Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 79. Find the Moon
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Of course, working for the Management Bureau, I knew they were hiding all sorts of secrets from their employees.
And I also knew that I, naturally, wouldn't be privy to those secrets.
"...Heh."
But maybe that wasn't the case.
I let out a hollow laugh as I stared at the staircase revealed beneath the split desk.
The old iron stairs, visible to anyone, made one imagine just how ancient the Management Bureau's history was.
"This way."
"Understood."
I followed behind the branch manager as she descended the stairs without hesitation, her smile unwavering.
I glanced subtly above her head.
[Name: -]
[Age: -]
[Specialty: -]
[Talent: Indestructible]
[Background: -]
[Weakness: -]
Her information was still invisible.
"...Did you just check me out again?"
"Sorry. It was a reflex."
I'd hoped I might see something now, but she was still out of reach.
She turned her head slightly to look at me.
Her eyes remained closed, so she didn't seem angry.
"I get what you're doing, but you should be more careful. Talented people will know the instant you look at them."
What did that mean?
As I furrowed my brow, pondering her words, we reached the bottom of the seemingly endless staircase.
It was a place lit by orange lamps.
This basement-like area had massive iron doors attached all around, like bunker entrances.
"...What is this place?"
The branch manager casually sat in a chair, and at my dumbfounded question, she smiled, wagging her finger in response.
"A branch manager can't not know the Management Bureau's secret spots."
That wasn't an answer to my question.
Catching the meaning in my gaze, she shook her head with a helpless expression before speaking.
"First off, this is a shortcut."
"A shortcut...?"
"You've taken the Management Bureau subway from Seoul Station before, right?"
She meant the trip to the Gangdong branch.
I nodded at her words.
"Then it'll be easy to understand. This is another version of the subway."
Another version?
"In other words, you can head to other branches through the passages here."
"Exactly."
She nodded with a smile.
"But that's not what it's used for."
"If you're saying..."
As I spoke, she scanned the numerous doors before opening her mouth.
"It's used for two main purposes. First, times like now, when you need a private conversation."
Her eyes fixed on one door.
It was the largest iron door.
It was conspicuously bigger than the others, and the key difference was...
"...No handle?"
It was an iron door without a handle. Perfectly smooth, it was impossible to tell how it even opened.
Soon, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Name: Iron Door]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: Selection]
[Background: When the time comes, this door will open for humanity's last hope.]
[Weakness: On that day, this door will open automatically.]
What the hell did that mean.
I frowned slightly at the door, then glanced sideways just in case. The branch manager was watching me with a smile.
"Did you see it?"
"...A little."
At my words, she laughed delightedly and perched on the desk, crossing her legs.
"You might learn when the time comes, or maybe not."
"..."
"Sorry. My position makes me play these Zen master games sometimes. Try to understand my side."
"Of course."
She probably had reasons not to tell. And reasons I shouldn't know.
It was like learning from Team Leader's attitude.
I know nothing, and even if I learn something, I pretend not to.
I nodded slowly at her words, and she smiled, pulling the desk toward her.
The heavy-looking iron desk lifted effortlessly in one hand.
"Anyway, first, about that guy Kim Chanhho you saw."
"Yes."
"For starters, he 'voluntarily' resigned."
"..."
I sank into thought.
"But there are some odd parts."
"Odd parts...?"
What could be so strange.
The branch manager looked at me and smiled softly, handing over a sheet of paper.
"How to put it... he's too ordinary."
She handed me the document.
"Take a look."
I began reading the document she gave me.
Name... Kim Chanhho. Age and department matched what I'd seen with my own eyes.
There wasn't a single unusual point.
It was just the story of someone who'd worked at the Management Bureau for a few years and quit because the job didn't suit them.
"Interpersonal relations weren't bad, but not great either. Performance was always average or slightly above."
As I read the paper, the branch manager began explaining.
"For a guy like that to show up at an amusement park is weird."
"It wasn't just showing up."
"Right. And throwing weapons at Containment Team response speeds? That's off too."
"...He had abilities."
At my words, she raised one eyebrow.
"Abilities?"
"He had abilities."
"What kind?"
"Storage."
"..."
At my words, she rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"That doesn't add up."
"Why not?"
"The Management Bureau isn't run by idiots."
She looked at me and continued calmly.
"We're not fooled by ability users pretending to be normals. We've got plenty of experience, equipment, and know-how built up over time."
"Then maybe we got fooled this time?"
"That would mean he's from another organization, or already assimilated by a containment object..."
She trailed off.
"The most obvious possibilities are two."
She sighed.
"First, we got duped."
"And second?"
"Or he awakened his ability in the meantime."
"..."
Awakening mid-way was possible, of course. I got mine after the college entrance exam, after all.
"But for someone like that, his ability usage seemed pretty skilled."
He threw knives well too.
"Human abilities don't improve that easily."
She nodded.
"You'd have to know him intimately... or know exactly how to awaken his ability... even then, awakening someone else's ability isn't simple."
"..."
Know him inside out, or know him well.
"...Got it for now."
Circumstantially, there were a few suspects.
The cross the man carried, the necklace that revives once. Finally, the fate he found.
Someone must have told him his fate, or he gained a new realization himself.
If so, who could grant that realization...
Thinking I was lost in other thoughts, she continued.
"Anyway, we've got some surveillance on him now."
"Surveillance?"
At my mutter, she looked at me and pressed her index finger to her lips.
"It's a secret."
"Understood."
What could I do if she didn't want to say.
"Oh, and."
She looked at me and smiled apologetically.
"I'm really sorry."
Already had a bad feeling.
"Could you head to the Gangbuk branch on a dispatch?"
"...Dispatch?"
The Cube incident flashed in my mind, and I couldn't help eyeing her warily.
"Not right away. When the time comes, you'll have to go once. Their branch manager is named Kim Pilsu..."
She let out a deep sigh.
"He's been so noisy about wanting to see you."
For the first time, her voice held an emotion other than amusement.
If I had to name it, contempt.
"Anyway, just this once. I'm asking nicely. You absolutely won't get dragged into anything. I guarantee it."
She bowed her head to me, and in the end, as a mere company employee, I had no choice but to accept her request.
What could I do when she bowed and guaranteed it like that.
*
"...Tired."
I hadn't done anything, yet why so exhausted.
I flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
My thoughts tangled.
Some bizarre individual or group targeting us, especially me.
For now, info was limited, so all I could do was prepare.
"..."
I pieced together the puzzle in my head.
The most suspicious one stood out, but...
"...Gotta find them first... to do anything..."
I muttered and drifted off.
Then, a sense of wrongness jolted my eyes open.
I was sitting in a plush chair.
"...What?"
I muttered, looking around.
Red curtains spread before me.
And besides my chair, just one other chair nearby.
I tried to stand, but my body wouldn't obey.
-Thud.
Soon, someone sat in the other chair.
Purple hair gleamed, reflecting the red curtain light.
"...What?"
Song Arin whipped her head around, reacting just like me.
"What is this..."
She strained to rise, but her body didn't move either.
She frantically scanned around, then spotted me.
"...Ah."
Both she and I wore expressions of sudden realization.
"...Song Arin."
"Yeah. Same as me."
She looked around with a tense face.
Soon, a voice echoed from everywhere.
[Hello? Dear audience.]
A voice like scraping metal.
Song Arin flinched, but the voice continued undeterred.
[We wanted to meet you sooner, but... due to our lacking abilities, our plan to hold Act 2 on the cruise was completely blocked by sea creatures.]
So they lost to the sea monster after all.
As I thought that, the voice kept going.
[But we'll use this dream to give you an unforgettable story. It's necessary for the 'completion' of the play as well.]
Completion?
I writhed desperately, but nothing happened.
[Act 2 begins.]
The red curtains parted, and my consciousness blurred.
[A Midsummer Night's Dream.]
And before my eyes.
"...What is this."
Song Arin stood there in a purple dress, holding the hem of her skirt.
A backless dress with her usually loose hair perfectly pinned up.
Her nape and back gleamed under moonlight, and as she lifted her skirt hem, looking around, our eyes met.
Her bare legs were exposed uncomfortably up to her thighs.
The moment our eyes met, she froze, her ears turning bright red, and she muttered to me.
"Turn around."
"Got it."
I turned around quickly at her words.
The night sky filled my view.
A dark sky without the moon, yet moonlight shone like spotlights from everywhere.
Someone whispered to me.
[Find the moon.]
My temples throbbed.