Becoming On Yeoul

My profile as a Distortion Entity was issued.

I confirmed the grades they'd assigned me and blinked in silence.

"……."

Certified by the Distortion Phenomenon Management Bureau itself. Officially the most harmless Distortion Entity alive. By all rights, I ought to have been pleased.

And yet, for some reason, it left a faintly sour taste in my mouth.

They'd stamped me as a trash-tier Distortion Entity, after all.

Of course, I'd more or less seen this coming. The Bureau's evaluation made perfect sense. A Distortion Phenomenon called Internet Communication wasn't the sort of ability that hurt anyone, and it wasn't particularly difficult to counter, either.

As for physical capabilities? My body was different from an ordinary human's, that much was true. I didn't need to eat. I didn't need to sleep. I didn't age, and on top of that I possessed a blessed physique with excellent regenerative abilities. It wasn't anything as broken as super-regeneration, but still. I'd disclosed all of that information, naturally.

Over the past few days of staying here, I'd developed a modest amount of trust in the Bureau, and I'd judged that being more cooperative would let me maintain a friendly relationship going forward. It wasn't information worth hiding in the first place.

And even so, they'd given me Grade 0.

…Well. As I said, I understood well enough. Blessed body or not, I didn't possess superhuman strength. An ordinary person could probably take me in a fight…

"Congratulations, Miss Yeoul."

"Yes… thank you."

Geum Bitnari's congratulations were sincere, I was sure. An Isolation Grade of White was something to celebrate. Once my education was complete, I would be granted the right to live freely among human society.

Ah. For the record, ordinary people had no idea that Distortion Entities lived mixed in among them. They didn't know the Bureau employed Distortion Entity agents, either.

So the conspiracy theories hadn't been conspiracy theories after all.

"Ah. Agent, if I may."

"Yes?"

"Something just occurred to me. Distortion Entities like Mr. Kim Dalgyal — monsters… no, non-human lifeforms… Distortion Entities whose appearances are nothing like a human's — they couldn't very well live pretending to be ordinary people, could they?"

"That's correct. Those individuals either choose the path of becoming Bureau agents, or they settle in zones where the Bureau restricts civilian access and build communities of their own."

"So there wasn't another way. I thought perhaps there was a Distortion Entity agent with an Appearance Cognition Distortion ability, lending a hand to the others."

"There is an agent with that Distortion Phenomenon, actually. They're assigned to Headquarters."

"Pardon? Then couldn't they just ask that person for help?"

Could they only use the ability on themselves? I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tilted my head, and Geum Bitnari closed the file as she answered.

"That Distortion Phenomenon comes with a number of constraints."

"Constraints?"

"If you move more than a certain distance from that agent, the Appearance Cognition Distortion unravels. The number of targets the ability can be applied to is also limited. So they only use it on Distortion Entity agents who have no choice but to operate in the field — and they accompany those agents themselves."

I see.

So even a Distortion Phenomenon wasn't omnipotent. Or maybe that agent's Distortion Phenomenon was just trash-tier.

…And maybe, just maybe, they were the same as me?

If that Distortion Entity was a Grade 0 washout like I was, I had a feeling I'd feel an inner kinship with them, even without ever having met.

"Agent. Would it be possible to find out that Distortion Entity agent's Distortion Grade?"

"Grade 4."

"…"

Not trash-tier, then.

I wilted.

The Distortion Phenomenon Management Bureau.

This organization was not a group founded by Distortion Entities. It was, I was told, an institution created by humans, through and through.

Then why were Distortion Entities serving as Bureau agents?

Because the human side had been steadily recruiting cooperative Distortion Entities, of course. To deal with hostile Distortion Entities that human strength alone couldn't handle.

Fight fire with fire, as they say.

I'd learned a fair amount of other information about the Bureau as well, but nothing deep or particularly detailed. That was only natural. I didn't belong to the Bureau. Even if I did join, I'd be starting from the bottom, so classified information would have been out of reach anyway.

Not that I had any desire to know the particulars. Getting a rough sense of what kind of organization it was had been enough. It wasn't classified, exactly, but I'd obtained information ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary people didn't have, so I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠decided to be satisfied with that.

During the education period, I became acquainted with a number of people at the Bureau and built a few connections. Not only with humans — I struck up shallow friendships with Distortion Entity agents as well.

The sort of thing where you pass each other in the hallway and exchange a light nod?

Calling that a friendship might have been a stretch…

At any rate, there were surprisingly many Distortion Entity agents. And yet I was the only Distortion Entity trainee in this cohort.

According to the education officer, Distortion Entities who left the Distorted World of their birth and emerged into reality weren't all that common to begin with. On top of that, only provisionally naturalized entities of Green grade or below received their education in an open facility like I had, which was why there were no other trainees.

I'd received my education in an open facility even before my grade had been confirmed, though?

I'd wondered about that, and as it turned out, my provisional grade had already been White before the official rating came down. That was why I'd been educated in an open facility from the start.

In any case. Time passed as I received my education, and before I knew it, a full week had gone by.

"Congratulations on completing the program. You've worked hard."

It was time to part ways with the education officer. I'd completed my training today, and I was now a formally naturalized citizen.

"I'm grateful for everything, Agent Bak Bokgeori."

The length of education varied from Distortion Entity to Distortion Entity. A provisionally naturalized entity who finished in only a week was a first for the Korea Branch, and that first was me.

The fact that my Isolation Grade was White, the lowest possible. The fact that I possessed Cham Yeoul's memories relatively intact, and therefore already knew human society extremely well. Those two things had slashed the education period dramatically.

With that, I was a free woman. Unlike Green grade, which involved regular check-ins at the Bureau and various other forms of management, White grade received no special oversight. It was a neglect-tier classification, after all.

Ah. Of course, it wasn't complete neglect. I was still assigned a handler. I'd been told I wouldn't be placed under surveillance unless I caused some particular incident that threw human society into chaos.

And my assigned handler was…

"You've arrived."

Special Specialist Agent Geum Bitnari.

Not a waste of personnel, apparently. White grade didn't require any special management anyway.

"Congratulations on becoming a formally naturalized citizen."

"Thank you."

For the record, Geum Bitnari was human. She was not, however, an ordinary human. I'd been told she was someone who handled objects imbued with Distortion Phenomena.

And a fact I learned later: Geum Bitnari was a former Escaper. People who successfully escaped a Distorted World often ended up becoming agents, I was told.

As an aside, I received an offer to become an agent myself. Not a field agent — they asked if I wanted to be a Distortion Entity agent on the clerical side.

I turned it down. I wanted to live an ordinary life, and going to work sounded like a hassle.

The Bureau had taken everything I owned. The studio apartment, of course, and every last personal belonging. Those were naturally subject to compensation, and I requested replacements instead of money.

It was more convenient if the Bureau found me a place to live, wasn't it? And the rest of my things wouldn't have fetched much even if I'd sold them.

As for what I received in return:

First, I was issued a brand-new smartphone. There was a location-tracking app installed on it, supposedly, but I figured it was just them taking out an insurance policy in case I caused any trouble. At least it wasn't an ankle monitor.

Next, I was compensated with a luxurious wallet. One look told me it was far more expensive than the one I'd originally owned. I'd been told compensation would be issued at a value comparable to the original items… but I had a feeling they were giving me special treatment because I was too pretty. There hadn't been a single agent at the Bureau who hadn't fallen for me, after all.

I was also issued a new identification card. Apparently the Bureau could issue IDs as well. On the surface it was no different from an ordinary identification card, but if it came into contact with the detectors Bureau agents carried, a Distortion Entity profile would appear.

In other words, it was a Distortion Entity exclusive ID.

On top of the clothes I was currently wearing, I was gifted several sets of bright-colored outfits. And the rest, I was told, had already been arranged in the new home I was about to move into.

"Miss Yeoul."

We were in the car, on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the move. Geum Bitnari, who was driving, called to me offhandedly.

"What sort of work are you thinking of doing from now on?"

Driving alone must have been dull. She wanted a bit of small talk, I supposed.

"I'm not sure yet. I've been considering becoming a full-time streamer. I can do volunteer work and make money at the same time, so it doesn't seem half bad."

"Volunteer work?"

"Showing my face to the people of the world. If that isn't community service, what is?"

"Hmm…"

"What."

"…Nothing. You do have a point."

We passed the time with small talk like that, and before I knew it we had arrived at an apartment complex with only a single building.

Thank you for the ride. You must be tired from driving.

Having said as much to Geum Bitnari, I stepped out of the car and lifted my head to look up at the apartment.

It wasn't new construction. Even so, I liked it well enough. The exterior walls looked as though they'd been freshly painted; it was rather tidy.

"The more I think about it, though, taking a studio and giving me an apartment is a bit much."

"If it's a burden, shall I switch it to a studio?"

"I didn't say it was a burden. Let's go in."

The unit I would be moving into was on the tenth floor. The highest floor in the building.

Fortunately, there was an elevator. I'd been ready to flee if there wasn't.

"No neighbors?"

"That's right. The tenth floor is a single unit."

We passed through the front door and into the apartment. It was even more spacious than I'd expected. Easily over a thousand square feet, by the look of it.

I walked through slowly, taking stock of the furniture. A desk. A mirror. An actual bed instead of a mattress on the floor. A full-size refrigerator instead of a mini-fridge…

"Hm? Why is there a rope…"

"Didn't you have one at your previous residence? A decorative rope."

"You know it wasn't decoration."

"I brought it just in case. You might file a complaint later asking why there was no rope. For reference, it's an expensive rope."

Expensive or not, a rope was a rope. I said I understood for now and continued looking around the apartment. I even checked the water pressure, and only then did I return to the living room.

"How is it? Do you like it?"

"Yes. I like it a lot."

I thanked her once more. Then I slowly turned my head, shifting my gaze beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Now it was truly, really time to live as On Yeoul.

……

"…Ah!"

That's right!

I'd been staring blankly at the view outside when something I'd forgotten suddenly surfaced.

"What's the matter?"

"I forgot about the stream."

"The stream?"

"I was going to go live the moment I got home. The viewers who were with me last time must be worried."

"Then why not turn it on right now, while you're thinking of it."

I nodded. I went straight to operating my smartphone. Geum Bitnari started fussing with her phone at the same time.

I started the stream, and after a little time had passed—

Viewers began trickling into the stream, one after another.

All of them. They'd been waiting for me this whole time, without forgetting.

Well. Forgetting after seeing my face would have been absurd, really.

I looked at my phone, a faint smile on my lips, and gave a light wave in greeting.