Two giants of the Anomaly world were fighting over me, insisting I had to join their side.
If it had actually been giants from some major corporation fighting over me, I would’ve been thrilled—but since it was an organization and a group inflating salaries with hazard pay, it wasn’t enjoyable at all.
The reason both the Anomaly Control Department and Dorae Corporation wanted me was obvious. For some reason, I had a built-in “translation function” that allowed me to communicate with ordinary entities inside Anomalies. A walking, Anomaly-exclusive translator. Both sides seemed to value that ability extremely highly.
Jeon Jiho, who could perform large-scale mental manipulation, was only a Level 2 Controller—yet they were offering me a top-tier Controller position. That probably meant I was the only one with this translation ability. The world’s only translator.
Yeah… I can see why that’d be considered revolutionary in this field.
That must have been why Director Park resorted to something as inhumane as kidnapping.
“You’ve got quite the survival instinct, don’t you? You got hit by a car and still came out fine.”
“Are you confessing to attempted murder? Still as shameless as ever.”
“Look in the mirror. You’re the shameless one.”
It was obvious to anyone that Jeon Jiho and Director Park didn’t get along.
Caught in the middle like a shrimp between two whales, I just sighed and resumed petting the whining black dog.
Since I had somehow brought the dog out of the Anomaly, I was planning to take it back to my apartment. Considering it had been Minsu, it didn’t feel right to just leave it behind.
As I tried to recall whether my lease allowed pets, their argument escalated.
“You’ve got some nerve talking when all you do is brainwash people into becoming Controllers.”
“Still better than a group that creates more missing persons while trying to recover them.”
“Ha! I’m not backing down this time. Iru has to come to Dorae.”
“Not happening. Kang Iru is destined to become a top-tier Controller.”
Do I have some kind of irresistible charm this year or what…?
My parents were devout Christians, so I had never even been to a fortune teller. Now I regretted it. I should’ve checked whether I was fated for this kind of attention.
My life had been full of hardships, sure—but I never expected my biggest issue would be forced recruitment instead of romance.
“I don’t care if you want to be a government dog, but you were going to brainwash him again without explaining anything, weren’t you? That’s exactly why I hate you.”
“And you think you did nothing wrong? Ramming a moving vehicle crossed a line. He could’ve died instead of me.”
“You think I can’t control that much? My only mistake was not killing you when I had the chance—”
“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt your argument, but—”
Their fight didn’t stop until I had mentally finalized the dog’s name as Cheolsu.
In the end, I had no choice but to step in as the unfortunate shrimp caught in the middle.
“I’m not becoming a Controller, and I have no intention of being a Retriever either.”
“Why not?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Why do you think? An organization that brainwashes people into employment and a group that crashes cars and forces recruitment—neither of those sounds normal. And realistically, no matter how much you pay, both jobs involve going into Anomalies all the time. I don’t want a job where I have to risk my life.”
“……”
“……”
“Besides, I’ve been saying this from the start—I’m still in college. I’m not even looking for a job yet. You both know this is a country with freedom of career choice, right?”
As soon as I made my refusal clear, both Jeon Jiho and Director Park fell silent.
“I’m just an ordinary person. If possible, I’d rather not go into Anomalies at all.”
Of course, I knew I might have to go back in to find Kim Jihoon or Lim Jinseong.
And if it was to save them, I would willingly go myself.
But aside from that, I had no desire to risk my life entering Anomalies. Even if I had some special ability no one else did, I didn’t want to be forced into belonging somewhere because of it.
“So what did the Control Department do to you to make you like this?”
“Looks like Dorae threw someone into an Anomaly again. Just like an illegal group would.”
The worst part about joining either side would be having Jeon Jiho or Director Park as my superior.
There were endless posts online about terrible bosses driving people insane—and I had spent plenty of lectures reading those stories. Walking into that kind of hell voluntarily made no sense.
“Anyway, I’m not planning to get a job before I graduate.”
Even after graduation, I had no intention of entering an Anomaly-related field. No amount of money or military exemption was worth risking my life.
But if I just kept saying “absolutely not,” it was obvious I wouldn’t be allowed to go home. So before they could try brainwashing or kidnapping me again, I quickly added:
“After I graduate… I’ll at least consider submitting a résumé to whichever side safely takes me back to my apartment right now.”
Since both the Control Department and Dorae Corporation were desperate to recruit me, it meant I currently held all the leverage.
How many chances would I ever get, as a philosophy major, to be in such a position?
I decided to make full use of it.
It worked.
The moment I insisted that I’d only consider applying after graduation if they took me home immediately, a car was prepared right away.
“Iru, I really hope you’ll join us, even if it’s after you graduate.”
“The offer for a top-tier Controller position is genuine, so if you ever change your mind—”
“I’m speaking with Iru right now. Would you mind not interrupting?”
While Director Park and Jeon Jiho resumed their clash, I got into the back seat of the sedan prepared by Dorae, along with Cheolsu.
Of course, my promise about submitting a résumé after graduation was a lie.
Plenty of people submit applications and never show up for interviews. It seemed both of them were too old to realize how cunning people my age could be.
This time, thankfully, no car came crashing into us from behind.
If another unknown organization had tried to recruit me, I would’ve called Minsu immediately—even if it meant becoming the ultimate traitor.
As I looked out the window of the luxury car speeding down the road, I muttered to myself:
“Wow… being this popular is exhausting.”
Back when I was a freshman, my biggest worry had been how I’d make a living after graduating with a philosophy degree.
Now, my biggest concern was how to avoid being forcibly employed.
Life really was unpredictable.
***
The moment I arrived at my apartment, I sent a message to my landlord.
“Something came up and I’m taking care of a dog. Would it be okay to keep one here?”
Cheolsu was a large dog—there was no way I could secretly keep him in such a small studio. It was better to be upfront than to cause problems later.
Living near campus without even a yard, suddenly having to care for a large dog was a serious issue.
But I couldn’t just leave a dog that came out of an Anomaly with just anyone. I had no idea when or how Minsu might emerge, so the best option was to take care of Cheolsu myself.
The reply came quickly.
“It’s stated in the contract. Pets are not allowed.”
Unfortunate.
Clinging to hope, I took a picture of Cheolsu and sent it.
I fully expected a firm rejection—but the landlord’s next reply was unexpected.
“I’ll make an exception this time. Your dog looks very well-mannered.”
“Could you send me a few more photos?”
I sent several more pictures.
Whether it was because Cheolsu had once housed Minsu, or because the landlord simply liked dogs, their attitude became noticeably friendlier after seeing the photos.
Whatever the reason, it was a relief that I could keep Cheolsu.
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed like an ordinary large dog. I couldn’t just shove him back into an Anomaly and tell him to return where he came from. Only a psychopath would do something like that.
Lying on my bed, I searched for supplies for large dogs on my phone.
I had always wanted to raise a dog or a cat, but my parents had strongly opposed it, so I had never even gotten close to animals.
Honestly, I was a little happy to be taking care of Cheolsu.
Even if my environment wasn’t ideal, I resolved to take good care of him—even if it meant cutting back on my own expenses.
Humans could go without—but dogs deserved the best.
As if he understood my sincerity, Cheolsu leapt onto the bed and settled down beside me.
The warmth of his body and the blanket quickly made my eyelids heavy.
Just as I was about to fall asleep—
The sound of eight digits being entered into my apartment’s door lock pierced my ears.
I jolted awake, still half-asleep.
The only people who knew my door code were me and my parents.
If my parents showed up unannounced in the middle of the night, it would be a disaster for any college student living alone.
“Iru.”
At the sound of my mother’s voice, the drowsiness vanished instantly.
“…What on earth did you bring into the house?”