The Best Adjutant I Ever Knew
“You ask if I know Jinhyun? He was by far the best adjutant I ever knew.”
Adjutant Choi Han had come to conduct the various investigations required to set the guild’s dissolution in motion. He had already finished inspecting every other location; the only place left was this executive office.
He had spent little more than a month here, yet the place held nothing but unpleasant memories. Never imagining he would be clearing it out with his own hands so soon, Adjutant Choi Han proceeded with his work under a complicated swirl of emotion.
Fortunately, two S-class hunters who had actually lived here were present, so the work itself went fairly smoothly.
“Are the facilities overall still functioning properly?”
“Yes. The gas, the boiler—everything’s worked without a single problem the whole time we’ve used it. And… we’ll be clearing out the belongings in the rooms soon, so you needn’t worry about those.”
“What? B-but…”
Choi Yujin spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. Na Jiseon suddenly looked flustered, and Yujin regarded her with mild confusion.
“Why are you so surprised? The guild’s being dissolved. Of course we have to move out of our rooms. Even if we take some time off before transferring to another unit, we can’t stay here anymore.”
“No… that’s not what I’m worried about. If we do that, what happens to his room? Jinhyun Oppa’s room?”
“Lee Jinhyun’s room? Ah… the one we’ve been using as a storage closet?”
Hearing the name after so long stirred a faint sense of longing in Choi Yujin. Jiseon answered in a voice thick with concern.
“Our stuff in there we can just haul out, fine… but what about all the records inside? Do we just throw them away? Even now, giving them back to Jinhyun Oppa feels… wrong somehow…”
Yujin had been ready to say that since the owner had left them behind, they could dispose of them however they liked. But seeing Jiseon hesitate, she began to take a mild interest.
“Honestly I have no idea what those records even are… but if you’re that worried, just contact him and ask before you toss them. If he says he needs them, pack them in a box and ship them over.”
“Then… should we do that? Yeah, that would be better, right?”
Jiseon looked oddly pleased by the suggestion. Yujin was still wondering about that reaction when another voice cut in.
“Excuse me… did you say someone named Lee Jinhyun left something behind?”
Adjutant Choi Han had taken an interest in their conversation. He had already heard the name Lee Jinhyun— the man who had served as adjutant of the 28th Guild right before his own arrival, the one who had endured four full years in this godforsaken place. There was one other reason the name caught his attention, but he kept that to himself and simply voiced his curiosity with careful politeness.
“Yes. He left piles of records of some kind. Honestly, I have no idea what’s in them…”
“Records… If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might I take a look?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Choi Yujin granted permission without much thought; she truly had no interest. Na Jiseon looked less than eager, but the things weren’t hers and they had to be cleared out of the building anyway, so she agreed—figuring they might as well get them sorted while they were at it.
They opened the door that had gathered dust for more than half a year and stepped inside. The room was stacked with the odds and ends they had shoved in over the months—boxes of clothes no one wore, unused exercise equipment, and the like. As they cleared the clutter, Jiseon’s expression grew steadily darker.
“…Come to think of it… these were things Jiyun bought, too.”
“She said she’d wear them once she finished her diet… but her shoulders got too broad and she gave up on them in the end.”
If the person in question had still been alive, the story might have drawn a light laugh. In this moment, it only reopened the grief.
Listening from a short distance while he helped clear things away, Adjutant Choi Han asked carefully,
“…By Jiyun… do you mean Hunter Seo Jiyun? The one who was recently framed so unjustly…”
“!… Ah… you knew about that?”
Choi Yujin stared at him in surprise; she had never expected to hear those words from him. He answered in a calm, even voice.
“Yes. The higher-ups managed to twist public opinion into something ugly, but we adjutants already know the truth—how Hunter Lee Sena tried to cover up her own crimes.”
The military’s massive public-relations campaign had made reversing the narrative nearly impossible, yet people still had eyes and ears. Anyone who knew even a little of the 28th Guild’s inner workings—especially the five adjutants, Choi Han among them, who had rotated through the place in the past month—understood exactly what Lee Sena had done at the hearing.
“While we were stationed here we knew perfectly well that every single thing that happened inside the 28th Guild was driven by that woman Lee Sena. Unfortunately the rest of the world doesn’t see it that way. My time here was far from pleasant, but on that point I offer my sincere condolences.”
“…Haa…”
Choi Yujin let out a small, frustrated sigh. Even someone who had once been hostile toward them knew the truth so clearly. Yet most of the nation’s citizens remained ignorant, dancing to a lie. And as a result, an innocent person had been forced to wear the guilt and become an object of public scorn. Feeling the sorrow of that reality all over again, she began gathering her fallen comrade’s belongings—now nothing more than mementos—and carrying them out of the room.
Well… even so, a perfect opportunity like this has fallen into our laps. He’ll start moving soon enough…
With that thought, Adjutant Choi Han kept the rest to himself. After a short stretch of work, the room was reasonably clear. He turned to the stacks of records left by the man named Lee Jinhyun that filled one entire corner.
“There’s quite a volume here… Judging by the organization, he seems to have been someone who liked things meticulously arranged.”
“Probably. Honestly I never paid much attention to his work side of things…”
As she spoke, Yujin glanced sideways at Jiseon. Watching Choi Han examine the records, Jiseon answered with a note of unmistakable pride in her voice.
“Believe it or not, until you showed up he was the one who actually ran our 28th Guild. We treated him like absolute garbage and drove him out, sure—but his character and his ability as an adjutant were the best I’ve ever seen. People like you would never understand, of course…”
“Wait… wait a moment…”
“Hm?”
While examining Jinhyun’s records, Adjutant Choi Han suddenly spoke in an urgent voice. Jiseon looked puzzled but fell silent for the moment.
And then—
“…How is this possible… Are you telling me one person recorded all of this? Without any help from anyone?”
“Yeah? Jinhyun Oppa never was the type to discuss his strategies with anyone when he planned operations…”
“I’m aware of that. In my case, more often than not I finished a mission without ever knowing how the overall situation was developing—I just fought my heart out until it was over.”
“Hey, Yujin… maybe that was just because you never listened to a single word Jinhyun Oppa said…”
“We still won every battle, though.”
“That’s because Jinhyun Oppa’s strategies were so perfect that even you and that bastard Lee Sena could just spray bullets without thinking and still come out on top.”
“Th-that’s… well… if you say so, maybe…”
Yujin looked faintly awkward under Jiseon’s words. But in that moment Adjutant Choi Han paid no attention to either of them. He simply pulled the materials out one after another, face filled with deep astonishment, and began checking every page.
I can’t believe this… I knew he wasn’t ordinary, but an adjutant with this level of ability actually exists? This is… this is completely absurd…