Another Reptilian?
Another reptilian? …………… ……Sigh.
I took the elevator down to the basement this time.
Now I just need to get back to Baek Sehee.
I checked the time on my phone. For a quick breather, it had taken a bit longer than expected. But whatever—there's nothing to do in the training hall except play games anyway. No one would chew me out for being away from my desk a little too long, right?
I could just slip back in like nothing happened.
As I entered the training hall, Baek Sehee greeted me.
"Yujin, where did you go?"
"Oh, just stepped out for some air."
"I see."
Baek Sehee smiled. She didn't press further and just nodded.
Nice, she bought it.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Come to think of it, it was ridiculous to get worked up over something like this in the first place. What was the big deal about taking a break on the rooftop and running into Kang Haneul?
I'd been a little scared and fibbed a bit, sure, but still.
Anyway, Baek Sehee was a reasonable person. Even if she suspected something, she'd let it slide.
Reassuring myself like that, I returned to Baek Sehee's office in the corner of the training hall.
I still wasn't in the mood for games like before my little outing. So I just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Kang Haneul…….
Today's events had been truly shocking. Kang Haneul, who had sliced off her own leg and was still smiling even as blood poured out. Kang Haneul, crawling toward me, begging for forgiveness with tears streaming down her face, yet smiling all the while.
I'd managed to smooth it over somehow…… but it was a horrific scene.
I'd never forget that side of her. Not even after returning to my original world.
At that moment—
"Yujin."
The door opened, and Baek Sehee came in.
"Ah, Sehee."
Baek Sehee sat down next to me.
"It's nothing major, just something I'm curious about."
She tilted her head slightly. The corners of her mouth curved up into a sweet smile.
But that smile felt somehow chilling.
"Where did you go earlier, and who did you meet?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm wondering who you met and what you did. Sounded like a woman."
"Uh……."
I'm screwed.
My mind went blank.
Baek Sehee's smile lingered on her lips. But I could sense what hid behind it.
She knew. She knew I'd met someone.
This wasn't idle curiosity. She already suspected the answer and was just confirming it.
"W-Well, that is……."
My mouth wouldn't work right. Should I lie? Or tell the truth?
She wouldn't buy a lie. She was asking because she already had a rough idea.
But telling the truth? The moment I said, "I met Kang Haneul," I couldn't even imagine her reaction.
One thing was certain, though. It wouldn't end well.
No good options. Whichever I chose, only disaster awaited.
"I, uh…… just some air……."
My words stumbled out.
Baek Sehee's face remained smiling.
"Yujin, you know about the reptilian intrusion alert at the Association HQ last time, right?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"So, I actually attached an ultra-precise tracker to your clothes. Just in case some bad person…… targets your left leg this time."
"………."
My throat went dry. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was parched.
Baek Sehee just watched me, waiting for my answer.
This is getting really bad.
I racked my brain desperately, but nothing good came to mind.
"I……."
"Yes."
"The truth is……."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Just say it. If I'm going to get caught anyway, better to be honest.
The moment I opened my mouth—
Weeeeeeeng——!!
Suddenly, an alarm blared throughout the entire building. Earsplitting sirens wailed as the emergency lights in the hallway ceiling flashed red.
"……Tch."
Baek Sehee clicked her tongue.
"Yujin, we'll talk later. Looks like we have to deploy now."
Baek Sehee stood up.
"Stay here. I'll be right back."
"Ah, okay."
Baek Sehee opened the office door and left. I heard her voice calling for the Dimensional Gate special response team members in the training hall.
Soon, the footsteps faded away.
"……Phew."
Cold sweat trickled down my back. My whole body went limp, and I slumped against the chair.
I survived.
No, survived wasn't quite right. This was more like a stay of execution.
Baek Sehee would ask about it again when she returned. I'd have to answer then.
But not now. For the moment, I'd bought some time.
At the same time, an uneasy feeling lingered.
A reptilian invasion, and an S-rank one at that.
……Again?
An S-rank invasion was on the level of a national crisis. Yet these massive Dimensional Gate incursions were happening too frequently.
Something felt off.
But I didn't have the bandwidth to worry about that now. I had to wait here until Baek Sehee got back.
And…… figure out what to say.
……………
I was alone now. Baek Sehee and the response team had been gone for a while.
The training hall was empty.
"Hmm, what now."
With nothing to do, I spun around in my chair.
Baek Sehee would return to the Association HQ eventually. I had to wait here until then.
No telling how long it'd take. It could end in 30 minutes like the Jongno S-rank last time. Or in the worst case, drag on for over a day.
I couldn't just sit here twiddling my thumbs the whole time.
Going home alone was out of the question. No house key without her, and more importantly, she hated me acting on my own.
"Maybe hit the cafe on the first floor?"
The place where Baek Sehee had helped me by telling me to cut ties with Kang Haneul as my manager.
……It sounded like a spot loaded with ominous memories, but really, it was just a everyday hangout.
A sweet drink and some dessert to cool my head didn't sound bad.
Yeah, let's go. Gotta brainstorm excuses anyway.
I needed a solid answer for Baek Sehee about "who I met while getting air." A hasty excuse wouldn't fly.
Whether truth, lie, or a mix, it had to be polished and convincing. Crafting that took deep thought—and sugar.
I stood up, left the training hall, and walked down the corridor.
Just take the elevator and—
"……Eek?!"
Suddenly, someone was standing right in front of me.
I yelped in surprise.
The mysterious figure was a woman. Dressed as an Association staffer.
But I had no idea when she'd appeared. There'd been no one ahead of me moments ago, and the elevator doors were still closed.
Yet suddenly, she was there—like she'd been standing in that spot from the start.
What the hell is this person?
"Wh-Who are you……?"
I stammered, and she finally spoke.
The staffer stared straight at me. Her face held no expression whatsoever. No smile, no fluster—nothing. Just…… blank.
"Forgot me already?"
"……Pardon?"
I couldn't make sense of it. Forgot? What was there to forget? If she meant she'd met me before, I had no memory of her.
"I don't think we've met…… first time seeing you."
The woman didn't respond. She just kept staring.
And then—
"……Ah."
The woman murmured softly.
"My mistake. I forgot to release the shapeshift."
Shapeshift?
No sooner had she spoken than her form warped.
Warped might be too strong a word. More like…… paint bleeding, outlines distorting into a new shape.
In just a few seconds.
"……!"
The person standing there was no longer an Association staffer.
First, her height shot up enormously. Easily over 2 meters.
Her face changed too. Eerily smooth, eyes too large, proportions somehow off.
And…… vertically slit pupils.
"Zerk Makerberg!?"
The Feystagram CEO. Head of a mega-corporation. The enigmatic figure who'd revealed my ability's secret.
Why was he here?
Makerberg looked down at me. His expression remained emotionless.
"Remember me now?"
"What…… how did you transform like that?"
Makerberg observed me for a moment, then shifted again.
His form distorted once more. Height shrank. Face changed.
Back to the Association staffer.
"I had no choice to disable the alarm system."
"……What?"
"This building's security detects our species' particles. In my true form, I'd be spotted in minutes."
Makerberg—in the form of the Association staffer—explained flatly.
"A disguise was necessary."
"……."
Chills ran down my spine.
What the hell was going on?
……………
Instinctively, I backed away.
At this point, I couldn't help but suspect—even if I tried not to.
Zerk Makerberg had always been suspicious. Let's piece it together.
First: When Makerberg suddenly appeared in Baek Sehee's office. He left just seconds after she stepped out, boarding a limo outside on the first floor. Physically impossible without leaping out the window. Super speed.
Second: The Makerberg disguised as an Association staffer instantly shifted to his true form, then back. Shapeshifting.
Third: [Our species' particles are detected.] His words just now. Our species. Would a human say that?
It had happened at our first meeting too. Minutes after talking with Makerberg, the entire Association HQ blared with reptilian particle detection alarms. And he fled in a hurry.
The puzzle pieces clicked in my mind.
Super speed. Shapeshifting. Reptilian particle detection.
All evidence pointed to one conclusion.
"You……."
My throat burned dry. I tried to swallow, but it stung.
"What are you, really?"
Makerberg—in staffer form—didn't answer. He just stared blankly.
"No way…… you're actually a reptilian?"
Honestly, even I couldn't believe my own words.
Absurd. Zerk Makerberg was the Feystagram CEO. Head of a mega-corp, one of the world's richest.
A reptilian? Impossible.
But Makerberg nodded. Casually, as if it were nothing.
"Correct."
"………."
It was ridiculous.
An alien species invading Earth. Monsters pouring through Dimensional Gates to attack humanity.
And one was disguised as a human, posing as Feystagram's CEO, hiding in human society.
"How long…… how long have you been masquerading as human?"
"Quite a while."
Makerberg replied.
"But that's not important now."
Makerberg took a step closer.
"Don't fear. I have no intention of harming you right now."
"Then……."
"No time. Straight to the point."
Makerberg's—no, the reptilian wearing the staffer's face—mouth opened.