Emily

How did I die?

My memories were hazy. After seeing that strange light, I couldn't recall what had become of me.

My head hurts. Feels like I'm gonna die.

The mental manipulation hit right on schedule. I clutched my throbbing skull and fought the psychic control, forcing myself to focus on the goal of my current life — General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong.

I ignored the gallery mod's attitude. The mod couldn't touch me. In the Ghost Story Gallery, there was one person you absolutely could not mess with — and that person was me. Seol In-yul, the savior.

"I'll volunteer."

I signed up for Seraphina's surveillance detail. There was another purpose beyond enjoying a cozy little date with the Manager.

The Vampire Queen might've gotten hit too.

Even the Vampire Queen might have fallen to an anomaly whose true nature no one understood. I needed to check that out.

"Hey, Puppy. You real or fake?"

Once the Manager had fallen asleep, I put the question to Puppy. I had to confirm whether she was the genuine article or a counterfeit.

What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden? More importantly — are you calling Us "Puppy"?

As expected, Puppy looked like she had no idea what I meant.

But what's the point of talking to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this woman anyway?

They propped her up as a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠world-ending threat, but Seraphina was just a washed-up bitch the Management Bureau had already put in her place. Her job as the low-tier mutt of the anomaly world was to serve as a combat power measuring stick. Whether she could even hold a candle to the Cursed Child — never mind the Mannequin Anomaly — was an open question.

...

I shut my mouth and ignored Seraphina. In the end she was just another anomaly. Getting help from her the way I had with the Mannequin Anomaly was impossible.

Why did you suddenly go quiet? Do you find Us amusing?

Rattle. Rattle.

"What was that all of a sudden?"

The Manager woke at the sound of the coffin shaking.

"She must've gotten restless, stuck in the coffin like that."

I played dumb, putting on an innocent act. I still couldn't tell whether this was the real Manager or a fake one.

Then what about the Saintess?

Eun-hwa had been consumed by an anomaly too. So what had happened to the Saintess? The ability to guess what was on the other side of a door could be explained if the anomalies had been coordinating with each other.

"We've arrived. You'll be starting work tomorrow, so get some sleep early tonight."

"Yes, ma'am."

I went into my room and pretended to sleep. After a reasonable amount of time had passed, I carefully slipped out. I was going to figure out at what point people got hunted by the anomaly.

Do they get hunted overnight?

I was gradually building resistance to the mental attacks. Moving my body felt considerably easier than in the previous loop. First I headed for In-seo's room.

I opened the door. In-seo was sleeping soundly. I crawled under the covers and pressed my fingers against a few intimate places on her body. In the previous loop, right before I died, I had touched In-seo — and there had been hard, inhuman parts. It wasn't a perfect replication the way the Mannequin Anomaly worked. Areas you couldn't see with the naked eye hadn't been copied completely.

Same as In-seo. She hasn't been replaced by an anomaly yet.

I checked every corner of In-seo's body. Nothing felt off. She still hadn't been turned.

"Mmngh… I'm too tired today. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Sorry."

I apologized to In-seo and left the room, then immediately moved on to the next one.

"Mmngh… Mister, you're being so bold."

I climbed into Eun-hwa's bed and touched her intimate places. This wasn't cheating. This was an act of saving people. I dove headfirst into the self-justification.

Eun-hwa whined, but she didn't seem to mind. Maybe because I was the only man who could drive out the Saintess illegally squatting in her body — she even started taking the initiative.

"Eun-hwa, sorry, but can you call the Saintess for me right now?"

"Right now? Okay."

Even in the middle of sleep, Eun-hwa granted my request. The atmosphere radiating from her shifted in an instant. She had switched bodies with the Saintess.

"Why the hell did you call me all of a sudden?"

The Saintess snapped at me, irritated. After I'd subdued her with my cock, she had come to despise me with a passion.

"You notice anything weird?"

"You're spouting nonsense in the middle of the night? Have you completely lost it?"

The Saintess twirled a finger against her temple. I didn't get angry. I explained calmly.

"I'm asking if you read anyone's mind today and saw something like a weird human."

I danced around it carefully. Eun-hwa still wasn't an anomaly — but the Saintess, who was an anomaly, didn't know that.

"Nope. Never seen anything like that."

So the Saintess knew nothing either.

Why are these bastards so useless?

Puppy, the Saintess — not a single useful anomaly among them. I'd figured the Saintess would be at least a little help, but she was worse than the Puppy locked up in a coffin.

"Ah, what are you thinking right now? Puppy? Is 'Puppy' what you call the Vampire Queen?"

Thinking carelessly in front of a mind-reading Saintess was a bad idea. I got away from her side in a hurry.

"Hoo… why is time speeding up?"

Through the Gallery, I checked how fast time was winding forward.

Night only lasts thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes after the sun set, it rose again. I stared at the sun that set and immediately climbed back into the sky, completely stunned.

"Is what I'm seeing real?"

If what I was looking at was genuine, just how powerful was this anomaly? I stared at reality and sank into denial. The surreal sight knocked the wind out of me for a moment.

No. This thing is still just an anomaly. I can beat it.

I clenched my teeth and clawed my will back into place. I washed up quickly and headed outside.

"Welcome. Right this way—"

Jack greeted us warmly and led us down to the basement.

"What's beyond that?"

He pointed a finger at a door.

"The light… I can see the light. Light. Light. Light!"

"Eun-hwa, what's wrong all of a sudden?"

"Run — run away!"

The woman currently in control of the body was the Saintess. She grabbed my arm and screamed — and then Eun-hwa collapsed. I carried her to the break room.

"What happened?"

A blonde beauty arrived at the break room.

"She's the guest we were supposed to invite today. She suddenly started screaming and collapsed."

"Ah… so this is her."

The staff were speaking Korean for our benefit, since we didn't speak the language. Thanks to that, I could follow the conversation without being left out.

"Ugh…"

Eun-hwa, who had lost consciousness, woke up. She clutched her head.

"Why did I collapse?"

She shook her head as if she genuinely didn't know.

"You suddenly started screaming and went down. You remember anything?"

She shook her head no. Getting a proper answer out of her looked impossible.

"Let's call it a day here. Free time from this point on."

Free time granted several hours early. Everyone returned to their own rooms. I prowled the hallway without letting my guard down.

Three minutes after In-seo went into her room, I carefully knocked on Eun-hwa's door.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I need to check.

There was a lot I wanted to ask the Saintess.

Knock, knock, knock.

Ten minutes after I knocked, Eun-hwa's door opened.

"Eun-hwa, is now a good time?"

"Huh? No."

Eun-hwa's face went cold as she shook her head. This wasn't the vacant, airheaded look she usually wore. She looked like she'd reverted to the version of herself I'd first met on the subway.

So Eun-hwa got hit earlier.

I could roughly guess when. Eun-hwa had become an anomaly down in the basement.

Light… light, huh.

I thought back to the clue the Saintess had given me — the light.

Light? I've seen that somewhere before…

Not the light from the end of the previous loop. Combining "America" with "light" brought a particular scene to mind.

Wooooong. Wooooooooong.

Before I could fully rationalize the theory, an announcement blared ordering everyone to head to the shelter.

"Already?"

Had that much time really passed?

"Mister, hurry downstairs."

Eun-hwa appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my hand, and started pulling.

"I left something behind. You go on ahead, Eun-hwa."

"Really? What did you leave?"

Eun-hwa narrowed her eyes and stepped closer. She was suspicious. One wrong word and I'd be seeing that strange light again, just like last loop.

"The announcement already went out. Wouldn't it be better to just follow what it says?"

In-seo had somehow come up behind me.

Did In-seo get hit too?

No one had gone into In-seo's room. She was team-leader level now — not short on experience or knowledge. She wasn't the type to blindly obey a broadcast.

"Manager?"

"I think following the broadcast is the right call."

The Manager had been taken by the anomaly as well.

"Th-then let's do that."

For now, I'd play along with the anomalies. When the chance came, I'd run.

When did they get hit? In their rooms?

I had no idea when the Manager and In-seo had been taken. I'd been watching the hallway the whole time, and the windows were sealed units that couldn't be opened.

"We've wasted a lot of time. Let's move quickly."

We headed for the emergency stairs. Using an elevator in an emergency was a hard no.

But to get to the basement, you're not supposed to use the basement stairs either.

The Management Bureau was the exception. The only way down to the basement was a single elevator. For now, I'd do what the anomalies wanted. We descended the stairs slowly.

"Mister, come down faster."

The group hurried down the stairs ahead of me. I controlled my pace and gradually put distance between myself and the anomalies.

"Mister? Why aren't you coming?"

I'd opened up a decent gap. Eun-hwa, sharp as ever, realized I'd changed my mind. I threw myself through the emergency door ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beside me.

Thud.

I slammed the emergency door shut and locked it. It was a door designed for the possibility of an anomaly breakout — thick enough that I felt a flicker of relief.

"Mister, open the door right now."

"In-yul, what's going on all of a sudden?"

"Open the door."

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

The anomalies pounded on the door. I ignored them and surveyed my surroundings.

"Is this a break room?"

A floor with a coffee machine, a sofa, and a vending machine. I wandered the level looking for anything that might help.

"Haa… I'd kill for even one item right now."

Even the Magic Conch Flute would have been a massive help. Unfortunately, I hadn't managed to copy it. There hadn't been time to head for the Daejeon item warehouse.

What do I do? I can't see a way out of this.

I sat on the sofa and tried to organize my thoughts. I'd wanted to save at least In-seo, but I'd failed. In this loop, I was going to have to act alone again. Frustration pulled a sigh out of me.

Click.

The cold metal pressed against the back of my head froze me solid. I was a Korean born and raised in Korea, but I knew perfectly well what a gun barrel meant.

"H-hands up."

I raised my hands obediently.

"A-are you human?"

"I'm human."

A survivor. Someone who hadn't been taken by the anomaly. Whatever method she'd used, she hadn't fallen to it.

"How did you hear the broadcast and not lose your mind?"

"I focused. So it didn't take me."

"Bullshit. I'm barely holding on with an item."

"Guess my mental fortitude is just that strong."

Most of her suspicion seemed to drain away. The gun barrel disappeared from behind my head.

"My name is Emily."

The blonde beauty introduced herself. Through her, I was able to hear everything that had happened at the American branch.