16
Chapter 16
The first photo I saw was of a gruesome corpse. Limbs twisted this way and that, and a belly hollowed out as if a beast had feasted on the organs beneath a pulled-up shirt. Swarms of insects crawled all over it.
Frowning, Yu Ji-yu added an explanation.
"A hiker died on this mountain. According to the autopsy, they lost their footing, tumbled down a slope, and died slowly from those injuries."
"...Isn't that normal? It seems like a typical accidental fall."
Lee Yeon-woo asked calmly. With steady eyes, he carefully examined the brutal photo for anything unusual.
'...I can't tell just by looking at it.'
It was just a corpse. Lee Yeon-woo looked away from the photo and toward the others.
"Ugh, damn."
Choi Jae-min leaned over the bench and gagged. He was no help. In contrast, Yu Ji-yu, acting like a proper senior, pointed to the report as if she had expected him not to know.
"Seems like a simple accident, right? Take a look at the next page."
Rustle—
The sound of a page turning. Lee Yeon-woo flinched slightly at his own action, closed his eyes for a moment, and then calmly reopened them to read the report.
"Oh."
Park Sang-jun's ID photo appeared. Below it was a record of a conversation, written like an interview. There were many alternating questions and answers.
Lee Yeon-woo looked up at Yu Ji-yu with a puzzled expression.
"You know him too, right, Yeon-woo?"
"Yes. Why is this man in here?"
An Exam Wanderer, Park Sang-jun.
A man who had taken the Human Qualification Exam and gone through the new employee training with him.
Yu Ji-yu let out a deep sigh.
"He tried to kill himself on this mountain. In a remote valley where no one goes."
"What? Why?"
"I heard he couldn't handle the training and quit. In that case, he would have been prescribed a Memory Eraser."
"He was... You don't need to say more."
Lee Yeon-woo silently looked at Park Sang-jun's ID photo. Somehow, he felt he understood how the man felt.
'He failed his fifth civil servant exam and had to prepare for the sixth, but when he came to his senses, time had passed without any memory of studying.'
Because he no longer had the confidence to prepare for the exam, because he couldn't hold on any longer, or perhaps because the influence of 'the reason I must die' remained in his subconscious.
'If I hadn't joined the company... No, now is not the time for these thoughts.'
After giving his cheek a sharp slap, Lee Yeon-woo began reading the materials in a businesslike manner.
"Survival? Memory loss?"
Park Sang-jun had survived. But it seemed he had experienced another strange incident.
"He said he came rushing down the mountain in a wreck, but he couldn't remember anything. He thinks he saw something and ran away because of it. But the important thing is..."
Yu Ji-yu held up four fingers in front of Lee Yeon-woo's eyes.
"The valley where Park Sang-jun intended to die is the same spot where the first death occurred, and four more people have died on this mountain since then."
"By losing their footing?"
"Yes, by tumbling down."
"In similar valleys?"
"In that same valley."
This was definitely strange. Lee Yeon-woo looked around his surroundings with wary eyes.
The white fog grew thicker than before. Visibility dwindled. Distant trees became blurred shadows, standing beyond the mist. The swaying branches and leaves looked like someone waving.
In the middle of the ominous mountain, Yu Ji-yu spoke seriously.
"Our mission is to investigate whether this is truly an Anomaly and, if so, what kind of Anomaly it is."
"That sounds dangerous."
Lee Yeon-woo steeled himself. He would be desperate, just as he was during the Human Qualification Exam, when surviving the reason he had to die, and when capturing the Author and Leonardo.
But just as the mood became grave, Yu Ji-yu suddenly relaxed her shoulders. A small smile played on her lips.
"...Well, in reality, it's usually just about finding a small clue and running away. After all, we work to make a living; there's no need to risk your life."
"Mister, you don't need to be scared. I've been on a few jobs, and I've never seen anything truly strange."
It was all lies, nonsense, and mere rumors. Anomalies weren't that common. Choi Jae-min and Yu Ji-yu laughed.
But Lee Yeon-woo couldn't let his guard down.
'It's a strange world. Nothing would be surprising if it happened.'
The right amount of tension and relaxation in his muscles. A sense of alertness in all directions. Nerves on edge to react instantly to any sign of danger.
Seeing Lee Yeon-woo's tense face, Yu Ji-yu lightly patted his forearm.
"It's fine. You're a new employee, so it's natural to be nervous. It's a good attitude."
"Mister, you're such a coward. Well, I guess you have less experience than me. I've already done over ten investigation practicums."
The people were laughing. No matter how he thought about it, they were dangerously complacent. Lee Yeon-woo opened his mouth to say something, but.
"Shall we get back to work now?"
Yu Ji-yu took back the documents. After tucking the documents into her bag, she slung it over her shoulder and stood up energetically from the bench.
"The valley where the deaths occurred in sequence is too dangerous, so let's detour and climb toward the peak that overlooks that valley. We might find some clues from there."
Yu Ji-yu pulled binoculars out of her tracksuit pocket and waved them like a glowstick.
"Safety first. Let's play it safe."
At those words, Lee Yeon-woo kept his mouth shut.
She was a senior in the Anomaly Investigation Unit. He couldn't ignore her know-how, experience, and the fact that she had survived until now. Perhaps it wasn't complacency, but confidence.
'Still, I must stay alert. Even if it looks strange, I have to keep my wits about me.'
He shook his head, gripping onto his fading focus. While following Yu Ji-yu with Choi Jae-min, Lee Yeon-woo suddenly asked a question.
"By the way, how long does it take to get to that peak?"
"Maybe a fifth of the way?"
"Ah, I see. About twenty percent..."
There was still a long way to hike. Considering the trip back down, it felt endless. Lee Yeon-woo looked up at the high peak with a bleak expression.
It was invisible, engulfed in the thick fog.
***
***
***
Walking, walking, and walking. Climbing up slopes and going down, up and down. Stepping on dirt, weeds, fallen leaves, and twigs.
Haaa— Huff—
"Wait. Let's, take, a break, a break."
"...Yeah, let's."
Plop—
Lee Yeon-woo collapsed onto the ground as if falling, struggling to lift his head to look at the sky. A sky covered by white fog like a lid. The sun, like a white dot, sat high above his head.
"We should have... arrived... a long time ago."
"That's true... that's strange. Why are we still on a mountain trail?"
A significant amount of time had passed. Even accounting for the slow pace due to Lee Yeon-woo, they should have reached the summit by now.
Yet, they were still walking. On a mountain trail without any clue if it was the base, the midpoint, or near the peak.
Yu Ji-yu brought the binoculars to her eyes, then lowered her hand irritably. She tapped the binoculars rapidly against her thigh.
Tap-tap-tap—
"I can't see anything because of the fog, there are no people, and I have no idea where we are."
"Noona. Look at this."
Choi Jae-min showed his mobile phone to Yu Ji-yu. A map app was open, with a red pin marking their current location.
"We've only made it halfway up."
"...That makes no sense."
His gesture stopped abruptly.
Yu Ji-yu glared at the map, then turned her head to look back at the path they had walked. The air was thick with white fog, and the end of the downhill path was nowhere in sight.
In the next moment, Yu Ji-yu spoke with forced cheerfulness.
"Clue collection over! Fog that makes people get lost—it's obviously an Anomaly, right? Let's go back down and report it!"
"Is that right? Or did we just get lost because of the fog?"
As soon as Choi Jae-min talked back, a palm swung toward him.
Whack—!
"Ow! Why again!"
"Trainee? How about you listen when a full-time employee is talking?"
"Geez."
Choi Jae-min pouted at her playful yet serious attitude. He knew better than to say anything more.
Yu Ji-yu turned back to Lee Yeon-woo.
"Yeon-woo? Shall we head down now? Yeon-woo?"
"Senior."
His voice trembled. Lee Yeon-woo was still sitting on the ground, staring at his mobile phone. His eyes and the hand holding the phone were shaking.
"Look at this."
"What is it?"
Yu Ji-yu approached quickly and leaned over Lee Yeon-woo's shoulder to look at the screen.
[Recent Calls]
- Chief (Outgoing call / One hour ago) : 1 minute 20 seconds
There was a call record for a call he had never made.
At a distance where their noses almost touched, Yu Ji-yu and Lee Yeon-woo locked eyes.
"Yeon-woo, did you call the Chief behind our backs?"
"I didn't. Besides, we weren't walking far enough away that I wouldn't have been heard making a call."
"Then..."
A call record with no memory of it. Standing up, Yu Ji-yu hurriedly took out her own mobile phone and dialed a speed dial number. The call connected immediately.
A voice flowed through the speakerphone.
- Yeah, what is it now?
"Chief, we're trying to head down now. The fog makes us lose our way, so we're on our way back."
- ...The rookie already reported that a moment ago?
"Reported it?"
Yu Ji-yu pressed her hand to her forehead and looked at Lee Yeon-woo. He shook his head violently, mouthing that he absolutely hadn't, that he never did such a thing. Yu Ji-yu licked her dry lips.
"Chief. We're still on the mountain. I have no memory of making a call."
- You have no memory?
Silence.
Only the sound of breathing could be heard through the speaker. Soon, the chaotic sounds of the Chief making another call, talking, and rustling through papers echoed from the phone.
After a while, the Chief spoke.
- Damn it. Since your lives aren't in immediate danger, there's no rescue team. Those bastards. They think investigators are just lab rats.
"Ah. Then we'll have to find our own way out. But we can't find the path."
Yu Ji-yu stretched her neck out like a meerkat and looked around. There was only white fog; no path was visible. Her heavy breathing hit the phone's microphone.
Hearing this, the Chief shouted. A roar that seemed to make the speaker vibrate.
- Yu Ji-yu! Get a grip! You're the senior, you can't be like this! If you misstep now, you'll die! Stay calm!
"Ah, yes. Calmly. I'll be calm."
Hoooo—
She took a deep breath and regained her composure. Having listened to her breathing, the Chief spoke as if he had been waiting.
- And, take good care of that student who does Parent Identification. Listen to the rookie. That kid is likely the best at surviving.
"Right. Yes."
- Just come back alive. There'll be a reward when you return.
"A reward?"
Having calmed down, Yu Ji-yu's eyes sparkled.
- I think that fog could be used for Memory Erasers. Since it contributes to the supply of those lacking Memory Erasers, the compensation won't be small.
"I'll definitely make sure to come back alive."
- Right. See you later.
Click. The call ended.
Yu Ji-yu put the phone in her pocket, then immediately took it out and gripped it again. To compensate for a mind that might lose its memories, she turned on the video recording.
The screen of the recording phone captured Lee Yeon-woo and Choi Jae-min. They looked as if they were waiting for her words. Yu Ji-yu's voice reached the microphone.
"Ahem. Trainee. Junior. From now on, our top priority is descending the mountain. The investigation is over, so the goal is to return safely. Therefore, let's each keep a record in case of memory loss."
"Understood."
"Yes, Noona."
Lee Yeon-woo opened his notepad and wrote a few words.
12:35 PM : Memory loss confirmed. Descend with caution.
He pinned that to his home screen.
Click—
Meanwhile, Choi Jae-min took a selfie and wrote a few sentences over the photo. He then opened the map app again.
"I'll keep checking the route."
"Good, well done. Let's head down."
Yu Ji-yu took the lead and began descending the slope. Soon, the three figures vanished into the fog. A secluded mountain. The shadows of trees, birds, and beasts murmured.