The Thirty-Second Assignment: Crossroads ①

Two more days had slipped by.

Only three remained until the deadline of February 14th, and Yeoni still had not made up his mind. It was the kind of stalling that would have left him with nothing to say if someone called him indecisive… but for him, the hesitation was only natural. Asking anyone to settle a matter this heavy in a hurry was simply too much.

This isn't working. What's the point of just sitting here?

Marching in place wouldn't get him anywhere either. So Yeoni played a card of his own — as far as he was concerned, a trump card.

I'll meet them in person, then decide.

He did not mean the client. He was no saint, and he had no confidence he could say anything kind to a criminal. The person he meant to see was the one who would receive the letter — the one Simyeong had called the letter's other owner.

I'll see for myself whether Simyeong was right, or whether I can just ignore it.

If he changed his mind, he could deliver it then and there, and that would be that. And if things went south, he could simply think of it as a long walk. Either way, it was a choice he couldn't lose by making. Having gotten that far, he yanked open the drawer. The letter he had buried deep inside met the open air once more.

"Hyeonhui, I'm heading out for a bit."

Once the decision was made, he moved fast. Letter in hand, Yeoni shoved his door open and made straight for the front entrance, intending to go to the recipient that very moment. Hyeonhui, sprawled on the sofa, rounded her eyes.

"Where are you going? Mom said she wanted to eat out today."

"I won't be that late. Tell her I'll be back by dinner."

The request came out quick and urgent. If he meant to keep his word, he would have to go and come back in a scramble. Hyeonhui started to grumble, then softened and saw her brother off. It was better, she thought, than the gloom he'd been wearing lately.

"Always dumping stuff on me… Fine. Have fun, and watch for cars."

"Got it. I'm off!"

He flashed his little sister a grin and stepped out through the front door.

The steel door slammed shut behind him with a ringing crash.

Bang!

"H-hold on! The letter the kid's in charge of is moving!"

Word of the letter's movement reached the Post Office at once. The Grim Reaper assigned to the tracking spell shouted as if he'd been stung, and everyone came running to where he sat. Simyeong's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trio, in particular, arrived like a shot.

"Check it properly. Confirm whether it actually moved."

"It moved? Where? Where?"

"Move over a second. Let me see too!"

Aagh!

The moment the three veteran seniors piled onto him, the tracking specialist was, in a word, dying. He couldn't even tell them to back off, which only made it worse. Not that Simyeong's trio had the slightest intention of cutting him any slack. To be precise, they didn't have the luxury.

"It's certain. Unless the letter itself is damaged, it's left the house."

Before anyone quite noticed, Simyeong had shouldered the specialist aside and taken over the report. Yuhwa and Changmo watched the screen without even remembering to swallow. The glittering point of light was, without a doubt, creeping slowly across the display. Yeoni had walked out with the letter. They looked at each other, taut as wire.

"Is he going to deliver it?"

"Hardly. He said he wouldn't until he'd made his decision. The kid isn't the type to go back on his word… This looks like something else."

They had no idea what Yeoni was thinking, so they turned the question over in earnest. What would a boy who'd gone on strike rather than deliver a letter be doing now? They worried at it, and no answer came.

"What if, though."

"What if what?"

"What if he's going to meet the recipient? Because he can't figure out how to decide."

Fortunately, Changmo put his finger on it. Once they heard it, it made sense. A soft-hearted kid who couldn't bring himself to throw anything away would think exactly like that. Yuhwa and Simyeong both nodded at Changmo's guess.

"If it's him, that does sound about right."

"I think the same. So what do we do? Sit here and watch?"

Simyeong asked what they ought to do. If it had only been about Yeoni, the question would have been meaningless. The boy had gone to settle his own heart, and their place as his seniors was to watch over him. But another element had forced its way into this affair, and that was what gnawed at him. Yuhwa put it into words.

"I'd like to. I'm just worried those rebel bastards will try something."

Gangnim and the rebels.

Would they look kindly on Yeoni making a move? Simyeong's trio would have bet their entire fortunes, to a man, that the answer was no. All three of them crumpled their faces like paper.

"That we can't have. Yeoni has to be the one who decides. We can't let him get dragged around by those people until the end."

"The situation's too ugly to just sit and watch. Tagging along with him is out… but we can escort him from a distance. How's that."

No answer was really required. Yuhwa and Changmo silently put up their thumbs. The question now was whom to send. Simyeong called up his juniors' schedules and his own, subtracting and adding names one by one — and his face went a little pale.

Damn. Anyone with time to spare…

There was almost no one free.

Yeoni's circumstances and the Post Office's were two different things. The Post Office was always busy, and today, as on every other day, everyone had work. Even the people gathered here had only been given a brief rest. Grim Reapers who could leave their posts for even a few hours were vanishingly few.

"Who's off the clock right now?"

"As far as I know, just me."

For the moment, Yuhwa was the only one they could send.

"Should I check with Nahee and the others? If we look at the support departments, there might be a few more."

"Support departments? Don't. This is about stopping the rebels. There might even be a fight. People who aren't used to combat will only be a problem. Hah! What am I supposed to do about this."

Simyeong pressed his fingers to his forehead and groaned. To think they were stretched this thin just trying to look after one kid. He wanted to drop everything and go himself, but the duties of a Team Leader and the work piled on his desk both put the brakes on in his chest. He looked at Yuhwa with a face full of unease.

"Then send me alone. I can hold the rebels off by myself."

"Don't say that so lightly. We don't know how many of them will come. Handling that alone is—"

"The kid's worrying by himself too."

Yuhwa shot back with a spark of defiance in her voice.

It sounded as if she were asking, So you won't send me, then? Simyeong found himself twisting a lock of his hair for no good reason. Sending her was a problem. Not sending her was a problem. Yuhwa pressed him, and there was a restlessness in it he couldn't quite place.

"I know we're short on people. I know it's hard to spare anyone. But I know it, and that doesn't mean a senior gets to keep leaving the kid on his own. Whether it turns out well or it turns out badly, someone should be there beside him. That's what I think a senior owes him."

"Yuhwa."

"We have to send someone, don't we? Whatever happens, I'll take responsibility. So just send me. Even if it's only me. Please?"

This whole business had clearly shaken her more than she was letting on. There was even a thread of reproach aimed at Simyeong in the way she almost whined it. Hearing her lay herself out like that only made him more cornered. He flicked a sidelong glance at Changmo, hoping the man would talk her down — and Changmo betrayed that hope with style.

"Just let her go. It's not like she's some pushover."

"Not you too, Changmo. For crying out loud!"

"If you keep trying to stop her, she'll take off without permission. We might as well leave it to her, clean and simple. Like she said — someone has to look after the kid. And she's the only one who can."

Even among the three of them, it was two against one.

Simyeong glanced around. The other Grim Reapers were all with Yuhwa. Silent encouragement sat thick in their eyes. They might not all dote on Yeoni to the same degree, but every last one of them was his senior.

And then came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the finishing blow.

"Send her, Team Leader Simyeong."

"Director?"

It was Director Heukchi. Yuhwa started at the unexpected support; Simyeong sighed at a scale that had just tipped past any hope of recovery. When a superior tells you to do it, what else can you do? Heukchi offered a sly smile and waved it off.

"There's nothing wrong with what Sub-Team Leader Yuhwa said. And if a thing is right, it ought to be followed. If you're truly that uneasy, I'll adjust the schedules of a few whose work is of lower priority."

He reached out and patted Simyeong's shoulder. Divine power, slipped in without a word, swept through every corner of his body. A cool, bracing sensation lifted his spirits. Simyeong flinched and looked up, and Heukchi's smile only deepened.

"It's not a cancellation. It's a rescheduling. The work we put off, we'll simply do better later. For now, let's put everything into keeping the kid safe."

"I didn't expect you to say that, Director."

Simyeong threw up his hands. For a man as principled as Heukchi to come out like this — the sun might as well rise in the west tomorrow. Still, they were of one mind when it came to looking out for Yeoni. And so, in the end, he decided to take the win for what it was.

"Since it's come to this, watch over him properly. If I hear they got through, I'll have your hide."

He offered it last as both a warning and a push. Yuhwa took up her weapon and put up a thumb, looking more sure of herself than she had in a long time.

"Don't you worry about a thing."

"The boy left the house?"

"Yes. We've put a trace on him for now, but… what would you like to do?"

What was an opportunity for one was a crisis for another.

Gangnim took the news of Yeoni with visible alarm. Where did this brat think he was going all of a sudden? A wave of unease crashed over him, as if a treasure were slipping through his fingers. In a voice tenser than it had ever been, he questioned the subordinate who had brought the report.

"Where did he go."

"He went to catch the subway. He was headed toward the station."

The subway? Damn it all!

The moment he heard the destination, he could guess where Yeoni meant to go. The letter's receiving address lay along the Line 1 route. The thought had no sooner formed than he was on his feet.

"I'm stepping out for a bit. The rest of you stay here and wait."

"The other Grim Reapers may try to interfere. Wouldn't it be better if we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠went with you?"

"If we go swarming in, they'll come swarming in too. I'll sneak over on my own and come right back. Your job is to keep anyone else from sticking their nose in."

He cut off Suchan's offer to come along without a second thought. Draw the wrong kind of attention and you only multiplied the enemy. He understood why Suchan was like this, but for spreading out the risk, going alone was better. He turned and looked over his people.

"There's no need to be so tense. The worst that happens is the operation fails — and even if this one falls through, the next move is already in place. What you will do is protect the base and protect yourselves. Understood?!"

"Y-yes, sir!!"

Only after he barked it at them did the subordinates snap to and answer. The booming reply shook the hideout from wall to wall. Gangnim cleared his throat and let out a short huff of a laugh.

"You don't have to shout quite that loud. I'm going. Look after yourselves while I'm gone."

"Take care, sir."

Suchan bowed first, and the others followed. Gangnim said nothing more — just a quick wave of the hand, and he was gone. By now Yeoni would either be on the subway or waiting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for one. If he wanted to catch up, he would need to hurry.

Insolent little brat. I can't for the life of me figure out what he's thinking.

He had no intention of interfering with whatever the boy meant to do. He had equally little intention of letting him slip the net. Where did he think he was running, the nerve of him! Gangnim was already curious what the boy meant to do, slipping out from under their eyes like this.

Either way, he would know once he went and saw for himself.