Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 139. Company
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I walk along, lost in thought.
'Stationery Store'.
They're laughing and playing around right now, but this place isn't without its suspicious points.
I'm somewhat immune to mental attacks, yet strangely, my body won't obey me.
Of course, all of this is because I'm afraid of where my feet are taking me.
The five people's gazes turn toward me.
I did try to resist, actually.
"...Ugh."
No matter how hard I strain, my body won't listen.
In the end, all I can do is tremble in fear, waiting for my feet to stop.
Finally, my feet stop—and there—
I open my tightly shut eyes.
The five of them all react differently.
Team Leader poking his head out from afar and sighing,
Park Ye-eun clutching her stomach and laughing,
Yoo Daon giving a troubled smile,
Jang Chaeyeon standing with her arms crossed, expressionless,
Song Arin with her hands on her hips, looking utterly dumbfounded.
And then,
The manual in front of me flips open and starts displaying pages.
[Office Manual]
[LV - Romantic Date to Capture the Heart of the Opposite Sex]
1. The date to captivate even the most delicate heart in one go is, of course, an atmospheric venue.
2. No need for a confession. The other person is already head over heels for you—
-Thud!
I slammed the manual shut and let out a deep sigh.
Relief, if it's relief. Embarrassment, if it's embarrassment.
"Gonna shacked up with the manual or what?"
Song Arin glares at me with her hands on her hips.
"People can't date paper."
Jang Chaeyeon sighs.
"What... it could... happen?"
Even Yoo Daon, who always tries to be positive, trails off this time, struggling to stay upbeat.
...
Actually, maybe it's a good thing.
If it had picked my "true match" as Team Leader or something, that would've been social suicide. For both of us.
"Anyway, that's how it happened."
"Not gonna ask her out on a date?"
Team Leader looks at me with a grin.
"Ask a book?"
As if.
Even if I did, it wouldn't say yes—and if it did, that'd be a bigger problem.
-Shrrk, thud!
I forcibly closed the manual as it tried to flip pages again and looked at the others.
"Let's say I did."
Fortunately, no one raised any complaints or objections.
-Shrrk...!
I slammed shut the manual trying to open again and glanced at the others.
"Daon, roll the dice."
"Oh, sure."
Yoo Daon rolled the dice.
After that, nothing major happened.
Song Arin got whacked on the back in "Spank the Person Yoo Daon Hates" and collapsed on the floor; I immediately forfeited in Jang Chaeyeon's Pocky game, making her pout; Song Arin tried to make me do push-ups while pinning me down, only to flop on top of me after exactly two.
After a string of exhausting games, my piece ended up closest to the goal.
"Wow, it ended way faster than I thought."
Yoo Daon muttered regretfully.
"Feels kinda unsatisfying..."
"I'm just relieved it's over."
"Wasn't it that bad?"
"I'm mentally drained."
What's there to feel unsatisfied about?
Worrying about things you don't need to, saying things you don't need to say. That's exhausting in itself.
"Alright, one last roll."
I tossed the dice.
-Roll...
The die tumbled with a clatter,
"Six spaces."
The moment my piece reached the goal, fanfare blared from the electronic board in the center with a cheerful chime.
[Congratulations!]
Ta-da! Big letters appeared in the middle.
[Did everyone have fun? Did you confirm your love for each other?]
Love? More like they're dying to become mortal enemies.
As I stared at the board game with weary eyes, new text popped up.
[Time for cold, hard scores on each couple's compatibility! No boring ties for everyone.]
Cheerful old-school music played as it started calculating scores.
[No meaningless rankings here.]
Then Team Leader's name and the other team members' all got bounced off.
"...Wait, why am I out?"
"Team Leader, you curious about compatibility with your subordinates? You're a married man."
"That's not what I meant. Let's just see."
Team Leader immediately backed down at my question.
[Adding up the formulas...]
-Roll, numbers started appearing with a clatter.
The people behind us all swallowed hard.
"It's just a game, why so tense—"
"Shh."
Jang Chaeyeon covered my mouth and stared intently at the board,
-Ding!
Cheerful chime, and a name appeared.
[Top 5 Revealed!]
Like some variety show.
[Yoo Daon - Kim Jaeheon]
[Surprising, but perfectly complementary. You fill each other's gaps.]
[Jang Chaeyeon - Kim Jaeheon]
[One side takes it all sometimes, but neither gets tired of that dynamic.]
[Song Arin - Kim Jaeheon]
[Great at relieving each other's stress. Never gets boring.]
[Heo Chan - Kim Jaeheon]
[Perfectly complementary. Your long-term work synergy proves it.]
[Park Ye-eun - Kim Jaeheon]
[Treats you like a little sibling she's raised well.]
Top 5 or whatever, fine.
"Why is it all me?"
"'Cause you're close to everyone, duh."
Song Arin muttered discontentedly, glaring at the board.
"So who's the winner?"
"No idea."
"Don't you know?"
"If I did, I'd have no regrets."
We watched the board spin with its cheerful sounds.
Amid everyone's tense faces,
-Ding!
The result was out.
[Heo Chan - Kim Jaeheon]
Silence fell.
"Heh, Jaeheon."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"You must really look up to me, huh."
"Seems like it."
Amid the pointless fanfare, Team Leader chuckled heartily and cautiously stepped out the door.
"I'll make myself scarce since it's scary."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes, Team Leader."
-Clunk.
The door shut, followed by the sound of Team Leader hurriedly running down the hall.
"Then I'll head out too."
"Me too."
Park Ye-eun positioned herself next to me for survival, and we both hurried outside.
-Thud!
"Man, the vibe was brutal."
"Yeah."
Park Ye-eun glanced at me and sighed deeply.
"By the way, did you get the prize?"
"Oh, the prize."
I looked at the ticket in my hand.
[Stationery Store Voucher.]
Just a small paper like an old subway ticket.
"Want it?"
"For real?"
"Yeah. I don't even like going to stationery stores anyway."
"I'm not huge on them either, but..."
Park Ye-eun trailed off as she took the ticket.
"But if oppa's giving it, it's junior etiquette to accept. I'll make good use of it! Maybe grab something fun while I'm there."
"Please don't get it snatched before you use it."
Park Ye-eun laughed happily.
*
After the board game fiasco, honestly, nothing big happened.
The next day, everyone was a bit awkward with me at first, but that passed quickly, and soon they were treating me casually again like nothing happened.
Which is why, just when I was feeling like all was calm,
"Recovering a containment object?"
"You know we've gathered more intel since the Regressor's incident."
"Didn't know."
"Anyway, I need some help retrieving the containment object."
"I'm in HR, though?"
"If you nitpick the Branch Chief's every word, you might get flicked on the forehead till your skull caves in."
...
"Much quieter now."
The Branch Chief smiled and tapped his desk with a finger.
"The butane gas you're using, Kim Jaeheon."
"Yes."
I pulled the butane gas from my pocket.
A translucent window floated above it.
[Name: Butane Gas]
[Age: Manufactured in the 1990s]
[Specialty: None]
[Talent: None]
[Background: This butane gas was produced by a certain company in the early 90s to generate infinite gas. But they never imagined it would produce an unquenchable flame instead of gas. As such, the item is currently contained within the Management Bureau and deployed for personnel support when needed. To use, shake vigorously and open the cap.]
[Weakness: Shake too much, and the flame shoots backward.]
"Looks like we need to check out the company that made this."
"...We do?"
"The company came up multiple times in the memories pulled from the Regressor's head."
"That's all?"
"If it was, I wouldn't be moving."
The Branch Chief continued.
"There was... something like a necklace too."
"Yes."
"That necklace got a huge reaction in the memories."
...
The Branch Chief went on.
"Actually, one Containment Team member's already there, but infiltration's not their strong suit."
Great at smashing, though. The Branch Chief muttered with a sigh.
I recalled the man who smilingly demolished an orphanage.
Invincible while rolling, so he just rolls and kills everyone.
"Probably someone you know. Team up with Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin, should work."
"What about Daon?"
"Yoo Daon..."
The Branch Chief trailed off.
"She's not suited for direct involvement in that dispatch."
Yoo Daon not suited?
"Please understand."
"It's not dangerous, right?"
"It could be..."
The Branch Chief smiled softly at me.
"But if it is, our Containment Team ace will raze the whole factory."
"Got it."
That I can trust.
The intel from the Regressor.
And the factory.
My instincts kept screaming that I had to go there.
*
"Uwaaaah!"
"Kwaaaah!"
Soon, Song Arin, Jang Chaeyeon, and I stood inside the factory, watching countless people hung on clothing racks, screaming.
"Welcome, newbies!"
A man. No. A machine in the shape of a man looked at us.
Its iron face was expressionless, its body entirely iron. A man. No. A robot.
"Welcome to our bio-factory!"
Against the backdrop of screams, a smile bloomed on the robot's face.