Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Simultaneous Incidents (6)
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While Ahn Su-ho attended the strategy meeting and steadily advanced toward his own goals,
the Superhuman Rehabilitation Research Institute in Yongin. Ji Ye-won was there, diligently carrying out her assigned mission.
She hadn't yet entered the core security zone, but she had completed installing cameras and listening devices in all other areas. She was also relaying as much information as possible about Director Na Ju-yong's every move—within the limits of what she could grasp—to Min Chae-ryeong.
But that was the extent of it.
Ji Ye-won performed her duties faithfully. However, she didn't take unnecessary risks. As Ahn Su-ho had instructed, she prioritized her own safety over gathering information.
Solely to return to him safely.
That single-minded determination drove her mission. The problem was that the mission had no set deadline. Unless Na Ju-yong stirred up some incident, there was a non-zero chance the surveillance could drag on for weeks or even months.
So Ji Ye-won waited for the end of this indefinite task, keeping herself as inconspicuous as possible.
...She tried to wait, at least.
"Pardon?"
Before she knew it, unbeknownst to herself, Ji Ye-won was slowly being drawn into the darker side of the Superhuman Rehabilitation Research Institute.
"Senior, you got suddenly grabbed by that guy too?"
"Don't even get me started. The guy's pretty infamous among the staff here. He grabs anyone and begs them to let him in, saying he wants to see someone directly. He's been at it for days already, I bet."
A conversation about Heo Seong-chan that came up unexpectedly during a break with the cleaning crew.
As they said, Heo Seong-chan had made similar pleas not just to Ji Ye-won but to all sorts of staff and visitors. Of course, no one obliged. Security rules weren't for show.
"Someone even tried calling the cops on him, but he vanishes like a ghost the moment they show up. Then when the police leave, he slinks back and lurks around the institute. It's seriously annoying."
"But can you really call the cops for that? He's not trying to break in illegally or anything—just wandering around and verbally asking to be let in."
"True. That's probably why they reported it as stalking. Not exactly a lie."
Ji Ye-won quietly listened as the senior staffers chimed in one by one about Heo Seong-chan.
She wasn't without curiosity about his identity. But it screamed "trouble if you get involved," so she had no desire to tangle with it.
"But why's he so desperate to get into the institute?"
"Something about failing a job a client entrusted him with and wanting to apologize."
"Really? What does he do for a living?"
"Who knows."
"Isn't he in research too? I saw him apologizing to Assistant Manager Kim Seon-u the other day."
"...Assistant Manager Kim Seon-u?"
But the moment that name dropped, Ji Ye-won could no longer stay silent.
'Wait... what?'
Kim Seon-u. A name she knew. One of the people Min Chae-ryeong had specifically told her to monitor when assigning the mission.
The reason: Kim Seon-u was one of Na Ju-yong's right-hand men, and there were circumstances suggesting he'd headed to Uijeongbu during Kang Ha-neul's kidnapping. Min Chae-ryeong suspected Na Ju-yong had hired a contractor through him.
'So could this Heo Seong-chan be...?'
Heo Seong-chan had said it himself: He'd failed a client's commission and wanted to apologize, to make amends.
And the man who seemed to be his partner, Yu Jin-su, had called them handymen.
Puzzle pieces clicked rapidly in Ji Ye-won's mind. No hard evidence, just circumstantial inference. But it was pretty convincing.
...She'd need to look into this further.
No matter how much Ji Ye-won prioritized her safety, ignoring the movements of someone tied to Kang Ha-neul's kidnapping left a bitter taste.
At that moment.
"What are you all talking about?"
Turning at the childish voice from behind, she saw a petite girl who looked about ten years old gazing up at her and the staff.
"Who...?"
"Oh! It's our Eun-ju!"
One of the senior staff scooped up the girl, Eun-ju, with exaggerated delight. Floating in the air, she flung her arms wide and flailed them excitedly.
"Who's... this kid?"
"Eun-ju? She's the director's daughter. Her house is right next door, so she drops by to play at her dad's work sometimes."
"The director's daughter?"
Ji Ye-won repeated it to herself as she looked at the girl, Na Eun-ju.
'Come to think of it, Na Ju-yong has two daughters. This must be one of them.'
Anyone connected to Na Ju-yong warranted caution, but what could a ten-year-old know? Watching the giggling child chatter away in the staffer's arms, Ji Ye-won felt a fond smile creep onto her face without thinking.
"But Uncle Min-gu! What were you talking about earlier?"
Na Eun-ju, now back on the ground, asked. The questioned senior, Kang Min-gu, shook his head and brushed it off.
"Nothing much. Just shop talk."
"But I wanna know! Tell me! Tell meee!"
"Hahaha. Our Eun-ju's so full of curiosity."
Everyone there chuckled helplessly at Na Eun-ju, who clenched her fists and swung her arms up and down. Ji Ye-won was no exception.
No one there grew wary of Na Eun-ju's sudden appearance.
Kang Min-gu had no choice but to tell her about Heo Seong-chan. The young girl nodded eagerly, utterly engrossed.
"Wow! That uncle sounds super suspicious! What's his name?"
"Well, I don't know his name offhand..."
"Probably Heo Seong-chan,"
Ji Ye-won, who had heard the name, answered. Kang Min-gu nodded and pointed at her.
"Hear that from the sister? He's called Heo Seong-chan."
At those words, Na Eun-ju toddled over to Ji Ye-won. She grabbed Ji Ye-won's hand tight and looked up with sparkling eyes.
"How come only you know that weird uncle's name, sis?"
"I met him the other day and chatted briefly. That's when I heard it."
"So are you friends with that weird uncle?"
"No. Just talked once. Not friends."
"I seeee. You think he's suspicious too, sis?"
"Yeah. Super suspicious."
"Why?"
"Because..."
As Ji Ye-won started to answer Na Eun-ju's question kindly, she snapped to her senses. She trailed off belatedly.
'What am I doing, answering everything?'
She avoided drawing attention at work. That's why she'd only listened silently earlier when Heo Seong-chan came up. She'd decided to investigate him independently out of worry for Kang Ha-neul, but that didn't change her low-profile approach.
So why?
Why was she kindly answering this girl's questions and drawing eyes unnecessarily?
'And just now, I almost told her about the kidnapping.'
That Heo Seong-chan might be the contractor involved in Kang Ha-neul's abduction. Information she had no business sharing. Yet she'd nearly spilled it casually. If she'd been a second slower to catch herself, she would have.
What on earth.
Ji Ye-won's eyes turned to the little girl gazing up at her.
"Because? Because what??"
In that instant, a faint reddish glow flickered in Na Eun-ju's eyes. It was subtle, but Ji Ye-won didn't miss it.
'No way... a mental superpower?'
There was no info that Na Ju-yong's daughters were superhumans. But given his research field, it wouldn't be odd if they were.
Maybe this kid had used some ability to lower her guard? That's why she'd answered so freely?
"...Sis?"
Na Eun-ju tilted her head curiously. Ji Ye-won hurriedly spoke up.
"...No real reason. He just looks shady, doesn't he?"
"..."
Na Eun-ju stared up at Ji Ye-won's evasive answer. Ji Ye-won swallowed dryly, tension coiling inside her. Thoughts raced through her mind.
What was this girl's deal?
Just a normal kid satisfying her curiosity with her powers?
Or an "enemy" sent by her father to pry info on Heo Seong-chan?
If the latter, Na Ju-yong was a monster exploiting even his young daughter. But Ji Ye-won found it plausible enough. She'd been raised in an orphanage from childhood, trained as a Dawn Legion spy herself.
"Yeah! Shady is shady!"
Whether convinced by Ji Ye-won's words or signaling retreat, Na Eun-ju beamed and bounced away.
"Kids these days. Takes after her dad—curiosity off the charts."
Kang Min-gu muttered. Outwardly, just a child off to find new fun. But Ji Ye-won could no longer see Na Eun-ju as ordinary.
Her wary eyes lingered in the direction Na Eun-ju had vanished.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Uijeongbu's northern district. A slum teeming with crime.
The origins of this slum in one corner of Uijeongbu City, right next to Seoul, traced back 50 years.
Fifty years ago, a massive dungeon opened north of Yeoncheon County in North Korean territory. It was far beyond what North Korea's hunter forces could handle. South Korea and neighboring countries offered humanitarian hunter support, but North Korea, pursuing virtual isolationism, flatly refused.
The result: the largest "Crisis" since the 21st century erupted.
Monsters poured out unchecked from the dungeon. Near the divided DMZ, half surged north, half south. North Korea had concealed the raid progress right up to the brink, so South Korea first learned of it after monsters breached a nearby guard post.
The damage was unimaginable. Yeoncheon and Paju, adjacent to the DMZ, were utterly devastated; Pocheon, Dongducheon, and Yangju half-destroyed. The monsters' reach extended to Uijeongbu and Seoul below.
In short, everything north of Seoul was a total wasteland—no exaggeration.
Even South Korea, with vastly superior hunter power, suffered this badly; North Korea fared far worse. At least five million perished there, and that crisis forced North Korea's absorption into South Korea, effectively unifying the peninsula.
Anyway.
The current northern Uijeongbu slum was a remnant of that time. Some heavily damaged areas lagged in reconstruction or saw none, inevitably turning into slums.
In one such Uijeongbu northern slum stood a shabby three-story building in a corner.
-Ring ring ring ring ring ring.
The old-fashioned landline blared noisily, and Heo Seong-chan snatched the receiver with gusto.
"Thank you for calling! Jin-su & Seong-chan Dispatch Agency promises swift and reliable service—"
-Hello, customer? This is KG Capital, always by your side. Today, we're introducing our new loan product...
"Fuck this!"
-Bang!
Heo Seong-chan slammed the receiver down hard. Yu Jin-su clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Seong-chan. You'll break the phone. Put it down gently."
"But Jin-su! It's been weeks since that kidnapping flop, and no jobs at all! I'm going crazy here!"
"You know this industry's unforgiving—one failure hits hard. Give it time; work will trickle in soon."
"I'll starve waiting!"
"Won't happen. We stocked plenty of preserves for times like this. Hardtacks'll last three months still."
"Aaaargh!!!"
Recalling the morning's rock-hard hardtack, Heo Seong-chan flopped to the floor like a tantruming child, flailing limbs. Yu Jin-su sighed deeply, shaking his head. Even accounting for slum upbringing and lack of proper education, his partner Heo Seong-chan was immature.
"Jin-su!!"
"What."
"No choice now! One way only—kidnap that Kang Ha-neul again and hand her to the institute! Counts as success, we get the rest of the pay, and jobs'll flood back!"
"...Too many flaws to count."
Still, Yu Jin-su patiently explained to his dim-witted partner.
"Seong-chan. Listen up."
"I'm listening!"
"First: Kidnapping Kang Ha-neul is off the table now. Remember why we weren't caught by cops despite waltzing through the front gate?"
"Duh! Professor wiped all CCTV and dashcams!"
"Right. All thanks to the professor. And we can't afford him now. Blew the advance on that failed job—no pay, just losses. Got it?"
"Then nab her at night when CCTV sucks?"
"No. She's not in a one-room anymore—she's in Greenhouse Academy dorms. Equipped with thermal cams standard. Plus tight security. That's reason two."
"Urgh..."
"Third: Haven't told you 'cause you'd hate it, but..."
No helping it now. Yu Jin-su said quietly,
"The Kang Ha-neul job's already taken by another contractor."
"What?! Someone stole our gig?! Who?!"
"K and Stephanie duo."
"Stephaniieee?!"
-Boom!
Heo Seong-chan stomped hard; dust rained from the ceiling.
"Seong-chan. If the floor caves, who's liable—"
"Stephanie—that bitch who always looks down on us! She took our failed job?! Jin-su! We gotta fix this ourselves! Or she'll mock us forever!"
"...Never steal a job another contractor took. Uijeongbu rule. Forgot?"
"Grr... But..."
Even hotheaded Heo Seong-chan wouldn't break slum rules. But frustration and anger burned. Thinking of that loathsome woman mocking him later made his blood boil.
-Ring ring ring ring ring!
Then the phone rang again.
"If it's another loan pitch from KK or KB or whatever, I'll smash 'em!"
Already irritable, Heo Seong-chan grabbed the receiver snappishly. If it was a loan rep again, he'd unload a barrage of curses.
But.
-This is Kim Seon-u.
At those words, not just Heo Seong-chan but even listening Yu Jin-su stiffened.
-Mr. Heo Seong-chan. And Mr. Yu Jin-su. Care to redeem that last failure?
The next moment, a broad grin spread across Heo Seong-chan's face.