Anomaly (3)

Morning sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains like a blade and slammed straight into my eyes.

"Nngh…."

I twisted under the blanket. I did not want to get up. I threw an arm over my face on the sofa, then tried rolling onto my side, but there was only so much room to move in a space this small.

In the end I gave up on falling back asleep and pushed myself upright. Outside, under a bright sky, heavy machinery and workers were already on the move — bagging monster corpses, hauling them away, hosing blood and scraps of flesh off the pavement with fire-truck water cannons.

So the Gate incident's been cleaned up…?

I stared blankly out the window, then stretched hard. A series of pops ran through my joints, and my body felt cleanly unlocked.

I wanted to know how the Gate Break had been handled, but bothering the person who owned this place felt rude, so I checked the clock first.

It was around 6:15 in the morning. Too awkward an hour to knock on a bedroom door. Turning on the TV was out, too — the noise might wake her.

So what was I supposed to do with this time? After a moment's thought, I headed for the bathroom. Washing up early, clearing my head, and sketching out a plan for the day didn't sound half bad.

Eat, check the current situation, then go out together and stop by the police station. That should wrap it up.

Everything after that would depend on the Returnee Adaptation Program. There was nothing more I could do with my own two hands.

I rinsed off quickly under hot water and stepped out — only to run into a problem.

"…Ah."

Lee Haneul had been the one drying my hair for me.

In the dungeon I'd lived rough: dump a bucket of water over my head, scrub off the blood, wring my hair out like a rag, shake it hard, and let the wind finish the job. That place hadn't exactly been built for self-care.

But this was someone else's home. Not mine. I was a freeloader. Trying to dry my hair without spraying water everywhere made my usual method almost impossible.

After roughly thirty minutes of struggling, what I ended up with was my long hair twisted into a towel turban that looked like a conch shell.

"Uh…. What's going on with your hair?"

"Dunno. This kind of thing…. I'm bad at it."

Lee Haneul had opened her eyes around seven, taken one look at my head, and immediately said something. She unwound the seashell turban, picked up a hair dryer, and dried my hair for me again.

"How do you even live with long hair every day if you can't dry it like this? That has to be miserable."

"…If I take a regeneration buff, it grows back even if I cut it. Keeps growing…. I gave up."

"Ah…. Right. I see."

That was the truth, but she was looking at me like she didn't quite buy it, so I shot her a brief glare. She looked away.

Dragging this nonsense out any longer would only waste time, so I changed the subject.

"The Gate. What happened…?"

"Ah, hang on. That…."

In short: the monster hunt inside Seoul was finished, and cleanup was in full swing. Meaning the Hunters had wiped out every creature that had spilled out when the Gate collapsed.

The affected area had been wide enough to worry me, but apparently they'd managed it in a single night. Korea seemed better at handling this kind of crisis than I'd expected.

"So we won't get stuck like yesterday…?"

"Probably not? Come on, let's just eat already!"

As she said it, Lee Haneul tied on an apron and pulled her hair back with a string.

Wait — she was cooking herself? I was still quietly impressed by her domestic competence when—

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang from the front entrance.

"Huh? Who is it~"

Lee Haneul stopped mid-reach for ingredients and trotted over to the wall pad. Curious, I followed.

On the screen were two men in suits and one woman. The two in front were carrying equipment I didn't recognize.

The one standing behind them had broad shoulders and a massive frame that strained the chest of his suit. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but I could still feel it.

Not some greenhorn who'd never seen a real fight — the presence of a veteran who'd walked out of more than a few of them. Someone out of the ordinary was mixed in with this group.

Fine. While Haneul talked, I'd prepare for the worst.

I slipped quietly back, pulled the dagger I'd stashed under the sofa, and tucked it behind my waist again.

A belt would have been nice, but I was in house clothes. Nothing I could do about that. As long as it stayed out of sight, it was fine.

"…What?"

Listening to the man talk with Lee Haneul, I opened the window. First priority: secure an escape route.

Then I looked up at the curtains. Side-draw style. I tugged a few times — the rod wasn't strong enough to hold my weight, but torn free and used as rope, or as a visual screen, it would do.

Soaking fabric in water made it tougher and more useful….

Hmm.

Blood would probably work about the same.

Good. Preparations for the worst-case scenario were done.

I looked forward again just as a soft electronic chime unlocked the door and it swung open.

Three people filed into the entryway one after another. They all neatly removed their shoes — and the first one through locked eyes with me.

"…And who is that?"

"Ah, well… she's a returnee who used to live in this apartment. Um…."

"A returnee?"

Three pairs of eyes in suits pinned me with perfect accuracy.

I stood with my arms crossed and said nothing. The man and woman with the machines approached and held something that looked like a metal detector out toward me.

Beep— beep-beep— beep-beep—

The man's expression hardened in an instant.

"Waveform match…. Looks certain this is the cause of the dimensional inflection. But…."

The hardness shifted into open confusion. He leaned toward the bear-like man and whispered.

"Does it make any sense for a single returnee to generate a dimensional inflection of this magnitude? This is worse than a demon—"

I kept my face blank. At that volume, Lee Haneul wouldn't hear it. Good.

"Enough."

The bear-like man cut him off, then stepped forward until he stood close to me.

He reached into his jacket and held out a rectangular card. On it were three characters — Park Min-cheol — and an affiliation: Suppression Division.

"Before we start assigning blame…. Introductions first. My name is Park Min-cheol. Outside the Gates, I protect citizens from the various problems Hunters tend to cause. Who are you?"

Right now, Park Min-cheol's intent to fight didn't look clear.

But that was only because he hadn't figured out what I was yet. If he decided I was a threat to public safety, the tightly reined-in killing intent I could feel from him said he would come for my throat without hesitation.

So I didn't drop my guard. As long as he wasn't attacking, though, I would play along.

"Yu Sia. Returnee. Arrived yesterday. …If you've confirmed the cause. What now?"

"You get to the point fast. Prefer the main issue, do you?"

"More or less. I don't have a hobby of living with a bomb in my arms."

"Hrm…."

Park Min-cheol's eyes narrowed slightly. Maybe because my tone had sounded a lot like hurry up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and get lost.

He thought for a moment, then reached a decision and spoke.

"Fine. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Since you like the main issue, I'll be direct. Your return collapsed the entire vicinity of Gangseo-gu. Countless monsters poured onto the surface, and many citizens were harmed. What do you think of that?"

"Dunno. What's the point of the question?"

The way he talked made it sound like the fault was mine, and the words came out on reflex. Why should I care? I'd clawed my way through hell to get home. Was that a crime?

He had no idea what kind of insanity I'd gone through just to survive. Something inside me flipped a switch, and my voice came out vicious.

"Actually, don't bother telling me. You want me to feel guilty? Sorry? Am I supposed to care about the circumstances of people I've never even met, one by one?"

A deep crease cut between Park Min-cheol's brows as he looked at me.

"An ordinary person wouldn't be that indifferent to circumstances that 'have nothing to do with them.' The bigger the fallout from a mistake, the more they fear being the cause."

"Sorry about that. I've only got one thing to say. Not my problem. Don't care. The dead ones just had bad luck."

…Even as I said it, something felt off. Why had my Korean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suddenly gotten so fluent?

I hadn't meant to. The words were sliding out as if someone had oiled my tongue. Before I could even think about the condition that had caused it, Park Min-cheol took another step closer.

"Right. That was conversation enough."

"Heh. So you've got my measure. Time to settle it, then?"

I shifted my weight onto one leg and deliberately rested a hand near my hip — a delinquent's posture. Provocation, and also keeping my hand close to the blade hidden at my waist.

"I won't waste words. Come with us. We'll talk properly at the Association."

"You think I'm crazy enough to follow? Nobody walks into the enemy's base on their own two feet."

If I hadn't been the source of the Gate Break, I wouldn't have needed to be this wary. In another life I might have trailed after them happily….

You can't trust an enemy. Better to kill them all than take a knife in the back.

"Haa…."

Park Min-cheol exhaled and slowly settled into a stance. The air in the room grew heavy with him. Tension coiled between us — a hair-trigger moment where killing intent could erupt either way at any second.

I was going to live. I was going to survive. Even if I had to kill the entire world to do it. Trample it, claw my way up, yes — the same way I'd cleared that dungeon. Until only I was left, if that was what it took.

I smiled. The tension of slaughter always gave me the same pleasant thrum as an appetizer set in front of me. And then—

"…What do you think you're doing right now?! Park Min-cheol-ssi!!"

—tak. One voice cut the tension clean through.

"This person is a returnee. She spent years in a strange other world and only just made it back. For one single reason — she wanted to come home. Is that a crime?"

What the hell.

My head turned sideways with a stiff, mechanical creak. My neck muscles had locked so hard I moved like a wooden doll.

Lee Haneul, why are you angry…? You're barely even connected to me.

"It isn't a disaster she caused because she wanted to. And yet you spoke as if she'd already done something wrong. How do you think that sounds to the person hearing it? How do you think it feels to be told she shouldn't have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come back at all?!"

My mind went pure white.

What was I listening to? We weren't that close. Was this over-immersion? What even was this situation?

Park Min-cheol's eyes met mine. Both of us had gone equally blank, struck dumb.

Heavy silence settled over the room. Inside it, I turned Lee Haneul's words over again and again before I finally opened my mouth.

"You, are you out of your—"

Thwack!

The instant I spoke, Lee Haneul's elbow cracked into my arm. Message received: shut up. I closed my mouth.

Park Min-cheol watched the whole thing, dragged a palm down his face, and addressed Lee Haneul with a look of pure exhaustion.

"I understand the intent. But why bring that up now?"

"Why? It's not… like I said anything wrong."

A subtle silence followed her words. Even she didn't sound fully convinced.

"But… you and that returnee aren't particularly close. You're not even living together, are you? Getting mixed up in this only puts you in danger."

At that, Lee Haneul bit her lip lightly.

To Park Min-cheol, I was a risk factor. And if someone with no real connection to me stood up for me, she could end up in danger too. There was nothing wrong with what he'd said.

But Lee Haneul didn't back down. She looked up at him squarely instead.

"…You're right. Cohabitation. We already agreed. It's been a day and we're still living in the same place — can't you tell?"

"What?"

Park Min-cheol looked at me again, then at her. His gaze bounced back and forth between us a few times before he rubbed his chin.

What. The hell. I don't know anything about this either. Stop looking at me like that.

His stare was too much. I turned my head away. Every emotion I'd been holding until a moment ago had been bleached pure white by the consecutive bombshells.

"…Haa. Is that so."

In the end Park Min-cheol shook his head and stepped back in front of me. Apparently he'd decided to shift course and clean up the situation as it stood.

"Then I understand. For asking questions without considering your circumstances, and for the discourtesy that caused you — I sincerely apologize."

"Uh, uh? Y-yeah…."

My fluent Korean had already gone clumsy again. So I ended up accepting his apology like a total dork.

"It may not apply to you, but statistically, most returnees choose Hunter as a profession. If you decide to become one, give them my name at the counter. I'll leave a gift as a token of apology."

With that, Park Min-cheol turned. The other two followed him toward the entrance. The door lock chimed, and the door opened.

I could see the Hunter Association staff muttering among themselves, but there was no room to focus on that.

Beep—

The door closed. A room that had felt cramped with five people in it now felt hollow with only two left. Only then could I speak to Lee Haneul.

"…You. Just now. What. Was that?"

She didn't answer right away. She seemed to be thinking the words through carefully. Then one line came flying at me.

"You were going to kill him, weren't you? That man just now."

"……."

"Goblins are fine to kill. But… people aren't. If you kill someone, you can't live a normal life anymore."

Lee Haneul said it while looking straight at me. Our gazes overlapped until we were staring into each other's eyes.

"So… in exchange for you saving my life, I saved one life too. That makes us even. Doesn't it?"

No. I'd saved her so I wouldn't lose the guide who could introduce me to the Returnee Adaptation Program, and so I'd keep the person who could let me into this apartment. It had been for my own benefit.

What she'd given me was goodwill. She'd taken a risk and spoken up even though there was nothing in it for her but loss.

Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Lee Haneul turned back toward the kitchen and spoke as she walked.

"Ah, while I'm asking — so are we actually going to live together? If it's now… I'd be willing to split the utilities and settle around five hundred a month."

I genuinely had no idea what expression I was supposed to make.

So I just stood there, staring blankly, even after she finished speaking.