Chapter 05
I folded the circulation notice. Below that was just a repetition of smudged characters. I handed the notice back, and Kwon Tae-hyun slipped it into his briefcase.
We quickened our pace. Soon, a three-story building steeped in a fin-de-siècle atmosphere came into view. Orange streetlights were on, but the entrance was shrouded in tree shadows.
Kwon Tae-hyun checked his wristwatch.
“Let’s hurry a bit more. Even with administrative office privileges, they won’t cover us wandering around late at night.”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
Kwon Tae-hyun tilted his chin toward the building ahead.
“The girls’ dormitory. It’s where you’ll be staying for the time being.”
“The dormitory? But I’m not a student here.”
In response to my question, Kwon Tae-hyun gave a completely unrelated answer.
“That notice I showed you earlier—Exploration Team Member No. 16.”
Was he talking about that anonymous exploration team member who had been assigned to Rose Apartment and then lost contact? The one who said the old lady next door kept calling her “baby”?
“To put it simply… there are people who have been assigned certain ‘roles’ by the Citadel. In your case, you’ve been given the role of Amelie. You can tell by looking at that phone.”
I took the old-fashioned phone out of my pocket. The phone, adorned with a cat sticker, had been quiet for a while.
“You can no longer leave this place through ordinary means of escape. You’re not a drifter or a visitor anymore… you’ve become a formal member of this world.”
A member. It sounded nice, but I didn’t need to ask to know it wasn’t something to celebrate.
Kwon Tae-hyun continued his explanation.
“The Citadel will be watching you. So from now on, it’s best to think of yourself as Amelie. Don’t even think of uttering your real name—erase it entirely from your mind.”
At that, I recalled that I had nearly told Malo my name just a moment ago and swallowed dryly.
“What happens if I say my name…?”
“For those who have been assigned roles, this world becomes just a little bit… kinder. But if you fall short of the Citadel’s standards—say, breaking an unspoken rule, or going around blurting out your real name—you’ll be replaced immediately. Like ‘Exploration Team Member No. 16’ or ‘Mr. Kim Sang-hoon.'”
I still didn’t fully understand what “replaced” meant, but I could roughly guess from Kwon Tae-hyun’s demeanor.
Probably a miserable death, or some equally painful end.
“Well, it’s not all bad.”
Kwon Tae-hyun pointed toward the central square we’d passed through.
“As long as you’re Amelie, most aberrations will recognize you as one of their own.”
I looked back at the square, but the lights were completely off, and I could see nothing. Still, just staring in that direction gave me an eerie feeling, so I quickly averted my gaze.
“Then that professor from earlier… Malo—does he think I’m an aberration too?”
At my question, Kwon Tae-hyun let out a scoff.
“There’s no way. That thing is… not just ‘most aberrations.'”
“Then what is he?”
Kwon Tae-hyun sighed and, with a reluctant look, spoke.
“Individual classification number S7078, or the Restorer. But among ourselves, we call him Professor. He seems to prefer being called that too.”
“Is he actually a real professor?”
“I don’t know.”
When I stared at him in disbelief, Kwon Tae-hyun shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped.
“No one who’s recklessly poked at higher beings has come out well. Besides, it’s outside my jurisdiction anyway.”
So in the end, he didn’t know anything either.
“Still, he seemed like someone I could talk to.”
“I wonder if you’d call that communication… Anyway, I don’t want to get anywhere near him.”
I see.
But to survive in the Citadel, shouldn’t I use every resource available? Besides, Amelie was a college student—getting close to a professor couldn’t hurt.
Even if that professor was an unpopular one who personally went around recruiting students.
We pushed through the glass door and entered the dormitory lobby. Inside looked less like a university dorm and more like a 1990s-era high school building.
The soles of my sneakers squeaked against the aged, glossy terrazzo floor.
“Follow me. You need to greet the dorm matron.”
I followed Kwon Tae-hyun into the dormitory. On the right side of the dim corridor was a small room with a window, like an old study room counter. The frosted window was firmly shut.
“Um… can’t we just… walk past?”
A sense of foreboding made me ask, and Kwon Tae-hyun chuckled.
“You can try. If life’s too boring for you.”
Damn.
Kwon Tae-hyun bent slightly and rapped on the window with his knuckles.
“This is Kwon Tae-hyun from the administrative office. I’ve brought a student.”
Then he signaled me with his eyes.
“Greet her and say your name.”
I hesitated, then knocked on the window as he had.
“Hello… I’m Amelie.”
There was a moment of silence. Just as I thought something might be wrong, the window cracked open and a hand reached out.
It was a long, bony hand with bluish fingertips.
Without thinking, I tried to peek inside, but Kwon Tae-hyun grabbed my arm. Barely moving his lips, he said:
“Don’t try to look in.”
“…”
Clink—something was set down on the counter, and the hand disappeared back through the window.
Thud. The window closed, and I picked up the small key left sitting there. It was a silver key that looked like an old hotel key.
Attached to the key was a leather tag with a room number stamped in gold lettering.
It was Room 302.
“The last Amelie retired long before I was assigned here. It’s been vacant for quite a while. Still, I’ll look into it as much as I can.”
“Wouldn’t the Agency have records?”
“Maybe, if they were Agency agents. But most Amelies were drifters. And as you know, drifters have no obligation to report to the Agency.”
Kwon Tae-hyun guided me to the stairwell.
“I can’t go up past here. Once you’re in your room, check the dormitory rules first. They’re generally kind to residents, so you shouldn’t have any major problems. Probably.”
“Probably?”
“Nothing is certain in the Citadel. I’ll request access to the Agency’s records for you. If anything useful turns up, I’ll let you know.”
Then Kwon Tae-hyun checked his wristwatch again. He was clearly eager to leave.
“Wait, hold on. Is that it?”
“Yes?”
“No warnings? Advice? Anything?”
Kwon Tae-hyun was silent for a moment, then answered awkwardly, dragging his words.
“Well… nothing special, really.”
Looking at his attitude, I understood. This guy thinks I’ll be replaced soon. That talk about records earlier was just a formality.
Maybe I’d expected too much from an Agency agent. After all, the loan sharks had said the Agency’s purpose wasn’t rescue, but investigating the Citadel.
In the end, the rescue team’s role was merely to support the exploration teams. Looking after drifters like me was just a side job.
Hoo. I took a deep breath and looked up the stairs. Yeah, who else could I trust but myself?
“Still, out of all those roles, why a college student? I’ve never even set foot on a college campus.”
“This might not be comforting, but most college students are high school graduates anyway.”
“…That’s not a joke.”
Kwon Tae-hyun tilted his head.
“I understand your concerns, but that’s not even a priority. This isn’t a real university anyway, and even if aberrations like to imitate humans, their access to information about humans is limited.”
So it just had to look convincing. If audacity counted, I had plenty.
Kwon Tae-hyun looked at me for a moment, then sighed.
“Just focus on surviving, Miss Amelie. That’s the only advice I can give you right now.”
…If that’s the case, that’s my specialty.
