The Visit (2)

I had completed roughly half of the task to eliminate mapping errors across the live theater charts. I stretched my arms wide, attempting to rouse my profoundly stiff and aching muscles.

“Huuu.”

Perhaps because I still lacked operational efficiency, my velocity was agonizingly slow. Yet, my intense focus was yielding visible fruit—one only had to scan the monitor, which was draped in far more green hues compared to this morning, to see that. Twisting my waist left and right to conclude a brief sequence of stretches, I gripped the mouse once more to resume the process.

Ideally, I wanted to finish the charts entirely on my own, but I was scheduled to hand the working files over to Officer Park tomorrow morning.

Reflecting on the reality that Officer Park was currently exposed on the front lines compiling geographic structural data at this exact millisecond, a powerful sense of duty welled up inside me to verify as many data points as possible before clocking out. I immersed myself completely back into the paperwork.

“Let’s start wrapping up the day’s work.”

I lost all track of time until the Team Leader vocalized the conclusion of the shift. Eyeing the remaining sections on the chart, I swallowed down a heavy sigh that threatened to escape my lips.

“…….”

Now that clock-out time had arrived, the caseload I thought I had aggressively streamlined looked smaller than ever before. Staring at the green illumination that filled a mere one-fifth of Sector C-4, a lingering urge prompted me to log a few extra hours of overtime before heading home, but doing so was practically impossible.

Kim Se-hyun had issued a strict command never to navigate the streets solitary for the time being. Given that he was fully cognizant of the reality that I continuous-like commuted back and forth alongside the Deputy Team Leader, he must have harbored a highly legitimate reason to voice that specific warning. It was precisely as I was backing up the directories and system files before terminating the connection to the operational compensation server. Watching the team members rise from their desks one by one, my fingers flew busily across the keyboard.

“Team Leader, I’ll patch a call through to Officer Park directly to relay the update.”

“Excellent.”

The moment the Team Leader’s authorization went out, the Deputy Team Leader established contact with Officer Park to instruct him to clock out from the field. Catching his eye as he concluded the call, I offered him a subtle smile.

“Ha-neul-ssi, do you have a significant backlog of data left to process?”

The Deputy Team Leader questioned me after putting his receiver down. I countered with my own query.

“How is your caseload looking, Deputy Team Leader?”

“I have about thirty minutes of leisure to spare.”

Vocalizing that he possessed leisure was, in reality, synonymous with confirming he had already concluded his entire workload for the day. Scanning the monitor and looking back toward him multiple times, I hesitated for a brief moment before requesting his indulgence.

“I’d like to log just thirty more minutes of work, if that’s alright.”

“Look at how fiercely passionate our youngest is. Fine, then I’ll log another thirty minutes as well before we head out.”

“…Well, if everyone else is sticking around, I suppose I have no choice but to log thirty more minutes myself.”

“…….”

Hearing them throw out increments of thirty minutes filled me with a sudden wave of guilt. I verified the desk clock, then slowly lifted my chin to stare blankly at my team members.

“Pfft!”

“Pahaha! Hurry up and just focus on whatever task you have in front of you.”

“…Yes, sir.”

I wondered why they were fixated on thirty minutes, only to realize that exactly thirty minutes remained until our official clock-out time. While the rest of the team members were naturally mischievous enough to execute a prank of this nature, I hadn’t expected the Deputy Team Leader to align himself with their antics so seamlessly. Feeling a microscopic sense of betrayal, I shot a glance toward him, but the warmth dancing across his features caused a smile to ripple across my own face as well.

“My word, are you actually fine with us teasing you like this?”

“Because it’s you, Deputy Team Leader.”

“Hey, what about me?”

“Naturally, I enjoy it from you too, sir.”

If it had been anyone else, I might have felt defensive, but the playful barbs thrown by these individuals never carried a single shred of malice. If anything, it served as a vivid reminder of how closely they regarded me, which felt incredibly comforting.

“Alright, let’s steamroll through the remaining files and put this day to bed.”

“Yes, sir!”

In just thirty short minutes, I would finally be free to leave. Vowing to conquer at least one more structural sector before the clock ran out, I immersed myself back into the core data.

The following morning, I was navigating the routine morning commute alongside the Deputy Team Leader as usual. We were listening closely to a live radio broadcast he had tuned into when the announcer suddenly invoked the name of the Hunter Department, causing me to strain my ears.

— We are receiving reports that three individual Clam Worm entities were identified during the dungeon crisis that manifested two days ago. > — Yes, that is correct. While Clam Worms are native entities that strictly materialize inside coastal dungeon grids, they are occasionally documented within mainland sectors on rare occasions. > — I understand that Clam Worms are widely recognized as exceptionally agonizing entities to suppress. Is that accurate? > — Precisely. And that is exactly why this deployment illustrates just how magnificent our nation’s Hunter Department truly is—as well as the immense utility of the Association. To contain a live dungeon housing three independent Clam Worms at such rapid velocity is unprecedented worldwide; you can essentially view our nation as the absolute first to achieve such a milestone.

See—even if the high-ranking bureaucrats continuous-like dismissed our value, the general public was fully capable of recognizing the immense hardships endured by the Hunter Department.

Having our baseline efforts acknowledged by an objective medium left me feeling more animated than ever.

“It’s a massive relief to see the media assessing the deployment with such positive metrics.”

It appeared the Deputy Team Leader had also been focusing intensely on the radio analysis. I gave a firm nod.

“Yes, truly.”

If the public airwaves had been saturated with nothing but malicious criticisms and negative reviews, it would have been an intensely crushing blow to our morale. It was precisely as I was tracking the ongoing dialogue between the panelists who were continuous-like elevating the department’s profile.

“Thanks to this public narrative, the upper echelons won’t be able to institutionalize any severe administrative disciplinary actions against us.”

“Ah.”

He vocalized a crisis of that magnitude with such profound composure. Naturally recalling our grim conversation from yesterday afternoon, I offered a faint smile and spoke.

“Ideally, I just wish the disciplinary actions would be dismantled entirely.”

Although the directive to draft formal letters of apology for negligence had already been handed down yesterday, I secretly harbored a hope that even that reprimand would evaporate under the positive press.

“I share that exact sentiment. Let’s hope it plays out that way.”

Reflecting on it now, I realized I had failed to ask about the specific mechanics governing internal reprimands yesterday. I parted my lips cautiously to probe further.

“Yesterday… I noticed everyone seemed to accept the reality of facing disciplinary strikes continuously,without a single shred of surprise. I was curious if occurrences of this nature manifest frequently within the department.”

“I wouldn’t classify it as a constant frequency, but we encounter variables like this from time to time. Most notably, whenever a dungeon generates during a window where a foreign dignitary or an external high-profile official is visiting the state, the high-ranking bureaucrats instinctively try to shift the absolute burden of blame onto our shoulders.”

“I see.”

My mind hadn’t even begun to parse that specific layer of bureaucratic landscape. Nodding my head, I strained my ears to catch his subsequent explanation.

“They can’t easily slap down an overarching penalty from one to ten, however. While there is a powerful contingent among the high-ranking officials who view the Hunter Department as a thorn in their side, an equally significant number of politicians champion our utility. Since our current situation is based strictly on speculation and whether an actual reprimand will materialize remains a massive unknown variable, don’t let anxiety crush your spirit too much.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Even if they choose to enforce a penalty, it will baseline at a minor slap on the wrist. In our entire operational history, we have only ever suffered a salary reduction penalty twice.”

Hearing his assurance that the issue would likely resolve itself through a standard letter of apology allowed my tightly coiled anxieties to dissolve completely. Tilting the corners of my mouth upward subtly, I continued to track the radio coverage.

— What is the current situational status regarding the Prince and his entourage? > — While zero graphic details have been officially released to the public, intelligence suggests they evacuated safely into the interior of Sector A-8. Whether he will honor his upcoming scheduled public appearances remains entirely unknown. > — I understand. The moment our field reporters establish concrete data regarding Prince Edward’s condition, we will transmit the updates to our listeners instantaneously.

Because I had aggressively reviewed the morning news prior to leaving my house, I possessed a baseline understanding of the situation, but it appeared the mainstream media was still entirely blind to the exact movements of Prince Edward’s entourage. Listening to the broadcast trace the exact parameters of the information we already held, the news segment eventually dissolved into a commercial break. I shifted my gaze toward the window.

A long interval of minutes ticked away until the familiar commercial structure housing our office materialized within my field of vision. Forcing myself to look away from the towering, hyper-modern Association headquarters looming just beyond our property, my eyes dropped toward the entrance of the Hunter Department building. It was precisely then that I spotted a massive, thoroughly unexpected ocean of people clustered around the doors.

“Deputy Team Leader?”

“…Let’s loop around the perimeter block once first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Looping around the block was undoubtedly a tactical maneuver to decode the true identity of the crowd. Maintaining our baseline speed as we entered the street, we cruised past the dense cluster of bodies. I whipped my eyes across the crowd at rapid velocity.

Every single individual was equipped with exorbitant, heavy-duty broadcast cameras and clusters of press microphones bound together. Catching a final glimpse of them locked in intense discussions with one another, our sedan veered sharply down an adjacent alleyway. The moment the crowd was completely erased from my line of sight, I opened my mouth.

“Deputy Team Leader, those individuals appear to be journalists.”

“…….”

Ordinarily, whenever a massive tactical incident detonated, reporters would instinctively swarm the adjacent Association headquarters. Yet today, they had bypassed the Association entirely to pitch their tripods right in front of our thoroughly ordinary office doors.

“Ha-neul-ssi, establish a direct link to the Team Leader immediately.”

“Understood.”

Right—this was absolutely no time to be lost in side-tracked speculation. Pulling out my smartphone at rapid velocity, I initiated the call on speakerphone mode.

— Hmm? What’s our little chick calling me for at this hour of the morning?

His tone was entirely laced with confusion.

“Team Leader, it’s me.”

“Good morning, Team Leader.”

— Ah, right. Has something happened?

“A massive swarm of journalists is currently setting up a perimeter right in front of our office building.”

— Our office?

Evidently caught completely off guard by the anomalous variable, the Team Leader’s voice spiked an octave higher. I tightened my grip on the smartphone.

“Since we couldn’t gauge the volatility of the scene, the Deputy Team Leader and I are currently continuous-like circling the perimeter blocks.”

— I’m on the verge of pulling up to the sector myself, so keep maintaining that circular trajectory. Establish contact with the rest of the team members and instruct them to hold position as well.

“Yes, sir.”

— Most importantly, ensure our youngest keeps his face absolutely hidden from the public eye under any circumstances.

“U-Understood, sir.”

I didn’t understand why he was suddenly issuing a directive to keep my face completely cloaked from view.

Although the thoroughly baffling command caused me to stutter a fraction of a beat late with my response, resolving that specific ambiguity was secondary to coordinating our communications. I immediately routed calls to the remaining team members, detailing the exact volatile landscape surrounding the office building.

The moment I concluded the final exchange with Officer Park, our sedan re-entered the primary thoroughfare leading to the entrance. Sucking in a sharp breath at the unfolding sight, my throat went completely dry.

“…The headcount has multiplied significantly since our last pass.”

“This is rapidly escalating into something thoroughly ominous.”

Just as the Deputy Team Leader noted, the current tactical landscape was deeply unsettling. Wondering if some massive breaking news item had managed to slip past my radar, I furiously scrolled through internet portals on my phone, but zero articles matching this specific reality were indexed anywhere on the web.

“Hmm.”

Locked in deep internal calculation, the Deputy Team Leader stole a quick glance toward me. Reading the unvoiced gravity written across his features, I gave him a firm nod.

“Until the Team Leader touches down on scene, we will continue to continuous-like circle the block. Just to be safe, I’m going to expand our grid radius significantly for this loop.”

“Understood, Deputy Team Leader.”

To decode exactly what kind of administrative storm was brewing, we absolutely needed the Team Leader to arrive. I kept my eyes pinned to the internet interface on my phone until our vehicle closed the distance with the office building once more. Suddenly, a massive barrage of camera flashes exploded from the press corps. Flustered by the sudden blinding illumination, I whipped my head toward the driver’s seat.

“It seems the Team Leader has just entered the sector.”

“…….”

Because I was completely blind to the core variables driving this chaos, words failed me entirely. As the building drew closer, our vehicle’s velocity slowed down to a crawl. Overridden by an urge to parse the ambient landscape outside, I shifted my weight.

“Deputy Team Leader, I’m going to crack the window open a fraction.”

“Proceed.”

The exact millisecond the glass rolled down, the frantic clacking of camera shutters and a chaotic, boisterous wall of human shouting came tearing into the cabin. Focusing with an intensity that exceeded any tactical deployment, I desperately tried to isolate individual phrases from the overlapping noise.

“…Is it true?!”

“…They are claiming that!”

The voices were too heavily layered, swallowing one another entire. Leaning my body further toward the opening, I lowered the glass down an extra increment.

“…The public is demanding to know the Hunter Department’s official stance on this matter!”

The Hunter Department’s… official stance?

I didn’t understand why our department’s baseline stance was suddenly being aggressively interrogated out of the blue. Yet, my bewilderment survived for only a fraction of a heartbeat before a single, crystal-clear declaration sliced through the audio static, causing my mind to go absolutely, terrifyingly blank.

“Reports have just been confirmed that Prince Edward sustained physical injuries during the dungeon crisis! Allegations are mounting that the severe casualties were a direct result of a delayed tactical response from the Hunter Department! What is your response to these charges?!”