Editor’s Survival Guide — Chapter 25
Episode 6. XIII (1)
It was the first time.
The first time I had left a Special Zone while fully conscious.
Until just a moment ago, I had been walking while nervously monitoring the barcode scanners.
But now I stood in a space resembling some kind of hangar.
Transparent partitions surrounded me as well.
As I stood there in a daze, someone whistled.
Wheeeet—!
When I turned my head, I saw armed people beyond the partitions.
The moment our eyes met, they began cheering for me.
“That was incredible!”
“Long live the otter!”
“We love you!”
I was puzzled by the strangers’ applause before realization soon dawned.
They were the rescue team dispatched by the Bureau.
The team that had deployed to save me, only to end up waiting at the entrance.
Then was this the entrance to the 「Warehouse Mart Rigged with Traps」?
More importantly, what was with this fervent reaction?
They were acting as though I were a triumphant general returning home…….
No. They weren’t merely acting as though I were one. I really had become one.
I had emerged alive from a Special Zone deemed impossible to escape and had even found a way to survive inside it.
That amounted to a victory for both me and the Bureau.
Only after realizing that did it finally feel real.
I was alive.
Amid the surging relief, I looked at the cheering people.
It felt awkward to do nothing, so I waved out of courtesy, and an even louder cheer erupted.
Mm. It was a little overwhelming, but given the circumstances—
For now, I decided to celebrate myself too!
* * *
The next day.
Regrettably, my celebration did not last even a full day.
“Your back has gone out.”
I lay there pale-faced as I listened to Kim Woo-in’s diagnosis.
“It feels like your back will snap when you try to get up, right? That’s because your intervertebral disc decided it couldn’t take this anymore and escaped.”
“Th-then what do I do now?”
“What do you think? Wait for it to come back.”
“My shoulder hurts a little too…….”
“That’s a torn muscle. You were really working that line yesterday. Don’t your legs hurt?”
“Aaargh! Gasp, urgh……!”
“They do.”
When my body jerked in a cascading sequence, Kim Woo-in clicked his tongue around the candy between his lips.
I gritted my teeth to swallow my resentment.
Of course, this doctor was not at fault.
All he had done was lightly poke my calf.
I was the one whose leg cramped because I couldn’t even absorb that much damage.
I was the one who flailed in surprise and threw out my back again.
And, for some reason, I was the one whose shoulder cramped in sympathy.
Everything was my own fault for being weak.
Nevertheless, a doctor took his patient’s side, so Kim Woo-in scolded Cha Si-eon, who stood nearby.
“You should’ve worked him within reason. What is this?”
“It was not a situation in which moderation was possible.”
“That doesn’t mean you turn a person into this. Is surviving today the only thing that matters? If he gets dragged away again in this state, he won’t last three minutes. What will you do then?”
“I will be more careful in the future.”
“You need to be. I’m not criticizing you for working him hard. I’m saying that even if you do, work him with the intention of using him for a long time!”
There was something strange about this conversation.
No, very strange, wasn’t there?
“Anyway, I’ll give you a painkiller, so stay on an IV today and wear a shoulder brace for the time being. We’ll watch your condition for about two days before starting physical therapy. As for your head…….”
Kim Woo-in lifted my hair slightly and examined it.
“There’s no need to bother with it.”
Thankfully, the wound on my head was not very deep.
I had thought I was badly injured because it bled so profusely.
Kim Woo-in adjusted my IV line for a moment, then left the hospital room.
Once Cha Si-eon and I were alone, the atmosphere grew awkward with astonishing speed.
After a heavy silence, Cha Si-eon murmured,
“You truly must not exercise at all under ordinary circumstances.”
“Is that really something to say to a bedridden person……?”
I retorted in disbelief, and silence descended again.
Only yesterday, Cha Si-eon and I had been a kind of partnership, coordinating at the risk of our lives.
But look at us today.
Me, brought here because I couldn’t get out of bed that morning.
Cha Si-eon, identified as the culprit behind my body’s breakdown.
Calling it negligent injury in the course of duty didn’t feel quite right.
But neither did laughing it off because I had survived.
It was an ambiguous situation in every respect.
“As it appears you will be unable to stand for some time, we will conduct an abbreviated post-incident interview here.”
Even now, Cha Si-eon remained devoted to his role.
“As of yesterday, the 「Warehouse Mart Rigged with Traps」 has been renamed the 「Membership Warehouse Mart」.”
The Bureau remained intuitive as ever.
“The suspended exploration effort will also resume, and your reward for contributing to the exploration will be paid within the month.”
Thorough about incentives too.
“Furthermore, the General Affairs Division will provide a separate orientation concerning the end of your probationary period and your official appointment.”
Was that good news?
I wasn’t sure.
An official appointment. In other words, conversion to permanent employment.
It was certainly a beautiful phrase, but I didn’t feel particularly pleased.
Instead, the reality check I had briefly postponed crashed over me like a tsunami.
I had hoped to complete my probationary period without being dragged into another Special Zone, then be dismissed.
That futile hope of mine had collapsed.
The road home had now receded endlessly into the distance, and my endless circuit through Special Zones was confirmed.
When I sighed bleakly, Cha Si-eon watched my reaction before speaking.
“There is also someone you need to meet.”
“Someone I need to meet?”
Knock, knock—
A knock sounded with perfect timing.
Without even asking who it was, Cha Si-eon opened the door.
Beyond it stood a person in a Bureau uniform.
He was tall, with a kindly appearance, and looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties.
Who was he?
At the unfamiliar person’s appearance, I forced myself upright into a sitting position.
The handsome man approached me with an uncomfortable look.
“Just lie down. It must be difficult to move.”
Even the man’s voice was mild.
It made me wonder if he was a priest, pastor, or some other member of the clergy.
After all, the military had chaplains too.
“I’m sorry for dropping in while you’re physically indisposed. I’m Kwon Mu-seop, head of the Field Command Division.”
But the identity he revealed was entirely different from my guess.
The Field Command Division was the department above both the Response Team and the Exploration Team.
In other words, this man was Cha Si-eon, Baek Sa-ra, and Gwak Jae-gyeom’s superior.
No, this gentle-looking person was?
“Ah, these are cookies. Have some while you rest. It felt wrong to come empty-handed.”
This was even someone who brought cookies as a hospital gift?
Kwon Mu-seop, the man with the mild expression, held out his hand to me.
I clasped it in a daze, only to be startled again.
What was with this intimidating mass?
It felt similar to shaking hands with Cha Si-eon.
At the unexpectedly weighty sensation, I looked at Kwon Mu-seop again and only then noticed.
Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s ears were…….
Cauliflower ears.
The so-called badge of a fighter.
Read only on MUGEX
Startled by one reversal after another, I looked at Cha Si-eon.
For some reason, Cha Si-eon stood rigidly at attention in the far corner.
“My greeting is very late, isn’t it? I had planned to give you your certificate of appointment and introduce you to the team today, but I heard you had difficulty moving, so I came separately to say hello. It’s been a long time since I welcomed someone new into the family, so this feels a little awkward for me too.”
Kwon Mu-seop spoke with a genial smile.
But between the lingering sensation in my hand and Cha Si-eon tucked away in the background, I couldn’t readily smile back.
Kwon Mu-seop studied my expression, then spoke with even greater caution.
“You were officially appointed as of yesterday, Mr. Seo Do-un, but I’m not sure whether I should congratulate you…….”
That only puzzled me.
Why was he suddenly watching my reaction?
His subordinate, the psychopath, had congratulated me immediately yesterday.
“I would be grateful for your congratulations.”
It was not remotely an occasion worth celebrating, but I answered out of courtesy.
Kwon Mu-seop smiled again, apparently relieved.
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. Thank you, truly, for so many things. Morale among our people has risen tremendously because of you, Mr. Seo Do-un.”
“Morale?”
“Many of them were exhausted as the situation dragged on, but lately the internal atmosphere has been good for the first time in a long while. Thank you for setting an example for our agents. I too was impressed by your resourcefulness and resolve.”
I felt somewhat embarrassed by the torrent of praise Kwon Mu-seop poured over me.
How should I answer?
You flatter me?
I merely found a way to save my own life?
As I considered a suitable response, another unexpected statement sprang from Kwon Mu-seop’s mouth.
“And I am truly sorry.”
All of a sudden?
“Your situation is deeply regrettable, Mr. Seo Do-un. I’m sorry we have been unable to resolve the problem quickly.”
“I don’t think this is something you need to apologize for, Manager.”
When Kwon Mu-seop even bowed his head, I hurriedly tried to stop him.
“The Bureau isn’t responsible for what happened to me. If anything, I’ve received help from you in all kinds of ways.”
Kwon Mu-seop looked at me with lingering uncertainty.
Then he released another relieved sigh and said,
“Thank you for understanding. I was worried because I heard you had filed a grievance before.”
“A grievance?”
“I was told you made a complaint to Team Leader Cha when you came out of the 「Railway Station」. Was that not the case?”
Wondering what he meant, I searched my memory.
Then I soon recalled a conversation that could conceivably be called a grievance or complaint.
—Then why didn’t you come to rescue us?
—We responded according to the manual.
—What kind of insane bullshit is that?
—If you remain uncooperative, your return home may be delayed.
—Are you threatening me right now?
That was right.
In the not-so-distant past, there had existed a bastard topknot who wouldn’t even reveal his name.
And how was that a grievance? Your Team Leader Cha was simply in the wrong, Manager.
Wanting to say exactly that, I glanced at Cha Si-eon.
He was still standing rigidly at attention.
But the look he gave me was more dejected than I had ever seen it.
If I played this well, might I get to watch Cha Si-eon receive a monumental dressing-down?
“Ah, yes……. I was rather disoriented at the time, so I became a little agitated.”
Honestly, I did want to see it, but—ah, fine. I would let him off once.
When I backed down graciously, Kwon Mu-seop waved both hands instead.
“Oh, that isn’t why I brought it up. Besides, you were relatively gentlemanly, Mr. Seo Do-un. We occasionally have people who sob uncontrollably or grab someone by the collar to demand answers.”
Grab whose collar? His? Cha Si-eon’s?
People with anger-management problems in the truest sense actually existed?
As I stood dumbfounded, Kwon Mu-seop said something even more unexpected.
“And it’s also true that our manual warrants resentment.”
……What was this, anyway?
You said you were Cha Si-eon’s superior, didn’t you?
Then why did you keep saying reasonable things?
“Mm, you look as though you’ve just seen a dog speak……. We are not quite that overbearing a group.”
Ah. He caught me.
When I covered my face, Kwon Mu-seop added with a bitter smile,
“By way of excuse, we don’t stand by and watch because we enjoy it either. Our positions are merely different; people’s hearts are much the same. When we see someone in trouble, of course we want to help them and save them.”
So these people were aware of how heartless they seemed?
That was truly unexpected.
No. Apparently my expectations had simply been too low.
I had thought this was a group of psychopaths who instantly cut people off with “the manual says so,” no matter who died.
Feeling a little sorry, I asked Kwon Mu-seop,
“The manual is like that because of a personnel shortage, correct?”
“Yes. That’s the biggest reason.”
“Then couldn’t you increase the staff……?”
I didn’t know what lives were worth in this world.
But even to an outsider, the Bureau’s allowances were abnormally generous.
It seemed as though plenty of people would be willing to do the job for half that much.
So why were they short-staffed?
“We would like to, but circumstances make it impossible.”
Kwon Mu-seop answered my question with a troubled expression.
“The government has prohibited the Bureau from recruiting additional personnel.”
That was right.
This was the Special Management Bureau.
A world where every layer you peeled back revealed another horror story.