Chapter 67

“Most men are like that, but Team Leader Cha is a real hierarchy animal.”

Baek Sa-ra said this, the person most serious about pecking-order fights among everyone I knew.

“But people don’t really know this. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because Team Leader Cha sees almost everyone as beneath him. Fairly.”

“Pfft.”

I ended up bursting out, and Baek Sa-ra shook her head.

“He’s really arrogant, right?”

“It’s worse because it’s arrogance with a basis.”

“Truly.”

Cha Si-eon was arrogant.

That was the shared opinion of me and Baek Sa-ra.

At the same time, we acknowledged it. That person was allowed to be a little arrogant.

When I first saw Cha Si-eon, I wondered what a human could possibly be relying on to act like that.

But after watching him from beside him for about 3 months, he did have a lot to rely on.

Since his appointment to the Bureau, Cha Si-eon had received Special Grade in every evaluation, and he was the acknowledged top of the Field Division.

His skill was at that level, his physique was overwhelming, his work processing was fast, and even his face was excessively handsome.

He was literally someone who had everything, so there was nothing to be done even if he acted superior.

Because he really was superior.

So I could not readily understand Baek Sa-ra’s words.

“But that person is especially prickly only to you, Mr. Otter. That’s because he hasn’t sorted out the hierarchy with you.”

Even hearing it again, it was the same.

What on earth does this mean?

More importantly, he really was prickly only to me?

It wasn’t just my imagination?

While feeling a strange sense of betrayal, I still did not understand, so I shook my head.

“Team Leader Cha is actively treating me as beneath him.”

“That person’s real looking-down-on-someone is not active.”

“Then what is it?”

“It is mechanical. Should I say dry? In other words, it’s like this. ‘Your level is about this much, so do only this much of a role. You must not fail, and you do not need to do better. I do not accept objections.’ That is the real Team Leader Cha-style way of looking down on someone.”

Oh, I think I know what she means.

“He has a tendency to manage other people while treating them as weaklings. To put it nicely, he has leadership. To put it badly, he is self-righteous?”

When she said it that way, the explanation made some sense.

In human society, the word hierarchy was usually used in a bad sense, but hierarchy was not necessarily only about abusing authority or indulging a desire to dominate.

For example, there was also hierarchy like with wolves, where the leader led the pack, and by doing so, maintained the group stably.

And if Cha Si-eon belonged to the latter kind of hierarchy animal, then it could also be understood like this.

That bastard, what he has been doing to me all this time was not even looking down on me. It was just picking fights.

“He’s someone who has to manage the pack like that, but he can’t do that to you, Mr. Otter, so he’s waging a psychological battle by himself.”

“Only with me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”

At my question, Baek Sa-ra tilted her head.

Then she smiled playfully and asked back.

“This is not something like Noble Lady rhetoric, is it?”

At the phrase Noble Lady rhetoric, I thought for a moment.

Noble Lady rhetoric was a technique where one had a true intention one wanted to convey, but could not express it directly because of face, and instead induced the other party to notice one’s inner thoughts or act on one’s behalf.

It was mainly used when bragging about oneself, and similar terms included “Department Head rhetoric,” with usage examples like, “Looks like I’ll be paying a huge amount of taxes again this year.”

Does Baek Sa-ra think I am feigning innocence like this?

To clear up the misunderstanding, I tried speaking in as much detail as possible.

“I truly do not know. I am aware that, half by my own will and half against it, I have achieved remarkable results in Special Zones, and that I have gained considerable popularity because of that, but I do not think Team Leader Cha would keep me in check over something like this. Because my situation is no different from that of a mine-detection dog, and no matter how much people cheer for me and support me, if I abruptly die tomorrow, that is the end. Of course, there are one-dimensional people who cut out only the parts of another person’s situation that look good, fixate on them, and feel jealous, but at least Team Leader Cha does not seem like that type.”

“…….”

“On top of that, if Team Leader Cha is ranking himself the highest, then that standard must be limited to physical ability. Not human qualities such as character, refinement, or intelligence. In other words, according to the value standard Team Leader Cha pursues, there is no one who would think I am better than Team Leader Cha. The possibility of that happening in the future is also slim. So I genuinely do not know what reason Team Leader Cha would have to keep me in check.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“If the phrase Noble Lady rhetoric offended you…….”

“No, not at all. It just seemed there was a misunderstanding. Ah, did I speak too stiffly?”

“It’s not that. Somehow, it feels like I have only been watching an otter swim, and then witnessed a hunting otter in real time.”

“……?”

Baek Sa-ra covered her mouth with her hand and murmured.

As if she had seen something incredible.

In any case, this was my view.

The reason for pecking-order fights was to gain a stable position within a group.

Cha Si-eon’s position in the Bureau was extremely firm, and I posed no threat to it.

Because we were in completely separate areas.

“You’re right, Mr. Otter. Team Leader Cha is not that petty a person.”

Baek Sa-ra nodded and accepted it.

Then she added this.

“But he is someone with enormous pride.”

Pride.

That too was a major cause of pecking-order fights.

As for Cha Si-eon having strong pride, one could tell just from how he looked.

“I don’t see what I could have done to touch Team Leader Cha’s pride…….”

“There is one thing.”

“……?”

“You did what Team Leader Cha could not.”

What does that mean now?

I asked the reason with my eyes, but Baek Sa-ra merely smiled without speaking.

Then, in a much lighter tone, she ended the conversation plainly.

“So what I want to say is, do not consider 「Alpha」 too incredible. After all, you are someone even the original keeps in check, Mr. Otter.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

It was a fairly good piece of advice, but I felt Baek Sa-ra herself might be the true hierarchy animal in the real sense.

Well, perhaps that was only natural for physical types.

“What about Manager Kwon Mu-seop?”

“The Manager?”

“Does Team Leader Cha also see Manager Kwon Mu-seop as beneath him?”

I asked while recalling the sight of Cha Si-eon growing tense in front of Kwon Mu-seop.

At my question, Baek Sa-ra smiled strangely and answered.

“The Manager is the hope of Field Division.”

“Hope?”

“The final line of defense that blocks Team Leader Cha’s solo run.”

Look at that. Baek Sa-ra really is serious about hierarchy.

Baek Sa-ra, a woman and an obvious hierarchy animal, said,

“The only person Team Leader Cha considers above himself is Manager Kwon Mu-seop.”

---

The only man Cha Si-eon acknowledged.

The final line of defense at the summit.

The hope of Field Division.

But making those grand modifiers seem absurd, Kwon Mu-seop before my eyes was trembling in fear.

“…….”

“…….”

“……?”

In order, that was Kwon Mu-seop’s silence.

Kim U-in’s silence.

And my silence.

Since I was to be discharged in the afternoon, I briefly stopped by Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s hospital room.

But Kim U-in had arrived first, and for some reason, the atmosphere was incredible.

Kwon Mu-seop sat on the hospital bed, his gaze dropped diagonally, with an expression that could neither quite smile nor cry.

Kim U-in could not bring himself to grab such a patient, but also could not leave him alone, and was only glaring fiercely.

And I was watching that.

“Hoo…….”

Kim U-in, who had been bristling with killing intent, saw me and let out a sigh.

“Do-un, do you have something to discuss with Manager Kwon?”

No, I only came to say hello.

I was about to answer like that, but my eyes met Kwon Mu-seop’s.

For some reason, Kwon Mu-seop was sending me an earnest gaze.

“Yes…… I have something urgent to tell him.”

“Tsk.”

Kim U-in clicked his tongue sharply.

Then, as if he had no choice, he stepped aside.

By accident, I rescued Kwon Mu-seop and got my own feet tied too.

Since it had come to this, I went to sit in front of Kwon Mu-seop’s bed.

They said he had been stitched in 8 places, and both of Kwon Mu-seop’s arms were wrapped round and round in bandages.

“Is your body all right?”

“Ah, yes. I’m all right. Thank you.”

“Nothing much happened just now either, right?”

“Y-yes. It was more bearable than I expected. Since there was an achievement, he didn’t directly say anything.”

Kwon Mu-seop nodded repeatedly as if trying to reassure himself.

How pitiful, our Manager.

But this was self-inflicted.

“It was because we entered the 「Ant Nest」, right?”

“That’s right……. Director Kim told me to take care of you gently, but I incited you to go in there.”

“I made the decision, though.”

“Either way, I am the person responsible…….”

Watching Kwon Mu-seop acknowledge responsibility, many thoughts came to me.

Part of me wondered how a man who knew that could do it anyway.

Part of me was not in a position to criticize him, since I had agreed to it too.

And now I felt I understood why Kim U-in seemed ready to explode from frustration because of Kwon Mu-seop.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop laughed haha with the gentlest face in the world and pretended to be a good-natured man, but if one peeled off one layer, he had an old-fox side, and if one went down another layer, he was someone with absurd madness.

I felt that vividly in the 「Ant Hill」.

I had something to say about that anyway, so since I had ended up sitting down, I began.

“Still, the result was good, so it passed well.”

“That’s right. If we had come out empty-handed, he probably would have killed me.”

As he said, the result was good, so it had turned out well, but our act of crawling into the 「Ant Nest」 had essentially been suicide.

So, under normal circumstances, both Kwon Mu-seop, who had incited me, and I, who had gone along with it, should have been harshly criticized as soon as we came out.

Perhaps we could even have been referred to a disciplinary committee.

But because the result was too good, our out-of-spec misconduct evaporated cleanly.

“Did you know in advance that it would turn out like this?”

“No, I did not know it would work out this well.”

“That means you expected it to some extent, right?”

Kwon Mu-seop grinned.

Instead of smiling back, I said this.

“I think it would have been better if you had told me in advance too. If you expected it.”

Kwon Mu-seop stopped smiling and looked at me.

Then, as if realizing his mistake, he spoke belatedly.

“If you felt used, I’m sorry.”

“No. In the end, everything turned out well, and I received plenty of help too, so I do not particularly think I was used.”

Strictly speaking, it was true that I had been used.

But to begin with, that was why I had entered the Bureau.

The Bureau and I had a common goal, and because we were useful to each other, we had decided to work together.

To put that nicely, it was cooperation.

However, if someone hid their own scheme alone like Kwon Mu-seop and then sprang it on me, that was a blow to the back of the head.

Perhaps Kwon Mu-seop knew that too, because he awkwardly watched my mood, and I calmly added,

“If you had dropped me there alone, Manager, I would have resented you. But you rolled through it with me and took care of me, so I do not particularly have dissatisfaction or complaints.”

“I’m grateful that you say that.”

“Still, I do think it would have been better if you had told me in advance…….”

“All right, I’m sorry…….”

At my subtle lingering grudge, Kwon Mu-seop groaned.

With a considerable amount of exaggerated pain mixed in.

This is what true Noble Lady rhetoric is.

“And I would also like to hear the story you postponed before.”

“The story I postponed?”

“The story you said you would tell me gradually when my official appointment was decided.”

I still did not know the true reason you people recruited me.

I had only temporarily covered it with the vague words that “your situation is an important opportunity to us.”

This time, I confirmed that those words were true.

So I should now know exactly what that means too.