The Civil Servant Who Conceals Her Power Is Too Good at Possession Chapter 71

* * *

 

The first day of work at the Special Task Force.

 

Team Leader Baek Sangjin of Team 3 seemed to be sitting quietly without acting up anymore after being severely chewed out by Pi Sowon, and Pi Sowon had first given the team members about a day of leeway, telling them to read over the materials related to the Gamer before holding a meeting.

 

And I had those meeting materials open, but in truth, I was blankly staring at my quest window.

 

Quest ‘Catch the Gamer (S)’

 

– Time Limit: 2 Months

– Reward: Skill Upgrade Ticket, 9,000 Gold

– Penalty upon Failure: Sudden Death

 

Just in case something had changed….

 

‘As if it would change.’

 

Sadly, looking at the quest window that hadn’t changed a single letter, I contorted my face.

 

However, there was one hint I had gained.

 

It told me to catch the ‘Gamer’, not ‘Choi Woojin’.

 

What if I framed someone else and caught them pretending they were the Gamer?

 

‘…Yeah, risk of sudden death.’

 

I immediately folded that thought.

 

As if that would work.

 

I might be able to fool other people, but I couldn’t fool the quest window.

 

Then what if I catch The Gamer and then let him go? 

 

‘Technically it said to ‘Catch’, not ‘Arrest’.’

 

This much seemed worth a try at least once.

 

Since there’s plenty of time on the limit, should I give it a shot?

 

Every time I went to the restroom, I went to a secluded corridor where Choi Woojin’s ‘spider’ was likely to be, holding a file folder and quietly muttering to myself.

 

“Ahem…. Oh my, at this rate, the Gamer is going to be caught in no time, isn’t he? Should I report this to the higher-ups? Should I not? Should I just take all the credit for myself?”

 

Even if it looked like a ridiculous stunt, I had no choice!

 

Because Choi Woojin might be watching from somewhere with his skill!

 

If so, wouldn’t he try to approach me since I hold the decisive evidence? 

 

He hadn’t attempted any personal contact even once yet, but if I was the only one holding decisive evidence, he might target me?

 

‘The Gamer likes you.’

 

I recalled Kwon Ikseong’s words.

 

If he really liked me—

 

Then how exactly am I supposed to lure the Gamer in?

 

No, but why would Choi Woojin like me in the first place!

 

We hadn’t had a single point of contact!

 

If there had been a connection, shouldn’t he have been at least a little sad when the entirety of Team 5 blew up and died in the original work? 

 

Of course, in the special side story where I died, he did seem a little sad, but…….

 

‘…Special side story.’

 

At that moment, that word flashed through my mind.

 

Wasn’t there a special side story I hadn’t checked yet?

 

Should I check it right now?

 

It was when I was having such thoughts.

 

Someone’s shadow was cast over my feet.

 

Startled, I looked up to see a man looking down at me, dressed in a perfectly fitted shirt with neat hair, as always.

 

Kwon Ikseong.

 

He looked down at the file folder with the Special Task Force label I was holding and said.

 

“Special Task Force materials cannot be taken out of the office.”

 

“Ah.”

 

I hastily hid it behind my back and said.

 

“I-I am sorry. Since it’s the first day, I haven’t familiarized myself with the rules properly.” 

 

“….”

 

Watching my attitude, Kwon Ikseong’s expression became subtle.

 

He looked as if he was agonizing over something.

 

It was a face I was seeing for the first time.

 

Then, soon after, a word I was hearing for the first time flowed from his lips as well.

 

“Are you accepting the date request for today?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

When I asked blankly, he said with an impassive face.

 

“Have you not read the note yet?”

 

“Ah….”

 

That thing about seeing each other in the interrogation room? 

 

That was a real date?

 

How?

 

“Um….”

 

“It would be good to have lunch together in the interrogation room.” 

 

Kwon Ikseong’s pitch-black pupils gazed quietly down at me.

 

Beautiful…….

 

In an instant, because I fell into that thought, I couldn’t think of any other excuse. 

 

“Shall we……?”

 

Damn it.

 

I’ve fallen into the swamp of my favorite character again.

 

* * *

 

And when I went to the interrogation room, surprisingly, pasta and pizza were laid out instead of blood sausage soup.

 

There was orange ade and lemonade too.

 

…?

 

I became even more puzzled as I lifted the pizza.

 

‘It’s wood-fired pizza.’

 

This doesn’t seem like delivery, it looks like he bought it directly from nearby? 

 

“What is all of this?” 

 

“As I mentioned, this is the meal preparation for our date.”

 

He answered my question with a plain tone, as if reporting an investigation status.

 

So this is the whatever-and-whatever for a fake relationship, that sort of thing? 

 

“But for something like that, the location is….”

 

I furrowed my brow as I looked around the perfectly square interrogation room, ideal for pressuring people. And the metal chairs.

 

“The basis of an office romance is maintaining secrecy.”

 

“…Oh….”

 

A very plausible statement…… as if? 

 

“No, but still. A fake relationship usually means you only have to put on the act in front of the people you want to show it to, doesn’t it?”

 

Right now it’s only us here, though?

 

Who are we faking it for?

 

“Well.”

 

He looked at the CCTV above his head with a calm face.

 

That red light was looking down at Kwon Ikseong and me like an eye.

 

“Because we are now in a situation where we can no longer know exactly where the Gamer is.”

 

Oh.

 

It’s definitely Ikseong. 

 

He was already seeing through the essence of Choi Woojin’s skill to some extent, something no one else knew at this point.

 

That he is ‘everywhere’.

 

His ability as ‘the protagonist of this narrative’.

 

“But then wouldn’t we get caught that we’re doing a fake relationship?”

 

I pointed out the blind spot.

 

However, Kwon Ikseong was unwavering.

 

“The possibility of even that being discovered is not entirely zero, but it does not matter.” 

 

“Why?”

 

That seems like the biggest blind spot of all, though?

 

“Because we can just mix in sincerity.”

 

He said while serving my share of pizza onto a disposable plate that did not suit the well-prepared pasta and pizza.

 

“You said you were looking for love, didn’t you?”

 

“…Yes… I did say that, but…. What I mean is….”

 

Could you please forget about that!

 

It was when I was screaming inwardly.

 

Kwon Ikseong continued seriously, as if it didn’t matter.

 

“Love is invisible. It cannot be touched or tasted. To find it, one must awaken new senses purely through experience.”

 

He looked at me and said, as if proposing a new project.

 

“Try to find it while going on dates. Love. It would be fine if that turns out to be me, and wouldn’t it also be fine if you discover the fact that it isn’t me?” 

 

“…?”

 

What kind of sophistry was this?

 

I looked at Kwon Ikseong with a puzzled face and asked.

 

“Then what about you, Team Leader Kwon?”

 

You’re telling me to try and love you? But it doesn’t matter if I don’t?

 

Then what are you going to do?

 

What happens to you if I love you, and what happens if I don’t?

 

“I will just protect Investigator Lee Yuji. Regardless of which way the situation flows.”

 

He hesitated for a moment before raising his head.

 

From his eyes as he looked up, I felt an emptiness I was seeing for the first time.

 

What in the world was that?

 

The Kwon Ikseong I knew from the original novel wasn’t that kind of person.

 

He was someone who always approached his work, and people, with sincerity.

 

Where did such an empty void come from?

 

Was there reading ‘between the lines’ that I had missed?

 

Just like there was a between the lines I missed with Choi Woojin? 

 

I stared blankly at Kwon Ikseong’s loneliness, a loneliness so old and thickly covered in dust that now no one, not even himself, would have bothered looking into it.

 

“You do not need to worry too much about my feelings. Under the premise that I can catch the Gamer and protect Investigator Lee Yuji, I will do whatever Investigator Lee Yuji wants, either way.”

 

A very ambiguous yet resolute statement. 

 

At those words, I looked at Investigator Kwon Ikseong, who seemed as if he had fallen into some deep swamp.

 

Then, I furrowed my brow.

 

No way. 

 

So what, you’re saying if I want to, you’ll even date me, like that? Regardless of your feelings? 

 

And let me dump you whenever if I don’t like it?

 

In truth, there was nothing bad about this proposal for me.

 

Romantic feelings? That wasn’t the issue.

 

Actually, in order to prevent my sudden death 2 months from now, I had to provoke Choi Woojin no matter what. It didn’t matter if the method was this childish fake relationship.

 

Just in case there really were lines between Choi Woojin’s actions that I had missed, and if there was even the slightest bit of feelings for me in those lines, I was in a situation where I had to exploit that.

 

To do that, I also needed to use Kwon Ikseong.

 

However—

 

To think my favorite character was someone who treated himself so carelessly.

 

‘I’m disappointed.’

 

Thinking that, I glared at Kwon Ikseong with a slightly angry face.

 

“I refuse.”

 

“…?”

 

“I refuse. Doing something like that.”

 

“…I….”

 

Perhaps Ikseong had wanted to say it in a way that didn’t sound so serious, but I couldn’t accept it.

 

I was a reader who had liked my favorite character in the novel for a long time.

 

I like you.

 

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t romantic love.

 

I’ve been rooting for you. 

 

You, who worked with all your passion, unlike me, a civil servant who had always been stuck in a rut.

 

“Please make an effort together with me, Team Leader Kwon. To mix in sincerity. I won’t do it otherwise. So….”

 

My nostrils flaring, I looked at Kwon Ikseong while tightly gripping the plastic fork and knife.

 

“Let’s just say we’re using each other.”

 

Listening to my words, Kwon Ikseong’s expression turned peculiar.

 

With a face that seemed to be holding back laughter, he gently lowered my hand holding the knife and said.

 

“Understood. I understand, so—”

 

“….”

 

“Let’s eat. For now. There are 29 minutes left of lunch break.”

 

His smile was, how should I say it.

 

It was… beautiful again.

 

“I suppose we can consider our first round of negotiations to have concluded with a positive review.”

 

Although the words that flowed out afterward were very businesslike, of course.