Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Man Without a Trace
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Han So-young opened her eyes.
The habit of her body jolting her awake before she could sink into deep sleep hadn't changed. Ever since she'd gained the ability to detect Anomalies, the quality of her sleep had plummeted.
It came from an instinctive dread that deep slumber left her defenseless.
She rose from the bed and drew back the curtains. Seoul's dawn was still cloaked in darkness. Scattered lit windows dotted the apartment complex visible outside.
Everyone else's day hadn't begun yet.
Standing before the mirror, she stared at her reflection.
Twenty-three years old. Her skin was paler than her peers', with faint shadows under her eyes. Side effects of her ability to read residual echoes. Prolonged exposure to strong Anomalies built up headaches and fatigue. She'd been tracking Lingering Resentments nonstop lately, and her condition was off.
'Still, no rest today.'
Han So-young slipped on her jacket and stepped out the front door.
Special Disaster Response Headquarters, Basement Level 3.
Morning at 7 a.m. Seo Jin-hyeok was already in the briefing room.
"You're early."
Seo Jin-hyeok handed her a cup of coffee as he spoke.
"Couldn't sleep in."
Han So-young took a sip. The thick, vending-machine bitterness coated her tongue.
"You compile the last analysis?"
"Yeah. I'll put it up on screen."
Han So-young pressed the remote. A map of the Gangnam area appeared on the screen.
"Pinned the spot where the Lingering Resentment vanished. Yeoksam-dong office building. Day & Night headquarters."
"The convenience store company?"
"Yep. Pulled the records—there's a death from sixteen years ago."
Han So-young advanced the slide. An old scanned document came up.
"Choi Seung-bin, thirty-five at the time, Product Development Team. Died of a heart attack during overtime. Found collapsed in the Basement 1 document storage room."
"So that's where the Lingering Resentment formed."
"Right. It must've slowly congealed over sixteen years. It was E-Class, but if ignored, it could've grown to D-Class."
Seo Jin-hyeok rubbed his chin.
"But it vanished suddenly."
"Yes. Not natural dissipation or sealing. Someone took care of it."
"What was the method again?"
"......No idea."
Han So-young admitted frankly.
"Not in the database. The traces are wiped clean, like it got sucked up whole."
Seo Jin-hyeok's eyes narrowed.
"Similar to how Glutton disappeared?"
"Can't say for sure... but high chance it's the same entity."
Silence settled over the briefing room.
Seo Jin-hyeok took a sip of coffee.
"Surveil that building today. Time it for quitting hours. Target might be inside."
"Got it."
10 a.m.
Han So-young roamed Gangnam, gathering residual echoes.
Work to narrow the target's range. Anomalies left faint traces in their wake. Imperceptible to normals, but to her, they floated in the air like dust motes.
'Not here...'
Han So-young focused her senses as she passed through an alley.
Faint echoes registered. Miscellaneous E-Class and below. Cities always teemed with them. Lingering Resentments from old buildings, echoes from accident sites, weakly spawned Anomalies.
Most were harmless. They faded naturally or got cleaned up by the Special Division on routine sweeps.
The problem was the stronger ones mixed in.
'The target's echo...'
Han So-young furrowed her brow.
Something was off. Glutton had vanished nearby, but the target's echo was barely there. Like it concealed its very existence.
'Or maybe it doesn't leave echoes to begin with?'
Such Anomalies existed. Some higher ones could erase their own traces.
But if it had that level of ability...
'At least A-Class.'
A chill ran down Han So-young's spine.
Lunchtime.
Han So-young bought a triangle kimbap and coffee from a convenience store.
She sat on a bench and ate slowly. Couldn't remember the last proper meal. Yesterday was a rush job; the day before, she'd skipped entirely. Wasn't hungry. Prolonged exposure to Anomaly echoes dulled taste and killed appetite—a side effect. Her body craved nutrients, but her brain rebelled. Force it or starve for real.
'Gonna collapse at this rate.'
Han So-young gave a wry smile.
A few years back, she was an ordinary high schooler.
Second year at a standard liberal arts high school in Seoul. A year from college entrance exams, buried in studies, gossiping at cafes with friends on weekends. Normal student life.
Then that summer, everything changed.
Heading home after evening self-study. The quiet back road behind school, streetlights sparse. That's where she met it.
At first, thought it was a person.
A silhouette in the shadows. She approached. "You okay?"
When it turned, Han So-young's breath caught.
No face.
Flat expanse, no eyes, nose, mouth. Then the surface split slowly, forming a mouth. Ripped ear-to-ear, crammed with hundreds of teeth.
She tried to scream, but no sound came. Body locked rigid. Felt bound by invisible chains. Like she'd been ejected from the world's rules, an instinctive alarm screaming she didn't belong—paralyzing her.
It reached out.
Fingertips brushed her forehead when a figure entered her view from behind. Long silver hair fluttering in the wind. Petite build, but the presence dwarfed the monster before it—overwhelming. What happened next? No memory. Just before blacking out, faint echoes of the Anomaly's agonized wail lingered in her ears.
The world went white.
She came to in a hospital.
A week in a coma, they said. Doctors found no cause. All tests normal.
But Han So-young knew.
She'd changed.
Opening her eyes, she saw them. Black shadow huddled in the hospital room ceiling corner. Faint shapes drifting the hallway. Tiny thing clinging to a nurse's shoulder.
Anomalies were now visible.
At first, thought she was crazy. Saw a psychiatrist, took meds. No improvement. What she saw, she still saw. What she felt, she still felt.
Then one day, a man in a black suit visited.
"Han So-young?"
Seo Jin-hyeok.
"Come with us. We have some explanations."
Five years in the Special Division.
Han So-young counted as a veteran now. The terror and confusion of her rookie days were gone. She'd learned how to handle Anomalies.
But sometimes she wondered.
'What if I hadn't taken that path?'
Graduated normally, landed a regular job, lived ordinarily. By now, maybe holding a decent position somewhere. Brunches with friends on weekends, overseas trips on holidays.
That kind of life.
Han So-young crumpled the kimbap wrapper, thinking.
'Pointless what-ifs.'
Past doesn't change. Adapt to the now.
And honestly.
She didn't hate the job.
Helping victims of Anomalies. Neutralizing threats to prevent worse damage. Meaningful work.
Just exhausting.
3 p.m. Back at headquarters, Han So-young reported to Seo Jin-hyeok.
"Target's echoes are barely detectable. Seems like it has concealment ability."
Seo Jin-hyeok nodded.
"Figured. Higher Anomalies tend that way."
"So direct surveillance needed. Echoes aren't enough for tracking."
"Got it. Stake out the Day & Night building tonight. Match quitting time."
"Solo?"
"Backup team on standby here. Call if anything pops."
Han So-young nodded.
Stakeouts were routine. Hours motionless, bored but necessary.
"Oh, and."
Seo Jin-hyeok added,
"No contact. Spot it, tail only. Clear?"
"Yes."
Han So-young answered, but inwardly, anxiety stirred.
The entity that devoured Glutton.
The one that absorbed the Lingering Resentment. What kind of Anomaly was it?
Han So-young sat in a cafe across from Day & Night headquarters.
Window seat with clear view of the main entrance. Americano ordered, laptop open, pretending to work. To passersby, just another office worker grinding at a cafe.
As quitting time neared, people flooded out of the building.
Suits, briefcases, phone-scrollers.
Han So-young scanned each one.
Senses on high alert. If the target was inside, it'd emerge now.
Time ticked on. Quitting rush thinned.
'Not here?'
As Han So-young reached for her Americano.
She froze.
She saw it clearly.
But felt nothing.
A hole in the crowd. A contradiction—existing yet not—lodged in her vision like a black dot.
A man exiting the main doors. Mid-twenties, ordinary salaryman. Wrinkled white shirt, loose tie. Bag slung over shoulder, walking like any commuter.
But from him.
Nothing registered.
Her ability read Anomaly echoes. Every Anomaly had a unique texture. Faint or strong, something registered.
Even normals gave off a subtle vital energy. The aura of the living.
But this man.
Nothing.
No Anomaly vibe.
No human vitality.
Just void.
As if existence itself had been erased.
Han So-young's heart raced.
'What the hell is that.'
Five years, countless Anomalies—strong, weak, bizarre. Never like this.