“Hello, nice to meet you! My name is Kang Hana. Though, I already heard your voice earlier….”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Daniel Johnson, affiliated with the ‘Munmu King’ unit. So, you’re that researcher from before.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Um, do you happen to know where we are?”
FPL’s new researcher, Kang Hana, was on the verge of dizziness due to the sudden and confusing series of events.
She tried to retrace everything that had happened so far.
She was sure she had been watching IF-017 smile so brightly that she had completely forgotten to record anything, grinning like an idiot instead.
It had been such an adorable smile that, if she had the chance, she even thought about buying a coloring book and stationery set from a school supply store and handing it over.
Kang Hana gave a small nod.
So far, there have been no problems.
If anything, it had been a pleasant experience.
After all, discovering that IF-017 loved drawing so much had been quite meaningful for her.
But then, suddenly, she received a message saying that a Mobile Strike Team would be deployed and that she had to oversee the situation…
Then, IF-017 had zoomed right out through the open exit.
Whoever was supposed to press the emergency lockdown button either hesitated or the system was just that slow—either way, it didn’t work properly.
While Kang Hana was still in shock from the whole situation, security personnel stormed in, restrained her, and also detained the Mobile Strike Team members who had entered the containment room…
And now, she has ended up in a place like this.
“Haaah….”
Even after retracing everything from the beginning, the sequence of events still didn’t make any sense. Kang Hana let out a deep sigh.
‘Is IF-017 okay…? What if the agents sent to recontain it shot it? It better not be hurt….’
She glanced to the side.
Although quite some time had passed since she had asked Daniel where they were, he still hadn’t responded.
But she hesitated to ask again.
After all, he was in the same situation as her.
The room looked like an interrogation chamber.
Being dragged here without knowing why—
It was the kind of place that made anxiety creep up from the back of her mind.
‘Maybe it’s just soundproofed really well? IF-017 is a top-tier unexplained phenomenon, so it must at least be a Code Red situation… but still. It’s just cute, can’t they just let it take a walk? Aren’t they overreacting?’
It didn’t even cross Kang Hana’s mind that maybe no alarm had gone off at all.
As she sat in place, rolling her eyes around, passing time—
Creeeak.
“Hello. Sorry for the wait.”
The sound of the door opening was followed by someone entering the room.
It was a woman Kang Hana had never seen before, but as soon as she laid eyes on her, her eyes widened in shock.
‘A gray coat… Gasp, Alpha?!’
A gray coat with an FPL name tag.
That coat meant the woman in front of her was an Alpha-rank personnel.
Since joining, Kang Hana had only ever seen one Alpha-rank person—
They were so rare that encountering them was nearly impossible.
And now, she was facing her second Alpha-rank.
Kang Hana almost slammed her head on the desk as she bowed deeply.
“Hello! I’m Beta-rank personnel Kang Hana. It’s an honor to meet you for the first time!”
“Ahaha, yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you too, newbie.”
At the response, Kang Hana lifted her head slightly.
It was a positive reply, but there was something odd about it for someone she’d never met before.
“Wait, how did you know I’m new?”
“Hm? Well, all the senior researchers just ignore me… It’s kinda sad, really.”
“Huh? Even though you’re Alpha-rank…?”
Kang Hana tilted her head, puzzled, at the woman in the gray coat.
Come to think of it, Daniel hadn’t even bothered to greet her.
An Alpha-rank was one of FPL’s core personnel—
Any hostility toward an Alpha-rank was considered hostility toward the entire FPL.
They held immense authority.
Kang Hana recalled the only other Alpha-rank she knew:
A loud, burly research director who had the kind of charisma that fit his high rank.
So, it was only natural for Kang Hana to be confused about this gray-coated woman.
And then—
Kang Hana heard something that made her doubt her own ears.
“Besides, you said you were ▮…”
A shiver ran down Kang Hana’s spine.
“…Huh?”
Was that a distorted voice?
Noise?
A disaster alert sound?
Was that something a human mouth could even produce?
Was she an unexplained phenomenon in disguise?
An Alpha-rank wouldn’t—no, that couldn’t be—right?
Kang Hana glanced sideways at the man beside her.
But Daniel sat there with a blank face, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
That was when it started.
Her fingertips began trembling uncontrollably.
The gray-coated woman blinked twice, then smiled nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.
“… Hm? What? Did I say something?”
Then, with a casual flick of her hand, she changed the subject entirely.
“Anyway, I called you two here for a reason…”
“A-Ah, yes…”
The blatant avoidance of the topic only made it harder for Kang Hana to focus.
The gray-coated woman perched on the desk and gestured.
“So, could you give me a quick rundown of what happened today? I didn’t want to just sit around in the research director’s office waiting for the report.”
That was another thing she couldn’t just brush off.
The only time Kang Hana had seen the director of the 4th Research Institute was six months ago when she first joined.
He had been a burly, bearded man—definitely not a young woman who looked like she could be a high schooler.
Normally, Kang Hana would have gawked in disbelief at this.
But right now, she didn’t even have the mental space to process it.
She was already too overwhelmed.
‘Sure, IF-017 looks cute to anyone who sees it, but…
Being cute and being okay to touch should obviously be two different things, right?
Right, that’s just common sense, but…?’
A curt voice came from beside her.
It was Daniel, the Mobile Strike Team member she had just met.
“…Following orders from the security officer, I entered IF-017’s containment room to clean up the stone dust. Then, IF-017 acted like it wanted to communicate something to me. When I didn’t respond, it bolted through the open exit. According to the security officer, that was on your orders.”
“Huh? Ah, uh, yes…. I was monitoring from above, and, well… IF-017 suddenly started acting all affectionate, then patted Daniel as if to encourage him… It patted him, and yeah, it was definitely cute, but still… No matter how cute, it was weird to be so completely distracted…”
Kang Hana’s attempt at a report was an incoherent mess.
“Uh-huh, I see.”
Yet, the gray-coated woman nodded approvingly.
Then, crossing her legs, she spoke again—something inexplicable.
“What you’re saying doesn’t match what I heard. When exactly did IF-017 escape?”
“W-What…?”
“… What are you talking about? IF-017 escaped less than an hour ago. There are multiple CCTV cameras in that corridor alone—”
Daniel cut himself off when he saw the woman’s expression.
She wasn’t listening to him at all.
“No, no. When did IF-017 escape? Maybe you both misunderstood.
IF-017 is still in its containment room.
Got it?”
“…What…?”
Her words were crystal clear.
Daniel looked like he wanted to argue, but Kang Hana didn’t even feel like questioning it.
She hadn’t been okay since earlier.
Ever since she heard that eerie, unnatural sound escape the woman’s mouth, she had stopped absorbing anything else.
She just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
‘I got dragged into a place like this, and yet… instead of worrying about being executed, I’m more concerned about IF-017, who I only met six months ago…?
A top-tier unexplained phenomenon—
And I was seriously worried it might get hurt during recontainment…?’
Whether or not she noticed Kang Hana’s unease, the gray-coated woman continued speaking.
The woman in the gray coat kept smiling gently, her expression completely unreadable, making Kang Hana even more uneasy.
“Y-Yes… I understand. Can I leave now…?”
“Mhm. No need to think too deeply about it. Just keep it simple.
After all… IF-017 would want that too. You understand, right?”
That whisper.
Kang Hana instinctively nodded obediently.
Just from the mere mention of IF-017, not only her outward actions but even her inner thoughts naturally submitted.
She couldn’t quite grasp why she was reacting this way, but the reaction itself was undeniable.
‘Senior Giselle… I don’t understand anything. What should I do in times like this? Please… help me.’
“Mhm, take care. Head out that door and turn right.
I’d love to see you again—should we exchange contact info?”
Unexpectedly, the woman in the gray coat let her go right away.
Though she added some cryptic words.
“…”
“What? N-No, I’m fine….”
Kang Hana quickly brushed past the gray-coated woman and left the room.
But the cold, unpleasant sensation near her heart wouldn’t go away.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Passing the now-empty containment room of IF-017 without stopping, she went straight to her quarters.
As soon as she closed the door, she immediately pulled out her portable cognitive contamination detector.
‘Something’s wrong. It’s wrong, it’s wrong. Something is seriously off…
But really… it was just… so adorable that I had to touch it….’
Cognitive contamination was notoriously difficult to analyze in detail,
but at the very least, this device could detect whether anomalous symptoms were present or not.
Holding her breath, Kang Hana stared at the device’s screen.
“Something… something’s off. This isn’t right….”
No cognitive contamination detected.
It was normal.
“Then why….”
Even in this moment—
Even deep down inside—
Kang Hana still couldn’t bring herself to label IF-017 as a “suspicious entity” or a “dangerous subject.”
The dizziness only got worse with time.
Her chest felt heavier and heavier, making it difficult even to sit upright.
She felt so drained that she tossed the detector aside and collapsed onto her bed.
Recently, she has been sleeping more and more.
If not for the strange emptiness lingering in her heart—
If not for the impulse to check her photo album on her phone—
She would have drifted off to sleep right away.
‘I miss my mom….’
She had long since become someone who needed approval and paperwork just to visit a grave.
So looking at a photo was the closest she could get.
But there was something she hadn’t expected.
‘It’s all just IF-017….’
Her entire gallery had been overrun by IF-017.
The family photo she was looking for had been buried deep under endless scrolling.
‘How far down do I have to go…?
This is IF-017 sleeping on its back…
This is IF-017 lying on its stomach…
This is IF-017 curled up on its side…
This is IF-017 having what looks like a good dream…’
She kept scrolling, swimming through an ocean of IF-017 photos, searching for her family picture.
Then, she found one.
Her fingers froze in place, unable to swipe past it.
… The first photo of IF-017 with its eyes open.
That was when it happened.
Up until this moment, her heart had felt eerily cold.
But deep in her chest—
‘Its eyes… they really are like jewels….’
A warmth began to spread.
Almost entranced, Kang Hana zoomed in, locking eyes with IF-017 in the picture.
Her search for the family photo was completely forgotten.
‘To look into those eyes every day…
It’s just too adorable.’
All the tangled, messy, dark thoughts that had been weighing on her mind suddenly went blank.
Like someone who had just seen the most beautiful thing in the world, her hands curled up, her breathing grew ragged, and her heart pounded faster and faster.
And then, after a brief moment—
Kang Hana suddenly jumped up from her bed.
‘… Of course, cuteness is justice and truth!
What do you mean, “something’s wrong”?
Anyone who thinks a being this adorable could be dangerous must be the real lunatic.
Ah, I want to see IF-017 again already.
When will it come back?’
There were no more complicated thoughts left in her head.
Only the usual Kang Hana remained—
The one who thought the world was a beautiful place.
‘If I get approval to bring in an art set…
And if IF-017 really likes it…
Maybe, just maybe—
I can hug it again like last time…?’
“Hehehe… I better finish up all my overdue work before then!”
Completely “recovered,” Kang Hana ignored her drowsiness and headed straight for the pile of documents on her desk.
Meanwhile—
The portable cognitive contamination detector, discarded on the corner of her bed, continued running.
No cognitive contamination detected.