Geocaching #6: One Bed
After buying daily necessities at the convenience store, I stepped outside. I waited in the passenger seat for a moment before Jaaldi got in. Without a word, she started the engine the moment she sat down, and the car began to move. We arrived at the hotel parking lot like that.
I went to the front desk to check in, then stood in front of the elevator. I waited in silence until the doors opened. We boarded.
"..."
But... isn't the elevator going up kind of slow?
We reached the sixth floor in silence. Room 608. I swiped the keycard and stepped inside.
"...Not very spacious."
"Indeed."
Only then did the silence break. Jaaldi entered first. I followed, inserting the keycard into the slot by the door. When the lights came on, the full view of the hotel room appeared.
Ah. This is actually driving me insane. Sharing a hotel room with Jaaldi? This situation is messing with my head. It's making me way too self-conscious...
I unpacked my things and sat down on the sofa.
"Grong."
While I was fiddling with the remote in silence, Jaaldi called my name.
"Y-yes?"
"Why are you so flustered? Just think of this as an operational lodging."
"Of course, that's exactly how I'm thinking of it."
"Hmm..."
Operational lodging or not, sharing a hotel room with her feels incredibly awkward...!
"This is an anomalous space. It's more reasonable to rest in the same area rather than being separated. No need to make a fuss."
"I understand. It would be dangerous if we split up."
"Right. So there's no need to be particularly conscious of it."
How could I not be conscious of it?!
"Understood. I'll make myself comfortable, as if this were my own home."
"Do that... Hmm, anyway."
"Yes."
"For now..."
Jaaldi trailed off, avoiding my gaze.
"I'm going to take a shower."
A shower?!
"I'll knock before coming out. So turn your head away when I do. Understood?"
"Th-that's understood."
What happens if I turn my head?! Or am I supposed to bring her a towel while she's showering?!
"Well then, I'll go first... Wait here."
I don't know why such an ordinary statement makes this even more awkward. Jaaldi picked up a bag and headed into the bathroom. Feeling uncomfortable, I turned on the TV, listened to the news at a low volume, and browsed my phone for information.
—Shhhhh.
The sound of running water from the shower made it impossible to concentrate. Jaaldi must be washing up in there right now. That thought kept nagging at me.
"Why aren't Padak and Kim Seong-jin answering?"
Those two still weren't responding. I'd been monitoring Sejeong-ge nonstop, but nothing noteworthy had been posted, and while I wanted to write something myself... I couldn't risk it with the Fake Bureau's headquarters right next door.
"Haa."
Today had been eventful. There was a lot to think about and discuss. But figuring out what to say to Jaaldi was also a problem. She was the Department Head of the Bureau. What kind of judgment would this veteran agent, who had risen to such a high position, make about this situation?
Right now, Jaaldi was probably thinking about countermeasures, response plans, the report she'd submit upon escape, and the subsequent operations and strategies. Not knowing what was going on in her head only made me more anxious.
What exactly was the Fake Bureau? What was its connection to our Bureau? More importantly, what was the phenomenon of the lights going out in the Bureau's basement, the true nature of the monstrous Spandal and Manager Jo Seong-chun, and the Reality Re-cognition Device? Maybe they were all connected somehow.
—Knock knock.
A knock sounded. Jaaldi's signal.
"I've turned my head!"
I immediately turned around as the bathroom door opened.
"No need to report it so formally... And don't suddenly look this way."
"Come on, I'd never do something like that! You can relax!"
"It's not that I suspect you. I'm just saying it because I'm embarrassed."
Jaaldi, with that expressionless face of hers, saying she's embarrassed?!
—Rustle.
I could hear her doing something behind me. Was she getting dressed? Or what?!
After enduring what felt like my heart was about to explode, Jaaldi spoke.
"Done."
That must mean it was okay to look. When I turned around, I saw her with damp hair, wearing a white T-shirt and dolphin shorts, drying her hair with a towel.
"What are you staring at? You should go wash up too, Grong."
"Understood!"
I quickly grabbed what I needed and went into the bathroom. After undressing, I started showering. To suppress the strange feeling, I tried counting Spandal in my head. When that started feeling even weirder, I switched to counting Kim Seong-jin instead.
One Kim Seong-jin. Two Kim Seong-jin.
Hmm... That actually sounds like a decent combo? Me, Jin-seop, and Kim Seong-jin becoming vampire hunters together would be pretty fun. Maybe there's a parallel world out there where that happens.
With that bizarre thought in mind, I finished washing and drying off. Then I put on a T-shirt, carefully managed my wet feet, and slipped into shorts.
—Knock knock.
Out of courtesy, I knocked before stepping out.
"I'm out."
"Okay."
Jaaldi had her back turned.
"Ah, I'm dressed now."
"..."
Jaaldi cautiously turned to look at me.
"Right... Well, we're both in comfortable clothes, but we should still get some work done."
"Yes."
"Come sit."
I dried my feet properly and sat down. Two people in light clothing, fresh out of the shower. A pleasant scent wafted from Jaaldi.
"That group of men."
While I sat quietly, Jaaldi began.
"No matter how I look at it, they seem like Fake Bureau agents. Just from their suits and sunglasses, it's obvious. That's their standard equipment."
I'd been certain because of Jin-seop's presence, but Jaaldi had already confirmed their identity just from the suits and sunglasses.
"If that's the case, is this world simply a parallel world where they've replaced us? There are other possibilities too. The possibility that this is their main base."
A simple parallel world, or their headquarters.
"I'd considered that much as well. Those are probably the two possibilities we can think of right now."
Jaaldi nodded.
"Which one do you think is more likely, Team Leader?"
"I think the latter."
The Fake Bureau's main base. I was leaning toward the same conclusion. This wasn't just a simple parallel world. It seemed to be a world where their headquarters existed.
The reasoning was simple. The Fake Bureau had already appeared in our world multiple times and caused chaos. They had come from here. That was the conclusion.
"Grong. We've obtained extremely valuable information. We've discovered where our Bureau's enemy, the Fake Bureau, comes from."
"We didn't even know where they were appearing from until now."
"Exactly."
She crossed her arms.
"This is very encouraging. It's like we've uncovered the true nature of the anomaly. If they have an actual base? It might even be possible to eliminate them."
Eliminate them. Right.
"Eliminate them, you say."
As the Bureau's Department Head, Jaaldi was considering eliminating the Fake Bureau.
"How would we eliminate them? What, invade this place and drop a nuclear bomb?"
"If necessary."
Her tone was ice-cold.
"..."
Dropping a nuclear bomb to eliminate the Fake Bureau... Was that really the right call? Even if this was a parallel world, people were living here. If someone asked whether I'd sensed anything strange about them, the answer was no. They all seemed like ordinary civilians. If we dropped a nuclear bomb... they'd die. That's right. They'd die.
How was killing them to eliminate the Fake Bureau any different from killing people in our world? It would be like killing foreigners, to put it mildly. Was it okay to just nuke this place because it was some kind of parallel world? Or was a parallel world treated the same as an anomalous space, so it didn't matter?
Either way, it was something I couldn't accept. If Jaaldi truly held such extreme views, then I'd been completely wrong about her. A different kind of tension filled the air.
Even so, I spoke up.
"Team Leader. Are you saying you might actually consider using a nuclear bomb?"
"As I said, if necessary, it's worth considering."
She'd phrased it indirectly, but it meant she could use it.
"If we did that... From this world's perspective, we'd be the Fake Bureau. A crazy group of ghost story enthusiasts suddenly trying to drop a nuclear bomb."
It would be like we were the Fake Bureau.
"Grong. I understand what you're thinking. It's true that the people here are no different from the people in our world."
Jaaldi knew that too.
"But this is a world where the Fake Bureau is the real one. In other words, it's an anomalous space. Even if they appear normal, the people here could be fakes derived from anomalies. Don't you think?"
"Of course, that's a possibility."
The logic that if the entire world was fake, then the people in it were fake too. I agreed with that possibility. But at this point... how do you even distinguish between fake and real? No, does the distinction even matter? Only those with a specific agenda would try to make that distinction.
"What we need to protect are the people of our world."
"So people from other worlds aren't worth protecting?"
"..."
I stared into her eyes. Her expression was as blank as usual, but now I felt like I could read it. Our Bureau was different from the Fake Bureau. Unlike those bastards who would wipe out everyone, civilians included, the moment something happened, we actually put effort into rescuing civilians.
"Team Leader. I think I understand why the Fake Bureau agents come to our world and cause chaos. They're acting on the same ideology we were just discussing. Since it's another world, they don't care about the small stuff and boldly eliminate threats. Isn't that it?"
"...That's."
The reason the Fake Bureau acted so mercilessly in our world. Maybe this was it. Jaaldi was implying she could be merciless in this world too. If that was the case, then the other side could do the same, couldn't they?
"For now, since we haven't fully confirmed the identity of this world and the Fake Bureau, I can't say for certain, but I'm not sure if that approach is the right one... I don't know."
The difference between the real world and a parallel world. How do you even distinguish them in the first place? That could change depending on your perspective. If people could really move to a parallel world without realizing it, like in the Mandela effect, didn't that mean all worlds were organically connected?
"..."
Jaaldi stared at me silently. Was I someone worth following? I knew she was a woman who held the values and beliefs of protecting the people of our world. But by that logic, the Fake Bureau bastards here... might also be doing this to protect their own world. In that case, the beliefs of both organizations were essentially the same. Just as I couldn't follow the Fake Bureau after what they'd done to me, if Jaaldi held the same mindset and beliefs, I couldn't follow her either.
"Grong."
"Yes."
"You're right."
"Excuse me?"
"We'll need to think more about this matter. But Grong, you agree that the people of your own world are more important, don't you?"
"That's true."
She was right. In the end, your own world was more important. But my beliefs weren't pointing only at that.
"Team Leader. I'll ask you directly. From the Bureau's perspective, what does it mean that I'm thinking this way? Does it make me unqualified as an agent?"
At my words, Jaaldi shook her head.
"It doesn't. If anything, that kind of contemplation is what makes an agent an agent. In that sense, you're not unqualified—you're more than qualified. You're an excellent agent."
"..."
"Let's leave it at that for today. Go lie down. Things will get busier starting tomorrow."
"Ah, yes."
I lay down as instructed.
"...Wait a second."
"Yes?"
Suddenly, Jaaldi spoke with weight in her voice. As I tensed up, she turned her head to the side and said,
"Why is there only one bed...?"
Huh?
"Didn't they say it was a double room?"
Now that she mentioned it, there really was only one bed. Ah.