Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Movie Shoot (1)
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Bora's wary gaze and Park Sunja's welcoming greeting left me in a daze as I stepped into the temporary Team 10 office.
Park Sunja seemed to already know exactly what I was curious about. With a soft smile, she began her explanation.
From what I heard, Shun, Bora, and Hanbit—the three of them—had been steadily approached and recruited by Park Sunja well in advance.
"These folks didn't join Dongto because they liked the company itself anyway. The timing just happened to line up perfectly, and the initial conditions Dongto offered weren't bad, so they stayed for a bit. That's why scouting them for White Tiger wasn't all that difficult."
Bora chimed in with her signature confident grin at Park Sunja's words.
"Honestly, they offered better working conditions and matched the pay. No reason not to come!"
Hanbit's expression remained indifferent as ever, but he added a word.
"I checked out the item warehouse, and it was full of nothing but low-grade trap items, so I quit. You can tell how they treat lower teams just from the items."
His words had me nodding in agreement.
I wasn't exactly thrilled with Dongto's item distribution methods or quality either.
Finally, Shun spoke up.
He fixed me with a smoldering glare and said it short and sharp.
"Kim Minjun, I came because you did."
"Pardon?"
"Teach me a move."
That straightforwardness.
Even after ending up on the same team, seeing him still burning with rivalry toward me brought a hollow laugh.
Bora poked his side.
"If you've got that much energy to spare, save it for a scrap with a Monster later. No growling at teammates."
"Monsters are boring."
"He probably thinks the same of you."
"..."
Once the conversation had settled a bit, Park Sunja drew our attention back and began explaining White Tiger Exploration Team's main duties.
"We primarily handle direct rescue requests from the Monster Management Bureau or explorations of unconfirmed zones that haven't been verified yet. That naturally means we take on a lot of Monster extermination missions."
At that, Shun and Bora lit up with confident looks, as if they'd been waiting for it.
They were definitely combat specialists.
Meanwhile, the term "rescue mission" stuck out to me.
It was the kind of job you hardly ever heard about at Dongto.
At best, it was item recovery, Monster management, or unconfirmed zone scouting—no proactive rescues.
Park Sunja must have read my expression, because she added more.
"Basically, when a report comes in suspecting a Monster phenomenon, the Monster Management Bureau assesses the situation first. If they determine it's Monster-related, they assign the mission to companies licensed for Monster ops, and those companies dispatch Exploration Teams."
Even so, she said rescue missions usually went to set places.
White Tiger or the Bureau's own rescue team.
And lately, some up-and-coming small agencies.
"Rescues almost guarantee encounters with Monsters, so the rewards for success are huge. Dongto just didn't take many of that type."
That made sense.
Dongto was already raking in far bigger, more stable profits through other means—like that underground hotel deal.
No need to risk their necks on rescues.
I gave a wry smile inwardly.
I didn't expect White Tiger to be spotless, but I hoped it was at least less dirty than Dongto.
With the rundown of White Tiger Exploration Team's main duties wrapping up, Park Sunja offered us a proposal with her gentle smile.
"We've come together as a team like this—must be some special fate. How about we all grab a meal?"
No real reason to turn it down.
Nothing better than a meal to ease the awkwardness of a first meeting.
"Anything you all want to eat?"
Park Sunja looked around at us expectantly, and Shun was first to speak. Without a second's hesitation, he stated two words firmly.
"Meat."
His bluntness drew a snicker from me.
Next was Bora.
Surprisingly, she didn't name a dish.
"Hmm... I'd love some hot soup and a shot of soju."
She was a drinker, apparently.
It was unexpected coming from her somewhat youthful face.
Finally, eyes turned to Hanbit.
He propped his chin, seeming to ponder for a moment, then spoke.
"I want... to try some commoner food."
'Commoner food?'
I couldn't believe my ears.
Not in a drama or movie, but in real life—and from a young guy in his early twenties, no less.
It wasn't just me. Bora, Shun, and even Park Sunja stared at Hanbit, momentarily speechless.
He alone tilted his head, utterly baffled by the sudden barrage of stares.
I broke the awkward air.
"I'm good with anything."
Park Sunja quickly recovered from her brief fluster and summed up our opinions.
"How about pork ribs for everyone, then? My treat."
Solid choice.
"Soup..."
We all nodded to Park Sunja's suggestion, though Bora murmured "soup" with a hint of regret.
I smiled faintly at the urge to tell her to grab some doenjang jjigae instead.
I didn't drink, so it didn't click for me, but folks who loved booze—especially soju—always seemed to crave hot soup.
We decided to head out for pork ribs on Park Sunja's suggestion. I excused myself briefly to message my old Team 15 members.
Just letting them know I was grabbing dinner with the new teammates.
"Alright, shall we go eat? I'll lead the way."
Park Sunja spoke softly and took the lead. We followed her with a touch of anticipation.
As we passed through the building lobby toward the exit, something felt off—different from the usual vibe.
Hard to pin it down exactly, but there was a subtle unease hanging in the air.
"...What the..."
The next moment, we faced something utterly unexpected.
The plaza in front of the building was ringed with countless cameras aimed at us, blasting intense light from broadcast-grade setups everywhere.
As if we were the stars of some major press conference.
"Hold on. Those lights—"
"Something's wrong."
Bora's voice held panic, while Shun had already dropped into a wary crouch, scanning around.
Just as Shun said, I spotted the oddity in the cameras and lights right away.
"...No people."
There were no people where they should have been—in front of the cameras and lights.
Dozens of cameras, yet no one behind them.
Someone suddenly popped out from the crowd and brushed past Shun—who was out front—with a light shoulder bump.
As Shun glared, a man's voice echoed from empty air.
'Next scene?'
Before I could process what that meant, the world around us shifted dramatically.
The brightly lit building front was swallowed by darkness in an instant. When I blinked, we were in a narrow alley thick with a cold, damp chill.
The cameras and lights that had surrounded us were still there, but the location had completely changed.
"Where are we...?"
"No way...!"
I realized it on instinct.
I'd heard Monster incidents had been spiking lately.
"Monster phenomenon, right? This is one."
We all nodded at Bora's words in unison.
We'd gotten caught in a Monster phenomenon.
Right in front of a Monster-handling company, no less.
In the chaos, Park Sunja calmly scanned around, spotted something on the ground, and bent to pick it up.
A thin stack of papers. As she unfolded it, all our eyes went to it.
"This is..."
Her low voice accompanied what we saw: a movie script.
The cover bore a chilling, cursive title: Tiger Murder Case Script.
Park Sunja quickly flipped to the first page and skimmed it. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"It says here... 'SCENE #1. Bustling street. While Shun, briefly distracted picking up papers spilling from his shoulder bag, collides hard with an approaching stranger. The man glares at Shun without apology, and Shun glares back fiercely...'"
"...That's what happened earlier..."
Hearing it, not just me—Shun and the others—all hardened our faces.
It matched what had gone down in front of the building pretty closely.
Shun had bumped into someone, and he'd glared just like the script said.
The papers part was off, though.
Park Sunja turned the page.
---
---
"No Scene 3 written. But..."
"We can't follow this script."
Bora replied to Park Sunja.
This Monster phenomenon was forcing us into roles as actors who had to perform as scripted.
No way we'd play along with its intent.
The title Tiger Murder Case conjured grim futures if we did.
Another unseen voice rang out, and a man appeared from the far end of the alley.
We just watched him warily, gauging the situation.