B | Chapter 5

And then,

“Jae Chaeui-nim!”

The cold gray door swung open with a bang.

The sound was loud enough to clear the echo lingering in my ears.

Yet, Jae Chaeui just looked down at me, not bothering to turn around.

It was my job to check who had burst in.

A woman in a white shirt and suit pants, with a name tag around her neck, glanced at me and then at Jae Chaeui’s back.

She seemed anxious as she quickly approached and whispered something into Jae Chaeui’s ear, covering her mouth with her hand.

Then both of them left the room.

‘…What?’

I barely had time to roll my eyes in confusion before the woman returned, opening the gray door again. She locked eyes with me and slid a booklet across the metal desk toward me.

“Please take a look at this while you wait, Song Morae-ssi.”

How does she know my name?

Before I could ask, she left the room again. I stood up to follow her, quickly moving to the door and turning the handle. But it wouldn’t budge. It seemed locked from the outside.

Reality hit me like a splash of cold water.

The room was about 4 pyeong, with minimal furniture, and the white ceiling, floor, and walls made it feel empty.

In the center was a gray metal desk with two metal chairs facing each other, and one wall was a mirror, creating the illusion of another set of desk and chairs.

The purpose of this room was clear.

‘It’s an interrogation room.’

I frowned and racked my brain.

Did Deschement really have a reason to bring me in? Was using counterfeit money from the gate such a big deal?

The answer was no. Even if I had committed murder, even if it were a heinous serial killing, it wouldn’t warrant Deschement’s involvement. Especially not Jae Chaeui personally coming out.

Suddenly, I remembered the window.

The 5th-floor window, which I never thought could be used to throw someone out, and the words Jae Chaeui had said while standing in front of it.

‘It’s time for you to get a new partner, huh?’

I rubbed my face with my hands and sat down at the desk.

Staring at the mirror only showed my reflection, and no amount of thinking provided answers.

Instead, I straightened my clothes, zipping up my crumpled jumper to the neck and bringing my feet together.

That’s when I noticed my pants buckle was undone.

‘Ah, damn…’

I quickly fixed the zipper and buckle, calming myself down. I decided not to think about Han Geon. I had to forget, or at least pretend to forget. For that, I needed a distraction, and the only thing to look at was the booklet the staff had left.

I wiped my nose with my index finger and opened the booklet. The first page had a large print of the Deschement Center’s exterior. The following content was all promotional material about Deschement. It was already well-known, so there was nothing new to learn, but I read it numbly to clear my mind.

‘Twenty years ago, the first gate was discovered. …Since then, the new humans with superhuman abilities were named newtypes, and those above A-grade work as ‘sentinels’ to protect the world from gate collapses and monsters. Blah blah blah… even kindergarteners know this.’

I flipped through the boring modern history pages. Then a photo of Jae Chaeui in a Deschement uniform appeared. On the right were the three characters of his name and its origin.

Indeed, how could you explain Deschement without mentioning Jae Chaeui?

He was Deschement’s greatest pride and joy. The most famous Korean sentinel in the world, the mascot of Deschement, and an icon of world peace.

Even his name ‘Jae Chaeui’ was given by Deschement.

During a gate accident in the East Sea, the deceased formed an island, and he was the only survivor.

Hence, ‘Jae Chaeui (在此矣),’ meaning ‘here he is,’ and also the name of a ‘revived corpse’ from Yongjae Chonghwa.

People say you live up to your name, and he did. He was always ‘here.’ He never aged, never got injured, never died. If you took an X-ray, there wouldn’t be a speck of rust on his bones. He always reigned at the top, flaunting his supreme beauty. It’s been 20 years of that.

I squinted at the photo in the booklet. Jae Chaeui wasn’t that intimidating in pictures or videos. He had a more respectable image as a hero protecting the world. Even in appearance, he was breathtakingly beautiful and handsome, easily drawing admiration. But after meeting him in person and being held in his grip, my impression completely changed.

Jae Chaeui was terrifying.

The unfamiliar fear made my stomach churn. Staring at the purely impressive Jae Chaeui in the promotional material, I sighed and closed the booklet.

Then a strange voice spoke.

“Do you understand now? Where you are?”

Startled, I looked up. The gray door was open, and the woman from earlier stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Instead of Jae Chaeui, she held a purple file.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know Deschement?”

I asked.

“You seemed not to.”

She scoffed.

“Otherwise, does it mean you ignored our proposal despite knowing everything? It was so hard to bring you here, Song Morae-ssi….”

She sat across from me. Her grumbling voice sounded more like a lament than a reprimand for interrogation.

Clenching my invisible wariness in my fist, I calmly observed her.

When she stood with Jae Chaeui, his presence was so overwhelming that I hadn’t noticed her properly.

But now, she seemed quite unique. Her face looked mid-30s, but her hair was streaked with gray, and she had a branch tattoo on her wrist and small black earrings.

Her name tag read ‘Personnel Manager’ at the top and ‘An Hui’ at the bottom.aa

Noticing my blatant stare, the staff… no, the personnel manager pulled out her business card.

“Call me Manager An. Or Hui-ssi.”

“Uh… I’m Song Morae.”

With no business card to exchange or job to boast about, I awkwardly accepted her card with both hands. I fiddled with it, finding the light purple color and plastic-like texture fascinating.

Manager An spoke continuously to me, who had my head lowered.

“I’m sorry you were brought here like this. We tried to respect your wishes and waited, as you know….”

What am I supposed to know? It was a puzzling statement. Why would Deschement, especially the personnel manager, wait for me? What about my wishes are they respecting?

Some phrases did come to mind. Letters piled up, cramming my mailbox, missed call records filling my call history, unread messages flashing…. I thought they were all scams or sting operations. I still find it hard to believe the offer is real.

Yet, I didn’t distrust it either. I had seen the real Jae Chaeui. His face, voice, demeanor, and aura were unlike anything someone could imitate.

“Our Deschement respects and follows Jae Chaeui-nim’s wishes, but not all of his words and actions align with Deschement’s intentions.”

It wasn’t hard to grasp the underlying meaning of her roundabout words. So… they wouldn’t take responsibility for Jae Chaeui throwing Han Geon out the window and forcibly bringing me here.

“Anyway, welcome, Song Morae-ssi.”

Manager An extended her hand. The branch tattoo on her wrist became more visible. Her nails, painted purple, had pearl-like studs on them. It was a clean, well-maintained hand of a white-collar worker.

Glancing at my own hand, it was pale and bloodless. Han Geon’s nosebleed stained my fingers, and dust was under my nails. My state was bad enough just from the stench I emitted. So I shook my head, refusing the handshake.

Instead, I spoke.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“…What?”

“Jae Chaeui…”

I stopped myself and quickly corrected.

“Why did ‘Jae Chaeui-nim’ bring me here? What is this proposal Deschement supposedly made to me?”

“What? We’ve been trying to contact you. We sent emails, calls, letters. We even tried visiting, but you weren’t home, so it was a waste of effort.”

“I…”

Embarrassed, I furrowed my brow.

‘…I thought it was a sting operation. I bought cup noodles with money I found at the gate.’

Explaining the misunderstanding would take a long time. It wasn’t just any story; it was a petty and embarrassing one. Already overwhelmed by the flashy headquarters, my hands and feet felt cold.

“I received so many contacts.”

So that’s all I said.