Chapter 95

As he left the training ground, Do Jong-chan, who had been trying hard to maintain his composure, sighed and wiped his chest.

"When he gets serious, the atmosphere completely changes. I guess that's why he's the headquarters' chief. His eyes, they really looked like they would devour someone."

Another hunter standing next to him patted Do Jong-chan's back, trying to hide his startled expression.

"D-don't be intimidated. If you're already overwhelmed before even crossing swords, what will you do?"

"...I'll do my best, but I don't think it'll work out."

"It's okay to lose. Even though Chief Jin seems like that, he's a hunter who has been rolling around in the metropolitan area, where 70 percent of the country's rifts and dungeons occur, for nearly 10 years. It's a match you're naturally supposed to lose, but you'll gain much more from it."

Hearing Director Shin Gi-hyeon's words, Do Jong-chan nodded heavily.

"Yes. I'll do my best until the end."

He started stretching his body, his face full of tension as he waited for his opponent.

Yes, this is an opportunity. How many times would he be able to face Jin Soram from the Seoul headquarters at the branch? And as he said earlier, he wouldn't be a pushover either. As the one protecting the city in front of the sea, he wasn't completely ignorant of aerial combat.

Click. The door opened.

"He's already... Oh, Min-ki is here."

Instead of Soram, it was Seo Min-ki who entered, arriving a little late.

"Sorry for being late... But where is Jin Soram going? He ran off without even saying hello."

"He said he's going down to prepare for the match."

"Match...? What match?"

"We can't just let him play around, so we have to make use of him like this. When I said let's have a sparring match with the headquarters' Director's name on the line, the atmosphere changed."

"What?"

Min-ki asked back as if he had heard something absurd.

"Are you saying Jin Soram agreed to spar? Even though it's not like being dragged out for a regular event?"

"There's no rule that he can only do it then. It's also part of training."

"Well, that might be the case for others... but there's no way Jin Soram would do that."

The director fully understood Min-ki's lukewarm reaction. It must have been awkward for friends to see each other officially engaged in work.

"You guys were always together when you were students, but after becoming adults, you've been apart. He's matured during that time."

"I think Kim Ga-eul getting married is more likely than Jin Soram maturing..."

Min-ki didn't believe in Soram until the end, despite the explanations from other 1st-grades.

10 minutes later.

"Why isn't he coming?"

Soram didn't return. In the end, the director went up to the office to look for him.

"Uh... Chief Jin said he was homesick earlier, so he took a half-day off and left."

"..."

No, the director Shin Gi-hyeon, who had been sighing, shouted.

"He said he'd bet on the deputy director's honor!"

"I guess that's why he ran away."

Director-nim, you still have a long way to go in understanding Jin Soram. Among the Busan Branch's 1st-grades, only the distrustful Min-ki could avoid the feeling of betrayal.

* * *

Swish, the waves crashed in the distance. Soram was sitting on the jagged rocks facing the sea.

'Although peace is the best, I have thoughts that arise when I receive such provocation at my level of experience.'

Of course, he had thoughts that arose.

If the Seoul headquarters collapses, the Busan Branch will collapse too, and if the Busan Branch collapses, the Seoul headquarters will collapse as well. If they fight and get hurt, it's only a loss for themselves. There's no need to have any competitive spirit or anything like that, and it's best to cherish each other's bodies as assets and get along well.

"Long live pacifism!"

He raised both hands high as if giving a speech, even without anyone watching, and soon shivered and hugged his shoulders. Located in the south, Busan was a bit warmer than Seoul, but the strong sea breeze carrying salt couldn't be ignored.

The waves flowed endlessly. The sea stretched out its blue color without any obstruction to the point where it met the sky in the distance, and the shattered sunlight floated above it. The eyes containing the waves shook dryly. Soram closed his eyes tightly as if trying to chase away sleep and then opened them. Then, sniffling, he typed a message to someone.

Around the time when work hours had just ended, with a rustling sound, a person wearing the same black suit appeared next to him. Soram turned to the side and waved his hand.

"You're here?"

"You'll be hated if you keep doing this."

Min-ki handed over the warm coffee Soram had requested.

"Thanks. It's delicious here."

Soram held the paper cup with both hands and sucked it in with his duck-like protruding lips.

"You came after work, right?"

"Yeah."

"You left on time. That's good."

"Leaving on time, my foot... You know the pager has no off-hours."

Min-ki sat on the rock next to Soram.

"Did you come without even a word to Ga-eul? She called again earlier and kept asking questions..."

"Yeah. No one knew except Director-nim and Deputy Director-nim. What did Ga-eul say?"

"She asked if you arrived in your right mind."

"Wow, I've heard all sorts of things all day, but that was the worst."

"Sigh..."

Although he wanted to ask why the hell he came here, if he was going to answer that question, he would have said it in the morning. Knowing that, Min-ki had neither the intention nor the skill to persistently ask about something he wouldn't answer.

"While I'm in Busan, I'll stay here. If there are any good restaurants nearby, let me know."

"You said you're not staying in the dormitory and renting a room outside, is it around here?"

This was the sea located in the opposite direction of Haeundae, where the headquarters was located. In other words, it wasn't a very good location for commuting to the branch. Surely he wouldn't fly here with the seagulls across the sea.

"Yeah. Right there."

However, Soram confidently pointed to the blue tin roof behind the breakwater.

"...A guesthouse?"

Even though he has a lot of money, why would he leave a decent hotel... Although he didn't know the exact scale of his assets, if it was Jin Soram, he could probably stay in a suite room for several years with the money he had earned. Of course, new assets would be replenished during those few years.

"The view of the sea is the best from there."

"The high floors of a hotel would have a much better view."

"Not the distant sea like that, but the close sea that touches the land."

"...After living in that great dormitory at the headquarters, can you sleep well in a guesthouse?"

"I can sleep well anywhere. As long as I have a place to lay my head and a blanket."

In fact, when he was 18 or 19 years old, he slept ten times more than he does now, and Min-ki and Ga-eul were the people who saw that up close. If it were Jin Soram back then, he would sleep soundly on this spot with just a blanket, not even knowing if he was being carried away by the waves.

"But actually, I also got a hotel room because it's inconvenient to wash up."

"..."

"So I sleep at the guesthouse and shower at the hotel."

The words "Isn't this guy really crazy?" were never lacking even after saying them for years.

Upon the request of 'Anyway, take me to a delicious soup restaurant! A local's pick,' the two sat facing each other at a table in a pork soup restaurant.

"Min-ki, I have something to ask you."

Min-ki, who had been lamenting the current situation of voluntarily suffering even after work but diligently putting down his spoon, raised his head and asked what it was.

"What's the criteria for dividing teams in the Busan Branch? I have a rough idea, but I was wondering if there's a precise definition."

"What do you think it is?"

"It's the combat style, right? I wondered why there was a rookie chief who had only been here for 3 months under Director-nim of Team 1, but he was completely specialized in wide-area techniques. He didn't send me together to familiarize myself with the geography, but to control Chief Lee Gyeong-in. And Director Shin and other members of Team 1 also fight like the last heroes."

"While the metaphor of the last heroes seems unpleasant, it's appropriate."

Closing the drawer containing the spoons, Min-ki raised his head.

"What you said is roughly correct. Team 1 specializes in combat against mutants in situations where dungeons have burst, and Team 2 specializes in eliminating rifts that haven't undergone dungeonification and supporting combat. Those who are not biased towards either side like Teams 1 and 2 are in Teams 3 and 4."

"I see..."

The Seoul headquarters first divided into ground and flight teams, and within that, the teams were divided considering compatibility and balance. Except for the flight team, which was unusually composed of only three 1st-grades, the skills of each team were evenly matched, and it was common for them to move as a team.

On the other hand, the Busan Branch had separate teams, but it was also common to select suitable personnel from each team to form a new unit when going to the field.

"But why is Chief Do Jong-chan in Team 2?"

"Because he's good at breaking rifts. His attacks are very delicate."

"...Huh?"

The delicacy hidden within a person with a building-sized physique and burning fighting spirit...? As Soram's expression turned lukewarm, Min-ki retorted while chewing on radish kimchi.

"Don't judge people by their appearance. Does Kim Ga-eul look like she can destroy a building with a single punch?"

"Well, that's true, but since he's a former judo athlete, I thought he would be a bit more... No, never mind. I'll have to follow him the next time he goes out on a dispatch. I'm a fresh intern, after all."

"Just have a sparring match with him... Everyone talks like that, but they know their boundaries."

"There's a possibility of getting hurt, you know."

"It can't be helped during training when you have a physical job."

"Ugh, I don't like it. We should cherish everyone. Our bodies are our assets."

Around that time, a tray carrying the soup approached the table. Boiling black pots were placed in front of Soram and Min-ki.

And in addition to the two pork soups, a large pork cutlet with a sweet dark brown sauce was also placed.

"It's on the house."

The middle-aged male owner spoke briefly and then gestured to Min-ki. The affectionate popularity Seo Min-ki received from the citizens of Busan was indeed incomparable. In front of Min-ki, who was expressing his gratitude, Soram shook the silver rice bowl.

A lump of rice neatly went into the pot. Taking a spoonful, it was indeed the pick of a hunter who roamed around Busan several times a day.

As he lowered his head towards the pot, the smell of oil from the pork cutlet placed on top also approached closely. The spoon in his mouth paused for a moment.

Soram put down the spoon he had been diligently using to scoop the soup and picked up a knife and fork. Crunch, crunch. The crispy fried batter and meat were cut. He took the middle piece of the pork cutlet he had cut into a grid and ate it. As expected, it was greasy and sweet.