Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 382. Feeling Sick to My Stomach
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With the letter sitting there, we were all wearing serious expressions.
Of course, at first, Yoo Daon smiled softly as if nothing was wrong, just like before.
"Don't worry too much,"
she said.
But the moment it was confirmed that the letter was addressed to me, she joined our meeting with a blank expression as well.
"It's definitely a letter to you?"
"To be precise, it's a letter to me and Daon."
"Tsk."
Jang Chaeyeon looked at me again as if to confirm, and when I nodded, Song Arin clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.
"They've never left us alone, have they."
"You're right."
"We could understand sending it to the black-haired one, but I have no idea why they'd send one to you."
"...I think I know."
I recalled what happened at the hospital.
To be exact, it was when I shoved the manual into the hospital director.
The hospital's goal was to maximize human senses or something. To find the origin of the world. That kind of thing.
And my eyes must have looked like a decent tool to them.
"They're probably trying to scout me... or drag me off as an experimental subject."
"Who do they think they are, deciding to use people as guinea pigs? What rude bastards."
Song Arin muttered in disbelief as she looked at Yoo Daon.
"Chance of kidnapping?"
"I can't... say there's no chance..."
Yoo Daon turned her gaze away and murmured.
"For now, let's tell the Branch Chief-"
"I've already called!"
And then Park Ye-eun, who had been standing behind, raised her hand.
"How?"
"I got her number when we went on that trip together last time! She said it's a direct line, use it whenever I want!"
The Branch Chief must really like Park Ye-eun.
At the same time, a call came in from the Branch Chief.
"...Yes."
I answered the ringing phone, and the Branch Chief's calm voice filled my ear.
[Kim Jaeheon.]
"Yes."
[Can you and Yoo Daon come to my office? No. I'll come to you.]
Then she hung up.
Not long after, the Branch Chief appeared in our meeting room, arms crossed, looking at us.
"As I mentioned last time, the hospital took a devastating blow after the hospital director incident."
"I imagine so."
After we smashed it to pieces like that, I never thought they'd rebuild right away.
"But how are Daon's parents..."
"Yoo Daon's parents aren't affiliated with the hospital."
"..."
I had a hunch, but I didn't expect it to be true.
I let out a small sigh as I looked at the Branch Chief, and she gave a troubled smile.
"Yoo Daon's parents..."
She glanced at Yoo Daon, who looked back at the Branch Chief with an indifferent expression.
"...Well, Daon's parents were part of the Management Bureau's research team."
"..."
Management Bureau research team.
I'd never properly heard of them or spoken to them, but I knew one thing.
I knew that the team that made the clothes Yoo Daon was wearing right now was the Management Bureau research team.
Research team. A team that makes all sorts of things, as the name implies.
The HR Team rarely interacts with the research team, so we're neither close nor at odds, but I'd heard they weren't the type to pull crazy stunts.
"They weren't particularly remarkable people. Oh, don't misunderstand. I don't mean they were bad—people who cause trouble usually show signs first."
Like doing insane things, she muttered as she looked at Yoo Daon, who just shrugged indifferently.
"Honestly, I don't have many memories of my parents. We separated when I was young, and they didn't come home often."
"..."
A flicker of guilt crossed the Branch Chief's face as she listened, but Yoo Daon continued indifferently.
"Because of that, I always wanted to be with my parents when I was little."
"..."
"But in the end, the place they took me was the hospital..."
Yoo Daon finished with a bitter smile, and we all averted our gazes from her.
Honestly, we didn't know what to say.
"...How do you all end up with such tumultuous lives?"
Song Arin muttered with a sigh, looking away, while Jang Chaeyeon said nothing but just gazed at Yoo Daon with pity.
"Still, at the hospital... well, I mean. Um."
Yoo Daon furrowed her brow slightly, as if pondering something.
"I went through a lot at the hospital, but if it hadn't been for that place, would I be able to talk to people like this now?"
"What you say sometimes doesn't even sound like human conversation..."
"Arin."
"Okay, okay, I get it."
When I cautioned Song Arin, she grumbled and crossed her arms.
"You always pick on me."
"...Sorry."
"...That was my bad this time, so it's fine."
Ever since that last incident, saying stuff like that made me feel too guilty. It left me unsure what to say sometimes.
Song Arin seemed to recall it too, rolling her eyes and mumbling to herself.
"...So, what are we going to do?"
Jang Chaeyeon tilted her head as she looked around at me and the others, and the Branch Chief spoke up.
"For starters, it's a relief it's not the hospital. They won't pull off something ridiculous like that kidnapping last time."
Her words brought back memories of last time.
I was startled, waking up from sleep at the company to find myself in the middle of the hospital.
"But since they're from the Management Bureau..."
The Branch Chief trailed off as she looked at me.
"They won't harass you enough that Kim Jaeheon has to come looking?"
"Harass?"
I tilted my head at her, and the Branch Chief continued with an "Mm."
"For example, making Kim Jaeheon angry enough to come find them... or harassing Yoo Daon or the others..."
"Then yeah, I probably couldn't hold back."
"You have to hold back. What kind of talk is that?"
Jang Chaeyeon scolded me, and I shrugged as I looked at her.
"Then what if someone randomly harasses me, kidnaps me, and threatens you, Chaeyeon? What would you do?"
"I'd kill them."
"And yet you're scolding me?"
This is ridiculous.
"For now... uhmm..."
The Branch Chief was pondering hard, lost in thought.
"I've been thinking if there's a good solution, but nothing comes to mind."
She crossed her arms with a sigh.
"But I can't just send you off; I'd worry too much."
"...Should we all huddle together and sleep again like last time?"
"No. That's too primitive a solution now."
Fair enough. It was primitive. And it even failed.
I nodded, and the Branch Chief groaned, deep in thought.
"There's something I've been wanting to try."
"Not the Funny Box, right?"
"Funny Box?"
"Oh, no. Nothing."
Come to think of it, Funny Box was a name we made up, so the Branch Chief wouldn't know.
I hurriedly shook my head, and the Branch Chief, giving me a curious look, continued.
"Anyway, my idea is to borrow something from the Management Team."
"...Yes."
Somehow, that sounds ominous.
As I looked at the Branch Chief with that thought, she shook her head and smiled.
"It's not anything weird. They said the Management Team is especially grateful to Kim Jaeheon."
"...Yes?"
That's strange. Weren't all the memories from Act 3 already gone?
"So, everyone says they don't know why, but they feel like they owe you a huge debt..."
The Branch Chief trailed off as she pulled something from her pocket.
"...They lent it right away, more easily than I expected."
"Isn't this a violation of Management Bureau rules?"
"In the Gangseo Branch, I'm the law."
With that, what she pulled out was,
"An air freshener?"
"Right. An air freshener."
I stared at the air freshener blankly, and a translucent window popped up.
[Name: Air Freshener]
[Age: Created 10 years ago]
[Specialty: Persistent Odor]
[Talents: None]
[Background: When the Management Bureau was pursuing them, they used this to somehow evade the pursuit.]
[Weakness: It disappears once fully used up.]
The description is a bit unsettling.
As I thought that and looked at the Branch Chief, she had already opened the lid and placed it in the office.
"...Ugh... the smell...!"
Yoo Daon hurriedly covered her nose and dashed outside.
"...What's she doing?"
Song Arin looked at Yoo Daon in disbelief, and I closed my eyes and sniffed, but I didn't smell anything unusual.
"I'm fine."
"Maybe the black-haired one is beyond human limits?"
"Arin."
"Okay, okay."
Song Arin snapped at my words, and the Branch Chief began explaining slowly.
"Probably Yoo Daon's sense of smell is heightened. Kim Jaeheon, your vision might be affected too."
Vision?
I glanced above the Branch Chief's head.
[Name: 2XX years old]
[Age: Yi Haneul]
[Specialty: Indestructible]
[Talents: Indestructible]
[Background: None.]
[Weakness: Knows you're looking at her now and hid only the last digit of her age.]
"It has changed a bit."
"Right?"
The Branch Chief nodded at my words, and I headed for the door.
"For now, I'll go get Daon-"
"Wait a second."
Before I could finish, the Branch Chief held out her hand, looking at me and the others.
"This works out well. Listen up ahead of time."
"...What?"
"How to kill Yoo Daon."
"...Yes?"
What nonsense is this?
I stared at the Branch Chief, and she slowly opened her mouth.
"It might be good to know. Just in case."