“……”
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
While Taeseong might have appeared calm, he was mentally shaken. He simply didn’t know how to react, so he chose to say nothing.
“That’s not the case.”
“Really? Well, anyway, this is the real gift. I had a hunch the name sounded familiar, but I never imagined it would be someone I knew.”
“Someone you know? Are you saying my sister and you are acquainted?”
Choi Harin nodded.
“I’ve met her a few times before. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but to put it simply, she’s one of the kids my colleague was raising.”
“One of the kids your colleague was raising?”
This only confused Taeseong further.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean by ‘one of the kids your colleague was raising’?”
Harin let out a sigh before beginning her explanation.
Because the Tree is a global organization, it constantly suffers from a manpower shortage. While anomalies grow endlessly, the number of people who can manage them is finite.
Though not all managers in the Tree are human, most are. Whenever irregulars like spirit-bound individuals or returnees appear, the Tree does everything it can to recruit them. They are both potential threats and valuable future managers.
This need for personnel led to the creation of the Tree’s own training institutions to nurture managers. From the moment anomalies began appearing in the world, humanity also saw the birth of extraordinary individuals.
The Tree gathered these individuals from across the globe and trained them as prospective managers.
One of Harin’s colleagues, Samira, held a position as an instructor at one such institution. Among the numerous talented children there, one stood out.
That child was none other than Taeseong’s younger sister, Lee Sooah.
“So you’re saying my sister Sooah is now a manager under the Tree?”
“That’s right.”
Taeseong found it hard to process.
He had no memories of Sooah and thus no idea what kind of person she was. But his work with the Tree had taught him that even the lowest-ranking managers, labeled Epsilon, were already superhumans far beyond ordinary people.
Yet according to Harin, Sooah had shown exceptional talent from a young age.
“Honestly, it’s confusing. The fact that my only remaining family is also a Tree manager makes it hard to believe this is just a coincidence.”
Taeseong raised his head to look at Harin. His gaze, cold and devoid of emotion, sent a chill down her spine.
“Did you know this from the start?”
Harin flinched instinctively under his piercing stare.
“Of course not. I only found out by chance during the investigation. I barely crossed paths with her before, and I wouldn’t even have remembered her name if my colleague hadn’t mentioned it. Do you know how many trainees the Tree has?”
“……”
“Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I’ll be honest—this whole situation isn’t exactly pleasant for me, either.”
After a brief silence, Taeseong finally spoke.
“I understand. You said my sister demonstrated exceptional talent. Can you tell me what that talent is?”
“Elemental abilities.”
Taeseong looked puzzled.
“Elemental abilities? Are you referring to something like psychic powers?”
Harin smirked, her expression a mix of disbelief and exasperation.
“Yeah, you could call it that. But are you really surprised by this? After everything you’ve seen?”
“……”
“Seriously? We deal with anomalies that crush skulls out of fear and people who return from other dimensions after a decade. Yet you’re shocked by this? You do realize you’re a Delta-level manager yourself, right?”
For Harin, who had worked for years amidst the strange and supernatural, such powers were hardly worth a reaction.
“It’s not so much shock as it is confusion. Are elemental abilities common?”
“Not at all. If they were, your sister wouldn’t be considered so exceptional. There are plenty of entities that can manipulate fire, but true elemental ability users are extremely rare—fewer than 100 worldwide. And your sister is among the most gifted of them all. She didn’t graduate as the top trainee for nothing.”
Sooah’s elemental ability, specifically her connection to fire, placed her at the pinnacle of her kind. However, Harin withheld a critical detail: the more powerful an elemental ability user, the higher their risk of succumbing to their element, eventually losing their humanity and becoming a raging elemental entity. Sooah was both a manager and a designated anomaly because of this danger.
But Harin chose not to share that information. There was no need to stir up trouble by revealing it now.
“My sister possesses elemental abilities and was trained by the Tree from a young age. How much of what these people say can I even trust…?”
Taeseong now understood that Sooah’s abilities were connected to fire, but he also knew something else.
The Tree was hiding far more than it let on. It was a vast, secretive organization capable of unimaginable actions in the name of its cause.
Taeseong couldn’t afford to antagonize them. Not yet.
The power they wielded was beyond comprehension, and he knew he couldn’t oppose them in his current state.
For now.
“So, where do I need to go to meet my sister?”
Harin hesitated before replying.
“……Japan.”
“Japan?”
“Yeah, you heard me right. Your sister is in Japan. Don’t ask why—because I don’t know. All I heard is that she volunteered to go there.”
“Does the Tree have a branch in Japan?”
“Did you even listen? The Tree has branches everywhere.”
“I thought as much.”
Taeseong had suspected this and was merely confirming.
“Does my sister know I’m alive?”
Harin shook her head.
The overwhelming flood of information left Taeseong’s mind in turmoil.
And it wasn’t over.
“One more thing… about your parents.”
“What about them?”
Harin’s usual casual demeanor turned serious.
“I’m not certain yet, but I’ve found some inconsistencies regarding their deaths. I thought you should know.”
“Inconsistencies? What kind of inconsistencies?”
Taeseong had no memory of his parents’ cause of death.
A heavy silence hung in the air.
Taeseong waited patiently, not pressuring Harin to speak.
“……No, forget it. Sorry, Taeseong. I’ll let you know once I’m sure.”
“Understood. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll take my leave now.”
“Alright.”
Even after Taeseong left the room, Harin stared blankly at his empty seat.
For some reason, an uneasy premonition lingered.
After some hesitation, Harin glanced at the watch on her wrist.
Moments later, the watch emitted a red glow.
“……”
No. 0606.
Delta-Class Entity 「Four-Color Clock」
Blue signifies great fortune.
Green represents current peace.
Orange warns of upcoming events requiring caution.
Red indicates imminent danger.
Promoted to Delta rank and assigned to Management Team 4, Lee Taeseong walked to the new office alongside Ho-jin, the sole survivor of the abandoned hospital mission. Ho-jin still bore the scars of that day, his condition messy and bleak.
“Taeseong, I still can’t believe it… that the team leader and all the members died that day…”
“Senior.”
“If it weren’t for you, or if I hadn’t gone to the car, I would’ve died too, right?”
“……”
Taeseong couldn’t deny it—he believed the same.
“I still see their faces when I close my eyes. Should someone like me even be a manager? Why would the higher-ups assign me to this role? Are they just planning to use me up and toss me aside?”
Taeseong couldn’t grasp the higher-ups’ motives either. Ho-jin wasn’t particularly strong, intelligent, or resilient.
His sole virtue seemed to be his kindness.
‘Assigning him to the management team just because he survived… I don’t understand.’
Only the higher-ups held the answer.
When Taeseong and Ho-jin arrived at the office entrance, Taeseong opened the door. An all-too-familiar face greeted them enthusiastically.
“Lee Taeseong!? What brings you here?”
“Manager Oh Haeyoung?”
“Wait, you’re the new manager joining us!?”
“It seems so.”
Haeyoung clasped Taeseong’s hand, shaking it joyfully.
“Really? Wow, that’s amazing! What are the odds? It feels like fate that I was your supervisor back then, doesn’t it?”
“……”
She turned to Ho-jin and grabbed his hand next.
“And you, nice to meet you! I’m Oh Haeyoung. Let’s work well together!”
“Ah… Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Ho-jin. I look forward to working with you too!”
Buzzing with excitement, Haeyoung began showing them around the office. One team member was out on assignment, and the team leader, known for arriving late, was expected soon.
It had been a while since Taeseong had seen Haeyoung, and she remained as upbeat as ever.
“Oh, by the way, one of the new managers is supposed to be Delta-ranked. Which of you is…?”
“That would be me.”
Haeyoung’s eyes widened in astonishment. She stared at Taeseong, her mouth agape.
“You’re a Delta rank!? I had a feeling you were exceptional during the test, but to get promoted in less than a month? That’s incredible. Wait… Hold on. That makes you my superior, doesn’t it…?”
As she muttered with a conflicted expression, Haeyoung suddenly looked past Taeseong, waving excitedly.
“Oh, the team leader’s here! The new team members have arrived!”
Taeseong and Ho-jin turned their heads simultaneously.
A massive figure approached from a distance. Even though neither Taeseong nor Hojin was small, the man towered over them by a full head.
He wore the standard black suit issued to all managers, but it clung tightly to his muscular frame, emphasizing his imposing physique.
He appeared to be in his early-to-mid-thirties, with a large burn scar covering one side of his face.
With a heavy snort, the man strode toward Taeseong, his gaze piercing.
“Are you Lee Taeseong?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Your sister’s name is Lee Sooah?”
“That’s correct.”
As soon as the words left Taeseong’s lips—
A massive fist flew toward his face.
“Perfect. Then die.”
