Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Entry
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"Branch Chief."
"I've been briefed."
The branch chief, summoned by Song Arin, nods in response.
"Gangbuk Hospital, right."
"I thought university hospitals were shut down."
"Gangseo University Hospital is closed."
The branch chief replies calmly, her gaze turning to me.
"But Gangbuk Hospital is still operating."
"Isn't that just playing with words?"
"Pretty much."
The branch chief sighs.
"But something feels off."
"Pardon?"
"To reiterate, during the Gangseo Hospital incident, Kim Jaeheon and the HR Team dealt them a devastating blow, leaving the hospital unable to act properly for a while."
The branch chief extends her index finger as she continues.
"These are guys who wouldn't normally show their faces."
The branch chief picks up a piece of paper.
"This is a declaration of war."
"A declaration of war?"
"Kidnapping Management Bureau personnel is no different from declaring war."
The branch chief sighs and brushes off her clothes.
"And the Management Bureau doesn't strike first, but it crushes anyone who comes at us."
The branch chief opens her closed eye.
Her eye glows red.
"...No need to worry, then?"
I stare at the confident branch chief, entranced, and she blinks at me.
"No? Of course we need to worry."
"Pardon?"
"First off."
The branch chief snatches the paper from Yoo Daon's hand.
"I'll hold onto this. These things are often used as a medium to summon people to the hospital."
"Understood."
"And everyone from the HR Team stays here today. Team Leader Heo Chan too."
"Naturally."
The team leader looks at the branch chief as if it's obvious.
"They're my team members, Branch Chief."
"Yes. I figured the team leader I know would say that."
The branch chief smiles in satisfaction and nods.
"For now, stay inside the Management Bureau today."
"Will that keep us safe?"
"No."
The branch chief shakes her head.
"It's hard to prevent being pulled somewhere."
"..."
Then why stay?
"But at least we can stick together."
The branch chief twirls her hair and looks at me.
"It's hard to explain, but the Management Bureau's coordinates are fixed."
"Yes."
"If you're all together, you'll probably end up in the same place."
"Then couldn't the branch chief stick with us too?"
"That wouldn't be a bad idea."
The branch chief stretches with a little hop.
"But in cases like this, we strike first."
"Strike first?"
"We raze Gangbuk Hospital."
The branch chief looks at me.
"The Containment Team and I will go ahead and clear the situation."
"So we're assuming we'll get captured."
"Honestly, you could come along."
The branch chief frowns deeply.
"But it'd be too late by then."
"Too late?"
"They've probably made full preparations this time."
The branch chief looks at me.
"We hit them before they're ready."
"Hit them meaning..."
"Literally."
The branch chief nods.
"While the Containment Team and I wreck the place, Jaeheon, you just prepare for any emergencies."
"No accidents, right?"
"I can't guarantee that."
The branch chief smiles wryly.
"But based on your experience, Jaeheon, it's best to be fully prepared."
"...Understood."
She's mincing words, but basically, you're jinxed, so gear up.
"Anyway, that's the plan."
Muttering about no time, the branch chief stands.
I call out to the branch chief as she hurries away.
"Branch Chief."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"..."
The branch chief looks at me and grins.
"Thanks from a kid just warms my heart. Save the real thanks for after this is over."
Then she waves and heads out the door.
Does she have to act so old?
Once the branch chief is gone,
"Anyway, everyone heard that, right?"
I turn to check on the others.
They all nod.
"Ye-eun, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Yes!"
Park Ye-eun places a bundle in front of me with quick movements.
She unwraps it, and
"Whoa, Jaeheon. Planning a war?"
The team leader sighs, peering inside.
The bundle is packed with guns.
"Wow! Real guns for the first time!"
"Don't touch."
I stop Park Ye-eun from fiddling with one and look at the team leader.
"Team Leader, what about Ye-eun?"
"Hmm..."
The team leader closes his eyes and rests his chin on his hand.
"Honestly, it'd be better to send her somewhere else."
"Whaaat?"
Park Ye-eun's eyes widen.
"I agree."
"Wait, Oppa! I'm a full-fledged HR Team member now!"
"Minors can't work nights."
"Who cites labor law here!"
"Get permission from the labor office first."
"Nooo! Oppa!"
Ignoring the noisy Park Ye-eun, I signal the team leader. He nods, grabs her, and heads out.
"Come on, go play with Eileen-unnie!"
"Team Leader! I'm in high school!"
After sending off the noisy pair, I look at Jang Chaeyeon.
"Chaeyeon."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon approaches as if she'd been waiting.
"I'll need your help a lot again this time."
"It's fine."
Jang Chaeyeon nods with an expressionless face.
"Use me as much as you want. I'm ready."
"It's not about using..."
Did she have to pick that word?
She smiles softly at my hesitation.
"Relax."
"...That obvious?"
Jang Chaeyeon presses her index finger to the corner of my mouth.
"You twitch here when you're tense."
"First I've heard of it."
"I watch you as closely as you watch me."
"..."
"Don't worry."
Jang Chaeyeon nods.
"I'll do everything I can."
"...I believe you."
Jang Chaeyeon smiles softly again.
"Arin."
Leaving Jang Chaeyeon behind, I approach Song Arin.
With a click, she expertly checks the chamber of her pistol.
"This time will be different."
"Pardon?"
She turns to look at me.
A confident smile spreads across her face.
"I'm useful now, you know?"
"You've always been helpful, Arin."
"Then even more so."
Song Arin smiles confidently and pats my shoulder.
"Anyway, take good care of Black Hair."
"You mean Daon."
"Honestly..."
Song Arin glances at Yoo Daon and shakes her head.
"I don't like her."
"Chaeyeon doesn't either."
"Right."
Why not just say you hate everyone.
Song Arin sighs.
"But that doesn't mean I want her dragged off to some weird place and tortured."
"If you were that kind of person, I'd have kicked you out of the HR Team. No, anyone who thinks that way gets the boot."
"..."
Song Arin's expression hardens briefly before she smiles again like nothing happened.
"Yeah. Anyway, you can really trust me this time."
"I've always trusted you, as I've said repeatedly."
"Ugh, just say got it!"
"...Got it."
"Good."
Song Arin grins and pats my shoulder.
"Go console Black Hair."
At Song Arin's words, I look at Yoo Daon.
She's deep in thought, eyes closed tightly.
She must be scared. Terrified.
I get it.
I slowly walk over to Yoo Daon.
*
Yoo Daon doesn't usually feel fear.
Usually.
She stares at the hospital notice in front of her.
Reliving that time—it's a nightmare she doesn't even want to think about.
And...
"Don't worry."
A voice comes from in front of her gaze.
A familiar voice, one that eases her mind just by hearing it.
She looks up at the man.
He's watching her.
A completely different person from her.
Unlike her, who can't do anything alone, he can handle everything by himself. And with others, even more.
The man who always offers ideas first in any crisis.
That's why he's also the man she's afraid to stand beside.
"No one will take Daon anywhere."
The man forces a smile.
Probably to reassure her.
But he'll never know.
The hospital isn't what Yoo Daon fears most.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes?"
A puzzled look crosses the man's face, which had been smiling.
"Don't overdo it."
At the root of human fear lies the dread of death.
Fear arises from the possibility that one's actions could lead to injury or even death.
In that sense, Yoo Daon had no fear.
Death was a nonexistent concept to her.
Yet even she had one great fear.
She knew Kim Jaeheon.
He was the type to rush into the jaws of death again to resolve the incident she was entangled in.
He knew it was dangerous, but to not abandon Yoo Daon, Kim Jaeheon would walk right in.
That was her fear.
She reaches out her hand.
What should she say?
It'll be okay? No need to worry about me?
Countless words swirl in her mouth and fade.
But she's neither Jang Chaeyeon nor Song Arin.
She can't touch his lips and offer encouragement, nor pat his shoulder like a friend to cheer him up.
Her lost hand hovers in the air before dropping limply.
"Got it?"
"That's what I should be saying, Daon."
"No."
Yoo Daon shakes her head.
"Be careful, Jaeheon."
Eternal agony, she could endure.
Decades of torturous surgery-like procedures, she could endure.
No, anything she could endure, Yoo Daon was prepared to accept.
But she could never accept the man forcing a smile in front of her dying.
He was her landmark.
"As long as Jaeheon is safe, that's enough for me."
Bewilderment crosses the man's face.
But Yoo Daon doesn't care.
She never intended to convey her feelings anyway.
As long as he remained as he was, she was happy.
Looking at his baffled expression, Yoo Daon smiles and calls out.
"Shall we get ready!"
In her usual cheerful voice.
*
Night deepens.
With the team leader who dropped off Park Ye-eun, the four of us lie on sleeping bags spread on the HR Team office floor.
"Team Leader."
"Yeah."
"You sure it's okay for you to be here?"
"What does 'team leader' mean?"
In the darkness, the team leader looks at me.
"Well... the head of the team...?"
"Right. The one in charge."
The team leader nods.
"I get paid more. Higher rank than you."
"True."
"So this is my responsibility."
"..."
"What're you doing. Sleep. Or you'll be sleep-deprived—"
The team leader's words cut off.
"Team Leader?"
"Jaeheon. Something's coming."
As soon as the team leader finishes,
The smell of disinfectant stings my nose.
-Beep... Beep...
A dry mechanical sound echoes,
And the five of us are in a hospital corridor.