As soon as my call with Jeon Jiho ended, he immediately had Lee Manji bring me to the Anomaly Control Department. I had clearly said over the phone that I “had no intention of becoming a top-tier Controller,” so I wondered whether he had even listened properly.
“You made the right decision. For you, Iru, a state institution like the Anomaly Control Department suits you better than a civilian organization like Dorae.”
“No, you are listening to me, right? I’m telling you, I didn’t contact you because I wanted to become a Controller. I called to find my friends.”
“If you become a Controller, not only will you receive military exemption, you will also be able to receive additional allowances and a civil servant pension. Even if the Controller himself becomes contaminated or goes missing, immediate family members can use the official housing provided by the Department for life, and….”
“Ha, you’re not listening.”
It was clear that neither the Anomaly Control Department nor Dorae knew anything about headhunting strategies like not becoming the weaker party in talent recruitment.
Jeon Jiho, who had been explaining at length the benefits I could receive as a Controller, finally stopped talking. From the car until we arrived at the Department office, my ears had been aching from hearing all the benefits a Controller could enjoy.
In reality, compared to Dorae, the Anomaly Control Department was more stable and gave more. Since it was a state institution, it also had the advantage that even if one committed illegal acts while handling Anomaly-related work, they could be quietly glossed over as if nothing had happened.
But unlike Dorae, where one could join as long as they were prepared to enter Anomalies, the hiring conditions for Controllers were strict. Among people who experienced Anomalies, a small number developed special abilities like Jeon Jiho’s memory manipulation, and one had to possess such an ability to become a Controller.
If one worked at the Department without any special ability, they had to become a Controller assistant like Lee Manji, or enter as a researcher.
“If memory manipulation is Level 2, then what is Level 1?”
“That is classified.”
“I think I’m going to develop neurosis from the word classified.”
“If you’re curious, then all you have to do is become a Controller. If you say you’ll belong to the Department, we will also disclose methods of entering Anomalies other than Dowon High School.”
“Couldn’t you just tell me as compensation for drawing my blood and tying me up before?”
“As far as I know, that part was already fully paid in cash.”
That was true. Thanks to that, I had ten million won with no tax issues. The Anomaly Control Department did pay money properly and on time.
The problem was that unless I belonged to the Anomaly Control Department, there was no way to know the locations of special sites connected to Anomalies. I had contacted Jeon Jiho to find that out, but Jeon Jiho drew the line, saying he could only tell me if I became a Controller myself.
There was still the method of just going back into Dowon High School and asking Minsu about Kim Jihoon and Lim Jinseong’s whereabouts, but that was too dangerous. Leaving aside the fact that the school was in chaos because I had stirred it up, there was no guarantee Minsu would meekly let me go if I entered the school again.
That was why I had been trying to find out other entrances in order to search for the guys who had gone outside Dowon High School, but all information held by the Anomaly Control Department could only be smoothly viewed by someone who belonged to the Department.
For me, belonging to the Department was easier than stroking Cheolsu’s fur. I only had to say, “I’ll be a Controller!” and a civil servant ID would be issued immediately.
But I did not want to recklessly set foot in the Anomaly industry, where quitting seemed harder than getting hired. I had rolled all over Baekju Apartment to avoid becoming an employed member, so I could not get caught by the ankle here. Could I not end up regretting my career choice for the rest of my life after rashly getting employed to save my missing friends?
Becoming a civil servant to save my missing friends, or just living. If looking only at the options, of course the former was the right thing to do. If Controller were a job one could easily quit, I would not have worried deeply either.
“You said you’re still a college student and have no intention of getting employed right away, so we can consider cooperating with us in another way.”
“Cooperating?”
“Yes. Didn’t you say so, Iru? That forcing someone into employment is unconstitutional.”
It seemed Jeon Jiho had roughly understood what I was reluctant about. It had been worth singing every time I saw him that forced employment was unconstitutional.
“Try working as a Controller for just three months, under the concept of a hiring-linked internship.”
Two contract conditions state institutions supposedly pushed out whenever they got the chance. One was “indefinite-term contract worker,” and the other was “hiring-linked intern.”
Perhaps because Jeon Jiho also belonged to a state institution, even while saying this was unprecedented, he recited the terms of the hiring-linked internship one after another.
“You won’t be becoming an official Controller, so you won’t receive the benefits a Controller can receive. Naturally, military exemption won’t apply either. Since you’ll only be trying it out as an experiential role for three months anyway.”
“Can I do other things? Access classified information or look for other Anomaly entrance methods?”
“I can’t tell you most classified information either. You might go to another organization afterward. Instead, I’ll let you look up the information you currently want on other Anomalies. As far as I, a Level 2 Controller, can confirm, you’ll be able to confirm it too.”
Being able to access the Anomaly Control Department’s information without becoming an official Controller was an incredible privilege. When I narrowed my eyes because I was suspicious of why he would offer such a privilege, Jeon Jiho got straight to the point.
“I hope this becomes an opportunity for Kang Iru to consider the profession of Controller positively.”
In this era, when the employment gate had narrowed to smaller than the eye of a needle and the population giving up on employment numbered in the hundreds of thousands, a state institution was lowering itself and saying that if I was going to get employed, I should do it with them. It was truly something like a job seeker’s fantasy. Not that I had ever wanted this kind of fantasy.
I signed the hiring-linked internship documents Jeon Jiho handed me. Since it would not be recognized as social experience anyway, I planned to dip only the tip of my foot into this employment fantasy until I saved Kim Jihoon and Lim Jinseong.
***
Anomalies were created based on reality. They did not create something from nothing; rather, things that existed in reality absorbed emotions like people’s fear or hatred, became distorted, and were generated.
Because they were based on reality, it was rare for a single Anomaly to be individually independent. According to the records held by the Anomaly Control Department, most location-type Anomalies were connected to one another. It was the same logic as there being a market in front of a school, and a hospital behind a convenience store.
There was not much Anomaly-related information held by the Department that I could view. However, even thin information was better than nothing, so compared to the beginning, I definitely knew more about Anomalies.
For instance, most Anomalies occurred in the form of locations, but they were also generated in the form of people or objects. “This Man” or “Slender Man,” which often appeared in horror urban legends, could be called organism-type Anomalies, and the “Annabelle” doll, a staple subject of horror films, could be called an object-type Anomaly.
At the Anomaly Control Department, they considered location-type Anomalies like Dowon High School more important than organism-type or object-type Anomalies. The reason was that their range was wide, making them harder to control than object-type Anomalies, and numerous civilians could become caught up in them. Unlike organism-type or object-type Anomalies, where proper isolation was enough, the fact that isolation was impossible was also a problem.
Since most of these location-type Anomalies were generated with real places as motifs, it was possible to “leave the location.” But in the past ten years alone, there were ninety-one records related to Controllers and civilians who thought this was an escape method from Anomalies, “left the location,” and then got caught up in another Anomaly in succession.
Therefore, Kim Jihoon and Lim Jinseong, whom Minsu had sent outside Dowon High School, were also highly likely to be wandering through another Anomaly connected to Dowon High School.
“The problem is that I don’t know where it’s connected.”
It was good that I had gained access to Anomaly-related information thanks to Jeon Jiho’s convenience, but there were too many types of Anomalies, so I could not even guess where Kim Jihoon and Lim Jinseong might be.
With the mindset that I had nothing to lose, I wrote down several location names on A4 paper. Including [Bus 499], [Haneul Comprehensive Repeaters’ Academy], [P&G Theme Park], [Gold Camellia Botanical Garden], and so on, I think I wrote about seven in total.
Then I placed the A4 sheets with the location names written on them in front of Cheolsu.
“Cheolsu, Cheolsu.”
It was said that in the old days, when people had something they did not know, they asked ghosts questions through Ouija boards or spirit games. Then the ghost supposedly answered in exchange for a price, or so they said.
These days, instead of ghosts, the internet or AI answered questions, but even if one searched Anomaly-related questions, nothing came up. So I decided to try using Cheolsu.
“Which of these is closest to Dowon High School?”
When I shook the dog chew in my hand, saying I would give it to him if he answered well, Cheolsu’s head moved quickly following my hand. Since Cheolsu without Minsu dwelling in him was honestly just a dog the size of a mountain, I did not have much expectation that Cheolsu would give me the right answer.
However, Cheolsu, who had been smacking his lips while looking at the dog chew, stretched out one seductive front paw and firmly pressed down on one A4 sheet.
Haneul Comprehensive Repeaters’ Academy.