The Weight of Waiting
By now, Lee Mina had grown quite accustomed to conversing with Cha Seok-jun through text messages. She would have preferred to meet more often, but their respective duties left little room for proper time together. [Something might come up suddenly, so I’ll have to think about it then.]
“Tch. He could at least say we can’t meet,” Mina muttered with a sigh at the reply that soon arrived. His messages made it seem as though he had no particular interest in her, and she had even confided her pointless gloom to Oh Min-ji a couple of times. “Am I really that lacking in charm?”
[What kind of trouble is it this time? You’re talking like you’re about to get killed by other women.]
Min-ji’s incredulous tone had brought Mina some relief, yet she had still complained about Seok-jun’s refusal to leave any opening for a meeting. [Good grief. I’m not sure this is the same Lee Mina I used to know. The girl who used to be so aloof is now fretting because she can’t get a man’s attention.]
“Ugh, when did I ever act like that!”
[So you didn’t?]
“…Uuu.”
After hearing Min-ji’s words, Mina had no choice but to admit the truth when she looked at herself honestly, and her shoulders slumped. If she had known their time apart would stretch this long, she thought she should have held on to him a little longer before they parted that day.
“Even so, he really doesn’t contact me enough.”
Every weekday evening she kept her phone close, wondering if a message might come, but Seok-jun contacted her with clockwork regularity—only once a week, around Saturday evening. It was better than nothing, yet it still bothered her.
[Just call him first.]
“I can’t do that. What if he’s working and something goes wrong?”
After learning what HHH truly was, Mina had become afraid to call Seok-jun on a whim. In spy movies or action films, a sudden call at a critical moment often ruined everything, didn’t it? Min-ji had sounded utterly exasperated on the other end, the smack of her palm against her forehead clearly audible.
[Wow, you really do think of everything. Are you seriously spending all day thinking about him?]
“I am not! When I’m working, I focus completely on work!”
[Then you’re thinking about him the rest of the time?]
“Ah.”
When Mina fell silent, Min-ji clicked her tongue. [I had a feeling, and it turns out I was right. You really are.]
“I’m not! There’s also Bomi. Living expenses and things like that?”
[Stop with the flimsy excuses. Who wouldn’t notice when you only ever call to talk about him these days?]
In the end, Mina could only let out a helpless groan. [If you’re really worried, just send a text. That way you can still chat a little even if calling feels awkward.]
“Ah, there was that option too.”
[I’m really worried about you. Take it easy.]
“Thanks. I’ll call again next time.”
Only after adding Seok-jun’s messenger ID had she been able to exchange the occasional message like this. Meeting remained difficult, but for now she was content with what they had. Neither Seok-jun nor she could easily quit their jobs.
[You’re not going down to your hometown separately…]
Mina stopped typing mid-sentence. “Would it be all right to ask?”
Even though it was the holidays, far fewer people were traveling to their hometowns. There were many reasons, but above all, countless people had lost their hometowns to the Gate incidents or could no longer return. She glanced at the framed photograph on the small chest of drawers, then deleted the message she had been about to send.
“I should focus on work for now.”
Though the work felt beneath an A-grade hunter, it was still manageable. She decided to endure until the holidays.
“Nngh! Finally finished.”
The day before the holidays had arrived at last. Mina stretched after wrapping up another day of paperwork. Even though her body no longer tired easily, sorting through the endless documents had left her exhausted.
“Good work, Assistant Manager Lee.”
She also had someone to train, which inevitably delayed things even when the tasks could have been finished earlier. Still, she couldn’t expect instant proficiency from the start.
“You too, Ji-woon. Good work.”
She tidied her desk while wishing him luck as he prepared to work properly in the administrative department from now on. Fortunately, Manager Kim had not stopped by—perhaps because tomorrow marked the start of the holidays—so they finished without extra trouble.
‘Still, it would have been nice if I could have done more hunter-like work.’
Looking around the empty office left her feeling hollow. She had kept telling herself she just needed to endure a little longer, but she couldn’t understand why the emptiness felt so sharp.
‘Even my first high-grade Gate raid was a mess.’
After the incident with Gu Gang-woo, she had never experienced anything above a mid-grade Gate. She found herself thinking that the time she had gone to the Southern Plains with Seok-jun had felt far more like proper hunter work. Becoming an A-grade hunter yet doing nothing different from when she had been B-grade left Mina unable to see the point.
‘Is this really what I wanted?’
The thought she had been pushing aside while handling paperwork rose to the surface. She hadn’t felt this way even when she had been assigned administrative duties as a B-grade hunter. Lost in her complicated feelings, she was staring at the silent office when a voice called out.
“Assistant Manager Lee! Assistant Manager Lee?”
“Y-yes?! Did you say something?”
Startled, Mina looked up to find Ji-woon watching her with concern.
“You need to take the gift sets with you.”
Following his gesture, she noticed the large shopping bags and boxes on the round table—gifts her colleagues had left behind. Perhaps they had felt sorry for an A-grade hunter stuck doing paperwork; before heading out on raids, each of them had given her something small.
“Thank you.”
She thanked him for the reminder she had nearly forgotten, then picked up the sets one by one to check their contents. ‘Some things never change, no matter the time.’
From cooking oil sets to canned ham, shampoo and soap sets, red ginseng extract, nuts, and fruit baskets—things she had seen as a child still remained as tradition. The canned tuna set was, as expected, nowhere to be seen.
“Even so, this is way too much.”
She appreciated the thought, yet had no idea how to handle so many gift sets. If she had somewhere to return to, she could at least deliver them there. While she was holding several, Ji-woon spoke up.
“Would you like some help carrying them?”
He lifted a few sets, but Mina hesitated before shaking her head.
“It’s fine. They’re not even that heavy.”
She understood his concern, but this much weight meant nothing to her. Even if she looked frail, she was still an A-grade hunter.
“Come to think of it, what about you, Ji-woon?”
Mina suddenly realized none of the gift sets were meant for him.
“Well, I’m just an intern.”
Watching him scratch his head awkwardly, she held out several of the sets she was carrying.
“Ah, if I take these—”
“They’re your share.”
“Huh?”
Ji-woon accepted them with a bewildered expression, but Mina paid it no mind and gathered the rest.
“But these were given to you, Assistant Manager—”
“Sharing gift sets is more common than you’d think.”
She had no need for this many anyway. Giving away one or two wouldn’t matter.
“N-no, that’s not it. I was worried it would be inconvenient for you to carry them all.”
“Are there any A-grade hunters who struggle with something like this?”
As Mina stepped out of the office, Ji-woon snapped out of his daze and hurried after her.
“Just think of it as encouragement to keep working hard.”
Having worked directly under Manager Kim herself, she knew these gifts were both a cheer and a consolation. She had suffered plenty under that woman, and Ji-woon had even fallen out of favor, so she felt a touch of pity for him as well.
They had just stepped outside the building together when a voice rang out.
“What’s this? Already heading home?”
“Manager Kim?”
The very person Mina had been relieved not to see today appeared before them. Even though she had assumed the manager would have left early, the sight of her standing there made Mina’s heart lurch even as she quickly assessed the woman’s state. Her makeup was lighter than usual, but Mina knew that was actually the sign Manager Kim had applied it with genuine care. Personality aside, the woman was undeniably beautiful. That was why it was common knowledge she was frequently called out for blind dates—and why Mina immediately understood why her mood was so foul.
‘The blind date must have failed!’
Approaching thirty next year, Manager Kim took blind dates especially seriously. What had once felt like an obligation had become something she actively sought. On days her dates failed, everyone in the department held their breath. Mina, being close in age, was particularly easy prey.
“Must be nice having so many admirers, Assistant Manager Lee~”
“Th-they’re just gift sets. Everyone exchanges them.”
“I didn’t get any.”
‘Uwaaah, I’m doomed!’
Mina already sensed there was no escaping this. Manager Kim would latch onto the smallest thing—whether justified or not—and use it to torment her. The fact that they were outside the company building would hardly matter.
“Then at least take these…”
Even so, Mina tried to struggle by offering the gift sets, but—
“You want me to use what you received? Do I look like the kind of person who would get angry over something like that?”
‘You do, though!’
Though the office kept it quiet, it was an open secret that Manager Kim had been parachuted into her position. Wealthy people didn’t need to flaunt it. The clearest proof was that no matter how poorly she performed, she never faced anything worse than a light reprimand and certainly never got fired. She simply seemed to live with endless grievances and anger toward the world.
“Anyway, Assistant Manager, you really lack manners. If you receive gifts, you should at least use them all out of respect for the giver’s sincerity.”
Manager Kim paid no attention to the passersby on the sidewalk who were glancing and whispering; she was too busy lecturing Mina.
“And you, Ji-woon. If you’re a man, you should be carrying your superior’s things. What’s with only two? Two? Trying to show off that you’re B-grade?”
Ji-woon’s face flushed red with rising anger. To Mina, it felt as though she were listening to a scolding while sitting beside a ticking time bomb. She had already resigned herself to not leaving early when a familiar voice cut through the tension.
“Mina? What are you doing in the middle of the street?”
At the sound of that voice, Mina whipped her head around.
“Seok-jun! What are you doing here?”
Seok-jun was looking at her with mild surprise. Even among the crowd flowing around them, his striking appearance remained unchanged.
“I was just passing by after work. And you?”
When his murky teal gaze shifted toward Manager Kim, Mina seized the chance to introduce her.
“This is our company’s support team manager, Man—”
But she never finished. For some reason, Manager Kim had gone deathly pale and was trembling violently.
“A-Assistant Manager, something urgent came up. I’ll be going first.”
“Huh? Manager Kim?”
As they watched her hurry away in her heels with surprising agility, Seok-jun spoke.
“Did you just finish work?”
“Ah! Yes. Perfect timing!”
Smiling at the fortunate encounter, Mina showed him the gift sets dangling from her arms.
“It’s a bit inconvenient to carry them like this. Could you help?”
It wasn’t much, but it was true, and she had wanted to be a little mischievous with him after so long apart.
“Well, if that’s what you want.”
“Oh—really?”
She hadn’t expected him to actually agree. After handing over roughly half the sets, she noticed Ji-woon staring blankly at them.
“Then have a good holiday, Ji-woon.”
“Huh? Ah, yes. You too, Assistant Manager.”
His dazed voice followed them, but it was probably just relief at finally escaping Manager Kim’s scolding.