The Visit (4)

It couldn’t be.

Right—for them to launch a field inspection of our office at this specific hour of the afternoon was completely illogical. Especially with Assemblyman Lee Young-jin anchoring the delegation.

Verifying that the clock had already ticked to 4:00 PM, I shot another look toward the Team Leader’s desk.

“Team Leader, this isn’t what we think it is, right?”

“Exactly. Just as Officer Park noted, I refuse to believe a disaster of this scale is actually mapping out!”

Our caseload for the day had wrapped up cleanly enough that we were fully on track to clock out precisely on time. Zero employees across any department would welcome a scenario where their exit was aggressively hijacked by a completely unannounced visit from external VIPs.

“Since the dispatch confirmed they’ve officially mobilized, let’s at least execute the motions of clearing the space.”

“This is entirely unhinged.”

“No, seriously—if that individual sustained physical casualties, shouldn’t he remain completely stationary inside a security bunker to receive medical treatment? He should rest up and return home, so what on earth is he thinking!”

“The latest update states the injuries were a complete misreport.”

“…Pardon, sir?”

After enduring that entire frantic media circus since dawn, the allegation concerning the Prince’s injuries turned out to be an absolute false report?

No wonder the Team Leader’s expression looked so profoundly drained. Staring blankly at our commander, who looked as though he had aged half a lifetime in the span of a single afternoon, words failed me entirely until a sharp clap redirected my focus.

“Everyone is undoubtedly exhausted, but since dignitaries are breaching our sector, let’s prioritize organizing the floorboards.”

“…Understood, sir.”

“Yes!”

Although the administrative whiplash had left my mind completely chaotic, the Deputy Team Leader was entirely correct—clearing the environment was our absolute priority. Rising from my seat, I navigated toward the breakroom dispenser at rapid velocity.

“I’ll take responsibility for executing a swift cleanup of the restroom facility!”

“I’ll handle the disposal of the waste bins!”

“I’ll organize the water station and immediately follow up by sanitizing the floorboards.”

“I’ll manage the floorboard cleanup alongside Ha-neul-ssi.”

“I’ll join the clearing detail myself. Officer Park, track my coordinates into the restroom!”

“Yes, sir!”

The frantic sequence of events continued to swirl in my mind, but I couldn’t afford to waste precious luxury focusing on historical variables. Emptying the overflow trays and wiping down the dispenser surfaces, I directed a query toward the Deputy Team Leader as he began sweeping the floors.

“Deputy Team Leader, exactly what millisecond are Prince Edward and the Assemblyman scheduled to touch down on scene?”

“We’ll need to extract a precise timestamp from the Team Leader, but given that their motorcade has already mobilized, I assume they will breach the perimeter within thirty minutes.”

“Gasp.”

Thirty minutes could feel like a substantial pocket of time if one sat in complete leisure, but under the current circumstances, it baseline rated as an agonizingly narrow window. Rapidly concluding the dispenser maintenance and drying the sink basins, I immediately integrated myself into the floorboard cleanup.

Sweeping and mopping the surfaces while covertly checking the desk clock multiple times, I kept my hands moving continuous-like while tracking the conversation between the Deputy Team Leader and the Team Leader near the restroom entrance.

“Did the dispatch provide an absolute, exact arrival window, sir?”

“They stated they would cross our threshold within thirty minutes.”

“I see.”

“But is it even diplomatically sound for a foreign Prince to launch a sudden, unannounced visit upon our department like a thief in the night?”

I harbored that exact same curiosity.

“The update claims this was an pre-existing itinerary item. They simply manipulated the timeline forward aggressively.”

“Then the bureaucracy harbored an absolute obligation to issue an advance warning! If an itinerary had been institutionalized, they should have transmitted an official administrative directive to our server!”

Just as Officer Kim argued, if a visit had been scheduled, the system owed the Hunter Department an advance notification. For the administrative response to be this sluggish when accommodating a foreign dignitary was mind-boggling.

“For today, it’s strictly an informal, unclassified walkthrough to show his face. They are scheduled to execute a formal, official visit tomorrow, so they’ll likely drop the administrative paperwork onto our server right before that.”

“Gasp! Tomorrow is Saturday!”

“Is there zero structural avenue to aggressively delay this appointment?”

Reflecting on the calendar, tomorrow was supposed to be our rare, highly anticipated day of rest. The realization that our weekend was on the verge of being completely vaporized by an unannounced visit from a foreign Prince left me feeling intensely crushed.

“Let’s focus on concluding the cleanup first. We still have a massive quantity of parameters to organize.”

While the weekend was profoundly vital, the Deputy Team Leader was entirely correct—the immediate environment took precedence. Rapidly bringing the floorboard maintenance to a close, I immediately transitioned to support Officer Kim with the waste management.

“…The volume of trash to clear is far more substantial than I anticipated.”

“Tell me about it.”

Reflecting on our recent schedule, it appeared we hadn’t been able to empty the bins on a regular baseline frequency. Mirroring Officer Kim, who was already holding a massive bundle of bags in each hand, I grabbed a corresponding pair, yet a significant pile of waste still remained on the floorboards. As I stood there calculating how to process the remaining load, a saving hand materialized.

“Deputy Team Leader!”

“Let’s move at rapid velocity. We absolutely cannot afford an accidental confrontation inside the elevator cabinets.”

If we delayed, we ran the risk of directly colliding with the Prince’s entourage inside the elevator. Remembering that our facility was engineered with only a single operational elevator shaft, my feet moved instinctively.

“Hold position!”

A sudden, urgent command echoed from the restroom corridor. Halting my stride, I rotated my upper body back to scan the hallway.

“The press corps is undoubtedly staking out the ground floor right now. Officer Park will navigate the trash disposal instead. Youngest, join me in finalizing the restroom cleanup.”

“Understood.”

Ah—the journalists.

Given that the Team Leader had issued a strict command at the dawn of our shift to ensure my face remained completely cloaked from the media, prioritizing discretion was vital. Watching the three team members exit the main office doors, I turned my steps toward the restroom.

“Youngest.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

The exact millisecond I gripped the handle of the mop, the Team Leader vocalized my name. I gave a firm nod and met his gaze.

“Aren’t you intensely curious why I commanded you to keep your face completely hidden from the press corps?”

I assumed he harbored a highly legitimate reason to enforce that restriction. Because I knew our commander continuous-like prioritized the team’s welfare, I hadn’t pushed for an explanation, but I was undeniably curious.

“To be honest, yes, I am.”

“It’s because of that parasite.”

“…You mean Se-hyun-ssi?”

“That punk has accumulated a massive army of enemies across the board precisely because he’s so phenomenally capable.”

“…….”

“Tracking how the Association attempted to leverage your safety as an absolute blackmail countermeasure against Kim Se-hyun during the last deployment proves the current landscape is highly volatile. No matter what scenario unfolds on the ground, prioritize shielding your own safety above all else.”

The invocation of blackmail caused the graphic memories of that specific incident to flash through my mind. Recalling the terrifying, frozen aura Kim Se-hyun had radiated—a side of him I had never witnessed before—I gave a sharp nod.

“I’ll keep that etched into my mind, sir.”

“The department and Kim Se-hyun stand ready to shield you entire, but we can’t predict what kind of anomalous variable might detonate out of nowhere. Do not place absolute trust in external entities. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

Reflecting on our structural makeup, I was the solitary ordinary civilian anchoring the Hunter Department. Given that every other seat was occupied by elite combat assets, it was a simple tactical reality that I constituted the baseline vulnerability of the unit.

While a lingering question remained as to whether I truly possessed enough utility to serve as legitimate leverage against Kim Se-hyun, parsing that equation was secondary right now. The individual offering this counsel was, after all, a teammate who felt exactly like real family.

“Our youngest truly excels at following directives!”

“Ack!”

The moment his heavy hand aggressively ruffled through my hair, my spine was violently forced into a deep forward bend. My waist was pinned at a near ninety-degree angle, but my baseline pride refused to let me buckle any further. Resisting the downward trajectory with the absolute threshold of my physical capacity, the crushing pressure finally evaporated as the Team Leader let out a boisterous laugh. Straightening my posture at last, I rubbed my aching back, feeling a flash of mild sorrow over my continuous-like folding spine.

“Look at you, actually managing to anchor your stance against my weight. You’ve grown significantly, haven’t you?”

“…Bending past ninety degrees is a fraction too much, sir.”

“Pfft! Hahaha! Fair enough, fair enough. I’ll exercise caution moving forward!”

Letting out a hearty roar of laughter, the Team Leader resumed his cleaning motions. Working alongside him to conclude the final parameters, a thoroughly sanitized, pristine restroom facility emerged. I nodded my head in deep satisfaction.

“This should meet the baseline requirements, right?”

“It looks exceptional, sir.”

For a cleanup executed at such frantic velocity, the environment was flawlessly immaculate. Admiring the refreshing visual, I helped the Team Leader store the cleaning implements before we exited back into the main office.

“We have returned.”

The exact millisecond our duties concluded, the three team members who had navigated the waste disposal crossed the threshold. They immediately directed their steps toward the sinks to wash their hands.

“Is the press corps still staking out the ground floor layout?”

“The headcount has multiplied aggressively compared to this morning. It appears intelligence regarding Prince Edward’s imminent arrival has completely leaked to their network.”

“Did that absolute old badger intentionally feed the narrative to the press?”

The moment the descriptor “old badger” left his mouth, Assemblyman Lee Young-jin’s face immediately materialized in my mind. Thinking of how perfectly the politician matched that specific unflattering image made an involuntary chuckle bubble up in my throat. I tightly pursed my lips to swallow down the humor.

“Undoubtedly, sir. He is absolutely not the type of character to bypass a golden utility to elevate his public profile.”

“Seriously, that old badger is an absolute anomaly! Tracking his career, he appears to accomplish zero actual legislative work, yet he manages to successfully secure his seat in the National Assembly without fail every single election.”

Whether he executed legitimate work or not was a metric outside my knowledge, but his unique utility to broadcast his own face to the public eye was undeniable. Otherwise, there was zero logic as to why Lee Young-jin’s features remained so vividly etched in my memory compared to the sea of other politicians.

“Ahem, ahem! You know, I wasn’t planning on dropping this specific piece of intelligence, but…”

Clearing his throat aggressively to capture the room’s absolute focus, Officer Park opened the dialogue. Scanning the perimeter with shifty eyes, he leaned his upper body forward and gestured for us to close the distance—a physical cue indicating he was on the verge of unveiling a profound secret. I immediately mirrored his conspiratorial posture.

“Rumor has it that an incredibly monumental power elite is anchoring the architecture behind Assemblyman Lee Young-jin.”

“Who on earth are you talking about?”

Evidently seduced by the gossip, even the Team Leader leaned his weight forward to narrow the gap, as did Officer Kim. Sweeping his eyes across my face, Officer Kim’s, and our commander’s, Officer Park parted his lips, causing me to swallow dryly.

“You know… the former Prime Minister, Ahn Se-gwan. Word on the street is that he functions as Lee Young-jin’s absolute structural backdoor support.”

Ahn Se-gwan was a prominent figure fully indexed in my knowledge base. Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, he was widely celebrated for meticulously managing domestic and foreign policy variables while shielding the President with unparalleled fidelity.

“Ahn Se-gwan? That giant?”

“Oh, come on, that’s completely illogical. They don’t even affiliate with the same political party.”

Right—Lee Young-jin and Ahn Se-gwan operated under entirely separate partisan banners, rendering the theory of a secret alliance highly improbable.

While Officer Park’s historical conspiracy theories were continuous-like entertaining, this specific narrative lacked baseline credibility. Failing to conceal my immediate disappointment, I shot a flat look toward him.

“No, seriously, if you analyze the structural background, the alignment makes perfect sense! Ahn Se-gwan and Lee Young-jin graduated from the exact same middle and high schools! Not to mention they share the exact same hometown roots!”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

Concluding the narrative was nothing more than another groundless conspiracy, the Team Leader gave Officer Park’s shoulder a dismissive pat and squared his posture. Emulating his movement, I pointed toward the restroom corridor.

“Officer Park, please go wash your hands quickly.”

“…Wow, seriously, you guys are an incredibly harsh audience!”

“Come on, Officer Park, let’s go sanitize our hands thoroughly together.”

“I’m going to scrub them with absolute fury!”

“Right, right.”

Flashing a thoroughly pouting expression at Officer Kim’s chime, Officer Park marched off toward the sinks. As Officer Kim followed him, the Deputy Team Leader emerged from the restroom corridor just a fraction of a beat later. Drying his hands with a personal handkerchief, he smoothly returned to his desk to organize his immediate workstation, prompting me to follow suit.

“…….”

Because I had aggressively processed my files earlier, zero paperwork required organizing, but I needlessly shifted items around to ensure the desk surface was flawlessly structured. The exact precise millisecond the two officers emerged from the restroom and planted their weight back into their chairs, a chaotic wave of noise came tearing through the windows from the street below.

“Good grief, they won’t even grant us a single minute of leisure to sit down and catch our breath, will they?”

“I’ll verify the parameters immediately!”

Rising from his station at rapid velocity, Officer Park rushed over to scan the street environment. Waiting in tense anticipation, I tracked his movements as he sealed the window shut and rotated his body back toward the room.

“Did they arrive?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then why on earth is your expression looking so thoroughly unenthusiastic?”

“The thing is…”

Exactly what kind of anomalous variable had he just witnessed down there to manufacture such a deeply conflicted face?

Darting his eyes around the office as if struggling to isolate the correct vocabulary, Officer Park surveyed the room before ultimately locking his gaze onto the Team Leader.

“Who else is out there? Deliver the data quickly so we can structure our response.”

“The thing is…”

“I said, who?!”

“Hehe.”

“Look at this punk?”

Under the weight of the room’s collective interrogation, he simply dissolved into a sequence of unhinged chuckles. I couldn’t comprehend what kind of character could incite this specific reaction. I stared fixedly at him until his humor finally receded enough for him to part his lips.

“Assemblyman Kim Han-yong has also integrated with the delegation!”