Author: rolypoly

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Ever since the Special Task Force was established, the group chat with her peers had literally exploded.

 

Anyone know Investigator Lee Yuji’s phone number~?

 

Investigator Ham Ina, I saw you eating with Investigator Lee Yuji last time. Are you two close? ^^

 

I helped her with some work last time, I wonder if she has anything else she needs help with….

 

There were over 70 messages piled up in the group chat alone.

 

Countless private messages poured in for Ham Ina as well.

 

Everyone shared a single purpose. 

 

Investigator Ham Ina, I heard you got in too? Is there any chance there’s an open spot on the Special Task Force?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

 

To establish a connection with the Special Task Force.

 

There were people from the Equipment Management Division who wanted to join the Special Task Force right away because their team was on the verge of being abolished, but the rest were genuinely trying to secure a ‘connection’.

 

A Special Task Force was typically a team established for a period of one year.

 

What this meant was—

 

‘Your job won’t disappear for at least a year. If you’re on the Special Task Force.’

 

In a situation where the HIB was noisy both inside and out, being on the Special Task Force meant you could definitely preserve your livelihood.

 

And that wasn’t all.

 

They could definitely secure various allowances per case on top of all sorts of subsidies provided under the guise of special activity funds. 

 

The bonuses for catching a few simple thieving villains and pulling off a major bust in the Special Task Force were bound to be vastly different.

 

As a result, it wasn’t just her peers but even her seniors who were reaching out to Ham Ina.

 

Ina. Shall we grab a meal sometime? ^^

 

I heard you joined the Special Task Force recently, you must be working so hard……(Read more)

 

I heard you’re close with her? That Taekwondo girl……(Read more)

 

And the person they were actually trying to secure a solid connection with by using Ham Ina was Investigator ‘Lee Yuji’.

 

Because rumors had instantly spread throughout the bureau that she was the core pillar of this Special Task Force.

 

She didn’t know how the rumors had spread so quickly, but since the Special Task Force itself was created because of Team 5 in the first place, she figured they had deduced it from there.

 

Plus, Investigator Lee Yuji had racked up a lot of achievements recently anyway.

 

Ham Ina scrolled quickly down the chatroom before she suddenly raised her head at the piercing gaze she felt from ahead.

 

The owner of that gaze was Kwon Ikseong.

 

The person who had invited her to join this Special Task Force with him.

 

She should have been thankful, but in truth, Ham Ina wasn’t particularly happy.

 

Actually, that was how she felt about everything these days.

 

Ever since her direct senior, Yeo Hyeongse, had died like that, she had started feeling skeptical about her work as an investigator.

 

‘Who exactly am I fighting against?’ 

 

The criminals and those who chase crime.

 

She thought those two sides were perfectly separated, but reality wasn’t like that.

 

Yeo Hyeongse seemed like a good investigator, but it turned out he was a criminal who had delivered a bomb.

 

He must have done it knowing full well that the bomb could instantly massacre dozens… or perhaps hundreds of innocent civilians.

 

And yet he had tracked down the terrorists with a perfectly straight face, cursing them for being evil bastards….

 

As Ham Ina’s mind grew tangled, Kwon Ikseong had proposed this special team to her, saying.

 

‘I hope this incident can serve as a turning point for Investigator Ham Ina.’

 

‘Pardon?’

 

His face, always as tranquil as a deep lake, showed no real change in expression even after Yeo Hyeongse’s death.

 

His demeanor, naturally, was exactly the same.

 

‘I believe that no matter the profession, the longer you do it, a moment inevitably comes where you have to decide what it is you want to gain from it. I hope working in this Special Task Force provides the opportunity to make that decision, Investigator Ham Ina.’

 

…Honestly, she hadn’t understood what he meant.

 

The anxiety and skepticism regarding her work as an investigator still existed.

 

But if Kwon Ikseong had told her to cheer up, or that the Special Task Force was a good opportunity because of the high bonuses, or anything of that sort, she would have wanted to quit even more.

 

She wasn’t doing this job for the bonuses.

 

If that were the case, she would have been better off joining a guild and running dangerous dungeon raids in the first place.

 

What she wanted was belief.

 

The belief that she could make this world a better place.

 

If asked whether that was truly possible just by eliminating criminals, she wouldn’t know the answer, but—

 

And she didn’t know if she could catch all the criminals that had even infiltrated the HIB, but—

 

Whatever the case, thanks to Kwon Ikseong’s words, she no longer wanted to give up right here.

 

She wanted to try just a little bit longer.

 

Even if it ended in a miserable failure.

 

She had just had these thoughts yesterday, and yet here she was getting caught slacking off as soon as she joined the Special Task Force.

 

Feeling awkward, Ham Ina put her phone down and said.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry. I couldn’t focus on work.”

 

At her words, Kwon Ikseong replied with an impassive face.

 

“It’s fine. Lunch break started 20 seconds ago.”

 

Hearing that, she looked at the clock and it was exactly 12 o’clock.

 

…This guy.

 

Seeing him like this, the Team Leader really didn’t give off a human vibe at all.

 

Ham Ina watched as several people from the still-disorganized and chaotic Special Task Force poured out of the room.

 

For reference, the ‘headset member’ from Team 5 sitting right behind her seemed to have already left.

 

Was it even possible for a person to disappear without a trace within 20 seconds?

 

‘Could it be a skill?’

 

Come to think of it, even when coming into work this morning, just when she thought he was going to be late, he appeared like a ghost at 8 o’clock sharp.

 

That guy’s ability might just be erasing his own presence.

 

“Is there something bothering you? If you are having trouble adjusting, please let me know.”

 

Kwon Ikseong said.

 

Sometimes he didn’t feel human at all, but other times he actually gave off the feeling that he was looking out for her.

 

He really was a strange person.

 

“No. I’m fine.”

 

“I saw you arguing with Investigator Baek Sangjin from Team 3 over paperwork this morning.”

 

Ah. Baek Sangjin.

 

Right.

 

Right now, the Special Task Force was primarily investigating the Black Market first.

 

Judging by the Gamer’s actions so far, the assumption that the Gamer was a crafting-type Hunter group—whether a single person or a collective—producing hacking items was almost treated as a certainty.

 

For that reason, they had to share data related to the illegal weapons trade case with Team 3, but a minor friction arose when ‘Investigator’ Baek Sangjin from Team 3 expected to be treated with the respect of a team leader.

 

‘Who sends documents to their superior like this? Don’t you know you’re supposed to put them in a binder and bring them over?’

 

The somewhat funny part was that he had deliberately taken her all the way to the front of the closed Sky Garden just to say that.

 

He probably figured that if he said it inside the Special Task Force room, he would be severely chewed out by Pi Sowon again.

 

Team Leader Pi Sowon had already declared that within the Special Task Force, aside from the two Team Leaders, there would be no strict hierarchy whatsoever among the rest of the members.

 

‘So from now on, we’ll unify the titles to ‘Investigator’. That should help with our solidarity, right? Investigator Baek Sangjin?’

 

…Investigator Baek Sangjin had shut his mouth when Team Leader Pi Sowon subtly flashed the handgun she always carried in her pocket, having received a personal possession permit directly from Unit Chief Hong Jaegyeol.

 

It was just too awkward for him to refute Team Leader Pi head-on, so he had called her out separately to scold her—but to think Kwon Ikseong had noticed even that.

 

“Were you watching?”

 

“I did not step in because I figured you would request assistance if necessary.” 

 

“….”

 

He had even deduced that much.

 

As expected, even if Team Leader Kwon seemed like the most stoic person in the world, he was the one who saw through the most things.

 

“You don’t need to worry about it. I plan on taking my time adjusting. I’m sure the others need time to adjust as well…. Right now, I was just looking up information on lunch menus. Is there anything you’d like to eat, Team Leader?”

 

Ham Ina forced herself to speak brightly.

 

However, Kwon Ikseong’s face grew rather dark.

 

No, rather than dark, his face looked strangely as if he were agonizing over something.

 

It was when Ham Ina tilted her head, watching his brow furrow.

 

Words that truly did not suit him at all flowed from his lips.

 

“I apologize. I have a date for lunch.”

 

…?

 

“Ah. By any chance, what do people usually eat on a date? I am aware that they generally eat whatever the woman wants to eat, but… the situation is such that it remains unclear what she likes.”

 

…???

 

Even as he watched Ham Ina’s face crumple in confusion, Kwon Ikseong’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

 

“For reference, we had blood sausage soup on our first date, and although she liked it very much, I have determined that repeating the same menu would not be a good idea.”

 

Ham Ina doubted her own ears, then later suspected that the person in front of her wasn’t Kwon Ikseong but a villain imitating him, before finally being hit with the decisive blow.

 

“As a note, the situation requires me to have a highly positive date to guide the consultation with the other party in a favorable direction.” 

 

The fact that the great Kwon Ikseong was currently ‘courting’ someone!

 

Author's Thoughts

Hi! Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please continue to support this novel by giving it a good rating on Novel Updates. Thank you! ^^ ❤︎

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