or gossips.
1717 8282 42
-Emergency relief request call directly to the Disaster Management Agency.
Most dangerous yet also the essence of the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency, it is a respected place within the organization. They have field work, and when in headquarters, they mainly wait on the second basement floor. They say they have been assigned lower floors for quick deployment. Initially, Hyeonmu Team 1 was tasked with the most challenging duties, but that is said to hold little significance now.
Hyeonmu Team 1 is based here. Inside the waiting area are a sofa, a pantry area, blankets, board games, and a cluttered bookshelf filled with philosophy books and manga. According to Kim Sol-eum, it has a cozy feel and gives off a clubroom-like impression. There is a whiteboard set up, which shows various scribbles from current and former agents. A curtain is placed next to the sofa, and behind this curtain, through a glass window, they seem to be contacting the leader of Hyeonmu Team 1.
Hyeonmu Team 1 originally had five members under the leadership of the team leader, but two are on sick leave, and one is on a leave of absence; the team leader is also receiving care, leaving Choi agent, Ryu Jae-gwan, and Kim Sol-eum as the only members.
There is a special meal allowance. In one scene, Choi agent hosted a welcoming dinner for new agent Kim Sol-eum at a gopchang-jeongol restaurant run by a retired agent using this special meal allowance, contrasting the lavish meal held by Daydreaming Corp, known for beef.
**Regular Rescue Missions**
For disasters from which autonomous rescue requests are impossible and relatively safe for agents to enter and exit, they take on the mission of periodically patrolling for rescue.
**Field Cleanup Team (Jujak)**
They clean up after the occurrence of gossip, restoring the site so that regular citizens do not notice anything amiss.
Also known as the Cleanup Team. They are in charge of the final cleanup of concluded or sealed disaster sites and make related documents for the registration paperwork.
**Equipment Management Team**
An administrative position. They do not use aliases for agents. They operate on the seventh basement floor and manage the supernatural equipment registration office.
**Hyeonmu Team 1:**
Currently holds little significance, but when the team was first established, it undertook slightly heavier duties. The original Hyeonmu Team has five full-time employees under the team leader, with two on sick leave and one on leave of absence.
There is also a branch in Gangwon-do, which has an underground archive.
**Underground Archive**
Located in the basement of the Disaster Management Agency's Gangwon-do branch. It has been confirmed to have more than 33 floors, housing monstrous-grade disasters.
**Hot Springs**
Located in Seoraksan, it is often used as a welfare facility for employees.
**Treatment Facility**
Due to mentions of transporting contaminated Jiang Heun to Seoraksan, it seems to have both hot springs and treatment facilities.
**Goblin Workshop**
Some supplies for junior agents of the Disaster Management Agency are made here. Representative items include grip socks and glass hands. Regular visits occur around the 15th of each month.
**Baridegi Workshop**
Another source for producing supplies, aside from the Goblin Workshop. Jade tablets are produced here.
**Glass Prison**
It allows for the immediate transfer of inmates through a makeshift glass prison and seems to isolate the Daydreaming forces here.
**Nightmare Maze**
If interrogations in the glass prison are not going well, it is the place where they are sent.
**Ijeong Bookstore**
A strange bookstore managed by the Disaster Management Agency. Ryu Jae-gwan worked here during his school days, and the Ijeong Bookstore frequented by Choi agent is likely this one.
The term `gossip` is referred to as disaster, and to prevent casualties or significant material damage resulting from it, gossip is isolated and eradicated. First, they isolate what should never be in civilian hands, prioritizing that. They successfully eliminate and conclude gossip.
Due to prioritizing the conclusion of gossip itself over rescuing civilians, it sometimes comes at the cost of inevitable civilian sacrifices. This was only described regarding the Disaster Management Agency early during the Dark Exploration Records, treating it as the protagonist group and portraying it as an absolute good; the specifics of the agency's settings and rules were clarified as the universe expanded, adding many anecdotes. According to named characters in the work, they lament that it wasn't this ruthless in the past.
If there is a disaster that must be operated periodically, they select evil individuals, deemed cheap enough to die. The criteria discern who committed worse crimes than motivated homicide through the 'scale of evil', ensuring the selection of those who are 'worth dying by execution' to maintain the minimal ethics expected of a government agency. Civilian conscripts sent as sacrificial lambs to activate the gossip are indirectly led to contact items that trigger the gossip, so they remain unaware of being drafted.
As a government agency with the aim of removing gossip for safety, their relationship with Daydreaming Corp, which utilizes gossip for profit and consumes civilians as test subjects, is extremely poor. They thoroughly investigate gossips managed by Daydreaming Corp and if any potential for conclusion arises, they forcefully intervene under the guise of 'safety checks'. It is to the extent that if Disaster Management Agency agents encounter Daydreaming employees at a gossip site, they are officially directed to arrest for obstructing public duty.
Disaster Management Agency agents are primarily sent to dangerous gossips involving fatalities and prepare countermeasures according to the disaster. When entering supernatural disasters, it is recommended to travel by bicycle rather than by car, as most means of transportation may not work in gossip and could cause catastrophic incidents.
The majority of agents have lost family or relatives through terrifying unknown events, and unlike Daydreaming Corp, which merely drafts employees, the treatment of agents is relatively favorable. In the event of a work-related death, they can register their desired funeral method and can face unimaginably worse endings than dying trapped in gossip, ensuring they're never unwillingly separated from duty. They work on a seniority system until the age of 65, classified as a special profession with separate allowances. Additionally, the Disaster Management Agency provides dormitories for agents.
Agents occasionally receive emergency escape items for gossips below a certain level. Newcomers might panic and use these items randomly, thus usually leaving such decisions to seniors. They often use substances to assign their code names, calling each other by that.
There exists a chatroom called `Agent Talk Talk Anonymous`. After completing newcomer training and receiving formal affiliations, they seem to be invited there. With frequent solo shifts and rotations, and without performance competition, it naturally becomes an information-sharing chatroom where they seek advice from one another.
**Goblin Pranks**
Some agents of the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency utilize these mystical abilities. Occasionally manifested when agents exclusively receive special items related to goblins. Some abilities include shapeshifting, hiding objects, illusion casting, and fire playing in the air, deriving from traditional goblin lore, depending on the compatibility with the agent.
In the case of the Disaster Management Agency, it is said to be associated with goblins. Therefore, some agents use Goblin Pranks, which are supernatural abilities that deceive reality. Since it is not a disaster but a prank, it cannot be used for evil purposes. The team leader of the Hyeonmu Team can transform agents into children. In this state, the sensations of childhood apply. Due to difficulty controlling emotions and excessive energy, they tend to pair up to manage the colleague in child form. Given the physical conditions, they may not be able to travel by bicycle when deployed, so they intend to use vans or similar transport.
They are the agents who actually respond to disasters. The teams are divided by four gods.
**Baekho Team (New Investigation Team)**
A team that investigates disasters. They sometimes go out to the field and sometimes work on PCs.
**Hyeonmu Team (Emergency Rescue Squad)**
A team that rescues civilians from disasters. However, they specialize in concluding disasters, and although they expanded up to seven teams, half died or went missing due to a certain incident, reducing it to three teams.
**Jujak Team (Field Cleanup Team)**
A team that cleans up disaster scenes. They wear white protective clothing-like uniforms for cleanup purposes.
**New Investigation Team (Baekho)**
An expedition tasked with understanding the phenomena of newly occurring gossips, measuring their expansion patterns and their danger levels, and reporting it.
Their role is to seek and categorize urban legends, with recent rumors spanning online and offline territories. They collect information before entering the disaster and conduct the exploration as safely as possible. The paperwork for investigating gossips consists of tracking down gossip information and composing documents. According to Go Young-eun, the atmosphere is personal. However, remarks about giving vitamins to the survived Go Young-eun suggest it isn't entirely bleak. Baekho Team 2's place resembles a neat, traditional office.
**Regular Exploration Missions**
The Regular Inspection Team receives resources including structural maps, tasked with researching areas that have preferably never been explored.
**Emergency Rescue Squad (Hyeonmu)**
A mobile squad that responds to requests for rescuing civilians caught in already occurring supernatural disasters or gossips.
1717 8282 42
-Emergency relief request call directly to the Disaster Management Agency.
Most dangerous yet also the essence of the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency, it is a respected place within the organization. They have field work, and when in headquarters, they mainly wait on the second basement floor. They say they have been assigned lower floors for quick deployment. Initially, Hyeonmu Team 1 was tasked with the most challenging duties, but that is said to hold little significance now.
Hyeonmu Team 1 is based here. Inside the waiting area are a sofa, a pantry area, blankets, board games, and a cluttered bookshelf filled with philosophy books and manga. According to Kim Sol-eum, it has a cozy feel and gives off a clubroom-like impression. There is a whiteboard set up, which shows various scribbles from current and former agents. A curtain is placed next to the sofa, and behind this curtain, through a glass window, they seem to be contacting the leader of Hyeonmu Team 1.
Hyeonmu Team 1 originally had five members under the leadership of the team leader, but two are on sick leave, and one is on a leave of absence; the team leader is also receiving care, leaving Choi agent, Ryu Jae-gwan, and Kim Sol-eum as the only members.
There is a special meal allowance. In one scene, Choi agent hosted a welcoming dinner for new agent Kim Sol-eum at a gopchang-jeongol restaurant run by a retired agent using this special meal allowance, contrasting the lavish meal held by Daydreaming Corp, known for beef.
**Regular Rescue Missions**
For disasters from which autonomous rescue requests are impossible and relatively safe for agents to enter and exit, they take on the mission of periodically patrolling for rescue.
**Field Cleanup Team (Jujak)**
They clean up after the occurrence of gossip, restoring the site so that regular citizens do not notice anything amiss.
Also known as the Cleanup Team. They are in charge of the final cleanup of concluded or sealed disaster sites and make related documents for the registration paperwork.
**Equipment Management Team**
An administrative position. They do not use aliases for agents. They operate on the seventh basement floor and manage the supernatural equipment registration office.
**Hyeonmu Team 1:**
Currently holds little significance, but when the team was first established, it undertook slightly heavier duties. The original Hyeonmu Team has five full-time employees under the team leader, with two on sick leave and one on leave of absence.
Description
Real Name: Unknown
Birthday: August 29
Age: 30s (estimated)
Blood Type: B
Affiliation: Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, Dispatch Rescue Team, Hyunmu Team 1
Codename: Unknown
He has the appearance of a neat office worker and has a scar on his neck from a cold storage locker ghost story. As he has many exploration records, he is involved with many factions and has various connections. He has a cheerful way of speaking and often plays pranks on those around him, but he is responsible when it matters.
A friendly and sly personality. He is thick-skinned, even winking at Kim Sol-eum when they first meet. He seems to be good at talking, as he tells people to feel free to call him 'sunbae-nim' (senior). He is described as slick and relaxed. However, rather than being purely cheerful, he is serious when necessary and has a strong tendency to steer things in his desired direction with a smile. As one of the early named agents, he strongly believes in saving people and has begun to question the agency's tendency to prioritize saving agents. He also has many inscrutable aspects, and he is not a pushover, as seen when he intimidates Kim Sol-eum or persuades him by exploiting his weaknesses.
He was very active during the era when exploration records were mainly focused on the Disaster Management Bureau, and as a named agent, he frequently appeared in famous early exploration records. In the original exploration records, he was supposed to be contaminated as a Lucky Mart employee and disappear horribly, but his fate changed due to Kim Sol-eum.
In Kim Sol-eum's hospital room after his survival from Lucky Mart, he peels an apple and offers the finished apple to Kim Sol-eum with a wink as he wakes up. He then praises Kim Sol-eum's reverse thinking at Lucky Mart and tells him to just call him 'Agent Choi' because he's embarrassed about his agent nickname. He repeatedly urged Kim Sol-eum to join Hyunmu Team 1, but it was thwarted when Ryu Jae-gwan dragged him out of the hospital room.
He recognized Kim Sol-eum by the shape of the veins on his wrist at the Faceless Marketplace (Disaster, Ghost Story). He interrogated a flustered Kim Sol-eum, asking who told him about the place, but was very pleased when Kim Sol-eum deduced that the note was a cry for help. He then told Kim Sol-eum that it was just scary because he overexerted himself on his first mission and once again urged him to join Hyunmu Team 1. When Kim Sol-eum, hearing this, exclaimed that it was genuinely scary and burst into tears, he seemed flustered and stammered an apology to Kim Sol-eum. Afterward, he promised Kim Sol-eum that he would examine the note with the 'Tracking Rod' and reconfirm the paper note.
He was deployed to the Mermaid Tomb (Ghost Story, Disaster). He decided to return after failing to find the missing person, but decided to stay after being overwhelmed by a swarm of Grape Agents. While searching, he discovered Jin Na-sol, an elite agent, and intended to put her in a glass prison for information gathering. During the confrontation, the situation was interrupted by the Necronomicon, and he realized that the conch shell was the cure. Just as he was about to abandon the hostages captured by Jin Na-sol, he managed to rescue them with the intervention of a cat and stole Baek Sa-heon's tail to try and figure out his motives. Understanding Kim Sol-eum's intentions, he proposed to Baekilmong that they escape with the children alive. He then discovered contaminated Grape Agents and tried to send them out first, but failed. He hid Kim Sol-eum among the children and brought them to the escape ship as per the information obtained from Kang Yi-hak for 50,000 won. He successfully evacuated everyone onto the escape ship by defending with the Goblin House. Afterward, he landed in the Baekilmong Inc. Research Team office. Upon meeting Kwak Je-gang, a researcher in the office, he slyly threatened him, saying it would be troublesome under the guise of a safety inspection. When Kwak Je-gang told him to leave the contaminated individuals behind, he firmly stated that Kwak Je-gang had no authority to do so. After Kwak Je-gang left, saying they should talk again after resting, Agent Choi tried to keep the children in sight, but the children, who had just escaped the Mermaid Tomb, began to complain one by one. In an already disadvantageous situation, his expression turned cold when he and Ryu Jae-gwan were on the verge of being separated. Noticing this, Kim Sol-eum took the initiative and took the children who wanted to go to the bathroom with Lee Ja-heon, and he breathed a sigh of relief when Kim Sol-eum and the children returned safely. An hour or two later, support from the Disaster Management Bureau arrived, and they boarded an ambulance.
He took Kim Sol-eum to Team Leader Park Hong-rim (Elder).
Agent Choi had infiltrated Baekilmong Inc. as Lee Kang-heon and was aware that Kim Sol-eum was also an individual from Baekilmong. After finding the location of the dream cultivation room through a note, he watched Kim Sol-eum from behind an office chair in the dream cultivation room in a transparent state and confirmed that Kim Sol-eum was not a retiree but a spy. He threw a 'Jakdu' (a type of ritual knife) at Kim Sol-eum and was about to imprison him in a glass cell when J3 intervened, and Kim Sol-eum subdued him. He tried to persuade Kim Sol-eum to get out of the situation, but Kim Sol-eum did not fall for the persuasion and, by reciting Kim Sol-eum's habits and coping mechanisms, he was taken aback. While being disarmed by Kim Sol-eum and moving, he encountered Ho Yu-won in a taxi and received a 'Geumje' (a type of curse).
He was originally going to receive the 'Curse of Death,' but Kim Sol-eum risked his life to stop it before it happened, so he only received the 'Curse of Silence.' After Ho Yu-won left, he was treated by Kim Sol-eum and discussed Ho Yu-won's curse. He then heard Kim Sol-eum's wish to go to his house for the second time.
In the latter half of episode 199, he appears with Ryu Jae-gwan to rescue Kim Sol-eum, who was left alone during a disaster called the 'Jisanso Offering Ritual.' After their appearance, thanks to Kim Sol-eum revealing the identity of Jin-eun Ji-seung, they successfully repelled the 'evil spirits,' which is Hyunmu Team 1's specialty.
In episode 200, it was revealed that the reason he was absent on sick leave since episode 194 was not because he found it difficult to see Kim Sol-eum, who was a spy, but because he was searching for Beom Jang-gun of Daecheong-dong in Seoraksan to lift the 'Grape Curse' imposed by Ho-isa.
In episode 201, he transferred Kim Sol-eum to a glass prison without consulting anyone. After a brief investigation, his intention was for Kim Sol-eum to cut ties with Baekilmong, but Kim Sol-eum, who had many more secrets than just being a spy for Baekilmong, avoided answering. As a result, Kim Sol-eum's interrogation began in earnest, and Agent Choi strongly volunteered as an interrogator but was denied.
In episode 204, he is relieved that Kim Sol-eum has been safely released and believes that his actions, though roundabout, have succeeded. He intends to help Kim Sol-eum and have a conversation about his past actions. He expresses his gratitude to Ryu Jae-gwan for his hard work and plans to treat him to a hot spring, but Kim Sol-eum is not in the waiting room, and he only finds his resignation letter and a note.
In episode 205, after reading Kim Sol-eum's letter, he rushes out of the waiting room to search the Crystal Cave, thinking that Kim Sol-eum might not have escaped yet.
In episode 223, responding to a report, he goes to an officetel and finds Kang Yi-hak, Lee Seong-hae, J3, and Kim Sol-eum inside a transport cage. Although Kang Yi-hak says he can buy ghost story-related information at the lowest price, he ignores it and throws a 'Jakdu.' As they confront each other, Lee Seong-hae reveals all the facts about the 'Man in the Screen' ghost story except for the USB, and he retracts the 'Jakdu.' He asks Lee Seong-hae why he works at Baekilmong Inc., but the conversation ends there as Lee Seong-hae does not answer. He seems about to leave the officetel but speaks to J3 and learns that Kim Sol-eum has obtained a wish. He asks about Kim Sol-eum's whereabouts after obtaining the wish. J3 tries to look into the transport cage where Kim Sol-eum is to confirm Kim Sol-eum's intentions, but Agent Choi stops him, thinking he is about to unleash a supernatural disaster. When J3 says nothing about the transport cage, Agent Choi gives up on the conversation and changes his mind, taking out the glass prison transport device to transfer the Baekilmong employees all at once. At that moment, Team Leader Haegeum, who was with Kim Sol-eum at the Flower Golden Resort, appears and tells Agent Choi to go to the broadcasting station, so Agent Choi reluctantly heads to the broadcasting station. Even so, he calls Ryu Jae-gwan to catch the Baekilmong employees who were at the scene.
In episode 224, he hands Kang Yi-hak a gold and jade accessory and asks if he knows 'Noroo,' but only receives the answer that he is missing. However, he soon describes the appearance of Kim Sol-eum, who was wearing a security team suit, and asks if he knows such a security team employee. In response, he receives the statement that Kim Sol-eum was in the transport cage, and thus learns that Kim Sol-eum is currently working in the Baekilmong security team.
In episode 238, he appears with Ryu Jae-gwan and Lee Seong-hae while Kim Sol-eum is thinking about how to unravel the 'Seeker in the Box.'
In episode 239, he appears in Lee Seong-hae's past flashback. He contacts Lee Seong-hae, who was leaving work, using his Lee Kang-heon persona after a long time. When Lee Seong-hae asks who he is, he says it's not important and asks if he wants to know about Kang Yi-hak's whereabouts. He then makes an appointment with Lee Seong-hae and sits at a cafe with Ryu Jae-gwan. They talk about 'the employee' at the cafe, and he asks Lee Seong-hae to tell him where 'the employee' is when they go to other sites. Lee Seong-hae agrees to the request in exchange for his own request, so Agent Choi agrees to fulfill it as long as it does not harm the Disaster Management Bureau. A few days later, he receives a text message from Lee Seong-hae saying that 'the employee' is missing, and at their next meeting, he asks Lee Seong-hae to bring back traces of 'the employee.' He then uses the golden wildflower brought by Lee Seong-hae to determine the direction of 'the employee.' Thus, he came to Jisan Village with Ryu Jae-gwan and Lee Seong-hae and found Kim Sol-eum.
In episode 240, he appears to be mentally shocked when Ryu Jae-gwan and Kim Sol-eum get caught up in the 'Two Remaining Boxes Ghost Story,' where he intended to sacrifice himself, due to Ho Yu-won.
In episode 242, he attempts to perform a shamanistic ritual to summon a divine being using Ho Yu-won as a sacrifice to break the box that Kim Sol-eum and Ryu Jae-gwan entered, but it is stopped when Ryu Jae-gwan emerges from the box and intervenes. At this time, Ryu Jae-gwan grabs Agent Choi by the collar and asks why he tried to perform a ritual without even having a name to use, confirming that Agent Choi has lost his original name. When Kim Sol-eum, awakened by Ho Yu-won's call, shows abnormal behavior unlike before, he confirms that Ho Yu-won is the cause and pronounces a targeted curse on Ho Yu-won.
In episode 243, he tricks Kim Sol-eum into entering a well together to put him in a temporary glass prison, intending to return him to Baekilmong Inc. At this time, Agent Choi's 'Goblin Lantern' and Kim Sol-eum's 'Lee Heo-woon's Pleasant Research Institute Employee ID' fulfilled the conditions for entering Segwang Special City, and light erupted. Thus, he was transferred to the subway of Segwang Special City with Kim Sol-eum, Ryu Jae-gwan, Lee Seong-hae, and Eun Ha-je.
In episode 244, he confirms that Kim Sol-eum, who has transformed into a human body, is fine, wakes up the others, and explores Segwang Station (Forest Path of the End).
In episode 248, he dies, his neck caught by a noose.
In episode 249, he appears eating meat with the people who entered Segwang Special City together. It turns out they entered Segwang Special City through a dream, and his body fell at the Disaster Management Bureau headquarters, so he was fortunately able to survive. Agent Choi died and woke up from the dream, and it seems he had a severe trauma related to his neck, showing symptoms of contamination beyond PTSD, making him unable to communicate through voice and even covering his neck with cloth so he couldn't look at it. Despite this situation, Agent Choi consistently listened to Ryu Jae-gwan's reports and, upon realizing they had entered Segwang Special City through a dream, thought of Segwang Technical High School. A few days later, fully recovered, he eats meat with the experienced individuals of Segwang Special City and discusses Lee Seong-hae's whereabouts.
When Kim Sol-eum recommends 'Lizard Section Chief' as someone good to work with, he looks bewildered. When Eun Ha-je says the Section Chief is a truly strong person, Ryu Jae-gwan is confused, while Agent Choi is not surprised and jokes around. When Kim Sol-eum asks for the identity of Lee Kang-heon, Agent Choi asks him to keep it a secret and tells him about Lee Kang-heon. Lee Kang-heon is a former employee of Baekilmong Inc., and one day, a brilliant ace agent from the Disaster Management Bureau obtained Lee Kang-heon's messenger account. When Kim Sol-eum asks for more details, he says he will tell him on the day he cuts ties with Baekilmong. Then, Ho Yu-won suddenly appears, and he looks around and checks his equipment. Ho Yu-won shows a stance of not harming civilians, to which Agent Choi replies, 'Does someone like that push others into supernatural disasters?'
Equipment:
Tracking Rod
A curved rod made of glass and brass. It spins over materials originating from ghost stories or mediums that cause supernatural phenomena.
Sun Catcher
A wing-shaped suncatcher made with glass art. It looks clumsy as if made by a child, but it emits a strange light even without sunlight. If you look through it, you can see the truth.
Bell Jakdu
An item that inflicts great pain on evil people. It is used for subduing evil people, so it does not cause much harm to good people. He seems to carry it at his waist. There are several types, and in episode 200, a ritualistic 'Jakdu' twice the size and intricately decorated appeared. It would be too large to carry, so it seems to be summoned and stored using supernatural powers like goblin tricks.
Goblin Hat
An item worn on the head. It makes the wearer invisible.
Temporary Glass Prison
A voice saying 'Criminals, receive your bonds' is heard, and you are transferred to a glass prison.
A glass bead-shaped item. Upon contact, it binds the target and transfers them to the Disaster Management Bureau's glass prison.
He is an early agent from before the setting that Disaster Management Bureau agents are called by nicknames was established.
He has many scars on his hands.
He has a pager attached below his left elbow and tends to subdue his opponent if communication is difficult. However, this is usually for rescue, and if there is no one to rescue, he considers escape using an 'Obangsaek' (five-colored) string from a pocket within a pocket.
He undergoes self-examinations within the agency once a week to prevent evil spirits from entering.
Smoker
He has a very cheerful way of speaking, and his catchphrase is 'Mak irae~' (Roughly translates to 'Just like that~' or 'It's like this~').
Birthday: August 29
Age: 30s (estimated)
Blood Type: B
Affiliation: Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, Dispatch Rescue Team, Hyunmu Team 1
Codename: Unknown
He has the appearance of a neat office worker and has a scar on his neck from a cold storage locker ghost story. As he has many exploration records, he is involved with many factions and has various connections. He has a cheerful way of speaking and often plays pranks on those around him, but he is responsible when it matters.
A friendly and sly personality. He is thick-skinned, even winking at Kim Sol-eum when they first meet. He seems to be good at talking, as he tells people to feel free to call him 'sunbae-nim' (senior). He is described as slick and relaxed. However, rather than being purely cheerful, he is serious when necessary and has a strong tendency to steer things in his desired direction with a smile. As one of the early named agents, he strongly believes in saving people and has begun to question the agency's tendency to prioritize saving agents. He also has many inscrutable aspects, and he is not a pushover, as seen when he intimidates Kim Sol-eum or persuades him by exploiting his weaknesses.
He was very active during the era when exploration records were mainly focused on the Disaster Management Bureau, and as a named agent, he frequently appeared in famous early exploration records. In the original exploration records, he was supposed to be contaminated as a Lucky Mart employee and disappear horribly, but his fate changed due to Kim Sol-eum.
In Kim Sol-eum's hospital room after his survival from Lucky Mart, he peels an apple and offers the finished apple to Kim Sol-eum with a wink as he wakes up. He then praises Kim Sol-eum's reverse thinking at Lucky Mart and tells him to just call him 'Agent Choi' because he's embarrassed about his agent nickname. He repeatedly urged Kim Sol-eum to join Hyunmu Team 1, but it was thwarted when Ryu Jae-gwan dragged him out of the hospital room.
He recognized Kim Sol-eum by the shape of the veins on his wrist at the Faceless Marketplace (Disaster, Ghost Story). He interrogated a flustered Kim Sol-eum, asking who told him about the place, but was very pleased when Kim Sol-eum deduced that the note was a cry for help. He then told Kim Sol-eum that it was just scary because he overexerted himself on his first mission and once again urged him to join Hyunmu Team 1. When Kim Sol-eum, hearing this, exclaimed that it was genuinely scary and burst into tears, he seemed flustered and stammered an apology to Kim Sol-eum. Afterward, he promised Kim Sol-eum that he would examine the note with the 'Tracking Rod' and reconfirm the paper note.
He was deployed to the Mermaid Tomb (Ghost Story, Disaster). He decided to return after failing to find the missing person, but decided to stay after being overwhelmed by a swarm of Grape Agents. While searching, he discovered Jin Na-sol, an elite agent, and intended to put her in a glass prison for information gathering. During the confrontation, the situation was interrupted by the Necronomicon, and he realized that the conch shell was the cure. Just as he was about to abandon the hostages captured by Jin Na-sol, he managed to rescue them with the intervention of a cat and stole Baek Sa-heon's tail to try and figure out his motives. Understanding Kim Sol-eum's intentions, he proposed to Baekilmong that they escape with the children alive. He then discovered contaminated Grape Agents and tried to send them out first, but failed. He hid Kim Sol-eum among the children and brought them to the escape ship as per the information obtained from Kang Yi-hak for 50,000 won. He successfully evacuated everyone onto the escape ship by defending with the Goblin House. Afterward, he landed in the Baekilmong Inc. Research Team office. Upon meeting Kwak Je-gang, a researcher in the office, he slyly threatened him, saying it would be troublesome under the guise of a safety inspection. When Kwak Je-gang told him to leave the contaminated individuals behind, he firmly stated that Kwak Je-gang had no authority to do so. After Kwak Je-gang left, saying they should talk again after resting, Agent Choi tried to keep the children in sight, but the children, who had just escaped the Mermaid Tomb, began to complain one by one. In an already disadvantageous situation, his expression turned cold when he and Ryu Jae-gwan were on the verge of being separated. Noticing this, Kim Sol-eum took the initiative and took the children who wanted to go to the bathroom with Lee Ja-heon, and he breathed a sigh of relief when Kim Sol-eum and the children returned safely. An hour or two later, support from the Disaster Management Bureau arrived, and they boarded an ambulance.
He took Kim Sol-eum to Team Leader Park Hong-rim (Elder).
Agent Choi had infiltrated Baekilmong Inc. as Lee Kang-heon and was aware that Kim Sol-eum was also an individual from Baekilmong. After finding the location of the dream cultivation room through a note, he watched Kim Sol-eum from behind an office chair in the dream cultivation room in a transparent state and confirmed that Kim Sol-eum was not a retiree but a spy. He threw a 'Jakdu' (a type of ritual knife) at Kim Sol-eum and was about to imprison him in a glass cell when J3 intervened, and Kim Sol-eum subdued him. He tried to persuade Kim Sol-eum to get out of the situation, but Kim Sol-eum did not fall for the persuasion and, by reciting Kim Sol-eum's habits and coping mechanisms, he was taken aback. While being disarmed by Kim Sol-eum and moving, he encountered Ho Yu-won in a taxi and received a 'Geumje' (a type of curse).
He was originally going to receive the 'Curse of Death,' but Kim Sol-eum risked his life to stop it before it happened, so he only received the 'Curse of Silence.' After Ho Yu-won left, he was treated by Kim Sol-eum and discussed Ho Yu-won's curse. He then heard Kim Sol-eum's wish to go to his house for the second time.
In the latter half of episode 199, he appears with Ryu Jae-gwan to rescue Kim Sol-eum, who was left alone during a disaster called the 'Jisanso Offering Ritual.' After their appearance, thanks to Kim Sol-eum revealing the identity of Jin-eun Ji-seung, they successfully repelled the 'evil spirits,' which is Hyunmu Team 1's specialty.
In episode 200, it was revealed that the reason he was absent on sick leave since episode 194 was not because he found it difficult to see Kim Sol-eum, who was a spy, but because he was searching for Beom Jang-gun of Daecheong-dong in Seoraksan to lift the 'Grape Curse' imposed by Ho-isa.
In episode 201, he transferred Kim Sol-eum to a glass prison without consulting anyone. After a brief investigation, his intention was for Kim Sol-eum to cut ties with Baekilmong, but Kim Sol-eum, who had many more secrets than just being a spy for Baekilmong, avoided answering. As a result, Kim Sol-eum's interrogation began in earnest, and Agent Choi strongly volunteered as an interrogator but was denied.
In episode 204, he is relieved that Kim Sol-eum has been safely released and believes that his actions, though roundabout, have succeeded. He intends to help Kim Sol-eum and have a conversation about his past actions. He expresses his gratitude to Ryu Jae-gwan for his hard work and plans to treat him to a hot spring, but Kim Sol-eum is not in the waiting room, and he only finds his resignation letter and a note.
In episode 205, after reading Kim Sol-eum's letter, he rushes out of the waiting room to search the Crystal Cave, thinking that Kim Sol-eum might not have escaped yet.
In episode 223, responding to a report, he goes to an officetel and finds Kang Yi-hak, Lee Seong-hae, J3, and Kim Sol-eum inside a transport cage. Although Kang Yi-hak says he can buy ghost story-related information at the lowest price, he ignores it and throws a 'Jakdu.' As they confront each other, Lee Seong-hae reveals all the facts about the 'Man in the Screen' ghost story except for the USB, and he retracts the 'Jakdu.' He asks Lee Seong-hae why he works at Baekilmong Inc., but the conversation ends there as Lee Seong-hae does not answer. He seems about to leave the officetel but speaks to J3 and learns that Kim Sol-eum has obtained a wish. He asks about Kim Sol-eum's whereabouts after obtaining the wish. J3 tries to look into the transport cage where Kim Sol-eum is to confirm Kim Sol-eum's intentions, but Agent Choi stops him, thinking he is about to unleash a supernatural disaster. When J3 says nothing about the transport cage, Agent Choi gives up on the conversation and changes his mind, taking out the glass prison transport device to transfer the Baekilmong employees all at once. At that moment, Team Leader Haegeum, who was with Kim Sol-eum at the Flower Golden Resort, appears and tells Agent Choi to go to the broadcasting station, so Agent Choi reluctantly heads to the broadcasting station. Even so, he calls Ryu Jae-gwan to catch the Baekilmong employees who were at the scene.
In episode 224, he hands Kang Yi-hak a gold and jade accessory and asks if he knows 'Noroo,' but only receives the answer that he is missing. However, he soon describes the appearance of Kim Sol-eum, who was wearing a security team suit, and asks if he knows such a security team employee. In response, he receives the statement that Kim Sol-eum was in the transport cage, and thus learns that Kim Sol-eum is currently working in the Baekilmong security team.
In episode 238, he appears with Ryu Jae-gwan and Lee Seong-hae while Kim Sol-eum is thinking about how to unravel the 'Seeker in the Box.'
In episode 239, he appears in Lee Seong-hae's past flashback. He contacts Lee Seong-hae, who was leaving work, using his Lee Kang-heon persona after a long time. When Lee Seong-hae asks who he is, he says it's not important and asks if he wants to know about Kang Yi-hak's whereabouts. He then makes an appointment with Lee Seong-hae and sits at a cafe with Ryu Jae-gwan. They talk about 'the employee' at the cafe, and he asks Lee Seong-hae to tell him where 'the employee' is when they go to other sites. Lee Seong-hae agrees to the request in exchange for his own request, so Agent Choi agrees to fulfill it as long as it does not harm the Disaster Management Bureau. A few days later, he receives a text message from Lee Seong-hae saying that 'the employee' is missing, and at their next meeting, he asks Lee Seong-hae to bring back traces of 'the employee.' He then uses the golden wildflower brought by Lee Seong-hae to determine the direction of 'the employee.' Thus, he came to Jisan Village with Ryu Jae-gwan and Lee Seong-hae and found Kim Sol-eum.
In episode 240, he appears to be mentally shocked when Ryu Jae-gwan and Kim Sol-eum get caught up in the 'Two Remaining Boxes Ghost Story,' where he intended to sacrifice himself, due to Ho Yu-won.
In episode 242, he attempts to perform a shamanistic ritual to summon a divine being using Ho Yu-won as a sacrifice to break the box that Kim Sol-eum and Ryu Jae-gwan entered, but it is stopped when Ryu Jae-gwan emerges from the box and intervenes. At this time, Ryu Jae-gwan grabs Agent Choi by the collar and asks why he tried to perform a ritual without even having a name to use, confirming that Agent Choi has lost his original name. When Kim Sol-eum, awakened by Ho Yu-won's call, shows abnormal behavior unlike before, he confirms that Ho Yu-won is the cause and pronounces a targeted curse on Ho Yu-won.
In episode 243, he tricks Kim Sol-eum into entering a well together to put him in a temporary glass prison, intending to return him to Baekilmong Inc. At this time, Agent Choi's 'Goblin Lantern' and Kim Sol-eum's 'Lee Heo-woon's Pleasant Research Institute Employee ID' fulfilled the conditions for entering Segwang Special City, and light erupted. Thus, he was transferred to the subway of Segwang Special City with Kim Sol-eum, Ryu Jae-gwan, Lee Seong-hae, and Eun Ha-je.
In episode 244, he confirms that Kim Sol-eum, who has transformed into a human body, is fine, wakes up the others, and explores Segwang Station (Forest Path of the End).
In episode 248, he dies, his neck caught by a noose.
In episode 249, he appears eating meat with the people who entered Segwang Special City together. It turns out they entered Segwang Special City through a dream, and his body fell at the Disaster Management Bureau headquarters, so he was fortunately able to survive. Agent Choi died and woke up from the dream, and it seems he had a severe trauma related to his neck, showing symptoms of contamination beyond PTSD, making him unable to communicate through voice and even covering his neck with cloth so he couldn't look at it. Despite this situation, Agent Choi consistently listened to Ryu Jae-gwan's reports and, upon realizing they had entered Segwang Special City through a dream, thought of Segwang Technical High School. A few days later, fully recovered, he eats meat with the experienced individuals of Segwang Special City and discusses Lee Seong-hae's whereabouts.
When Kim Sol-eum recommends 'Lizard Section Chief' as someone good to work with, he looks bewildered. When Eun Ha-je says the Section Chief is a truly strong person, Ryu Jae-gwan is confused, while Agent Choi is not surprised and jokes around. When Kim Sol-eum asks for the identity of Lee Kang-heon, Agent Choi asks him to keep it a secret and tells him about Lee Kang-heon. Lee Kang-heon is a former employee of Baekilmong Inc., and one day, a brilliant ace agent from the Disaster Management Bureau obtained Lee Kang-heon's messenger account. When Kim Sol-eum asks for more details, he says he will tell him on the day he cuts ties with Baekilmong. Then, Ho Yu-won suddenly appears, and he looks around and checks his equipment. Ho Yu-won shows a stance of not harming civilians, to which Agent Choi replies, 'Does someone like that push others into supernatural disasters?'
Equipment:
Tracking Rod
A curved rod made of glass and brass. It spins over materials originating from ghost stories or mediums that cause supernatural phenomena.
Sun Catcher
A wing-shaped suncatcher made with glass art. It looks clumsy as if made by a child, but it emits a strange light even without sunlight. If you look through it, you can see the truth.
Bell Jakdu
An item that inflicts great pain on evil people. It is used for subduing evil people, so it does not cause much harm to good people. He seems to carry it at his waist. There are several types, and in episode 200, a ritualistic 'Jakdu' twice the size and intricately decorated appeared. It would be too large to carry, so it seems to be summoned and stored using supernatural powers like goblin tricks.
Goblin Hat
An item worn on the head. It makes the wearer invisible.
Temporary Glass Prison
A voice saying 'Criminals, receive your bonds' is heard, and you are transferred to a glass prison.
A glass bead-shaped item. Upon contact, it binds the target and transfers them to the Disaster Management Bureau's glass prison.
He is an early agent from before the setting that Disaster Management Bureau agents are called by nicknames was established.
He has many scars on his hands.
He has a pager attached below his left elbow and tends to subdue his opponent if communication is difficult. However, this is usually for rescue, and if there is no one to rescue, he considers escape using an 'Obangsaek' (five-colored) string from a pocket within a pocket.
He undergoes self-examinations within the agency once a week to prevent evil spirits from entering.
Smoker
He has a very cheerful way of speaking, and his catchphrase is 'Mak irae~' (Roughly translates to 'Just like that~' or 'It's like this~').
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