So That's What It Was
"Ah, yes. This is the lobby. We have a visitor here. A professor from Graford who wants to look at his past activity records. But no matter how much we search, his name isn't on the list. Yes, yes."
The guard spoke with the person on the other end of the line for a while. In the meantime, I looked around the lobby. It was enormous, with spotless, gleaming tiles that didn't have a single speck of dust. The ceiling soared as high as five stories in an ordinary building, the walls were made of floor-to-ceiling glass, and the deliberately exposed steel beams gave it a very sophisticated look. Guards with sharp eyes glared at people passing through the scanners, and patrol teams carrying rifles with detection dogs periodically crossed the lobby. And there was a hero over there. A young man sitting in the first-floor café, playing a mobile game. The pretty female employee sitting next to the guard on the phone was also a hero. They were disguised like that in case a situation arose that couldn't be handled with the guards' conventional firearms. Of course, no deranged villain had ever directly attacked the Management Bureau before. There were plenty of heroes working here, and current and former heroes came and went every day on business. If some villain suddenly lost his mind and charged in, he'd probably vanish without a trace within seconds. Besides, villains didn't fight out in the open like that anyway.
"Yes, I understand. I'll send him up."
The guard finally hung up and looked at me.
"Please go inside and have them check. You can head to the records room."
"Thank you."
I gave a slight bow and walked toward the scanner. It was similar to the ones at airports. I placed all my belongings on the conveyor belt and stepped through.
Beep-beep-beep-beep—!!
Suddenly, a red siren spun and an ominous buzzer sounded.
That's strange. I wasn't carrying anything that should have set it off.
"Sir. I'm sorry, but this way, please."
A guard behind me called me over and began scanning my body with a handheld metal detector. Then the detector reacted to my left shoulder...?
The guard looked at me with a somewhat tense expression. The surrounding guards also placed their fingers on the triggers of the rifles slung across their chests and turned toward me.
"Excuse me."
The guard set the detector down and ran his hand directly over my left shoulder.
"Is there something there?"
When another guard approached, he shook his head.
"There's nothing... I'll check again."
The metal detector scanning my left shoulder let out another loud noise.
"Sir. Could you explain this?"
"I'm not sure either. I don't know why it's doing that."
I had no idea why my shoulder was setting off the metal detector. Surely my bones weren't made of metal.
"We'll need to take an X-ray... Sir, this way, please."
The guard finally led me to an X-ray scanner set up against one wall.
"Scan this gentleman's shoulder. The metal detector's going off but there's nothing there."
"Did you have any metal implants or anything like that put in?"
I shook my head at the scanner operator's question.
"Nothing like that."
"Please stand here for a moment."
When I stood in the X-ray scanner, the operator looked at the screen with a bored expression, then narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the monitor.
"What the...?"
"Why? What is it?"
"From here to here, it's all metal. Hmm... looks like an artificial joint."
"Oh, is that it? Then there's no problem, right? We can let him through?"
Having confirmed it was nothing serious, the guard visibly relaxed and took his finger off the rifle trigger.
"Sir. If you had something like that, you should have told us earlier. Please come this way."
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."
Following the guard's guidance through the scanner, I quickly reviewed the original story in my mind. Had I ever had a metal artificial joint implanted in my shoulder? I didn't think so... I casually touched my left shoulder, but there was no unusual sensation. What on earth...?
Anyway, I passed through the scanner without incident and stood in front of the elevators. Because the Management Bureau was so large, there were four central elevators alone. I stood in front of the one that looked like it would reach the first floor the fastest and waited for it to descend.
Soon the elevator arrived on the first floor and the doors opened, letting the passengers inside step out. They were Management Bureau employees wearing suits and ID badges around their necks. As I stepped aside, one of them glanced at me curiously. When our eyes met, he turned his head as if it were nothing and walked toward the scanner.
Did he know me?
The records room was on the fourth floor. After identity verification there, you'd go to a specific reading room and search for your records on the screen. The entrance had said I wasn't in the system, but once I got there, there might actually be records. If there weren't any in the reading room either, then I'd have no choice but to file an official information disclosure request. As a former hero rather than an academy professor, claiming the right to review my past activities. It might be rejected, but I planned to try every method available.
Several people were at the reception desk in front of the records room undergoing identity verification. Most were elderly, and a few were neatly dressed in suits. They seemed to be retired heroes wanting to reminisce about their past glories and personnel managers who had come to verify special recruitment cases for former heroes.
When my turn came after waiting, I handed over my ID and gave my name.
"Kyo Suhyeon, Grey Steel."
The employee typing on the keyboard tilted his head just like the guard on the first floor and examined my ID.
"Um... your callsign is Grey Steel, correct?"
"That's right. If you're not sure, try searching in English as well."
"Yes... uh... it's not here. Hmm..."
"Then is there no record for Han Tae-woo or Seo Ji-ah either? They were my former colleagues."
"I'm sorry, but without official documentation, we can't view other people's records."
"Ah... I see."
Then... I'd have no choice but to file a request. If that didn't work, I'd have to contact Yoo Hee-won's father like I'd thought before. Since he was also from Secreto, he would definitely know about me. Anyway... maybe I should just head back for today.
Just then, the employee suddenly stood up and bowed to me.
"Good day, sir."
Not understanding what was happening, I stood still when a low, dignified voice came from behind me.
"Professor Kyo Suhyeon."
When I turned around, I was surprised to see none other than Advisory Chairman Yoo, Yoo Hee-won's father, standing there.
"Hello, Mr. Chairman."
"You remember me?"
"Of course. I saw you from afar at the entrance ceremony, and you're the parent of one of my advisees."
At my answer, the Advisory Chairman showed a slightly disappointed expression. I couldn't tell what was wrong with my response.
"What brings you here?"
"I came to look at my records from when I was active as a hero. But my name isn't listed, so I was planning to file a request."
"Then let's talk for a moment. It's about my daughter."
I thought for a very brief moment before answering.
"Understood."
Even though I was on vacation, the Advisory Chairman was Yoo Hee-won's parent, and I judged there was nothing to lose by having a cup of tea with someone who wielded enormous influence within the Management Bureau. And who knew? I might learn something about my past.
"Then let's go up to my office."
We boarded the elevator together, and the Advisory Chairman pressed the button for the fortieth floor. Generally, the floor number of an office was proportional to the amount of power one held, so the position of Advisory Chairman was probably right below the Director and Deputy Director of the Management Bureau. There would be department heads in between as well, but the Advisory Chairman held a special position. Strictly speaking, he wasn't part of the Management Bureau, but he wasn't completely an outsider either.
The Advisory Chairman didn't say much during the elevator ride up. It seemed his personality was naturally taciturn.
"This way."
After getting off on the fortieth floor, the Advisory Chairman strode down the hallway and entered his office. As befitting an office used by someone important, it was spacious and clean, and the large windows offered a sweeping view of the city's skyline.
"Have a seat."
After I sat on the sofa, the Advisory Chairman pressed the intercom on his desk to order tea, then sat across from me.
"How is Hee-won doing?"
"In terms of academic performance, there's nothing to criticize. She always achieves excellent grades in every subject. Honestly, I feel burdened that someone like me, rather than other excellent professors, is serving as her advisor."
"There's no need to feel burdened. Just continue as you have been."
"Thank you."
After looking at me for a moment, the Advisory Chairman asked,
"But why did you suddenly want to look up your past activity records?"
He had clearly called me here to talk about Yoo Hee-won's studies, yet with just one question—"How is Hee-won doing?"—he ended that topic entirely and brought up something else. So that was his real reason for calling me.
"There are a few things I need to confirm."
"Things you need to confirm."
The Advisory Chairman said that and slowly nodded. Just then the tea arrived, so we sipped it in silence.
Why was the Advisory Chairman curious about me looking for my past records? More precisely—why was a former Secreto member curious about another former Secreto member searching for his past records? And what was his intention? Was he trying to warn me not to do anything unnecessary? Or did he simply want the pleasure of sharing old memories? Of course, it couldn't be the latter. Then a warning? That everything related to Secreto was classified, so I shouldn't dig around. But if that were the case, there would be no need for the Advisory Chairman to get personally involved. He could just block it at the source, or, like in the movies, have agents visit my home and make subtle threats. If not that, then some other intention I couldn't possibly anticipate?
I had no idea. But that didn't mean I could back down quietly. There was also the matter of Han Min-ha, and I was very curious about my own past—about the backstory of the character Kyo Suhyeon. And if there was truly no other way, I had been planning to ask the Advisory Chairman directly, so I decided not to let this opportunity slip away.
"In the past..."
Just as I was about to speak, the Advisory Chairman spoke first.
"How much do you remember?"
How much did I remember? The question was a little strange.