29
Chapter 29
"Phew......."
Hyunsik let out a thick puff of cigarette smoke.
A massive pile of documents was stacked on his desk.
Looking at the endless paperwork, a sigh escaped him naturally.
No matter how much he finished, new work kept popping up.
And all of it was related to the Magical Girl.
At this rate, it was clear the Magical Girl was using magic to duplicate the work.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain this workload.
He didn't even have time to watch anime these days due to the grueling amount of work.
It happened just when he made the resolve to finish all the backlogged work today and relax with a beer while watching a Magical Girl Series.
Once again, the door opened without a knock.
Slam-!
It was a familiar repertoire by now.
He didn't even need to look to know who had come in.
Hyunsik slightly lifted his head and looked at the door.
As expected, Chanhyuk was standing there.
"CEO, we have a big problem!"
Hyunsik merely glanced at the panting Chanhyuk before turning his attention back to his documents.
"Huh? You're not startled today? You've been jumping out of your skin every time I came in lately."
Chanhyuk looked at the indifferent Hyunsik in confusion.
Lately, Chanhyuk had been finding it amusing to see Hyunsik get easily startled.
That was why he sometimes purposely entered without a knock.
But seeing Hyunsik unfazed today left him feeling a bit disappointed.
"Right now, this workload is far more shocking, so there's nothing left to surprise me. So, what is it this time?"
Hyunsik shook his head as he looked at Chanhyuk.
"Ah, yes, we just received intel that the guys from China have entered the country."
"What?"
Hyunsik, who had been focused on his documents, raised his head and looked at Chanhyuk.
"Who, who came in?"
"Here are the files."
Chanhyuk handed the documents he was holding over to Hyunsik.
Skimming through the files, Hyunsik let out a short, low hum.
"Lanye? That's a name I haven't heard before."
"Yes. He's a guy who just recently became an Executive."
"Hmm. Knowing that Heilong bastard....... Since he's a rookie, there's a high chance he's going to be used as a disposable pawn."
"That seems to be the case."
While flipping through the files, Hyunsik stopped his hand at a certain section.
"This guy has done quite a lot of dirty work, hasn't he?"
"Yes, that's what worries me too."
His special remarks listed a brutal criminal record, including kidnapping, robbery, and murder.
Of course, he was immediately released in China under the guise of false accusations.
"He's done all sorts of dirty things to become an Executive."
Hyunsik clicked his tongue as he read through Lanye's record.
In short, he was a guy who would go to any lengths.
"So, where is this guy right now?"
"Well, that's......."
At Hyunsik's question, Chanhyuk mumbled and avoided his gaze.
"Don't tell me...... you don't know his location or something? Huh? That better not be it, right?"
"W-Well, since it's a new face, it took a long time to gather intel, and because of that, pinpointing his exact location right now is......."
"Hey, you son of a bitch! What are we supposed to do if you lose track of a guy like this!"
Hyunsik yelled furiously and threw the documents right at Chanhyuk's face.
Rustle-!
The documents spilled onto the floor.
Chanhyuk hurriedly bent down and picked up the scattered papers.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"How the hell do you handle your work? You Salary Lupin! Get out there right now and figure out where he is and what he's doing!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
At Hyunsik's raised voice, Chanhyuk hastily rushed out of the Association President's Office.
Hyunsik clicked his tongue as he watched Chanhyuk's retreating back.
"He can't do anything right. Not a single thing."
With blood rushing to his head, Hyunsik put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it to calm down.
Only then did the anger that had boiled up to the top of his head somewhat subside.
"Haa....... I hope nothing bad happens."
They had undoubtedly come to find the Magical Girl's whereabouts.
There was no telling what they would do to find the Magical Girl.
"This is why I told him to check thoroughly last time."
The guys from China had a history of losing Choi Seoyeon to the United States.
There was no telling what kind of schemes they would use to ensure they wouldn't lose out to any other country this time.
"I just hope nothing bad happens."
He didn't know where or what they were plotting right now, but he had to find them before things blew up.
No, things might have already blown up.
If something had happened, he needed to find them quickly and resolve it.
'Because that's what the Association is supposed to do.'
Protecting the safety of Awakeners was the Association's duty.
Stubbing out his cigarette, Hyunsik picked up the receiver and made a call.
"Yeah, it's me. You have the list of people suspected of being the Magical Girl, right? Update it and send it to me right now. And just in case, dispatch some personnel to the homes of Awakeners suspected of being the Magical Girl."
After putting the receiver down, Hyunsik put on the coat he had hung on the rack.
"This isn't the time for me to be sitting around either."
Right now, even one more person needed to move and check to ensure there were no casualties.
He took a handgun out of the drawer and holstered it at his side.
This was a situation where an armed conflict could very well break out.
He couldn't go around unarmed.
'Looks like my plans to drink beer and watch anime today are ruined too.'
Letting out a short sigh, Hyunsik finished his preparations and left the Association President's Office.
* * *
"W-What should I do? What about my younger siblings?"
Yuna was in a panic, thick tears streaming down her face.
Her younger siblings had been kidnapped; it would be stranger if she were in her right mind.
"Calm down first, Accountant Yuna. They probably haven't harmed your younger siblings yet."
The contents of the letter demanded they bring the Magical Girl. In short, the kidnappers wanted to use Yuna's younger siblings as a bargaining chip.
Joohyun spoke calmly as well, but he couldn't help the anger bubbling up to the top of his head.
Grind-!
'I don't know which bastards did this, but they're dead when I catch them.'
He needed to show them clearly exactly who they had messed with.
"Then let's not just sit around here and go find them! The kids must be terrified!"
And it was Mina who blocked Yuna's path just as she looked ready to kick the door open and rush out.
"......Calm down first. If we move recklessly, we'll get taken out too and won't be able to save your younger siblings."
"So you're saying we should just sit here and watch?!"
Yuna yelled furiously, dropping hot tears.
"Mina is right. Charging into enemy territory without a plan is too reckless."
"What's reckless about it! I can just use my transformation to become a Magical Girl and roast them all alive!"
"And what if your younger siblings get caught in the crossfire?"
"......What do you expect us to do, then!"
Yuna knew it too.
The fact that her younger siblings could be put in danger if she used magic carelessly.
For now, safely rescuing her younger siblings was the top priority.
Joohyun turned deathly pale as he lost himself in thought while looking at the tear-streaked Yuna.
'Who exactly is it?'
After carefully pondering in his head about who could have pulled something like this off.
It was narrowed down to a few individuals.
'Choi Seoyeon is.......'
Seoyeon, who had visited Yuna's House not too long ago.
Even when Seoyeon first met Yuna, she gave off nuances of suspecting whether she was the Magical Girl.
She might have gained some sort of conviction when she came to the house this time, and could be trying to take the kids hostage to drag them to Hailt.
'No. No matter how much of a snake-like woman Choi Seoyeon is, she doesn't seem like the type to do this. Then, what about Choi Kanghyun?'
Kanghyun, who had come with Seoyeon yesterday. A blunt and incredibly upright man.
He was a man who staked his life on clearing South Korea's towers.
It was possible that Kanghyun had kidnapped them to bring the Magical Girl over to his side.
'......No. Even so, I doubt he'd go as far as kidnapping. He's an upright guy, just like they say.'
Kanghyun had a personality that couldn't tolerate injustice.
It didn't seem likely that someone like him would pull off something like this.
'Then, who exactly is it? Someone who would suspect or know Yuna and Mina's identity.'
Excluding Chanhoon and Suhyun, his thoughts narrowed the candidates down to two people.
'The pursuer. And the guy who sent the letter last time.'
The tower had told him to beware of the pursuer.
He didn't know exactly what the pursuer meant, but it was certain that they were targeting the Magical Girl.
So they might have kidnapped the kids in order to easily dispose of the two Magical Girls.
'Or it's the guy who sent the letter.'
Right now, in this situation, he was almost the only one who knew the Magical Girl's identity.
It wouldn't be strange at all if he suddenly kidnapped her younger siblings to blackmail them.
Both were plausible scenarios.
The problem was that he didn't know their identity.
It was then.
Ding-dong-!
The doorbell rang loudly.
Yuna hurriedly ran to the front door and opened it.
And in front of it.
There was no one.
Only a white envelope was dropped on the floor.
Yuna stepped outside and looked around, but not even a single ant passed by.
Sniffling, Yuna came back inside and picked up the envelope that had fallen on the ground.
And as she opened the envelope, Yuna's eyes grew wider and wider.
"C-CEO, look at this!"
After checking what was inside the envelope, Yuna frantically rushed over to Joohyun.
Joohyun checked the envelope Yuna handed him.
Inside it.
-China's Black Dragon Society. Moving under the command of Lanye. 25 personnel. All armed with firearms and artifacts. Caution advised.
Along with a note containing that information.
There was a photo of her younger siblings being kidnapped into a van.
"What in the......."
Furthermore, there was a detailed record of who Lanye was.
He was a guy who made a habit of doing dirty work.
"How did the guys from China......."
Joohyun couldn't understand. If Yuna and Mina's identity had spread all the way to China, other Managements would have already been in an uproar trying to take the two of them.
'Are they just testing the waters without being certain? That could be it.'
Looking at this guy Lanye's record, he was more than capable of doing such a thing.
If he was right, great. If not, he would just kill everyone.
It was obvious that his underlying motive was to use her younger siblings as hostages to take Yuna and Mina to China.
Whatever the case, a fight was inevitable.
And he had no intention of avoiding it, either.
They dared to touch something they shouldn't have.
He needed to nip this in the bud so that something like this would never happen again.
'But what exactly is the identity of the guy sending this letter? What does he even want?'
He couldn't understand why this person was helping them.
'......Right, let's rescue her younger siblings first and think about it later. They don't seem to have any intention of attacking us for now, so I'll worry about it later.'
Right now, saving Yuna's younger siblings from those guys from China came first.
"Girls, gather around. I have a tactic."
And so, they finished their tactic meeting.
The three of them headed to the location written down to rescue her younger siblings.
* * *
Inside an abandoned building discarded somewhere.
Cobwebs and dust were piled up everywhere, giving off a dreary atmosphere.
Fierce-looking men wearing black suits were standing guard.
In the center of the group were Lanye and Liuran, and next to them were the kids, tied up with ropes and fast asleep with soft breathing.
"Are you sure she's really the Magical Girl?"
"O-Of course. Just trust me!"
Lanye let out a fishy smirk as he watched him.
In truth, Lanye didn't completely believe Liuran's words.
There was no way Liuran would know about the Magical Girl's identity when no one else did.
'It doesn't matter though, if he's wrong, I can just kill him.'
A dog that has outlived its usefulness only needs to be killed.
In the middle of those thoughts, Lanye's nose felt ticklish and he let out a sneeze.
"A-Achoo! Goodness, why is there so much dust in this building?"
Likely because of the dust, Lanye began to sneeze continuously.
"Achoo."
It wasn't just Lanye. All the other syndicate members around him began to sneeze as well.
"Huh?"
Only then did Lanye sense that something was wrong.
"Doesn't it seem a bit hazier in the building than before?"
"A-Achoo! Now that you mention it, it does."
It was when that thought crossed his mind.
"H-Huh?"
His consciousness was gradually fading away.
Suddenly, an unbearable drowsiness poured over him.
"Ughhh."
With a hazy mind, Lanye watched as the syndicate members, including Liuran, collapsed one by one.
"What is......."
In Lanye's slowly closing eyes.
The blurry silhouette of a cat-like creature seemed to appear.
With that, Lanye ended up losing consciousness.