Chapter 128

“I was cut. I am reserve No. 15.”

Han Ji-su murmured while piling rice like a mountain on the cafeteria tray.

“Senior Baek made it into the main team.”

“Did Baek Sa-ra not say she would be busy with exploration now?”

“She did, but she still applied right away, saying this was something she had to do. I do not think Senior knew there would be this many applicants either.”

So Baek Sa-ra had stepped forward thinking there would be no volunteers.

“Ah, shit, I want to go too.”

Kwak Jae-gyeom grumbled while collecting sausages with tongs.

His cafeteria tray was covered today as well in something close to carnivory.

“Even if you had been able to apply, you would have been cut in selection anyway…….”

“Ugh, such harsh people.”

Jae-gyeom became pointlessly aggrieved at Ji-su’s statement of fact.

Jae-gyeom seemed to be saying just anything, but he also seemed almost unaware that the harsh person was his own team leader.

The topic of conversation between Han Ji-su and Kwak Jae-gyeom right now was, surprisingly, the 「Railway Station」 special operation.

They were quite disappointed that they could not participate in that operation. Truly surprisingly.

The recruitment notice for the 「Railway Station」 special operation that Cha Si-eon had posted 4 days ago recorded 36 volunteers in only 2 days.

So recruitment closed early, and a situation arose where they actually had to narrow down the personnel from within that group.

The appeal that had at first been, “Please risk your lives and join us!” had now changed into a qualification screening of, “Only the strong may participate.”

It was surprising in many ways.

“Does Mr. Han Ji-su know Lee Sol well too?”

I asked as I sat down.

Han Ji-su, who sat across from me, made the sign of the cross before the meal, then answered me.

“No, I do not know that child well.”

“You do not?”

“No. Still, I know the situation is serious. And I do not think it is right to keep leaving 「Railway Station」 like that either.”

Han Ji-su said this while calmly chewing rice.

More volunteers had gathered than expected.

And their motives for applying were also more varied than we had expected.

People who felt indebted to Lee Seop and his daughter.

People who had no sense of debt, but could not stand by and watch the situation.

People who wanted to take this chance to break 「Railway Station」, which had been strangely getting in the way.

And people who wanted the rare title of “The 13 Who Conquered 「Railway Station」”…….

To think one could risk one’s life for such things too. The Bureau people were even stranger than I had thought.

“The main team composition was incredible.”

“Elite among elites, excluding the team-leader line.”

“With this member lineup, anywhere you go is a picnic…….”

Moreover, as this operation became even more exclusively owned by old-timers, a strange admiration seemed to have formed too.

As a result, the situation of having to risk their lives had already become nothing special.

Looking at this flow, I understood why Manager Kwon Mu-seop had been so angry while putting up such an iron wall.

Once the operation was announced and personnel were recruited, everyone seemed to naturally accept this level of risk.

There was nothing particularly solemn about it; literally, the mood was just, that is how it is.

If an accident happens like this, everyone will fall into the abyss together again, will they not…….

Today too, it felt as if I could hear Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s blood pressure rising in real time.

---

After lunch.

There was the first formal meeting of the members assigned to enter 「Railway Station」.

But the term formal meeting was meaningless, because they all knew one another very well.

The selected personnel were all high-seniority agents who played senior roles on their teams.

Since such people had been gathered, the conference hall was as noisy as a marketplace.

“When are we going to 「Railway Station」?”

“I hope we go soon.”

“Can’t we just go tomorrow?”

“No, make it July 1.”

“What is that day?”

“My birthday.”

“Filial son.”

A fire-attribute filial son trying to match his birthday and death anniversary…….

These people really are not nervous at all.

Far from being nervous, they were people who fidgeted because they wanted to move quickly.

Toward those distractible agents, Cha Si-eon said,

“The operation execution date will be 2 weeks from now, even if it is moved up as much as possible.”

“What do you mean, 2 weeks? Hey! Are you doing your job properly?”

“Drag that bastard out!”

“We have to match the drone delivery schedule…….”

“You should have prepared things like that in advance, hey! Are you doing your job properly?”

“Drag that bastard out!”

Ah, these people are seriously hectic…….

But Team Leader Cha seemed used to this kind of interference and quarrel.

Judging by the way he calmly told those rioters to shut their mouths and continued the explanation.

“Approval from the upper level has not yet been granted. Manager Kwon Mu-seop has submitted a formal request, so results should come out soon.”

They say the people’s will is heaven’s will, and Manager Kwon Mu-seop had ultimately decided to follow the current of the majority.

So the rumor was that now, on the contrary, he was sweating hard trying to persuade the higher-ups.

“Simulation training will be conducted after upper-level approval. Refer to the materials for group assignments, and if you want your role changed, request it individually.”

“I do not want to be in the same group as this one!”

“I want to draw Tickets instead of drones!”

“Please request that individually later…….”

Team Leader Cha tried hard to speak nicely to the seniors who raised their hands high.

As they say, if there are too many boatmen, the boat climbs the mountain.

The members were living up to their impressive reputations.

Still, what was clear was that their skills were as outstanding as their confidence.

They were not novices who did not know what risking their lives meant, and they understood the purpose of this operation too.

Cha Si-eon also seemed to trust that point for certain.

So after finishing the operation briefing, he politely greeted those gathered there.

“Thank you, everyone. And I wish all of you luck.”

---

The formal meeting, where chatter, jeers, and wordplay ran rampant, barely ended.

Once the room was cleared, Cha Si-eon called me separately and said,

“Mr. Seo Do-un, there is something to convey regarding Researcher Kim Ji-an.”

Kim Ji-an.

The former Bureau researcher who had told me about Lee Sol’s condition.

“They say the Research Division contacted Researcher Kim Ji-an and identified the circumstances.”

Yes, it was a situation where the circumstances needed to be identified.

How Kim Ji-an, a resigned employee, had known Lee Sol’s condition so well.

And on top of that, how she had identified my movements and approached me.

This was a problem directly tied to Bureau security too.

It was also by no means desirable for an outsider to intervene so deeply in Bureau work.

So it seemed the Research Division had directly contacted Kim Ji-an’s side.

But Cha Si-eon told me something quite unexpected.

“However, Researcher Kim Ji-an’s side said that she does not even know Mr. Seo Do-un.”

“Yes?”

“And she is strongly denying the fact that she came to the Bureau together with Mr. Seo Do-un.”

What is this?

“Was the woman who came in with me then not Researcher Kim Ji-an?”

“She was. That is certain.”

Yes, Cha Si-eon and Oh Tae-o had also naturally treated her as someone they knew.

Then what is it?

Did some other thing that looked exactly like Kim Ji-an approach me and enter the Bureau?

“Could it be that it was not Kim Ji-an, but something like a 「Fake Human」 pretending to be Kim Ji-an that approached…….”

Like 「Alpha」 or 「Delta」.

If an entity that perfectly mimicked a Bureau agent came out into reality and acted…….

“No, that is not it. So far, there has been no example of an entity like a 「Fake Human」 coming out into reality either.”

“It could simply be that there had not been any until now, and this was the first time.”

“In any case, this case is certainly not that. We checked road CCTV and confirmed Researcher Kim Ji-an’s movements at the time. The person we met that day was indeed Researcher Kim Ji-an herself.”

“……?”

“However, Researcher Kim Ji-an does not remember that event at all, and insists that she does not even know who Mr. Seo Do-un is.”

Huh……?

The more I listened, the deeper the maze became.

Then did she have sleepwalking or something, and spoke and acted without knowing it herself?

No, that cannot be.

The Kim Ji-an I met had been very logical.

Her words and actions had not been unnatural either.

“Researcher Kim Ji-an is currently at the Bureau. They say she is in an interview with the Research Division people, so let us go see her once.”

At Cha Si-eon’s suggestion, I nodded.

Then, together, we crossed over to the research building and headed to the conference room where Kim Ji-an had supposedly come.

When we opened the conference room door and entered, the Research Division people were speaking with a woman seated before them.

The woman sat with her back to us.

With only her back visible to me, she was busily saying something.

“No, no, Senior……! You know my personality…… Would I come here alone? Even if I came, I would have contacted you seniors first. Would I possibly contact only Senior Oh Tae-o? On top of that, how would I ask someone I do not even know well to help me, when I have no idea how that person would respond? This is the first time I even learned that Sol had been dragged into a Special Zone……!”

The woman’s voice poured out as she breathed shallowly.

That voice was familiar to my ears, but the way she spoke was unfamiliar.

Half in doubt, I approached the researchers.

The researchers discovered Cha Si-eon and me first, and the woman who had her back to us also seemed to sense our presence and turned around.

The woman who turned her head had long, narrow eyes and glamorous features.

That woman was definitely Kim Ji-an, whom I had met a few days ago.

I recognized Kim Ji-an immediately.

On the other hand, Kim Ji-an looked between me and Cha Si-eon, then fixed her gaze on Cha Si-eon.

As if she did not know me.

As if the person she at least knew was Team Leader Cha.

When Kim Ji-an remained so distant, the Head of the Research Division pointed at me and asked,

“Kim Ji-an, you do not know that person?”

“The person next to Mr. Cha?”

Mr. Cha? Could she possibly mean Cha Si-eon?

While I was rather flustered by the unfamiliar title, Kim Ji-an looked at me and murmured,

“I think…… this is my first time meeting him today…….”

Kim Ji-an looked at me and tilted her head.

“Could that teacher perhaps be Mr. Seo Do-un……?”

At that innocent appearance, chills suddenly ran through me.

This was someone I did not know.

This Kim Ji-an was someone I did not know.

Kim Ji-an’s appearance was exactly as I remembered, and even her clothing style was similar to that time, but the person inside was completely different from what I had experienced.

The Kim Ji-an I had met at the café was not this kind of person.

Her expression of emotions had not been this transparent and natural.

Swallowing my bewilderment, I approached Kim Ji-an.

“I am Seo Do-un.”

“Ah, ah, yes. I am Kim Ji-an.”

“May I…… shake your hand?”

I carefully extended my hand toward Kim Ji-an.

Kim Ji-an looked at me as if slightly surprised, then hesitantly clasped my hand.

Kim Ji-an’s hand was trembling.

But that hand was not cold.

“…….”

I looked down at Kim Ji-an’s hand, then raised my head.

Seen up close, Kim Ji-an had a tear mole on her face.

This tear mole was also exactly as I had seen before.

But the eyes above it were different from my memory.

When I had seen them before, her pupils had been especially black. Now, they were an ordinary dark brown.