Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Superhuman Management Bureau (4)
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“H-Hiiieeeek!”
Chae Seol-ah let out a scream and stumbled backward at the bizarre spectacle of characters filling her vision.
Of course, in her panic, her feet weren't going to move as she wanted.
Chae Seol-ah soon twisted her ankle and fell flat on her back.
As she screamed and toppled over, Lee Min-hyuk and Choi Eun-ji, who had been standing guard nearby, jumped in alarm and rushed to her side.
“Agent Chae?!”
“Agent Chae! What happened?”
Chae Seol-ah stammered a reply, her hands trembling as she fumbled for words.
“Th-That... just now...!”
At that moment.
Her eyes met something, and Chae Seol-ah let out a shrill scream.
“Kyaaak!”
Terrified, she clutched her head and curled into a ball.
At the sight, Lee Min-hyuk and Choi Eun-ji swallowed dryly and turned their heads.
There, beyond the glass wall, a pair of eerie red eyes stared straight at them.
“T-Team Leader, is that thing looking right at us?”
“...Probably just a coincidence.”
“No way! It's definitely staring through us!”
Honestly, Lee Min-hyuk thought the same.
But that was impossible.
This glass wall was enchanted with magic, so not even the most exceptional clairvoyants could see through it. They'd tested it themselves with top-tier clairvoyants during production.
So there was absolutely no way to see beyond the glass wall.
'How, though...!'
Lee Min-hyuk swallowed hard.
He turned to see Choi Eun-ji frozen in tension and Chae Seol-ah crawling toward the exit in that short span.
“F-First, let's get out of here.”
Lee Min-hyuk helped the crawling Chae Seol-ah to her feet, then dragged the still-rigid Choi Eun-ji outside.
Lee Min-hyuk took the two straight to a small conference room in the main headquarters.
The door slammed shut with a bang!, and Choi Eun-ji immediately shouted.
“D-Does this make any sense?”
“Calm down.”
“No, does it? How did she do that? How did she see through it?”
“Agent Choi.”
“Am I dreaming? A nightmare? Some horror movie dream?”
“Choi Eun-ji!”
Lee Min-hyuk barked, snapping Choi Eun-ji out of her panic-fueled rambling.
“Ah...”
“Get a grip. What are you doing?”
“S-Sorry. I wasn't thinking...”
Lee Min-hyuk stared at Choi Eun-ji for a moment, then turned left.
Chae Seol-ah, whom he'd seated in a chair, had vanished.
“Eek! Eek!”
They found the missing Chae Seol-ah at the emergency exit door of the conference room.
She was wrestling with the handle.
“O-Open! Open up!”
Lee Min-hyuk pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply at Chae Seol-ah's teary attempt to escape.
He'd known her personality for a while, but seeing it firsthand still drew a sigh.
“Agent Choi, calm her down.”
“Yes, sir.”
After handing off the mentally checked-out Chae Seol-ah, Lee Min-hyuk fiddled with the cigarettes in his pocket.
He wanted to light one right there, but his sense of propriety as a professional held him back.
“Haa.”
As he wrestled with it briefly, Choi Eun-ji had already succeeded in calming Chae Seol-ah.
Chae Seol-ah approached Lee Min-hyuk with a tearful face and whimpered.
“S-Sorry, Team Leader...”
“It's fine. More importantly, how'd the measurement go?”
“W-Well...”
Chae Seol-ah hesitated, rolling her eyes before mumbling.
“It... didn't work.”
“...Didn't work? You mean it failed?”
“I... I'm not sure. Sorry.”
Chae Seol-ah bowed her head deeply.
Lee Min-hyuk stared at her for a long while before covering his face with both hands. A sigh escaped him.
“Haa.”
Even Chae Seol-ah had failed to measure Kim Hyun's rank.
The Akashic Manual that had even uncovered strategies for national power-level hunters.
That meant Kim Hyun's power might exceed national power-level.
Lee Min-hyuk, who knew exactly what a determined national power-level hunter could do, couldn't even imagine something beyond that.
Controlling such a being? Unthinkable.
“...Well, paperwork's inevitable now.”
With another sigh, Lee Min-hyuk left Chae Seol-ah in the conference room and headed back to Kim Hyun's room with Choi Eun-ji.
At the door, he took a deep breath and pulled the handle.
Slam!
Kim Hyun, lounging in the armchair, turned her head.
She'd apparently been sitting motionless since earlier.
Kim Hyun's eyes curved into a smile as she looked at Lee Min-hyuk.
“Took you long enough?”
“...The measurement is complete.”
At that, Kim Hyun smirked.
“Oh? Really?”
Her attitude suggested the obvious lie was amusingly cute.
Soon, smiling Kim Hyun shrugged and asked.
“So, what's my measured rank?”
“S-Rank.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. S-Rank.”
Lee Min-hyuk judged assigning S-Rank was fine.
She was at least S-Rank. He had no confidence in subduing her 1-on-1 himself.
If she matched S-Rank prowess, then she was S-Rank.
Kim Hyun pouted at that.
“Aw, boring. So boring.”
“I'll explain the next steps. Please come out.”
Lee Min-hyuk stepped aside from the entrance.
Kim Hyun laced her fingers behind her head, clicking her tongue as she strolled out.
And as she brushed past Lee Min-hyuk.
“That one? She's got something fun going on.”
Turning, Kim Hyun grinned.
“Introduce us later?”
“...”
Choi Eun-ji and Lee Min-hyuk exchanged stiff glances. But they quickly composed themselves and led Kim Hyun to a reception room.
Lee Min-hyuk gestured for Kim Hyun to sit on the sofa, then took a seat opposite with Choi Eun-ji. He pulled out a notepad and pen.
“We'll do a simple background check.”
“Already did that at the station.”
“We'll delete those records. Sorry, but please cooperate again.”
“Whatever.”
Kim Hyun narrowed her eyes.
“What if I lie?”
Choi Eun-ji bowed her head slightly.
“I can detect lies.”
“Oh?”
Kim Hyun licked her lips. Then, draping her arms over the sofa back, she nodded.
“Fine.”
“Let's begin.”
Lee Min-hyuk fixed his gaze on the notepad and asked.
“Do you remember the year you first entered the otherworld?”
“2025. Don't recall the exact date.”
Choi Eun-ji nodded.
“Truth.”
“Good. How many years were you there?”
“10,000 years.”
'10,000 years?'
What kind of joke was that? 10,000 years?
As Lee Min-hyuk furrowed his brow.
Choi Eun-ji flinched beside him.
Lee Min-hyuk, scribbling furiously, turned puzzled.
Choi Eun-ji's face was rigid as stone.
“Truth.”
“What?”
Lee Min-hyuk looked bewildered.
'That's true?'
He stared at her long, but her answer didn't change. Finally, he spoke again.
“...From what world did you return?”
“Hell.”
“...What abilities can you use?”
“Anything a demon can do.”
“Demon?”
“Strictly speaking, I'm not human. I'm a demon.”
“...”
And it was all true.
Nothing after surprised him anymore.
Lee Min-hyuk focused on extracting info from Kim Hyun.
After a long while.
The interview ended.
Lee Min-hyuk exhaled held breath.
He glanced at his notes, then looked up at Kim Hyun.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
'Like some novel's setting bible.'
But all true.
The moment that thought hit.
“Don't rely on that ability too much, though?”
“Pardon?”
Kim Hyun pointed at Choi Eun-ji.
“Your power? Not hard to fool. I could do it right now.”
Choi Eun-ji's face hardened instantly.
She turned to Lee Min-hyuk, face crumpling.
“It's true... Team Leader.”
“...”
Lee Min-hyuk covered his face again.
He just wanted to go home.
“There's a Returnee Social Reintegration Program.”
Lee Min-hyuk, looking haggard, broached the topic.
“That thing you mentioned in the car?”
“Yes. It's for safe societal reintegration for returnees. You'll need to follow its schedule from here on.”
Choi Eun-ji added.
“It includes professional psychological therapy and resocialization training on norms. We provide vocational training, job placement for adaptation, and short-term housing support.”
“You give me a place to live?”
For real?
Well, sure, not some Han River-view luxury apartment in Seoul, but renting a place was impressive enough.
'Han River-view still the best, huh?'
Curious, but he didn't ask.
“What if I say no?”
I crossed my arms, staring at Lee Min-hyuk.
“What if I don't want your program?”
“You don't have to. It's not mandatory.”
Lee Min-hyuk scratched his neck awkwardly.
“But you might not have a place to stay for a while.”
I sighed.
“Money's always my enemy.”
I was flat broke.
I could shatter the Earth, but couldn't buy candy from a convenience store.
This smartwatch I was wearing? Basically strong-armed from Team Leader.
No place to sleep, either.
'Gotta make some cash.'
Obviously, to fit into modern society. Can't just kill and take like in hell.
“Fine. I'll do the program.”
Their faces lit up.
“Great choice!”
“We'll assign housing today. Fully equipped with appliances—no inconveniences.”
“Skip that. Introduce me to that interesting girl from earlier.”
I crossed my arms, eyeing them steadily.
“Don't dodge.”
“Ahaha...”
“That's, uh. Just wait a bit...”
Right then.
“Ooh! It's real?”
A frivolous exclamation came from somewhere.
Turning, I saw a burly man in a gray suit at the distant entrance.
“Who's that?”
As I tilted my head, the man kicked off the ground.
In an instant, he leaped dozens of meters, landing precisely before us.
The man stroked his chin, muttering.
“Wow. Real beauty. Never imagined photos didn't do her justice. Perfect.”
After eyeing me up and down thoroughly, he flashed a toothy grin.
“Yeah, she passes.”
He lifted his sunglasses.
Revealing golden pupils hidden behind the lenses.
Seeing those eyes, I couldn't help but laugh.
The desire swirling in them was crystal clear to me.
'This kind of treatment? Been a while.'
Fun. So fun, Earth.
Good call coming back.
As I thought that, the man extended his hand.
“I'm Hwang Won-uk from Seosung. Let's contract. Right now.”
The abrupt words ended, and Team Leader Lee stepped forward.
“Director Hwang, you can't do this.”
“Why not? Guild spots talent, offers contract? What's wrong with scouting?”
“She just returned. Hasn't finished reintegration.”
“Irrelevant to contracting. Signing with us doesn't block that lame program, right?”
“...Director Hwang.”
“Intent's hers to decide, not the Bureau's call.”
“That's...”
Caught off-guard, Lee Min-hyuk faltered.
“Team Leader, let's be pros. Pros. Yeah?”
Looking down, Hwang Won-uk patted Lee Min-hyuk's shoulder. He flinched at the intimidating demeanor.
'He's outmatched in strength, huh.'
Whatever. I felt generous.
“Hey.”
Hwang Won-uk turned at my call.
“So, you want to contract with me?”
A massive grin spread across his face.
“Wow, straightforward like your looks. Haha. Smart choice. Seosung Guild boasts overwhelming funds...”
As Hwang Won-uk droned on with boring, pretentious spiel, I raised my right hand.
And flipped him off.
“...”
Hwang Won-uk's brow twitched briefly.
I smirked.
“Not interested.”