Chapter 365
Chapter 365
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 365. The Employee with Good Eyes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I hurriedly look around.
Did I fail or something?
If so, then everything would go back to normal—
"Ow, my head..."
"Ugh..."
"Ugh..."
I tune my ears to the groans coming from around me.
The people who had been dead just moments ago were getting up unscathed, muttering in confusion.
At least it seems like I managed to properly block it.
...
I look up at the sky.
The sky was spinning round and round.
I don't know how to explain it, but literally, the sky itself was spinning round and round.
Just like what happens when you set a globe down and spin it hard.
"...Huh..."
Song Arin makes a bewildered face next to me as she looks around for the manual.
The manual had already turned back into a book and fallen to the ground.
...
I quietly tuck the manual into my pocket.
There's a lot I need to talk about with this thing.
"Where are the others?"
"Beats me."
Wasn't it just supposed to end the third act properly?
Or did I miss something?
As endless thoughts swirl in my head, a voice calls out from far away.
"Jaeheon!"
It was Yoo Daon's voice.
Thank goodness.
I let out a sigh of relief and look toward where her voice came from. Jang Chaeyeon and Park Ye-eun are running toward me as well.
"Nothing happened to you guys?"
"Nothing..."
Yoo Daon trails off as she glances at the others, and Park Ye-eun picks up with a sigh.
"Well, no. Not long after you went in, oppa, the sky collapsed!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's hard for me to explain too, but the sky collapsed!"
"And?"
"And what? We died."
Park Ye-eun shrugs like it's no big deal, and I look at Yoo Daon.
She wouldn't have died right away.
"...Haha..."
She catches my gaze and lets out a dry laugh, avoiding my eyes.
It must have been a horrific experience.
"Daon. Tell me later exactly what happened."
"Y-Yes..."
She stammers, and I tear my eyes away from the spinning sky.
First things first, I need to figure this out. God knows what'll happen if people look at the sky—
—Beep beep beep...!
At that moment, a siren starts blaring.
I jump to my feet, draw my gun,
And at the same time, someone places a hand on my shoulder.
"Stay calm, Kim Jaeheon."
"...Branch Manager?"
The Branch Manager stands beside me.
She looks at me with a smile still on her face.
"You did well."
"Huh?"
...
The Branch Manager pats my shoulder without another word.
"Good work."
...
I have no idea what to say to her as I stare, when
"The siren? That's us sounding it right now, so don't worry about it."
"Ah."
"It's to keep people from noticing anything strange."
"Like mind control?"
"No, more like making sure they don't feel any sense of wrongness?"
The Branch Manager shakes her head with a laugh.
"Anyway, don't worry about it."
"Want me to lend you Arin?"
"I'd kill for that."
Song Arin mutters under her breath at my words, shrugs, and meets the Branch Manager's eyes.
"What's the situation?"
"What situation?"
The Branch Manager smiles faintly.
"Jaeheon ended the third act perfectly."
"What were you doing, Branch Manager?"
"I couldn't get in."
The Branch Manager shakes her head.
"Neither could Ahn Sanghyeon."
"...I see."
I nod and look up at the sky.
"So what's happening now?"
"Now..."
The Branch Manager gazes at the sky.
"We wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes."
She nods with a smile.
"It looks like the troupe is preparing something final now that the third act is over."
"Something?"
"I don't really know what either."
The Branch Manager laughs with an "Ahaha!"
I look at her, then turn my gaze to the others.
Yoo Daon looks exhausted, the Troupe Leader stands expressionless, and Jang Chaeyeon stares intently at him.
"...Got it. Call me if anything comes up."
"Yes."
The Branch Manager smiles faintly and walks toward Jang Chaeyeon.
"Chaeyeon."
"Yeah."
"Everything okay? Your face looks serious."
Jang Chaeyeon turns her gaze forward at my words.
The Troupe Leader is looking right at her.
"...Something feels off."
She mutters and keeps staring at the Troupe Leader.
"Feels like something's there."
"There is something there."
Specifically, the Troupe Leader.
"...Hold on."
Jang Chaeyeon mutters, closes her eyes, and soon opens them again.
A mystical aura, and a benevolent smile.
"Long time no see."
The Observer stands before me.
"...You called Chaeyeon, right?"
"Chaeyeon called me. Don't be so prickly."
She laughs at my words and looks toward the Troupe Leader.
"Is that really Arin?"
"You can see?"
...
The Troupe Leader averts his gaze at the Observer's words, and she smiles softly.
"I can see her clearly. But she's aged a lot."
"Sorry, but I'm twenty-five."
"That's compared to the first time I saw her."
The Troupe Leader replies stiffly, and the Observer smiles.
"But how are you walking around like that? It's fascinating."
"...You don't need to know."
The Troupe Leader answers curtly to the Observer's question again.
This is weird. Maybe because both have destroyed the world once.
If adult Yoo Daon were here, it'd complete the Containment Object HR Team.
But adult Yoo Daon wouldn't listen to reason.
I turn and look at Yoo Daon.
She was looking at me too, and turns away when our eyes meet.
She could just keep looking.
"Anyway, don't think about anything too weird."
"I'm not."
"Good. Be careful then, especially you, Jaeheon."
...
I turn to her at the sound of my name, and she smiles.
"You know the best stories always have a twist, right?"
"...I know."
"Good."
She smiles softly, closes her eyes, and opens them again.
...
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me with a faintly emotional face.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good."
She smiles softly at my response.
"Um... take good care of her."
She points at Yoo Daon.
"It's going to be tough for her."
"Right away."
"Right."
"Huh?"
"What should I do?"
"Uh, well..."
"I'll handle it appropriately."
"Please do."
"Go on then."
"Yes."
Without a second thought, I head toward Yoo Daon at Jang Chaeyeon's words, and I hear her sigh softly behind me.
No need to sigh like that.
As I approach Yoo Daon, she looks up at me with wide eyes.
"Jaeheon!"
"You okay?"
"W-Why all of a sudden?"
...
If Jang Chaeyeon said to check, it'd be dense not to.
"Just... your face looks bad."
"R-Really?"
Yoo Daon presses her cheeks with her fingers.
...
She presses her cheeks silently for a moment, then speaks.
"Honestly, I was in a lot of pain."
"I see."
"That's probably why my face looks off."
Yoo Daon scratches her cheek and smiles.
"Don't worry too much!"
...
What should I say?
As I hesitate, Yoo Daon smiles.
"You're okay, Jaeheon."
"W-Well, yeah."
"Then it's fine."
She looks at me.
"It's all in the past anyway, and as long as you're okay, Jaeheon, I'm really fine."
...
What do I say?
Honestly, I have no idea.
So all I can do is nod and pat her shoulder.
"I'd have died long ago without you, Daon."
"Jaeheon, I'd have died long ago without you too."
Yoo Daon smiles softly, pats my shoulder,
And says with a sly tone and a smile,
"Don't you have something for me to do?"
...
Should I really send Yoo Daon? Well, I did plan to.
"Yeah."
"Knew it. I've been smelling it since earlier."
Yoo Daon smiles softly.
"I'll head toward the smell then."
"Sure."
With that, Yoo Daon slowly walks off in another direction.
As I watch her go, footsteps approach from behind.
"The black-haired one's gone."
"You knew what to do right away."
"That girl's animal instincts are the best among us."
Song Arin mutters as she stands next to me.
"Anyway, then..."
"Yeah. Round up the others."
"Got it."
Song Arin nods and walks off.
After sending Song Arin away, the Branch Manager comes to my side.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes, Branch Manager."
"What was that talk? Playing the field?"
"Not funny."
The Branch Manager laughs delightedly at my reply and looks at me.
"You seem too tense."
"Yes. I am a bit tense."
"Because of that sky?"
I look up at the spinning sky.
"The sky too, but."
As I answer, I pull my gun from my pocket and aim it at the Branch Manager's forehead.
"Huh?"
Bang!
Before she can react, I pull the trigger,
A hole appears in the Branch Manager's forehead, and she stumbles back.
"Jaeheon...!"
"Sorry, but the real Branch Manager would have grabbed my hand before I drew."
No. The forehead would have deflected the bullet anyway.
The Branch Manager stares at me in shock with the hole in her forehead, then opens her mouth.
A middle-aged man's voice comes from her mouth.
"You've got sharp eyes."
"Of course."
I look up above the Branch Manager's head.
[Name: Troupe Leader]
[Age: 52 years old]
[Specialty: Theater]
[Talent: Theater]
[Background: The final act of the play is right around the corner.]
[Weakness: The play must end properly.]
"That's why I got hired—because I've got good eyes."