Chapter 82

CRASH—!

At the sound from outside the door, I looked at Kim U-in in surprise.

But Kim U-in only sighed with a lollipop in his mouth.

“You out-of-your-mind bastard. Where do you get off using someone else’s name?”

Then came a fierce voice.

Is that, by any chance, Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s voice?

Our Manager can make a voice like that?

THUD—!

There was another sound, and Kim U-in sighed again.

What followed afterward was a thick silence.

Click—

A short while later, the door opened, and only Cha Si-eon came in.

It seemed Kwon Mu-seop had gone back just like that.

Cha Si-eon’s face, upon his return, was expressionless as usual.

But one cheek was swollen in a way anyone could tell he had been hit.

“Ah, seriously…….”

Seeing Cha Si-eon’s state, Kim U-in looked appalled and ran out of the hospital room.

Cha Si-eon briefly stepped aside to let Kim U-in pass, then went to his own bed and sat down.

Watching that, I sank into deep thought.

What is this now?

Manager Kwon Mu-seop seemed like an old fox at times, but I thought he was a kind person…….

He is someone who beats up a subordinate who came back from the jaws of death like this?

If this was what he was going to do, why did he send Jae-gyeom to the detention center?

No, more importantly.

What did Cha Si-eon do wrong to get hit?

Amid all kinds of questions, I glanced at Cha Si-eon several times.

Then Cha Si-eon suddenly snapped at me.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“No. I will not bother you.”

I was curious, but I declined tactfully.

His face had been hit, so he must feel like shit. I should humor him, yes.

Nod, nod—!

To mean that I would mind my own business, I opened my eyes innocently and nodded.

“…….”

But Cha Si-eon was the one who looked at me instead.

Just then, Kim U-in came back carrying a dressing tray.

“Team Leader Cha, let me see inside your mouth.”

“I am fine.”

“Are you going to make me say it twice?”

At Kim U-in’s rebuke, Cha Si-eon had no choice but to open his mouth.

Kim U-in stuffed gauze into Cha Si-eon’s mouth and muttered coldly.

“Really, these Field Division bastards all think they are the only ones who matter…….”

As expected, Kim U-in was angry.

A patient had been beaten in front of a doctor, so that was understandable.

“Bite down on that until I come back.”

Kim U-in stood, setting the forceps down with a sharp clack.

Still not understanding what was going on, I stayed silent along with Cha Si-eon, who had gauze in his mouth.

About 15 minutes passed, and Kim U-in returned.

But behind him, a person I had never seen before came in.

He was a man wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses and a suit that looked expensive at a glance.

He seemed to be in his mid-to-late 30s.

His hair was slicked all the way back too, so his appearance looked proper at first glance, but upon closer look, that was not true at all.

The man’s neck and wrists were covered in tattoos that would not be hidden even if he buttoned his shirt all the way up.

Who is this person?

Judging by his swaggering attitude, he did not seem like someone who would work under another person.

And looking at those tattoos and that enormous chest, he did not seem like someone who would do ordinary work either.

That distinctive man, whom I had never met in my life, looked at me and immediately acted familiar.

“Oh, you’re the new Patjwi we were looking for?”

New Patjwi…… what is that now?

Is it a gambling term, like jackpot?

He did look like someone who would suit a gambling den, certainly.

Perhaps noticing my prejudice, the man laughed heartily and waved his hand.

“It’s all right. Hyung is not a bad person. Nice to meet you. I am Mun Ho-san.”

“I am Seo Do-un.”

The man, Mun Ho-san, offered a handshake with a hand that smelled of strong cologne mixed with cigarette smoke.

When I took that hand and exchanged names, Mun Ho-san laughed loudly again.

“Of course I know Seo Do-un.”

“How do you know me……?”

“I am a director at Apophis.”

“Ah…….”

In other words-

This man is the director of that Apophis, where retirees supposedly act up because they want to be treated as seniors after quitting; that Apophis, which left the 「National Theater」 unattended, got cursed out thoroughly, and worked for no pay; that Apophis, which backed out because the rescue operation was dangerous, then jumped in the moment hazard pay was added and raided an empty house.

“I have heard your name a lot, but this is my first time seeing you in person. Nice to meet you, Kwon Mu-seop’s new Patjwi.”

New Patjwi…… is it an abbreviation for something?

Who, dug, earth? What does that even mean?

Mun Ho-san, who had plunged me into confusion, gripped my hand tightly.

Then he pumped it up and down wildly, and I was swung around for a moment while coughing lightly.

Meanwhile, Kim U-in, who had removed the gauze from Cha Si-eon’s mouth, said,

“They are both patients, so keep it brief and leave.”

“Yeah, I should. Team Leader Cha, have you been well too?”

Mun Ho-san greeted him smoothly, then saw Cha Si-eon’s face and immediately shouted.

“No, what bastard ground Team Leader Cha’s face up like that?”

Was it just my imagination?

He seemed to be saying it while fully knowing whose doing it was.

“It has been a long time.”

“Yeah, Team Leader Cha. Keep in touch. Are you so busy that it is this hard to see your face?”

Mun Ho-san answered familiarly and took something out of the shopping bag he was holding.

“Here, a gift. Get well soon.”

What Mun Ho-san took out was none other than alcohol.

An expensive bottle with fairly grand packaging.

“I heard you went through some trouble this time. My heart dropped thinking I might receive Team Leader Cha’s obituary.”

Like a person who had brought alcohol as a hospital-visit gift, Mun Ho-san’s jokes were fiery too.

At those reckless words, Kim U-in frowned.

But Mun Ho-san did not care and kept laughing heartily.

“Did you say thank you to Seo Do-un over there?”

Then he abruptly dragged me into it.

“It is fortunate that side got dragged in with you. If Team Leader Cha had been alone, it could really have been a big problem.”

“I will repay the debt later.”

“What debt? We earned plenty thanks to him. The Bureau really treasures that friend, does it not?”

“…….”

“But I think people are a bit too harsh. They gave up on Team Leader Cha in no time, but once that Seo Do-un got dragged in, they made a huge fuss that they had to find him immediately. I felt wronged on your behalf. It is exactly the old ‘once the rabbit is caught, the hound is boiled’ thing.”

I had a bad feeling about this person from the beginning.

He is openly trying to drive a wedge between people while sitting right in front of them.

But there was nothing wrong in Mun Ho-san’s words.

In truth, the Bureau had given up on rescuing Cha Si-eon once.

But the rescue operation that had fallen through was executed again the very next day.

Not to rescue Cha Si-eon, but to rescue me.

There was no one among us who did not know this fact.

On top of that, Cha Si-eon had said it with his own mouth.

That my life took priority over his own, and that it was not for my sake.

Strategically, it was the correct judgment.

But humanly, well.

It was true that the Bureau, and we, were treating each other as consumables.

And as long as we were human, it was also difficult to simply understand and accept that.

“Team Leader Cha, do not stay here like this. Come with us.”

Mun Ho-san said abruptly.

No, not abruptly. Everything he had said before was a buildup for this.

“We will treat you properly. You can earn double what you are receiving now. Is it not a waste to sell your skill and career at list price like this? You should earn as much as your ability is worth. How long are you going to play Kongjwi under Kwon Mu-seop?”

Kongjwi?

The Kongjwi from Kongjwi and Patjwi?

“Even if you bust your ass here, who acknowledges it? Did these bastards even properly search for you when you were isolated? Why are you suffering like hell while being treated like trash? And I hear you are still taking care of that girl alone? Hey, shit, how long are you going to be such a fucking idiot…….”

“Watch your mouth.”

Unable to listen any longer, Kim U-in cut in.

“If you came to recruit him, present clean terms and leave. Do not dirty it with gaslighting.”

Mun Ho-san, whose words had been cut off, stopped for a moment.

Then he smirked and turned to Kim U-in.

“Doctors do not feel pain?”

Mun Ho-san’s voice was still cheerful.

“No, they do. If they are hurt, it hurts the same.”

But the eyes watching Kim U-in as he slightly lowered his glasses were ominous beyond measure.

I had not realized because they had been hidden by the thick horn-rims, but there were many scars like knife cuts around Mun Ho-san’s eyes.

At that blatant threat, Kim U-in’s gaze also sharpened.

Then Cha Si-eon stepped in and stopped them.

“Enough.”

“Hey, it was a joke.”

Mun Ho-san put his glasses back on and smiled.

“Anyway, Team Leader Cha, think it over while you have the chance. It is about time you got to be comfortable too.”

Perhaps deciding that speaking more would have the opposite effect, Mun Ho-san placed a hand on Cha Si-eon’s shoulder and murmured one final thing.

“Do not stubbornly endure under a bastard who even lays hands on your face.”

After finishing his words, Mun Ho-san left, waving his hand grandly.

As if it were a trace left behind by that chaotic man’s visit, only one grand bottle of alcohol remained alone on the drawer.

---

What Mun Ho-san had said to me.

It seemed to be “Patjwi.”

Since he had called Cha Si-eon “Kongjwi,” that had to be it.

Then what was the “Yu” attached in front of it? My surname is not Yu.

More importantly, why is Cha Si-eon Kongjwi?

Is that not far too rude to Kongjwi?

It was when I was thinking seriously about that.

Rattle—

The hospital-room door opened, and Kim U-in came in.

Seeing that Cha Si-eon’s bed was empty, he asked me,

“Where is Team Leader Cha?”

“He went out alone earlier. It has been about 1 hour.”

It seemed he had gone out briefly to get some air.

Though at best, it would be a terrace with an air purifier running under an artificial sky.

At my answer, Kim U-in clicked his tongue and looked at the clock.

It seemed he was troubled because he had something to give him, whether medicine or an injection, but the patient had disappeared.

Perhaps intending to wait, Kim U-in sat for a while in the chair beside the bed.

Then he looked toward me and said,

“Earlier, you were surprised, right?”

“No.”

Actually, yes.

“I was a little uncomfortable too, but do not look too badly on him for it.”

“Look badly on who?”

“Manager Kwon Mu-seop.”

I looked at Kim U-in in surprise.

So this time, Kim U-in asked me,

“Why?”

“It is a little unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I thought you would go kill the Manager sometime today or tomorrow…….”

“What is this nonsense now…….”

Kim U-in looked dumbfounded at my delusion.

But I was quite serious.

I really thought that as soon as he got off work, he would go and shake Kwon Mu-seop down.

But instead, he was defending him, which was unexpected.

Perhaps seeing my thoughts clearly, Kim U-in opened his mouth as if to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I do scold him a bit usually, but still, Manager Kwon Mu-seop is…….”

But Kim U-in only began and could not continue.

“The Manager is what?”

“…….”

“……?”

“……Well, anyway.”

Doctor, you might as well curse him instead.

“I dislike people hitting other people, no matter the reason. But there are people who communicate that way, you know.”

Doctor, you are greatly misunderstanding the meaning of communication.

“On top of that, it is not like Manager Kwon does that all the time, so do not look at him too strangely. Still, he usually does imitate a human being.”

I think the person looking at Kwon Mu-seop truly strangely is Kim U-in…….

Yes, what happened earlier had been rather flustering.

Of course, I still felt goodwill toward Kwon Mu-seop.

However, if this goodwill was to continue, I thought I would need to keep my distance from the Manager generously wide enough to watch a fire from across the river.

“But why was the Manager angry?”

“Mm…….”

At my question, Kim U-in looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

In that state, he chose his words, then soon spoke in a resigned tone.

“Because Team Leader Cha has been going off the rails too much lately.”

Then he added this.

“Like someone desperate to die.”