TS 054
by Aoi“Oh, Suryeon-hyung!”
Han Suryeon slowly turned his body, following the familiar voice. Kang Jaemin was approaching, holding an ice cream in one hand. As if he had been running, his shortly cut bangs were sticking straight up.
“It’s Jaemin.”
“Didn’t you take a day off today? I didn’t see you all day, so I thought you took a day off.”
“Well, something like that… I just had some business to attend to.”
“So you did take a day off, right? But how did the Team Leader not know? Don’t you need the Team Leader’s approval?”
It was a question, but he didn’t seem deeply curious. Han Suryeon made up a plausible excuse.
“I got it approved by the Director.”
“Aha, I see. No wonder… The Team Leader was looking for you.”
At the words that he had been looking for him, his relaxed eyes softened even more. Han Suryeon fluttered his eyelashes and moved his lips.
“The Team Leader was looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why was he looking for me?”
When he subtly threw the words, Kang Jaemin laid out his curiosities.
“Uh, I don’t know about that. But he seemed a bit annoyed. The Team Leader doesn’t make that face over trivial matters unless he’s in the field… Of course, Su-an-hyung and I get scolded often.”
Han Suryeon recalled Yoon Taehwa’s annoyed face. His straight eyebrows would be slightly furrowed, and his cheek would twitch. It seemed that his deliberate avoidance had been effective, and he had been on his mind.
“I guess he didn’t know because I didn’t tell him in advance. Should I tell him now?”
“I don’t think the Team Leader is at the Center right now? He left work on time today, saying he was going to the main house.”
“The main house?”
“Yes. He goes sometimes.”
“I thought you were busy with the cleanup.”
Kang Jaemin, who had been scooping up ice cream, crinkled his nose.
“The monster’s appearance in the Han River and the Wing H explosion?”
“Yeah.”
“The Team Leader probably got chewed out a lot already. But it’s also strange to hold our team responsible. Who was it that killed the Kraken?”
If this were Russia, they would be receiving a grand welcome, let alone being held responsible. Having dealt with a monster that had appeared in the middle of the capital, it was only natural for them to feel relieved. There would be some who would complain, saying it was the guild’s fault, but most would have swallowed their words.
‘I guess being state-affiliated can’t be helped.’
Since the responsibility for dungeons lies with the state, it might be right for the Center, a state institution, to take responsibility.
“Actually, the Dungeon Management Team probably got chewed out more than us. But…”
Kang Jaemin, who had been looking around, beckoned with his hand as if telling him to come closer. Han Suryeon leaned slightly toward him.
“They say there are no traces of a dungeon.”
The cautious whisper was enough to convey the secret story.
“It’s a story that will officially come down to our team anyway, so I’m telling you in advance. I heard the Management Team’s team leader talking.”
“Then does that mean someone deliberately released the monster?”
“Probably, right? There was talk about it being a terrorist organization, but I don’t know the details yet. It was the first time I even knew such an ability existed.”
It seemed that was the topic of conversation that Yoon Taehwa and Shin Ae-hi had shared in the Director’s office. Because he had left after arguing with Yoon Taehwa, it was the first he was hearing of it, let alone sharing information.
“By the way, what’s your business, hyung? Can I come with you?”
“Ah…”
Han Suryeon drooped his eyebrows like someone who had received a troublesome proposal.
“It’s a direct order from the Director.”
“Heok, is it a mission related to Black?”
Was Black a Center-affiliated ability user who engaged in espionage activities in other countries? Han Suryeon neither confirmed nor denied, just made an ambiguous expression. Kang Jaemin, who had understood on his own, nodded his head.
“I understand. Then can I tell the Team Leader that you took a day off? If he asks later. Oh, no. That’s not necessary, is it? We’ll see each other tomorrow anyway.”
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to see each other tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I’m sulking with the Team Leader.”
Han Suryeon answered, pouting his lips. It was an extremely cringey word for an adult man to utter, but strangely, it didn’t feel out of place. Kang Jaemin, too, instead of making a face as if to say, ‘what are you talking about,’ just widened his eyes while eating his ice cream, as if asking why he was sulking.
“Because our Team Leader is so heartless…”
His slender eyelashes drooped pitifully.
“I was hurt.”
His footsteps toward the bomb shelter were light, as usual. Han Suryeon, out of habit, rolled the object in his hand. As if his body heat had transferred to the cold crystal, the angular part felt lukewarm.
His serene face didn’t look like that of someone who was about to attempt something dangerous.
‘He did look for me. I thought he’d just leave me alone.’
Even with the task at hand, what dominated his thoughts was Yoon Taehwa.
Han Suryeon never lost focus when dealing with monsters. Whether deciding on support or setting the direction of attack, the top priority had to be the target monster.
Approaching Yoon Taehwa while dealing with a monster in the field was also something his usual self would not have done. He hadn’t had time to think because his body had moved on its own, but it was clear that he would do the same thing if it happened again.
But just because he had done such a thing didn’t mean he could understand Yoon Taehwa’s actions.
‘I just can’t understand why he would jump into a situation where he doesn’t need to.’
The act of throwing his body as if to save him was the same.
That moment suddenly overlapped with some point in the past, and Han Suryeon, without realizing it, frowned.
『Anyway, you’re still the same, making people worry…』
Though he had never imagined he would hear the answer, ‘why are you worried about me.’
‘Why are you worried about me?’
His tone was dry, as if he didn’t know what it had to do with him.
‘I was hurt because our Team Leader is so heartless.’
He had whined to Kang Jaemin about being hurt, but in the first place, Han Suryeeon was not someone who was familiar with the emotion of being hurt. Therefore, he didn’t even know what color of emotion that was exactly.
He also couldn’t tell whether the emotion he had felt at Yoon Taehwa’s words was hurt, or simply displeasure.
‘Be jealous of something worth being jealous of.’
Perhaps it was jealousy. Because Yoon Taehwa had jumped in to save Kim Su-an, just as he had for him, and because he had smiled at the son of a bitch who was pricking up his ears, just as he had for him.
It felt like proof that he was no different from anyone else, and it hurt his feelings.
“Oh, Han Suryeon-ssi.”
Han Suryeon shook off the useless thoughts when he saw the S-class Esper in front of him.
“Hello, Team Leader Kim Dohee. It seems you’re in charge of the bomb shelter today.”
“I was trying to slack off and got caught. Oh, by the way, thank you for training our team’s rookie back then. The kid snapped right to it.”
“It was nothing.”
Despite having beaten an A-class Esper with just his grip, Han Suryeon acted shy.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“I received an entry permit from the Director. I have some business with the person inside.”
“Really?”
Kim Dohee narrowed her brows and stroked her chin, as if it were the first she was hearing of it. Han Suryeon held out a document with Shin Ae-hi’s handwritten signature. Their fingertips brushed.
“Hmm, that’s right.”
“It won’t take long. She just asked me to check something for a moment and come back.”
“Will 10 minutes be enough?”
Han Suryeon obediently nodded at Kim Dohee, who was checking her watch.
「Entry permit confirmed. The door is opening.」
Soon, she opened the bomb shelter door with biometric recognition. Han Suryeon entered the bomb shelter without difficulty.
As he walked toward the depths, he saw a sleeping face, no different from the one in Wing H. Han Suryeon walked toward the bed with the same stride as before. 10 minutes was enough.
“Still sleeping soundly…”
He sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at the sleeping face. The complexion of the person with his eyes closed as if he were dead was as pale as a corpse.
Han Suryeon, out of habit, rolled the object in his hand and then slowly opened his hand. Dozens of artificial lights installed to illuminate the dark bomb shelter shone down on the crystal. Inside the transparent mineral was a liquid that sloshed like water.
“Well, I’ll have to check whether he’s really sleeping or just can’t wake up.”
Muttering to himself in a playful tone, he reached out his hand toward Pavel’s head without hesitation. It was the exact spot that Shin Ae-hi had touched a few days ago.
『If you don’t want to die like this…』
Han Suryeon looked down at the pale face and pulled his lips into a smirk.
『try to run away.』
It didn’t take long for his gray eyes to become steeped in a different light.
“You came out really early?”
As if she had been timing it, Kim Dohee lifted her gaze from her watch and grinned.
“Yes. It was a simple task, so it ended early.”
“Did the Director ask you for a favor?”
“Ah.”
This time, too, Han Suryeon trailed off, as if he were in a difficult position.
“It’s not at a stage where I can talk about it yet… I’m sorry.”
When he deliberately made a very sorry face, Kim Dohee waved her hands.
“It’s not something you should be sorry to me about. Is it a mission you’re doing with Team Leader Yoon?”
“Yes. Actually, my coming here today was unofficial…”
“I see. Then I’ll see you next time. Oh, by the way, next time we meet, tell me how you messed up our team member.”
Kim Dohee threw a joke.
“I think I’ll get scolded by the Team Leader… I’ll tell you secretly, without the Team Leader knowing.”
“Suryeon-ssi, you and I are on the same wavelength, you know? Alright.”
“Take care.”
After receiving the document with Shin Ae-hi’s signature back, he left the bomb shelter as if nothing had happened. His next destination was the Center’s main building, where Kim Hye-na was.
When he met Kim Hye-na, he was holding a strawberry latte in his hand. It was because an employee had given it to him, saying it was a wrong order and he should drink it, as he was passing by the cafeteria.
“I made good use of this.”
Han Suryeon said, handing back the document he had shown to Kim Dohee. Kim Hye-na shrugged, as if to say, ‘what are you talking about.’
“It was nothing. This much isn’t very difficult. It’s just a trick of the eye for suggestions, anyway.”
Her gaze went to the strawberry latte in the takeout cup. A question appeared on her serene face.
“Why the strawberry latte? You hate sweet things, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I do. Do you want it?”
Kim Hye-na, who had inadvertently taken the pink drink, held up the cup and carefully examined its contents, as if looking at a bizarre object.
“Why are you holding this?”
“If you’re not going to drink it, throw it away for me.”
“Didn’t you just pass by the cafeteria? Why are you carrying it around instead of throwing it away there?”
“It would be troublesome if the Team Leader caught me throwing it away.”
Han Suryeon crinkled his eyes and smiled.
“Pardon?”
“I’m just drinking it to pretend to be pretty.”
The bright face that went well with the pink color spouted pure nonsense.