The visitor followed Han-Ho on the Tuesday route.
Then the Wednesday route.
Then the Wednesday evening River Bank visit for the Cheongwon communication.
Then it sat on the pavement outside the Registry during the Wednesday meeting and waited.
Then it followed on the Thursday morning route.
By Thursday evening it had been following Han-Ho for approximately sixty hours.
It had not left.
At the Thursday evening apartment gathering Moru looked at the visitor.
The visitor looked back.
"It is very small," said Moru.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Smaller than River when River arrived."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"And River arrived at approximately the size of a large marble," said Moru.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"This is approximately the size of a large coin," said Moru.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"It has been following you for sixty hours."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Without stopping."
"Yes."
"It did not stop when you came inside the apartment."
"No," said Han-Ho.
"It came inside."
"Yes."
"Without being invited."
"River was not invited either," said Han-Ho. "River was in the bag pocket. The bag came inside. River came inside."
Moru looked at River.
River looked at the visitor.
"I came inside in the bag," said River.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"The visitor came inside on the floor," said River.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"That is different," said River.
"Is it," said Han-Ho.
River thought about this.
"No," said River. "I suppose not."
The visitor sat on the apartment floor near drain six's approximate compass direction.
Han-Ho had noticed this.
The visitor oriented in the direction of wherever the cleanest point it had visited recently was.
Currently that was drain six.
In two days of following the route the visitor had developed a spatial memory for cleaned points.
It oriented toward them.
Han-Ho made a note.
Visitor spatial orientation: memory of cleaned points. Orients toward most recently cleaned highest quality location. Currently drain six direction. Passive navigation system. Filed.
He filed it.
"Han-Ho," said Min-Seo.
"Yes."
"The apartment."
"Yes."
"The occupancy."
"Yes."
"What is the current count," said Min-Seo.
Han-Ho counted.
"Han-Ho. Moru. Kjor. River. Sprite. Shard. Notebook. Old man. Min-Seo. Visitor." He paused. "Ten."
"The notebook counts," said Min-Seo.
"The shard uses the notebook as a communication medium," said Han-Ho. "They are registered jointly under 4471-B-BAG. Two entities, one registration. So nine registered occupants."
"The maximum legal occupancy is four," said Min-Seo.
"The variance is five," said Han-Ho.
"The variance was three last month," said Min-Seo.
"It increased," said Han-Ho.
"Yes Han-Ho. I know it increased. I was here when it increased."
"The visitor is very small," said Han-Ho. "Approximately coin-sized. The floor space impact is negligible."
"That is not how occupancy limits work," said Min-Seo.
"The shard did not increase the perceived occupancy," said Han-Ho. "It is in the bag. The visitor—"
"Is on the floor," said Min-Seo.
"Near drain six direction," said Han-Ho.
Min-Seo looked at the visitor.
At the coin-sized thing from the very strange world orienting toward the compass direction of the cleanest drain on the route.
"Ara," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Min-Seo into his phone.
"The spreadsheet," said Min-Seo.
A pause.
"Min-Seo," said Ara.
"Yes."
"The variance column."
"Yes."
"It says five."
"Yes."
"I created this spreadsheet when the variance was two," said Ara. "I updated it at variance three. I updated it at variance four. Now it is at variance five."
"Yes," said Min-Seo.
"Min-Seo," said Ara.
"Yes."
"Is the new occupant from the very strange world."
"Yes."
"The one the constellation described."
"Yes."
"Coin-sized."
"Yes."
"Following Han-Ho everywhere."
"For sixty hours yes."
"Min-Seo."
"Yes Ara."
"Is it going to keep following him."
Min-Seo looked at the visitor.
At the visitor orienting toward drain six direction.
At its energy quality which had been improving incrementally since Tuesday from proximity to Han-Ho's cleaning field.
At the patient quality of something that had followed a man on a cleaning route for sixty hours and was showing no signs of finding somewhere else to be.
"Yes," said Min-Seo.
Ara was quiet for a long time.
"I need a new column," said Ara.
"What column," said Min-Seo.
"The column I did not need until now," said Ara. "Probable permanent occupants from dimensions without a concept of cleaning."
Min-Seo looked at the ceiling.
"That is a very specific column," said Min-Seo.
"The spreadsheet has always been specific," said Ara. "Update: variance five. New occupant column added. I will send you the revised version."
"Thank you Ara," said Min-Seo.
"Tell Han-Ho the visitor needs a Registry registration."
"It does not have—" Min-Seo paused. "It does not communicate in any known way except through River."
"Ms. Yoon will create the appropriate fields," said Ara.
"Of course she will," said Min-Seo.
"Of course," said the bag.
Min-Seo hung up.
"It needs a name," said Baek Suri.
She had been looking at the visitor since she arrived at seven PM.
With the focused attention of someone who had found the Moru plush in Hongdae and had bought five backup notebooks and had taught herself that naming things was important.
"It does not communicate in words," said Han-Ho.
"Cheongi did not communicate in words initially," said Baek Suri. "Cheongi communicated in sounds. You gave Cheongi a name."
"Cheongi chose its own name," said Han-Ho.
"You asked what it wanted to be called," said Baek Suri. "And Cheongi gave you the sound for it."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Ask the visitor," said Baek Suri.
Han-Ho looked at the visitor.
At the coin-sized thing from the very strange world.
"River," said Han-Ho.
"Yes Master."
"Can you ask it what it wants to be called."
River floated to the visitor.
Communicated.
The visitor's energy responded.
Not in a sound.
In a shift in energy quality.
River stayed with the shift for a long time.
Then came back.
"The visitor says—" River paused. "The visitor does not have a concept of a name. In the very strange world things are what they do. They are not what they are called."
"What does the visitor do," said Han-Ho.
River communicated again.
The response.
River came back.
"It says: it tries to become cleaner," said River. "That is what it does. That is what it has always done."
Han-Ho looked at the visitor.
At the thing that was what it did.
That had been trying to become cleaner its entire existence.
That had followed clean energy through a dimensional network to a storm drain in Mapo-gu.
That was still actively working.
Right now.
In the apartment.
Getting slightly better at what it had always been trying to do.
He made a note.
"In Korean," said Han-Ho. "The thing that tries to become cleaner. That is always in the process of becoming clean. That is approaching cleanliness as a continuous movement not a destination."
He thought about the words.
"Jeongjeong," said Han-Ho.
Everyone in the room looked at him.
"Purifying," said Han-Ho. "The continuous action. Not the completed state. The ongoing process of becoming clean."
He looked at the visitor.
"Jeongjeong," said Han-Ho.
River communicated to the visitor.
The visitor's energy quality shifted.
Not a yes in any recognizable form.
But the quality of the shift was the specific quality of something that has just been given words for what it has always been.
Not recognition of a name.
Recognition of a description.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Jeongjeong," said Baek Suri.
The visitor's energy shifted again.
"It likes that," said River.
"It does not like or dislike," said Han-Ho.
"It does the energy equivalent of liking," said River.
"Yes," said Han-Ho. "Okay."
He made a note.
Visitor: Jeongjeong. From the very strange world. Continuously becoming clean. Not a name in their framework. A description that is also a name. The ongoing process. Filed.
He filed it.
Looked at Jeongjeong.
Jeongjeong oriented toward drain six direction.
Then shifted slightly.
Toward Han-Ho.
"The cleanest point has changed," said River. "It is orienting toward you now, not drain six."
Han-Ho made a note.
Jeongjeong: updated spatial orientation. Han-Ho > drain six. Implies: the person is cleaner than the drain. Filed without comment.
He did not comment.
He filed it.
Went back to the Thursday evening route notes.
"Han-Ho," said Kjor.
"Yes."
"The apartment has a new occupant."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Jeongjeong."
"Yes."
"From the very strange world."
"Yes."
"Who followed you for sixty hours."
"Yes."
"And is now orienting toward you as the cleanest point in the room."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Extraordinary," said River.
"Extraordinary," said Kjor.
"Extraordinary," said the sprite.
"Of course," said the shard.
"Of course," said the notebook.
Jeongjeong's energy shifted.
River translated.
"It says—" River paused. "The closest I can get. It says: yes. All of that. Yes."
Moru on the couch corner looked at Jeongjeong.
At the coin-sized thing from the world without a concept of cleaning that had followed clean energy to a basement apartment in Mapo-gu.
"Master," said Moru.
"Yes."
"The apartment keeps filling."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Things that need cleaning find you."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"And then stay."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Jeongjeong did not need cleaning," said Moru. "Jeongjeong was already clean. Cleaner than most things."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"So why did it stay."
Han-Ho looked at Jeongjeong.
At the thing that was continuously in the process of becoming cleaner.
That had found the cleanest point on the route.
That had followed it for sixty hours.
That was orienting toward Han-Ho right now.
Made a note.
"Because," said Han-Ho. "It is trying to become cleaner. And there is nowhere in its world or any connected world that it can become cleaner faster than here."
Moru was quiet.
"Yes," said Moru.
"Of course," said Moru.
"Of course," said the apartment.