Chapter 26

Chapter 26 . XIII (2)

“The government has prohibited the Bureau from increasing personnel.”

Mm…….

When I kept my mouth shut, Kwon Mu-seop said with a sorrowful face,

“You’re truly honest.”

“Pardon?”

“This time, you had the expression of someone hearing a person make dog sounds…….”

Ah, I got caught again.

“Ah, no, that’s not it. I was just thinking about what kind of situation this is.”

“It’s a common situation, really. It has been 8 years since the Bureau was established, but we still know almost nothing.”

“Are you saying the budget was cut because of a lack of results?”

“Ah, they still give us a generous budget. They only restrict personnel. There was a time when the higher-ups went absolutely furious because advanced personnel in the Bureau were wiped out.”

Wiped out?

“Are you perhaps talking about the total-war period…….”

“Ah, so you already know.”

When I recalled what I had heard from Kwak Jae-gyeom, Kwon Mu-seop nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. The Bureau originally had about 1,500 employees, but around one-third died in the line of duty then. And most of them were our family in the Field Division and the Research Division.”

……No, I had not known that at all.

One-third died in the line of duty?

The damage was that severe?

“Since we lost personnel like that, the higher-ups drew the line and said no more. So right now, the Bureau is operating with 40 percent fewer people than its quota.”

These people had not been exaggerating.

They really were short on manpower…….

And I had boarded a ship after all its good days had passed, right before it sank……?

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean the government has given up on responding.”

Perhaps because I had failed to manage my expression again, Kwon Mu-seop hurriedly added,

“They just changed the general policy a little. When Special Zones were first observed, they were called an unprecedented anomalous phenomenon, so the response was truly forceful. That is also why we use this headquarters building.”

Right, Kwak Jae-gyeom had said something like that too.

That there probably was not any facility in the Republic of Korea as expensive and safe as this one.

In fact, that was why it had been even more absurd.

The facility was top-class, yet the organization was short on manpower.

But that was how it had happened.

All of this was past glory…….

“That was the case, but the situation dragged on for too long, and in the middle, there was also an uproar like someone had kicked a hornet’s nest, so now the guidelines have changed toward taking a more cautious approach.”

Kwon Mu-seop tried hard to package it nicely.

I thought it was a very exquisite expression.

“To say the government has not given up on responding.”

There was no more polite way to include both “they are not responding properly” and “but it is not as if they have let go completely.”

More importantly, what on earth happened during the total-war period?

Why did researchers suffer damage when they were smashing Special Zones apart?

No, even setting that aside.

“Do those higher-ups not think they themselves might get dragged into a Special Zone?”

“They do. That’s why they are careful in their own way.”

“How are they careful?”

“They look at statistics and lower the probability. Last month, many people went missing in Nowon-gu, so let’s not go there. This month, there are many late-night disappearances, so let’s not be alone at night. That kind of thing.”

“……?”

“That sounds like nonsense, doesn’t it? I understand.”

Was it because my expression had grown honest again?

Kwon Mu-seop muttered with a shadowed face.

“But there really are patterns and tendencies. Sometimes, we can even see these things using their heads.”

“Using their heads?”

Who? The Special Zones?

When I asked back in surprise, Kwon Mu-seop nodded.

“Last year alone, an average of 12.3 people flowed into Special Zones per day, but not once has that ever been witnessed in real time. If being dragged into a Special Zone were truly random, more people should be dragged away in crowded downtown areas in broad daylight.”

Come to think of it, that was true.

This meant people were not simply dragged away at random, but that suitable people were being selected.

“How is that possible? Are Special Zones not simply spaces, but alive?”

“Who knows. I would truly like to know that myself.”

……For some reason, I could understand the higher-ups’ feelings too.

They had supported this place to respond to anomalous phenomena, but after 8 years, the answer was still “Who knows.” It was actually impressive that no one had told them to clear out.

“Do you not even have any assumptions?”

“There are many hypotheses……. They are just too embarrassing to say out loud.”

What could they be, for him to be unable to even say them?

When I looked at him in puzzlement, Kwon Mu-seop sighed and confessed.

“The freshest one was the ‘Earthbound Spirits’ Counterattack’ theory.”

“……Seriously?”

“Yes. One of our researchers threw it out all of a sudden, and somehow the higher-ups who like shamanism got hooked on it…….”

Where on earth is this country going?

“Ah, but this also isn’t completely groundless. Type 1 Special Zones in particular are easy to connect to that line of thought.”

“You mean Yongsan Station?”

“That is one of them, and actually, all Type 1s are like that. The 「Hospital That Hunts Humans」 you went to before has its original form in a university hospital in Jongno.”

Did he mean the one at Hyehwa Station?

I had never gone inside it. I had only passed by it, so I had not recognized it at all.

But had something happened there too?

“That place was a hospital during the Korean War as well, and they say hundreds of wounded ROK soldiers and civilian patients being treated there were shot dead by the enemy.”

“In a hospital?”

“Yes. A clear war crime. And the 「Warehouse Club」 you went to yesterday has its original location in Yeongdeungpo, and that street is considered a place where urban combat was fierce. They say the stream beside it was filled with blood and corpses at the time.”

At Kwon Mu-seop’s explanation, the picture in my head fitted itself together on its own.

A hospital where a massacre occurred.

The 「Moving Gun」 that hunted humans in the same space.

A street where urban combat had been fierce.

And the 「Warehouse Club」 where gunfire and explosions ran wild.

At this point, it made sense, didn’t it?

I think the Special Zones really are curses from earthbound spirits……?

“In fact, that was why we once held shamanic rituals too.”

“Shamanic rituals?”

I had been half-convinced, but came to my senses at the words shamanic rituals.

Shamanic rituals?

The ones with bells and standing on bladed straw cutters?

“Yes. Since they only cost money, we thought there was nothing to lose, so on orders from above, we tried holding several large ones.”

“And the effect…….”

“As you can see, there has not been any yet.”

Kwon Mu-seop spoke as if regretful, and I laughed hollowly.

These people really had been desperate.

No, wait.

I looked toward Cha Si-eon.

But Cha Si-eon absolutely refused to look at me.

He only turned his head with an expressionless face and strongly avoided my gaze.

So I simply asked Kwon Mu-seop.

“Was Team Leader Cha there during the shamanic rituals too?”

“Of course he was. At the time, Team Leader Cha was the youngest, so he did a lot of the rough work. Still, he was so good at his job that it was reassuring.”

“Wow…… Really…….”

What had that guy said before?

Had he said we should scientifically identify things and not indulge in superstitious imagination?

I remembered the line “that kind of connection is an insult to the victims” exactly.

Hey, you even held shamanic rituals, and then you said that to me…….

It was absurd in several directions, but on the other hand, I also understood.

The Bureau agents were advanced personnel called national assets.

People like that gathered and responded, but they found out nothing and only suffered damage at a level close to annihilation.

From above, the guidelines changed because they could no longer waste manpower.

So now they were simply watching.

Without knowing whether this would become management, or something else later.

No, without even knowing what this was, they were observing people die.

Today the same as yesterday, tomorrow the same as today.

Like frogs slowly cooking in a pot.

As silence flowed, Kwon Mu-seop said gloomily,

“In any case, this is the state of things, and as I talk about it, I feel miserable, as if I have only confessed our incompetence……. When I should be showing you a trustworthy side.”

This manager really is honest too.

Kwon Mu-seop’s first impression earlier had been like a clergyman.

But now that I had spoken with him, he felt like this.

A neighborhood idiot older brother with a fine build, somehow pitiful.

Could those cauliflower ears be traces of being the neighborhood punching bag, not the symbol of a fighter……?

“Even so, after Mr. Seo Do-un arrived, the atmosphere among the staff has truly improved.”

“What did I even do…….”

“You did something great. Far more than you think.”

“Pardon?”

“That is why, personally, I hoped Mr. Seo Do-un would simply fill the probationary period and be dismissed, but as expected, things do not go as one wishes.”

I could hardly understand what Kwon Mu-seop was saying.

Leaving aside what he meant by far greater than I thought.

He had hoped I would be dismissed?

“Isn’t it helpful to the Bureau if I get dragged around by Special Zones?”

“From the Bureau’s position, yes. Hoping for your dismissal was my personal feeling. A very private one.”

Kwon Mu-seop smiled faintly as he spoke.

So I recovered my common sense anew.

Right, if someone is trapped in a random box where they do not know when they will die, this is the correct attitude.

Not congratulating them outright like that bastard Cha Si-eon.

“Still, since it has come to this, we should do our best. To be honest, I also very much want your help, Mr. Seo Do-un. From above, the general policy changed to maintaining the status quo, but our goal is still to interpret and resolve the phenomenon.”

Kwon Mu-seop revealed his ambition in a calm tone.

Then he asked me too.

“What is your goal, Mr. Seo Do-un?”

“To survive.”

“And your reason?”

The question was too profound.

Did survival need a reason?

As I debated how to answer, Kwon Mu-seop smiled and continued.

“In any case, our interests align well. We need Mr. Seo Do-un in order to resolve the phenomenon, and Mr. Seo Do-un needs to conquer Special Zones in order to survive. So I would like you to be with us. Then at the very least, we will not leave Mr. Seo Do-un wandering alone in the jaws of death.”

Kwon Mu-seop’s voice was as gentle as ever.

However, his last words were quite heavy.

Right. The Bureau’s support yesterday had definitely been reliable.

So I had no intention of refusing, but the conditions seemed too good for me, which bothered me instead.

These people were not The Giving Tree, and they surely wanted something in return for what they gave.

“I would be grateful if you did that for me, but I don’t know whether I’ll be as much help as you expect.”

“I think you have enough talent. Your body being a little frail will be solved quickly, so I am not too worried.”

I am not frail. You people are excessively healthy.

The one closer to average is actually me.

“And Mr. Seo Do-un’s situation itself is an important opportunity for us, but let us talk about that gradually and focus on survival for now. In any case, surviving comes first.”

Kwon Mu-seop concluded and held out his hand.

I had thought earlier that he seemed like a neighborhood idiot older brother, but I should probably revise that impression.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop seemed to be subtly like an old fox.

The type to handle people while smiling and acting pitiful.

And characters like this have a high probability of being dark inside…….

But well, if I had to shake hands, an old fox was better than an idiot.

I took Kwon Mu-seop’s hand.

Then Kwon Mu-seop smiled and asked,

“We are family now, so may I speak comfortably?”

“Yes.”

“I look forward to working with you, Do-un.”

“I look forward to working with you as well.”

If it had ended like this, it would have been heartwarming.

But Kwon Mu-seop opened his mouth again.

“Do-un.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

……?