Geocaching #16: The Twin Bureaus

Geocaching #16: Rapid Ascent. Since we already knew the location, there was no chance of getting lost. We climbed the mountain at a pace that was practically a forced march and soon arrived at our destination.

"This is it. The scenery hasn't changed at all, as expected."

"No ghosts appeared on the way up."

"Maybe we already drove them all off, so they didn't show."

That actually sounded plausible.

"Dig up the ground."

"Yes, sir."

We didn't have a proper shovel, but we'd picked up a steel pipe from the ruins earlier, so we started digging with that. Then I noticed Song Jin-seop just standing there staring while I worked.

"Song Jin-seop. You dig too."

"Yes, sir."

I immediately put him to work alongside me. Come to think of it, Jaaldi hadn't dug at all. She'd just stood there like a boss, keeping watch over us and the surroundings. She was doing the same thing now. Of course, Jaaldi was the one who'd risked her life to help me escape. I could call her the department head of my soul, so there was no way I could make her dig. This kind of rough work was all on me.

While we were digging like that—

Thud.

The sensation changed.

"Huh?! What the—?!"

Song Jin-seop yelped when he saw the hair. A former Fake Bureau agent getting startled by a corpse? Pathetic.

"Team Leader, we found a body."

"So it really was here."

"I'll pull it out."

We immediately extracted the corpse. Just as expected... its eyes and mouth were sewn shut.

"Why is there a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body here?"

"I'll explain the details later. We're still organizing information on this case. Anyway, Team Leader, the body appearing is one thing, but its eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and mouth are sewn shut. What do you think that means?"

Jaaldi crouched down and examined the corpse.

"The body's condition hasn't changed. Aside from the stitching, there's nothing particularly unusual."

"Right."

"The body is the same... and it's been sewn shut. It seems this stitched world is a mirror image of reality. Some kind of copy? Imitation? That appears to be the case."

"I came to a similar conclusion."

That meant whatever happened in reality also happened here in exactly the same way.

"Let's head to the Bureau now. I don't know what kind of Bureau building exists in this stitched world, but whatever appears, I intend to explore its interior."

"I have a feeling something will turn up."

We'd seen everything there was to see, so we prepared to descend. As I grabbed the body one last time to put it back, something suddenly fell from it.

"Hm?"

What was this? Some kind of portable GPS device? Had we dropped it while geocaching? The thought crossed my mind for a second, but the shape was different. Had the corpse been carrying it? Jaaldi had just searched the body, though. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠While I was thinking that and holding the GPS—

...

What the hell was this, you bastard! There were still new features left?! And the mailbox? So items just got used the moment you claimed them? I'd been too uneasy to claim anything and left them sitting there—what if I'd given in to curiosity and claimed them? I would've been completely screwed! God, this was insane. I'd even worried about the mailbox having a storage time limit and things disappearing if I didn't claim them, and now I realized how close I'd come to disaster. The Singing Flower? The Vampire Angel's Heart? If those had activated right away, it would've been an obvious catastrophe. Well, at least this worked out. I immediately checked the mailbox.

This goddamn mailbox... This was exactly why I hated checking it. I scrolled down and saw that every single message was identical.

I still had no idea what this thing was. Some insane existence was looking for me. But if any changes occurred, the messages would probably change too—that was my current theory. You could call it a canary signaling change.

Let's claim the rewards first.

So I was finally claiming these. When I pressed claim, the attached items disappeared. I opened the status window right away.

An Inventory tab had appeared below the mailbox. I immediately checked it.

The clear reward items were finally in my hands. I wanted to take them out and look, but... now wasn't the time. I had no idea what might happen. Still, since I'd obtained this GPS by confirming its physical form, it should be fine.

When I said yes, a GPS appeared in my hand.

When I said yes, it disappeared again. Good. Now I understood how to use it. I'd study the GPS's functions later.

"Still not done?"

"Ah, yes. I'm finished."

I followed Jaaldi down the mountain. It was time to go to the Bureau.

* * *

We drove. The scenery outside the window remained unchanged. Unlike before, however, I could now see a few stitched people here and there. The ones down below had probably all been drawn away because of Bureau Chief Lee Do-hyeong, while the ones here had stayed because they were farther away. That seemed about right.

"We'll be arriving soon."

We'd returned to our familiar neighborhood. This was the stitched world, but the existing buildings were the same. The familiar structures welcomed us. When you come back from a long trip, the first things to greet you are always the familiar buildings in your neighborhood.

"Wait a moment."

Song Jin-seop spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, weren't we supposed to go to your Bureau, not mine? This is the area around my Bureau."

"Ah."

This guy. He really didn't know the headquarters were actually in the same location.

"Explain it to him."

"Well, you see. The two buildings are actually in the same place."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's complicated to explain in detail."

"What kind of..."

It was hard to explain right now. Because we didn't fully understand it ourselves.

"...We've arrived."

Jaaldi spoke hesitantly. The car stopped.

"This is unexpected."

"Ah."

...I hadn't expected this either. Up ahead stood two buildings.

"What the..."

One was our Bureau building. The other was the Fake Bureau building. The two structures stood side by side like twin towers.

"What? There's a building next to our Bureau that I've never seen before..."

Song Jin-seop muttered.

"Get out."

"Yes, sir."

We exited the car and approached the buildings. It was bizarre. Utterly bizarre. Why did this stitched world contain both Bureau buildings at once? The strangeness and suspicion made my heart feel cold. The unknown was overwhelming me.

"Doesn't this seem strange?"

"Of course it's strange."

"Not that. The building locations. Do you see it?"

"..."

I was looking.

"It's as if they were built that way from the beginning. Both buildings are probably located in the exact same spot in each world."

"Yes."

"If the two were perfectly merged, it would feel like this. I've always thought the space next to our building felt empty—maybe this is why."

"Team Leader, that means..."

"..."

Jaaldi's expression was endlessly serious. What was she thinking right now?

"Well... there are several possibilities. Let's go inside first. Then we'll know more."

"Jin-seop, follow me. Team Leader, where would you like to start?"

"Let's begin with the familiar place."

We entered our building. Once inside—

"What the hell."

It was completely empty.

"It's empty."

"It's not just empty. There's literally nothing here."

It felt like someone had erected a hollow shell just to mimic the exterior, with windows punched in. This building was literally only the outer surface reproduced.

"Then the other one too..."

"We'll have to check to know."

The Fake Bureau building was the same.

"There's nothing inside here either! The stairs going up and down that should be here are completely gone!"

Just as Song Jin-seop shouted, this too was an empty shell. After looking around a bit more, we stepped back outside.

"It seems like a mirror image of reality... but apparently it can't copy everything. Makes sense. Our building's security is extremely tight, so it wouldn't just copy it wholesale."

Jaaldi spoke.

"Come here, Grong."

"Yes. Jin-seop, wait in the car."

"Understood."

I sent Song Jin-seop away and stood beside Jaaldi. She stared at the two buildings and said,

"What do you think?"

"About why the two buildings are one. Well, this stitched world spawned from the hospital is a parallel world to ours. Isn't it something that exists simultaneously in both places—some kind of overlapping phenomenon? So maybe the buildings from both worlds were copied, which is why they exist at the same time. That's one hypothesis."

"Well... that's possible too. But."

"Don't tell me the two buildings were originally one?"

"..."

Jaaldi closed her mouth. She was probably thinking the same thing. Seeing the two buildings standing side by side had made her consider that possibility. Could it be that the two Bureaus were originally one, and for some reason became parallel worlds and separated? And this stitched world, unable to recognize that separation, output them in an unseparated state? This was truly beyond imagination. The hypothesis that the two Bureaus were originally one. That the real Bureau and the Fake Bureau were actually the same entity. I'd never even considered something like this before.

"Right. I think that possibility exists too. They separated for some reason... and became hostile?"

"Hostile."

"I wonder if the Bureau's upper management knows about this."

"If they do know..."

Then... had they been forced to hide it? Or had they hidden it intentionally? Jaaldi and I stood together, thinking.

"We need time, Grong. And in my opinion, this is an extremely sensitive and critical matter. It's not something a new recruit like you should be digging into."

"That's true."

If the Bureau's upper management knew about this, it was top-level classified information. The kind even department heads didn't know. Naturally, it would be problematic for a new recruit like me to know.

"Still, I can't just leave it alone..."

"No. Leave this to me. I'll look into it."

"Wait. You're saying you'll investigate this alone after we return?"

"I'll tell you my course of action. This is for your sake."

Jaaldi placed her hands on my shoulders with a serious expression. In her gaze, I realized she was trying to protect me.

"Team Leader, Jaaldi and Grong are basically soul partners—practically mother and son. I've already worked with you, so how could you do this alone? Let's see it through to the end together!"

Regardless of anything else, as a regressor, I needed to uncover the truth of this major secret.

"Stop with the nonsense. This is really troublesome... Haa. There's a lot to sort out. For now, let's head back. Grong, you need to follow my instructions. Promise me that much."

"Of course I'll follow you, Team Leader. But I still want to find out for certain."

"I understand how you feel. But if I judge it to be dangerous, there will be no discussion. For now, just pretend you don't know. That's the safest option. Understood?"

"Understood."

Jaaldi seemed to want to handle this alone, but she would never be able to shake off a leech like me.

"I'll look into this matter first and let you know."