Reverse Interview (2): The Ice-Cold Poker Face
Even after crashing into a game world overnight, sleep still came. Guess I passed out crying my eyes out.
Waking in a cozy bed, I was greeted by the Porling doll—a cat spirit mascot from Magical Girl Mikaru that I'd hugged to sleep since I was fifteen—the harsh morning sun, and that idiotic status window announcing the start of another day.
[World's Best Secretary!]
Notification: Mission progress increased!
Reward: [Skill: Organization]
Description: A secretary's basics are neat organization! This is what a human protractor means!
"……."
The status window had this unnecessarily perky tone for what it was. I glared at it with thoroughly chilled eyes. Give me something useful instead of this crap. Like a barrier or fireball... there are plenty of good ones out there.
Still, might as well test it out. No point letting a hard-earned skill go to waste. I picked up a book from the floor, slotted it into the bookshelf, and instinctively activated the skill, just like it was etched into my instincts.
[Organization]!
"……?"
Nothing happened.
But testing it out revealed the oddity right away.
"It won't budge."
Creak, creak. No matter how I tugged or shoved the book I'd used the ability on, it stayed rock-solid. Felt like not even dust would settle on it. That was the moment I truly lost my shit.
"What a goddamn useless skill."
Ding-dong. Then my phone blared its commute alarm. Ugh... With a heavy sigh, I dragged myself out of bed, packed my bag, and headed to work.
As instructed in the text, I waited in the lobby of Nebula HQ. My blood ran cold the whole time.
Glance, glance. I scanned my surroundings like a meerkat from the Serengeti plains.
Flash! Flash flash! Everywhere I looked—flash. Over there—flash. It was the epitome of interiors slathered in cash. Dazzling to the point of eye strain, yet not a hint of tackiness.
"……."
Fitting for Nebula, the top megacorp across both light and shadow. Did a lowly scrub like me even belong in a place this exalted...?
Ten minutes felt like an hour before a woman in a suit approached with sharp clicks of her heels from afar.
"Seo Han-gyeol? Is that you?"
"Yes."
She was terrifying! The woman addressing me was stunning. The kind of beauty you couldn't imagine wasting on anything but showbiz. But her face was an ice block.
I froze solid and chanted internally. Act! Channel every psycho villain I've seen in my eleven years of weeb fandom!
Ain Sandto-nim! Lend me your psycho powers!
As I seriously debated mutating from human to statue out of sheer terror, the icy woman eyed me intently. Then she bowed her head in apology.
'?'
"Hm, I see. You noticed my mana scan right away. Sorry for testing you unnecessarily."
Did she just scan me? ...When the hell?
No need to hunt for psychos from afar anymore. I stiffened even harder. My tongue barely worked now.
"No issue."
"Your mana concealment is impressive. Even a Rank 2 hunter leaves faint traces, but not a single whiff from you."
"……."
That's 'cause I've got zero mana. Couldn't say it, though. My tongue was going on strike.
Meekly following her, we delved deeper into the company. After passing layer upon layer of heavy steel doors, she swiped her security card on the final one and flung it open.
"Please wait inside. I'll explain your duties shortly."
"Yes."
"...And sorry again about the scan earlier. It's been ages since I've seen perfect mana concealment—I got a bit excited. So loosen up that expression."
"...No, really. It's nothing."
"Such confidence. Well, with skills like that, hiding them would be the real deception. I worried when the Chairwoman fired every other secretary except you yesterday, but it was unfounded. You'll do fine."
"……?"
What? What do you mean she fired all the secretaries?
Before I could sputter, she bowed and walked off.
"……."
Leaving me alone at a table in a hallway where grim, armed folks occasionally passed. This was straight-up adult abandonment!
Guarding the table solo, I felt hostile glares from passing employees stabbing my back like needles. No need to guess why.
The secretary office folks... probably got canned because of me?
One more reason to stick to the company. With zero mana and my only skill being [Organization], if I bailed on Nebula's shadow? Those human weapons who'd clawed their way to secretary on their own merits would hunt me down for revenge. Scary-ass Nebula. Top-tier at exploiting people too, huh?!
That was when—
BAM!
A massive crash erupted right beside me. Dust billowed and whooshed past.
They say right before a car wreck, your mind blanks. That was me.
"……."
My body locked rigid.
"Hah, gutsy one. Newbie who got the whole secretary office axed—you had to know the attack was coming. Guessing you read from the start I wasn't aiming to hit."
Thud, thud. Heavy footsteps approached with a burly man.
My body hit its limit. Couldn't even turn my neck—eyes rolled to the floor.
A huge blade. Machete, right? The massive machete had gouged a deep crack into the stone floor. How many seconds would my scrawny neck last against a sword that shattered rock...?
Wanna cry. But cold reality chilled my nape too. Things had twisted into this mess, but no backing out now. Show even a flicker of flinch, and the future turns spectacularly bloody!
Move, tongue. Move!
"It's nothing."
I meant it for real—I'm fine, talking to you scares me, so please forgive me.
"Huh?"
But the huge guy—with blade scars even on his eyes—took it differently. He raised an eyebrow.
This guy's something else?
Fifth Field Team Vice Captain Ma Hyeok-do reined in his inner surprise as he arrived at work that morning.
It was just a warning shot with plenty of mana packed in. Yet this punk didn't blink—just shifted his gaze.
A faint unease bubbled up. Long ago, Ma Hyeok-do had met types who reacted just like this. Hunters who didn't even feel human.
Rank 1s. Strategic weapons who could solo army units.
He knew that was delusional, so Ma Hyeok-do casually sat across from Seo Han-gyeol, feigning nonchalance. But his head replayed Han-gyeol's move from instants ago.
Those casually rolling eyes proved he'd traced the attack's trajectory in a flash. Impressive enough, but this guy had silently tensed his vital spots.
Ma Hyeok-do, veteran of the fields, clocked it instantly as combat readiness.
No mana signature—civilian? Nah.
He shook his head. He'd seen First Field Team Captain Yu Seo-yeong apologize to this guy earlier.
Yu Seo-yeong was ex-military, elite special ops. Combat prowess second to none, pride to match—no way she'd bow to a normie.
"Tch. Mana control's insane. But plenty in field teams can pull that off."
Ma Hyeok-do bluffed, knowing even Yu Seo-yeong couldn't detect that level. This newbie had moved the Chairwoman herself—who rarely surfaced without billion-won deals. Needed to crush his spirit once, properly, for smooth sailing ahead.
Seo Han-gyeol thought, I'm screwed. Royally screwed.
Terror paralyzed his facial muscles. Heart pounding to burst, blood ice-cold. Somehow, it let him maintain true 'cold-blooded' calm.
Cold-blooded (literally freezing).
But to Ma Hyeok-do, who'd already misread the situation, it looked different.
Definitely not normal. No emotional twitch even under provocation. Near-perfect self-control. A free hunter couldn't stomach pride hits... Similar background to Yu Seo-yeong? Ex-military? Or... Punishment Enforcement Bureau (PEB)?
Punishment Enforcement Bureau. Post-gate powerhouse against hunter heavy crimes.
'The law is equal for all; superpowers merely aggravate punishment.' Infamous for zero tolerance and ruthless anti-hunter tactics.
Ma Hyeok-do felt the puzzle click.
Plausible. Lean build invested in agility over bulk—one PEB agent trait. This might get dicey...
One slip and he'd get devoured. Tense, Ma Hyeok-do's muscles bulged harder, emphasizing his macho frame. Meanwhile, the coolly rigid Seo Han-gyeol just wanted to go home, eat hot rice, and crash.