Go Ahead and Wipe
Lee Si-a could barely process what she was witnessing. A pack of schoolyard thugs, hassling Han Mir — a superhuman the Bureau classified as an Anomaly. Cases of kids still playing the delinquent well into their second year of high school were rare enough that she'd assumed this sort of thing simply didn't happen. And yet here it was, unfolding right in front of her, leaving her slack-jawed.
And of all people, they were picking a fight with Han Mir — a guy who could crush their skulls with a single finger. She was starting to wonder if this was some new method of suicide.
"The bathroom? Yeah, that works just fine."
Kim Gwang-cheol ran his tongue across his lips.
"And if the amount's off, it's a great place to teach someone a lesson."
Lee Chi-myeol wore a greasy smile.
"Wait, you're collecting in the guys' bathroom? Then you two grab my share and bring it to me. That place reeks. I'm not going in there."
Shin Ji-yoon spoke as if she'd already been inside. Kim Gwang-cheol clapped Han Mir on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about that. We'll collect it and bring it over, no problem."
Then Han Mir's gaze drifted toward something. He stopped walking and turned toward Park A-yeong, who was slumped over her desk, trying to sleep.
"Oh, going to say hi to A-yeong? What a devoted little worm. Or wait — did you set aside her cut too?"
Sensing someone behind her, Park A-yeong frowned and bolted upright.
"What? Kim Gwang-cheol, I told you. I want to sleep. You really gonna interrupt that with this stupid crap?"
"Ah, A-yeong, it's not like that. The worm was just—"
"You've got something weird growing on you."
At Han Mir's single remark, Park A-yeong's face went deathly pale. Her lips trembled. She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing.
"Worm, cut the crap and just get to the bathroom—"
"W-wait. You... you can see it?"
Han Mir gave a listless nod.
"Yeah. It reeks. Can I kill it?"
"H-huh?"
Lee Si-a sensed the situation taking a strange turn — and not just because Han Mir was talking to Park A-yeong. The frequency detector disguised as a wristwatch was reacting. The numbers kept climbing. At first she'd assumed it was responding to Han Mir's presence, but that wasn't it. The hour hand pointed toward whatever registered the highest H-value. And right now, it was pointing at Park A-yeong — not Han Mir.
Han Mir squinted one eye, looking irritated.
Clinging to Park A-yeong's back like a leech was a monster with four heads, a belly swollen like a frog's, and eight arms. Countless eyeballs bloomed across its entire body, every last one of them locked onto Han Mir — but those eight hands were groping Park A-yeong in places they had no business touching. It definitely hadn't been there when he'd met her earlier.
"K-kill it."
The moment Park A-yeong answered—
H-Value: 50H
Previous reading: 20–30H
Lee Si-a's watch screen flushed red as the alert went off. A reading that had been hovering around 20 to 30H had just spiked to 50H — the danger threshold — in an instant.
Recognizing an emergency, she rushed toward Park A-yeong. She ran through the manual in her head, making a snap decision on how to respond — but then a sudden gust of wind slammed into her, blotting out her vision as her hair and clothes whipped wildly around her.
When she recovered and looked ahead, Park A-yeong was slumped on the floor, the strength gone from her legs, and Han Mir was flicking his hand as if brushing off dust.
Lee Si-a hurriedly checked her watch.
H-Value: 5H
The screen had returned to its original green. The reading sat at a mere 5H.
The situation had normalized in a single stroke. She was certain Han Mir had just eliminated an Anomaly invisible to ordinary people. And yet a sliver of unease lingered in the back of her mind. Han Mir was still scowling.
Is there something only Han Mir has noticed?
Han Mir suddenly spun around and took off running.
"Huh? Hey! Wait up!"
Lee Chi-myeol and Kim Gwang-cheol scrambled after him.
Lee Si-a burst out of the classroom and gave chase. Han Mir's face was pale, his teeth chattering with what looked like agitation as he sprinted down the hallway. Students in the corridor startled at his sudden appearance and scrambled out of the way.
Where is he even going? Did he pick up on a new Anomaly?
Han Mir had always worn the same unhurried, put-upon expression even in the face of Anomalies. For him to look this grave while running meant something serious had happened. A C-rank incident? No — maybe even B-rank?
Lee Si-a licked her lips, tense at the thought of whatever unknown crisis lay ahead. Her heart hammered as if it might burst. Cold sweat ran down her spine. She weighed whether to contact the Management Bureau in advance as she overtook Lee Chi-myeol and Kim Gwang-cheol and pulled up alongside Han Mir.
"Mir! Wait a second! What's going on right now? Please, tell me!"
Han Mir glanced at her, looked ahead, then glanced back.
"...dump!"
"What!? I can't hear you!"
"I said I gotta take a dump!! Our classroom's at the end of the hall, so the bathroom's a hike! Why the hell is a girl chasing me all the way here? I knew you had weird tastes, but this is a whole new level."
"Huh?"
Lee Si-a's pace gradually slowed, then stopped altogether. She stared blankly to the side.
A frosted door loomed before her, stamped with a large blue pictogram of a male figure. It was the boys' bathroom.
Han Mir yanked the door open and ducked inside. Kim Gwang-cheol and Lee Chi-myeol piled in after him.
Lee Si-a just stood there, staring blankly at the bathroom door.
The moment Han Mir hurried into a stall, Lee Chi-myeol and Kim Gwang-cheol crowded in after him. They wore sly, predatory smiles.
"Alright. Let's see that money."
Han Mir glanced at them — then yanked his pants down. Confronted with this sudden, shocking display, Lee Chi-myeol and Kim Gwang-cheol recoiled with a scream.
"Wh-what the hell!? You crazy bastard! W-what are you doing!?"
"Aaaagh! Put that hideous thing away!"
"Ahh, hold on. I'm about to give it to you."
Han Mir sat down on the toilet. Kim Gwang-cheol's eyebrow twitched.
"This crazy bastard's lost his mind 'cause nobody's hit him lately, huh?"
Enraged, Kim Gwang-cheol threw a punch at Han Mir's face.
Thwack!
A sharp, ringing pain shot through his knuckles.
"Ghhk!"
He clenched his teeth and clutched his hand. That was not a human head. It felt like the bones were made of metal, like some movie superhero.
"G-Gwang-cheol? What's going on?"
Lee Chi-myeol instinctively sensed that something was very wrong. Han Mir shrugged, looking perfectly at ease.
"What's the matter? Not gonna do what you usually do? Or is it that you can't?"
Kim Gwang-cheol swallowed hard. What the hell was this? Was this really the Han Mir he knew? Come to think of it, ever since that morning, the guy's entire vibe had shifted — like he was a completely different person.
"Y-you're dead once we get outside. Come on, we're leaving."
"Huh? Y-yeah!"
Kim Gwang-cheol grabbed Lee Chi-myeol and turned to open the stall door. The instant his hand touched the latch—
Zrauk
Spatial Binding
A sinister sensation prickled at their backs, followed by the feeling of being yanked through space — and in the blink of an eye, Lee Chi-myeol and Kim Gwang-cheol found their heads locked in Han Mir's grip.
"Wh-what the hell!?"
"Let go of us right now!"
They thrashed and struggled, but it was useless. They hurled curses at Han Mir, swinging fists and feet, but it felt like punching a solid wall. Han Mir didn't even flinch.
"I still gotta collect the friendship fee. Where do you think you're going? Hold still."
"U-uaaagh! Fuck! Let go! Let go of me! Please!!"
"N-no! You crazy bastard! Y-you're not actually gonna—!? You're not, right!?"
A long, unmistakable sound of relief filled the stall, accompanied by desperate screams. Five minutes passed in reality, but to Kim Gwang-cheol and Lee Chi-myeol, it felt like five hours.
"Hahh. That hit the spot."
Han Mir smiled in satisfaction. Lee Chi-myeol was busy gagging, one hand clamped over his nose. Kim Gwang-cheol, his face a sickly shade of blue, managed to speak.
"Fuck... i-it's over now, right? So let go of us. Unless you actually want to die."
"Gwang-cheol."
"Wh-what? Don't tell me you're gonna go again?"
"What do you do after you take a dump?"
"You wipe with toilet paper, obviously."
"Right. Go ahead and wipe."
"What? The hell are you talking about? Quit screwing around, wipe your ass, and let us go!"
"Urgh, yeah, you crazy bastard. Please just let us go..."
Han Mir said nothing. He simply looked at Kim Gwang-cheol and Lee Chi-myeol.
The moment their eyes met his, a bone-deep chill dropped through their chests. Their bodies trembled. They'd only locked eyes, and yet their knees nearly gave out. It was the feeling of helpless prey standing before an apex predator that could kill them at any moment.
Han Mir spoke slowly, enunciating every word.