A few days after the contract renewal.
Action Division 2 was quickly streamlined.
Having perfectly resolved the Chameleon case, we received a vacation.
Of course, even if you could call it a vacation, they were nothing but days of me huddled in a white room, trembling and shaking in fear of when I might be subjected to an experiment.
Senior Minjun was happy that it was a vacation, the moment it ended.
I also remember Senior Yeonu saying it was a relief nonetheless and passing out cold.
And today is the last day of vacation.
"...Hic."
Hiding in a corner and being wary of my surroundings was gradually growing tiresome.
"...Sleepy."
I wondered if I should sleep for a bit, but I couldn't easily close my eyes, afraid that if I fell asleep now, that door would open and people in lab coats would enter.
I simply stared blankly at the white ceiling.
"...Hungry."
When there was no work, the pet anomaly's meals were basically provided in a feed-like form.
It tasted like puppy food, so I couldn't eat it properly and was currently quite starved.
Hunger and fatigue rushed in simultaneously and overwhelmed me.
Just as my eyes were slowly closing, I sensed a presence.
"...!!"
Startled, I turned to the side.
"You said you were starving? Want a hamburger?"
"...Senior."
Senior Yeonu came into view, emanating a delicious scent.
* * *
Senior Yeonu took out a hamburger and handed it to me.
I quickly stuffed the hamburger into my mouth.
"...D-don't they feed you?"
Senior Yeonu, who was about to eat his hamburger, looked at me in shock.
I shook my head and replied awkwardly.
"...Dog food in a dog bowl......"
"Ah......"
"It was a bit hard to eat... S-sorry, I'll try harder."
As I laughed awkwardly while saying that, my senior made a briefly uncomfortable expression, sighed, and leaned his back against the wall.
"...Do as you like."
"......."
"I'm going to take you around and feed you from now on, so keep that in mind."
"...!!"
When I was slightly surprised, my senior avoided my gaze, perhaps embarrassed, and just ate his hamburger.
I smiled brightly, expressed my gratitude, and devoured the remaining hamburger.
'...He somehow feels more caring.'
Even in this hellish life, it felt like a hole to breathe through had opened up to some extent.
At least, it seemed like it would be that way while Senior Yeonu was around.
* * *
After finishing the meal, we arrived at the office.
I bowed my head respectfully to Senior Minjun and the supervisor, who had arrived early, and hurriedly went to sit at my seat.
"Rookie, you don't look well. Didn't you get proper rest?"
"...Ah... Yes sir."
I replied awkwardly because I truly hadn't rested properly.
And Senior Yeonu silently handed me a mixed coffee.
"Take it."
"Ah... Thank you......"
"Minjun, want one too?"
Saying that, my senior handed one to Senior Minjun as well.
At this, Senior Minjun smirked, asking if he had spat in it, and reached out his hand.
"Did you spit in it? You hate me."
"...Your eyesight has improved a lot."
"...!?"
Naturally, he had thought it was a joke, but Senior Yeonu said "What a pity" and threw the coffee away just like that.
Perhaps not having expected such behavior from my senior, Senior Minjun also looked at Senior Yeonu in a daze.
"Why?"
"Ah, no... It's nothing, yes......"
Deflated, Senior Minjun sat back down in his seat.
Watching such a Senior Minjun, I trembled.
"I didn't spit in that one."
"Ah, yes......"
"You listen well, Sion."
Saying that, Senior Yeonu opened his laptop and got to work.
I still couldn't quite adapt, wondering if a person could change this much just from a re-evaluation.
'I can't get used to this person......'
He was definitely someone I could rely on.
Strong, and someone who held the leash of the anomaly inside me in my stead.
But separate from that, he was just scary.
At times his personality fluctuated, or the thuggish actions he committed without a care.
'I need to be careful......'
Thinking I should conduct myself well from now on, I began my main duty: spacing out.
* * *
The morning after vacation ended.
Since early morning, Sohun reported Sion's condition to the higher-ups and received a re-evaluation.
"Lee Sion, his mind is human, is it not?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Hmm......"
His mind was human, but part of his body was mixed with anomaly genes, and when he died and came back to life, a dual personality sometimes popped out.
Honestly speaking, he was difficult to control, but for some reason, he had told them his own weakness himself, so control itself was rather easy.
"So all we really have to do is keep renewing the contract to reset him?"
"Yes, it seems so. It's as if he's slowly adapting to the chains."
As he explained Sion's condition, the sound of tapping on a chair was heard.
The section chief tensed up a bit at this, but soon a positive answer came.
"First... The rank will be maintained, but treatment needs improvement."
"...!!"
"You may go."
The news that Sion's rank would be maintained while his treatment would be somewhat improved.
Above all, mental management of Sion was most important to prevent that monstrous anomaly from coming out, so it wasn't a bad decision.
"Understood."
Just as Sohun bowed his head and was about to step outside.
"Ah... right. Chief So."
"Yes?"
He was called from behind.
He tilted his head and turned around, and a file popped out from beyond the white cloth.
"A mission for Action Division 1."
"...!!"
"We were originally going to dispatch Action Division 2... but you know what situation 2 is in right now."
Currently, Division 2 was a motley crew itself.
The newly appointed chief of Division 2 lacked experience and even fell short in command and leadership, so he needed to match his rhythm with team members a bit more.
And the contents written in the report were—
[Anomalous phenomena have occurred at multiple parks in Seoul.
They occur regardless of evening or dawn hours, with the common point that the surrounding temperature drops drastically and light fades.
When the temperature recovers and light returns, blood-soaked, torn-to-shreds clothes of the victim remain at the spot.
Presumed to be the work of an anomaly, but impossible to specify as it occurs at multiple parks.
Advance information is needed, but since fatalities continue to occur, it is an urgent matter that must be dealt with quickly.]
It was obviously too much for a motley crew of rookies to solve.
No matter how much the Administration valued human lives like flies' lives, this was excessive.
"...Indeed, this isn't a problem that rookies can solve."
"Exactly. An inexperienced rookie would only lose their life if sent out. And you all have that Lee Sion, don't you?"
Hearing something to that effect—that with Lee Sion, they at least had one immortal, so couldn't they do well—Sohun frowned at the higher-up.
"...That child is also human."
"All the better. No matter how many trained human lives we throw in, it won't end."
"......."
He simply couldn't believe that the upper echelon giving orders from behind this small square hole blocked by a thin cloth was a veteran who had been in the field for at least 20 years.
"Anyway, don't feel too bad."
"...Yes."
"Be off with you. I expect good results."
The upper echelon said that and sent Chief So back.
The chief sighed and moved his steps toward the office.
'I'm going crazy......'
The chief wondered if such a high-difficulty anomaly right after vacation ended wasn't a bit much.
Feeling that the weather had grown much colder, he hurried his steps.
* * *
"Ah... Welcome... G-good morning."
"Yes, good morning."
The chief returned my greeting with a wave of his hand.
Feeling somewhat proud, I smiled brightly, and the chief tilted his head before handing the file around to us and continuing to say that a new mission had dropped.
"Nice."
"Kid... seems like you were waiting for work."
"Of course. Unfortunately, I missed out on the last toy."
"...Were you not swallowed by that toy?"
The supervisor said that with an exasperated expression.
Senior Minjun smiled brightly at this and salivated as he looked at the report.
"...This, I think I've seen it on an urban legend site."
My senior said that, revealing a subtle madness.
'Urban legend...!'
At the words "urban legend," I quickly read through the file.
[Anomalous phenomena have occurred at multiple parks in Seoul.
They occur regardless of evening or dawn hours, with the common point that the surrounding temperature drops drastically and light fades.
When the temperature recovers and light returns, blood-soaked, torn-to-shreds clothes of the victim remain at the spot.
Presumed to be the work of an anomaly, but impossible to specify as it occurs at multiple parks.
Advance information is needed, but since fatalities continue to occur, it is an urgent matter that must be dealt with quickly.]
Dropping temperatures, fading light, and torn collars, scenes strewn with bloodstains and flesh.
"...It's cruel."
It was quite cruel.
Moreover, the attached photos were utterly nauseating.
Scenes left as if they hadn't been able to properly clean up entrails or fingers that had been cut off.
"......."
"Disgusting."
Senior Yeonu said that and clenched his fist.
'Ugh... He's pissed.'
This guy's pissed again.
I sneakily moved to the side so sparks wouldn't fly, but.
"Don't go, we have to analyze."
"Hic...!"
I was found out right away.
I was forcibly held and made to look at the photos, starting to deduce what and how they had been killed, but.
"...Is it slashing?"
"Hmm, it doesn't seem like claws."
"It could have ground them up."
The correct answer didn't come out easily.
"...Could it be scissors......"
Among many wrong answers, I chose scissors.