For some reason, the surroundings were noisy. I forced myself to pull myself together and sit up, and someone ran to my side.
"Team Leader! Are you awake? Is there anything wrong with you?"
I was the youngest on our team. Besides, this is the infirmary. Why on earth was I here? I was definitely dealing with some terrorist bastards.
“Why am I… here….”
"Someone found the team leader lying down and brought him here."
“…Is that so?”
Come to think of it, I think I lost consciousness in an alley while chasing those guys… I feel like I forgot something. Was it a dream?
“…Oh, how long have I been lying there?”
"I was in bed for about a day. Do you know how worried the Alpha Team members were?"
"ah…."
"If it weren't for Wonwoo, I might have woken up at the police station. Yesterday, around… 4:30? I came. It's 4:43 now, so it's been a full day, really."
“Wonwoo… Ramen, huh, are you by any chance the former pro-gamer Foxtail, Mr. Jeon Wonwoo? I’m a fan of him!”
"That's right. If I had been a fan, I could have worked with him for about a month if I had come in three months earlier. He worked in BLACK Team 2. I heard he originally applied to the BLACK department?"
“Oh really? Ugh, I should have prepared a little earlier….”
If I had come in three months earlier, I would have definitely experienced the extreme new employee welcome party, being sent out on the job with that crazy dog. Hmm, I think I had this thought recently. Is it deja vu?
"I just suddenly remembered, you crazy dog... No, why did Yoon Jeong-han retire? Judging by the way you fly around the field, it must have been your calling."
"Well, I'm not sure. The director took great care of me, and the two of you were very close, so I think the director would know."
That crazy dog and the mayor? What on earth is their connection? ... I know, but I still don't understand.
"Can I go now?"
"Well, it doesn't seem like there's a problem, so it's okay to go."
I left the infirmary and returned to my seat, thinking about it, but it wasn't something I could solve alone. … After all, I had to go up there myself to submit the report. More importantly, I don't understand why I'm searching for a reason for that beagle-like person named Yoon Jeong-han's retirement.
"ha…."
“Team Leader, do you have a headache? We need to go up again…!”
"No, you don't have to worry."
I sighed, clutching my head. The youngest child next to me fidgeted and worried. I reassured him that it was okay, then went back to thinking. I felt a pang of dread that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I figured out why he retired. Even as I wrote the report, questions about Yoon Jeong-han's retirement kept cropping up.
Every time I saw Team Leader Choi scribbling down a month's worth of reports in an hour, I'd wonder how he could do that. But then I realized I was writing at a similar pace, even while thinking about something else. It hadn't even been two months, had I gotten used to it already? I ran a hand through my short hair, printed out the completed reports, gathered them up, and went up to the director's office, knocking on the door.
"Chief, this is Alpha Team's field report."
"Come in."
As soon as I met the director, I forced myself to suppress the question that was about to pop out and handed him the report. The director calmly reviewed the report, made eye contact with me, and congratulated me on my hard work.
"You've had a hard time. I heard from Team Leader Baek of the medical team that you were down for a whole day. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine now. ...Is it okay if I ask you a question?"
The director looked at me, smiled slightly, and said.
"Team Leader Cho, you've held back for so long. Normally, you would have asked the question as soon as you came in. Go ahead. I wonder how difficult the question was for you to hold back so long."
"I'm curious as to why Mr. Yoon Jeong-han retired."
The director opened his eyes wide in surprise. Then, a smile appeared on his face and he stood up.
"I figured someone would ask that question, but I didn't think it would be Team Leader Cho. This is going to be a long story, but since it just happened, should we take a break and talk about it tomorrow?"
"…yes."
“I’ll answer everything I know, so don’t worry about me running away.”
"Okay, then I'll go down."
"for a moment."
"yes?"
"What time would be best for us to meet tomorrow? I don't think it would be possible before 6 o'clock, so would after 9 o'clock be okay?"
"Yes. I will come up at 9 o'clock tomorrow."
I said goodbye to Mr. Cheongchang and returned to my seat. Strangely enough, nothing happened today. The report that came in before I woke up was a minor scuffle. It was definitely something I should be excited about, but why was I so anxious? With four hours left until the end of work, I couldn't concentrate on my paperwork. Sigh, if this keeps up, I should be working from home.
"Team Leader, is Team Leader Shin from the Music Team calling you?"
"Team Leader Shin Soo-han? I know what's going on. Okay, I understand."
Less than ten minutes after I returned to my desk, I received a call from Team Leader Shin. He was worried, and I knew he'd be crying and making a scene. The weather was clearing up, but why was the walk to the office so chilly? It felt ominous.
"Team Leader Shin, I'm here."
"Team Leader Cho! I was worried, you know… How many times do I have to tell you to listen? Kill that excessive enthusiasm and take care of yourself first."
“But… I thought I could catch it this time.”
“Even so… it’s better than following through to the end and falling.”
"Calm down. You're crying too much. Don't cry. Stop."
“Kill that damn motivation! Ugh….”
I… I knew this would happen… No, I said everything I wanted to say while crying, and when I told them to stop, they cried even more. What do you want me to do?
"Okay, I get it. I'll hold myself back, so stop."
“…Are you really going to refrain from doing this?”
"Yes, I will try my best to control myself. Don't call me and cry, but tell me why you called."
"therefore…."
Why are you agonizing over finding something to say now, Mr. Shin Soo-han? After hesitating for about two minutes, he finally told me to go. … Did you call me to nag me? My parents didn't nag me and send me straight to my room.
Returning to my seat, I was greeted by countless tidbits of my anguish—they were, after all, graffiti. Among them were questions about the purpose of the terrorist organization calling itself "ANGEL," questions about gaps in my memory, and even questions about how Yoon Jeong-han and the chief had become close. … I wasn't really concentrating on my work. Why did I write down Choi Han-sol's name again? The graffiti contained words I couldn't understand even after I'd written them. I pondered each question in the graffiti for a while before turning to a voice beside me.
"Team leader, aren't you going home from work?"
"...Oh, it's already that time. Thank you, Yuna. Then, I'll see you all tomorrow. Be safe on your way home."
Already 9 o'clock? The image of a high school student wasting time during free time, doing nothing, overlapped with the present moment. Ignoring the self-deprecating feeling of excitement as he waved at me, I swept the doodles into my bag and headed to my house near the headquarters of the Agency for the Control of Extra-Terrain Crimes. I always think about this, but I have no idea where the word "guard" comes from in the phrase "Ability Control."
I walked, lost in thought, and arrived home in no time. It was a short distance, but it felt like the middle ground had vanished. Anyway, I got home, changed, took the doodles out of my bag, and began to reflect.
First, there wasn't much we could know about ANGEL right away. The number of people involved was unclear, and most of the buildings targeted by the attacks were old. Even then, they were in disrepair, making it impossible to determine when or for what purpose they were last used, making it completely useless for guessing ANGEL's intentions. … Strangely, there were no clues as to what they were trying to do, or what they intended to do. I wondered if someone was covering up the incident, but was there really a reason, a value, for this incident? If so, was it because ANGEL's attacks touched something that needed to be kept hidden?
Given my limited knowledge, I was cautious about drawing conclusions. Ultimately, without much success, I moved on to the next question.
The second question was about a gap in my memory. So... I don't remember anything from the time that unlucky bastard put ice on my neck and toyed with it until I collapsed. It's unlikely I'd lost my sense of reason just because I was toyed with that little bit. And if Jeon Won-woo found me in whatever alley I collapsed in, it probably wasn't that remote.
However, if I had collapsed, it would have been before 3:30 at the latest, yet Baek Chan-hoon said I arrived at the infirmary at 4:30. At that time, at least one person would have passed by the alley. Given that I wasn't found until 4:00, we can assume that something else happened between 3:30 and 4:00, which is why I wasn't there.
Of course, even if the alley is remote, there are many strange things. Would Jeon Won-woo have entered a remote alley without a reason? The places he would likely go would be PC cafes or game centers, but PC cafes and game centers are usually located in busy areas, so he wouldn't have entered unless there was a special reason. A special reason... Maybe he had to go through the alley to get to the downtown area, or his house was nearby. Isn't that all there is to it?
Again, if we go by the above assumptions, my current situation is 'I was not there during the time that was not discovered, and something happened in between. I have no memory of that time.' The only possible reasons for my lack of memory are that someone 'erased my memory' or 'I lost consciousness.' If it was the eraser, it was most likely ANGEL's doing, and if I lost consciousness... the same goes for ANGEL. Did ANGEL have a reason for preventing me from remembering the time period of 30 minutes to an hour? It had to do with their purpose, right... That was the original question.
The neatly organized notes were meaningless, the end of the question becoming the beginning of the first question. A sense of futility and a sense of emptiness filled me. After all, that's what matters. As if I'd never felt discouraged, wondering why I was doing this, I was burning with determination when a messenger notification rang.
"Team Leader Choi." The name of the contact I hadn't yet changed was still floating in my messenger notifications.
*
Name (Age) - Jeon Won-woo (27), former professional gamer Foxtail
Codename (Mask)-???[?] (Fox Mask)
Unique Ability-???(??Game??)
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The serialization cycle will likely become irregular... We'll be switching from biweekly to free-flowing serialization. Thank you to everyone who has waited patiently. I'll be back as soon as possible.