Management Bureau
Management Bureau
"Whew, this is tough..."
"Agent-nim, wasn't this your original workplace?"
Management Bureau agent Lee Seo-ah and Infantry member Kim Hyun-woo were currently climbing a mountain.
"That may be, but the mountain is too big... To look around in one day, we have to move quickly."
"Is that so?"
They had been walking for half a day, but had only managed to reach the mountainside. Since they didn't know where the anomaly had appeared, they had to search the entire mountain.
"Last night, the readings spiked once... I wonder if there really is something..."
"If there is, if we can handle it ourselves, we'll deal with it; if not, we'll request support from headquarters."
The equipment they brought was simple. Lee Seo-ah had an anomaly detector, Goei suppression grenades, and a memory eraser just in case. Kim Hyun-woo had a self-defense pistol, a radio, etc.
Since it was a mountain with many civilians, they disguised themselves as mountain rescue personnel, and the pistol was kept inside their clothes so it wouldn't be visible.
This mission was simply a patrol, so the use of force was minimized. If a Goei appeared beyond an anomaly, the equipment was insufficient for forceful suppression. At most, they would have to hit the Goei with Lee Seo-ah's grenade and retreat while requesting support from headquarters.
Lee Seo-ah, who had only been with the Management Bureau for half a year, seemed unfamiliar with this situation and kept showing anxiety. However, Kim Hyun-woo had been with the Management Bureau for about two years, so he maintained a relatively calm demeanor.
"Hye, Hyun-woo ssi, have you encountered many anomalies...?"
"Yes. I've encountered many anomalies and met Goei a few times. That's because the Infantry encounters them the most."
"I, I see... Have you ever tried to eliminate them?"
"...No."
At Lee Seo-ah's question, Kim Hyun-woo's expression darkened slightly. He was silent for a moment before speaking.
"...They are very difficult for humans to eliminate. Our main tasks are buying time, or being high-quality sacrifices. Since each entity has different peculiarities, we are the ones who identify them."
"Ah..."
Lee Seo-ah let out a sigh as she heard a fact darker than the rumors she had heard. Flustered, she hesitated and then spoke with difficulty.
"I, I'm sorry. I said something unnecessary."
"No. It's the truth, after all. You don't need to dwell on it too much. You can't last long if you do."
"Is that so..."
"Yes. Rather, shouldn't we move faster? Let's go."
"Ah, yes!"
'Why did I take the lead...'
Kim Hyun-woo thought. This woman is such a rookie.
Usually, among Management Bureau agents and Infantry, the one with higher rank is the Management Bureau agent. So, unless it's a special situation, the Management Bureau agent has command authority. But in Kim Hyun-woo's opinion, this agent named Lee Seo-ah didn't seem capable of properly carrying out the mission.
'Although command authority lies with the agent-nim... If something happens, I should be prepared to take the agent and escape.'
Kim Hyun-woo secretly steeled himself, thinking his own burden was heavy. Lee Seo-ah was just sweating and struggling to climb the mountain.
"The detector is quiet too... I hope the patrol ends safely like this..."
"That would be the best."
As they walked along the path, they discovered a girl coming down the path.
'Modified hanbok...? An unusual outfit. And on a weekday like this.'
A girl wearing a pure white modified hanbok. She was Lee Ji-yeon, who had defeated a Goei the previous day.
After defeating the Goei and staying at a nearby house, she buried the hairpin in the grave in the morning and was on her way down.
She also encountered the two Management Bureau people and realized they were not ordinary.
'...There's a gun inside their clothes. And that is... I see. The Management Bureau.'
Through spiritual power detection, she realized that there were Management Bureau items inside their clothes.
'Did they come after detecting the Goe-ryeok-nan-sin from the previous day? Even so, they're too late.'
In any case, it wasn't her business. If she were close to the Management Bureau, it might be different, but basically Spirit Users maintain neutrality, so she decided to pass them by.
The two Management Bureau personnel also thought she was a bit peculiar and tried to pass by. Until the detector went off.
Beep-
"....! Stop! Stop right there!"
"....?"
The moment Lee Ji-yeon passed the Management Bureau personnel, the detector reacted. That meant the anomaly was directed at her.
Judging her as an anomaly, Kim Hyun-woo quickly drew the pistol from inside his clothes and aimed it at Lee Ji-yeon. In response, Lee Ji-yeon's eyes tinged with a faint blue light.
Thud-!
"Kuh...!"
"What is this?"
Something struck Kim Hyun-woo's hand strongly, and the pistol was knocked away by the impact. In the sudden situation, Lee Ji-yeon had reflexively counterattacked.
"The Management Bureau pointing a gun at a person. Is that your so-called cause? If so, I'm disappointed."
Lee Ji-yeon was displeased. Was their cause of eliminating Goe-ryeok-nan-sin to bring peace to the world a lie?
Despite Lee Ji-yeon's attitude, Kim Hyun-woo urgently called Lee Seo-ah. With his means of force gone, he only thought of retreating.
"Whew, whew... Agent Lee Seo-ah, request reinforcements right now. The grenade."
"No, no. Wait... something's strange."
Unlike Kim Hyun-woo, who quickly judged and tried to respond, Lee Seo-ah seemed to have sensed something from the other party's attitude.
"This is no time to dawdle. The opponent is definitely a parasitic type. Quickly..."
"Wait a moment! You there, are you a shaman?"
"...A shaman?"
"Yes, those faintly glowing blue eyes... It's a characteristic of Spirit Users who use spiritual power. You're human. You're not parasitized either."
Only then did Kim Hyun-woo look at Lee Ji-yeon's eyes. As Lee Seo-ah said, her eyes were glowing blue.
Kim Hyun-woo sighed.
"Ah, really... That's it. If she were parasitized, it wouldn't be blue..."
"Yes, Hyun-woo ssi misjudged."
"...I really have no words. I was thinking of saving the agent-nim..."
"...Ahem. Are you finished talking?"
Then, Lee Ji-yeon intervened in the conversation. Having heard their conversation, she understood what had happened and treated them with a slightly softened heart.
"Ah, yes! I'm sorry again! Due to lack of experience, I couldn't judge properly in that moment! I didn't intend to be hostile towards you."
"...It's fine. I also used force reflexively."
Lee Ji-yeon also had no room to talk since she used force reflexively. In the end, they decided to treat it as if it never happened, and brought up the main point.
"So, what was the reason for pointing a gun at me?"
"That is..."
"Because an anomaly was detected from you."
"Hmm? An anomaly?"
Lee Ji-yeon tilted her head. The anomaly they spoke of must be related to Goe-ryeok-nan-sin...
'Is it because I had the hairpin? But I buried it in the grave hours ago...'
"Yes, so about that, could you come with us to headquarters?"
"Management Bureau headquarters? I'd rather not set foot there."
The Management Bureau chose a method more efficient than simply eliminating Goei. Using the power of Goei to eliminate Goei. Naturally, their headquarters, the main base, had countless remnants of Goei attached.
"Still, there's no choice. If you refuse here, we'll have to take coercive measures."
Even at this moment, the detector was ringing towards Lee Ji-yeon. Although the reading was small enough to only ring when they were close enough to brush clothes, since there was a reaction, they had to take her to the Management Bureau for inspection.
Kim Hyun-woo looked at Lee Seo-ah with newfound eyes. Unlike just before, when she was afraid of what to do if an anomaly appeared, when something actually happened, she clearly sorted things out.
'...Was I the one who wasn't helpful?'
Although it was his first time being assigned a mission with just an agent, his two years of experience at the Management Bureau felt lacking. Kim Hyun-woo decided to reflect.
"...I understand. I'll go with you for now."
"Yes, thank you for your cooperation."
Having secured Lee Ji-yeon's cooperation, Lee Seo-ah smiled and looked at Kim Hyun-woo.
"That's good, Hyun-woo ssi! The anomaly turned out to be the shaman!"
"Ah, is that so..."
"Yes! I was worried it might be something like a ghost with its head cut off, but I'm really relieved!"
"Haha..."
Seeing Lee Seo-ah return to her previous state after things were over, Kim Hyun-woo let out a dry laugh. Lee Ji-yeon followed behind them.
And so they headed to the Management Bureau headquarters.
"There is no abnormality."
"Hmm..."
Park Jae-hong, the leader of Patrol Team 3 of the Korean branch of the Management Bureau, sighed as he looked at the test results handed by the researcher. It was too clean.
"Strange. The detector reacted, but the test shows nothing? Is that possible?"
"Well, the reading detected by the detector was very small. It seems that it was indeed the remnant of the Goei defeated the previous day. If you think that way, it matches the shaman's statement."
"Then... that means it's a different reaction from the one detected four days ago."
The shaman said she went up the mountain the previous day and defeated a Goei. She wasn't on the mountain before that. Then what was the reaction detected four days ago? Park Jae-hong sighed.
"This is a headache... The shaman?"
"She finished the test and is in the waiting room. Shall I send her out?"
"I'll talk to her."
"Understood."
Park Jae-hong headed to the lounge. Entering the waiting room, Lee Ji-yeon was sitting quietly on the sofa with her eyes closed.
"Lee Ji-yeon ssi. The test results are out. There were no abnormalities."
"That would be the case."
"So I'm asking, were there any peculiarities when you defeated the Goei? For example, encountering another Goei."
"No, such a thing..."
At that moment, Lee Ji-yeon remembered the moving dirt and paused for a moment. Park Jae-hong quietly observed her.
After being lost in thought for a while, she shook her head and said.
"No such thing existed."
"...I see."
Park Jae-hong nodded. At the same time, he got up and said.
"The test results are normal, so you may go now. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Not at all. Then I'll be going."
Lee Ji-yeon quickly left the Management Bureau building. As she left, Park Jae-hong gave an order.
"Put that shaman under surveillance. There's definitely something."
The instinct honed over decades in the field was telling him.
The shaman was hiding something.