Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Merchant's Intrusion
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The hospital room was silent.
The patient was out of his mind, so it was only natural that he couldn't speak. The four visitors gathered at his bedside didn't make a single sound either.
The three Tale Management Bureau employees, including Se-jin, couldn't help but sense some connection to the Merchant who had shown up without fail. Their deep worries over it manifested in the form of silence.
On the other hand, Kim Hyuk-jung's situation was a little different.
He had come to see his son by pleading in a way that echoed in their skulls and wore down their resolve, pushing aside all the standard procedures he was supposed to follow.
What that meant was he hadn't received the usual education given to returnees.
Put simply, he knew nothing.
All he could do was grieve over his son's condition and watch their reactions carefully.
"Hoo..."
At that moment, Se-jin broke the quiet with a heavy sigh.
"That Yi Yeong-gil is the problem. I tried ignoring him as much as possible, but... it feels like it's time to pay the Merchant another visit."
"Y-yeah... you're right."
Woo-seok pouted, clearly unhappy about something, but he didn't voice any objections.
"The Merchant again..."
Tae-jun was the one wrestling with it the most.
Even setting everything else aside, Se-jin's claim that the Merchant had called out Shin Jin-seong's name first gnawed at him relentlessly.
And on top of that, the Merchant—not just anyone—had revived and sent back Kim Do-hyun's father, who'd been missing for twenty years. Tae-jun couldn't help sinking into profound suspicion about the Merchant's true identity and motives.
"Um... excuse me, I'm sorry, but..."
That's when Kim Hyuk-jung hesitantly spoke up, gauging their moods.
"Ah, Do-hyun's... sir?"
Se-jin felt a twinge of irony attaching the honorific "sir" to a man barely five years older than Do-hyun himself, but he kept up the courtesy regardless.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I figure I probably don't need to know anyway."
As Se-jin pondered his response, Kim Hyuk-jung pressed on.
"Yes, I get that... I understand my son Do-hyun will come around in a few days. But being a father isn't something you can decide purely on logic..."
Kim Hyuk-jung let out a deep sigh.
"I'm thirty-two now. I've done nothing for Do-hyun up to this age. At the very least, until he wakes up... would it be okay if I stayed by his side?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Strictly speaking, they should have hauled Kim Hyuk-jung straight back to the Bureau, but that desperate expression made it impossible to say no.
In the end, they contacted the Bureau to let him stay instead of posting a guard, then headed back themselves.
"Looks like we'll have to dust off the Suni dating sim after all this time."
Woo-seok considered teasing Se-jin by dredging up the old incident, but he was too drained from various reasons to follow through.
"Yeah, what happened to the one we used back then?"
"That got logged as taken for my research purposes, so I handled it separately."
"Then we'll need another one."
"Ah, I'll grab it."
Tae-jun jumped in.
"Uh... you know where it is?"
"Yeah, Do-hyun showed me once last time."
"Alright, thanks."
Tae-jun bolted straight for the elevator.
The air in the office felt heavier than ever.
Tae-jun's doomsday theory. Yi Yeong-gil's break-in. Kim Hyuk-jung's return.
Any one of those would turn the Bureau upside down on its own. All three hitting at once felt like a chain reaction of buried nukes going off.
"Didn't you say you were busy?"
Se-jin addressed Woo-seok to break the brief silence.
"I am busy. Gotta investigate how Yi Yeong-gil broke in and what powers he's using."
Woo-seok had dark circles under his eyes, probably from barely sleeping lately.
"But with Tae-jun's stuff on top of all these serious issues popping up out of nowhere, what can I do?"
Woo-seok let out a hollow laugh, but the undercurrent of fear was unmistakable.
"It's scary. Really scary. Just months ago, I was a plain newbie researcher... and now I'm the head of the whole research division."
"Tough going?"
"Tough is tough, but it's burdensome too. Seeing Tae-jun and Do-hyun get hurt lately makes me think I'm next."
While Se-jin mulled over a reply, time slipped by quietly.
Watching Woo-seok close his eyes to rest, Se-jin suddenly realized he hadn't taken a proper break himself lately either.
Now that he thought about it, he definitely felt frailer than he had a week ago.
Se-jin settled comfortably into his chair, determined to make the most of this sliver of time.
A bone-deep fatigue tugged at his eyelids, heedless of his plight.
Tae-jun returned about twenty minutes later.
His hesitant figure before his two colleagues, lost in deep sleep, was almost comical—but it was clearly a sign of respect for their exhaustion.
In the end, Tae-jun softly called Se-jin's name, just like he used to in the army.
Se-jin woke soon after, followed by Woo-seok stretching as he stirred.
"Yeah, this is the one. Good work."
Se-jin shook off the lingering drowsiness with a sip of water and pulled the Suni dating sim forward.
"Set it up like this... there."
"So, how far away is it?"
Se-jin spoke with wide eyes and a trembling voice.
"10..."
"10 kilometers?"
"9, 8, 7."
"?"
"3 meters, 2 meters... and."
Ding—the door opens.
"1 meter."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Invading the Tale Management Bureau was the only choice left to me—an unavoidable fact.
Having traced all the way back through 4,500 years of history to pinpoint Hyeok Tae-jun's location, I had no reason to sit around waiting.
No need to disguise myself like last time, either—no reason for it.
With my complete grasp of the Bureau's security systems, infiltration posed no challenge. Last time, it had all been about avoiding detection.
So slipping in disguised and taking it naturally would still be ideal this time.
"With everyone clumped together like that, what am I supposed to do?"
But I couldn't very well slice open Do-hyun's unconscious body again.
"M-Merchant! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Sigh... How pathetic is the Bureau's security that you've broken in how many times in just a month..."
"Request backup, now!"
No backup requests.
I unleashed my tentacles, smashing their phones and the hidden button under the desk in one go.
"Damn it!"
Park Se-jin and Hyeok Tae-jun drawing pistols from their pockets. Moon Woo-seok aiming some unidentified, grotesque weapon that would spell big trouble if it hit.
Better clear up the misunderstanding before it snowballs.
"Hold on. I'm not here to fight today."
Park Se-jin shot back without lowering his guard.
"You know damn well I can't trust a word you say. Well, I was planning to drop by soon anyway... got a lot of questions."
"Ah, you can ask those later. First, let me—"
Park Se-jin didn't object in particular.
He must plan to react based on whatever I do.
"Hyeok Tae-jun?"
"...Why call me?"
"You've got a wristwatch, right?"
"..."
Everyone's eyes, Hyeok Tae-jun included, wavered.
"I know everything. You met an angel and got that watch."
"How do you know that..."
A faint tremor colored his voice.
One word summed it up: terror.
They were always the ones charging in first—why this reaction today?
"If you're wondering how I know..."
Their wariness sharpened further.
I'd prefer to take it slow, but as an intruder deep in enemy territory, I had no such luxury.
"Haha... A Merchant is an information broker at heart. That's how I know so much."
"What kind of bullshit—"
"Sorry, no time—straight to the point. I'd be grateful if you handed over that watch."
Ah, no matter how I slice it, that sounds like a total villain line.
The vibe screams 'scheming baddie seizing a key artifact for nefarious deeds.'
No salvaging this atmosphere now.
Just roll with it.
"What?"
"Because that watch... seems to be mine."
Park Se-jin leaned forward and bellowed.
"This belongs to Shin Jin-seong—the one you told me about before."
Tension gripped Park Se-jin's fingers.
He's on the verge of firing.
"Ah, perfect timing. I am Shin Jin-seong."
Hyeok Tae-jun, clearly knowing something, blustered that I couldn't possibly be.
No chance they'll buy it, from the looks of things.
That leaves force as the only option.
Come to think of it, for all our constant run-ins, we've never actually thrown down properly.
With that, tentacles erupted through the shadows, heralding the start of battle.