The Aftermath and the Unexpected Breach
“Ugh... my head...”
I opened my eyes on the sofa, sat up, and glanced toward the air conditioner. The underwear and shorts hanging on a hanger beneath it were proof enough that yesterday’s events hadn’t been a dream.
“Hoo.”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned my head toward the bed.
“As I thought...”
Min Serin was on the bed, fast asleep, breathing softly.
‘I went through all that trouble to put her robe on, so when did she take it off again?’
I noticed the water bottle I’d left by her bedside before going to sleep was empty, which meant she must have woken up during the night to drink it.
I muffled my footsteps and carefully got dressed. I would have to explain things eventually, but not right now. If I had to deal with it, I wanted to avoid this situation for the moment, get some proper rest, and talk about it tomorrow.
‘I feel like I slept for about eight hours, but Serin is sleeping soundly too. She must have been exhausted...’
I closed the window for her sake and stepped out of the room. In front of the door sat a room service cart with food on it. I lifted the silver lid to find cold, congealed soup and bread.
‘They must have just left it because there was no answer when they rang the bell...’
In the end, I smacked my lips in disappointment and took the elevator down to the first floor.
‘Good thing I did the laundry and showered before I passed out at dawn...’
Last night was a testament to how harmful alcohol could be to a human being. Both Min Serin and I had gotten so drunk that we’d created memories that would go down as the most embarrassing moments of our lives.
I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying my best not to think about yesterday.
Ding.
I arrived on the first floor, stepped into the lobby, and looked around.
‘Where was it...’
When I first arrived at this hotel, I was certain there was a cafe-style lounge on the first floor.
“There it is.”
I spotted a lounge area where several people in suits were sitting in chairs, drinking coffee. I headed over, took a seat in the corner, and watched as people helped themselves to coffee from a refrigerator. Since the cafe wasn’t actually operating, it seemed they had set up this alternative.
I walked to the fridge, grabbed a cold black coffee and a bottle of water, and sat back down. Without a phone or any friends, I couldn’t sit and chat with acquaintances like the other hunters; I just sipped my coffee while staring blankly into space.
‘I’m hungry, but do I have to wait until lunch?’
It was almost 12:00 PM, and lunch was served at 1:30 PM. But even if I went back up to the room at 1:30, Min Serin would likely still be asleep.
It was boring, but not unbearable.
‘I had things to do after this was all over...’
I spent the time thinking about how I was going to deal with my handler once the mission was finished.
‘Like Lee Seung-jun said, for something that’s supposed to be dangerous, it’s been surprisingly quiet until today...’
Still, I couldn’t forgive that handler. My memory was hazy, but when I talked about it with Min Serin last night while we were both plastered on Drops, she had clearly stated that most hunters would obviously refuse the request, and since they had to send reliable hunters, most of the security personnel were those sent under the Association President’s orders. She’d even mentioned that because it was a sensitive issue in terms of internal Association politics, some of the hunters hand-picked by the President had refused.
‘The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get...’
2:30 PM.
I had been sitting in the cafe for nearly three hours, lost in my own delusions. My stomach was now protesting loudly, demanding that I get rid of the coffee and put something nutritious inside.
‘She should be gone by now, right...?’
I stood up and headed for the elevator. Praying that she wouldn’t be there, I rode up and arrived in front of the room.
‘What the... why isn’t it here?’
The cart was nowhere to be seen.
‘Is today a day where they don’t give lunch? Or, don’t tell me... did Min Serin eat it?’
I quietly pressed my ear to the door, but I couldn’t feel any presence inside. I carefully swiped my card and entered the room.
“Oh...”
The room, which had been a total mess, was neatly organized. I was wondering if a staff member had done it or if Min Serin had, but when I saw the table, I knew Min Serin had cleaned up before leaving. On the table, there was food neatly laid out and a sticky note attached.
『Mr. Sunghyun, I’m so sorry. I caused you too much trouble. I cleaned up the mess from yesterday. Once again, I’m sorry...』
Seeing the scribbled note, as if she’d been in a huge hurry, made me laugh.
“At least she has manners.”
I opened the lid of the first bowl to find appetizing dried pollack soup. ‘This is it.’ It seemed today’s lunch menu was Korean food. I immediately microwaved the rice and the soup. When I took a spoonful of the hot broth, I felt a jolt of pure bliss.
‘So this is why drunks look for soup the next day after drinking...’
Before I knew it, I’d tossed the spoon aside and was slurping the soup straight from the bowl.
“Hoo...”
I was dressed in a suit, sitting on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths. I had spent all of yesterday lying in bed resting. My body had fully recovered, but the problem was that in ten minutes, when I opened the door and stepped out, I would have to face Min Serin again.
‘Should I have just cleared everything up yesterday?’
Regret washed over me for having put it off, but there was no helping it now. I put on my shoes, attached my radio, opened the door, and stepped out. When I arrived on the 14th floor and stepped out of the elevator, Min Serin was standing right there.
“...”
We stared at each other in silence, neither of us able to open our mouths first. Min Serin averted her eyes within a second and blushed. I didn’t know how much she remembered from the day before yesterday, but seeing her act so shy, she might be remembering things she shouldn’t.
‘If I don’t say anything here, it’s going to get really awkward...’
I steeled my heart and greeted Min Serin with a smile, acting as if nothing had happened.
“You’re here early, Serin.”
“Yes? Oh, yes! I came out a little early!”
Min Serin also seemed to realize the intent behind my greeting—which implicitly meant we should just bury what happened yesterday—and answered with a quick smile.
‘Phew... I pulled it off.’
Thankfully, I had avoided the worst-case scenario. Min Serin and I went on our patrol, chatting about this and that just like usual. Perhaps because we were both conscious of the day before yesterday, we completely avoided topics related to that day, such as alcohol or the Baekgwang Construction business, and talked about other things instead.
‘Come to think of it...’
Min Serin’s condition had improved noticeably. On the first day, she looked so precarious she might collapse at any moment, and the day before yesterday, she really didn’t look like a human being. She had looked beyond haggard, like someone who belonged in a coffin, but although some exhaustion remained, her condition looked incomparably better than before.
“Serin, you must have slept well. You look much better.”
I was in such a good mood that I ended up blurting that out.
‘Ah, fuck...’
I had always been aware that I was an idiot, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.
“Haha, so what I mean is...”
The moment I turned my head to look at Min Serin, desperately trying to cover up my mistake, I was struck dumb.
‘I’m truly fucked.’
Min Serin’s face was filled with embarrassment and despair. It was obvious she was thinking, ‘What the hell is this guy?’ I had been the one to implicitly demand we keep quiet about that day, only to naturally bring up a conversation related to it.
“...”
The two of us ended up patrolling in silence for several hours. Just as I was pouring all sorts of insults on myself and wallowing in self-loathing, Min Serin finally opened her mouth after several hours.
“Sunghyun... do you happen to remember the day before yesterday?”
This was my chance. The final opportunity granted by the heavens had arrived. I stroked my tie, acting a little surprised, and replied.
“Yes? Oh, well... to be honest, I don’t remember much after Serin opened the last bottle and we drank it. Did I make a mistake or something?”
Min Serin’s expression brightened for a moment before she calmed down and said, “I... I don’t really remember well either... I felt like I might have made a huge mistake, and when I woke up, you weren’t there, and I was sleeping in your bed wearing only my underwear... Do you know where you slept?”
“I... I slept on the sofa. Honestly, I don’t even know how I got to the sofa. When I woke up, you were wearing a robe... didn’t you move me to the sofa while I was asleep?”
“Ah! No wonder when I woke up, the robe was thrown on the floor... I don’t remember well either, but I think I must have moved you.”
That was it. I had finally overcome this shitty situation. My self-loathing immediately turned into self-praise.
‘Yoon Sunghyun, you did well.’
Min Serin turned her body toward me, bowed 120 degrees, and said, “I am so sorry! I showed you such an unsightly side of myself...”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t remember anything after the last bottle, but it was fun drinking after such a long time. Please, don’t do this...”
Min Serin didn’t straighten her back even after my reply. I continued to emphasize that I didn’t remember anything after the last bottle.
“If you keep doing this, Serin, I’ll have to apologize too. I’m sorry for passing out first!”
As I bowed my head just as deeply, Min Serin panicked, grabbed my arm, and tried to force me to stand up.
“Sunghyun, why are you doing this...! Hurry... ah, okay. I won’t say I’m sorry anymore.”
“Yes. Then.”
When I lifted my head, Min Serin was smiling.
‘Phew...’
It felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my heart. ‘Let’s just watch my mouth for the remaining two days.’ After that, I spent several hours chatting happily with Min Serin. We even talked about that day. Of course, only the parts before we drank the last bottle.
“Um... I have a question.”
“Yes, Sunghyun, go ahead.”
I asked Min Serin about something I had been worrying about by myself yesterday.
“You remember what I said about my handler, right?”
“Yes, I... remember.”
“So, when I go back, I’m planning to change my handler right away, but is it possible for me to choose a family member working at the Association?”
“Of course.”
I cheered inwardly. If I could just cut that bitch off and keep Nahyun as my handler, it would be a win-win for both of us.
“However...”
“Yes?”
“You’re planning to change it to... your sister who just joined the Central Headquarters, right?”
“Ah, yes...”
My excited mood sank in an instant. I didn’t need to hear what was coming out of Min Serin’s mouth to know it was going to be a ‘no.’
“To be a handler, even if you’re family, you need at least one year of experience as an office worker... Since she just joined, she’s in a six-month probationary period, and even after that, she needs another year of experience, so it’ll be impossible for a year and a half, even if you’re family...”
“Ah... thank you.”
I was angry at the fact that even if I changed my handler, I would have to roll the gacha randomly again.
‘So much for being A-rank... I can’t even change my handler to whoever I want. No wonder they get assassination attempts when they run things like this.’
Just as I was spewing baseless criticism of the Association in my head, I felt the hotel shake lightly, accompanied by a loud noise.
Boom—
“Huh?”
“What the...”
When Min Serin and I looked at each other in surprise, a voice came through the radio.
—Terrorists have appeared on the 16th floor. Requesting immediate support.
Min Serin and I nodded at each other and started running toward the stairs.