Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Capsized Ship
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‘Shit.’
I gazed at my fellow employees standing before me, bound as I was.
"So, Jin-woo assaulted you?"
"Sob! Sob! Yes, he suddenly came into my room and then he...
"Bullshit...! I didn't even know it was your room! You took your own clothes off first anyway."
"Kim Jin-woo, quiet."
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa's sharp gaze pierced toward me.
I was dying of frustration, but there was no helping it.
I was already the perpetrator, and Han So-young was the victim.
"Whew! Fine, let's straighten out the situation first."
Shin Seom-hwa pressed her forehead as if it throbbed and spoke.
"Han So-young, you'd finished work and were resting in your room. Then Kim Jin-woo suddenly barged in. He forced your clothes off and assaulted you. That's correct so far, right?"
"Yes..."
Han So-young nodded, her voice breaking with sobs.
She wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
That sight perfectly evoked the image of a pitiful victim freshly assaulted.
‘Damn it.’
I was losing my mind, but I had to hold it together.
Getting worked up now would only make things worse.
"So you screamed for help, I heard it and rushed in. And that's how we ended up here."
The first thing Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa did upon arriving was subdue and tie me up.
I was furious, but it was unavoidable.
Han So-young really had been naked, after all.
But I absolutely hadn't stripped her.
"Anything incorrect in what I've said so far?"
The team leader's eyes turned to me this time.
"It's all lies. I never laid a finger on Han So-young."
"Then why was Han So-young standing naked in front of you?"
"The moment I walked in, she stripped herself. Then she started screaming for help."
"Hmm, she undressed herself, you say."
Shin Seom-hwa tapped her finger.
She seemed to be checking our stories for inconsistencies.
"Then why did you enter Han So-young's room in the first place?"
This was a question that put me at a disadvantage.
But I had a perfectly legitimate reason.
"Because I received a letter."
"A letter?"
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa tilted her head.
"A letter from Hye-jeong arrived for me."
"...From Hye-jeong?"
The team leader's head swiveled to her side.
Yoo Hye-jeong, my fellow newbie from orientation.
Most people knew she and I got along well.
But Hye-jeong shook her head vigorously.
"I-I never sent any such letter... Ah, no! Of course I'm not doubting you, Jin-woo."
"...So that's her story."
As expected, it wasn't from Hye-jeong.
I'd anticipated as much.
Someone must have impersonated her to lure me into a trap.
But it was still enough to assert my innocence.
"Check the outer pocket of my coat. The letter's definitely in there. The handwriting will show who wrote it."
The team leader gave me a dubious look for a moment before rummaging through my pocket.
And what she pulled out was—
"...Panties."
.......What?
I stared at the scene in utter disbelief.
In the team leader's hand dangled a pair of black women's panties.
How the hell? That was impossible.
There was supposed to be a letter for me in there.
"Th-those are mine..."
That was when Han So-young spoke up, her voice trembling with tears.
"He must have stripped me and pocketed them. I was too scared to fight back, so he...
"That's absurd...!"
My brain refused to process it.
How did panties end up in my pocket?
Who slipped them in, and when?
"Looks like we need to hear more details."
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa's icy gaze fixed on me.
A chill ran down my spine at that look.
Unlike before, the scales had tipped decisively toward Han So-young.
"No. I never put anything like that in my pocket."
"Then why are there panties in your pocket, but no sign of the letter you mentioned?"
"Th-that's..."
Damn. My voice came out shaky despite myself.
I knew better than to lose my cool, but it was easier said than done.
Without that letter, proving my innocence would be tough.
"Someone swapped them out. Why else would I bring up a nonexistent letter and dig my own grave?"
"Who knows? Maybe you impulsively committed the crime and are now spouting nonsense to wriggle free."
My lips went bone-dry.
Those panties had convinced Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa I was guilty.
Did the culprit anticipate even her searching me?
"There's a victim here, and I caught you red-handed. Above all, Han So-young has no reason to lie while exposing herself naked to you."
That was the part driving me insane.
Han So-young and I weren't close as senior and junior, but we weren't on bad terms either.
No grudges, no demands for money.
I was solid at my job—hell, I'd even helped her out plenty.
She had zero motive to frame me like this and lie.
‘Wait... lie?’
Then it hit me—one name flashed through my mind.
"Shaolin! Call Shaolin!"
"Shaolin?"
"Her skill can tell if I'm lying or not!"
Shaolin joined the team two months before me, a fellow colleague.
She was quiet, but her Lie Detection skill unerringly exposed deception.
(Though it only revealed truth from lie, and burned through her entire daily mana.)
Right now, it was my only shot at proving my innocence.
"Shaolin, huh..."
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa hesitated briefly.
With me tied up and Shaolin out of commission for combat, this expedition was toast.
But she couldn't ignore this either.
Finally, she nodded with resolve.
"Did you call for me?"
Moments later, Shaolin stepped into the room.
Her face remained impassive amid the chaos.
I still couldn't read her, but she was my one hope.
After hearing the team leader's explanation, Shaolin parted her lips slightly.
"Kim Jin-woo assaulted So-young?"
"To be precise, he claims innocence. I want confirmation."
"Hmm, got it."
Shaolin's eyes lit up brightly.
The telltale sign of her activating Lie Detection.
Anyway, this would clear my name—no doubt about it.
"It's a lie."
My face lit up at her words.
"Really?"
"Yes, confirmed by my ability."
Shaolin nodded.
"Everything Kim Jin-woo said is a lie. He really did assault So-young."
"Huh?"
I let out a dumbfounded noise without thinking.
The situation made no sense.
What did she mean?
That I lied? That I assaulted Han So-young?
Or could it be...
"J-Jin-woo..."
"Ha! I was even going to recommend you for the next promotion. This is a disaster."
Hye-jeong and Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa stared at me with disappointment.
"Your position is revoked effective immediately. Once this job's done, you're heading straight to the police station. To pull this in my team? Even after you're out, you won't set foot in this industry again."
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa spoke in a frigid tone.
But I kept staring blankly at Shaolin.
She met my gaze steadily, then let out a deep sigh.
"Assaulting a woman and stealing her panties to boot. Pathetic. And to think I saw that guy as my rival."
She smirked then—just a flicker, subtle enough for only me to catch.
My mind kicked into overdrive.
Han So-young, false charge, scheme, motive, Shaolin, two months, promotion, rival.
And above all, Shaolin's last words.
‘...The team leader never mentioned the panties to Shaolin.’
The pieces snapped together in my head.
If Han So-young and Shaolin were working together from the start...!
"Team Leader!"
Kwaaaang!
The ship lurched violently right then.
Lights flickered out, and my body flipped on its own.
"Kyaaak!"
"Wh-what?!"
My bound body hurtled away.
Feet left the deck.
The alien rush of open air swallowed me whole.
I wasn't alone.
Team Leader Shin Seom-hwa, Han So-young, Hye-jeong, Shaolin.
All of us soared into the air.
‘What the hell's happening?’
The world inverted in no time.
Broken focus snapped the mana restraints.
No chance to celebrate—furniture slid in the cabin, gear spilled everywhere.
The deafening roar drowned out screams.
‘Damn, if the ship's like this, we're screwed...’
Caught off guard by the chaos, maybe.
All top-tier ability users, yet frozen solid.
Windows shattered, revealing surging waves.
The endless ocean rushed right up to us.
‘The ship capsized—’
That was my final thought.
Gurgling water clogged my ears.
I blacked out then and there.