Even simple-minded Han Jaejun seemed to find it strange that Kang Hyeonjoo had woken from sleep. It was good that he felt suspicious, but he had the wrong address.
“No. I didn’t sleep. Because of Park Gyujin.”
“Park Gyujin…? Why that person. Does he still bother you?”
When Yeon Dogyeong brought Park Gyujin to this place, and when he performed his role as guide amazingly well, Kang Hyeonjoo couldn’t erase his suspicion. It felt like dancing with knives on a well-woven board tied with strings. In other words, it seemed like Kang Hyeonjoo and Han Jaejun crossing over through the Guimun was someone’s scheme. Unfortunately, it seemed Kang Hyeonjoo was the only one with such suspicions.
He’d casually mentioned it to Han Jaejun, but he had no particular interest. Either way is fine, as long as we get home, isn’t that all that matters. That was all there was in Han Jaejun’s head. Then what about Kang Hyeonjoo’s reliable team leader, Yeon Dogyeong?
‘Wow, really? If that’s really true, I should ask for a big bonus this month.’
That was all. A strong but stupid idiot team leader.
“He was digging the ground. Park Gyujin-ssi just a moment ago.”
“What… ground….”
Han Jaejun’s words slowed as if he was about to fall asleep again. Momentarily annoyed, Kang Hyeonjoo stretched out his leg and kicked Han Jaejun’s thigh with a thud.
“Ah, sorry. My legs are long.”
“Fuck.”
“No, am I the only one who finds this strange?”
Kang Hyeonjoo sat up abruptly. Han Jaejun, who had been rubbing his thigh with lowered eyelids, opened his eyes drowsily.
“What, again.”
Again. They hadn’t tied up anything yet, and he says again. Kang Hyeonjoo pounded his chest inwardly. He couldn’t actually do it for fear it would hurt. If he could hit the sunbae in front of him instead of his own chest, he would have done it long ago.
“Sunbae-nim, think about it. He mumbled about how his purpose was to bring back the red fruits and such.”
“Did he mumble?”
Han Jaejun, who yawned widely, raised his upper body. Kang Hyeonjoo, having at least succeeded in waking him up, looked down at his wristwatch and moved his butt closer to Han Jaejun. There was still some time left in Park Gyujin’s night watch.
“That’s a smokescreen. If that was really the purpose, he should have collected the fruits the moment he discovered them. But Park Gyujin picked the fruits as if the thought came to him belatedly, with a feeling like, oh right, I need to take this.”
“…Really?”
Han Jaejun tried hard to reconsider his words. When put that way, it did seem like that.
“Hey, but I’m really curious about this.”
“Yes, please speak.”
At Han Jaejun’s rare statement of curiosity, Kang Hyeonjoo straightened his back and nodded.
“Why are you so obsessed with that?”
What kind of squirrel doing back flips talk is this?
“…Of course I’m obsessed. Don’t you know how many days I’ve been like this here? Can’t wash properly! Can’t eat properly! Struggling desperately in the nests of those beggar-like semi-human bastards! If this was a scheme by the research institute bastards, I won’t stay still!”
“Shut up a bit. Fucking noisy. Are you crazy?”
He didn’t even shout that loudly, but Han Jaejun clicked his tongue and grumbled. When Kang Hyeonjoo firmly closed his mouth with a displeased expression, he sighed and continued.
“Us crossing over to this side was a coincidence. If what you’re saying is right, then the research institute bastards directly opened the Guimun, right? Being able to open the Guimun, that doesn’t make sense.”
“What else doesn’t make sense? Team Leader Yeon also directly opened the Guimun and crossed over here.”
At Kang Hyeonjoo’s rebuttal, Han Jaejun scratched his neck. Even he had nothing to say this time. It was understandable. That Yeon Dogyeong, who always goes around smiling like an idiot, knows how to open the Guimun. Who could have imagined? He couldn’t. So the most plausible hypothesis Kang Hyeonjoo thought of was either ‘team leaders and above know how to open the Guimun’ or ‘the research institute people specially taught Team Leader Yeon how to open the Guimun when he said he’d cross the Guimun.’ In fact, when he asked Team Leader Yeon how he crossed the Guimun, an answer that could be pieced together came back.
‘I saw it in a book.’
After that, they hurriedly moved on to talk about the map, so he couldn’t ask in more detail. If he’d had deep curiosity, he would have asked later whether the research institute side really showed him the book, what the method of opening the Guimun was, and since when they’d known about it, but at the time Kang Hyeonjoo hadn’t thought much of it either. However, once he started suspecting in earnest, his thoughts quickly stretched to a conclusion. If the research institute people had known how to open the Guimun from the start, Kang Hyeonjoo coming all the way here might have been purely for research purposes.
“I’m suspicious. Seeing Park Gyujin digging the ground outside just now made my suspicion grow. On the rainy day, Park Gyujin stopped mid-sentence. I didn’t hear it clearly but he said ‘grass.'”
“Grass?”
“Yes, grass.”
Han Jaejun nodded.
“What’s that?”
“……”
“Hey, but if it really was the research institute bastards’ scheme that we came here like you’re thinking, what are you going to do? What exactly do you want to gain from this that you’re being like this?”
Han Jaejun understood Kang Hyeonjoo quite well. He caught on that he was obsessed with this matter because he wanted to gain something. However, if they’d been together for over 4 years, he should have gone further. What Kang Hyeonjoo wanted was the same now as before.
“One building. And in a good location in the middle of Seoul at that.”
“…So it was because of money after all.”
To be precise, it was preparing for retirement. The Semi-Human Department’s salary wasn’t much. The civil servant pension that came out after retirement was also less than a mouse’s tail, and while a life allowance was paid separately, the amount varied depending on the number of emergency dispatches, so it was a pitifully small amount to call a bonus. A secret organization that couldn’t produce noticeable results was bound to have low pay. In the political arena, there was even talk of reducing the budget allocated there, questioning what exactly the Special Reconnaissance Department, the Semi-Human Department’s other name, was doing. With the situation like this and being a physical job, retirement came early, so they had to prepare for retirement in advance.
“I should get at least that much. I’m going to ask Team Leader Yeon next time I see him. Whether it’s true that the research institute people taught him how to open the Guimun. But it’s probably true, right? Park Gyujin says he knows how to open the Guimun to cross from here to there. It’s all rigged. Makes me want to curse.”
“…Starting tomorrow I’ll also monitor Park Gyujin, so let’s go together once we catch evidence.”
Finally understanding the situation, Han Jaejun stepped forward to help Kang Hyeonjoo. He was planning to make the report alone no matter what, but for now, having one more pair of eyes to monitor was a good thing.
“Good.”
“Alright, let’s sleep now.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who answered meekly, lay down on the relatively clean floor. Han Jaejun, who lay down after him, yawned long.
“Hey, but you’re sure you saw Team Leader Yeon going into the cave, right? I couldn’t see because I was running while carrying Park Gyujin.”
“Yes. I saw him throw Joo Seonghan-ssi into the cave, fire the submachine gun, and even detonate the bomb. He’s probably fine. The one to worry about is Joo Seonghan-ssi.”
“……Ah.”
Han Jaejun, who sighed belatedly, rustled as he turned his body to look at Kang Hyeonjoo. Kang Hyeonjoo, lying flat looking at the ceiling, nodded briefly with his eyes closed.
“He hasn’t been eaten already, has he?”
“The Team Leader-nim must have built up quite a bit, right? He’s a human who pursues sex once a day.”
The rumor was widespread in the Semi-Human Department. Yeon Dogyeong, Team Leader of Semi-Human Department Team 3, who rarely stayed in the dormitory and spent more time in hotel beds than in his dormitory bed.
“Still, surely he wouldn’t do it in this situation here.”
“When has Team Leader-nim ever considered such things?”
“Well…but at least he doesn’t force anyone.”
That’s true. Kang Hyeonjoo answered in a somewhat lukewarm tone. Yeon Dogyeong, who didn’t distinguish between men and women, older or younger, was an expert at seducing others. Even though many people came onto him when he just stayed still, on top of that Yeon Dogyeong would make the first move. Who knows what kind of advances he threw and how, but even those who hadn’t shown interest in him would be following Yeon Dogyeong with their eyes after a few days, and half a day was enough for those two people to share a blanket.
Moreover, Yeon Dogyeong rarely refused when it came to sex, so he was also the number one contributor to tangling up the family tree. He’d slept with the current boyfriend of a woman he’d slept with before, slept with another man who was targeting that boyfriend, touched a colleague’s older sister, a subordinate’s younger brother and his girlfriend, the twins at the research institute cafeteria and even their older brother. Still, Yeon Dogyeong’s claim was that he didn’t violate business ethics.
It sounded like ridiculous talk, but in reality Yeon Dogyeong had never instigated adultery first. That was quite ironic. He had something great down there so he was popular, and he liked sleeping with people on his own side so he rolled around freely, yet surprisingly he had proper principles. He didn’t touch people who were in relationships or married, and he didn’t force sex on people who said no. Nevertheless, the reason he contributed to making a dog’s family tree was because he was easily fooled.
‘I’m single, and I want to sleep with you.’
