Chapter 229
Chapter 229
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 229. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What is it, all of a sudden?"
"It's not like you hate it."
"...True enough."
Eileen leaned her chin on her hand as she offered a warm Americano.
The Management Bureau's in-house café wasn't crowded.
It was working hours, but the coffee's bad reputation played a part too.
"Your face looks a bit off."
...
Eileen scanned my complexion, let out a deep sigh, and crossed her arms.
"Anyway, if you're the one suggesting it, I'm all for it."
"Are you prepared?"
"Huh?"
"Equipment, personnel, that sort of thing."
"Equipment's ready, but personnel aren't."
What was that supposed to mean?
As I furrowed my brow, Eileen began her explanation.
"The church is a bit special."
"Special how...?"
"You can only enter in teams of exactly three."
Eileen sighed.
"And once inside, everyone gets assigned their own role."
"Roles."
"Gold, frankincense, myrrh."
Eileen held up three fingers.
"Roles are assigned randomly to each person, and the guidelines change accordingly."
"Details...?"
"Yeah. The seniors already documented everything in the manual."
Eileen answered my mutter.
"But the real issue is something else."
"Something else?"
Eileen gave a wry smile at my question.
*
"...Per Management Bureau regulations, we don't dispatch to sites that are already contained and documented."
The branch chief, summoned to the café, pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
"You never know what might happen. Stirring things up could invalidate the manuals, protocols, and procedures we've established."
...
She wasn't wrong.
For an efficient organization, you minimize personnel and budget for sites that are fully wrapped up and documented.
And if we accidentally awakened something there by mistake, we'd have no grounds to complain even if we got booted from the Management Bureau.
"But Branch Chief..."
Eileen gazed at her with desperate eyes, and the branch chief averted her gaze in anguish.
"Of course, the Management Bureau appreciates the contributions you've both made—at least internally."
She muttered as she looked away from us.
"But as branch chief, I can't bear the risk of the catastrophic consequences that could follow."
...
...
Solid logic.
You can't let every sob story derail the ship.
Still, I had my reasons for going.
"Branch Chief—"
"That's my stance as branch chief."
The moment I raised my hand, she pressed on.
"But as human Lee Haneul, my view is a bit different."
With that, the branch chief looked at me.
"You've both made huge contributions to the Gangseo Branch."
Her gaze shifted between us.
"Miss Eileen, you've served as team leader for so long, rushing into danger without hesitation for us."
...
"Mr. Kim Jaeheon, it hasn't been as long for you, but in terms of impact, your results outshine any veteran."
She turned her eyes from us.
"That's why I feel it's my duty to express gratitude for your efforts."
She set her interlaced hands on the table as she spoke.
"From here on, this is off the record. If you go missing, the Gangseo Branch will write it off as 'personal deviation'—no rescue teams dispatched."
...
"Of course, if it's my call or someone else's strong push, I couldn't stop it."
Mostly HR Team folks, she muttered, glancing at me.
"Take as much gear as you can carry. Personal firearms and explosives... use them wisely if you must. Miss Eileen, you've always aced explosives testing."
"Never lost Gangseo Branch first place."
"Good."
The branch chief nodded.
"Lost items will be covered by HR and Response Team budgets. Beef up personnel on your own—I can't go. But I'll report to upper management after a day."
"...So the deadline's two days."
"Two days?"
When Eileen muttered, I asked back, and she nodded at me.
"One day grace period. The rest for tracking and return."
"If you're not back in two days, the Management Bureau deploys its own search."
The branch chief supplemented the explanation.
"Just two days?"
"It's because of you, Mr. Kim Jaeheon."
"...Me?"
"You might not realize how much attention you're under, but plenty of eyes are on your moves."
Scary stuff.
"Anyway, that's the limit of what I can allow."
"...Understood."
"How will you assemble the team?"
"...Hmm."
Let me think.
Eileen and I are locks.
Two out of three already greenlit.
Who to bring as the third?
...
Yoo Daon. Most reliable, but if there's mental attack, I might end up solo.
Song Arin, strong against mental stuff but no muscle when needed.
Jang Chaeyeon it is, then.
Individually, she'd be ideal—if she accepts.
As I closed my eyes pondering, Eileen nudged my arm.
"Why?"
"Got someone in mind."
"...Who?"
"You'll know when you see. Already got her buy-in."
Eileen nodded.
"Most helpful in this situation."
"Oh..."
"Trust me."
Eileen nodded again, and the branch chief blinked at the exchange.
"Oh? Who are you thinking of? Sanghyeon?"
"Park Ye-eun."
"....."
"We'll take as much as we can carry, Branch Chief."
Eileen smiled faintly, and the branch chief stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
*
"Will this be enough?"
"Don't drop it, or we're in trouble."
"No worries! I won't drop this gear!"
We linked up with Park Ye-eun already at the armory, leaving the grumbling branch chief—who'd said we couldn't just grab everything—behind.
"But are you sure you're okay with this?"
"With what?"
I eyed Park Ye-eun worriedly as she transferred the load.
"You don't know what might happen."
"That's Management Bureau work for you."
She shrugged nonchalantly while stuffing her bag with bombs.
"Dad worked for the Bureau, and I do now too."
She looked at me.
"So I endure."
...
"And I owe you two big time."
Heave-ho. She slotted in a water canister.
"When else would I pay it back? Plus."
"Plus?"
Park Ye-eun stared straight at me.
"No joke—take one of the three HR sisters, and who knows what the other two will do."
"They'll just sit tight."
"Yeah, right. Makes me wanna flick your forehead."
She squinted hard at me.
"Anyway. Go tell them. Park Ye-eun's coming along. I'll sort gear with Eileen."
"...Yeah, okay."
She grinned in satisfaction as I nodded.
"Good. Go say it."
"Me?"
"Then should I?"
Fair point.
I nodded and headed to HR.
*
"I'll go."
"Me too."
"...If everyone's going, no reason for me not to."
In order: Yoo Daon, Jang Chaeyeon, Song Arin.
"No, it's me, Eileen, and Ye-eun."
"We're three too."
"True, but..."
Three they were.
"Teamwork might not mesh."
...
...
...
Uncharacteristically, all three dodged answering.
"Team...work. We can adjust."
Yoo Daon looked away as she replied, while Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin just nodded without a word.
They knew it felt off too.
"...I'll ask."
Not my call alone.
I called Eileen and relayed it. She approved more readily than expected.
"Sure."
"Really?"
"Normally you'd send two teams anyway. Send them as backup."
No issue then.
I told the three, and relief washed over their faces.
*
Gloomy weather.
The chill seeped into my bones as it grew colder, and I stared ahead.
"Heave-ho..."
Park Ye-eun emerged from behind, hefting a bag bigger than herself like it was nothing.
"...A church."
Eileen eyed it,
-Screeech...!
And Team Leader's car pulled up behind.
Three people piled out at once.
"Church."
Jang Chaeyeon, last out, stared blankly at it.
"You know it?"
"Yeah."
She nodded.
"Deep history."
"History?"
"The Bureau's managed it forever, but it keeps causing friction."
She muttered, gazing ahead.
I followed her eyes.
There, under the dreary sky, stood the church.
...
"Smaller than I thought."
"Inside's bigger than it looks from out here. Defies spatial limits."
As Eileen replied to my mutter and stepped forward,
-Shrrk!
The manual unfurled.
[Office Manual]
[Guide for Church Exploration Personnel - Gangseo Branch, Eileen Latest Edition]
1. As you approach the church, the sky will darken, and the weather will grow colder. This is a natural phenomenon—ignore it.
Just as she said, the sky darkened.
"Wild."
"Most likely theory is the church's timeline is fixed."
Song Arin explained from beside me.
"But who really knows."
2. Upon entering the church, each person will be assigned a fitting 'role.'
We slowly approached the entrance, where a large sign appeared.
[Caution: Private property and hazardous facility. Strict no-entry.]
Eileen ignored it and kept walking; we followed.
[Caution: Once you proceed, no return. Turn back now.]
Another sign soon followed.
[Once you see this sign, do not turn back. Turning back means death. Proceed forward.]
Coated paper lay beneath it.
Normally you'd read it, but no need now.
I had the manual.
Right on cue,
"Huh?"
Park Ye-eun held up a black brooch.
"Myrrh."
Eileen muttered at the sight.
Soon, she clutched a red one herself.
"Frankincense."
Myrrh and frankincense.
My turn.
Something formed in my hand.
...
I raised it: a small golden brooch.
-Shrrk!
The manual flipped open, text appearing.
[You are 'Gold.']