Chapter 83
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: The Invisible Person (18)
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“…I’m gonna die.”
Young-mu panted heavily. Bo-young, standing behind him, looked at him with utter disdain.
“You’re already this wiped out? You really need to work out.”
Young-mu paused for a moment at Bo-young’s words, delivered with a tsk of her tongue. Then he shook his head.
“No, no, no way. No matter what, this is just… you’re the weird one here…”
Of course, Young-mu never exercised in his normal life, so his lack of strength was true enough, but this place had way too much work to do. He panted weakly. Before he knew it, his feet had stopped moving.
“Hey, who told you to stop? Hurry up and get to work. You think someone just handed you a place to crash?”
Bo-young spoke like a tyrannical boss.
“Work, work!”
At a glance, Bo-young seemed like the bad guy, but in reality, she was working right alongside him.
In fact, she was zipping around right now with 12-liter water jugs in both hands.
“What the hell is she…?”
Young-mu shook his head in disbelief. Watching Bo-young stride far ahead, he wondered if she was even human.
Still, once they got through this, it’d be over. Young-mu gritted his teeth.
“Just… one… more…”
Of course, that one more was brutally tough. Pouring every ounce of his strength into it, Young-mu dragged his feet forward.
Only after finishing the very last delivery did Young-mu collapse.
Back when they’d first said they were going to do volunteer work, he hadn’t expected it to be this grueling. Carrying water by hand in a neighborhood where even a cart couldn’t pass was far more backbreaking labor than he’d imagined.
Young-mu sat down right there, then just flopped straight onto his back.
He couldn’t even mutter, “I’m gonna die…” The pain was at a level that made him wonder if he’d even be able to get up tomorrow.
“Why are you so weak?”
Bo-young looked down at him with pity.
“I used up… all my strength…”
Young-mu barely managed to say.
“Hmm, no stamina, that’s for sure.”
Bo-young remarked as if appraising him. It irked him a bit, but he didn’t have the energy to snap back.
“But you’ve got grit, that’s clear. Honestly, I thought you’d tap out before the end.”
“…Damn it.”
He regretted not resting a little. Bo-young giggled and said,
“You stuck it out to the end, didn’t you? That’s impressive. Even people who do this regularly bail sometimes.”
“You call that praise…? So, why the hell are we doing this? It’s not like it pays.”
“I’ll cover your pay, remember? Got a problem with that?”
It was volunteer work. Of course it didn’t pay. Still, since Bo-young was covering his daily wage, it wasn’t a loss for Young-mu, but she wasn’t gaining anything from it.
“I mean… not complaining, exactly. Just don’t get it. Why are you shelling out your own money to make me do volunteer work? What do you get out of it?”
“Hmm, well, you can gain unexpected insights from stuff like this, that’s true—but it’s mostly an excuse.”
Bo-young looked like she was debating whether to tell him. But soon, she nodded decisively and spoke.
“This was a test.”
“A test?”
“Yeah, a test. I worked you hard all day, and you passed, barely. Stamina can be built up. Skills? You managed to lurk in that school for years, so they’re top-notch. Plenty of good points all around.”
Young-mu stared at her, eyes asking what she meant. But Bo-young didn’t elaborate.
“Hey, you got anything you wanna do?”
Bo-young asked.
“Something I wanna… do?”
Panting, Young-mu answered.
“Nope.”
“Well, sure, when you were hiding in school, of course not. I mean now—what do you want to do?”
“Nope.”
Not yet. He’d just suddenly been thrust outside. Young-mu still couldn’t figure out where he fit or what he should do.
“No ambition, huh. Makes sense, given your story—it was out of your hands. Wait, no—actually, this worked out perfect!”
Bo-young said that and grinned.
“Hey, wanna be my assistant?”
“...?”
“Assistant! My assistant!”
“What kind of assistant?”
Young-mu didn’t catch on right away.
“You know, high tide, low tide? I mean, work for me.”
“Pfft.”
The absurdity drew a chuckle out of him.
“Who are you to have an assistant?”
Bo-young was just a student. Not someone grand enough to need one.
“Me?”
But Bo-young shouted confidently.
“I’m gonna be a detective someday!”
“A detective?”
It was ridiculous.
“Like Sherlock Holmes or something?”
“Nah, that’s not my style.”
Bo-young shook her head.
“I’m not into fictional detectives to begin with. I just can’t stand not knowing something once I get curious. I have to dig into it. And that process? It’s pure joy. For someone like me, detective work is the only thing that fits.”
“…No way.”
It sounded like a joke. But Young-mu couldn’t dismiss it.
Considering her passionate eyes and the action she’d shown so far, it wasn’t something he could just laugh off.
“You really think it’s impossible?”
Bo-young’s eyes were earnest, yet still rock-solid.
“…Nah.”
Young-mu shook his head.
“Might actually happen.”
He’d only seen her in action once, but that was enough. She’d tracked him down just because she’d spotted him once at the entrance ceremony. If he hadn’t become invisible, he probably would’ve been caught by this woman right in front of him.
Young-mu felt certain of it.
“You could pull it off.”
“Good eye. But it’s not ‘might’—it will happen. It’s a sure thing. Problem is, I can’t do everything alone, right?”
Bo-young said. Young-mu gave a wry smile.
“…So full of confidence.”
“Yeah. I’ve got the skills and the passion. So, wanna be my assistant?”
“Why ask me? Plenty of other people out there.”
“Hmm, why indeed?”
Was she just pitching this to anyone? Young-mu wondered. Reading his expression, Bo-young asked,
“You think I scout just anyone?”
“…You don’t?”
“Nope. You’re actually the first I’ve straight-up told about my detective goal. Others won’t even give me the time of day.”
Out of everyone she’d seen, only two seemed promising, but their paths were too different from hers.
“I decided only to say this to people who wouldn’t laugh it off and would seriously say it’s possible. Turns out, you’re the first!”
The fact that it was her first offer left Young-mu a bit flustered.
“So, let me ask again.”
Bo-young’s eyes sparkled as she asked,
“You’ll be my assistant, right?”
Do it or not. It felt like a bigger crossroads than expected.
“…Can I ask one thing?”
“Sure.”
“If I become your assistant, will it be fun?”
Bo-young’s eyes widened a bit.
“Didn’t see that question coming. Fun, huh.”
She thought for a moment, then said,
“I dig into things for the fun of it. So yeah, it’ll be fun. Like today.”
For the first time, Young-mu felt like he could understand the person in front of him.
“If something like this happens again, you’ll jump in just like today?”
“Of course!”
Bo-young nodded.
“Why?”
“’Cause it’s fun!”
At her casual reply, Young-mu asked seriously,
“What if it’s not that fun next time? You gonna ignore helping people?”
“Nope.”
Bo-young smirked, as if the question was absurd.
“Letting a problem fester without doing anything? That’s way less fun. Sure, some cases are more fun than others, but letting it blow up beyond fixing? That’s straight-up unpleasant.”
She shrugged.
“So, this is all for my own amusement. Helping people is just a bonus. That side’s more fun.”
Young-mu nodded.
Maybe this was the kind of person he’d been waiting for. Someone who meddles in others’ business and helps purely because they want to, no complicated motives.
“Fine, why not.”
He didn’t have anything else he wanted to do anyway.
“But you’re not starting as a detective right now.”
“Well, yeah.”
Bo-young was still a student. Hardly a full-fledged professional yet.
“But it’s fine to set goals early, right?”
“Goals…”
Young-mu repeated the word to himself a few times. He didn’t think he’d ever had any before.
“Get yourself ready in the meantime. Being my assistant won’t be easy.”
“…Guess the first goal is making enough to not worry about eating.”
“Not bad for a starter goal.”
Bo-young nodded. Young-mu struggled to his feet. Seeing this, she asked,
“Still wanna disappear?”
Young-mu fell silent for a moment.
“You still wanna hole up in some corner like you don’t exist?”
“…A little.”
The world still scared him. He couldn’t hole up in one spot and pretend to vanish like before.
“But this feels better now. Can’t go back to those days anyway.”
“Honest—I like that.”
Bo-young grinned.
“Then we’ll keep you too busy for those thoughts, huh?”
Young-mu realized he’d answered wrong. The problem was he’d realized it a beat too late.
“You’re getting up on your own fine, so your body’s not totally wrecked yet. Might as well push you all the way there. I’ll help.”
“Huh?”
“To be my assistant, you need that stamina!”
“Ugh… you devil, you devil…”
*Next story*
“What do you think is the reason people have to die?”
“Huh?”
The woman made a face at the man’s question. It was a lousy question to spring out of nowhere.
“…Dunno. Is there even a reason? I don’t think so.”
There couldn’t be any reason it was okay for people to die.
“Similar to my view.”
The man spread his arms in a dramatic gesture of surprise. It was like watching an old movie actor.
“I don’t think there’s any special reason people have to die, either.”
A warm smile.
It seemed like the same words, but meant something entirely different. Realizing this, the woman found even breathing difficult.
“Ah…”
Only then did she sense the man before her was a monster.
“To become a being like me, you must first accept this truth.”
The man smiled brightly. His smile was dazzlingly fresh.
“You have talent, after all.”