Morning Chaos and Swearing Sonic Attacks
What the hell?
The next morning.
Chirp chirp.
Sparrow calls.
Tick tick.
Brushing sounds.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle.
The faucet water running.
Inside the partition.
This space that still felt like my own... or maybe not.
Thinking about the chaos from last night being swept away, I didn't know how precious this morning's quiet was.
I carefully touched the face where the bruise had peaked, right in front of the mirror.
"Ouch."
'Damn it. I had to somehow wrap up the mess from last night.'
So, without anyone telling me to, I did it myself.
"I'm leaving. I'm leaving. But if I can't prove my abilities within a month, then I'm gone. The standard is vague, you say? How about sales? 30 percent more than last month? Or I'll aim for 50 percent."
I decided on around 20 percent.
'Who the hell was threatening me with a knife?'
It wasn't a knife, but the sudden gesture from last night's fortune teller popped into my head. It was as if she was gesturing with her hand, threatening me while smirking. At that moment, I was clearly cornered. Definitely. So, I had no choice.
'Hah. I didn't even know how much last month's sales were.'
And honestly, I thought Hyeryun unnie would say, 'You don't have to do that' in one sentence. Instead—
"Huh? Really? You'll do it? Then let's go for it!"
That's what she said. That day, my explosive remark wrapped up the fuss.
Jeong Seonggeul sent me a suspicious look and said, "You have to keep that promise."
Hyeryun unnie's face lit up with a bright smile. "Huh? You're really the one, Jiwoo? Hehe. The sales table for last month is in the desk drawer over there."
Lee Hoeun winked. "I'm an operator on the O-Rabang route. I believe in your abilities. Fighting!"
She bowed her head and turned. "... I'll take a look. See you tomorrow."
That's how I was enjoying the morning quiet at a pricey cost.
I checked the sales report for last month that I'd pulled out yesterday. At first glance, it didn't look too bad in size. But the problem was the money I needed to leave. Building rent, association license maintenance fee, operation insurance, damage compensation fund, basic hero salary, and so on. After subtracting each one, almost nothing was left.
'What the hell is this?'
In the corner, unread mail piled up. Among them were some that looked like overdue utility bills.
'Hyeryun unnie, you've been working hard. No, not really. Who cares about anyone? If this keeps up, I'll be out of a job right after getting hired. No more of this.'
I tapped the calculator and checked the emails that came into the monitor. It was Lee Hoeun's mission settlement report from yesterday. 5,200,000 won. Oh, not bad. Basic dispatch fee plus incentive success fee and damage reduction bonus. It was bigger than I thought.
'This is my achievement.'
Yeah, but there was still a long way to go between last month's sales and the target amount I boasted about. Even adding yesterday's estimated settlement from Lee Hoeun, the situation didn't change much.
'Hah. It looked like it'd be a tough month. But what the hell, let's try this once. Even this way, there's some leftover salary I was chomping on. A man's spoken words never go to waste.'
Me, wrapped up in some unnecessary sense of duty. Suddenly I raised one hand and posed a fighting stance.
"I can do it. Kang Jiwoo!"
And I looked at the hero profiles of our agency stuck on the office wall one by one, lost in thought. The answer wasn't a high-level request. Among requests suitable for our level, I had to pick the one where the settlement would jump. Basic pay was low, but with early suppression, damage reduction, and success incentive fees attached. Make a cheap-looking request and finish it expensively.
'What I learned at the central call center was one thing: requests are not all the same. Some are losses no matter what, others pay even with a low grade tag. I had to choose those. Not the ones that pay the most, but the ones that pay properly.'
Lady G. Pop-Up Girl. Miss Poem.
My eyes passed them in order and stopped at Jeong Seonggeul's profile.
Thud.
Suddenly irritation exploded.
10 AM. No one had come yet. Since the staff except me were the representative and heroes, no one was around to guard the work time. Ah, this sense of isolation.
Beep beep beep beep. Clang.
Finally, one person came. Our top rank, Inseo.
"Huh. Ah, hello."
The person who entered by opening the door was Inseo. But today her outfit was different from yesterday. The dark black one-piece caught my eye first. Even though it was a subdued color, the side cut made the leg line slightly visible, and on top of that, a brown half-coat fell neatly below the hip line.
'Ah, this is exactly the outfit I prefer. No, all men would prefer that outfit. Right away, the side cut. Thanks to that, it looked a bit more neat and adult-like than my usual cautious and modest feel.'
Most of all, her makeup was darker. The eyes behind her glasses were clearer than before, and her lips were more vivid than usual. She was still the quiet type, but today my gaze went back to her one more time.
'I like this style. I really liked it. Pull yourself together and greet her, Jiwoo.'
"Yes. Hello. Today's a mission day, right? Is that your hero outfit?"
Suddenly Inseo's face flushed red. She looked down for no reason, then lightly pressed the side cut of her skirt with her fingertips. Then, while fiddling with the coat hem, she pulled it forward a bit. It felt like she was dressing a bit too roughly.
"Ah. Yes, that's it. This is my outfit. Is it strange?"
"Ah! No! Not at all strange!"
'I probably said something unnecessary. I should be careful what I say to Inseo from now on. Strange? It's a very, very welcome outfit.' I almost said that aloud. 'Calm down.'
I pointed to today's mission printout I had prepared in advance. "I prepared this for you."
Inseo sat at the table and brushed the hair flowing by her ear. And carefully picking up the mission printout, she started following it line by line with her eyes.
Morning sunlight came in through the office window. Small dust motes floated slowly inside the light beam. The sunlight stretched long across the table and touched the ponytail of Inseo, who was looking down at the print.
Every time she slightly bowed her head, her hair flowed forward to her shoulders, and the ends sparkled quietly in the sunlight. The sunlight that had passed through my gloomy, lonely office was now shining brilliantly through her.
'Right now, I envy that sunlight. Why? Because I want to stroke her ponytail as much as I want. We sparkle together.' I imagined myself becoming a bit of sunlight for a moment. 'No, it didn't matter if it was just the dust floating around her. Just being in the same space... Eh? What am I saying right now? Why am I talking nonsense? Why am I like this?'
Inseo looked up and stared at me. The glasses frame receiving sunlight shone a little. Her lips moved slightly. It seemed like she was saying something, but because of the sunlight from the window, her white face looked brighter than usual, and another imagination was about to bloom. 'Stop it, man.'
"... ... sir."
'Ah. What is this? What was that? Was she calling me?'
"Over here. Operator-nim."
"Ah. What? Why?"
"This... You were just staring blankly. If the mission grade is D-class, then... I'm also D-class, so... I usually take many requests lower than my own grade."
"Ah, yes. I looked carefully and thought it was entirely possible, so I recommended it. And since I'll be helping you fiercely from behind, you don't have to worry. I don't know if you know, but the office's situation is not good at all. This can't go on."
'In times like this, I have to show the most confident face I can. Moderately. Just...'
I smiled brightly. "I can do it! I... no. W-W-We...! Ack."
'Dammit, I'm dying.'
Because I smiled too widely, the bruised place hurt too much.
"Puff."
Inseo covered her mouth with her small hand. It seemed like she was embarrassed that a laugh had leaked out, so her head lowered a bit. But through her glasses, her eyes were smiling.
"Yes, I understand. I'll try my best too. But is your injury okay?"
'Ah. As expected, she's sincere, unlike the others.'
"Ah yes, it's okay—"
At that moment.
Drr drr drr drr. Clang. Clang. Ding ding.
The door lock password sound played again. 'No, if it's wrong, why do they keep trying?' The sound of rattling the doorknob followed as if to force it open. I immediately knew who it was.
"Why is this not opening?!"
The voice from behind the door was indeed Jeong Seonggeul. Next to her, Hyeryun unnie's voice came.
"Juyeong-ah. Why do you keep getting this wrong? Move aside."
Clang.
"Ah, Representative."
Hyeryun unnie and Jeong Seonggeul came in together after opening the door. Inseo and I stood up and bowed our heads in greeting.
Hyeryun unnie came in with a hand gesture saying it's okay, and said, "Representative? Don't call me representative here, just call me unnie."
"Ah, yes."
Next to my short answer, Hyeryun unnie passed by, leaving a scent of perfume. Today she was dressed much more formally than usual. A neat blouse and a tailored suit jacket. Below that, an office skirt ending slightly above the knee followed.
'The feeling of liking an older woman is mainly because of a suit like this. Yeah.'
The sound of her heels echoed clearly inside the small office. Every time Hyeryun unnie walked toward the operator desk, her skirt line naturally swayed. I unknowingly followed her with my gaze. 'Wow. Nice. But let's stop there.'
I turned my head to the side, and my eyes met Jeong Seonggeul's. With arms crossed, she was staring dead at me. At that moment, without knowing who started it, both our faces crinkled. But let's greet each other anyway.
"Hello, Jeong Seonggeul-nim."
"Yes. Whatever. Today I didn't come because of a mission."
Anyway, just looking at her outfit, it seemed like she came just to hang out. Her lower body was in short black dolphin shorts, and on top, a white tank top with a gray zip-up hoodie. It looked exactly like she'd just come from a nearby convenience store. Yeah. Why did she come without a mission?
The answer was given by Hyeryun unnie instead. She pulled out some documents from the drawer and said while holding them, "I have tax office business today, so I'll be out for a while. So Jiwoo, support Inseo's mission well today, and since it's your first time, help Juyeong a bit too. That's it."
'This is damn annoying.'
I asked Hyeryun unnie, "What? Just me?" and turned to Jeong Seonggeul. She also looked at me, her face completely expressionless, if not cold.
"Not just you, but together."
Hyeryun unnie looked at my face once and smiled a little. Then, holding the printout on the table, she told Inseo, "Inseo, you're going to Ilsan today? Hurry up and leave early. And if you two fight and the mission goes wrong, it's a big problem!"
Inseo and I smoothed out our crinkled faces and said urgently to Hyeryun unnie, "Yes!" / "No. Why would we fight, unnie? It's just me."
Hyeryun unnie lightly patted Inseo's shoulder as she passed behind Jeong Seonggeul and went toward the door. "I'll take you home on the way out." Inseo lightly bowed to Jeong Seonggeul and followed her out.
Suddenly, I was alone with Jeong Seonggeul.
'Man... Why this woman specifically? Just pretend she's not there. That might be best for my mental health.'
I sat at the operator seat and prepared. I checked various data. There was a lot to see, and I even practiced switching the displays in advance. An hour passed, and during that time, we didn't say a single word.
I glanced back. Jeong Seonggeul was leaning against the table far away, scrolling through her phone. That was her idea of a 'supporting person' posture.
"Ah, what is Hoeun doing today? Is Hoeun not coming?"
"Hoeun has a full schedule of classes today. Why? Do you want to see her?"
"No. I just don't want to be alone with you." It was just a casual thought, why did she have to answer like that?
"Ah. I see. Then..." I shivered and looked back again. She was still in that posture. Did she just come to play?
"Hey. Inseo—no, Miss Poem-nim—is her ability a soundwave attack?"
"Yes, that's right... But you didn't ask when you two were alone earlier, what were you doing?"
"You came in, so I couldn't."
"Ah. Haha. I didn't have time to think earlier... But I looked up Miss Poem's videos, and there wasn't much data."
"Yes. Inseo is shy, so she avoids public exposure. Due to the nature of her ability, it doesn't show up well on camera either."
Beep beep beep.
On the main display, Miss Poem's GPS location signal was caught. Looking at the right CCTV screen, Inseo's figure was visible. The left drone screen was, unfortunately, the one that was damaged and couldn't be seen. From behind me, the sound of print paper rustling was heard.
"Is there a gathering of monster mosquitoes near the lake park stream?"
I turned my chair around and answered, "There isn't much damage yet, but since they are in a swarm, an early suppression request came in."
"So that's why it's D-class."
"Yes, it might be a bit much for Miss Poem alone. But if I help her well—"
"Inseo is more than enough."
"What?"
"You haven't seen Inseo fight at all. Watch closely this time." She was saying something as if teasing me subtly, making it sound like I was sitting here without proper preparation. "There's no video."
"Ah. Yes." 'What can I do? I have to answer obediently. If I argue, I'll just get destroyed.'
Through the headset, static noise came. *Zzzzt. Zziziz.*
『I... have arrived, Operator-nim.』
It was Miss Poem's voice. I alternated between the monitor and the right screen and answered. On one CCTV screen, her standing figure was visible.
"Ah, you arrived safely. You're at the stream entrance."
『Yes. Can I enter right away? The inside is dark, so I can't see clearly.』
The stream inside the monitor was pitch black. Most of the screen was smeared with shadows, dimly lit only by the sporadic lights here and there. The old concrete walls and the glisten of the wet floor could be felt right through the screen.
"No. First, let's try a soundwave attack at the entrance. That way, some of them might fly out on their own."
『What? I can't see them yet, should I just broadcast?』
"Yes, if you throw a sound wave in, they'll come out on their own. That's the typical nature of Insect C mosquito monsters. You can just throw a few—"
At that moment, Jeong Seonggeul's sharp voice cut in from behind. "What kind of command is that?"
Jeong Seonggeul had interrupted from behind. When I looked back, her hoodie had slipped down and she was crossing her arms tightly. Why was she suddenly acting like that?
"Why is there no drone screen? Did Inseo not bring it?"
"That... Last time it was destroyed during Hoeun's operation, so we can't use it today."
"Eh? There's only one of those, why did it break?"
"Haha. It's actually because of me..." On a mission like today, the drone was absolutely necessary, but I had broken it. "No, but this office is a hero agency, so having only one drone doesn't make any sense."
At that moment, the overdue mail I saw earlier flashed through my head. 'Hoo. What can I do.'
"Hmm. Operator-nim."
"What?"
"Are you telling me to just scream blindly into the dark since we can't see the enemies? There are a lot of civilian ears around here."
'Scream blindly?' I didn't know what to do and looked back and forth between Jeong Seonggeul and the CCTV screen. "What do you mean scream?"
*Zziziz.*
Through the headset, Inseo's hesitant voice was heard.
『Shall I start then?...』
"What? Yes... if possible, go ahead and do it."
『... ...』
"What are you doing? Hurry up."
『... Shit.』
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