Chapter 1
I don't remember when it was.
There was a time when I asked myself every day, “Does everything in the world hate me? Am I the only one living a life of suffering?”
Of course, back then I just figured, Well, I guess that's life, and brushed it off.
It wasn't like I had the luxury of complaining about things like that.
I was too busy trying to make it through each day.
But the more I brushed things off, the more miserable my life became.
My paycheck was late, the upstairs neighbor's pipes burst, and I got hit by a bicycle while walking down the street.
After getting treated and leaving the hospital, a car ran over my foot.
I went back to the ER, but a major traffic accident nearby triggered an emergency, delaying my treatment by ten hours.
One day, when I started thinking something terrible was bound to happen soon…
“A mosquito talked to me.”
“…?”
“It spoke to me and asked if life was hard. I think it recited some kind of ad slogan, too…. What was it? ‘You are the last hope for preserving modern humanity~ Your noble sacrifice will be passed down to future generations through amber~’ or something?”
The man in the black suit, who was conducting the interview, tilted his head with a baffled expression.
I tilted my head in the same direction as his.
The man in the suit lowered one corner of his mouth and asked:
“What happened next?”
“To make a long story short, I went through a tedious and abstruse process and returned to Earth~.”
He scrolled through my résumé on the device in his hand.
It looked more like he was scanning it than actually reading it.
“Do you remember when the mosquito spoke to you?”
“I think I gave up counting after ten thousand years had passed~.”
I grinned sheepishly to show that I really didn't know.
Oh, and to show I didn't mean you any harm, too.
The man in the suit didn't smile.
More accurately, he couldn't smile.
He was extremely wary of me.
“I see. Then, as for the process of getting here…”
“Well, like I said, it was such a long time ago that it's hard to sum up. I'll just say this and that happened~ Hehe.”
“Is there a reason you've taken on your current appearance?”
“The form I'm in now is close to how I looked two after the mosquito... no, was it three after? Or four after? Something like that~ I haven't really changed since then~ I did change clothes after coming to Earth, though~.”
“Did you have any intention of appearing friendly toward humans?”
Did he realize the peaceful intent behind my ever-present smile by asking that?
My friend in the suit?
I wondered if I could talk a little more casually, so I tried asking in a lighter tone than before.
“Not particularly? Why do you ask~?”
“A very small number of beings who came here of their own accord, like you, approached us pretending to be benevolent, then destroyed cities and took countless lives. Does that explain it?”
“Whoa! I'm absolutely, absolutely not like that~!!”
Could I have tried to be friends with one of them, only for them to stab me in the back?
What kind of anomaly does that!? They were out to ruin my life as an anomaly.
Right after that, my lips curled into a smile—a conditioned reflex born of long experience.
I'd instinctively realized that if I didn't look at least a little kind, I'd end up cast as the villain.
My first impression's probably shot, but I have to fix it starting now.
For starters, I'll do my best to cooperate with the man in the suit's requests.
“Raise both arms.”
A frigid, metallic sensation swept over my body once, radiating from the anomaly-wave measuring device.
The man in the suit studied the results for a long while, his eyebrows furrowed, then carefully asked:
“These crosses embedded inside your chest…”
“Oh, those are like seals, I guess~? They're really precious to me, so I sealed them two or three times over to make sure they wouldn't cause any problems~.”
“Precious, you say. Are they harmful to humanity?”
“I guess you could compare them to dolmens, from a human perspective. You could technically use a dolmen as a club or weapon if you really, really wanted to, but people don't, right~? I have absolutely no intention of using them for anything bad.”
“Hmm.”
Was that a positive or negative expression?
At least it wasn't murderous or hateful, but it didn't seem good either.
Maybe I should've mixed in a little lie? Was I too honest…?
‘This might be hopeless…’
I'd prepared a whole bunch of questions and answers to make me seem human, with a balance of kindness, nastiness, selfishness, and altruism.
At this rate, we wouldn't even be able to get through that Q&A.
So I could be recognized as a Sefira, an anomaly friendly to Seoul.
And get residency rights, then make my way into downtown—that was why I'd applied for this interview.
It's over.
This is a disaster!
‘…No, don't give up. I don't know that yet!’
I have to get downtown.
I absolutely have to.
To do that, I have to become a Seoul resident first.
Don't forget what a low-probability chance it took to get here.
“So, what's your staple food?”
The question resumed after quite a long pause.
I answered with a sheepish grin.
“Korean meals. My favorite is Ssakssak Chicken's Cheongyang-mayo chick... Guh, I'm drooling.”
“…Food? Not blood?”
“Uh, well~ Blood can be food, too, but how do I put it~ I don't only eat blood, and I don't have to eat blood, either~ I can eat just like humans and have a full meal~ I mean, even a bowl of ramen would do~.”
The man in the suit frowned, apparently noticing how I was dragging out my words.
I had a feeling that my answer right now would decide my fate.
But I just couldn't bring myself to lie.
Honesty is my charm.
“I-I can get by without blood~ I mean, I've been called a mosquito brat and a bloodsucker plenty of times, but~ honestly, I've never sucked human blood, and I don't particularly crave it, either~.”
“You can survive without blood?”
“Yes~ If you're curious, you can keep me hungry for a whole year~.”
“Why go so far as to want to live in Seoul?”
This was the most important question.
Was it time to let loose the fateful arrow I'd been preparing for so long?
…And don't forget to make my eyes look a little teary.
Sniff.
“I want to go to the Ssakssak Chicken flagship downtown in Seoul…. And all the famous restaurants, too…!”
“Hmm.”
“Of course, I'd also like to check out game centers and the VFC arena… and watch some livestreams… and try the thousand-won punch…….”
I glanced at the man in the suit. His expression wasn't looking too good.
Ah, was that the wrong answer? Was it not?
“…I do want to, but I like staying cooped up at home best, so if I could just live there, maybe I could become Seoul's finest home protector and make easy, comfortable money…? I guess…?”
“The Ssakssak Chicken flagship is downtown, so you won't be able to go if you just stay cooped up at home.”
“W-Well, that's true. But, well. If my human friends would be uncomfortable with it… I guess I'd have to be mindful of that….”
I really did try my best. Could you please let me in anyway?
Please, man in the suit.
“…I'll discuss it with my superiors for now.”
Phew….
Still, at least I was put on hold.
Getting this far is something, isn't it?
For the first few tries, I couldn't even get an interview.
I failed the paperwork screening, failed again, then helped the humans outside the city limits so I could add a few more lines to my application….
“Despite your outstanding qualifications, we regret that we cannot move forward together”—I'd seen that line plenty even before becoming an anomaly, so I was used to it, right?
Back to life outside the city limits. It's no big deal.
Meanwhile, my friend in the suit cut off the sound between the partitions and continued an intense discussion through his earpiece.
It seemed they were discussing what to do with me.
Time passed.
Tick-tock.
Until they reached a decision, I was just sitting there waiting.
One minute, two minutes, three…
“We've reached a decision.”
Hehuhu.
At last, my five minutes and twenty-two seconds of holding my breath were over.
Right… five minutes and twenty-two seconds….
‘They say if the deliberation takes more than five minutes, you're usually rejected…’
I should make a graceful exit.
At least I could go back to my sweet home outside the city limits, which was pretty comfortable by those standards, and get ready again.
Someday, it'll happen. Someday——.
“We will isolate and monitor you here for one year. After that, if we determine that you can safely move to Seoul, we'll release you from isolation and monitoring.”
I thought I'd misheard him.
Did that bastard just say isolation?
“Don't think one year is too long. Even the safest anomalies must undergo monitoring for a minimum of one week and a maximum of one year—”
I'd promised myself I wouldn't get excited.
But there was no way I could hold back, and my voice grew louder.
“No, no-no-no-no-no-no-no. Seriously? Really? Once the isolation's over, I can go to the city, right? Whoa, seriously, this is a dream, isn't it? Could you shoot me in the head just once? Oh, wait, was I blocked off by a partition?”
I had been clinging to the transparent force field in the interview room, but hurriedly backed away.
I hurriedly wiped the black saliva dripping from my mouth, too.
I thought they'd just kick me out, but they're isolating me instead.
If I don't cause any trouble during the isolation period, I'll be able to enter the city right away.
If I play my cards right, I can build up a harmless, positive image, too.
Most importantly, isn't the isolation facility still managed by people from the city?
I can get food delivered, use the internet, and all that.
A year of waiting?
With the advanced infrastructure human civilization has built, I have absolutely nothing to worry about.
“Long live my friend in the suit~!”
“…Who are you calling the man in the suit? I have a perfectly good name: Woo Cheonyeop.”
“Woo, woo, woo! Rice—no, Cheon, cheon, cheon! Yeop, yeop, yeop!”
Sigh.
The man in the suit let out a small sigh, then tossed me a sheet of paper.
“Forget your original name starting today. From now on, you are Baek San-a (白蒜雅). By human standards, you'll be classified as female. The document contains the rules you must follow while staying at the isolation facility, so make sure you learn them. If you break even one rule, you will be expelled from the city immediately.”
“There's a garlic smell in that name~ It really feels Korean to the core~.”
“…The character for garlic is literally in it.”
“Huh? Really? I don't know Chinese characters, so I had no idea.”
The man in the suit asked with a frown:
“Why aren't you reacting to the word ‘expelled’?”
“If I don't cause any trouble, there's no reason to expel me, so what's there to worry about? If I behave myself, I'll get a downtown pass someday, right~?”
“Downtown is still a distant dream for now…. But there can't be any harm in having a very human dream.”
“Sounds good~ Sounds good~.”
“Still, life in isolation won't be easy. As you'll see in the document I gave you, we'll be experimenting on you in various ways, and it may be painful. Are you really all right with that?”
Ever since I became a mosquito, I'd lived through countless ages with only one goal in mind.
That goal, my long-held wish, was here in downtown Seoul.
So why would I worry about a year of isolation and experiments?
One year was no more than the time it took to boil water for instant noodles compared to the years I'd lived.
I answered with a grin so wide my gums showed, utterly at odds with my current appearance.
Like a muscular man who wore a red bandanna to support a certain class in a game.
“I know.”
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
Half a year had passed since I entered the isolation facility.
That fleeting moment of living without witnessing anyone's death was sweeter to me than anything, after enduring tens of thousands of years.
Thanks to Korea's sturdy infrastructure, which had survived even an anomalous incursion, apathy, laziness, and doing things halfheartedly became the three pillars of my life….
[You've already been in isolation for half a year, so wouldn't it be good to start thinking about the future? If your goal of going downtown hasn't changed… well, I suppose that's not a bad thing, either.]
Before I knew it, I'd become an online gallery addict who worshiped the cozy corner of my room.
“Um… I'm not going out, though?”
