Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Where You're Needed
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“Ugh...”
The next morning, Haon crawled out of the bathroom like a zombie and dove back into bed.
“Eat.”
Juyeol immediately ripped the covers off.
“Hngh. My stomach feels awful. I can smell alcohol every time I breathe.”
“That's all the more reason to eat.”
He dragged the whimpering, curled-up Haon to the kitchen.
“My head hurts so much.”
“Sit down, you drunk.”
“Did I do anything embarrassing yesterday?”
“You don't remember?”
“Bits and pieces.”
“You were... quite a handful until you passed out.”
Juyeol trailed off, his expression saying he had much more to say, but he just looked at Haon for a moment before turning away.
“Nothing major happened, so just eat.”
His reaction made Haon anxious. She looked like she was about to cry, but at his insistence, she finally picked up her spoon.
She took a bite of the bean sprout and dried pollock soup, and her eyes widened as a gentle warmth spread through her stomach.
“So this is what a hangover cure feels like.”
“Was that your first time drinking?”
“I had a beer right after I became an adult.”
“How much?”
“One can.”
“So yesterday was your first time getting completely drunk.”
“Yeah.”
Juyeol recalled the drunkard who had clung to him, whining until she fell asleep, and rubbed the back of his flushed neck.
“Try not to drink enough to get wasted.”
“Was I that bad?”
“If you really want to drink, drink with me. It wasn't more than I could handle.”
“Ugh...”
Haon groaned in embarrassment but kept moving her spoon.
The more she filled her stomach with the warm soup, the more settled it felt.
Juyeol, who had already finished about half his bowl, studied Haon's complexion before asking casually.
“Bae Anjae ordered the underground parking lot in District 5 to be cleared. Any idea what he's up to?”
“Huh? Uh, um...?”
Haon, who had stopped mid-scoop, moved her mouth wordlessly with a flustered look before answering.
“I-I'll think about it.”
Juyeol tried not to react to Haon's strangely distant words and placed an Elixir on the table.
“And I got this. What do you think it is?”
“Umm... I-I'll think about that, too.”
Again, Haon floundered before giving a vague answer.
“Alright. Let me know if you think of anything.”
Juyeol, managing a calm reply, thought that this couldn't go on.
He'd felt a little relieved, thinking that last night and today were the brightest he'd seen her since she lost her Mana Engineering.
But given the Haon he knew, that wasn't the kind of answer she should have given.
Even if she didn't have the right answer, she would usually have offered up several theories.
But this reaction was like...
‘A reaction that says, 'I don't know why you're asking me this.''
Juyeol was starting to get anxious.
He'd planned to wait for Haon to recover, but he was afraid that at this rate, something inside her would truly break.
He had to find another way.
* * *
Hunter stared at Juyeol with an expression that said she wanted to smack him one.
She had just praised him for acquiring a new potion with unknown effects and handing it over to the chemistry team.
Now, she wanted to make him do ten laps around the gym on his hands. As a sort of punishment and mental training.
For days, whenever Juyeol saw her at Headquarters, he'd pestered her about raiding Two-Shot's district, and he was being just as stubborn now.
“How many times do I have to tell you? It's not like we're sitting around because we don't know Two-Shot and Bae Anjae are dangerous.”
“Then what's the problem! I heard the engineering team got new equipment. I even saw some huge machine being moved to the basement today. If we mobilize all of Headquarters' firepower and borrow all the mechanical cranes, we should have a fighting chance!”
Juyeol pounded on his chest as if he was going crazy with frustration.
“I commend you for growing to the point where you don't just charge into District 3 or 5 on your own.”
Hunter's sigh-laced words made him flinch and avert his eyes.
“But Headquarters has its own circumstances. Go to the engineering team and see for yourself. See why we can't attack Districts 3 and 5 right now.”
“...A-Team? Or B-Team?”
Engineering A-Team primarily handled machinery and equipment, while B-Team dealt with computers.
“A-Team would be better. Go on.”
With that, Hunter dropped her gaze back to her report, clearly indicating the conversation was over.
Juyeol ended up going to Engineering A-Team as she'd suggested, only to get an earful.
“Did the tactical planning team send you to chew us engineers out again? How many times do I have to say it!”
Kim Songmi, the head of Engineering A-Team, slammed her hat on the floor and flew into a rage.
“What do those desk jockeys know! Just because their offices are running smoothly, they think the engineering department is too?”
“But—”
“How long has it been since we moved Headquarters?! It's not even a move, it's basically a brand-new construction!”
“That's—”
“We still haven't gotten all the necessary equipment! And the stuff that arrived today is defective and needs to be replaced! On top of that, some people quit because they were scared to commute to the old city district!”
“...”
“Go back to the planning team and tell them this! If they send one more Hero over to hassle us, I'll use this to bash their skulls in!”
Team Leader Kim Songmi gripped her wrench tightly, seething.
Juyeol couldn't bring himself to admit that he had come to hassle them on his own, not on behalf of the planning team.
If the engineering team wasn't ready, it would naturally affect the Heroes' range of operations.
Realizing this wasn't something he could force, he decided to offer a quick apology and find another way.
“Team Leader Kim. Don't get so worked up.”
Just then, Deputy Team Leader No Hyejeong appeared, holding two iced Americanos.
She wore a hat pulled down low and a mask, hiding most of her face.
“Deputy Team Leader. How did it go? Are we getting a rookie?”
Kim Songmi looked at the older deputy team leader with sparkling eyes.
But Deputy Team Leader No Hyejeong sighed and shook her head.
“No. All the new applications were for B-Team again.”
“Ugh, damn it! It's not just equipment we're missing, it's people! All the kids these days think being an engineer just means tapping on a keyboard!”
Kim Songmi, getting worked up again, took a large gulp of her coffee.
“It's not like the A-Team's staff shortage is a recent problem. We just have to live with it.”
Deputy Team Leader No Hyejeong also pulled down her mask to drink her coffee.
Juyeol, who had been quietly gauging the atmosphere and waiting for the right moment to excuse himself, felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
‘How could I have forgotten?’
A huge shock and a brilliant idea had hit him at the same time.
It occurred to him that perhaps the person Haon needed most right now wasn't him.
He gauged his own feelings, wondering if he felt a little bitter, then looked at the two women with resolve.
“Team Leader. Deputy Team Leader. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
* * *
That evening.
As soon as Juyeol arrived at the penthouse, he knelt before Haon.
Haon, who had just managed to shake off her hangover and was sitting blankly on the sofa, met his gaze with a bewildered expression.
“J-Juyeol?”
“I was wrong. I was shortsighted.”
“Huh?”
“Telling you to rest until you got your Mana Engineering back. Telling you that you'd done enough and that dealing with Villains was Headquarters' job.”
“I-I don't think you said anything wrong?”
Haon muttered, still looking confused, and Juyeol shook his head.
“Haon. Think back to when you first fell into this dimension.”
“...”
“Even when your phone was broken and you couldn't use Mana Engineering, you were still a natural with the lab's computers and fixed all sorts of things.”
Haon's trembling gaze slowly drifted downward.
“That's... That's not enough to fight Bae Anjae.”
“I'm not asking you to wage all-out war against Bae Anjae.”
“Then...?”
“Even if you can never use Mana Engineering again for the rest of your life, you can't just rest. You're far too brilliant for that.”
At first glance, it might have sounded like he was just trying to work her to the bone, but strangely, Haon liked the sound of it.
“Are you just saying that to make me feel better? You don't have to. There's nothing I can do right now.”
As she tried to deny the feeling, Juyeol smiled gently and told her that wasn't it.
“You're needed.”
“But I...”
“The engineering department at Headquarters is short on hands. And equipment.”
“...!”
“Hunter approved it, too.”
Haon's eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“B-But I'm the boss of the old city district?”
“You're also a brilliant engineer.”
“And a lot of people know you as 'Dr. Eun Haon'...”
“Well, she's good with machines, too.”
At Juyeol's nonchalant reply, Haon clutched her chest. It felt like a warm haze was rising from within it.
“Am I really needed? Even without Mana Engineering?”
“Even in another universe without Mana Engineering, you'd probably still be a genius engineer. You'd be needed anywhere.”
His confident answer finally made Haon's tears well up and spill over.
Juyeol chuckled and wiped her wet cheeks. In truth, there was something else he wanted to say.
‘It wouldn't matter to me even if you weren't a brilliant engineer, but now's not the right time to say that.’
As he moved his hand, the shadow pooled at Haon's feet swelled and wrapped around her shoulders.