The Underground (1)
August 29th, Year 130. 7:11 a.m.
Kang-jun's team house had been bustling since before dawn. Hye-mi, normally a champion sleeper, had risen at the crack of daybreak like a child waiting for a field trip, humming cheerfully as she gathered Kang-jun's necktie and shoes.
Zixu sat in the living room with his glasses on, organizing the day's schedule, while Park Hana worked in the kitchen preparing food. Ogre-nam and the Troll Girl leisurely sipped their morning coffee as they watched the disaster news…
Kang-jun emerged from his room shortly after, dressed sharply in a summer suit. Hye-mi, necktie already in hand, dashed over the moment she saw him.
"I'll tie your necktie for you!"
Humming away, she knotted it with the giddy air of a bride dressing her groom. Happiness she couldn't hide bloomed across her face. There — all done, and then—
Kang-jun yanked her into a corner of the hallway and kissed her. Park Hana, mid-meal prep, caught the suggestive vibe and quietly peeked around the corner, stealing a look at the two of them locked together. When Kang-jun shot her a glance, Hana made a show of licking her lips with a slow, deliberate swipe of her tongue and threw him a wink.
That little minx.
When the kiss broke, Hye-mi spun around at once to check whether anyone had seen. Of course, Park Hana had already vanished. Hye-mi lightly clenched a fist, gave Kang-jun's chest a playful tap, and cooed through her nose.
"What if someone saw us~?"
"So what if they did."
"No way. Do you know how careful I am about not getting caught?"
You moan and thrash every single night with me buried inside you. Everyone already knows.
Naturally, Hye-mi hadn't the faintest clue. She still believed she was fooling her two older sisters completely — fretting over what those pure-hearted women would think of her if they ever found out.
Weirdly dense about this kind of thing. …Maybe it's a healer racial trait — the ones who only heal from behind.
With his necktie finished, he sat down at the table Park Hana had set. The rest of the team stopped what they were doing and gathered around.
Zixu removed his glasses and asked quietly,
"You said it was an emergency summons?"
They had originally planned team training for today, but an emergency assembly at the Hero Branch had been scheduled out of nowhere the night before. Something had clearly gone wrong.
"You'll have to train on your own today… Think you can handle it?"
"Yes. Don't worry."
Zixu offered a faint smile that said just leave it to me.
Across from Kang-jun, the ever-kind Hana smiled with maternal warmth.
"Come on, everyone, eat first. The food's getting cold."
As she spoke, she dragged her foot suggestively along Kang-jun's calf — then wrote letters on his leg with her toes.
N-o-t w-e-a-r-i-n-g p-a-n-t-i-e-s
Then she turned to Hye-mi with a kindly smile and said, "Eat up, Hye-mi."
This perverted little—
Kang-jun looked at her clothes. A dress. And earlier he'd noticed how short the hem was.
Not that he had time to fool around with her right now. If they finished eating and left immediately, they'd arrive right on schedule.
"Team Leader, if you have anything that needs washing, just say the word."
Kind Hana curved her eyes into a pretty smile as she said it. But what Kang-jun's ears heard was: If you want, come to the laundry room. Their pervert language was fully mutual.
Kang-jun finished his meal and stood. The clock read 7:36. As he walked toward the front door, the whole team crowded after him to see him off.
"Have a good day, Senior."
"Don't worry about things here, Team Leader."
"Boss, bring back meat!"
"Team Leadeeer! …Here's your coffee."
Kang-jun took the tumbler Park Hana had rushed out with in his right hand and opened the front door. The team shuffled after him in their slippers all the way outside. He climbed into the sedan, fired the engine with a low rumble, rolled down the window to give them a wave, and pulled away. Their figures in the rearview mirror vanished the moment he rounded the corner. The sedan left the alley and merged onto the main road.
The sun was already high, flooding the world with light. The roads thronged with cars racing to work. Heat haze was already shimmering up off the asphalt. On that sizzling griddle of a road, Kang-jun blasted the air conditioning, put on some jazz, and took a cool sip of coffee. …It was pure heaven.
Tapping invisible keys on the steering wheel, he drove with relish. Around 8:50, the car passed through the front gate of the 45th Branch. He parked in the underground garage, swiped his card, and entered the main building. The young woman at the lobby reception desk gave him a pretty smile.
"Which floor for the emergency assembly?"
"Second floor, the main auditorium."
"Thanks."
He flashed her a brief smile, and she bashfully lowered her eyes. As he walked past, the receptionists whispered among themselves — Oh my, is that him?
Kang-jun took the stairs to the second floor and entered the auditorium. It was already packed. They'd even summoned the D-class personnel.
As a rising star, Kang-jun drew a great many stares. Accustomed to this kind of attention countless times over, he walked to his assigned seat without a care and sat down. Belita was nearby. Pretending to chatter with the Four Princesses, she kept stealing glances at him.
His phone buzzed. A text.
Kang-jun turned his head right. Plenty of faces that had been peeking at him flinched and looked away. Far off, Lexy was waving and grinning like an idiot. He gave no reaction and turned his head back.
A text from Belita arrived almost immediately.
Naturally, he replied to none of them. He switched his phone to silent and slipped it into his pocket. Then he scanned the heads of the people sitting in the rows ahead. Somewhere in the middle, he spotted the back of Jang Hwa-young's head.
9:00 a.m.
The auditorium doors slammed shut behind them. Eyes briefly followed the sound.
A man climbed onto the stage. The Branch Director of the 45th. He grinned, swept his gaze across the hall, and brought his mouth to the microphone.
The D-class personnel applauded. He waved them off — no need. The clapping died down.
The 50th District? Why there? That's not even our jurisdiction.
The moment Kang-jun heard "50th District," his gut twisted slightly.
The auditorium went dead silent.
The murmuring swelled all at once.
He paused, glanced over the crowd, then continued.
The Director drew a deep breath and let it out.
He finished by saying further details could be obtained from the staff. The auditorium erupted into marketplace chaos. D-class personnel who had no interest in joining left on the spot. Only a bare handful remained.
Civilian exploration teams will be deployed as well. That gave Kang-jun an idea.
If he had to participate anyway, bringing his own team along would be ideal. The monster levels would run a bit high, but with Jang Hwa-young joining as a damage dealer, it shouldn't be particularly dangerous. This was clearly a rare opportunity.
Kang-jun unlocked his phone to text Jang Hwa-young — only to find several messages already waiting from Belita.
He considered it for a moment, then sent a rare reply.
You could never have too many damage dealers. And Belita was a magic-type — she'd be useful somewhere.
Kang-jun texted Jang Hwa-young next.
The reply didn't come quickly. …So this is how those girls feel.
A short while later, instead of a text, a call came through.
Kang-jun looked up at the back of Jang Hwa-young's head in the row ahead and hit accept.
"Hey, Kang-jun."
"Yes, Senior."
"I saw what you just sent."
"Have you decided?"
"Of course. I was planning to go with you anyway."
There was a faintly warm undercurrent in those last words.
Nice. That settles it.
"I'll take that as confirmed, then."
"Got it. So, when…?"
"I'll come pick you up at your place in two days."
"…What about today?"
"Today might be difficult. I need time to brief my team and prep for the expedition."
"Ah. Alright, let's do it that way."
Kang-jun stood from his seat.
"Then I'll see you next time, Senior."
"Yeah. …See you then."
The call ended with a beep. Kang-jun looked at Jang Hwa-young again. She was surrounded by Heroes flooding her with recruitment pitches. In the 45th Branch, no one was a more reliable guarantee than her.
Sorry, but she's mine.
Kang-jun smirked and turned to leave the auditorium. Belita, who'd been watching for her cue, casually fell into step behind him as if by coincidence.
"Lee Kang-juun!"
Belita called him to a stop in the hallway. Kang-jun turned to face her as she hurried up with quick steps.
"This team of yours — is it those people we met before?"
"Yeah."
"Will that work? Their levels looked pretty low."
"Senior Jang Hwa-young is coming too."
Belita nearly jumped out of her skin.
"What?! Who's coming?"
"Senior Jang Hwa-young. Drop out if you don't like it."
"N-no! It's not that I don't like it. Just, just… never mind. Okay."
And just like that, she glued herself to his side. …Look at this one.
"I'm heading back to the dorm."
"I know. I'll give you a ride."
"I have a car."
"What? You bought one?"
"It was a gift."
"A car? …From who?"
"Someone."
Man or woman. That was what mattered this time too.
"Don't tell me… that Lexy chick?"
"Please. What's a D-class doing with that kind of money."
Kang-jun snorted at the absurd guess.
"Then who?"
Kang-jun tapped his lips with a finger and said nothing — a gesture that meant he wasn't telling. Belita felt a flicker of unease. …It's not that kind of thing, is it? Like a sponsor deal.
With any other man, maybe not — but with Kang-jun, it was entirely possible. A rich woman could easily pay for him that way.
"Then take me for a drive. You just got a new car."
"I told you, I'm going to the dorm."
"So drive me to the dorm."
Kang-jun gave her a look that said persistent, aren't you. Belita, of course, had plated her face in iron.
Love is something you seize.
The Four Princesses had told her: if you don't want a man to run, you hold on tight.
"…Fine. Get in."
Yes!
Kang-jun picked up the informational handout from the desk and headed for the underground garage. Around then, Lexy texted asking if he was free today.
Kang-jun put Belita in the passenger seat and drove up to ground level. Lexy was visible near the front gate. He rolled down the window. Lexy, who'd been fidgeting while waiting for a reply, lit up with a bright smile the moment she saw him and ran toward the car.
"Jun—"
Then she saw Belita in the passenger seat. The smile slowly faded. Belita slid her sunglasses down just a fraction and smiled at Lexy with pure, deliberate spite.
"Oh my, so you're Lexy?"
"Who… are you?"
"You don't even recognize your senior? Honestly, the standards these days. I'm Belita. Belita. Cool Girl Belita. …Don't tell me you've never heard of me?"
"No…. I'm sorry, Senior."
"How awkward. …Well, at least you know now."
She huffed and snapped her head toward the opposite window.
Lexy bit her lip lightly and looked at Kang-jun with a forlorn expression.
"You've got plans, huh…?"
"I need to get to the dorm."
"Ah, I see…. Okay. Take care. …Make sure you text me later. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Lexy stepped a few paces back from the car. The window slid up, and the sedan pulled away with a low growl. Belita watched Lexy's receding figure in the rearview mirror and snorted.
"So that's her? The one from that dinner thing."
"Yeah."
"She's cute. …But her chest is a little small. And she's such a kid. A total kid."
She looked for agreement, but Kang-jun just held the wheel with a blank face.
…Ugh, the bastard's barking. What a jerk.
Miffed, Belita snapped her head away again.
I suck his cock, I give him my holes — what haven't I done for him? …You bastard. …Look at me a little, at least.
A selfie arrived shortly after. Lexy covering her mouth, a single tear rolling down her cheek.