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.d9ec56a4c894d57d

“Like, headhunters or managers… I’ve been getting a lot of calls.”6ad3a0ec2286ea16

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“…Headhunters, huh.”2849183b4ab21a45

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.00459ba09ad5a4ef

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“But Song Morae-ssi, isn’t Deschement the first place to directly recruit you?”2cf47469699eb571

It was d92aca68cd an unnecessary a939156db9 and embarrassing bd87f08ce4 question. For me, 724c05bac7 the only a239ab252b place to 3af78a5a41 go was 2cbfcb1d3e the Trash a9b5efb2e0 Village villa. Feeling awkward again, 2a1d82a62c I just nodded.59b49976e2ff984d

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Director An hurriedly buttoned 7c45c92def the top button of 5409c3688a her shirt and quickly 76e71990d1 tied her loosely hanging be8dbc0723 tie.08d9958c89cb7226

Clearing her b41452eaee throat, she da33cefd46 said, “Without e814f05b73 further ado, dd95dd72f0 let me d7d759e1af tell you 7eef068165 our conditions 49119a34f9 first. Our Deschement wants to d847239f47 recruit Song Morae-ssi as c1a2f39a9e Jae Chaeui-nim’s exclusive guide.”d9c89bda3ed6b6e1

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Her demeanor and 0268f081b9 voice were very e92d9ede38 confident, almost to 1445c9f7ba the point of f110d12158 being boastful, yet 306d36ee25 not ridiculous at 4dcb442bce all.02ccf928d3b9f4fe

Being a guide 449027dfdb for Jae Chaeui 4dbb36bec6 was the most 1fd1acfaff prestigious role one b621384494 could have.c4bad49775921bc9

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The story that 4f585bbd2c followed was even fcc6e9edb9 more surreal.8cd986f5a4796287

After Jae Chaeui’s f3baeea44f previous partner, A0-grade acf257432d guide Yoon Dogon, b796ec54ee went missing, Deschement 6e657e8247 aggressively started searching f514f5e7e1 for a new 25f667b922 guide.32e2eb39ba1b1c91

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They ran ads and d14a02c962 tested thousands of domestic 191187bdc0 and international guides but bac6aea2a0 couldn’t find anyone who a70bc5ab4e could influence Jae Chaeui.4155341e81043546

As a beebbfd3ea result, they e5f319366f began gathering d94049683f profiles of eee4645856 guides affiliated 756056715a with private e631890318 mercenaries and d11662f9f8 criminal organizations.2aade4fe6332db95

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Calculating the ce2ffc684f matching rate 3d408b72a2 with a 098cda9c94 specific newtype 53a21267ed based on 7ad288fb32 the brainwave 41ee0a5e9f records required 73324bc3d7 for guide 3729ca137b registration was 0f51451661 something only 6e252a5925 Deschement could ac90c417e8 do.4fe0dbadf56c0646

Even as I e8b615be63 listened, I couldn’t a4ba3ef68a understand what it f6104c4f6e meant.1abbd91e05b2ca40

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The idea that my 36fb69a2f6 expected matching rate with 4c271663c8 Jae Chaeui was very f8f6739f17 high was even more ddac85753c incomprehensible.5a250825f3a2d0dd

I had only one response. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but they were definitely wrong.bae49d77833b094c

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“You must have mistaken me for someone with the same name.”716fb3c4c5a5cea4

“There aren’t many 26-year-old male guides named ‘Song Morae’ in Korea. To be precise, you’re the only one.”3a1989b81ce3727b

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“Then the test results must be wrong.”06deb2ed753b30d6

Fiddling with my earlobe, a7e5daa7b8 I tried to steady 325a15c950 my voice and straightened 64b11f5b4b my back as I 2f3b3850db spoke.48152e23a097978a

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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.”49288dfddd9a3a08

“No. Deschement doesn’t make mistakes. If there’s an error, it’s in the way guide grades are divided.”4fa8d52d60c6f6d3

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Director An’s response was swift. Without hesitation, she began to persuade me.766695cc9e79bf00

“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.”65437790c7cb98e3

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“Uh-huh…”9a8b5c4e3c024d71

“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.”f8763a859c11b948

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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.f67950518f50e1b9

“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.”472da6db5d4f2bea

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I had no idea. Just 1% and it’s A-grade?40e8ae873ba14641

“Our Deschement is confident that Song Morae-nim is an A0-grade or higher guide.”2d503ef22dc9fb2b

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“…I doubt it.”d1ef8b88ec970153

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.84e2a92fff5a36e5

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Twisting my lips, I 1754f8204a adjusted my sitting position. Finally, I felt cdb782acbc blood circulating in 83bd73d2f5 my limbs and ba8b273c74 my mind calming 52a3e99d7f down.87676bb56cdfdce5

“Song Morae-ssi doesn’t seem very interested in receiving a higher grade, does he?”3d1305d688089243

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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.057f428a31342493

“Then perhaps… on purpose…”241550356178393f

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She muttered to 7a08bec103 herself, eyes flickering 7938f14c1f in confusion.33e6f40af67fe4aa

“…Have you ever taken a matching test with a high-grade newtype before? Who and where?”35b853ed6aad3f1b

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The question was 86ab834f68 utterly absurd.cccc45762dd3c55a

‘What on earth are they seeing in me to say such things? Are they trying to provoke me on purpose?’fc95ff17be6dc749

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Shaking my head in 8491c760d8 disbelief, I thought.f79b252ada7f1f5f

Director An, who knows e517a7b66d my matching rate with 79038a7a27 Han Geon down to 68fb324570 the decimal, surely knows 3aa5c04e13 my situation as an 95b2003d66 E-grade guide living in edf7275a31 the Trash Village.4c8f28cdc3539965

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So why ask 135d8ffac6 such strange questions?40a6179117bcc910

It was d6f68bada0 clear she 559d54de86 intended to 484ecb304e belittle me, bd57b83948 suggesting I 6d5a86254a was refusing 10234b688a the chance 3b8ee42cfb to test 71f1a26779 with an b981f85290 S-grade newtype.0d96142c52581265

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The disappointment in her 4f35de2ec7 attitude was palpable.d8827694e3167bc9

‘I thought she was kind… but of course.’654c04396ddae853

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Even as a b898f6d125 penniless nobody, I 7264060834 still had my c0c3bb5a80 pride. I kept 144c4bf119 my mouth f469e15cb2 shut and 1e341dc2e1 just stared, f10c3380aa trying not 20efba3343 to show 5bd2ed7c2d any other 7ffa1fd0ca reaction.5226743bdfaa1acd

After a 42a6bde4d5 long stare-down, 475a112922 Director An 28d8023182 looked away cf45f69adc first.6a9e6862675323a7

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“Well, hmm… You don’t have to answer everything here.”7aaf16a7507cb529

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.2931230b5ae5591a

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“Still, Song Morae-nim?”13ec827e9edf98c5

Suddenly, ‘nim’ was added after my name instead of ‘ssi.’cca0dafd698690da

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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.”113ab17902587d9b

‘It feels like we’re not on the same page at all…’818990d8455180fc

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Feeling bewildered, I f285e2c485 just listened to 28901d19f2 Director An. She stood up 542cb01646 and walked around 412a4f5902 the desk. As she 119b0f2b79 approached unexpectedly 7267dad688 close, I f0778d11ff pressed myself bffc5ba3f0 against the 458d572698 back of 4acfcd5313 the chair, 8895381d18 worried that dbe5ebd8c9 the monster 52b40688f8 scent emanating 4449bc5245 from me e12cd9ad43 might be 8242044aef unpleasant.ada30ffe87330797

However, Director An b8e47cd504 knelt on one 669fd0eea7 knee in front cd8702ce70 of me without b9b7291436 any change in 74c57d822b expression. Then she neatly 53dad6649a placed her hands 8ce0f6dd4c on my arms.3ffed84543bc154f

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“Song Morae-nim.”606564aa517e5046

In a daze, I replied, “Yes,” with a timid voice.cc3b17135b8aa54d

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“…It’s time to start paying taxes, don’t you think?”6e12300243a9fe94

Her words pierced deep bbbe0ed561 into my heart.fab41e8df1a26371

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Paying taxes… It 72920278dc would be nice 7f401d9f91 if I could.a135ab8ddbfece0d

Working all c3c7acf55f night, collecting 73a0dd2d6e black debris, 3a11e73517 I probably cf0bf242dc wouldn’t live 58eae2fe51 long. Being in a 57a42ab385 stable job with 3877e2fc96 social insurance and 2e0e5cfbfd paying taxes would a2b92a0120 be a joy 96025880ae for me.4ba9cc466c4bfe44

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In the 098cc800e6 end, what cc34c83078 remained was e2e48496f9 a bit ce45b23a39 of skepticism 745eba8b41 and a 20fb44df03 ticklish hope.e3fb0759a161e7e5

It was b0e1b84577 clear how c7b77b7e1d a young-looking 44505f9a9a Anhu could 2f65534f38 hold the 2011b5abbf position of d8c5efbf37 HR director. The wind she d28089eb09 blew into me 2c737f34c6 was swirling inside.5ce7b74852e3b0c6

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Anyway, I couldn’t a418643b47 return to the 9510b5c10a mercenary office like 46a87eedf2 this.3dc9f8d55d0fed57

They were 4385e54a2f asking me 8332ec79d7 to take 7143254be8 a matching 895970efc2 test with 965577c913 the great 739fa104cc Jae Chaeui, 962d0ead17 and there 09fcf26fea was no bcd0932e8e reason to 4c336135b4 refuse.d2b992f22be97c99

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If even 3ab97ade51 1% matched, 6005d90ee2 it would f27b2a3b68 be the 92aa68ea1c start of eae2a4e34a a life-changing d32544c416 drama.e9cadf8495d80a81

Although the bb87927506 future where 41a0ba52c0 everyone, including 132341235b Director An, 7cfe51cdb8 would be 5e04ea18ab disappointed, frustrated, 90ccbaa09b and lamenting 17a0cb5fc9 at a c182a322d9 0% result 90714ab14d was clear, 4a6f99741e just having acc1e29ead taken a 070a655895 matching test 6854907820 with Jae 260bbf9bc8 Chaeui would 17728cbc62 raise my 0f4340a211 value as 1ca36f5fd2 an amateur 7bfc1db854 guide.609851e7dd5cce07

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After a long 3c6d6d876a deliberation, I said, 94a1af346c “Alright.”586085a1f718a49c

Then everything happened in 30249d96d3 a flash.8f68d38ed028c111

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Director An collected my 1ba01368a7 signatures on various parts bd71d3ae45 of the document folder 2a72d727d0 she brought.4cee2ced510134cf

She even had a 68c23b7776 stamp with ‘Song Morae’ a193263321 engraved on it, pointing 540a563dec here and there on 628188cc27 the documents, telling me 39c3aad40f to stamp it.cb9717260972ee15

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