Vol 8 Chapter 2

'What could they possibly be so curious about.'

Though an inspection team from Saturn headquarters was coming today, that had nothing to do with them. Even if it included two of THE MIST's core developers who had only been talked about like legends.

'I can't stand seeing them acting lazily out of naive curiosity when we don't even know if they're coming with good intentions or bad.'

While looking around to see if there were still others out sightseeing, Nam Mugeon spotted a man whose lower body was visible sticking out from behind a pillar, openly hanging on the railing, and glared.

"You there, have you finished your work?"

"Pardon?"

The man who poked his face out from behind the pillar was someone Nam Mugeon knew well.

'Ugh. Even that guy is here...'

"Ah, hello, Director Nam. Haha."

"...Kwon Cheon-woo-ssi."

"No, I was just resting because my shoulders and back were stiff. I'll go back soon. Couldn't you let it slide just a little?"

If it had been other employees, Nam Mugeon would have immediately issued a cold dismissal thinking "they're asking me to let it slide," but he couldn't do that with Kwon Cheon-woo.

Taking Nam Mugeon's silent contemplation as permission, Kwon Cheon-woo gently curved his eyes and grinned.

"The company atmosphere seems quite excited today."

"You can't work if you pay attention to every little thing like that."

Though Nam Mugeon, already on edge about that issue, gave a thorny response, Kwon Cheon-woo just smiled.

"Is it true that Dave A. Lee and Yup Kawit are among the American inspection team coming today?"

Those two were the talked-about core developers of THE MIST. Nam Mugeon glanced at the empty first floor lobby and muttered "Who knows."

"I wouldn't know... Kwon Cheon-woo-ssi seems very interested in those people too?"

At those words thrown out with the mindset of might as well cast a fishing line, Kwon Cheon-woo's expression changed slightly.

'Hm? He's smiling?'

Unlike his ordinary smile from just before, he was smiling with a strange expression, his deeply sunken eyes filled with unfathomable thoughts.

"Ah, yes... You could say I'm very interested. Isn't it natural for anyone who has played MIST to be curious about who the people who created it from the beginning are?"

"..."

Though his words were ordinary, that gaze staring intently at the lobby was anything but ordinary. Nam Mugeon forgot to even answer while watching Kwon Cheon-woo's expression and renewed his conviction that this guy definitely had something.

"Ah. Branch Manager Yoon Seok-ho has come out."

At that moment, Kwon Cheon-woo changed his posture to stand straight while returning to his usual expression. Nam Mugeon reflexively looked down at the name Yoon Seok-ho.

'He really has.'

Yoon Seok-ho, dressed more impeccably than usual in a suit without a single wrinkle, was just coming out of the elevator with several people following behind.

'How long has it been?'

Though nothing would have changed from not seeing him for just a few days, Yoon Seok-ho's face still shone irritatingly. The atmosphere felt like it changed instantly just from him standing in the lobby. Among the people behind Yoon Seok-ho was the Vice Branch Manager whom he had seen passing through the lobby yesterday, wearing a smile that at least outwardly made him look like a nice person.

Not long after that, just as the lobby became slightly noisy, several black cars could be seen lining up outside the glass-walled building.

'They're here.'

Though Nam Mugeon frowned, he felt tense without realizing it. A group of people in suits carrying briefcases got out of the cars and entered the building in a line. The man standing at the front had the pale blonde hair characteristic of the Northern Continent and gave the impression of a smooth operator.

As Yoon Seok-ho stepped forward as if he had been waiting and exchanged handshakes and light hugs with that blonde Westerner like friends meeting after 10 years, Nam Mugeon thought that was quite an act to put on.

'While doing that, they must be racking their brains trying to read each other's true intentions. Really hate it.'

"Director Nam. Director Nam. Which one do you think is Dave A. Lee among them?"

At that moment, Kwon Cheon-woo's excited pointing made Nam Mugeon erase his twisted thoughts and turn his gaze.

Dave A. Lee... According to publicly known facts, he was a Korean-American and a genius programmer in charge of THE MIST's core programming. Nam Mugeon looked to see how many Asians were among the people standing behind the blonde Westerner.

'Hmm... about two?'

They were both men. One stood right behind the blonde man, but the other was wearing large sunglasses and quietly talking with someone toward the back.

'Can't tell which one it is between the two.'

"Well... I'm not sure."

Nam Mugeon decided to end his observation at this point and pushed the back of Kwon Cheon-woo, who still couldn't take his shining eyes off the lobby.

"Since your back doesn't seem to hurt anymore, let's return to the office. Let's work."

"That's too harsh. Will those people wear out just from looking a bit more?"

"They will. Go back in quickly."

"Director Nam, I didn't expect you to be so..."

The complicated matters could be handled by the people standing there. His only jobs were observing this suspicious Kwon Cheon-woo and resolving the incidents in MIST's eastern continent that couldn't be handled without him.

'For now, just that...'

Thinking this, Nam Mugeon glanced one last time at Yoon Seok-ho's face in the lobby before turning away. Now was the time to do what he could do, not what he didn't know about.

"There are prepared hotel accommodations for the inspection team members, so I hope you will unpack and rest comfortably there. Work can begin tomorrow as agreed."

At Yoon Seok-ho's polite words, Leon Price, the American inspection team representative, offered light thanks.

"Thank you for your consideration. Let's do that."

"Then please rest well today and recover from your travel fatigue."