The Management Bureau's Uninvited Guest
Han Mir couldn't hide his bewilderment. By all rights, he should have been at home by now, sinking his teeth into a piece of spicy marinated fried chicken, juices dripping through the crispy batter with every bite. Instead, he found himself sitting in an interrogation room straight out of a cop drama.
The room was peculiar — built from some kind of green material that radiated a faintly mystical energy. It pressed against him just enough to register as a mild weight.
The boy's gaze drifted down to the thick shackles locked around his wrists. The researchers had taken one look at him, started screaming something about an Anomaly, and then special forces had rushed in and clapped these things on his hands. He'd had no idea what was going on, so he'd simply sat there and cooperated — not that it stopped the agents from throwing a whole production into trying to subdue him. Of course, none of their force had any effect whatsoever. If anything, they were the ones who kept ending up face-down on the floor.
Han Mir gave the shackles a light tap against the desk. These, too, seemed to possess some ability to suppress his power.
"Hrm. Should I just break out of here?"
The boy found the whole thing exhausting. He could have smashed his way out if he'd wanted to — that much was certain. The problem was that he had no idea whether this was actually the South Korea he knew. If this turned out to be some other world, he'd need these people's cooperation if he ever wanted a shot at getting back to his own.
The tightly shut door opened with a click, and in walked the two special forces agents from earlier, followed by a distinguished-looking middle-aged man in a suit with slicked-back hair, and lastly a young female researcher.
The man sat down at the desk and gave a slight nod.
"Pleasure to meet you. You can call me J."
"That's a unique name. Are you a foreigner?"
"My mother is, yes. But I'm Korean through and through."
At the word "Korean," Han Mir's eyes lit up.
"Hold on. Korea? So this really is Korea?"
"...Yes. That's correct."
J studied Han Mir, who had suddenly broken into a bright, sunny smile. An Anomaly that had teleported in out of nowhere during a Code C situation. Not only had it taken down the Centipede Woman — a C-rank Anomalous Entity that had been healing people and then escaping — but now it was sitting here cooperating without a fuss. J classified it as a friendly Anomaly.
Even so, he couldn't let his guard down. There were always those that played friendly right up until they flipped. To get at the true nature of this Anomaly wearing a boy's face, J sharpened his focus and kept his wits about him.
"The researcher beside me is Lead Researcher Shin Mina."
"Ah, hello! Nice to meet you!"
Han Mir dipped his head in return at Shin Mina's greeting.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too. So what is this place, exactly? Doesn't seem like a great spot, considering the creepy monsters popping out of nowhere."
"This is an organization that manages the monsters known as Anomalies, as well as Anomalous Events. I'm sure you have a great many questions, but I'd ask that you first answer ours calmly. Your curiosity will be satisfied naturally as we go."
"Hrm. Fine."
J pulled out a laptop and began logging the conversation.
"Are you human?"
"Huh? Of course I am. You looking at me and still can't tell?"
"Very well. And your name?"
Han Mir rolled his eyes once, then answered.
"Kim Cheol-su."
"Age?"
"Eighteen."
"Still high school age, then. And your place of residence?"
"Mansu-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Cheol-su. Now, let's get to the real questions. How did you suddenly appear here, bypassing the Management Bureau's security?"
"Can't answer that."
J's brow furrowed at Han Mir's response.
"And why is that?"
"I'm hungry."
"...We'll provide whatever food you'd like once the Q&A is finished."
"Then my mouth stays shut. And for the record, even if you pry it open by force, no sound's coming out unless you get me a kimchi jjigae loaded with pork, a bowl of white rice, some roasted seaweed, and a rolled omelet."
What he really wanted was to tear into some fried chicken — but that was something he wanted to enjoy at his leisure, at home. So he went with his second craving: kimchi jjigae. Anyone who hadn't been to The Other World would never understand just how badly he'd missed it.
If he had to put it into words, it was like the longing a person feels for Korean food after leaving for a far-off country. Except that far-off country had to be one with absolutely zero concept of hygiene, overflowing with the worst food imaginable.
J squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again.
"Haa. Fine. Let's start with a meal, then."
Han Mir beamed at that. The kimchi jjigae arrived in front of him before long — a spicy stew radiating thick, steaming heat. Just looking at it made his mouth flood with saliva.
He carefully scooped up a spoonful of broth, blew on it, and took a sip.
"Kyah—!"
The hot broth poured life back into a stomach that had been dying on a diet of garbage, a pleasant heat blooming gently across his tongue. Next came the soft rolled omelet, ketchup drizzled on top, and a mouthful of white rice. Han Mir chewed slowly, a smile of pure bliss on his face, savoring every bit of it before swallowing. Then he wrapped a bite of rice soaked in kimchi jjigae broth in a sheet of roasted seaweed and ate it with gusto.
In all his years, J had never seen a high schooler eat kimchi jjigae with that much relish. Just watching was enough to make his own mouth water, and he found himself seized by a sudden urge to have kimchi jjigae for dinner.
"Wow..."
Shin Mina seemed to be thinking the same thing, smacking her lips.
J swallowed hard and spoke.
"Feeling more inclined to answer my questions now?"
"Chomp, chomp. Ahh, now that's the stuff! Oh, that? Gulp. I'm thinking it was a side effect of the summoning magic."
J's eyebrow twitched at the word "magic."
"Magic?"
"Well, it's a long story, so I'll keep it short. I just got back from The Other World after taking down the Demon King. I'm guessing something small went wrong in the process."
Han Mir said this while shoveling kimchi jjigae into his mouth with gusto.
"A Hero!? So that's how you summoned a glowing sword out of nowhere and killed the Centipede Woman, a C-rank Anomalous Entity!? Oh my god! There really was a Hero who went to The Other World!"
Shin Mina said this, sounding distinctly excited.
"Yeah, that's right. I can still use some of the abilities from my Hero days."
"Hrm. Putting it all together, Cheol-su, you're saying you're a Hero who just saved The Other World and returned?"
"That's exactly it."
Space-related Anomalies had shown up from time to time, but there had never been a single case of a Hero returning after saving The Other World — the kind of thing you'd only ever see in a fantasy novel.
A new special case. This was worthy of being called a Code S situation.
For now, the boy's words didn't seem like a lie. He'd dispatched the Centipede Woman — a creature that bounced bullets off its hide like nothing — in a single instant. The only known method of killing her was to land an attack that delivered internal shock through that thick outer shell. This boy had simply gestured once and blown the thing apart.
He really did deserve to be called a Hero. In terms of power, at least.
J decided, for now, to play along with "Kim Cheol-su."
"Cheol-su, you must be exhausted after just returning. I'm sorry you've been dragged into a situation like this so suddenly."
"Glad you understand. I'll let it slide, out of the goodness of my heart."
J forced a smile at the boy's insolent attitude.
"Haha, I appreciate you saying that. Now, shall we talk a bit about your abilities? Are you saying you currently possess the power that destroyed a Demon King who threatened the entirety of The Other World?"
"Not quite that much. If a Demon King descended here, I'd probably lose."
Han Mir answered offhandedly. J observed him closely — every little movement, the tremor of his pupils, the rhythm of his breathing as he spoke. For all that scrutiny, though, he was just a boy shoveling food into his face.
"Even so, your abilities are extremely dangerous. Dangerous enough that we could classify you as an Anomaly."
"I'd love to know when it became acceptable to call an eighteen-year-old boy an Anomaly."
"An Anomaly is an unknown entity that cannot be explained by modern science and technology. Their abilities are incredibly varied, and some are threatening enough to destroy the world. Like yours, Cheol-su."
"Hrm."
Han Mir's brow furrowed sharply as he rubbed his chin.
J felt a sudden pang of regret. He wondered if that last remark had come across as provocative. He still hadn't properly confirmed the extent of this boy's power. An unprecedented disaster wouldn't have been surprising in the slightest.
"I-if my remark just now offended you, I apologize—"
"Looks like I'm gonna need another bowl of rice. And another plate of rolled omelet while you're at it."
J clenched his fist. Endure it. He had to endure it. He gritted his teeth and nodded.
"As much as you'd like... Ahem. Getting back to the point — your abilities are far too dangerous. Powers that worked just fine in The Other World could run wild here due to any number of unknown variables, couldn't they?"
Han Mir accepted the newly arrived bowl of rice and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. The energy flowing through this world and that one is similar, but different."
"In that case, how about staying here for a while so we can run some tests? Ah, of course, we wouldn't lock you up like a prisoner. You'd receive the finest guest treatment. Whatever you want — a game console, gourmet meals, anything at all — we'll provide it. We'd just need to run a few tests to determine how dangerous your abilities are, and once we've confirmed they're safe, we'll send you back to your everyday life. We'll even contact your family separately, so you can rest easy."
Of course, he had absolutely no intention of letting him go. Ordinary high school boys went missing all the time across the country. A little fabrication — say, that he'd run away from home due to dissatisfaction with society — and that would be that.
There was no reason for the Management Bureau to release an Anomaly with the power to kill a C-rank Anomaly in a single blow. They would simply manage him all the more thoroughly.
The boy's existence could never be allowed to become known to the world. If what he'd said was true, J would feel guilty about condemning someone so young to spend the rest of his life here — but for the sake of world peace, it couldn't be helped.
For now, what mattered to J was coaxing him into compliance safely. He forced a warm, friendly smile.
"That's right! It'll just be some really simple tests to examine your abilities, Cheol-su!"
Shin Mina chimed in, as if trying to put the boy at ease.
A beep sounded in the comms device tucked in J's ear. His body gave a slight twitch, and then he fixed Han Mir with a frigid stare.
"I've just been informed that there is no record of an eighteen-year-old boy named Kim Cheol-su living in Mansu-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon."
Han Mir set down his thoroughly emptied rice bowl with a bang and let out a satisfying belch.
"Buuurp—! Of course there isn't! I just made it up! Same as you using an alias."
J's hand drifted toward the gun at his hip.
"So you've been lying this entire time?"
"You lied too, J. Why shouldn't I? This is like a jaywalker chewing out another jaywalker."
Han Mir said this with a snickering laugh.
"...I have no idea what you're talking about. As I said earlier, if you cooperated, the Management Bureau was prepared to let you go after a few simple tests."
"Then prove it."
"Excuse me?"
"If you're an adult, you take responsibility for your words. Hmm. Yeah, let's do it this way."
Han Mir pointed at J's groin with a mischievous smile.