Chapter 379
Chapter 379
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: I Want to Go Home
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"Oh my, really?"
"Yes!"
"Oh my goodness!"
The two women's cheerful voices rang out.
This wasn't what I had hoped for.
I mean, shouldn't they spend a bit more time like that?
Teasing the branch manager about her age and all.
But contrary to my expectations, Park Ye-eun's affability was truly remarkable.
With that level of charm, she didn't seem like HR Team material at all.
"I naturally thought you were the same age as oppa, Branch Manager! Or even younger! That's why I figured you must be incredibly talented."
"Oh come on, not the same age! I'm just a little older!"
Right. Only a couple of centuries apart. She is talented, though.
"Wow, seriously. You look so young!"
"Oh my, oh my. I can't even. Jaeheon, you can't take Miss Ye-eun to the branch manager's office?"
"To suck the youth out of her?"
I said that while keeping my eyes on the road, and the two of them continued chatting happily.
"Ah-ha! So that's how you ended up in the HR Team!"
"Yes! Exactly! Oh, oppa. I peeled this tangerine for you."
"Oh, thanks."
"No need to lift a hand. Just open your mouth."
"Uh, okay."
I opened my mouth, and half a tangerine segment went in.
"Mmph! Hey!"
"What? Can't a man handle half a tangerine segment, oppa?"
"You try it."
"Kim Jaeheon, eyes on the road."
"..."
Did I call her over for nothing?
I kept driving, thinking that.
Park Ye-eun couldn't drive, so in the end, the branch manager and I had to take turns.
It was too far for one person to handle alone.
Who knew it was all the way down south?
The branch manager had offered to drive first, but as my boss and a vastly more senior colleague, I couldn't let her do it and risk her throwing her back out—I'd be the one responsible. So I took the first shift.
"I want to get my license soon, too."
"Sigh, getting old is nothing but trouble. More responsibilities, and no part of the body works right."
I nodded along since the branch manager was saying something sensible for once, but Park Ye-eun pouted and grumbled.
"I want to grow up fast, though."
"Kids these days don't usually say they want to be adults."
Muttering about how strange that was, the branch manager looked at Park Ye-eun.
"Is there a reason you want to be an adult that badly?"
"There is."
She answered with a serious expression, looking at us.
"I want to... become someone like oppa."
"...Me?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
The branch manager tilted her head at her response, stared at Park Ye-eun for a moment, then spoke up.
"I think the life of Kim Jaeheon that you imagine, Miss Ye-eun, is probably a bit different."
Park Ye-eun gazed at the branch manager, who spoke in a calm voice.
"..."
She said nothing, just watching quietly, so the branch manager smiled and held out a tangerine to me.
"Kim Jaeheon, peel this for me."
"Sorry, but I'm driving right now."
"Doesn't a boss like me outrank the road?"
"What if we crash? You'd be the only one surviving."
"I'll protect Miss Ye-eun."
"Branch Manager...!"
What a scene.
*
How long had I been driving?
The sun was dipping low, and my eyes were starting to tire.
"We'll switch at the next rest stop."
The branch manager said calmly, and I nodded.
"Sounds good."
I was thinking of taking a break anyway. Perfect timing.
I pulled into the approaching rest stop, stretched my back, and glanced inside the car.
Park Ye-eun was asleep in the back seat.
"Nice timing, huh."
The branch manager smiled at me.
"Can't sleep well at your age?"
"Unfortunately for you, I sleep just fine. My physical age is on the young side."
"I figured."
It wouldn't make sense otherwise.
As I stretched, the branch manager continued in her calm voice.
"Take good care of Miss Ye-eun."
"..."
"I'm not saying the other HR Team folks are bad or anything, but... at her age, coming to the Management Bureau probably means she hasn't had a proper life."
"...Yeah, pretty much."
Sad story.
"So I looked into it a bit earlier..."
"..."
No wonder she was tapping away on her tablet while I drove.
"If there's one thing I never forget, it's the Management Bureau people who died in the line of duty."
"..."
The branch manager continued calmly.
"If my memory's right, Miss Ye-eun's father probably volunteered to enter that hospital."
"I know that."
I'd met him myself, after all.
"It's impressive. Plenty of people go into anomaly zones after losing family or loved ones."
"Would be."
"But not many achieve what they set out to do."
"..."
Yeah, that tracks. Wandering around myself, I figured if I hadn't had the manuals or the HR Team, I probably would've failed too.
"And Miss Ye-eun probably saw her father help firsthand..."
"She won't forget that sight."
"Right."
The branch manager murmured calmly.
"And what we adults have to do..."
"...I get it, no need to say it."
Adults have their duties.
"Take good care of her."
"Don't worry. I made a promise, so I'll take responsibility."
As far as I can manage, I'll look after Park Ye-eun.
"How far does that responsibility go?"
"Should I start saving for her wedding trousseau?"
"What is this? You're not her dad."
"I guarantee you."
I looked at the branch manager as I said it.
She'd watched over everything, after all.
"With your personality, Branch Manager, you've probably done that for more than one or two people."
"..."
She fell silent at my words, then smiled faintly.
"Just hearing about the sons and daughters I helped with trousseaus could fill a year."
"No wonder two hundred years gives you a bottomless bag of stories."
"If I tell Miss Ye-eun my age, she'll drop dead?"
"Got it."
She wouldn't believe it anyway.
Thinking that, the branch manager got into the driver's seat, and I took shotgun.
Park Ye-eun was still blissfully asleep.
"Why don't you catch some shut-eye too, Kim Jaeheon?"
"I don't need much sleep."
"Oh dear, getting old, are we?"
With that, she started driving.
"Keep me company, then."
"Of course."
And so we hit the highway again.
"Oh, by any chance, do you know how to drive a carriage?"
"Come on now. What do you take me for? When was it? A hundred and eighty years ago in Savana..."
"Savana?"
"Spain. Spain. Anyway... so then..."
Like that, the two of us chatted about everything and nothing on the way.
How far did we go?
We ended up parked on a rural road with not a single streetlamp in sight.
"We're here!"
The branch manager stretched grandly.
"We're here...?"
Park Ye-eun staggered up from behind her.
"Did our fresh young New Country kid sleep well?"
"Yeees..."
The branch manager grinned warmly at her and pointed ahead.
"We're here. This is where we're staying tonight."
Looking where she pointed,
there sat an abandoned house straight out of the Joseon era.
A creaky door and rooms without a single light.
"...Staying? Here?"
"It's got character, right? Light the fire pit, and the ondol floor heats up!"
"Ah, Management Bureau people, seriously..."
Park Ye-eun muttered with a sigh at the branch manager's cheerful words.
*
Either way, as the branch manager said, we could sleep there.
The inside was a bit...
"I-is this a rat corpse?"
"It's alive."
[Name: Rat]
[Age: 3 years]
[Specialty: Escape]
[Talent: Escape]
[Background: Suddenly, uninvited guests in its cozy home. The rat is preparing to relocate.]
[Weakness: Ordinary creature. Attack vital points to kill.]
At the same time, the rat scurried away with a patter, and Park Ye-eun screamed and collapsed in place.
"Eeeeek!"
"What! What's wrong!"
The branch manager rushed over from stoking the fire pit.
"Rat! Rat!"
Park Ye-eun shrieked in panic, and the branch manager stared at her before nodding in understanding.
"Ah, still young, so not used to rats yet!"
"Generation gap, probably."
The branch manager glared at me, then stomped her foot—boom—and the house shook.
"Landlord's home! All tenants, out!"
She bellowed in a booming voice.
What, did she swallow a train whistle? That volume.
-Shrash!
Bugs and critters fled the house in unison, like they'd rehearsed.
As if a massive predator had threatened them.
"Eeeeeeeeeek!"
Park Ye-eun screamed like she might actually faint.
"Got 'em all out!"
The branch manager said brightly, then went back to the fire pit.
"...Oppa."
"What."
Park Ye-eun rasped at me.
"Can I sleep in the car?"
"No."
"Why...?"
"We're on the same HR Team. We suffer together."
"Oppa, pleeease..."
"What're you doing. Let's get the blankets."
"Opaaaaa..."
Ignoring her miserable face, I pulled out the bedding.
The floor warmed up surprisingly fast.
Outside, the branch manager stoked the fire diligently; inside, Park Ye-eun and I slaved away to make it livable. Soon enough, it looked decent.
"This is okay now, right?"
"...You threw everything out..."
Park Ye-eun looked miserable.
"I wanna wash up. I touched all that filthy trash..."
As she said, she'd gathered and tossed countless bits of garbage.
But what can you do if she's good at it? She's the porter from the start.
"Can't help it if you're good at hauling. Everyone picks up skills when they need to."
"I'm switching teams..."
Leaving her pouting, the branch manager burst through the door.
"Rice is ready! Real cauldron rice with beef intestine soup!"
"Got soju?"
"Of course not!"
"I wanna go home..."
Ignoring Park Ye-eun's weak whimper, I went to help the branch manager.
True to her experience, her cooking skills were pretty impressive.