A World Without the Bureau
I stared blankly at the unfamiliar building for a moment. Our Bureau building had vanished without a trace, replaced by a towering structure I'd never seen before. The strangest part was that everything else looked exactly the same. The convenience store over there was still there... only the building had been swapped out.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Could the Bureau have transformed somehow? I asked with a hint of hope.
"This is truly astonishing."
Jaaldi seemed just as clueless about the situation. What would the Bureau's department head not know?
"The possibilities I can imagine are two. One: while we were out on our business trip, something massive happened and the Bureau really disappeared. Two: something was off from the moment we found the body. We've fallen into an anomalous space that makes it look like the Bureau doesn't exist."
I nodded instinctively at her cool analysis. That was the kind of insight you'd expect from the Bureau's department head.
"If something happened that could make the Bureau disappear, the world wouldn't still be intact."
Instead of panicking over this bizarre situation, I decided to analyze it calmly and figure out a solution. After all, sudden disasters were just another day at the office for an agent. No point in being surprised now.
"Wouldn't you agree?"
"There are so many disasters that could occur if the Bureau vanished that I couldn't even begin to list them all."
"Exactly. That makes the second option seem far more likely."
It made more sense to assume we'd fallen into an anomalous space.
"I agree. It could be something like a parallel world."
"A parallel world...!"
So that's it! We're in some kind of parallel world!
"For now, we can work under that assumption. There are ghost stories like that, aren't there? Ones where people suddenly shift into a parallel world. Like the Mandela Effect, for example."
"People thought they were just misremembering, but really they'd moved to a parallel world where things were different."
"Yes."
In reality, the Mandela Effect ghost story claims that people from a world where Mandela was dead had unknowingly shifted to one where he was alive.
"Very well. Let's proceed under the assumption that this is a parallel world."
"Understood. But will we be able to get back?"
"Don't worry too much. We'll find a way."
Jaaldi patted my shoulder encouragingly.
"Besides, a parallel world without the Bureau sounds fascinating. How do they handle anomalies here?"
"I'm wondering the same thing."
Could it be a world with neither anomalies nor the Bureau? Before getting caught up in ghost stories, I'd thought I lived in such a world.
"..."
At this point, I felt a certain sense of foreboding. What if I wasn't just someone who'd shifted into a parallel world... What if I'd actually lived in that kind of world all along? What if this was my original world?
"For now, I'll check the area around the Bureau. There are various secret external facilities connected to the Bureau. I'm curious what happened to those as well."
"Wait, there were facilities like that?"
"Yes."
We got back in the car. I pushed aside my stray thoughts. This situation was puzzling, but with the reliable Bureau department head by my side, it didn't feel too terrifying. Now that we knew it was an anomalous space, all we had to do was escape. With Jaaldi leading the way and me assisting, we'd manage.
"I'll just trust you completely, Team Leader."
"Leave it to me. I've handled all sorts of situations on my way up to department head. I've escaped anomalous spaces alone more times than I can count, just like you, Grong."
"As expected of the Bureau's department head!"
"Hmph... I'll show you what I can do."
So I was finally going to witness Jaaldi's power, comparable to Department Head Lee Do-hyeong!
* * *
We headed to the locations of the Bureau's disguised secret facilities with Jaaldi, but as expected, those too had been replaced by different buildings.
"Just as I thought."
"Let's check two more places."
Those two were the same. It was as if everything related to the Bureau had simply vanished. We hadn't encountered any anomalies on the way either. It truly felt like a world where only the "Bureau" was missing.
"It seems highly likely that this is a parallel world without the Bureau."
"Yes. Wait a moment, Team Leader. There's still Sejeong-ge, though."
Sejeong-ge itself was still here. I couldn't feel any difference. I could even log in. But the chat room link Padak had given me wasn't working.
"The chat room I used to contact Padak is down. It doesn't seem like I can reach him either."
"Understood. We'll set that aside for now."
After all, Sejeong-ge wasn't the priority right now. There was something else that bothered me more.
"But Team Leader, if this is a parallel world without the Bureau, what happened to the Vatican faction or the Islamic faction?"
If the Bureau didn't exist, what would become of those two factions?
"We can't know for sure. But I have a feeling the Islamic faction wouldn't be here."
"Why is that?"
"You mentioned last time that Saladin, the highest-ranking Islamic holy warrior, came to Korea."
Our Sal-hyung! It had been so long since I'd heard that name!
"We don't know his purpose for coming. But... if he arrived in a world without the Bureau, he'd be able to operate freely on Korean soil without any restrictions."
"That's true."
"Then it wouldn't be strange if Korea had become an Islamic nation."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. But there's no sign of that happening."
Wait, could our Sal-hyung really turn Korea into an Islamic country? Did that even make sense? A large-scale terrorist attack seemed more plausible.
"Anyway, it seems we don't have enough information right now. We need intel."
"Hmm... Ah, that place looks good."
"Where?"
"That PC bang."
A PC bang?
"Let's go in and gather some information."
"Team Leader, are we really having agents search the internet from a PC bang? Doesn't that seem a bit undignified?"
"The Bureau isn't here. We have no choice. Let's find out how this world differs from the one we know through searches. It's inconvenient to do it on our phones."
"That's true. Understood."
We parked and entered the PC bang with Jaaldi. Come to think of it, it had been ages since I'd been to one.
"This seat looks secure."
"It's a couple's seat."
The couple's seats were designed for two people, which made them feel more private. So Jaaldi and I sat in a couple's seat and started searching.
"Should we order some food?"
As I looked over the menu, Jaaldi stared at my screen with interest.
"It's quite well-equipped."
"Most PC bangs are like this these days."
"But isn't the menu a bit like a rest stop's?"
"Oh, yeah, it is."
There were quite a few overlapping items.
"I'll have coffee."
"Then I'll get ramen too."
"Ramen?"
"Should I order some for you too, Team Leader?"
"No need."
After ordering food, we began searching. The key was figuring out how this parallel world differed from ours. We probably wouldn't get any real insider information from the internet, but we could grasp the general flow. For example, if the president had changed, that would be a major difference. Keeping that in mind, our food arrived while we searched.
"Whoa!"
Steam was rising from it. Even though we'd gotten caught up in an anomaly, there hadn't been any major danger, and more importantly, being with Jaaldi made me feel so secure that my appetite was raging.
"Let's eat!"
Just as I was about to take a bite with my chopsticks, I felt a gaze.
"..."
Jaaldi was staring straight at me.
"Team Leader? Do you want some?"
"Give it here."
"Huh?"
"Order another one."
"What! You're just taking mine?!"
"I should've ordered my own... You carefree brat. Do you even realize we've fallen into an anomaly? You're eating like it's nothing."
"You're really taking it! Ah!"
In the end, Jaaldi snatched my ramen away. Left with no choice, I ordered spicy beef ramen and went back to searching. That was how we filled our stomachs and finished gathering information. There were no differences. The president was the same, and Jaaldi said she hadn't found any changes after focusing on specific events.
"A parallel world without the Bureau... Team Leader, if this is a parallel world, there's one thing I'd like to check."
"What is it?"
"My parents. They'd still be here, right?"
Jaaldi, sitting in the driver's seat, crossed her arms and leaned back.
"If the only difference is the Bureau, then yes."
That made sense.
"But."
"Yes?"
"Honestly, I don't recommend it."
"Why not?"
"Do you know about doppelganger ghost stories?"
"Yes, I do."
"If you carelessly go to see your parents, a terrible tragedy could occur. I think we shouldn't make contact with anyone we know in this world."
"Hmm..."
"Even if they're your parents from a parallel world, it wouldn't feel good if something went wrong."
It was a convincing argument. If this really was a parallel world, there would be another version of me living here. If that led to something like a doppelganger appearing... who knew what would happen.
"Don't go."
Jaaldi's red eyes turned toward me. Was this a rational order? Or... was she stopping me? I couldn't tell.
"Understood. If that's what you say, Team Leader, then not going is the right call."
But I couldn't go against Jaaldi in this anomalous space.
"Still, if we learn more about this place, it should be fine to sneak a look later."
"That's true. We can't act rashly right now."
After that, we continued driving around with Jaaldi.
* * *
Evening. In the end, we hadn't found anything more. The more we searched, the more certain we became that this was a parallel world without the Bureau. Because of that, our investigation targets had narrowed.
"We need to investigate that building that replaced the Bureau."
"Yes. That's it, ultimately."
That building standing where the Bureau had been. There might be some secret hidden there.
"Let's eat dinner first and rest. Is there anything you want to eat?"
"It feels like we've only been snacking today. How about meat?"
"Sounds good. There's a barbecue restaurant up ahead."
"Hehe, I'll grill it for you."
After all, agents knew all the restaurants near the Bureau very well. Finding the location wasn't a problem. We parked right away and headed to the barbecue place. It was lively inside. Since it was dinner time, the place was packed.
"The barbecue restaurant's name is the same too."
"How many?"
"Ah, two people."
"Please sit over there."
"Yes, Team Leader. Let's go over there."
Following the guide, we sat in a corner seat. It seemed like we'd eaten a lot with Jaaldi today.
"They have a pork belly and shoulder set. Should we get that?"
"Order it."
There was a kiosk on the table, so we ordered right away. But if we were going to eat and then rest, where would we stay? More importantly, since this was an anomalous space, we couldn't split up. Did that mean... we'd have to get a room and sleep together? As I was having strange thoughts, the server brought out the meat platter.
"I'll grill it."
"Show me your skills."
"Hehe, I'm actually an expert. Let's load up on garlic too."
"That garlic of yours again."
"It's my lifeline."
—Sizzle.
I placed the pork belly and shoulder on the grill and started cooking them neatly, with garlic on the side. At that moment—
—Creak!
The restaurant door opened and a group of people walked in.
"Auntie! Ten people here! Do you have seats?"
"We do, we do! Come on in!"
A hearty voice. I sensed something very strange about them.
"Whoa, it's packed."
"It always seems busy here."
"Maknae, you remember what I said, right?"
"Yes, I do."
A group of men in black suits. They took off their sunglasses as they entered.