I Wish You Were an N
I wish you were an N.
Fortune Girl asked again, startled.
"What? What do you mean?"
"No need to overthink it. If it were you, which would you pick? Just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind!"
Fortune Girl, please, let's get that luck rolling.
"I'll take full responsibility. Just go with your gut!"
Hurry up and answer. Hurry.
Over the headset came Miss Poem's urgent voice.
"Something's getting closer behind me. What do I do?"
Fortune Girl, who had been fidgeting beside me, finally squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
"R-right?!"
Good. I trust you.
"Miss Poem! Take the right passage!"
"Yes!"
Tap. Tap.
"There's a large hole opening downward ahead. There's a slope, but..."
"Proceed anyway! We have no other choice!"
We couldn't turn back now.
"Yes, understoo— Kyaa!"
What?
I jumped at Miss Poem's scream.
Fortune Girl and I looked at each other simultaneously.
She leaned into my mic first.
"Inseo! What's wrong? What happened?"
It was only a few seconds of silence.
In that brief gap my head filled with the worst possibilities.
Just to earn a few extra bucks... Ugh. Why did I...
As all kinds of regrets crashed over me.
Crackle.
Through the static came a welcome voice.
"Whew. No, I'm fine. The slope was steeper than I expected... But I'm soaked now."
Phew. At least she's safe.
I saw color return to Fortune Girl's face. She was practically nose-to-nose with me.
Then.
Beyond her face, one of the CCTV feeds showed a moving human silhouette.
Is that...?
It's Miss Poem!
And at the far end, an exit came into view.
"Miss Poem, look ahead. Don't you see the exit?"
"Ah. I see light! It's the exit!"
Yes!
Thank goodness.
Really, thank goodness.
Without thinking I thrust my right hand into the air.
Slap.
Fortune Girl high-fived my raised palm.
"Nice!"
I grinned back at her bright face.
Wait a second.
We're not exactly on high-five terms.
My expression froze instantly.
Fortune Girl seemed startled too; she slowly lowered her hand.
Then she whipped her head toward the CCTV monitors as if nothing had happened.
Tap. Tap.
Crackle. Scratch.
In the awkward silence, grotesque noises mixed with Miss Poem's footsteps over the headset.
On screen, two enormous shadows closed in beside her.
What the hell?
"Miss Poem! On your left there's what looks like a Beast D-rank! Stay alert!"
"Yes, I see them. Two giant rats. Three flies are still following from behind."
"Don't look back anymore! Just run straight out! If it's dangerous I'll signal you. Full sprint!"
"Ah, but there are people at the entrance. If all five of these things come out..."
On the monitor Miss Poem suddenly stopped.
Only her ragged breathing came through the headset.
The shaking camera froze for a moment.
Her shadow beneath the lamp slowly turned.
Huh? Why is she doing that?
Is she trying to block them by herself?
No. That's too dangerous.
"Miss Poem, just come out! I'll request backup outside!"
I hurriedly checked the other contact lists.
Goyang City Central Headquarters hotkey.
Where is it.
Damn it.
"I'll call! Just a second."
Fortune Girl quickly pulled out her phone.
At that moment Miss Poem's calm voice came through the headset.
"No. I'll hold them here. I... I can fire one shot now..."
On screen she raised both hands and spread her palms wide.
"Just time it perfectly for me."
"No. Mi-Miss Poem..."
It's just a mission. Just a paid request. Does she really have to go this far?
Sitting comfortably in the office corner, I couldn't even imagine it.
Is this what being a hero means?
I stared blankly at the screen.
Suddenly a black passageway shimmered and overlapped before my eyes.
It was a frontal view impossible from any CCTV angle.
Ah... again?
A black shadow flickered near the ceiling of that vision.
Large temporary scaffolds and steel deck structures hung in the darkness.
Why does my eye ability always act up at the worst possible moment?
Wait.
Let's see.
I shook my head once and focused on one of the CCTV feeds.
At the edge of that screen, a steel beam was indeed caught slightly.
Position-wise it sat exactly on the path the monster swarm would take.
Perfect.
That's the one.
"Miss Poem!"
"Yes."
"See that large structure above the waterway passage you came through?"
"Yes, I see it."
"Aim so it catches on it lightly, then close your eyes."
"Yes?... Yes."
One shot. Just this one shot.
If she actually sees the monster swarm coming her aim might waver.
That's why I told her to close her eyes.
All I had to do was give the signal correctly.
And from what I saw earlier, cursing doesn't automatically make it stronger.
In that case.
I need to draw out her full potential.
I stared at Miss Poem on the screen and spoke slowly.
"Miss Poem, imagine those monsters getting outside and attacking people."
"Huh? N-no, I don't want to."
Beside me, Fortune Girl stared with an expression that said she had no idea what the hell I was doing.
Just watch carefully what I'm inducing.
The power of a first-class operator.
I ignored her and kept talking.
"That monster swarm is charging toward one spot. But a child has fallen there."
"... ..."
"What will you do? Inseo."
I prayed desperately in that instant.
Miss Poem.
No, Inseo.
I hope her MBTI is N.
Not just N, but a huge capital N.
Please.
Please.
While making such a critical prayer.
On screen the monster swarm bunched together and poured into the narrow exit.
They made the wide waterway look cramped.
So many of them, writhing.
It looked like every monster in the entire sewer had gathered.
I swallowed once and counted inside my head.
Three.
Two.
One.
Now!
Open your eyes, hero!
Ah, wrong line.
"...Open your eyes. Inseo!"
I unconsciously tightened my grip on the mic.
"Do what must be done. Miss Poem!! Right now!!!!!"
On the distant CCTV feed, Miss Poem's shadow shook violently.
She lowered her raised hands, twisted her body sideways, then stood at an angle and stretched only one hand deep into the dark waterway.
Over the headset came her trembling voice.
"...Get lost."
Hm?
Nothing seems to have fired yet?
Did it fail?
"Um... Inseo?"
"Get lost!! You filthy vermin bastards!!!"
Swoosh.
A sharp sound tore through the air, and at the same time the CCTV image shook violently.
Boom. Crash.
An enormous roar slammed into my ears through the headset.
Kwaaaaaaaaang.
Ouch.
That's insane.
Rumble. Boom.
The screen was completely filled with dust.
Nothing was visible.
It suddenly occurred to me.
This exact problem had plagued me during my old operator days too.
Once the sound passed a certain level it became nothing but tearing static, and nothing could be seen clearly.
A truly frustrating moment.
Crackle.
The shaking image began to stabilize again.
Dust and smoke swirled everywhere, making identification difficult.
The deck structure had been smashed apart, and the monsters were nowhere to be seen.
What happened?
Did it succeed?
Neither Fortune Girl nor I could look away from the screen.
Then. A silhouette appeared through the smoke.
"Miss Poem? Miss Poem?"
"Inseo?..."
Please answer.
Please.
Crackle. Crack.
A voice came through the headset.
It was the voice we'd been waiting for.
"I... I've annihilated them."
I let out a long breath.
"Thank you. Juyeong unnie. And... Operator."
My tightly clenched fist finally loosened.
Huh?
Another hand rested on top of mine.
It was Fortune Girl.
I slowly looked up at her face.
She was looking at me too.
After our eyes met briefly, her gaze traveled down past my face.
Our two tightly clasped hands came into view.
Why are we holding hands?
A short silence fell.
This woman's skinship really does seem habitual...
Was that time on purpose too?
No way.
But are you just going to stay like this?
I narrowed my eyes.
As if reading my look, she startled and hurriedly pulled her hand away before standing up.
"We... we did it! Inseo did it! Haha."
"Y-yeah. Haha."
I smiled awkwardly too and glanced at her.
It was forced, but she was beaming brightly.
Suddenly I remembered the smile I'd seen in front of the elevator on our first meeting.
As expected, Fortune Girl looks best when she's smiling.
Lately she always seems to be frowning because of me, which made me feel a little guilty.
Wait?
No, no.
Why would I feel that way?
The spot where she hit me is still throbbing.
While thinking useless thoughts, static came from the headset.
Crackle.
"...Can't you hear me? Unnie? ...Operator?..."
"Yes, yes. I hear you, Miss Poem."
The background noise was loud, but I could make out the murmur of a crowd.
"There are way too many people here. They're asking for interviews, and my clothes are a mess."
The CCTV feed showing the north waterway entrance was packed with people and cameras.
Among them stood Miss Poem, clearly overwhelmed.
"...I'm not good with this. Can I just come back? I'm exhausted..."
"Ah, just come back! Come on! You worked so hard, Miss Poem."
It would have been good publicity, but it was obvious she'd already suffered enough today.
This was plenty. Still, how did they know to gather like that?
I glared at Fortune Girl beside me.
"Excuse me, Fortune Girl. Was that call you made earlier not for backup but for advertising?"
"What? I dialed every contact I have. Geez."
That aggrieved expression. Hehe.
It's kind of cute.
Wait? What am I even saying?
"It was a joke."
"Huh?"
Why am I acting like this?
The tension must have drained away and made me say crazy things.
Still, I was genuinely grateful.
"No. I just wanted to thank you. Really, thank you for helping me."
When expressing gratitude, it's proper to be polite.
I stood halfway out of my chair and bowed.
Fortune Girl stood up with me and waved her hands frantically.
"No, I didn't do much... Ah! But how did you know about that structure? It wasn't visible on the CCTV."
"It just caught my eye for a second. I have quite a lot of experience! I have a feel for these things!"
For once her face showed genuine admiration.
"Ah... I see."
"Hahaha. Ouch. Ow."
The bruise stung, making me frown involuntarily.
Her eyes seemed to scan my bruised face once.
Yes, that's your fault, so keep feeling sorry every time you look at me.
Suddenly fidgety, Fortune Girl quickly stood and walked toward the central table.
"In-Inseo's coming back soon, right? We should buy something delicious. Ah. I'm going to make a call. Since I'm heading out, I'll grab some food too. Anything you want?"
Why is this woman suddenly acting so strange?
Hmm.
Rather than something I want to eat, there is something I need.
"Yes, I need some eggs."
She turned back while holding the doorknob.
"Eggs? For protein?"
I gestured slyly at my bruise.
"No, to apply to the skin."
Fortune Girl glared at me, then muttered as she left.
"Seriously. I should just hit you one more time—"
I can hear you. I can hear everything.
Sigh.
Does that woman only ever think about hitting me?
Crackle.
"I'll end the transmission now."
Huh?
Damn.
The line was still open?
She must have heard it all.
Hmm.
"Ah, yes. You worked really hard."
"My clothes are torn and dirty everywhere. Is it okay to take a taxi? Can the cost be processed...?"
Hm? Why is she asking me?
I'm not in charge of general affairs.
But taxi fare should be fine, right?
"Of course! I'll call one for you. I know your location."
"Thank you, Operator."
I hope I don't end up handling general affairs on top of everything else.
Ah. It's cheap.
I opened the taxi app, pinned the location, and searched the main computer's expense menu.
The expected settlement tab caught my eye.
I pulled up today's projected earnings.
The waterway damage costs would be significant, but let's set that aside for now.
This waterway mission came to 5.6 million won.
That's a successful haul.
But we're still far from done.
I hadn't even factored in the waterway damage costs yet.
"It's not easy."
Still, two big jobs at the start of the month already covered a third of the goal.
It's doable.
But do I really have to keep doing this heart-stopping work every single day?
That part's a bit much.
I browsed through various things.
Expense reports.
Hero news.
Monster appearance status.
Then an article caught my eye saying fly-type monsters had been appearing unusually often these past few days.
But there was only one such piece; most were different articles.
When I adjusted the search terms slightly, a small article appeared on the side of a quick internet news page.
It went up fast.
But who wrote this?
That sensational headline...
The reference photo doesn't look like today's either.
It seems like a really old picture.
The style is completely different from now.
She's wearing some weird hat.
Well, it has its own cute charm.
A bit random, though.
I should ask her about it later when I get the chance. Heh.
Among the earlier articles, another one stood out.
Sigh. Nothing but clickbait.
The thumbnail angle is deliberately shot to emphasize her figure.
This is the reality for female heroes—constantly exposed to trash media like this.
"Hmm..."
I could understand a little of Fortune Girl's behavior yesterday.
Could there have been a malicious stalker following her around?
No way.
If so she would have beaten them senseless.
Like she did to me.
Hehe.
Wait?
What's so funny, Kang Jiwoo?
Idiot.
No matter what, violence is never the answer.
Anyway, since these are the first missions I've done with them, I should print these articles and keep them.
Good.
While sorting through everything, the front door lock beeped.
Beep beep beep. Click.
It wasn't the right code, so it wasn't Fortune Girl.
Still seated, I turned around.
There stood Miss Poem—no, Inseo—with a very different appearance from this morning.
Her coat was splattered with stains, her hair badly disheveled.
The side slit of her dress had torn even higher, and her black stockings had runs in several places.
Oh dear.
You really went through a lot, our Inseo.
But she really is surprisingly strong.
Not D-rank. No.
In my heart she's A-rank.
"Ah, hello. Um... Please don't stare too much. I'm in a bit of a state."
Oops.
I turned my head slightly.
But we already greeted each other this morning. Why is she greeting me again?
I jumped to my feet and greeted her first.
Wait?
"Yes, hello. No. Welcome back. You really worked hard, Inseo."
Inseo adjusted her coat again as she spoke.
"It felt wrong to go straight home looking like this, so I stopped by the office. My house is pretty far."
"Oh. I should have set the taxi destination to your home directly."
She waved with only one hand.
Because the other hand had to cover the more torn slit.
You could have waved with both hands, though.
"No, then the taxi fare would be huge and Hyeryun unnie would scold me."
"Ah... haha."
This damn office. Sigh.
"Ah, do you have spare clothes prepared? Or I have some comfortable shirts and pants. Would you like to borrow those?"
Inseo would probably refuse.
I should just send her home in a taxi again.
I'll explain the costs to Hyeryun noona later.
"Yes. Then please."
"Yes~ Then the taxi again— Huh? Eh?"
"Yes. I'd like to borrow some clothes."