NOVEL NEXT Chapter 210
As soon as I received the ticket, a million thoughts flooded my mind.
Should I run away?
Should I hand the ticket to the Team Leader?
“Team Leader, this ticket is definitely—”
“I’ve already changed the reservation in your name. I don’t want to owe any favors to someone younger than me.”
The Team Leader rejected me icy cold.
“…”
Should I just pass it on to the Human Resources team?
I turned to Park Ye Eun, who was sitting there shaking her legs.
“Ye Eun, do you have any friends?”
“I do, right?”
Park Ye Eun replied with a tilt of her head.
“Do you want to go here?”
“Ugh, no.”
She responded with the same expression I had seen on the Branch Chief a few days ago.
“Are you trying to pass off a bomb?”
“Maybe someone I like these days…”
“There’s no such thing. I’m so busy I could die.”
“…”
“Do you think it’s easy carrying twenty people’s worth of combat rations around? Even I can get shoulder aches, you know?”
“…”
What in the world does this girl do when I’m not around?
Determined to hold a serious discussion with Aileen about the full-time employment completion method, I looked at Park Ye Eun with a hopeful gaze.
“Do you want to go with me, then?”
“Ugh!”
It wasn’t me who answered, but the Team Leader suddenly inhaling from afar.
Seeing a hair fall from his head, he hastily stood up and rushed out the door.
“I—I’ll just go for a walk!”
—Thud.
The door closed, and Park Ye Eun stood up discreetly.
“I’m not into older guys.”
“How about younger ones?”
“I just dislike people.”
Park Ye Eun was relentless.
“Please let go.”
She looked at me with a desperate expression.
“I’m really scared, big brother.”
“No, it’s just that you’re supposed to take the ticket—”
Before I could finish my sentence, she walked out the door.
Thud, closed the door.
Yeah. I really had no choice.
“…”
I turned to look at the three people.
Couldn’t we just send the two who win rock-paper-scissors?
Just as I thought that, Jang Chae Yeon spoke up.
“Just do what feels right.”
“That makes sense.”
Song Ah Rin sighed heavily.
“Honestly, I have no idea why the Team Leader gave us this.”
I noticed Song Ah Rin muttering to herself, likely predicting a disaster.
“But I kinda think that too.”
Is it really true that the Team Leader gave this with good intentions?
Well, it’s possible he did.
The real issue is what consequences this ‘goodwill’ ticket might bring.
My gaze met Jang Chae Yeon’s.
“What do you think might happen, Chae Yeon?”
“An appearance of a crazy chef feeding people human flesh.”
“Probably calls himself a gourmet or something.”
“Will he psychologically torture people? If not, overwhelming force?”
“So how are we supposed to counter that?”
“If it’s force, I should go; if it’s mental, then she should.”
“That makes sense.”
“…What are you two doing?”
Jang Chae Yeon pointed at Song Ah Rin, who looked at us with an incredulous expression as she overheard the conversation.
“Plan something.”
“There’s definitely… no, there will absolutely be some kind of anomaly.”
“…”
Song Ah Rin blinked at us.
“It’s not impossible… but…”
After a deep sigh, Song Ah Rin finally said.
“In that case, it’s still best for me to go.”
“…That’s not right.”
“…”
Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin exchanged glances.
“…If a fight breaks out, I could handle it better.”
“Then what? If it’s a mental attack, you’ll just be smashing heads with your so-called psychokinesis.”
“You’d just sit back and watch.”
“…”
They talk like I’m some sort of being that absolutely needs to be protected. It’s kind of frustrating.
I have a certain level of mental resistance, and I have my own strength—especially under critical conditions.
If only—
“Isn’t it better if I go?”
Cutting in, Yu Da On stared at both of them with a truly puzzled expression.
“Susceptible to mental attacks.”
“…”
She pointed at Jang Chae Yeon.
“Versatile skills.”
“Do you really want to die?”
Song Ah Rin glared at Yu Da On with wide eyes.
“Rather, if it comes down to it, I could protect Jae Heon— Oh wait?”
Yu Da On suddenly stood up straight, maintaining an elegant posture as if saluting.
Then, thick books began to levitate into her lap from thin air.
“Most susceptible to mental attacks and yet…”
“Should I increase the weight?”
“Go ahead.”
At Song Ah Rin’s cold words, Jang Chae Yeon nodded, and soon another thick book landed on Yu Da On’s lap.
“Wait, my thighs are bursting…! Muscle cramps, muscle cramps…!”
“You regenerate, right?”
“Jae Heon, help me!”
“I’ll go look for the Branch Chief.”
Let’s go have fun.
Leaving the three who were bickering behind, I headed towards the Branch Chief’s office.
If I encounter a genuine containment object, bringing the Branch Chief would be the best option. She could easily subdue that object with one hand.
Basking in the shining sunlight, the Branch Chief looked at me.
“Isn’t that a bit overreacting?”
“…”
The Branch Chief gave me a perplexed smile after hearing my words.
“Of course, I know Kim Jae Heon has had his fair share of accidents…”
“But if I get caught in another accident, isn’t it you who’ll be called in by the Head Office?”
With my words, a crack appeared in the Branch Chief’s smiling face.
“…Well, that’s… true…”
“So shouldn’t you come with me?”
“Not that. So far, there haven’t been any reported accidents at the Gangseo Hotel…”
“Has there been any incidents related to the gourmet containment object or phenomena?”
“Nothing of the sort…”
The Branch Chief replied with a troubled expression.
“Honestly, I’d like to go with you, but I’m busy too. I have a business trip to the Australia branch this afternoon.”
“Australia?”
“Never mind being a Branch Chief, Jae Heon, don’t you dare act like one.”
The Branch Chief sighed and looked at me.
“You received a ticket to the restaurant at the Gangseo Hotel, right?”
“That’s right.”
“…Then, just in case, I’ll send an undercover person. Just say there’s something similar to a containment object there.”
“Thank you.”
“Normally, this would be out of the question, but I think you might just create a containment object out of nothing.”
The Branch Chief sighed again.
“Anyway, I can’t go. Who will you take with you?”
“…”
Who should I take?
Several faces flitted through my mind.
It didn’t take long to decide.
*
I figured I might as well grab some clothes, so I rummaged through my wardrobe, but no matter how I thought about it, the only formal outfit I had was my suit.
In other words, it was just the same outfit I wear to work.
In the end, I put on my suit, and when I stepped out, the person waiting for me sighed as if the ground had collapsed beneath her.
“You ready for work?”
“When something goes down, we start working immediately.”
“You should get my permission to wear clothes later.”
She frowned at me.
“Ah Rin, you really dressed up nicely today.”
“I just wore something that matched the dress code.”
Though it felt more like she brought a dress rather than her usual suit.
“…By the way.”
“Yes?”
“Was it really okay to bring me?”
Song Ah Rin mumbled while averting her gaze.
“I mean, I was just a bit heated at the moment, saying what’s right or wrong. But looking back, it seems like it should be either white hair or… black hair feels wrong.”
As I pondered over her mutterings, I recalled everyone’s mixed reactions when I said I’d bring Song Ah Rin.
‘…Yeah.’
Jang Chae Yeon had scrunched her brows.
‘…Well, ‘versatile skills’ does mean various talents…’
Yu Da On had muttered as if to agree.
At the very least, both of them understood.
“I’m not exactly picking someone based on usefulness.”
“…Then why?”
Song Ah Rin looked at me.
I remembered the expression she had when she looked at me from the moon.
“Just… um. A thank you.”
“A thank you? Shouldn’t you be thanking everyone else too?”
“Of course, I plan to show my gratitude to the others as well.”
Including Jang Chae Yeon and Yu Da On.
“But I just feel like it’s right to come with Ah Rin.”
“…”
Song Ah Rin fell silent briefly after hearing my words.
“Let’s go.”
She grabbed my sleeve.
“Hurry up. I’m hungry.”
“Fine dining isn’t exactly a place to fill your stomach.”
“Come on, just follow me. Let’s go.”
As she said that, pulling me along with her,
“Faster!”
She was smiling.
*
“…Whoa.”
Is this what it means to be overwhelmed?
The chandelier glittered from the ceiling, and each person entering was all dressed up.
Some looked wealthy, while others appeared nervous before a once-in-a-lifetime choice.
Either way, they should know that it wasn’t easy for them to come here.
But we couldn’t just enjoy it like this.
“…”
“…”
While couples whispered sweet nothings at tables lit by romantic candlelight, we couldn’t afford that luxury.
With serious expressions, Song Ah Rin and I stared at each other.
“Alright, let’s make a plan.”
“Sure.”
“First, pay close attention to the appetizer that comes out.”
“…But how would we know if it’s strange or not once we eat it?”
“…Texture?”
“By the time it’s in my mouth, it’ll be too late…!”
Song Ah Rin’s face was full of shock, and at that moment, a waiter approached us.
Song Ah Rin tensed up, and I immediately checked above his head.
[Name: Han Sang Beom]
[Age: 23]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: After this part-time job, he plans to go on a trip with his girlfriend. That’s what he’s thinking.]
[Vulnerability: A regular human. He dies if you stab him in the vital spots.]
Just a normal guy.
“Appetizer, it’s a salad topped with octopus.”
Octopus?
Song Ah Rin and I exchanged glances.
“…Speak right now.”
Soon, as Song Ah Rin stared at the man intently, the expression drained from his face.
“…Yes.”
“This octopus, what is it?”
“Fresh octopus brought in from the fish market…”
“Speak the truth.”
“Actually…”
With a glint in her eyes, Song Ah Rin watched as I slipped my hand into my pocket.
“Actually?”
“Yesterday’s octopus from the fish market…”
“…”
“…”
“…Go.”
With a snap of her fingers, the light returned to the man’s eyes and he blinked, touching his temple as he walked away.
“…Should we eat it?”
“…Sure.”
The salad was delicious.