B | Chapter 6

Director An’s reaction was way more dramatic than I expected. Her eyes widened, mouth agape, and she placed her palms on the desk, shaking them like a foreign movie star demanding an explanation. I lowered my head, avoiding her gaze, and mumbled softly.faa30728d5cbf670

“Like, headhunters or managers… I’ve been getting a lot of calls.”515762a57e0b8373

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“…Headhunters, huh.”05fba1d9e68fd061

It was embarrassing and made me feel itchy inside to convey something that didn’t suit me. Meanwhile, the director’s eyes were very serious.417712cf2c0dae59

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“But Song Morae-ssi, isn’t Deschement the first place to directly recruit you?”16649b969b033a17

It was 8662fdc896 an unnecessary 1d0e2331a8 and embarrassing b959ac08f7 question. For me, e33d125e54 the only 212e4d42c9 place to 7e740cbc0e go was 13e1056cb1 the Trash 7b8de53962 Village villa. Feeling awkward again, I 8df59f99a1 just nodded.184f3f3ced9a1941

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Director An 567640d32d hurriedly buttoned ca2af82366 the top cf8267d506 button of 10073ffc9d her shirt 9c9e304be5 and quickly bc9938bfac tied her 6e925cc710 loosely hanging 699e686bdf tie.dff7c38cba276254

Clearing her throat, she 399ad3121b said, “Without further ado, 82237387ff let me tell you 93dd303a12 our conditions first. Our Deschement 59dcd5e225 wants to 547a13c3db recruit Song aa79e9a472 Morae-ssi as 3aa46dd203 Jae Chaeui-nim’s e1b68653ef exclusive guide.”69309131087d51c4

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Her demeanor and voice 8ce0974f81 were very confident, almost 47dd5e2125 to the point of 319b616448 being boastful, yet not 91c6ddda35 ridiculous at all.2792f53efe7d572b

Being a 94a20e70c1 guide for 125130e4dc Jae Chaeui 74cfae392c was the dac06f455b most prestigious dc473d063a role one a0a1911cf8 could have.dba53e8c5e1f4225

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The story that e6406588b8 followed was even 25ba05ad48 more surreal.a40126e8c3b88f78

After Jae 192db5bffd Chaeui’s previous 6d7ea8f2a6 partner, A0-grade c67f64991c guide Yoon 6c871484f0 Dogon, went 58f06097e0 missing, Deschement ccd603f955 aggressively started fb7ddbafc0 searching for 840d092954 a new 89c9036f43 guide.8f8377ba96a5c1b4

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They ran a32c42b114 ads and e01237d8f2 tested thousands f5a08926ce of domestic b93ae72296 and international 5e6d81a561 guides but fe917285d3 couldn’t find 2cd37a2a87 anyone who 7a2c7930b5 could influence 95e02a43da Jae Chaeui.8fab375887387741

As a result, they b53d01b820 began gathering profiles of 9f9e2de8cd guides affiliated with private abc57cfadd mercenaries and criminal organizations.14a4565aa5e4e7ca

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Calculating the matching 4629aa6fd1 rate with a f1dfa88b93 specific newtype based 3221860800 on the brainwave c72c6434da records required for 6fa9603967 guide registration was 319ce4b380 something only Deschement 59d829768c could do.c564b4ea7b748db6

Even as I listened, f3fa0d05ea I couldn’t understand what e62505b884 it meant.2994183671a6617d

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The idea 69d5d127fa that my 726b8ce1fc expected matching aa6b8439ee rate with ab90fa1f9b Jae Chaeui d258bc1c4a was very df0580cd31 high was 2a290f3484 even more 819971845d incomprehensible.ed9a664d014d93af

I had only one response. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but they were definitely wrong.1f8b2c55459affcf

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“You must have mistaken me for someone with the same name.”d7a690cdf9292903

“There aren’t many 26-year-old male guides named ‘Song Morae’ in Korea. To be precise, you’re the only one.”5a7d36d7ddd4ff28

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“Then the test results must be wrong.”93a5e294d8cbd433

Fiddling with my earlobe, b33e593ee2 I tried to steady dec26cb430 my voice and straightened 07d72ba0f4 my back as I bc65ecf8e6 spoke.82da24c920ac1523

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“I’m an E-grade guide. I can barely handle private mercenaries, and even then, my matching rate has never exceeded 20%. There must be some mistake.”14467e1e1121452b

“No. Deschement doesn’t make mistakes. If there’s an error, it’s in the way guide grades are divided.”48fe9212a0e7dc2e

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Director An’s response was swift. Without hesitation, she began to persuade me.4c6b14227bb0a57c

“The grade of a newtype is absolute, but a guide’s grade isn’t. It’s determined by the grade of the newtype they can influence and the matching rate. You can think of a guide’s grade as being tied to their partner newtype.”7129d72da44deaa9

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“Uh-huh…”7f4e2a75b155c983

“The reason you’re classified as E-grade is because your maximum matching rate with a C+ grade newtype is 19.7%. In other words, even if you’re currently E-grade, if your matching rate with S-grade newtype Jae Chaeui-nim is high, your guide grade will change.”0f475bddab34fe8e

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The specific figure of ‘19.7’ made my earlobes heat up involuntarily. However, Director An didn’t seem to care whether I rounded that number to 20 or not. Like someone with a script in her head, she spoke clearly and eloquently.79dd6b17df626e8a

“Song Morae-ssi. Guides who can influence S-grade newtypes are rare. Even if the matching rate is only 1%, the fact that matching is possible means it’s at least A- grade. You probably already know this.”80d8728a3cb27c54

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I had no idea. Just 1% and it’s A-grade?43f3fe48a2eac5b9

“Our Deschement is confident that Song Morae-nim is an A0-grade or higher guide.”f407fef70a9069ef

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“…I doubt it.”692ef53b9b219f20

My answer remained pessimistic. I knew that guide grades didn’t change so easily, like flipping a switch. Director An would know this too. A guide who can’t use their abilities with a B-grade newtype won’t work with an A-grade either. The grades in front of our names aren’t just arbitrary scores.55fdd409395b8c78

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Twisting my lips, 2c0df3f85a I adjusted my cfe85b01a0 sitting position. Finally, I bf0f3238e7 felt blood d971ebe87c circulating in 7fad1794f6 my limbs 97793b1968 and my 15e18e57e9 mind calming 889baeb0a2 down.7f02bf1ba0d1457a

“Song Morae-ssi doesn’t seem very interested in receiving a higher grade, does he?”042112adc2f29040

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Director An muttered. Her words were half right and half wrong. It’s not that I’m not interested; it’s more that I’ve already given up.61c277c11eb1979a

“Then perhaps… on purpose…”9981fce5920285f8

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She muttered to herself, 3f926f4099 eyes flickering in confusion.0ea152cdaa9ed51a

“…Have you ever taken a matching test with a high-grade newtype before? Who and where?”fd06e22b0d945822

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The question 7a66e4272f was utterly 4eaac58dbc absurd.f47ac54569f0c649

‘What on earth are they seeing in me to say such things? Are they trying to provoke me on purpose?’d6ab323efccc7ad1

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Shaking my 79b018611a head in c47a4e85cf disbelief, I e56a9fe4a6 thought.1df40a81df7266b9

Director An, who knows cbaaf762f5 my matching rate with 27650c23e0 Han Geon down to 45f251a33d the decimal, surely knows 203fa99948 my situation as an 65c265bb54 E-grade guide living in 0e8aec448a the Trash Village.adf772fb9ab6f276

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So why ask such 9a0809e926 strange questions?5736b28395c711f8

It was clear she 97a496a98e intended to belittle me, f4f05823d0 suggesting I was refusing 00059f0fdf the chance to test c80105df06 with an S-grade newtype.87a4480f0e95d84c

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The disappointment in her 0ff7d3515d attitude was palpable.7778f3246495304d

‘I thought she was kind… but of course.’6338396eae57c96a

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Even as a penniless 5971479948 nobody, I still had 501e09be03 my pride. I kept my 6e77d57353 mouth shut and 38a8fbafd7 just stared, trying 20825eaad1 not to show 8983439903 any other reaction.3c1b3161fdc5b7ac

After a long stare-down, f980eea054 Director An looked away 6b25218996 first.b51873540a549c7c

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“Well, hmm… You don’t have to answer everything here.”5df3392458e99246

Director An’s expressions changed quickly. She would lower her head as if sulking, then quickly lift her chin and sparkle her eyes. As someone who often heard, ‘I can’t tell if you’re a corpse or a person,’ I found her liveliness enviable.c4dd13031cdbc604

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“Still, Song Morae-nim?”df58a203a216a414

Suddenly, ‘nim’ was added after my name instead of ‘ssi.’7ec85fd84ccba783

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“No matter who the newtype you partnered with before was, they couldn’t have been better than Jae Chaeui-nim. Jae Chaeui-nim wants to take a matching test with you right now. Our Deschement wants it too.”baa5581fc4688b25

‘It feels like we’re not on the same page at all…’0d199636e2b7594f

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Feeling bewildered, I c6b59e7609 just listened to d7145b051f Director An. She stood up and e33fce3a9d walked around the desk. As she approached unexpectedly c44450658e close, I pressed myself 2c8471cd29 against the back of fccb1760e7 the chair, worried that 98617e9ca4 the monster scent emanating 14f97ed234 from me might be 512a8a833d unpleasant.65820f9c77931bbf

However, Director An knelt d2f44bdb03 on one knee in 7ae2948de6 front of me without 5da3c235fd any change in expression. Then she neatly placed 79f4b29925 her hands on my dddf5885a6 arms.dd8c28fbbaaf1a3e

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“Song Morae-nim.”6b7262570a13ce68

In a daze, I replied, “Yes,” with a timid voice.7ec5521f7b6c5321

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“…It’s time to start paying taxes, don’t you think?”d1ef59b823700daa

Her words pierced 7c1f777594 deep into my 4c8116733c heart.8af9f1b7a2d271b7

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Paying taxes… It would 414d483414 be nice if I a92cdfaabc could.c780d5c59fc64d21

Working all night, 1cc23101d8 collecting black debris, 8deba074ba I probably wouldn’t 964e856b6d live long. Being in a e861cef8c9 stable job with ce3391d3ba social insurance and 7304a92b23 paying taxes would 4d320fcba4 be a joy 110e06ba9a for me.eac459af83b33554

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In the end, what 339667df4a remained was a bit c4465dfb49 of skepticism and a 21e54a4e8d ticklish hope.e3fa959b230db49e

It was clear how 30b4e50102 a young-looking Anhu could 27fbbfabe8 hold the position of acb875132b HR director. The wind she blew d00b8a705d into me was swirling 08e3feaba1 inside.9d0e1326c79fac7a

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Anyway, I 3a54a1f744 couldn’t return 71ebf22ff2 to the 6833261eb6 mercenary office aea1fc1c3d like this.cc7af13fdc0aca3f

They were asking bcfdcddefe me to take 6002225807 a matching test 11bee68291 with the great ff1eaaa75b Jae Chaeui, and 5c1aab3576 there was no 5cdba3a4fe reason to refuse.8d1326ab495068d0

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If even e89218f594 1% matched, 572cbf9f58 it would 8fa112c619 be the 39ae03d716 start of 834c583102 a life-changing 4a65a69ca1 drama.1c6ee8e30f4c1915

Although the future where 39e3baf4cf everyone, including Director An, 7047525990 would be disappointed, frustrated, 06a61106f3 and lamenting at a c29172d93a 0% result was clear, f6d358fcdc just having taken a f2c6d1b9c3 matching test with Jae ed479ab556 Chaeui would raise my 8f6bd59efa value as an amateur 1d2eda42b4 guide.902bc06f676a42f4

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After a 7f4885e5fd long deliberation, 088a9c3d52 I said, 12e52b2a80 “Alright.”e6ccdf04b082bb2c

Then everything 3658b11ac5 happened in eef0dc9cf3 a flash.1998edb3fee7099a

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Director An 63c19e599c collected my d5b578408c signatures on e2d6c44855 various parts 6cc5019f47 of the 3576482ab7 document folder 1cc17b8cd8 she brought.e81caca7efa4b0ab

She even had a bc76fccfd7 stamp with ‘Song Morae’ d5fabbe099 engraved on it, pointing 6755158564 here and there on 7a94c4202c the documents, telling me 1a24115d92 to stamp it.62bf31a9ec8cda15

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