CH 19

Chapter 2. Half an S-class. 

A middle-aged man seated at the conference room’s upper position asked into the microphone. Jung Yoojin answered quickly.

“Kang Hara is still in the midst of recovering. She can’t be in attendance.”

– Does that make sense?

“Of course it makes sense.”

Chief Jung Yoojin raised her eyebrows.

“She’s an employee that barely managed to survive from a B-class gate. Wouldn’t it be natural for her to enter the hospital’s intensive care unit? It has only been a week since the gate was closed.”

Supervisor Yoon Hyundong frowned.

– With the gate’s closure, all the officials at the scene saw a message saying that the dungeon raid was completed. But Kang Hara is unable to attend?

“Then how about we all go to the intensive care unit, bring an unconscious patient to the round table and hold a meeting.”

– Chief Jung Yoojin!

Supervisor Yoon slammed the desk with a bang. An enormous sound appeared from the heavy desk. Everyone seated were startled as a result. 

– Everyone knows that Kang Hara-ssi is currently in a single room, and not in the intensive care unit. Agent Shim Yoojung?!

Yoojung, who was summoned for her testimony and pressured by one side, was startled.

She had been attending the disciplinary committee with Chief Jung Yoojin for three days consecutively, because she was with Hara when the guerrilla gate formed. 

Supervisor Yoon asked again.

– Agent Shim Yoojung is also helping to downsize and cover up the Yeouido gate’s raid incident!

Those words caused bewilderment and fear to fill Yoojung’s eyes. At that, Jung Yoojin sighed deeply and cut in.

“And so?”

The rude answer from the chief of the Mapo branch office caused the eyes of the officials to widen. However, Chief Jung Yoojin just snorted.

“The disciplinary committee has already entered its third day now. How many times have I asked if Agent Kang Hara had a second awakening?”

– This concerns a national crisis! The Mapo branch is intentionally hiding whether an agent had a second awakening, and is clearly hiding the agent in question from the disciplinary committee!

“Do you have proof?”

The supervisor looked at Chief Jung Yoojin incredulously. Chief Jung Yoojin didn’t lift an eyebrow despite Supervisor Yoon’s bewildered gaze.

“As the chief of a branch office, I have a duty to protect the agents of our branch. The Seoul Regional Office is forcing the disciplinary committee to produce an agent that’s unable to lead her daily life on the basis of mere speculation.”

Supervisor Yoon gritted his teeth and shouted again.

– This isn’t speculation, but performing my duty to protect the country!

“Didn’t I just say that the agent who’d fulfilled her duty to protect the country is now unwell! Not only is the agent that came back alive without zero casualties in the dungeon unrewarded, she’s called before a disciplinary committee immediately!”

– It’s not that I’m not going to reward her! Mapo branch chief!

“Why!”

“Ahhh,” Yoojung closed her eyes tightly. After her divorce, she was transferred to the Mapo branch office and worked for a total of eight years. Thanks to that, she was well aware of the personality of Chief Jung Yoojin, who was called the ‘Mapo Tiger’. 

Due to Chief Jung’s personality, enduring for three days was considered rather long. As expected, she flew into a rage.

“Adjourn! Hey, Yoon Hyundong! Why do you keep treating me like a thief? The kid is unwell!”

Everyone became puzzled at the sudden suspension announcement, and the vicious remarks that followed from Chief Jung caused their faces to twist. Another of the supervisors hurriedly shouted into the microphone.

– Chief Jung! This is the regional office! A suspension wouldn’t proceed with a unilateral declaration of yours!

However, the problem was Supervisor Yoon’s management over his emotions. 

– Sunbae Jung! Stop speaking informally! I’m a supervisor here!

“Oh, good going for you, you punk!”

– Ah! I’m currently Sunbae’s superior! 

“F you, you b*stard! Which generation are you in? If I hadn’t taken childcare leave, I would have been promoted before you!”

Crude words continued flowing out.

Upon hearing all that, Yoojung felt like crying. Ah, Chief Jung. If you scream like that indiscriminately, it’ll just become hard for us subordinates later on…

– Isn’t it because you’re frustrated? We also need some sort of result to hold a press conference! Right now, it’s a gate appearing in the middle of Yeouido! If the E-class awakens again, wouldn’t it be favourable for the Mapo branch office as well?

“You can call President Kim of the broadcasting station and ask him if this is the value of the licence fee! Is that something we should be responsible for? Even if we’re to take responsibility, shouldn’t you ask the Yeongdeungpo Branch! It’ll be great for us if she had awakened! But haven’t I told you that it isn’t the case?”

– Please let us ascertain that!

Now, Chief Jung and Supervisor Yoon were on their feet and pointing fingers at each other.

Nevertheless, their loud voices became deafening with the microphone’s assistance. Although others knocked on the desk for silence, the two continued getting worked up.

Then, someone bent the microphone with a snap.

Screech—

The sound of microphone feedback resonated throughout the conference room. At the hair-raising noise, everyone present covered their ears in unison and looked at the center of the room. 

A smiling middle-aged woman sat in the center. She held a bent microphone in her slightly chubby hand. 

“Both of you, enough.”

“But, Director, haven’t the agents and I suffered for three days now? How much more…”

Chief Jung expressed her resentment. Then, the middle-aged woman, who was seated in the center with a smile, opened her mouth.

“Jung Yoojin. What generation are you, you punk?”

Everyone present fell silent. Yoojung doubted her own ears.

But the woman still urged Chief Jung again with the world’s mildest expression. 

“Hmm? Which generation?”

“……The eleventh.”

“I’m in the third generation. If you can find a number that’s before mine, get ready to zip your mouth shut before you speak.”

“I’m sorry.”

The head of the Seoul Regional Office, Lee Eunjoo. 

People would say that this nice-looking middle-aged woman looks ‘mild and harmless,’ and at the same time they’d think, ‘Is it false that she’s an S-class hunter?’ This was due to her originally kind countenance that seemed far from a combat-type.

However, Lee Eunjoo’s true value was usually revealed at times like this. The ability to overpower even the combat-type Mapo tiger in one move. 

“Chief Jung.”

“Yes.”

Chief Jung responded while unknowingly straightening her back. Lee Eunjoo spoke with a smile.

“The middle school girls that survived the dungeon together said Kang Hara didn’t mention her grade. However, it was confirmed that she possesses flight skills.”

“Yes.”

“Do you not remember Anchor Yoon Seheon?”

“Yes.”

“But Chief Jung Yoojin. Yoon Seheon was interviewed in the intensive care unit before his family could enter.”

Chief Jung couldn’t respond. Director Lee continued to speak gently.

“In fact, cases where the memories in the dungeon being blacked out aren’t uncommon. However, Anchor Yoon Seheon’s father is probably the National Assembly lawmaker, Yoon Soon-hyun, right? The one advocating for the Hunter Agency Privatization Bill.”

The crowd fell silent.

Lawmaker Yoon, who had been insisting on the Hunter Agency’s privatisation for several years now, has been a thorn in all the Directors’ sides. Since of all people, his son Anchor Yoon Seheon, was drawn into the dungeon, Lawmaker Yoon would use it as an excuse to make a fuss about how inadequate the Hunter Agency was. 

Of course, it was a publicly known fact that Anchor Yoon had opposite inclinations to his father, but no one knows how his mind might have changed since he was even drawn into the gate this time.

Director Lee Eunjoo smiled and spoke into the microphone.

– Let’s do a press conference first and close this case.

“Director!”

Yoon Hyundong called the Director. However, Director Lee shook her head.

– Supervisor Yoon. I know that the Hunter Agency public opinion isn’t good these days. I’d appreciate it if an S-class awakening occurred at this point in time. But isn’t the current situation like this? Are you going to bring in someone that saved children over and cause talk of her being taken?

Supervisor Yoon closed his mouth. Director Lee spoke with her chin up.

– We should just be thankful that no one got hurt.

“……Yes.”

– Is Chief Jung Yoojin going to Yeouido today?

Yoojin nodded. Director Lee smiled again.

“Let’s go together then.”

* * *

— Is it just an accident or a case of school bullying if you’re isolated in a dungeon? 

┗ It should be school bullying.

┗ What’s this?

┗ The students that were isolated in the dungeon, but one person was pushed to be eaten by the mob. 

┗ Crazy. This is about the Yeouido incident, right? Is the post details for real?

In a single room at Yeouido’s largest general hospital.

Hara was looking at her cell phone while lying on the bed. Although the contents were quite interesting, she couldn’t concentrate on the contents. She had been trying to read it for the fifth or sixth time since earlier, but she failed to do so.

The reason was simple. It was because Hara’s mother had been on the phone since earlier.

“Oh my, what’s this? It’s a mess. Yes, it’s alright. My kid’s still fine. It’s fine after removing the bad ones. No, I just thought that something big happened, so I kept crying while hitting the ground. But it was a mess over nothing. Oh, of course. People keep mocking my kid for being E-class. But how difficult it must have been to save everyone without any casualties.”

A sofa for guardians that was placed in the single room. Hara’s mother, who sat there, has been repeating similar conversations on the phone all day since this morning.

After the Yeouido gate opened, Hara was reported missing with mosaic processed personal information. However, it seems like most of those that could recognize her have recognized her.

Her mother grumbled about the number of messages that came in during Hara’s ten hours of struggle in the dungeon. 

But most of the grumbling was feigned, and she was sincere when saying that she was both happy and proud.

When incoming calls were filled with curiosity that outstripped worry, Hara’s mother, Yoon Hyunsook, kept bragging about her daughter. For Hara, it was a strange yet embarrassing experience. 

“My child is fine. Oh, my child has always been good at studying since she was young, but she kept spacing out after becoming a civil servant. Yes, yes. Hyeri is much smarter. Yeah, alright, I’m hanging up now. Hey, Hara.”

“……Uh, uh!”

Hara was startled because she was smoothly called by her mother as soon as she hung up the phone. Yoon Hyunsook frowned and held out the plate of apples that she’d peeled earlier.

“You’re in a daze again. Eat this. It’s a Gamhong apple. Your uncle in Daegu sent this, saying he’s proud of you. It’s only available during this season, but do you know how much a box of this costs?”

[T/N: Gamhong apple is a type of premium apple that’s difficult to grow, and is popular as a gift]

She doesn’t know how much it costs, but seeing how her mother said that, it must be rather expensive…… Hara reached out and placed a slightly browned apple in her mouth. The sound of a crunch rang out. It was delicious.

However, Yoon Hyunsook-ssi didn’t give Hara a chance to think that it was delicious.

“Kid, aren’t you going to quit?”