Taeseong and Haeyoung silently stared at Pinocchio’s elongated nose.
“……”
“……”
‘Am I not human?’
‘But he’s definitely a returnee… Does this mean he only looks human but is actually something else entirely?!’
Both were equally taken aback by the completely unexpected result.
One was grappling with doubts about his own identity, while the other was overwhelmed by the discrepancy between the information provided and the reality before her.
If Lee Taeseong were truly some otherworldly entity cloaked in a human shell, his threat level would skyrocket beyond current estimates.
Depending on the situation, Haeyoung, as his handler, might be forced to exercise her authority and execute him on the spot.
As a new manager with little experience, Oh Haeyoung struggled to hide her bewilderment and eventually asked bluntly:
“Mr. Lee Taeseong, are you really not human?!”
“…For now, I believe I am human.”
Even if she asked him, there was no way he could answer definitively. Taeseong firmly believed he was human and had no knowledge of such organizations existing in the first place.
With most of his memories gone, he had no idea what kind of world he came from or why he ended up here.
Haeyoung, who had gradually regained her composure, suggested cautiously:
“Then… let’s try asking the question another way?”
“Go ahead.”
“Mr. Lee Taeseong, are you not human?”
“I am human.”
Without prompting, they both glanced at Pinocchio.
Contrary to expectations, Pinocchio’s nose remained still.
But this result only served to confuse Haeyoung even further.
‘What’s going on?! Is this a normal occurrence? I heard from my seniors that Pinocchio has never been wrong before…’
Entity No. 1004: Lying Boy.
Classification: Epsilon.
Commonly referred to as Pinocchio.
When its owner asks a question, the entity can determine whether the respondent is truthful. However, the reason for its Epsilon-level classification is a critical limitation:
It can only be used up to 20 times per month. Exceeding this limit causes the entity to go berserk, disregarding truth or lies entirely. During such episodes, it seeks out humans to replace its missing body and interrogates them relentlessly. If it detects a lie, it uses the liar’s body as its new torso.
The exact conditions under which its nose grows are still unclear.
When berserk, its classification rises to Delta. Subduing it requires at least five Epsilon-level managers.
‘Only one use left…’
Although she maintained a cheerful facade, Haeyoung remained on high alert, ready to act in case of an emergency. Despite being new, she was still a manager and had responsibilities to uphold.
“…Is that thing really functioning properly?”
“Y-Yes?! I-I think so…”
“For whatever reason, I believe I’m human. Whether you choose to believe me is entirely up to you.”
Taeseong expressed his thoughts calmly. Watching him, Haeyoung couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
However, guilt was guilt, and work was work. As a professional, Haeyoung knew she had to keep the two separate.
Raising a single finger, she energetically declared:
“Then let’s conduct one last verification!”
“Alright.”
“Mr. Lee Taeseong! Are your parents human?”
Taeseong gave her a bewildered look.
‘Parents… They probably are.’
Though he couldn’t remember them, Taeseong remained confident in his humanity and simply answered:
“…Yes.”
Haeyoung cast a sidelong glance at Pinocchio.
Once again, Pinocchio’s nose didn’t grow. This confirmed that his statement was truthful.
Though not a perfect verification, this level of evidence was sufficient for her.
‘If his parents are human, then Mr. Lee Taeseong must be human too, right? Anyway, we’ve used up the last question… It should be fine now. What’s the worst that could happen?’
Haeyoung was far more optimistic than her seniors would have been.
“This seems sufficient! Verifying your humanity was our top priority.”
“Confirming that I’m human was your top priority? Then does that mean there are beings here who aren’t human?”
“Yes, that’s correct! Besides humans like us, we manage a wide variety of entities. Overseeing them is our job as managers!”
Haeyoung confidently smiled, clearly proud of her work.
“You refer to this place as ‘Tree.’ What exactly does Tree do? Is it some kind of secret experiment facility?”
Taeseong’s question made Haeyoung laugh like a child.
“Ahahaha! Secret experiments? Mr. Taeseong, you must read a lot of novels! Hahaha!”
“……”
“Tree’s mission is to ‘contain,’ ‘protect,’ and ‘transport’ every anomaly in this world. To put it simply, we’re working tirelessly to maintain world peace!”
World peace…
“Anomalies? What exactly are those?”
The smile on her face faded, replaced by a serious expression.
“Monsters, creatures, unidentified lifeforms, ghosts, urban legends, someone’s delusions, myths, internet rumors, spiritual beings, entities from other dimensions, possessed individuals, returnees, regressors, demons, angels, gods, phenomena, blessings, curses, supernatural abilities, and more—those are what we call anomalies. To be honest, I don’t fully understand it either. Hehe.”
“……”
“All I know is that these things could harm ordinary people, and it’s our job to prevent that.”
Although her explanation was vague, Taeseong began to piece together the bigger picture.
“Does the Tree organization exist only here, or are there branches elsewhere?”
“Of course! Tree has branches all over the world. This is the Korean branch since we’re in Korea! Officially, we operate under the name ‘Tree Corporation.’ It’s just more convenient that way. Hehe.”
Unable to hold back, Taeseong commented dryly:
“Is it really okay to share this information with me so freely?”
Haeyoung’s large eyes grew even wider as she realized her mistake.
“Oh! Was I not supposed to say that?”
“What’s the point of asking me?”
After a moment of serious contemplation, Haeyoung smiled and said:
“It’s fine! Part of a manager’s job is to take care of the mental well-being of contained entities! This counts as part of my duties!”
‘Is she overly optimistic… or just plain foolish?’
It could very well be both. Regardless, she seemed like a helpful ally to Taeseong, so he decided to make the best of the situation. Greed, after all, leads to ruin.
“Good to know. Do most returnees experience symptoms similar to mine?”
“Symptoms? Oh! You mean memory loss?”
Taeseong nodded.
“Well, some returnees do lose memories, but I’ve never heard of a case where someone lost nearly everything like you have!”
‘So, I’m special.’
With no memories to rely on, Taeseong was left wondering who he had been and why he had come here.
Whether he had a family,
where he went, for how long, and what he did there—along with why and how he managed to return—remained mysteries to Taeseong.
He couldn’t recall a thing.
All he had left was a nearly programmed resolve to return, his name, and his age.
Even those scraps of information felt like they could be false.
Seeing the shadow cast over Taeseong’s face as he sank into his thoughts, Haeyoung shouted in a hurry,
“D-don’t worry too much! Our doctors say it’s likely just temporary aftereffects of dimensional travel. They’re confident your memories will naturally return over time! The Intelligence Division is also investigating your past, so hang in there!”
“…Thank you.”
Taeseong gave a faint smile.
Surprised by his unintentional expression, Taeseong seemed momentarily startled, and Haeyoung cheerfully exclaimed,
“You smiled! Just now, didn’t you? Did you know that’s the first time you’ve smiled while talking to me?”
Though Haeyoung seemed a bit dim-witted, Taeseong couldn’t help but think she was genuinely pure-hearted.
Of course, this could have all been an act to lower his guard.
From his conversation with Haeyoung, Taeseong learned one more piece of information:
Returnees weren’t as common as he had initially thought, and their experiences were never consistent.
Every individual had unique settings: the time, place, life circumstances, and even the abilities they gained in those other worlds varied greatly.
No noticeable pattern had ever been identified.
It was all random.
Some might spend ten years in another world, while others might live a hundred years there.
What those worlds were like, what they did, and how they returned—everything was different for each person.
Dimensional shifts had first been observed quite a while ago, but the information was tightly controlled by governments to avoid chaos.
It was only natural. Publicly revealing such knowledge would surely lead to uproar.
The scale of influence exerted by the organization called “Tree” intrigued Taeseong.
“Tomorrow, we’ll officially start your tests. For now, rest up! See you tomorrow, Mr. Taeseong!”
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Team Leader, here’s the requested file on Mr. Taeseong.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be off, then.”
The second information team’s leader, Choi Harin, took one last puff of her cigarette before turning her attention to the file her subordinate had brought.
“Reported missing in 2015…”
The current year was 2025, meaning Taeseong had been missing for exactly ten years.
However, that didn’t necessarily mean he had spent ten years in another world.
Time often flowed differently for those swept into dimensional shifts compared to time on Earth.
“Family…”
Father: Lee Wangbok.
Mother: Kim Youngja.
Both were marked as deceased.
Date of death: April 20, 2019.
Both parents had passed away on the same date.
Whatever had happened to them during Taeseong’s absence, they hadn’t lived long enough to see their son again.
“What a tragedy.”
That was all she thought of it.
The fates of those caught up in dimensional phenomena—whether “Possessed,” “Regressors,” or “Returnees”—rarely ended happily.
Tales of war heroes who saved other worlds but couldn’t adjust upon their return, or regressors driven to insanity by repeated cycles, were surprisingly common.
Rustle.
“Oh…? A younger sister?”
Her hand flipping through the papers quickened, her eyes scanning the contents with growing intensity.
“Lee Sooah. Why does that name sound familiar…?”
Her movements froze.
“Wait a second…”
Name: Lee Taeseong.
Age: 28.
Occupation: Soldier.
“What the hell?”
Below this was a section marked as ‘Level 1 Classified Information.’
Rank: Major (Pending Promotion).
“This guy was military? And how in the world do you guarantee a promotion to Major by age 28? What kind of missions did he complete?”
- Team Leader, Counterterrorism Response Unit, HID Special Operations.
- Participated in classified Korea-U.S. joint operation, ‘Guardian.’
- Deployed in the “Red Dawn” mission at Lidenmann (Successfully rescued all hostages / Zero casualties).
- Neutralized the extremist militant group “JSS.”
- Conducted rescue operations for South Korean citizens during the South Sudan civil war.
- Assassinated Don Salamanca, leader of the international terror organization “Salamanca.”
- Awarded the Taeguk Order of Military Merit (1x).
- Awarded the Eulji Order of Military Merit (2x).
- Awarded the Hwarang Order of Military Merit (4x).
