Revelations Over Dinner
"Thank you for your cooperation." "Ah, thank you." After Mina finished giving her statement to the police, Seok-jun handed her a paper cup. As she accepted it, a lukewarm sensation met her fingers along with the familiar sweet aroma of instant coffee. Perhaps because the day had been nothing but chaos since morning, the scent felt especially welcome. The scale of the incident had meant they weren't at a local precinct but a larger police station for the statement. She took a sip and let out a sigh. "Haa, it doesn't feel like I've done much, but it's already this late."
The investigation results would apparently take more time. While she'd been giving her statement, time had slipped by unnoticed, and the sky outside had turned a golden hue with the sunset. Checking her watch confirmed it was past five o'clock. Seeing Mina looking drained, Seok-jun spoke up. "You mentioned needing to buy clothes today, didn't you?" "I did, but with the time being what it is, are you sure that's all right?" Shopping itself was fine, but the problem was that choosing designs and sizes always took considerable time. Even when something caught her eye, it rarely fit. "I was thinking we could have dinner as well and perhaps celebrate wrapping up this matter." "Oh." At his words, Mina suddenly realized how hungry she was. After all, they'd started in the morning, skipped lunch through the chase, and then spent the rest of the time giving statements without eating. Since she needed clothes anyway and dinner with Seok-jun sounded pleasant, there was no issue. "H-Here?" "Yes, this is the place."
Mina stood frozen, listening to the soft classical music and watching waiters moving about. I should have realized something was up when he said he'd buy me a dress! Seok-jun, standing beside her, had removed his hat and was now in a suit. How had things come to this? Earlier, at the shopping mall, Mina had been comparing various outfits, none of which fit properly. If the design appealed, the size didn't, and if the size worked, the design didn't. The store clerk's admiring gaze had been an added discomfort. How about a dress? While she was still processing, Seok-jun had led her into the dress section. A dinner dress. Black, if you please. Before she knew it, she was trying on a dress that fit perfectly. Wait a moment! The payment—?!Already done. Even after she emerged wearing it, he guided her straight to the necklace counter. This necklace seems suitable. Does it match your taste, Mina-ssi?It does, but...Then we'll take it. As she stood dazed, fingering the silver necklace he'd given her, a waiter approached. "Are you Cha Seok-jun-ssi and Lee Mina-ssi?" "We are." Even then, her mind had been occupied with being led along by Seok-jun. "Ooh, our Mina looks quite stunning dressed like that." "Eh?" Mina finally snapped out of it at the familiar voice by her ear. Looking over, she saw a woman seated at a table, chin resting on both hands as she watched them with a playful expression. Even that mischievous pose was all too familiar to Mina. "Oh Min-ji?!" It made sense—she was Mina's only friend. "What are you doing here...?" "Why? Did you think I shouldn't come to a place like this? If that's the case, I'm disappointed." "You know that's not what I meant!" She had never imagined running into her perpetually busy friend in a place like this—especially not while accompanied by Seok-jun. "Hahaha! Seeing that look on your face, I guess he really didn't explain anything properly!" "Didn't explain what?" Seok-jun was the one who answered first. "Weren't you the one who set those conditions?" "...Eh?" Mina turned to stare at him blankly. "What do you mean? Seok-jun-ssi, were you acquainted with Min-ji all along?!" While friends weren't obligated to share everything, the shock was greater because they had generally known about each other's relationships. Ugh, what exactly was their relationship?! Don't tell me I've been drinking kimchi soup all by myself this whole time!? Rather than knowing and accepting it, the sudden revelation left Mina's mind in a panic, with tiny versions of herself running about in confusion. Seeing Mina unable to process the situation, Min-ji gestured. "I'll tell you everything, so sit down first." They joined her at the table. "Huuu, so what exactly is your relationship?" Mina asked after downing the cold water the waiter had poured, barely managing to calm herself. "Our relationship..." Tap, tap, tap. As Min-ji trailed off while drumming her fingers on the table, Mina tensed. Min-ji gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "At the very least, it's not the kind of relationship our Mina is worried about." "W-What are you saying!" Mina jumped up in protest, only for Seok-jun's voice to follow. "If we're being precise, we met on business terms." "Business?" Mina thought about his work for a moment but couldn't recall anything that would overlap with Min-ji's. After all, Min-ji was a civilian, and he was a hunter. Come to think of it, she realized she had only known Min-ji was busy without ever properly asking what she did. "Right. Now that you mention it, we never talked about it, did we?" As Min-ji handed over a business card, Mina froze upon receiving it. The card read: Oh Min-ji, Director, Hanshin Guild Co., Ltd. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Why?!" She had sensed Min-ji worked at a large corporation, but why was she at Hanshin—the very place Mina had worked—and holding the position of director? As Mina stood shocked by the incomprehensible situation, Min-ji dropped another bombshell. "My father is the CEO there." Mina's mind went completely white, as if swept away by the explosion, before she managed to speak. "Then how did you and Seok-jun-ssi...?" "Well now." Min-ji let out a dry laugh for some reason before continuing. "When did you first meet that guy?" "That was... inside the gate..." Mina realized another odd point. Come to think of it, how had Seok-jun even been there? His mana resistance was special, so that could be excused, but the gate had already been urgently contracted to Hanshin. Being in the middle of the city and close to Hanshin's building had made it advantageous for them to handle it. Normally, unless it was a guild they had agreed to cooperate with in advance, the guild assigned to a gate would never allow hunters from other guilds inside. After all, gates were spaces rich in resources that could be converted into substantial money, so monopolizing them was advantageous. To that end, the entrance was usually blocked with the help of public authority. Yet he had intervened at the moment Mina was in danger and saved her from Gu Gang-woo. "I asked him to. I told him to protect our Mina." Min-ji smiled brightly as she spoke. "W-Wait, then the request Seok-jun-ssi received was—?!" Looking at Seok-jun, he shook his head. "The request to protect Mina-ssi was added midway. Even inside the gate, my only job was surveillance." Seok-jun explained that he had been forced to intervene because of what happened along the way. If that was the case... Mina was certain she would have been in serious trouble without his help at the time. "Then what about killing Gu Gang-woo?" "In his case, the judiciary handed down a verdict." Apparently, requests involving taking a person's life could never be officially recorded without judicial approval. "But I've never heard of that person participating in a trial." "It was a closed trial." Min-ji answered this time. "That guy had already been found guilty in multiple cases. There were plenty of things that should have sent him to prison." Because he was an outstanding hunter, he had pulled tricks like substituting his sentence with social service, unpaid gate raids, or support activities to receive suspended sentences. Unless one had been by his side or read his activity records, it would have been impossible to know. "Hold on, then the reason his reputation was strangely good was..." "He went around claiming that instead of serving his sentence, he was volunteering and not taking pay for good deeds." With the media portraying him positively, Gu Gang-woo had even been popular among hunters. Min-ji spoke with a disgusted expression. "Officially, he had four prior convictions. It's estimated he was released due to insufficient evidence over 120 times." In a way, it was quite the illustrious record. "While on suspended sentence, he tried to do that to Mina-ssi." He had probably thought it would be fine since it was inside a gate. He never imagined someone like Seok-jun would be assigned as a monitor. "In the end, the judiciary stamped the death penalty! And since he was caught in the act, there was no escaping it." Min-ji made a slicing gesture across her neck with a satisfied look. Watching her, Mina suddenly remembered something. The fact that Min-ji was a director at Hanshin. "Um, then the complaint against me from Hanshin..." "Ah, that..." Min-ji sighed again as if it gave her a headache. "That was also related to Gu Gang-woo. Actually, quite a few executives were brought in en masse due to the quota system back in the day." "I had no idea." There was no way someone as low-ranking as her, who had no interest in such matters, could have known about the executives' affairs. But what did that have to do with now? "But why are you telling me this?" "Most of those women were Gu Gang-woo's lovers. Or rather, that's how it was arranged." "...Yes?" Mina found herself using formal speech toward Min-ji without realizing it. Not just one or two, but the executives? "Hard to believe, right? But it's true." Unable to fill their roles with competence, they had thought it sufficient to merely meet the headcount, which led them to start covering for Gu Gang-woo in that manner. "Th-Then the reason my work life was so difficult was..." "Because those women were jealous." Mina wondered if this was some kind of hidden camera prank, but the cold touch of the necklace reminded her it was undeniably real. "That complaint was also something those women pushed through on their own, so it'll be withdrawn. And remember that illegal private company that was following you around this time?" "Don't tell me that was also..." "That's right. They hired them. Thanks to you making such a big scene this time, we can finally cut their heads off." The quota system had been gone for ages. If they fired them for incompetence, they'd scream wrongful dismissal, so they hadn't been able to touch them until now. "But I never dreamed in a million years that this blockhead of a man would snatch up our cute Mina." Even as she continued grumbling, Min-ji shot Seok-jun a glare. Mina's face flushed. "I believe there is no man who is uninterested in women." "Don't you think you're particularly set in your ways?" Mina had been consulting Min-ji about him all this time. Realizing that Min-ji had known about him the whole time only made her more embarrassed. As Mina stood at a loss, Seok-jun shrugged. "Consider it the price of entrusting the fish to the cat." "Auuu." Mina covered her face as his hand lightly tapped her head.