Chapter 29
The story continues off the page
Floaties for Everyone
Swim lesson at the water park, and she's demonstrating on you
The rhythmic clop of horses' hooves pulling the carriage rings out.
As we pass through a forest where bamboo shoots up in vivid colors, the Hunter sitting beside me casually strikes up a conversation.
“Um... Mr. Juseon?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever worked in security before?”
“No.”
Of course not.
After hearing me, the others nod as if it were only to be expected.
You'd think Manager Kang Baram would tell us not to make small talk during work, but unexpectedly, he doesn't stop us.
“...Then what is your relationship with Team Leader Ryu Seoram?”
“Me? We were classmates at the Hunter training center.”
At that, everyone's eyes, including Manager Kang Baram's, grow round.
“The 111th class?”
“The Golden Generation? Th-then you spent time with Hunter Yoo Yena too?”
“Well, yes.”
They seem to have a lot of questions.
If you tell people you graduated from the same training center as two of the Seven Extremes in Korea, this is usually how they react.
“Then are you a Hunter too, Mr. Juseon? Do you work independently?”
“No, I run a business.”
Now's the time?
I immediately take out my business card.
<We Find Your Miracle Among Countless Worlds.>
Hunter-specialized matchmaking agency, Meracle.
“I do this kind of work. I'm especially good at matching Hunters.”
“Oh...”
“What the—”
“Hunters often let marriageable age pass while working. If you're interested, give me a call.”
Their expressions twist.
They look like people who thought they were meeting someone who had been with legends, only to suddenly be told they had auspicious physiognomy.
But that's society.
Embarrassing?
Blushing?
Fuck, my employee is waiting at the office, headbutting me.
“Ahem.”
“I'm good.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
Everyone returns my business card.
It's a shame, but at least I've made an impression.
The atmosphere even turns chilly.
“That figures.”
“If he were that successful, we'd have heard of him.”
“Tsk...”
I might be able to call myself their senior from the Hunter training center, but in truth, that means nothing.
In their eyes, I'm probably indistinguishable from all the countless doormats who were at the Hunter training center.
Anyone who makes it into Blackline Risk is at the very top of the training center.
Put simply, to them, I'm the future of one of those pathetic guys who used to serve as floor mats at the training center.
Besides, I'm someone who's going to disappear once this assignment ends.
Crackle!
Just then, Ryu Seoram's voice comes through the radio clipped to Manager Kang Baram's chest.
- The VIP says they want to stop at a rest area. We'll be pulling over in ten minutes, so secure the route in advance.
“Loud and clear.”
A little later, we arrive at the rest area.
The Beta Team gets off the carriage and immediately checks the route.
For the record, though it's called a rest area, it isn't like the ones you commonly see on the third-floor expressways.
You could think of it as a huge tavern.
Just as various aspects of fifth-floor culture have seeped into the third floor,
third-floor culture has naturally spread to the fifth floor as well.
This rest area is located along the main road leading out of the Tower, and I once saw it on TV because it had become a huge success.
Crackle!
The radio crackles again.
- The VIP wants gyeondan and hot green tea, so buy some. Also, pull personnel from the route to the restroom.
“Loud and clear.”
Talk about treating him like royalty.
“Serim and Dedral, go buy the food; everyone else, wait nearby. Kim Juseon, come with me to escort the VIP to the restroom.”
Manager Kang Baram gives the orders briskly.
‘Me?’
I don't know why he singled me out for direct VIP protection, but I follow orders for now.
A little later, two carriages arrive.
From the first carriage, Ryu Seoram and the VIP, Aul, get out; from the following carriage, the Alpha Team pours out and watches the carriage.
Aul was an owl beastfolk, just as his name suggested. His round eyes made him look innocent, while tufts of feathers rose from both sides of his head like horns.
He wears a hat and glasses to hide his identity, and conceals his body beneath a coat.
He is handsome.
He's even got a good personality.
He even held a press conference saying that his throat was injured through his own fault, not because of any negligence on Wolfguard Tactical Solutions' part.
Of course, people said Aul was only covering for them because he was kind.
That just got Wolfguard Tactical Solutions cursed out even more for not being ashamed.
‘My stocks...’
I grow depressed again, but there's nothing I can do.
When we escort him to the restroom, Aul gives Manager Kang Baram and me a deep bow.
“Th-thank you-.”
“...!”
I had heard that his throat was injured.
But his voice sounds ruined, like someone scraping rusty metal.
Suddenly, I remember Kim Yang and Renea dancing to Aul's carol.
‘His voice was ruined this badly?’
You bastards at Wolfguard.
You were supposed to protect him properly.
How much smoke must he have inhaled to end up like that?
‘They said owl beastfolk had particularly sensitive throats—but smoke alone could ruin it that badly...’
When Aul goes into the restroom, Manager Kang Baram asks me quietly.
“Ahem, Team Member Kim Juseon. You run a business outside?”
“...Yes.”
He heard everything in that cramped carriage earlier, yet look at him pretending not to know.
Is this why he assigned me separately to restroom duty?
I silently hand him my business card, and Manager Kang Baram takes it with an awkward cough.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
“...If you're a manager at Blackline Risk, you can qualify for at least basic B-rank as long as you don't have any debts.”
“Ahem! Ahem! I do have debt, but—it's a mortgage I took out to buy an apartment.”
“In your name?”
“That's right.”
Damn, I'm jealous.
“There are things to consider, like your annual salary and monthly interest payments, but you should be fine.”
If you took out a loan to buy an apartment in your own name, almost no one considers it nothing but debt.
“Um, are there any decent women?”
“Plenty.”
“Could I at least see some pictures...?”
He's surprisingly forward.
Was he desperate because he had no woman despite becoming a manager?
More importantly, I don't exactly carry photos of my clients around.
“Ah!”
A picture suddenly comes to mind.
I remember the selfie Renea took while comparing the image quality of my phone and her own.
“What do you think of her?”
When I show him a picture of Renea winking, Manager Kang Baram's shoulders start bobbing.
“A-an elf? Do people like her visit matchmaking agencies too?”
“Yes, of course. As you know, elves are a little older than they look, but she's still beautiful, isn't she? You could easily take her for someone in her twenties.”
“Ahem.”
I don't mention her age, since he might change his mind once he hears it.
* * *
Could it be because of how thoroughly ruined Aul's voice was?
Looking over his schedule, I can't help feeling sorry for him in many ways.
Most of the stops were tourist attractions where he could find peace of mind, ease his heart, or take in beautiful scenery.
The itinerary reflects his desire to shake off his painful reality.
The place we arrive at after finishing the day's schedule is Cheongunru, the grand inn known as the five-star hotel of the old martial world.
Of course, that's relative; it's not comparable to actual five-star hotels on the third floor.
Anyway, it was an inn built by someone who came up from the third floor and modeled it after Japan's ryokan, so it's especially popular with third-floor tourists.
“Ah, I could use a cigarette.”
Yawning, I lean against the sliding door behind me.
I'm guarding the VIP's room like a night watchman.
‘Do we really have to go this far?’
I know he's a famous singer, but is he important enough to warrant a night watch?
“Yaaawn.”
As I yawn again, thunder rolls outside.
It's a strange night: no rain, not even a breath of wind, yet thunder keeps crashing one after another.
“Should I have just refused outright? Maybe I've been found out.”
But six million won for three days is too much money to turn down.
Even if the Azure Dragon was as formidable as they said, could it really find one small human that quickly?
Clunk!
Then the door behind me tries to slide sideways, but catches with a clunk. When I bump it with my back, it slides smoothly again.
Aul is smiling awkwardly.
“Um, excuse me-! Sorry, but-.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“The person who's coming to give me acupuncture-! They're supposed to come-!”
“Ah, yes. I'll let them in as soon as they arrive.”
This was something Ryu Seoram had already told me.
A famous physician from the old martial world is coming to care for his throat.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. It's my job.”
“...Your job.”
“Pardon?”
I give him a capitalist smile, and he asks cautiously.
“I-I heard in the bathroom. You're a matchmaking agency!”
The bathroom?
They say owls have good hearing.
Apparently he overheard us unintentionally.
“Yes, that's right.”
Perhaps because he keeps speaking while straining his throat, every syllable comes out with a heavy accent, which is truly pitiful.
He could write things down when it hurt, but Aul stubbornly uses his voice to the very end.
“C-can I do that too?”
“Get married?”
“Yes-! Exactly! I think it might be time to retire.”
“……”
“With my throat like this-! I think I may have to retire.”
“I see.”
I keep my emotional reaction to a minimum. Sometimes even sharing someone's sadness can hurt them.
“J-just-! I want to meet someone with absolutely no connection to me-! Someone like that!”
“You have nothing to worry about.”
I simply hand him my business card, calmly.
“I'm Kim Juseon, CEO of Meracle. I'll find Mr. Aul's miracle among the many worlds. I promise.”
I'm the kind of man who'll even arrange a marriage for a 1,901-year-old grandmother.
A former singer with a damaged throat?
Of course I can do it.
At my words, Aul nods with a faint smile.
“Th-thank you.”
Just then, the physician arrives at the end of the hall. The two enter the room, and I casually take an earbud from my pocket and put it in one ear.
One of the songs I'd saved.
I listen to a carol called ‘Good Christmas,’ sung by Aul.
- Through the softly ringing bells~
- May today be winter for just the two of us~
- Forgetting everything and looking only at you~
- It's a beautiful day~
It's a beautiful song, sung in such a sweet voice.
It was a song I'd heard in passing when Kim Yang said she was filming a Short.
It was good enough to make me track it down and download it.
KWAANG-! KWAANG-!
“……”
The thunder keeps pounding into my uncovered ear.
By this point, I thought I couldn't ignore it any longer—
Then I realized why the thunder had been striking so mercilessly.
‘So it was trying to drown out the sound of its daughter's footsteps.’
Far away.
At the end of the hallway drenched in darkness.
A familiar face comes running toward me with a bright smile.
“Greeeat Hero-!”