The American East Coast

What the hell.

A wave of déjà vu hit me hard. The scenes unfolding before my eyes were ones I had already witnessed—similar, yet slightly off. I clutched my head and tried to dredge up the memories, but my mind was fogged, constantly slipping sideways into other places.

“This way,” the General Manager said.

I followed her off the plane. She’ll tell me Seraphina is here next. The following scene was already forming in my head. She would point to the massive transport vehicle and explain that our secondary mission was to transfer Seraphina.

“Seraphina is inside this. For reasons I don’t fully understand, the American branch specifically requested we send her over.”

Exactly as predicted. The next line was easy to guess too.

“Is there anyone who can keep watch over Seraphina during the trip to the American branch?”

“I’ll do it.”

Again, right on cue. I raised my hand immediately and climbed into the transport vehicle. At the exact same moment as before, General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong fell asleep.

“Most merciful Lady Seraphina, do you perhaps remember me?”

Of course I remember.

“Lady Seraphina, your loyal servant stands before you. I defeated the great evil that sought to destroy both you and the world. So please, just this once, look upon me with favor.”

No.

Fuck. Seraphina’s conviction was absolute. She was going to tear me apart for the insult I had once given her.

“Lady Seraphina… does it feel to you as if the world has been rewound?”

Terrifying as she was, I still had to ask. I needed the source of this inexplicable déjà vu, and if anyone might know, it was her.

What are you talking about?

She clearly had no idea. Even the gallery posts feel familiar… The titles and threads that had gone up felt like things I had already read once before.

Shit. What is this? Did I actually regress?

The moment the word “regression” crossed my mind, my head went blank and floaty. I had definitely seen this scene, yet at the same time it felt like I hadn’t. It was different from my usual regressions, so I couldn’t be certain.

It must have happened after I fell asleep…

I frowned down at the coffin.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m uneasy.”

A creeping dread rose that the Management Bureau might have been compromised again.

“Welcome, personnel from the Korean Management Bureau. I’m Jack, head of the American branch.”

We had arrived. Same questions, same answers. Once the checks were finished, he spread his arms in welcome.

“We’ll start work in earnest tomorrow. Get some sleep early.”

“Yes.”

I entered my room but didn’t sleep. I paced instead.

What is this? What is this? What is this? Was what I saw a dream? Or just a delusion?

I couldn’t let myself sleep. The bad feeling kept me awake all night, staring at the ceiling with open eyes.

“Ah… it’s daytime.”

Morning had already come. I rubbed my exhausted eyes and sat up. No one died. The complete lack of corpses proved that nothing had happened overnight. Standing night watch had been a complete waste.

“Morning, everyone.”

In-seo came over and slung an arm around my shoulders. The soft press of her chest against me dragged a little of my scattered mind back into place.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Why? Did you sleep too much on the plane?”

“No. Just… uneasy.”

Should I explain everything to In-seo and ask for help? She was a fellow traveler who had crossed regressions in her own way. No. I’m not sure yet. Better stay quiet. I still couldn’t confirm whether a regression was even happening.

“Good morning. Did you all have a good night?”

Jack appeared in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠distance. The General Manager gave the expected polite reply.

“Please follow me.”

I held my throbbing head and trailed after him.

“This is the place. There are still a few anomalies that haven’t been fully excavated. We need you to identify their rules.”

The structure of the Management Bureau looked much the same no matter the country. Anomalies were stored underground; staff worked above. Jack led us down to the eighth basement level and pointed at a door.

“What’s beyond this door?”

“An old man with a face full of wrinkles.”

“Can you read his thoughts?”

Since it was humanoid, he must have assumed the Saintess’s ability would work.

“Mmm…”

Eun-hwa’s eyes narrowed as she concentrated.

“No. But the anomaly across the hall—I can read that one. It says, ‘All who pick me up shall be invited to my abode.’”

“I see.”

Jack scribbled something on paper, but disappointment filled his eyes; it clearly wasn’t the reaction he’d hoped for.

“Next.”

He pointed to the following room. God, I’m tired. The all-nighter was catching up hard. I rubbed my eyes, unable to fight it. They don’t really need me here. All attention was on Eun-hwa. As the tag-along who’d come to America almost by accident, I could slip away for a bit.

I carefully extracted myself from the group and entered the break room.

“Ah…”

I still couldn’t sleep. I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. With nothing else to do, I decided to check the gallery.

The gallery users were waiting desperately for me. I couldn’t bring myself to post. How the hell am I supposed to explain this? I had no way to tell the other staff about the gallery. My original plan was to say I’d come on Deputy Admin Lee Gukdo’s recommendation. Explaining about DadJokeManager and getting help had been the core of the plan, but no one here knew Lee Gukdo at all, so I couldn’t activate it.

“Ugh, we’re screwed.”

I stuffed a snack bread into my mouth. The sweet taste almost made my brain short-circuit.

“Back to the usual gallery, huh.”

It felt like time had rewound to the very first day I’d connected to the gallery.

“Not like I have a choice. I can’t exactly ask the Director if he uses the gallery.”

To protect my social standing, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠decided to shut the gallery off for now. If the chance came, I could rescue someone the way I had with Goe-bung-i. Probably.

“Ugh…”

I was staring blankly at the ceiling when the break-room door opened and someone walked in.

“Who?”

A Western beauty with hair that suited her perfectly. Tsk. I don’t speak English. I’d forgotten every word of it after getting the job.

“I’m from the Korean branch.”

Answering something was better than ignoring her, I decided.

“Ah, so you’re with that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠group.”

She spoke fluent Korean. I gave a self-deprecating little laugh of relief and leaned back against the chair.

“Where did the others go, and why are you here alone?”

“I’m exhausted. By the way, for what purpose did you request the Vampire Queen be brought over?”

“That’s classified. I can’t tell you.”

Classified after all. I had no idea what they planned to do with a top-tier anomaly. And I still can’t even guess the cause of the déjà vu.

I raked my hands through my hair. Had I really regressed? Had I actually returned to the past? If so, why did it feel so different from every other regression?

I was still sighing heavily when ten more minutes passed and Eun-hwa and In-seo returned.

“We’re all finished. Free time starts now!”

“What should we do with the leftover time?”

“Let’s head to Philadelphia. I’ve always wanted to visit the museum. We should make the most of the free hours and look around.”

“Is it alright if we just leave?”

“It’s fine. You’re not seriously thinking of working at someone else’s branch, are you?”

“No, ma’am. We’ll just head back.”

The General Manager was right. I had no desire to become a workaholic in a foreign country. On the way back we rode a large bus in relative comfort.

“So this is the Mütter Museum. I’ve wanted to come here for a long time.”

General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong’s eyes lit up as she stepped inside. It was essentially a human-body exhibition—gore and grotesque specimens on display, a holy site for gore enthusiasts.

Not many people today.

Even holy sites had quiet days. The number of visitors wandering the vast museum was noticeably small. Come to think of it, the streets outside had been strangely empty too.

“My head’s killing me. I’m going to rest over there for a bit.”

The headache suddenly intensified. I asked to be excused and sat on a bench outside the museum.

What the hell is this.

I clutched my throbbing skull. I was forgetting something. No—I was in the middle of forgetting it. What had hit me? Was I under an anomaly’s influence right now?

My head shook as if it were about to split open.

Snap.

Something inside my mind severed. At the same instant, everything became crystal clear.

Fuck. I got hit.

I had already died once. In the previous loop I had fallen asleep in a Management Bureau bed and never woken up. An anomaly? Did an anomaly get me? When the hell did the auto-save trigger?

I didn’t even know at what point the auto-save had locked in. What I did know for certain was that I had been under the anomaly’s influence from the moment I boarded the plane.

The entire American East Coast has been swallowed by an anomaly?

It had started the second I got on that flight. An extremely powerful anomaly—strong enough to seize control of the Management Bureau the way a body-snatcher would.

I have to tell them…

I started writing a gallery post. Something this important needed to be discussed with DadJokeManager, and I needed to share the situation with the General Manager and get help.

I stood up.

Wooooooong. Wooooooong. Wooooooong.

At first I had no idea what the announcement meant, so I turned on a translation app. Reading the translated text threw me into panic. Just follow it for now.

I pulled myself together and obeyed the broadcast. The large museum had a massive bunker prepared for exactly this kind of emergency.

“All personnel are inside. Closing the doors.”

Boom.

The doors sealed. Absolute darkness. Then the ceiling lights flickered on and vision returned.

“General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong! I urgently need to tell you—”

Wait… what was I about to say? I tilted my head, sinking into thought. I’m forgetting something. Something felt wrong. I had been about to tell General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong something important, yet it had vanished from my mind in an instant.

Ah…

I found the unfinished gallery post I had been writing and the memory flooded back. I had been hit by an anomaly and had already died once. Even after remembering that fact, I was already starting to forget it again.

“Fuck.”

We were screwed. The memories were slipping away once more. I immediately opened the gallery and typed a new post.

I posted to the gallery and immediately approached General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong.

“General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong. We’ve been hit by an anomaly.”

I explained the situation and asked for her help.