By Zephyria 
[Hidden World Record]
Name: Smiling Man
Classification: Aberration-O-M.Hu-0791
First Sighting Date: November 3, 200X
Appearance Location: Random
Danger Level: Malevolent
Containment Level: Containment Failure
True Eye Text: O■■■■■■■■■■
Response: This entity possesses extremely strong contaminative properties; anti-contamination measures are required.
Remarks: This Aberration is presumed to be the successor of the serial killer known as the Grinning Killer (reference link) from 200X. The timing of the Aberration’s appearance almost coincides with the disappearance of the Grinning Killer. Furthermore, afterimages similar to the smile marks drawn on the corpses have appeared, but since smile marks are common symbols, this cannot be asserted with certainty.
After actively manifesting its presence for five years, only occasional traces presumed to be its doing have been discovered since seventeen years ago. It is necessary to verify whether it went into hiding after taking a heavy blow or if it has already vanished.
“Hmm.”
Jeil Heon’s low hum sounded from behind, though Jiha hadn’t noticed when he approached. Leaning in, he rested his chin on the crown of Yoo Jiha’s head while scrolling down with the mouse. Feeling the heavy presence behind him, Jiha unconsciously licked his lips. For some reason, they felt dry.
He didn’t know when he had become so accustomed to this kind of skinship with him. He had never even imagined becoming this comfortably close with someone who wasn’t family. Perhaps it was because the situation when they first met was so urgent that he hadn’t had the leisure to care about skinship, but…
“….”
Would it be strange if the friendly touch of a man—and an adult man over a decade older—didn’t feel unfamiliar? The hand hidden beneath the desk fidgeted aimlessly.
Jeil Heon seemed like someone who didn’t even consider the concept of personal space, but in reality, the only person he treated with such familiarity was Jiha. He had a friendly and easygoing personality, but Jiha felt as though he subtly drew a clear line with other employees of the company. Was this just a delusion born of his own conceit? He didn’t know.
‘…Is it because I’m so young that he thinks of me as a younger sibling?’
Considering his longing for his siblings, it wouldn’t be strange, but if he truly viewed him as a younger brother, Jiha felt he would be a little… disappointed.
What was he disappointed about?
Before he could materialize the lingering afterglow of the emotion that had suddenly surfaced, Jeil Heon spoke.
“So, you’re saying Agent Song believes this is the same Aberration that tried to tear its way into the Opera House?”
“The smile mark image attached here is similar. The Enforcement Division agents who escorted us agreed as well.”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Then I will officially add that detail to the report.”
“Yes. Good work.”
Listening to the sound of Song Hilda’s keyboard, Jiha neither pushed Jeil Heon away nor spoke to him; he simply hunched his shoulders. Jeil Heon looked down for a moment at Jiha, who was creaking like an un-oiled robot, and then grabbed both of his cheeks, kneading them. He seemed to find fiddling with his face amusing.
As expected, was a kiss merely a light happening that didn’t need to be worried about for an adult like Jeil Heon? He had been so skilled that he couldn’t have kissed only once or twice… As his thoughts shifted in that direction, a strange discomfort settled in a corner of his chest.
“Team leader, you were a playboy, weren’t you.”
“Huh? Did I do something wrong?”
Jiha, who had pouted his lips for no reason, flinched as he realized his words and behavior were highly inappropriate for the office. He quickly looked around, but the other team members didn’t seem to care at all. That was because, due to the requirements Jeil Heon had put forward during the verification process, rumors had already spread that Jiha was his “comfort doll.”
In other words, just as no one mocks a person clutching a comfort doll in a terrifying dentist’s chair, no one found it strange for a human on the verge of becoming an Aberration to use a comfort doll to stabilize their Corruption Level.
Of course, Jiha was completely unaware of that fact.
Regardless, since he was a member of society, he had to be diligent at work. Just as Jiha, acting like a proper adult even if not as much of one as Jeil Heon, tried to subtly push his hand away—
‘Uh…?’
His hand flinched. The air changed.
A heavy vibration of a low tone spread, and a silent resonance, like the tolling of a dull bell, stimulated his five senses. The office interior shook minutely, and the thin layer of accumulated dust scattered as if trembling.
Jiha knew this feeling. It was something he had been specifically warned about during new employee training. Then, an alien alarm sounded, as if intervening in his consciousness and shaking it violently.
The barrier of the Water Abnormality Worship Management Bureau’s central headquarters had detected the approach of an Aberration.
“Which idiot brought an Aberration along this time?”
At first, the Head of Security dismissed it. No matter how many times it was emphasized until their mouths were dry, every year there were always one or two rookies who were bewitched by an Aberration and guided them right to the Bureau.
However, it soon became clear that his judgment was wrong.
“Chief, I think you should check this.”
At the subordinate’s report, the Head of Security narrowed his eyes as he looked at the monitor. Usually, when such a situation occurred, a new employee contaminated and bewitched by the Aberration would accompany it. But the Aberration currently reflected on the monitor was alone.
A single Aberration heading precisely toward the Bureau’s barrier—which normally would be impossible to detect, let alone approach, for an ordinary Aberration. The time for deliberation was short. Before calling Kang Suk-young, the Head of Security instructed his subordinates.
“Raise the alert to Level 3.”
“An… an Aberration approached, right? Isn’t this a disaster?”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You won’t die.”
This was the first time Jiha had experienced an Aberration hostile to humans in reality outside of an Aberrant Realm. Kim Min-seop smiled and comforted Jiha, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“Just think of it like a fire alarm. It’s no big deal. Every now and then, a rookie messes up and brings an Aberration along…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a general announcement echoed throughout the facility.
Alert Level 3 is now in effect. All office staff are to evacuate immediately to the interior of the headquarters building and do not go outside until further instructions are given. Repeating: Headquarters Alert Level 3 in effect. All office staff evacuate to the building interior and do not go outside.
Additionally, Team Leader Jeil Heon of the Investigation and Exploration Division is to report to the control room immediately upon hearing this broadcast.
After a brief pause, the broadcast added a final remark.
Employee Yoo Jiha is also permitted to accompany him.
Forget the tension from the water deer collision accident; the Aberration was far scarier. Jiha clung to Jeil Heon’s arm as if it were a lifeline and followed him to the Security Department’s control room. Seeing this, the Head of Security thought: Did the comfort doll get swapped?
‘Anyway, he looks exactly like I did when I was a rookie, so it feels a bit awkward every time I see him…’
The Head of Security skillfully hid his awkwardness and pointed to the monitor. The Aberration approaching the Bureau had come to a dead stop. Jeil Heon also grasped the anomaly with a single glance.
“There is no employee who could have led it to the barrier.”
“Furthermore, the point where it stopped is exactly the point just before the defense circle activates. This means it’s aware not only of the barrier but also of the incantation circles deployed on the outside.”
As if his eyes were stinging, Jeil Heon rubbed his right eye with the back of his hand while staring at the monitor with only his left eye. Jiha peeked out from beside his waist.
The Aberration on the monitor looked like a mass of polygons from low-resolution graphics. At a glance, it resembled a human, but its blurred features were grotesque. Above all, the most chilling part was the reality that an Aberration was situated in the middle of a mundane daily commute.
The creature’s blurred features were smiling wide, almost grotesquely.
“That characteristic expression is similar to entities contaminated by the Aberration identified as the Smiling Man. I heard a rumor that Team 7 encountered an Aberration presumed to be the Smiling Man in the previous Aberrant Realm; please explain the situation at that time.”
“Escaping from the Hanseong Opera House…”
It was just as Jeil Heon opened his mouth. The employee monitoring the screen shouted.
“An anomaly has been detected from the Aberration!”
Black flames erupted beneath the Aberration’s feet, incinerating it in the blink of an eye. As if mocking the humans who were about to begin their investigation, the Aberration vanished without a trace, leaving not even a handful of ash.
The Aberration that approached the Bureau had neither been caught by the defense circle nor left any remnants upon its disappearance. This meant a detailed analysis was now impossible. The Smiling Man, who had sent it, clearly understood the Bureau’s systems.
Team 7 and the Enforcement Division agents who had recently encountered the Smiling Man were summoned again. This was because it was suspected that their perception might have been contaminated without them realizing it, thereby opening a path for the entity.
The meticulous investigation lasting several hours concluded, and it was confirmed that no employees had been contaminated by the Smiling Man.
However, the investigation into Jeil Heon alone would not end easily.