The Agents (1)
Autumn had arrived, and the days had grown noticeably shorter. By five in the afternoon, a darkening haze was already creeping in from the far edge of the sky. The pretty sunset of an autumn evening never lasted long; it faded away little by little.
Driving the sedan toward the branch office, Kang-jun’s mind was perfectly calm and settled. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it had started, but at some point he had stopped feeling large swings of emotion. …The sharp edges of feeling that once stabbed at his heart had been worn down so thoroughly that they clearly no longer worked the way they should.
If I make it back to Earth, will I be able to live well?
It was a thought that floated up now and then whenever he stopped at a red light. If he returned to his hometown just like this, would he be able to melt back into his original life?
Kang-jun missed his family. Mother, father, his older sister, his little brother…. Even their faces had grown so faint he could barely call them up anymore. It felt like he was walking without destination through a place that was desolate on every side.
What was I doing? How old was I? Where was I living—
After decades had slipped by, everything had blurred. The faint sense of fear that rose with that realization was real enough. But he couldn’t simply refuse to go. He couldn’t live forever inside a spinning hamster wheel. He had to live a real life, not this counterfeit one.
Honk— the car behind him blared its horn. At the same instant every stray thought vanished. He stepped on the accelerator again and focused on the present moment. Not Lee Kang-jun of Earth, but Lee Kang-jun, C-class hero of the Third Dungeon.
Before long Kang-jun arrived at the main gate of the 45th Branch. Wang Sian came striding toward him from nearby with the precise steps of a model. Click— the passenger door opened and she climbed in. A soft perfume scent washed over him.
“Oppa.”
Her bright smile was genuinely pretty. Kang-jun smiled back once and pulled away. When he asked where she wanted to go, she said somewhere the two of them could talk in private.
His gaze brushed for a moment over the document envelope she was carrying. It looked like material related to the Hunter Teams. Thicker than he had expected.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
“Things got a little complicated. Looks like I’ll have to stay a few more days.”
“Complicated? …Why?”
Wang Sian hesitated, then opened her mouth.
“I found something.”
“…Yeah? That’s good.”
“So I contacted Father. He’s coming tomorrow.”
Even Wang Gang?
Apparently she had grabbed hold of some kind of trail. From Kang-jun’s perspective that wasn’t a bad thing at all. Hunter Teams were pests; the more of them you could wipe out, the better.
The car soon arrived at a high-end restaurant. The two of them got out and went inside. The manager looked at Kang-jun—who brought a different woman every time—with a faintly strange expression. And every one of them was a top-tier beauty…. Whether the thoughts were dirty or admiring, he was clearly envious on the inside.
“I’ll show you to a couple’s room.”
The manager rang a little bell and a waiter hurried over, leading the pair to a private couple’s room.
They sat facing each other. A slightly awkward air hung between them. Kang-jun pointed with his chin at the envelope she had brought.
“Mind if I look?”
“Ah, yeah. I was going to show you anyway.”
“Is it okay to just show this to other people?”
“…Technically no.”
The nuance was clear: she was making a special exception because it was him. Special treatment wasn’t always a good thing, but curiosity made Kang-jun accept what she handed over without protest.
Dozens of white sheets spilled out of the brown envelope. So she had actually been working diligently after all. Unexpected.
Wang Sian gave a small chin-nod and added a brief explanation.
“That male Hunter Team you told me about. I pulled every team that any of their members had ever belonged to. And every team that entered the day before or the day after as well.”
Her work was thorough. She also clearly understood exactly what needed to be caught…. A clever woman.
“Looking for people who show up in common?”
“Yeah.”
“Must’ve been a lot of work.”
“I did it for hours without a break.”
Wang Gang really had lucked out with his daughter.
“So this is the conclusion….”
All that material boiled down to a single sheet of paper. Yet it was an extremely valuable result.
She had followed the manual, of course, but this kind of processing still counted as real ability. …If Lexy had been the one in charge?
Fuck, that would have been a nightmare.
Her immediate superior would have beaten her like a cum dumpster a few times over.
Anyway, a handful of names had been filtered out.
“We’ll need to dig deeper. This is just what came out so far—nothing’s confirmed yet.”
“You did well. Really.”
Kang-jun slid the papers back into the envelope and returned it to Wang Sian. Receiving genuine praise, she grinned happily.
“Let’s drop the work talk now.”
The roughly ten minutes of business conversation ended there. They moved into more personal territory.
“That thing we talked about at the pavilion back then.”
“At the pavilion?”
For a split second a stupid joke almost slipped out—With the egg?
Those bastards had definitely rubbed off on him.
“About how you almost got close with Hye-yeon….”
“Ahh… that.”
“What was that about?”
Kang-jun turned it over in his head. Was there a way to heat her body up a little?
“Nothing much. Senior Jang Hwa-young just tried to set me up with her niece.”
“And?”
“Hye-yeon said we should put it on hold for now.”
On hold—
Kang-jun deliberately chose an ambiguous word. Neither acceptance nor rejection. He left room on purpose.
Of course a clever girl like Wang Sian wouldn’t miss the implication.
“Ah… really? So that means it could start up again?”
“The possibility isn’t zero.”
Of course it wasn’t. If it had been, the two of them wouldn’t have rubbed their bodies together that night.
Wang Sian couldn’t begin to guess what kind of relationship the two of them actually had. Clearly not lovers, yet not strangers either. …Honestly, by her own standards it made no sense. They weren’t even dating, yet they mixed bodies and screamed like they were dying? Loud enough for her to hear everything?
Because he’s the man I marked, don’t you dare touch him—was that it?
She could only interpret it as: too awkward to make him her boyfriend right now, but she still didn’t want to hand him over to anyone else. Wang Sian felt a mild headache coming on. She had zero desire to move according to Jang Hye-yeon’s intentions. Counterattack was the only option.
“So right now you’re not anything to each other?”
“On the surface, at least.”
“Then if I’m interested in Oppa, there’s no problem at all?”
Kang-jun stared at her intently for a moment. A warm atmosphere lingered briefly. Wang Sian felt a little embarrassed. She had dated two boyfriends before, but both relationships had ended before they ever got deep. The honest answer was that neither of them had measured up to her standards. After a little time together she had quickly grown bored.
Just then came a polite knock. The food they had ordered arrived. The heated atmosphere cooled at the perfect moment. Wang Sian was relieved; she had almost gotten burned by the mood.
Clink, clink. They moved their utensils and ate. Wang Sian occasionally snuck glances at Kang-jun while he ate. He was a man with a hard-to-explain, peculiar atmosphere. “Mysterious” felt like the right word.
“Oppa… you’re not really interested in me?”
Kang-jun stopped moving his hand and looked straight at Wang Sian again.
“No, I am interested.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s just that you and I seem to have… different values.”
Values? Wang Sian’s brow furrowed. What was he talking about now?
“I don’t really get it.”
“I think you might hate the way I think.”
“No, you have to tell me so I can know. I’m fine. People can think differently.”
Wang Sian spoke as if that level of understanding was nothing special. This time Kang-jun set his spoon down completely.
“I can say it? Really?”
“Come on, of course. Just say it.”
She looked at him with a soft smile.
“When I date a woman.”
“Yeah.”
Kang-jun grinned.
“I start with sex.”
The smile vanished. For a second Wang Sian thought she had misheard. Maybe her eardrums were broken.
Se…x…? He definitely just said sex, right? I didn’t mishear that?
“C-can you say that again?”
“I start with sex.”
Their values were truly, unmistakably different. It was something Wang Sian had never even imagined. She worked hard to reboot her blanked-out brain.
“So… uh… when you feel like dating someone, you… do that first?”
“Yeah. I think sexual compatibility is just as important as affection.”
“Ah, well… that can be true.”
Wang Sian dropped her gaze. She tried her hardest not to look flustered, but it wasn’t easy. That completely open way of talking about sex in front of a virgin—was that what an open mind looked like? She herself still found it hard even to say the word.
Then that night with Hye-yeon… was that also for this reason?
She thought the night with Hye-yeon must be connected to this. She agonized over whether to bring it up or not. But curiosity won; she couldn’t hold it in.
“Oppa, honestly, yesterday I… heard you and Hye-yeon… doing that.”
“That? Ah, yesterday….”
“It was honestly a shock. …I had no idea you two were like that. Never even crossed my mind.”
“Ah, that. Hye-yeon came looking for me.”
Her eyes went round.
“Hye-yeon came looking for Oppa?”
“She said she wanted to do it with me.”
That prideful bitch had gone to Oppa and asked for sex? She couldn’t fully believe it. For Wang Sian it was almost unimaginable.
“Ah, I see.”
“What’s so strange about it? Neither of us has a boyfriend or girlfriend. You could think of it as getting to know each other.”
Ah, ahh—. Wang Sian nodded with an awkward smile. Suddenly the conversation felt like it had jumped twenty or thirty years into a more progressive world. She even wondered if she herself was too old-fashioned. It felt like talk from another planet.
Raised by good parents, given excellent home education, having lived a reasonably moral life, she found this suddenly progressive and unfamiliar story hard to handle.
“If you can’t do it, that’s fine. I’m just saying that’s how I am. I’m not forcing anything, so don’t feel pressured.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Even if he said that, how was she supposed to not feel pressured—! It was basically the same as saying he wouldn’t date anyone until after sex.
Wang Sian clinked her utensils meaninglessly while sinking into deep thought. She had no idea how to handle this. It wasn’t even a topic she could discuss with anyone. The idea of telling an outsider something so embarrassing was unthinkable for her.
She snuck another glance at him. He really was ridiculously handsome. As husband material there was nothing lacking.
It was a dilemma. She didn’t think she had ever agonized like this in her life.
“Not eating?”
“Ah, I’m full.”
“Shall we get up then?”
“Yeah.”
They gathered their things and stood. She felt dazed the entire way out of the restaurant.
“Where should I drop you off?”
Kang-jun was as nonchalant as if he had never said those words earlier. That was when Wang Sian realized he had been completely serious. His values really were firm.
…Yeah, once you get deep into a relationship you end up doing that physical stuff anyway. This oppa just doesn’t want to waste time.
Thinking about it again, it almost made sense. The world was wide; there were people like this and people like that. Wang Sian kept lowering her own hurdles that way.
“Want to go to the Louise Hotel? I already made a reservation.”
Without an answer the car pulled away.
They didn’t talk much for a long while. Strangely, Wang Sian’s stomach felt warm and fluttery. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Kang-jun’s face.
The car drove for about thirty minutes. A stylish hotel stood by the river. That was where she would stay tonight.
Kang-jun’s car slid to a stop at the hotel entrance.
“Get some good rest. You worked hard today.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Wang Sian gripped the door handle. Should she pull it or not—she slowly tugged. Clack— the door opened.
“See you later, …Oppa.”
“Yeah. Sleep well.”
Wang Sian put both feet on the ground outside the car. Her back was to Kang-jun. Then she turned her head again.
“Oppa….”
“Yeah?”
Kang-jun wore the expression of the world’s kindest older brother. Wang Sian spoke in a heated voice.
“Want to come up… have a cup of coffee before you go?”
…Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
Ugh.
Wang Sian forced open eyelids that felt a thousand pounds heavy at the sound of the ringing phone. Ahh. Her whole body ached. Even after her mind cleared she just lay sprawled out for a long time, breathing hard.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring.
The phone rang a few more times and then stopped. Wang Sian slept another thirty minutes like that.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring.
The phone rang again. She barely managed to stretch out a hand, grab the phone, and press the call button.
“…Yes.”
“Daughter. Where are you? Why aren’t you here?”
“Ah, Dad….”
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m at the hotel.”
“Daughter, are you still sleeping?”
There was a slight laugh in his voice, as if looking fondly at his late-sleeping daughter.
“Yeah, I was tired. …What time is it?”
“Past eleven.”
“Eleven?!”
Her eyes flew wide open. Her upper body shot upright. Her gaze hit the wall clock. It really was 11:10.
“Ah… ah… I’ll wash up and come right away.”
“Yeah, take your time. You’ll get in an accident rushing. Drive carefully.”
“Yes, I’m coming right now. Dad.”
When the call ended she just sat there blankly for a moment.
And then… last night’s events slowly came back. Her hand went to her mouth.
What do I do, what do I do.
Wang Sian finally understood why Jang Hye-yeon had screamed like that.
It had felt so good. She had never known sex could be this good. It felt like her eyes had opened to a whole new world. Why hadn’t she known about this until now?
The sexual compatibility is too good. Way too good.
Wang Sian felt genuinely wonderful. Now they just had to start dating. …Then she could enjoy this every day.
There had been a reason Jang Hye-yeon went looking for Oppa. She must not have been able to forget this feeling either.
Hmph, this is mine now.
She rummaged for her phone, intending to send Oppa a quick message asking if he had gotten home safely.
But a message from Oppa was already waiting. She opened it thinking he might tease her for being a late sleeper—and the smile vanished in an instant.