Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Cross Counter
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"No matter how I think about it, wouldn't I win?"
Song Arin opened her mouth with an incredulous expression.
"Both of you—I could make you tap dance until you're exhausted and collapse if I really wanted to."
"Before you can pull any nonsense, I could smash your head in."
Jang Chaeyeon narrowed her eyes and shot back at Song Arin's words.
The two were staring each other down when Yoo Daon suddenly raised her hand timidly.
"...I think I'd win if we fought too...?"
Both their gazes turned to her at once, and Yoo Daon muttered in a voice that seemed to sink into the ground.
"...If it's a single round, I could win."
"Me too."
Both nodded in agreement.
I agreed as well. If it went to a short, decisive battle, the two of them might beat Yoo Daon, but in a prolonged fight—or especially with Jang Chaeyeon—even a moment's lapse in concentration could let Yoo Daon take the win.
Who could beat Yoo Daon in a war of attrition to begin with? I didn't even have confidence I'd win.
The sound of chair wheels rolling came as the Team Leader stood from his seat.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"I'm craving coffee right now, so I'm heading out. The Response Team gave us those coffee coupons."
The Team Leader pulled some coffee coupons from his drawer.
After the amusement park incident wrapped up, Ailin had returned to her team.
Along with words about owing us a great debt, she'd sent various gifts, including these coffee coupons used within the Management Bureau for reasons I couldn't fathom.
I recalled the conversation we'd had in the truck on the way back.
Certain people watching over her without her knowledge.
'Ailin.'
'Yeah.'
'It might sound bad, but there could be people backing you from the shadows.'
'...'
'Sorry. But... be careful. Whether it's goodwill or not, you never know.'
'I'll keep that in mind.'
'Sorry.'
'No, it makes sense.'
When I'd shared my thoughts, she'd nodded as if understanding, responding just like that.
With a promise to stay cautious, she'd headed back to Response Team duties.
"I'll go with—"
"Don't."
"But I..."
The Team Leader turned and stared straight at me.
"You stay."
"...Yes."
His commanding presence, laced with the implication that I knew the situation full well, left me nodding in submission.
"Handle this well."
"Me?"
"It's not like I can do it."
With that, the Team Leader leisurely left his seat.
After watching him go, I turned to the two still bickering.
"Ugh, from the moment you shamelessly showed up here from the Gangdong branch, I thought you were bad news."
"What about all the people uncomfortable with your attitude?"
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon were no longer debating strength—they were fully embroiled in a personal grudge match.
"Please, just stop fighting already."
They weren't kids—how could they start scrapping like this the second I looked away?
I sighed and spread my hands wide.
"There's no such thing as strong or weak to begin with. Everyone just has their strengths and weaknesses."
"You're saying that because you're the strongest out of the four of us."
"Kim Jaeheon is in a league of his own anyway."
"..."
Song Arin crossed her arms and grumbled, while Yoo Daon and Jang Chaeyeon nodded along.
"...Me?"
"No? Taking down entities that even give the Management Bureau trouble in one shot isn't easy."
"I couldn't do it."
"Me neither!"
All three nodded.
They had to be misunderstanding something. Did they think I was some ability user who killed everything with one bullet?
I pondered her words.
...It did seem plausible enough.
But my own thoughts differed.
Fighting Yoo Daon? I'd die once and be done. Against Jang Chaeyeon? I'd get crushed before firing a shot.
Song Arin... I could probably win.
She was basically a regular person in front of me anyway.
Sensing my gaze, Song Arin put her hands on her hips and glared.
"What's with that smug look?"
"No, I just think I'd beat you, Song Arin."
"Staring like that at someone you're matchup-wise doomed to lose to—does it make you feel good?"
As Song Arin fumed, Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon blinked and responded.
"But why would I fight Kim Jaeheon?"
"I have no intention of fighting Jaeheon either."
"You idiots. Do I want to? It's a hypothetical—if."
Song Arin thumped her chest in frustration and sighed.
"Anyway, forget her—you two, I won't lose to either of you."
"..."
"..."
The two stared at Song Arin in silence.
Soon, Jang Chaeyeon spoke up.
"Wanna test that curiosity?"
"Hah, fine. I'll have you crawling on all fours barking like a dog before you even regain your senses."
"Your forehead will have a hole in it first."
"Hold on, hold on."
I stretched out both hands to halt the escalating exchange.
"No, stop fighting first. How are you even going to fight? Should I go to the Management Bureau and borrow an empty lot or something?"
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon looked at me like I'd said something novel.
"Borrow a lot? We can fight right inside the Management Bureau."
"Yeah."
"Huh?"
Yoo Daon and I exchanged glances. Another thing only we didn't know about.
"Oh, right, you two might not know. Why do I feel like I'm hanging with rookie Containment Team members around you guys?"
Song Arin clapped and looked at me and Yoo Daon.
"There's a place inside where you can fight."
*
-Thud!
An ominous sound came from beyond the door.
"What's this place?"
"The spot inside the Management Bureau you've been wondering about for fights."
"No, I mean—why does this even exist?"
"Why wouldn't it? Even Containment Team folks need to hone their abilities."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon gave me looks like it was obvious.
"I had no idea a place like this existed."
"Of course you wouldn't. You're office staff...? Right?"
Song Arin trailed off uncertainly at "office staff."
Suppressing the urge to flick her forehead, I eyed the door.
"Looks like someone's in there."
"Probably the Gangseo branch Containment Team..."
"Ah, those lunatics."
"If they're already using it—"
"We'll use another room."
Song Arin narrowed her eyes at my words, muttered, then opened the door.
The door swung wide.
Inside was utterly barren.
If I had to describe it, the interior seemed to defy the laws of physics.
A green mat floor like the taekwondo dojo from my childhood, windows letting in sunlight without revealing the outside, an invisible ceiling of vast height.
Massive walls divided the space, as if the Management Bureau had thoughtfully partitioned it for separate training sessions.
I gaped, taking it all in.
It was like five huge baseball domes combined.
"...How did they even make this?"
"This? They use a containment object."
"..."
I stared at Song Arin in disbelief, and Jang Chaeyeon chimed in by way of explanation.
"It's a tool-type object. The Management Bureau collected it and now uses it as a training room."
How do you even collect something like this?
As that question lingered, a bizarre sound echoed from somewhere.
-Roll roll roll!
Like someone tumbling?
I furrowed my brow, focusing on the noise, when Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon simultaneously grabbed me and Yoo Daon and pulled us inside.
Soon, a wall descended from the endless ceiling, sealing off a private space.
Spacious enough to play soccer, even if enclosed.
"Getting caught by that maniac is a hassle. Better to avoid him."
"..."
Song Arin muttered wearily, and Jang Chaeyeon nodded.
"The maniac?"
"Remember that ace from the Gangseo branch Containment Team I mentioned before?"
Jang Chaeyeon looked at me and spoke.
"Ah. Yeah, I do."
The one she insisted was weird.
I nodded, and she let out a low sigh.
"That's the guy."
"...Why him?"
"He's an oddball."
"Hey! Enough. Get ready to fight."
Song Arin snapped sharply at Jang Chaeyeon, and Yoo Daon began warming up too.
"...Daon, you're doing it too?"
"I have to!"
Yoo Daon stretched as if it were obvious.
"Guess I'll go after you two finish!"
As Yoo Daon smiled and said that, Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon faced each other.
They glared with deadly serious expressions.
I'd heard bits from Song Arin, but clearly, there was something between them I didn't know.
"Time me."
"Got it. Three, two—"
As I began the countdown, they locked eyes intently.
"..."
"..."
In the suffocating tension, their gazes clashed with full sincerity, no games.
"One."
-Thud!
"...Urk..."
"...Woof!"
The match ended instantly.
Song Arin clutched her head as if something had stabbed her crown, stumbling before collapsing.
Jang Chaeyeon squatted down and started barking like a dog.
"...Already over?"
"Woof!"
Muttering in dismay, I watched Jang Chaeyeon grin at me, leap, and tackle me.
"Wha—"
I hit the floor with her on top, and Yoo Daon widened her eyes, grabbing her shoulders to pull her off.
Our eyes met.
Jang Chaeyeon beamed down at me,
then hugged me tight.
"W-Wait, Chaeyeon!"
"Woof!"
"Jaeheon! No, Chaeyeon...! Snap out of it...!"
"Chaeyeon! Hold on! Don't lick— No, that tickles—"
"Woof!"
"Stop sticking so close! I don't know where to put my hands!"
In the end, it took 30 minutes for Jang Chaeyeon to regain her senses, and a full hour for Song Arin—hit on the crown—to wake up.
The fight concluded immediately, and by the two's firm resolve, the incident was deemed never to have happened.
*
Not long after, upper management summoned me sooner than expected, saying they'd obtained information.
The surprise was that the Gangseo branch chief called for me personally.
"...So, the reason you called me..."
"You're thinking exactly right."
The Gangseo branch chief nodded as she looked at me.
"I'm here to discuss the series of events at the 'amusement park' last time."
She gazed at me.
"First, there's something I need to show you."
She stood, tapped the pen on her desk twice right in the center.
With a rumble, the desk split open, revealing stairs.
"...Are we talking here?"
She stared straight at me.
The same smile as always, eyes narrowed inscrutably.