Damn, I Like You Guys!
Damn, I Like You Guys!
The Management Bureau was in a state of emergency.
It was because of the appearance of an Infinity Difficulty Awakener.
"So I'm telling you to withdraw right now! It's an order from the Director-nim!"
"Yes! They've appeared! Report the movement path after collecting the tranquilizer darts!"
"Yes, yes! Send back the suspected Awakeners being transported, and tell the ones confirmed as Awakeners to wait on standby right there!"
Of course, there was a space completely detached from that bustling atmosphere.
It was the Director's office.
Kwon Do-jun, the Director of the Management Bureau, was reading the profile of the Infinity Difficulty Awakener, Han-gyeol, in his office.
"A fanatical level of obsession, huh..."
Kwon Do-jun's eyebrows drew together between his glabella.
"In his childhood, he got hooked on Metal Slug, snuck out of the orphanage at dawn, picked the lock of an arcade, and played until morning before being caught by the police who received a report. When asked by the police where he got the money, he stated that he had squandered the allowance he had been diligently saving up in a single day. The statement was later proven to be true."
Flip.
"He wandered the city center after getting hooked on Pokemon GO and collapsed from exhaustion. Hospitalized in the emergency room after a report from a citizen. Complained of severe dehydration. The cause was trying to get a Shiny... a Shiny? He walked for two days straight without drinking a single drop of water to get that type."
Flip.
"After his pro-gamer debut, he unilaterally tore up the slave contract with the first team he signed with. After paying off the penalty fee with a loan from an illegal loan shark, he made a spectacular comeback with his second team."
Thud.
Kwon Do-jun let out a deep sigh and closed Han-gyeol's file.
"I don't know if I should be happy about this or worried."
He was a person who was completely unpredictable.
It was a situation where it was doubtful if he could even be controlled.
The only fortunate thing was that the direction of this fanatical obsession was aimed at the Tower, right?
But that didn't mean he could just be at ease.
"Hoo. If he were to lose interest in the Tower, wouldn't that mean fifty thousand people would have to climb the Tower floor by floor while bleeding out of their asses?"
Now that they had basic information about the Tower in their hands.
The Tower was a crazy place where one had to fight monsters that didn't exist in reality.
Of course, they say harmless slimes appear in the tutorial, but according to experts' analysis, the difficulty will continue to rise.
It was impossible to push fifty thousand people into such a place and tell them to climb at least one floor within a week.
They couldn't do that.
Is it the sacrifice of fifty thousand, or the sacrifice of one?
The answer is already decided.
'I have to push him into the Tower no matter what it takes.'
Kwon Do-jun, the Director of the Management Bureau, felt like his lower back was already starting to ache.
"Bow. First, just bow unconditionally."
Everything else doesn't matter.
The Infinity Difficulty conqueror.
If only he would enter the Tower, this old man's spine or whatever.
He could bow a hundred, no, a thousand times.
A black sedan was speeding through downtown Seoul.
Ju-hee, sitting in the passenger seat, was humming while holding Han-gyeol's autograph.
"Wow, thank you-nim! Thank you-nim! I was such a huge fan, I never dreamed I'd get an autograph like this!"
"Haha, are you that happy? It won't mean much anyway since I'm already retired."
"What are you talking about! That Emperor-nim awakened with the Infinity Difficulty! This is a guaranteed moonshot."
"Oh? Are you going to sell it?"
"Ah, no. I meant, you know, the value."
"Hahat, I'm joking. It's fine if you sell it. Once an autograph leaves my hands, it's up to my fan what they do with it."
"Kueh! I'm not selling it! I'm going to keep this as a family heirloom and pass it down forever!"
Beaming.
Haha, hoho.
The atmosphere was truly rosy.
Park Jun-young, who was holding the steering wheel, stopped at a traffic light, then turned his body slightly and bowed his head to Han-gyeol again.
"Thank you so much for your cooperation."
"It's nothing. It's something I had to do anyway."
"No. Thank you so much. It couldn't have been easy to decide to dedicate yourself to the country overnight."
"Is-is that so? Are other players usually different from me?"
"Yes. They are people who became superhumans overnight. They were probably the most confused themselves. So there's some friction, and well, it's complicated. Han-gyeol-ssi is a very unique case."
That was when it happened.
Han-gyeol's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Friction, huh. It's not that you had friction because you tried to kidnap them, right?"
Flinch!
The two agents looked calm on the outside, but to Han-gyeol, they weren't.
Because he detected that their heartbeats had changed minutely due to his hearing, which was enhanced by the condensation and fixation of mana.
The two agents exchanged glances secretly (though Han-gyeol caught them), and Ju-hee let out a deep sigh and opened her mouth.
"...Kidnapping. Why would you think that?"
"Ju-hee."
Park Jun-young, as if trying to stop her.
Han-gyeol replied with a nonchalant attitude.
"Well, I'm a pro-gamer. My eyes and ears are pretty good. I was thinking that a state agency wouldn't just sit still, and then I heard footsteps I'd never heard before, so I just opened the door. I thought, 'What's coming has come!'"
"..."
"But I saw Agent Park Jun-young's movement of trying to put his hand inside his coat for a split second."
"..."
"And usually, when people visit someone else's house, they knock, or they might press the intercom, but your hand position was a bit, how should I put it. You were close to the door lock, weren't you. I wondered. Are they going to pick the lock in broad daylight and kidnap the Awakeners? Hahat!"
"..."
A heavy silence settled inside the car.
"No, was I right?"
"..."
Han-gyeol didn't bother to add words or act flustered, waiting quietly for a response.
Sometimes, a single silence is a much stronger pressure than a hundred words.
It was Ju-hee who spoke first.
"Haa, Seonbae! I'm just going to say it!"
"Ju-hee!"
"You're right! We were going to shoot tranquilizer darts and kidnap you! We are suuuuuper sorry!"
Ju-hee turned her body and bowed her head.
Thump!
Han-gyeol's eyes widened.
"But! We had our own circumstances, you see!"
"Oh, what kind of circumstances?"
"...They died. The colleagues who tried to contact the suspected Awakeners."
"Yes?"
Han-gyeol's jaw dropped.
"At first, the policy was to persuade them with words, but after an agent was murdered, the Director-nim snapped and the policy changed completely. To the direction of suppressing them first."
"No, wait a minute. What happened to that Awakener?"
"We shot them dead. We sacrificed two of our agents and one more Awakener agent to do it."
"Eek..."
"Haa. You and I are going to talk separately later."
"Ah, Seonbae! Han-gyeol-nim should know what he needs to know, right! To put it bluntly, if you hadn't approached us favorably first, we would have kidnapped you, right! Then I wouldn't have been able to get your autograph!"
Han-gyeol looked at Ju-hee for a moment with a fed-up expression.
Park Jun-young, who had let out a sigh, took the baton.
"...I have no excuse. I won't make any excuses."
"No wonder you were so kind. What were you going to do after kidnapping me?"
"We were going to talk."
"Talk after kidnapping me?"
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."
Then Ju-hee cut in.
"Do you know that? That meme that says 'Get in the car right now! We don't have time!'"
"Ju-hee, you-"
"Ah, I know that."
"..."
"Yeah, it's similar. After an unfortunate incident, we used a rather extreme method called kidnapping. But it's an emergency situation worldwide. You know. It was the Director-nim's order, so we had no choice."
Similar? That meme and this kidnapping? What part exactly?
Han-gyeol, who was wondering, scratched his head and replied.
"I understand, but kidnapping out of the blue..."
"We're not like those bad guys in evil organizations. When the suspected Awakeners wake up, we bow our heads first. It's true."
Han-gyeol looked at Park Jun-young as if he were suspicious.
"It is true. I've been slapped a lot in that process, too."
It was the truth.
His heartbeat was calm.
"Haa. Kidnapping, brainwashing, threatening. You really weren't going to do that and just try to talk?"
"Yes. That is correct. In fact, there are many cases where those who awakened just went back home."
This was also the truth.
"Then what happens if I don't cooperate? I'm Infinity Difficulty."
"...I will tell you honestly."
"Yes, let's just lay it all out."
"Actually, I don't know either. The Director-nim is someone who is very hard to predict."
"Hard to predict, huh. Then let's say the Director-nim gives an order to brainwash or threaten. What would you do then, Agent-nim?"
Park Jun-young closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Like an Awakener, the steering wheel was immediately crushed.
"I don't think that's likely, but I would follow it. Because it's an order."
Park Jun-young and Han-gyeol's gazes met in the car's rearview mirror.
"Don't you think that's too much?"
"I do. I do think so."
A staring contest that looked like lightning was sparking.
Han-gyeol chuckled and opened his mouth.
"A person's heart, or a lack of energy."
"Pfft!"
"?"
Ju-hee laughed, and Park Jun-young just had a question mark floating above his head.
"Ah, you don't know this. It was just ice breaking. Joke, joke."
"Ahem."
"Agent Park Jun-young is okay. Then what about Agent Ju-hee?"
"Ah! I'm against it! I'm absolutely against it! Disobeying orders! I'll open the front door and help you run away!"
"...Ju-hee."
"Okay. Then let's not hide anything else, okay?"
"Of course! I'm totally open-minded! Besides, you never know, right? We brought you here, maybe you could work as a team in the same department! I've always had a romance for things like a hero's sidekick! Plus, if I'm Emperor-nim's sidekick, I'd really want to serve you for the rest of my life! Get lost, widower Park Jun-young Seonbae!"
A steady rhythm of heartbeat.
Ju-hee's statement was surprisingly clean truth.
"Ju-hee, I'll see you later. Anyway, yes. I have nothing more to hide either. If you have any questions, please just tell me anything."
A rhythm that was off-beat.
Park Jun-young's statement was a lie.
"Hmm. Is that so? You really have nothing else to hide?"
"...Actually, there is one thing I would like to ask."
"What is it?"
Park Jun-young's ears turned bright red.
A look far from a cool-headed agent.
He hesitated for a moment, then struggled to move his lips.
"If it's not too much trouble, could I get one autograph too..."
Surprisingly.
It was the truth.
"If you were a fan too, Agent-nim, you should have said so from the beginning."
"Ah, no. I'm sorry. I'm a person who is a bit far from cultural life. It's for my daughter."
"Ah, your daughter was a fan. Of course, I'll do it."
"Thank you. I'm really shameless, but I ask for your favor."
"Hahat! Han-gyeol-nim will like Seonbae's daughter too! She grew up very bravely-"
"Please, just shut your mouth, Ju-hee."
"No, did I say anything wrong? Isn't she a proud daughter who studies well on her own, makes friends well, understands and supports her dad, and grew up upright? Seonbae, you can brag about your daughter a little!"
"C-cough. Hye-min did grow up well."
Han-gyeol, who was listening to their conversation, began to have a subtle expression.
"Hoo. My job is my job. Even though it's been a long time since I've seen her, my heart always melts whenever she sends me a message saying she trusts and supports me."
"She really grew up bravely! Among my agents, there isn't a single agent who doesn't know Hye-min! If she joins as a junior, I'll dote on her so much!"
"Stop it, I'll never let Hye-min do a job like this."
"Well, that's true too!"
I cried out in my heart, shedding tears.
'Damn it, what is this!'
Listening to one father's hot life story that you can't listen to without tears is making my chest hot!
'The washing machine! It's running!'
I'm a person who is the same inside and out, and I like that?
A person with conviction, that's cool!
Besides, I've forgiven them in my heart to some extent, but the daughter story was the finishing blow.
'Puppet Master! You gallery user, what the hell!'
I immediately turned on the IR Gallery and wrote a post.
[Damn it, agents, I like you guys!]
[Author: Amor Fati]
(Thumbnail of Jun-young showing off a photo of his daughter while stopped at a traffic light, and Ju-hee excitedly shaking the autograph)
I listened to their heartbeats and it was all the truth, damn it!
Turns out they're actually good guys!
They had their reasons!
They're getting a redemption arc!
This Infinite Regressor, Amor Fati, hereby declares the 'Home Alone' operation cancelled as of today!
For reference, I'm going to meet the Director now lol
A moment later, the comments from the IR Gallery users started to appear.
└PoisonCoated) You can't do the Home Alone operation? Damn, that's a shame, that was a masterpiece for real.
└Amor Fati) Honestly, I agree lol
└Heresy Purger) It was a story you couldn't listen to without tears ㅠㅠ
└Solo Hero*) Is the washing machine performance crazy or what
└Martial God) Hey, aren't those guys regular regressors? How are they getting a redemption arc so exquisitely? lol
└Puppet Master) That's a relief. Doesn't look like the newbie will have a hard time later.
└Dungeon Thief) Be grateful that the newbie has a kind heart, you Management Bureau guys!
└Vampire Princess) Did you say you determined the lies by heartbeats?
└Amor Fati) Yeah, the rhythm changed subtly.
└Vampire Princess) Why did the heavens give birth to the newbie as a human!
└Archmage) Hoho, that's fortunate. By the way, have you made a new plan?
The comment from Archmage-nim that hits the core.
It was true that a new plan was needed.
Let's think.
In the first round, the Management Bureau recruited Awakeners on a large scale.
It means they opened the gates of the Management Bureau wide, not using shady methods like kidnapping.
'Maybe the reason they went crazy like this is because of the Tower message that the Infinity Difficulty conqueror is in Korea.'
They tried to recruit suspected Awakeners indiscriminately to catch me, but an agent was murdered by a crazy player, and the policy changed.
'Found the answer.'
Even if the Infinity Difficulty conqueror message spreading far and wide is a fixed past that can't be helped.
'That crazy player. I just have to stop that bastard.'
Then the Management Bureau's policy wouldn't have changed so drastically.
'Good. Decided.'
After meeting the Director and grasping that crazy bastard's personal information in detail, I'll regress and stop them.
I laid the foundation for the next round's plan and, guided by the two agents, passed through the chaotic Management Bureau and stepped into the Director's office.
The Director of the Management Bureau was waiting for me there.
"Han-gyeol Awakener. Thank you, sincerely, for your cooperation."
Crack, pop, snap. Pop.
While making sounds that shouldn't come from a waist.