Chapter 37
Gi Tae-yeon heard the news about Han Chasu while he was in the middle of being thoroughly chewed out by the director.
“Chief Gi, do I have to call you in and tell you this myself for you to understand? Do you know how many people are being inconvenienced because of your stubbornness?”
“…….”
“What is the Bureau’s motto? Isn’t it to promote convenience for Awakeners and reduce unnecessary misunderstandings with ordinary people? And yet, Chief Gi, you are moving in the exact opposite direction!”
Min Jong-sik, director of the First Headquarters of the Awakener Management Bureau, slammed his desk. The eyes fixed on Gi Tae-yeon were murderous.
“If a colleague covers up your mistake, the first thing you should do is bow your head and thank them. But instead, you immediately commit assault? Are you in your right mind?”
In the first place, none of this would have happened if the Security Office hadn’t sent Han Chasu home on their own. Moreover, the ones who had suffered more injuries were not the Security Office, but the Crisis Management Office.
Lightly freezing someone just to frighten them and actually firing a gun were clearly two different matters.
But the director, who was on the Security Office’s side, paid no attention to that.
“You know I’m not in my right mind.”
And Gi Tae-yeon did not particularly care either. The Security Office had the director behind them, but he had the bureau chief behind him.
Director Min Jong-sik knew that as well, which was why he scowled with all his might.
“Chief Gi Tae-yeon, are you trying to put yourself on equal footing with me?”
“If you find me that unpleasant, then fire me, Director.”
Gi Tae-yeon spoke with a smile, as if merely imagining it delighted him.
“To be honest, the notion that a civil servant’s job is an iron rice bowl is outdated, isn’t it? I’ve been wanting to start looking for something else myself, but the bureau chief won’t allow it. Ah, or was it not the bureau chief, but the National Assembly and the people who won’t allow it?”
“…….”
Min Jong-sik’s glare at Gi Tae-yeon was vicious.
Chief of the Crisis Management Office, Gi Tae-yeon. His name was fairly well known even among the public.
On the very day Min Jong-sik had held a lavish inauguration ceremony at a hotel with ruling party lawmakers, Gi Tae-yeon had suppressed a terrorist attack that occurred at a nearby bus terminal.
If they fired a man like Gi Tae-yeon, it would never end quietly.
“But if I’m not here, who will save you next time, Director…? Ah, right. There’s the Security Office. What a relief. This time, you can ask them to evacuate you properly without getting caught on camera.”
“Gi Tae-yeon…!”
Min Jong-sik ground his teeth. He had been reminded of the sight of himself fleeing in a panic, caught on the live broadcast camera at the scene.
That day, Min Jong-sik had instantly become the center of attention. The new director who didn’t care about citizens’ safety! That had become Min Jong-sik’s new epithet.
Naturally, the ruling party lawmakers who had brushed off his shoulders and told him they looked forward to working with him had all stopped contacting him.
Min Jong-sik’s face grew redder and redder. Gi Tae-yeon spoke in a languid voice.
“Ah, right. I shouldn’t leave this out. Before I resign, I’ll make sure to tell Chief Gwak in advance.”
With a chhk, the sound of something igniting, he smiled faintly.
“I’ll tell him that although our Director Min Jong-sik is an A-rank hunter, he strangely seems afraid of escaping a hotel on his own, so he should pay special attention to that point.”
Sparks flew from Min Jong-sik’s eyes. His furious snorting seemed as if it would reach all the way over. It was the moment he sprang up from his seat.
The closed door burst open.
“D-Director!”
“Can’t you see I’m busy right now?!”
“I-I’m sorry. But it’s urgent…!”
The story the employee who had rushed in breathlessly spilled out was shocking.
“What? An S-rank healer was attacked at his home… and he’s bringing the patient here right now?!”
On top of that, that patient was apparently Han Chasu, whom the Bureau had been holding until recently.
The director’s face turned deathly pale after receiving the report.
“Yes. He says he wants to use the treatment device the Development Office developed with the Medical Center, that it’s an emergency. What should we do?”
“Of course tell them to use it! Did you come all the way up here to ask me that?! Go prepare the machine at once!”
The director looked almost out of his mind. And no wonder. If he had not sent him out….
“Well, now. If he had been safely protected at the Bureau, perhaps he might not have been hurt.”
Gi Tae-yeon accurately stabbed at the director’s thoughts. The director, who had been glaring at him, shouted in rage.
“Get out right now!”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Having been thrown out, Gi Tae-yeon strolled leisurely down the corridor. Even though he had heard the news about Han Chasu, he was not shaken. If anything, he seemed relaxed.
Han Chasu had drunk his blood two days ago, and he had been injured today. ‘The effects of the blood should still remain, so he won’t die.’
The regenerative ability contained in his blood lasted at least three days. So no matter how badly he was hurt, it should not lead to death.
There was a reason behind Gi Tae-yeon’s composure. ‘Seeing as Baek Dam brought him here right away, it seems no external side effects appeared?’
That was fortunate. He did not want to see a fish-human over three meters tall in the Bureau. ‘Still, I should check.’
Among the side effects, there were some that affected the mind. Such as obsessing over water and repeatedly jumping into it, or drinking excessive amounts of water.
“Would now be about right?”
Gi Tae-yeon checked the time. About thirty minutes had passed since the director received the report. That had been right before Baek Dam arrived at headquarters, so things should have improved by now.
However, Gi Tae-yeon’s relaxed thoughts were shattered when he reached the treatment room.
The area in front of the intensive care unit was nothing short of a battlefield.
“We’ve controlled the bleeding to some extent, but he isn’t regaining consciousness at all. At this rate, he may fall into a coma…. What on earth was he hit with?”
“Hunter Baek Dam, just a moment! You can’t go in. You can’t use healing right now either! If the wavelengths mix in, there’ll be serious trouble!”
“Please help Hunter Jeong Iheun—wait, Team Leader Woo. Hunter Jeong Iheun is gone!”
“Move, we have an emergency patient here! If someone dies because of you people, will you take responsibility?!”
Medical personnel hurried in and out of the treatment room. Empty medicine bottles and syringes in their hands, unidentified boxes, and huge machines rolling in like a flood.
Then there were the uninvited onlookers who had gathered to see what was happening, and Baek Dam, who paid them no attention and only glared through the glass window.
It was complete chaos. Just then, someone sprang out of the crowd and urgently grabbed Gi Tae-yeon.
“Chief, we just received a request for support from the basement!”
After receiving the radio message, Gi Tae-yeon was horrified.
It was a transmission asking for support because Jeong Iheun had appeared in the holding room and was trying to burn the culprits to death.
***
Fortunately, Han Chasu entered stable condition before dawn passed. The cause of the inexplicable continuous bleeding was determined to be a curse.
“It seems one of them had prepared a trap aimed at Hunter Baek Dam. It was a type of curse that healing skills don’t work on.”
While Baek Dam stayed at the Bureau with Han Chasu, several team members analyzed the scene. Gi Tae-yeon listened to his subordinate’s report with his arms crossed.
“Most likely, Hunter Baek Dam’s ability surpassed their curse, allowing Mr. Han Chasu to stay alive until he arrived at the Bureau.”
The face of the person speaking calmly was composed. Gi Tae-yeon nodded and sent his subordinate out.
Then he spun his chair around and looked at the man standing there blankly.
“Will you only sit down if I beg you to, please?”
“…….”
“No matter how much you glare out the window, what’s not allowed is not allowed, Guildmaster of Cheollyeong.”
At the scene, perhaps it would be one thing, but he could not allow him to kill the culprits inside the Awakener Management Bureau. Gi Tae-yeon pulled Jeong Iheun, who showed no sign of leaving the window, over and forcibly seated him.
The gaze that had been glaring as though it would burn the culprits being transferred to the detention center turned toward Gi Tae-yeon.
“They’re culprits caught at the scene while trying to harm an S-rank healer. On top of that, they aren’t registered hunters, but unregistered Awakeners. In any case, they won’t be leaving prison alive.”
In other words, since they would never see the outside world while alive anyway, he was asking to be allowed to kill them himself. At the shameless request, Gi Tae-yeon shook his head.
“Then I would have to deal with all the aftermath. No.” ‘I have no idea how important Han Chasu is for him to act like this.’
He had heard that Han Chasu had saved Jeong Iheun’s younger sibling. But even so, wasn’t this reaction far too excessive? ‘There’s something more to this than a simple attitude toward a benefactor.’
Moreover, Jeong Iheun was not the only one obsessed with Han Chasu. Just earlier, the director had come to find him and made a huge fuss.
“Do everything you can to keep him alive, understand? Chief Gi Tae-yeon was the one who brought him in, so take responsibility!”
He had no idea what he was supposed to take responsibility for when the man had gleefully sent him away himself, but one thing was clear. Someone higher up was paying a great deal of attention to Han Chasu.
And if he were to hand over the culprit who had turned Han Chasu into a bloody mess to Jeong Iheun just like that…. ‘That nameless bastard will definitely intervene. The director will join in and make a scene too.’
Gi Tae-yeon deliberated. The probability that Jeong Iheun would raid the detention center, and the probability that he himself would be inconvenienced if he handed over the culprit to him.
After a fierce calculation, he made his decision.
“Unlike ordinary people, interrogating Awakeners is difficult. On top of that, they are unregistered hunters who committed an organized act of terrorism targeting an S-rank healer, so they will probably resist quite violently.”
When Gi Tae-yeon pointed that out, a strange light seeped into Jeong Iheun’s eyes.
“We may need assistance during the interrogation. For example, someone capable of subduing the culprits if they attempt to cause a disturbance.”
“That would be truly helpful. The Bureau is short on manpower as it is. If a hunter of at least A-rank or above were to be present, we would be extremely grateful.”
I’ll let you participate in the interrogation, so don’t even think about raiding the detention center.
Instead of killing them, rough suppression is allowed, right?
Of course. Do as you please.
Behind plausible rhetoric, their interests aligned.
The two men, having obtained what each wanted, met each other’s gaze and smiled.
At the same time, Han Chasu was being chased in a dream.
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