The Return of an Old Subordinate
The sweet strains of classical music enveloped the restaurant.
Lee Yena.
The child I had taken as my thrall a thousand years ago. In my long years without a single person I could truly call a friend, she had been the most comfortable presence… at least, that’s what I used to think. If only this weren’t our first private meeting in twenty years.
Discomfort made me stir my spoon aimlessly, picking at my food for a moment. But the moment the truly exceptional course dishes reached my tongue, I couldn’t help but gape in awe. Just look at this steak! One big bite and the juices exploded with flavor. For someone who had survived on instant ramen or skipped meals entirely when my bank account ran dry, this was overwhelming stimulation.
As my hands moved busily, Yena spoke up.
“Do you recognize this place?”
“…? This place?”
Did she really think I would know such an insanely expensive restaurant?
“No idea.”
“This is where the only survivor from Master’s final mission twenty years ago now works.”
“…”
That time… yeah, there had been a survivor. Though the number of victims had been far greater.
“All memories related to the incident were erased, and she was raised in one of our orphanages. In the end, she grew up quite splendidly.”
“Impressive.”
“I often come here to eat.”
A waiter approached quietly, set down the final dessert, and withdrew.
Truffle honey ice cream. The scoop was adorned with edible gold leaf and drenched in rich truffle aroma.
Hmm. So you eat this crazy-expensive stuff often?
“I suspect it was surveillance.”
“Huh?”
“Watching to see if the fruit of that final mission—the one that led to your retirement—had grown properly without deviation.”
…
“Yena, that’s—”
“I know. I’m well aware it was wrong. Wasn’t it one of the codes of conduct we established back when we were with the Agency?”
It had been during the time we were building up the organization’s foundation.
Anomalies always breed tragedy. The grief left behind by that tragedy often turned toward the survivors, and even Agency members were no exception.
‘Our role is to prevent irrationality from interfering with the human world. Do not make value judgments.’
The words we used to comfort them had somehow become an ironclad principle.
“Please consider this a small act of deviance born from resentment toward Master, who vanished after leaving behind only the command not to look for you. The heart cannot always be controlled, after all.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s all over now.”
Yena smiled faintly and set her spoon down with a soft clink.
“Running the Agency alone under the name of the Hyeonhwi Group wasn’t easy… but since you’ve returned like this, I won’t make an issue of it.”
???
“Return?”
“You… aren’t returning?”
Yena’s expression hardened at terrifying speed.
“Uh, no?”
“…Then why did you step forward to hunt anomalies?”
“W-well, you see…”
Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
The way she slowly closed her eyes and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin gave off an ominous feeling.
“That woman, she…”
“You mean Jung Ji-soo, correct?”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s an acquaintance I happened to meet, and she got caught up in an anomaly, so I tried to give her a little help…!”
“By drinking her blood, you mean?”
“…”
“Knowing full well that the side effect of blood consumption is memory loss, you still caused such an incident. I assumed you felt too embarrassed to return empty-handed and pushed yourself.”
Think, Lee Han!
“R-right! Hehe, coming back empty-handed would’ve been pretty lame, right?”
“Oh?”
Today, Yena’s lips looked especially red as they curved into a gentle smile.
That eerie expression—only her mouth was smiling—sent chills down my spine.
Please!
I absolutely cannot confess that I used blood because I wanted to play the game even if the sky split in two!
Seeing my trembling face, Yena let out a small laugh.
“Let’s go with that, then.”
Phew.
She wasn’t fooled, but at least I’d prevented her from getting closer to the truth. Safe.
“Then the phone call you made to me a few days ago without saying anything must have been out of embarrassment as well.”
The faint smile that said she’d caught me made me recall that day from three months ago.
“Ah, that. Recently…”
“Recently?”
“I got caught up in an anomaly phenomenon. So I had something to ask.”
“An anomaly phenomenon… you say.”
Yena’s eyebrows twitched. She rested her chin on both hands and leaned forward.
“Please explain in detail.”
“Well, you see… a strange package arrived…”
On the way home.
Late at night, after the sun had long since vanished, I crossed through the pitch-black cityscape.
The entire world was black. The towering buildings, the paved asphalt, even the silent night sky—everything.
But even though the world was black, it shone brightly. Some might call them vulgar neon signs, but each one twinkled with its own light. And within that darkness, crowds of people bustled about.
Drunkards shouting as they staggered down the streets. Lovers fighting with fiery tempers. People simply weeping in sorrow. The colorful waves of emotion driving them all surged through the city.
There was no place for me among them.
I let out a small sigh and turned into a dark alleyway.
After listening to my story, Yena had suddenly grown serious and left, saying she would contact me later. She’d call when the time came, I supposed.
Come to think of it, I’d changed all my phone numbers—how had she figured it out in one go?
I climbed the long flight of stairs at the end of the alley, and my familiar home came into view. It was a villa on high ground, which made going out inconvenient, but as long as I stayed cooped up inside, it wasn’t a problem. Finding a place with these conditions at this price wasn’t easy.
“You’re back.”
“Whoa—!”
Yena suddenly appeared at the entrance. I looked around in a panic. The white walls that hadn’t been repainted in ages, the cracked steps at the entrance. This was definitely the villa I’d been living in, right?
“W-why are you here?”
“Didn’t I say I would contact you?”
“That was just now… and anyway, showing up in person isn’t exactly ‘contacting’ someone!”
“Haa.”
Yena stood up, swept back the white hair that had fallen over her face, and stared straight at me.
“Is that important?”
“T-this is stalking! I clearly told you before not to look for me.”
I’d even refused her offer to drive me so she wouldn’t find out where I lived, and walked all the way here!
“I didn’t come looking for Master.”
Click.
Yena took a step closer, her heels echoing.
“I simply followed an ordinary civilian who claims to have been caught by a virtual reality anomaly.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“Hmm, is it?”
Haa. Calm down. Calm down.
I told myself that running into her like this had been inevitable sooner or later.
So.
“Yeah, see you next time, Yena. I’m tired, so I’ll just—”
“Aren’t you curious about that virtual reality anomaly? We have a bit of data on it.”
“…”
“I was taught from a young age that guests should not be left standing outside, Master.”
When I stared at her in disbelief, she grinned.
Right. She rarely smiled, but I had always been weak to the occasional smiles she made.
Creak.
The front door opened, revealing the space I knew so well.
A cramped, messy single room. Into that familiar space of mine, an unfamiliar figure suddenly stepped inside.
“My… you really live quite modestly.”
“Hmph! It’s my room. Mind your own business.”
“You could have at least cleaned. It’s hard to call this a place where people live.”
“Enough. Just tell me what you came to say.”
It felt incredibly uncomfortable having her step into my personal space.
Yena crossed the room and stopped in front of the capsule.
“Is this it? The anomaly?”
“Yeah.”
“Identification number [S-102]. A fake virtual reality game. Commonly known as Eclipse.”
Identification: S-102
Common Name: Eclipse
Type: Virtual Reality / Reality Distortion
Threat Level: S-Class
“S-Class?”
“Yes. This capsule-type anomaly began being randomly mailed to targets about a year ago. It lures people in by pretending to be a game.”
“Wait, hold on.”
The Agency wasn’t some ragtag group—they had proper standards for ranking threats. S-Class was a rank that appeared only once every few years, if that.
“This anomaly wasn’t that dangerous.”
Yena, who had been tapping her lips with her arms crossed, took out her smartphone and showed me a video.
A massive falling boulder being pushed away by an unknown force. Someone floating in the middle of the ocean, creating fire from their hands.
“What is this? Anomaly ability users?”
“In a way, yes. Since they all originated from an anomaly. They are all ability users who gained their powers from Eclipse.”
Yena plopped down in the gaming chair I always used and swung her legs back and forth as if testing its height.
“Eclipse offers a unique experience. A completely different other world.”
That was certainly true. Even though I had only spent three months there, it was a world that couldn’t possibly belong to this one.
“It is a place where magic, swordsmanship, and divinity exist. What if the abilities learned there could be used in the real world?”
“…?”
Wouldn’t that be insanely good?
“As you know, our Agency is always short on manpower. We need people who can keep secrets, have firm convictions, and possess genuine skill rather than half-baked talent.”
Fighting anomalies was life-threatening work. Someone driven only by childish enthusiasm would just become a burden.
“We planned to recruit them into the Agency and train them as agents.”
“Can’t just anyone enter?”
“Correct. Only those who received the package can enter. The initial survival rate was close to one hundred percent, and because of their strong personal will, they were sent in multiple additional times. Each time they returned stronger, which was very helpful… but.”
“They died.”
Her complexion darkened slightly as she nodded.
“Yes.”
The high value of being able to train agents. In contrast, an anomaly that appeared harmless but swallowed victims whole once the line was crossed, with its extermination method still unknown. The fact that it drew victims in voluntarily suggested some form of hypnotic property as well. That must be why it was designated S-Class.
“But, um, Yena. What about that thing… how did that turn out?”
“…The sender says the anomaly arbitrarily sets it to agitate the recipient.”
“I figured.”
I had suspected as much. Not a single thing related to my memories had appeared.
When I looked down with resignation, I noticed Yena’s strangely anxious expression.
“Why? Do you have something else to say?”
“…I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Whether I should tell you this.”
“What is it?”
Yena, who had been avoiding my eyes, finally sighed and looked straight at me.
“You said the people who entered Eclipse wanted to go back in voluntarily. There’s a reason for that.”
Weren’t they just after power?
At my puzzled look, Yena slowly opened her mouth.
“They believed that Eclipse would grant their wishes.”
“…What?”
“They instinctively realized that if they cleared every episode of Eclipse, their wishes would come true.”
“…”
Her gaze, which had been fixed on me, shifted to the capsule.
“Will you… continue?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really believe the wishes whispered by an anomaly? Sometimes, it’s better to leave the past buried.”
“…”
“You know how twisted the wishes granted by anomalies can be, don’t you?”
I knew. I knew, but there were things I couldn’t give up.
And.
“It’s not just because of a wish.”
I walked over to the capsule and lightly placed my hand on it.
Yes, this thing was an anomaly, and everything it showed was an illusion.
Even so.
“I ended up with something I have to take responsibility for.”
“…”
“And I made a promise. To stay by her side.”
“You’re talking about the child you mentioned today.”
“Yeah.”
Yena let out a small sigh and lowered her head. Her bangs fell like a curtain, hiding her face.
“Haa, I expected as much. Everyone says similar things before going back into Eclipse endlessly. But Master.”
“Yeah?”
“Then… what is your relationship with Rebecca? Is it pity… or something like that?”
“That’s too harsh. I’m serious.”
“Then… familial affection?”
“That doesn’t feel quite right either. She’s pretty and smart.”
“…I see.”
Yena suddenly stood up and began pacing around the house.
“There’s not a single bit of management here.”
“Hey, I said I’d take care of that myself!”
She bent at the waist and swiped a finger across the dust on the floor.
“Isn’t this crossing a line?”
“…”
“Who was it that said basic cleaning and organizing are necessary for a healthy life?”
“T-that… I don’t quite remember…”
Yena wiped the dust off her hand with a handkerchief and pressed hard on her furrowed brow.
…If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles.
Then she flashed a very ominous smile, her eyes gleaming.
“This won’t do. There’s no helping it. I’ll have to live here for a while and take care of things myself.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll be playing Eclipse for a while anyway, won’t you? Intentional entry into a non-accidental anomaly must be carried out under the protection of one designated agent as a precaution. You know this, right?”
Yena took one step closer.
“If you dislike me, shall I assign you another agent?”
“…”
I hated outsiders even more.
“Y-Yena. You have to go to the company too.”
“I can work from home and only go in when absolutely necessary.”
Another step.
I shouted desperately.
“Y-you hate cramped spaces!”
“I considered that as well.”
Bang—.
When Yena slammed her fist into the wall behind me, a small hole opened up.
“We can just expand the house, can’t we?”
“Hey, hey! What about the neighbors?”
“I already purchased both neighboring units and completed the eviction procedures.”
“What?”
No wonder it had been so quiet.
“So consider it settled. I’ll be back before dawn tomorrow, so if there’s anything you want to hide, take care of it quickly.”
“Yena, this is too sudden. Men and women should not sit together after the age of seven—this isn’t right.”
I trembled as I watched the pitiful sight of Yena looking around the house, hatching her sinister plans.
“Men and women should not sit together after the age of seven… how amusing.”
“Y-Yena. Still, respecting privacy…”
“It’s literally the unit right next door. What are you so worried about?”
“…”
This damn girl! After all I did to raise you!
After staring at the walls and planning for quite some time, Yena suddenly blamed someone else without even turning around.
“Master started it first.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
Her personality really had gone rotten.