Gaeun/Counter Case

## TASKFORCE Visit #1

> *HRT Berry's visit to TASKFORCE, which could have become regular content for its show, ended after the first time.*
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Gaeun and Miya are streaming their tour of Coffin Company HQ. At the front entrance, Kim Hana welcomes the two and introduces them to the CEO, the Machine G.A.P. The Machine G.A.P. acts boastful as usual and shows the girls around the building, but Miya notices Gaeun is unusually more quiet than usual. Gaeun formally greets the Machine G.A.P, calling it "Teacher", and asks if it has ever visited the country of Gronia. Machine G.A.P. claims not to know anything about Gronia, saying he avoids international affairs of nations, but Gaeun easily recognizes the robot's modulated voice as the Administrator's, who rescued Gaeun from a Corrupted Area in Gronia. The Machine G.A.P. continues to deny Gaeun's claims and runs off, leaving Hana as the sole tour guide for the girls.

After the streamed tour is over, Miya asks Gaeun what her deal was with the Machine G.A.P., but Gaeun remains silent.

## In-depth Report

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> *HRT Berry's irregular content for its show with the hidden camera-practical joke theme.*
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The HRT Berry crew grows worried about Gaeun, who has been looking down since the stream with Coffin Company, so the team decides to stealthily follow her in hopes of finding out what has been bothering her. They decide to stream themselves doing so under the pretense of simply documenting Gaeun's everyday life. The girls find Gaeun playing on a claw machine and notice her getting more and more frustrated as she continues to drop and lose her prize. This goes on until sunset when Gaeun finally wins and happily leaves with her prize. Lumi goes up to the arcade clerk and asks what Gaeun won, and the clerk says she got a robot doll resembling the Machine G.A.P. as well as a bonus gentleman doll. Lumi realizes Gaeun looking for the Coffin Company CEO while Miya says they should keep quiet until Gaeun opens up to them herself.

Meanwhile, Gaeun is happy to have won her prizes but grows worried that "Teacher" might have truly forgotten who she is. Yuna Springfield spots her and gives a pamphlet of Cafe Strega to her, announcing that the store has opened a new branch in the city. To celebrate, the witches will grant the store's first customer any wish they want.

## Hospital Patient's Journal

> *The highest-ranking officer's personal record.*
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On the day before her eyesight was fully restored, Gaeun was given a diary to write in by a nurse.

In it, Gaeun first recounts how she was rescued from a child-trafficking ring in Gronia. Gaeun, who was blind at the time, barely escaped from the warehouse located within a Corrupted Area and encountered the Administrator, who was looking for a specific computer part that was rumored to be in the area. The Administrator asked her to call him "Teacher" and took her in. While traveling across the country, the Administrator taught Gaeun about the world and how to cook.

Eventually, the Administrator and Gaeun arrived at a refugee camp in Charade, where Gaeun was given immediate medical care and later granted asylum by the Administration. She was soon taken to a hospital where her eyesight was restored but realized that the Administrator had suddenly left her behind. In a written note given to her, the Administrator apologized for leaving her so abruptly, explaining that he was involved in dangerous work and didn't want to put her in harm's way because of him. At the end, he told her to keep smiling. Gaeun was upset but resolved to find him again someday.

## Consultation Record

> *The highest-ranking officer's personal record.*
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Gaeun arrives at Cafe Strega to have her wish granted just before closing time. However, the promotion as advertised by Yuna turned out to be an unauthorized marketing ploy, so Laura Beatrix demands Gaeun to leave. Evelyn Keller, being a HRT Berry fan, gets an autograph and coaxes Laura into at least hearing Gaeun out.

After Gaeun tells her story to the witches, Laura hands her a revealing dress that she claims will make her less shy, though Evelyn recognizes it as the dress Laura planned to curse and use on undesirable customers. Additionally, Ingrid gives her a pair of shoes while Yuna gives her a tiara to go along with it. Unbeknownst to the two of them, however, those accessories have magical properties— the shoes uplift the wearer's mood while the tiara makes them ignore any distractions. Gaeun reluctantly puts them all on and suddenly becomes very cheery and excited before heading off to see the Administrator. Laura realizes Yuna's and Ingrid's mistakes but decides not to go after Gaeun.

As the Administrator and Lee Sooyeon discuss about the incident with HRT Berry, Gaeun breaks through all of Coffin Company HQ's security measures and makes it all the way to the CEO office. Sooyeon offers to fend Gaeun off while the Administrator escapes, but the Administrator decides to confront the girl instead. Gaeun becomes aggressively jealous of Sooyeon, but the magic wears off and reverts her back to normal before the situation can escalate. Gaeun faints from exhaustion and embarrassment. Before she calls the hospital, Sooyeon urges the Administrator to have a proper and honest conversation with Gaeun.

## Never Forever

> *......*
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After receiving an apology from Choi Ina for Gaeun's behavior, the Administrator visits Gaeun at the hospital but tells her that she is dreaming right now. Gaeun apologizes to him and asks why he left her behind that day, and the Administrator answers that he just doesn't want to put her in danger by being too close to her. Gaeun worries she won't be able to see him ever again, but the Administrator suggests she can make him smile once a week. Before she "wakes up", Gaeun requests him to hold her hand once more and thanks him.

On his way back to HQ, the Administrator asks Sooyeon to send a proposal to HRT Berry for them to produce a weekly show on their company every Thursday.