The Civil Servant Who Conceals Her Power Is Too Good at Possession Chapter 18

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Hunter Investigation Bureau, Team 1. 

 

Unlike the crooked sign of Team 5 that always looked ready to fall off, Team 1’s sign was firmly fixed to the ceiling, framed in gold.

 

‘They really discriminate down to the nano-level, don’t they?’

 

For some reason, I felt a little resentful as I stepped into Team 1’s office.

 

“Do you have the data from the nearby CCTV analysis?”

 

“The Ilsan case is your assignment! How can you handle it this carelessly?”

 

Even though it was past clock-out time, the team members looked busy and enthusiastic. 

 

‘What a contrast to a certain group of people….’

 

I stood awkwardly among them, wondering who I should speak to.

 

It was then.

 

A woman walking by with a massive stack of papers bumped into my shoulder.

 

The documents flew upward and scattered across the floor—along with her thick glasses.

 

“Ah—! I-I’m so sorry! S-senior! I-I deserve death…!”

 

The woman kept bowing her head while scouring the floor. She seemed to be looking for her glasses…

 

I gathered the scattered documents roughly and found her glasses, handing them to her.

 

“Ah! Thank you!”

 

She bobbed her head gratefully before putting her glasses on.

 

Her name tag read:

 

Hunter Investigation Bureau, Team 1

 

Ham Ina

 

Ham Ina.

 

The name was familiar.

 

She was the woman who would later be treated as a total ace investigator in Team 1. 

 

She appeared a few times during Choi Woojin’s arrest in the original story—that’s why I remembered her.

 

So she must still be a rookie now.

 

Ham Ina looked at me through her glasses and tilted her head.

 

It seemed she had just realized I wasn’t one of her Team 1 seniors.

 

Then her gaze naturally dropped to my name tag, and she gasped.

 

“Investigator Lee Yuji? You’re that rookie from Team 5?”

 

‘That rookie?’

 

I tilted my head at the subtle nuance in her wording.

 

“Well, I am Lee Yuji, but……?” 

 

“Taekwondo Girl! So it was you!”

 

Taekwondo Girl.

 

The moment I heard that, Ham Ina’s reaction made sense.

 

Ah, right.

 

I… ended up on YouTube, didn’t I…?

 

Earlier, during my call with Lee Yugyeom, I found out that my video had racked up quite a number of views online.

 

[…Do you not even watch YouTube?]

 

‘You don’t either.’

 

[…Well, that’s true.]

 

Coming from the top student in school who doesn’t even answer my calls. 

 

Anyway, because of what Lee Yugyeom said, I did watch the video. 

 

At first, I didn’t think it would cause much trouble, since my face wasn’t shown directly.

 

It was just a profile shot, wasn’t it? 

 

But the eyes of the “Netizen Detectives” were terrifying……? 

 

‘Most of the comments were citing wrong information, but a few were bringing up facts that were chillingly accurate.’

 

The talk about me having secured an Asian Games spot was total nonsense.

 

They must have mistaken me for another athlete, or guessed from my form that it was Taekwondo technique and just made things up randomly.

 

‘Asian Games, my foot….’

 

[Try socializing with people once in a while.]

 

I recalled Lee Yugyeom’s words. 

 

Like he’s any better.

 

“That video was amazing! If I had faced that terrorist, I couldn’t have done what you did!”

 

As I listened to Ham Ina, I tilted my head.

 

It seemed the impact of the video was even stronger internally.

 

Since it was a leak of internal CCTV footage…….

 

‘But seriously, who leaked internal CCTV?’

 

In any case, anyone inside the HIB would be able to specify immediately that the location was Team 5 and that the person who sent the terrorist flying was me. 

 

“To be honest, we’re all just civil servants, right? But where did you find that kind of courage…?”

 

Says the person who later falls off a cliff while chasing Choi Woojin.

 

‘I guess Ham Ina is a rookie right now, too.’ 

 

Come to think of it, I do remember seeing her during the recruitment exam.

 

She’s a B-rank hunter with a physical enhancement skill, and she showed outstanding performance in the stamina test.

 

Meanwhile, I—

 

‘……Pas…sed…….’

 

Had passed the physical test under the supervisors’ very subtle expressions.

 

I mean, how am I supposed to compete with guys who run 100 meters in 5 seconds in the first place!

 

It was only because applications to the HIB were at an all-time low—and because I barely scraped by on the minimum physical requirements—that I managed to become an investigator at all.

 

‘Now that I think about it, I’m not even sure if that’s something to be grateful for.’

 

“I noticed you during the physical test too! I really respect you!”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Me? Why would she notice me?

 

While I was wondering about that, Ham Ina, who was guiding me, stopped in front of a door with a glass window covered by blinds. 

 

“You said you came to see the Team Leader, right? This is where the Team Leader is. Well then, fighting!”

 

She clenched her fist in encouragement and gave me a bright smile before starting to trot back to her seat—then suddenly stopped.

 

“Oh, right. We have a chatroom for us rookies to share information. Would you like me to…… invite you?” 

 

Information sharing?

 

It instantly reminded me of the group chat I’d once been in with my department head back in my previous life as a civil servant, and a wave of resistance washed over me—

 

But this was Ham Ina. A future Team 1 ace.

 

There was no downside to getting close.

 

“Ah, sure! My number is….”

 

After exchanging numbers with Ham Ina, I was left standing alone in front of the team leader’s office door.

 

‘Oh… team leader’s office.’

 

This was on a completely different level from Team 5, which was barely partitioned off by flimsy dividers.

 

Our Ikseong really is the ace of the Investigation Unit.

 

I knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.

 

Not a “Come in,” not even a “Get lost!”…

 

As I hesitated—

 

“You’ve arrived?”

 

A low voice sounded from behind me.

 

A solid arm, revealed beneath a well-folded shirt sleeve, gripped the doorknob in front of me. 

 

When I glanced to the side, I saw a sharply defined nose, beneath a deep brow ridge, eyes that looked solid as rock.

 

‘Ikseong…!’

 

I bit down hard on my lips to keep a pterodactyl scream from escaping.

 

My distance from Ikseong was too close. 

 

Aside from the time when some part of me—I don’t even know what—touched Ikseung’s body when I was a slime, or when Ikseung stroked my head when I was a dog, this was the first time we were this close in human form! 

 

Furthermore, for some reason, Ik-seung had his hair styled up with pomade and was even wearing glasses, exuding an inexplicable “nerd-sexy” vibe.

 

But with muscles hidden underneath like an S-Man…….

 

“D-did you just get back from somewhere?”

 

I tried to speak as calmly as possible, but the end of my sentence cracked against my will. 

 

However, Kwon Ikseung sat in his seat with the air of a protagonist who doesn’t care about such trifles, and gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite him. 

 

“I stopped by the Hunter Administration Bureau.”

 

He answered with a slightly tired face.

 

The Hunter Administration Bureau was the superior authority over the Investigation Bureau, with the power to pull its strings.

 

It was also widely suspected of being corrupted and colluding with powerful guilds within this world.

 

Because of that, many HIB cases ended ambiguously, and the public perception of the HIB as a tax-eating organization had spread.

 

No wonder he looked exhausted after going there.

 

“I’ll be blunt. The Hunter Administration Bureau does not want Choi Woojin, the grandson of the Daeyoung Guild, to be involved in this case. The guild wanted to block Choi Woojin’s appearance for investigation and send lawyers instead, but……”

 

He’s being very blunt, isn’t he?

 

“Choi Woojin himself has requested to appear voluntarily, stating that he has something he wishes to say specifically to Investigator Lee Yuji.”

 

…Damn it.

 

This development feels ominous.

 

“That’s why I called you in advance. There’s something I need to tell you.”

 

Is he telling me to throw myself into this interrogation and handle it well?

 

While alternating between the carrot and the stick? 

 

With high-level profiling going on outside……? 

 

As I looked at Kwon Ikseong with a tense expression, he let out a short sigh and spoke.

 

“…Handle it moderately.”

 

“…?”

 

Words that Kwon Ikseong would never seem to say spilled from his mouth.