I'll Start with a Shower (2)
When I stepped outside, a luxurious black car was parked there, clearly the one Seo Jia had brought.
Sejin-nim. It would be best to keep the fact that you have lost your memories hidden from the outside world.
Seo Jia sent the message telepathically. Unlike Seong Hyeon’s method of mouthing the words, she transmitted without moving her lips at all. The difference in their levels was plain.
“Why is that?”
I still could not use telepathy myself, so I simply answered in a low voice. Seo Jia gave me a slightly suspicious look at the lack of a mental reply, then seemed to remember my amnesia and nodded before speaking aloud.
Originally Sejin-nim rarely showed yourself in public, but if word of your current condition were to leak outside, external forces would target the organization—and even within, anxiety would surge. That is what I fear.
Her reasoning was sound. If the head of an organization suddenly became incapacitated, it would be anything but good news for Seo Jia, who had been running things in my place. Without a central figure, factions might plot rebellion, or rival groups might invade to expand their own power.
“I see. I will do my best for now.”
Seo Jia nodded and continued.
The man driving the car is named Kim Baekhan. He has been with the organization for about three years. He will almost certainly recognize you, so please be careful.
“Understood.”
Seo Jia opened the rear door.
“Please get in.”
I followed her guidance and climbed into the car. Seo Jia took the seat beside me and shut the door.
“Boss! No—Representative! Long time no see!”
The rough-looking man in the driver’s seat greeted me warmly. A scar that looked as if it had been carved by a blade ran from near his sideburns all the way up to the crown of his head. His gleaming bald scalp made the mark stand out sharply. His build was enormous—easily over two meters tall.
“I see.”
“What the hell have you been doing this past year that we never even caught a glimpse of you at the organization? Boss, I nearly died of missing you, hahaha!”
Kim Baekhan was expressing his joy with great enthusiasm when Seo Jia shot him a look from the side. He flinched with an “Oops,” straightened his posture, and gripped the wheel.
“Where to, sir!”
“Just take us back, if you would.”
“Oh! So the boss is finally returning to the organization! Hyaah!”
His energy suggested he was about to floor it past 140 km/h, yet his driving was remarkably smooth. The black car glided along until it arrived downtown.
“We’re here!”
I stepped out. The organization’s headquarters was a tall building. Even though it was on the outskirts of Seoul, the fact that a villain organization operated so openly was astonishing.
Correction—not a villain organization, but one that handled a bit of everything.
Heuksa.
Outwardly it presented itself as a private military company—a PMC, a mercenary firm—which gave it the perfect pretext to insert itself into every kind of affair. Little by little it had expanded its influence until it had become a company of considerable weight.
Is this even allowed in Korea?
Well, it existed, so it must be.
Perhaps the original Baek Sejin had been quite old. Otherwise he would have had to start this sort of work from a very young age…
Ability users generally aged far more slowly than ordinary people. The reasons discovered so far varied. Martial artists who specialized in internal arts sometimes underwent a complete bodily rebirth. Magicians and spirit contractors were heavily influenced by the forces of nature. Contractors drew on the power of the Transcendent Beings they had bound themselves to. As for shamans, alchemists, and summoners—well, they managed somehow.
This body possessed an enormous amount of mana, so there was a real chance I was older than I looked.
Please enter through the main entrance. The entire building belongs to us.
Wow. This towering building belonged to our organization. For a moment I felt as if I had suddenly become a silver-spoon heir.
Inside, the lobby was clean and refined. Few people were about; the place felt rather empty.
Shall we head to the president’s office first?
“Let’s start with the president’s office, then.”
I took the elevator up. The layout required riding a regular elevator to the top floor, then transferring to a private one that alone reached the president’s suite.
The office itself was furnished with elegant, high-class taste. The refined atmosphere suited me quite well.
“This is the space where I normally handle affairs in Sejin-nim’s place.”
“I see.”
“Now that Sejin-nim has returned, I will go back to the secretary’s office.”
So the second-in-command had been working as my secretary all along.
“Is there no vice-president or anything of the sort?”
“There is not.”
An unusual company. No vice-president. Perhaps because at its core it was never a normal company to begin with.
Knock, knock—
A knock sounded from outside the door.
“Should I hide?”
“There is no need. Sejin-nim is the president of this company.”
“Come in.”
The moment Seo Jia gave permission, the door opened. The person who stepped through was someone I already knew.
Teacher Lee Gil-young.
The man with the inverted-triangle tattoo beneath his left eye. His dark circles were as deep as ever, and his hair remained pitch-black, as if it had been dipped in ink.
The instant he saw me he bent at the waist in greeting.
“Yeong-sa, Lee Gil-young, presents his respects. I heard of your return and came to pay my greetings.”
Why was my teacher here?
As it turned out, Lee Gil-young was an executive of the organization. Publicly he served as a teacher at the Academy, yet he was also a cadre of Heuksa.
He was the successor to his family’s secret martial art, the Dark Shadow Combat Method. The technique allowed one to conceal one’s body within shadows—the very trick he used every time he entered the classroom.
In short, he was living a double life by means of his ability.
When Lee Gil-young first demonstrated the power to the students, opinions had flown in every direction. “It’s black magic for sure.” “No, he contracted with a demon.” “Aren’t those the same thing?” “Actually it’s neither—it’s martial arts, isn’t it?”
The mystery that had stirred so much curiosity among the students was finally revealed to be a martial art.
“So that was it… the boss has amnesia… That explains why something felt off. At the time I simply kept quiet and said nothing…”
“Well, that is how things turned out. I will be counting on you from now on. My common sense is still rather lacking, after all.”
I explained my situation to Lee Gil-young. Since I would have to face him every day at the Academy anyway, I simply told him I was suffering from amnesia.
After a moment of thought he nodded.
“Understood. Then I shall take my leave. Even if you have lost your memories, to me the boss will always be the boss.”
“Haha, I understand.”
Lee Gil-young bowed deeply, opened the door again, and left the room.
“Ah, there is something I wanted to ask.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“A few days ago, Miss Seo Jia came to my house, did she not?”
Seo Jia’s cheeks flushed as she stammered.
“Th-that is correct.”
“When you first saw the dolls, what impression did you get? Did any of them feel ominous?”
“Ah, you mean the doll that had a ghost inside it? From the very first glance I could sense the spirit dwelling within… Still, the orange-haired doll in Sejin-nim’s bedroom did feel rather unsettling.”
So the doll possessed by an evil spirit truly had a different quality from the others.
“Hmm…”
Watching my face, Seo Jia asked carefully, anxiety plain in her expression.
“By any chance… why did you create dolls like those…?”
“Ah, it was nothing much. There was something I wanted to try. Call it curiosity, I suppose.”
“I see… Ah, would you like to look around other places as well?”
Seo Jia suggested with a look of relief.
“Other places? That sounds good.”
I followed her guidance and toured the building. Nothing particularly striking caught my eye, however.
“Is there no sparring hall or anything of the sort?”
If such a place existed I would have liked to fight Seo Jia once, but it seemed there was none.
“A sparring hall, you say? There is none in this building, but we do maintain one elsewhere.”
There is one?
It was a little disappointing that it was not in this building, yet the fact that a place for training existed was still welcome.
“Miss Seo Jia, would you be willing to spar with me?”
“Spar, you say?”
Seo Jia’s expression turned thoughtful. Her long lashes lowered, partially veiling her crimson eyes.
“Yes, a spar. Would it not be useful to know how different the present me is from the previous me?”
“I see. In that case, I will guide you.”
A wooden sword cut through empty air.
Seo Jia lightly avoided the wooden blade I swung and caught the tip, then pulled. The sword followed her will and was yanked toward her; for an instant my stance wavered. She did not miss the opening and drove a kick toward my side.
I caught the motion of her leg rising and barely managed to drop my arm to block. Having failed to land the blow to my ribs, Seo Jia withdrew again.
I steadied my breathing and spoke.
“Hoo… Let’s stop here.”
I set the wooden sword on the ground as I spoke, and Seo Jia likewise released the tension from her body.
“How was it?”
After organizing her thoughts, Seo Jia finally opened her mouth with some difficulty. Her beautiful eyes met mine.
“This was a spar under the condition that neither of us used any mana at all, so it may not be entirely accurate… Your basic swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat are roughly on the same level as before, yet they are clearly lower than they once were. Rougher, more unrefined, one might say. If we were to spar while using mana, the gap would likely widen even further.”
“Is that so.”
It was only to be expected. The original Baek Sejin had possessed both experience and constant training; he could not help but differ from me, who simply moved as the body dictated.
Still, I thought the things I did in my previous life would let me hold my own at least a little.
“Even so, it is fortunate that your close-combat skill has not completely rusted away. If Sejin-nim has no objection, I can assist with your training until the Academy reopens.”
Seo Jia carefully offered the suggestion while I was lost in thought. If she helped me train, I would be able to raise my skill quickly. There was no reason to refuse. Besides, I had no schedule for the rest of the day…
“Very well. Let us begin at once.”