Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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Early morning.

Lee Yeonwoo was mechanically brushing his teeth when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. He picked it up.

- Team Leader: Hey everyone. Our office is getting renovated. Work from home until it\'s done. I\'ll let you know if any fieldwork comes up.

It was a message in the Anomaly Investigation Team\'s group chat.

Yeonwoo blinked, rinsed his mouth, and went back to bed. He sat on the edge, eyes glued to his phone.

- Me: What\'s with the sudden renovation?

- Team Leader: They\'re bringing in new equipment. Apparently replacing all the storage units and computers.

Improved working conditions for investigators. It seemed Yeonwoo\'s demands to Mark Jung were being implemented right away.

- Senior Ji-yoo: Why now? How much are they spending to warrant construction?

- Team Leader: Guns, drones, small observation devices, fluorescent vests, memory erasers, tasers, you name it.

- Team Leader: So when it\'s done, you\'ll need to get drone licenses and go for equipment training.

The chat went quiet after a final message to rest up during construction, as they\'d be busy afterward.

No longer needing to go to work, Yeonwoo put his phone down and scratched his head. His gaze fell on his messy room.

"Ah... I didn\'t clean up last night."

Beer cans littered the floor around his bed. He nudged them aside with his foot and shuffled around, picking up trash.

As he put the cans in a bag, Yeonwoo vaguely recalled last night\'s chat with the clock repairmen over drinks.

\'Did we decide to keep it social from now on? And only team up for anomalies like climate issues?\'

He\'d decided to stay in touch with both the clock repairmen and other factions. Just enough to keep lines of communication open.

Lost in thought, he finished cleaning. Yeonwoo yawned widely and looked around his studio. Nothing left to throw out, nothing to eat for breakfast.

\'Guess I\'ll hit the convenience store.\'

Arms full of garbage, Yeonwoo shuffled out of his apartment.

The convenience store was across from the recycling area.

Yeonwoo approached but stopped short. He stared at the glass door and the man standing in front of it.

\'What\'s this?\'

A man stood motionless in front of the glass door. Not entering, just leaning his forehead against the glass.

"Ahem."

Frowning, Yeonwoo cleared his throat and entered through the door next to the man. A chime sounded as the glass door opened.

Ding-a-ling!

As they brushed past, Yeonwoo glanced sideways at the man. He leaned against the door like a mannequin, staring straight ahead.

\'Why is he doing this?\'

An uneasy feeling crept over him.

Yeonwoo hurriedly grabbed a lunch box and a drink. When he finished paying and left, the man had vanished.

Yeonwoo looked around the street, his expression suddenly hardening.

"..."

The man now stood at the entrance of Yeonwoo\'s apartment building across the street. Just like before, he was motionless with his forehead against the glass door.

Instinctively, Yeonwoo reached for his bag, but his hand grasped air. He\'d left it behind, thinking he\'d be out briefly.

\'Weapon. I need a weapon.\'

Yeonwoo gripped the store bag tighter with his sweaty hand. The lunch box and 2-liter water bottle inside made it quite heavy. A solid hit would hurt.

After testing its weight, Yeonwoo strode forward purposefully.

\'I don\'t know if this is an anomaly or just a person, if he\'s part of a group or just a civilian.\'

He steeled himself for a fight if necessary.

At the apartment building entrance, Yeonwoo kept his distance, ready to swing the bag. Their reflections appeared side by side in the glass door. Yeonwoo spoke.

"Excuse me. What are you doing?"

"..."

No response. The man didn\'t answer or move. Even his face, briefly visible in the reflection, remained unchanged. His eyes didn\'t even blink.

Yeonwoo cautiously poked the man\'s shoulder. He felt like an ordinary person through the clothing.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"..."

"..."

Yeonwoo hesitated, then approached the glass door beside the man. Whatever this person\'s deal was, he decided to grab his gun first.

As the door opened and they crossed paths, their eyes met.

Yeonwoo glanced at the man, who only rolled his eyes to look back, maintaining his posture.

The moment passed where Yeonwoo tensed, ready to swing the bag if needed. He entered the building.

Yeonwoo whirled around to look at the man.

"..."

"..."

They stood with the closed glass door between them. The man had resumed leaning his head against the glass, staring at it.

Frowning, Yeonwoo took the elevator to his studio on the 7th floor.

Bang!

Slamming the door shut, Yeonwoo tossed the store bag on the floor and grabbed his bag. He pulled out the gun and set it on top.

"I don\'t know who this guy is, but..."

He sensed danger. As a company employee, it warranted an active response.

Yeonwoo shouldered the bag, put on his sneakers, and went back out.

And there he was. The man stood in front of the elevator on the 7th floor.

"..."

Yeonwoo\'s expression hardened. His heart raced as he swiftly grasped the gun, striding purposefully toward the man.

He thrust the gun forward, pressing it against the back of the man\'s head.

"This is a gun. Move and I\'ll shoot. Who are you? Why are you following me? Answer me!"

Squeeze-

The gun barrel dug into the man\'s skull. Yet, he showed no reaction. No words, no movement.

Yeonwoo\'s frustration mounted. His throat and chest tightened, as if he\'d swallowed a sweet potato whole.

\'Is he just a civilian? I can\'t shoot him for no reason. If only I knew if he was hostile or an anomaly.\'

If the man had shown even a hint of aggression, Yeonwoo wouldn\'t have hesitated. But this was perfect non-resistance.

Yeonwoo slowly backed away. One hand still aiming the gun, he used the other to call the team leader.

- Yeah. What\'s up?

"Team Leader. I\'ve run into a strange person. Can you confirm if it\'s an anomaly?"

- Uh... Tell me what they\'re like.

A voice tinged with confusion. Yeonwoo glared at the man as he spoke, still blocking the elevator.

After a brief silence, the team leader spoke reluctantly.

- I\'ve checked, but there\'s nothing in our data. Seems like just a weirdo. Call the cops.

"Got it."

The call ended. Yeonwoo hesitated, then approached the man and reached out. He checked for a pulse and breath.

\'Seems human. Is he really just a civilian?\'

Both pulse and breathing were steady.

\'If he\'s human, he must be a civilian. A hostile group wouldn\'t do this for no reason. They\'d attack right away with an anomaly.\'

He couldn\'t just shoot a civilian without cause. Yeonwoo sighed and called the police.

"Yes, here-"

The police arrived quickly.

The elevator came back up to the seventh floor, and the doors opened. Two familiar officers appeared across from the man. One recognized Yeonwoo and spoke.

"The guy who fired a gun before?"

The same cops who\'d responded when Yeonwoo had shot at the Demon of Sloth in his apartment. Their expressions seemed to ask what kind of trouble it was this time.

Yeonwoo smiled awkwardly and pointed at the man still standing in front of the open elevator.

"I called because of him. He keeps following me and standing in front of doors I\'m about to use."

"I see."

One officer held the door open while the other looked the man up and down before grabbing his shoulder and pulling.

The man was dragged along lifelessly. The officer spoke.

"He might be ill. We\'ll take care of it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

The moment the officer\'s hand left the open button, the doors began to close. For a split second, the back of the man\'s head was visible through the narrowing gap.

Yeonwoo watched the fully closed doors, then looked up. The elevator descended to the first floor.

"...Was I overreacting?"

He felt he might have been too sensitive after seeing so many anomalies. Scratching his head, Yeonwoo put the gun back in his bag and slowly returned to his apartment.

The front door opened, and Yeonwoo froze mid-step. There were people in his supposedly empty studio.

"Ah."

The bathroom right by the entrance.

In front of the tightly closed bathroom door stood the man. And not just him, but the two police officers from the elevator as well, all leaning their heads against the wooden door, completely still.

An impossible situation.

Yeonwoo let out a sigh of relief.

"So it is an anomaly."

If it was an anomalous entity, there was no need for hesitation. He could respond by any means necessary.

Yeonwoo drew his gun.

Bang bang bang bang-!

Click click-

The gunfire continued until the magazine was empty.

The man and the two officers, riddled with bullet holes, continued to stand in the same posture, blood streaming down their bodies.

\'The gun might not work.\'

Yeonwoo replaced the magazine, then took out his phone. His mind raced.

\'Danger. Safety. Survival.\'

Seeing what happened to the police, it seemed dangerous if the man crossed the threshold. He also showed the ability to teleport. Hadn\'t he moved from the elevator to the apartment?

The response wasn\'t difficult.

"Team Leader. It\'s definitely an anomaly. I\'ll describe its characteristics, so please contact an appropriate special forces unit or department."

Finishing the call, Yeonwoo turned his head. And he was startled.

The man had moved. One stood in front of the bathroom door, another in front of the closed front door, and the third was nowhere to be seen.