Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Simultaneous Incidents (2)
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"Nice to meet you! I'm Heo Sung-chan!"
Heo Sung-chan. A fixer operating in the slums of Uijeongbu, the man who had schemed to kidnap Kang Ha-neul under Na Ju-yong's orders.
He flashed a broad, hearty grin and extended his hand to Ji Ye-won for a shake.
"Man, you're really pretty!"
"……."
Ji Ye-won's face twisted at the out-of-left-field compliment—or come-on, whatever it was. She couldn't even read his intentions.
'……Is this guy hitting on me?'
With that thought, she recoiled in disgust and turned on her heel. She didn't even bother rejecting him outright. He wasn't worth the effort.
"Hmm. Guess she's got a frosty personality."
He'd been shot down cold, but Heo Sung-chan didn't seem fazed in the slightest. To him, complimenting women was just casual small talk that slipped out naturally. He hadn't meant anything by it with Ji Ye-won just now—he'd simply voiced his honest impression, nothing more.
"Too bad. I was hoping we could get friendly."
Heo Sung-chan smacked his lips as he watched Ji Ye-won disappear into the distance.
He had a habit of charging straight at women who caught his eye. His good looks and build meant he succeeded more often than not, but today clearly wasn't his day.
"Whatever! Guess it's not meant to be!"
He shook off any lingering regrets with those words.
But their fates weren't done intertwining just yet.
"Hey! It's that girl from yesterday!"
"Ugh."
The next day. Dressed in a cleaning company uniform for her first day at the research institute, Ji Ye-won ran into Heo Sung-chan again. He was loitering around the alley near the institute, just like before.
"Hey! Isn't that uniform the cleaning crew's? You work at the research institute? No way, I had no idea!"
No matter what Heo Sung-chan said, Ji Ye-won ignored him and kept walking. But he darted in front of her, blocking her path.
"Hey, wait up!"
"If this is you hitting on me, I'm passing."
"It's not! Okay, sure, I'd love to hit on you, but that's not it—this is about a favor I need!"
Ji Ye-won sighed as she eyed Heo Sung-chan grinning like an idiot. She had no intention of wasting time on weirdos like him.
"I have to get to work, so move."
"Can't we talk for just a sec before you clock in?"
"I don't have time."
"You've still got thirty minutes till shift starts. You can spare a little, right?"
"It's my first day, so I need to head in early and learn the ropes."
"First day? Then you probably don't know many people inside—"
Before Heo Sung-chan could finish, Ji Ye-won brushed past him and headed into the institute. But he didn't show a hint of annoyance.
"See you after work!"
Far from upset, he waved her off enthusiastically, like they were old pals. Of course, up until yesterday, Ji Ye-won and Heo Sung-chan had been total strangers.
'What the hell is this guy's deal?'
It felt too persistent for mere flirting. She was also curious why he kept showing up near the institute. But right now, Ji Ye-won had no time or bandwidth for anything outside her mission.
As a new cleaning crew hire on her first day, she spent it learning the job, the institute's layout, and pondering things like Na Ju-yong and his cronies' routines or how to smuggle in surveillance gear.
Time flew by until quitting time.
The moment she stepped out, exchanging goodbyes with her new coworkers from the cleaning company—
"Oh! You're off work!"
"This guy's insane……."
As soon as she exited the institute, there was Heo Sung-chan, waiting at the same spot where he'd waved her off that morning.
At this point, it wasn't flirting anymore—it was straight-up stalking. Ji Ye-won openly glared at him and confronted him.
"Excuse me. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I told you this morning I'd wait till you got off. So I did!"
"Why are you waiting for me? What, trying to hit on me now?"
"No! Well, yeah, a little, but mostly I just wanna talk to you! I've got a favor to ask!"
"A favor……?"
Those words jogged a memory from yesterday. Come to think of it, he'd yammered something about a favor back then too.
"It's a favor! I tried asking other people too, but they all blew me off. I'm in real trouble here! You don't even have to say yes—just hear me out?"
Heo Sung-chan pleaded loudly enough for every passerby to hear.
Rather than answer, Ji Ye-won scanned her surroundings first. Rush hour meant the street in front of the institute was packed, and most people shot glances at the noisy duo as they hurried by.
'Getting this much attention on day one is bad news.'
The golden rule of infiltration: stay under the radar. If this kept up, this mystery creep could tank her mission before it even started.
"……Fine. If you're this desperate, I'll hear you out."
Better to listen, then shut him down decisively. With that in mind, Ji Ye-won reluctantly agreed.
"Thanks! There's a great cafe nearby—let's go there!"
Heo Sung-chan beamed with a friendly grin, charismatic enough to set many women's hearts aflame. To Ji Ye-won, though, he was just annoying.
"Make it quick. I don't have much time."
***
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A cafe near the research institute.
They sat in a quiet corner booth away from prying eyes, drinks on the table. Heo Sung-chan talked animatedly while Ji Ye-won nodded halfheartedly, her expression unimpressed.
As she listened, Ji Ye-won thought:
'……I have no clue what he's talking about.'
Heo Sung-chan had launched into his backstory before getting to the favor.
Explaining what had happened to him, why he needed to get inside the institute, and why he'd stopped her.
His rambling tale went on forever, utterly disorganized and missing key details essential for making sense of it all.
Ji Ye-won had to piece it together like a puzzle. Here's what she gathered:
First off, Heo Sung-chan had taken a job from someone at the Superhuman Rehabilitation Research Institute. He'd failed. Now he was here to apologize for screwing up.
His business partner said they'd returned the deposit, so technically no issue. But Heo Sung-chan saw it differently. In his line of work, reputation was everything. He wanted to apologize properly to the client and, if possible, get a chance to make it up to them.
That was Ji Ye-won's takeaway from his story. She had no idea what he actually did for a living or what the job had been—but her rough inference was pretty close to the truth.
……She had no inkling that the man before her was the fixer who'd tried to kidnap Kang Ha-neul.
"Anyway, that's why I need your help!"
Heo Sung-chan balled his fists and declared it after his endless spiel. Ji Ye-won's head throbbed. She still couldn't get a read on this guy.
She figured since he'd taken a job from the institute, he must be connected to their research somehow. But then why no security ID? And if he was legit, why not just go through proper channels instead of begging a random new cleaner like her?
'If he can't use normal procedures, there must be a reason…….'
Suspicious. And Ji Ye-won wanted no part of shady business.
She was here undercover on Min Chae-ryeong's orders.
And as mentioned, infiltration rule number one: don't stand out. She didn't want some pointless drama derailing her mission—especially when he hadn't offered anything worth her while.
"……Sorry, but I don't think I can help."
"You can! Just pass a message to my client inside—"
"That's exactly why it's impossible. I'm just a cleaner, first day on the job. I don't even know who your client is, and even if I did, I'd never get a chance to meet them."
"Urgh. Yeah, I guess……."
Heo Sung-chan looked dejected, like he'd accepted her refusal. But he perked up with a smile moments later.
"Still, I wanna get to know you! I love pretty girls like you!"
"Sigh……."
No help on the work front? Fine, let's flirt instead. His thought process was refreshingly straightforward.
"Like I said earlier, I have zero interest in—"
"Seong-chan. There you are."
A refined voice cut in from behind Ji Ye-won. She whipped around, startled once again that she'd missed his approach.
"Jin-su!"
The voice belonged to Yoo Jin-su, Heo Sung-chan's partner and fellow fixer.
"You never listen to a word I say. I told you not to wander around—stay home and lay low. How many times do I have to say it'll only draw attention……?"
Ji Ye-won stared at Yoo Jin-su in confusion at his sudden appearance. He shook his head in exasperation at his partner's antics.
"Jin-su! Let's talk to that researcher again and get a shot at redemption! I won't screw up this time—I swear I'll nail it! Come on?"
"That's in the past. A failure's a failure. And I told you: unless they come to us first, we don't push."
"But……."
"No buts. Just listen to me for once. Anyway……."
Yoo Jin-su's gaze shifted to Ji Ye-won. She straightened up instinctively under his sharpened stare.
"And who might this be?"
"She works at the institute! Don't know her name yet! I pulled her aside 'cause I wanted to ask about the job!"
"You didn't spill details to an outsider, did you?"
"No way!"
Heo Sung-chan wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't spill his guts to someone who might not even help. Everything he'd told Ji Ye-won had been vague enough not to reveal the job or the client.
"……Looks like my partner's been rude."
"It's not that big a deal."
"Sorry for wasting your time. On Seong-chan's behalf, I apologize. Please forget this happened."
Yoo Jin-su bowed politely to Ji Ye-won, then told Heo Sung-chan it was time to go. He seemed eager to leave in a hurry.
"Wait."
The suspicious vibe pinged Ji Ye-won's spy instincts.
She had no interest in needless shady entanglements. But getting dragged into one blindly? Even worse.
"What kind of work did you two do for the institute?"
"……This and that. Odd jobs, like handymen."
Yoo Jin-su gave a faint smile at her question, then bowed slightly. Soon after, he dragged Heo Sung-chan out of the cafe.
Just before leaving—half-pulled by Yoo Jin-su—Heo Sung-chan waved at Ji Ye-won. But her attention was elsewhere.
"Handymen, huh."
Ji Ye-won mulled over the oddly sticky word.
What kind of "handyman" work would there be at a place like this institute?
Min Chae-ryeong had briefed her on mission essentials beforehand, but she couldn't shake the feeling there was more she didn't know.
"……."
And from a table across the way, a young girl watched her intently.