WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈

Chapter 41: To J

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The reason I was hospitalized wasn't as serious as you'd think.

I had a stab wound in my side.

It hadn't affected any organs, but they said it still needed treatment.

It was nice not having to work, though.

"...Are you serious?"

At my words, Jang Chae-yeon nodded, primly clutching the blanket to her chest.

"I'm serious."

"Then please leave."

When I pointed toward the door, Jang Chae-yeon shook her head with an even more expressionless face.

"No."

"How did you even get in here in the first place?"

Only guardians were supposed to be allowed in.

Jang Chae-yeon proudly pointed to the badge hanging from her chest.

For a moment, my eyes drifted not to the badge but to the enormous something behind it, but I desperately forced them back to the badge.

<Guardian: Jang Chae-yeon>

"I'm your guardian."

"..."

I stared at Jang Chae-yeon, but she stared right back without any intention of looking away.

"...Let's go talk outside for now."

She nodded, then picked up my IV line.

"Is walking difficult?"

"What's difficult about it? My side just aches a little."

She looked up at me with a worried expression and examined my face.

"Tell me if it hurts."

"It's not hard to tell you, but it's not like there's anything you can do."

"...Don't make me feel bad."

She looked at me with her eyes narrowed slightly.

Her eyelashes glimmered in the sunlight, and whenever she looked up at me, her white hair rustled softly and tickled my breath.

"...I'm sorry."

"I'll forgive you."

I really hated to admit it, but I had surrendered to her beauty.

What could I do when she looked at me as though she carried all the sorrow in the world? All I could do was apologize.

"Is there anything you want to eat?"

"Why? Are you going to make it for me?"

"........If you want me to."

After a long silence, Jang Chae-yeon forced the words out.

"It might take a while..."

"I'll accept the thought."

No one could be good at everything. Maybe she was just bad at cooking.

We stepped out of the hospital room and slowly began walking.

Without saying anything, Jang Chae-yeon simply matched my pace.

She had been like this last time, too. When she walked with me, she never made an effort to start a conversation.

At first, it had been fairly uncomfortable, but after experiencing it a few times, I thought I understood.

Maybe this was her way of showing intimacy.

Didn't someone once say that the people you're closest to aren't the ones you're comfortable talking to, but the ones you're comfortable being silent with?

"..."

"..."

Until we took the elevator down, she remained by my side without a word, absentmindedly staring ahead.

I could feel people occasionally glancing at her.

It couldn't be helped. Honestly, everyone in the Human Resources Team possessed their own distinctive kind of beauty.

Ignoring the looks of others, she gently took my arm when the elevator reached the first floor.

"...Aren't your parents coming?"

"Oh, you mean my parents."

"They don't know you work for the Management Bureau, so I suppose that makes sense."

"...Yes. I guess so."

My parents only knew that their son had gotten a job at a good public corporation, where he worked himself to the bone but earned plenty of money.

It wasn't wrong that it was a public corporation for humanity and that I made a lot of money, though.

"Isn't it frustrating?"

"What is?"

As we walked through the first-floor corridor where patients passed by, Jang Chae-yeon looked at me.

"Just... You can't tell your family."

"There are many things in the world where ignorance is bliss."

A clear example was everything I had experienced over the past month.

"Are you here because of your family?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you only at the Management Bureau because you have to support your family?"

"Ah."

Why was I at the Management Bureau?

"I wonder."

Having lots of money would certainly be nice, but I was already living quite comfortably and wasn't desperately short on money.

"...Would you quit if you got the chance?"

Jang Chae-yeon stared at me.

"Uh..."

Resignation.

I took the manual from my pocket and opened it. Jang Chae-yeon leaned over to look at it with me.

[Manual for Office Workers]

[P: Resignation]

1. Resignation is divided into forced resignation and voluntary resignation.

2. Forced resignation is a procedure carried out in cases of fatal damage to the Management Bureau or misuse of containment objects.

3. Please remember that in cases of forced resignation, death benefits will not go to the bereaved family.

4. In cases of voluntary resignation, the Human Resources Team and relevant departments will review the documents and reasons before proceeding, provided they are deemed appropriate.

5. If you voluntarily resign, severance pay and bonuses will be paid into your account.

6. However, to prevent the disclosure of information, your memories will be erased and new memories implanted. Should side effects arise, the Management Bureau will take responsibility for correcting your memories.

7. Please note that your memories of the people you knew at the Management Bureau will also be replaced with different memories.

"..."

It was strange, but even after going through so much, I had never considered resignation as an option.

'If you can, help other people.'

Was it because the girl's words continued to linger in my mind? Or had I simply lost my sense of danger? I didn't know.

Jang Chae-yeon stared at me. She moved close enough for me to see my reflection in her blue eyes, then whispered into my ear.

"If you resign... I'll find you even if I look like someone else to you. So don't worry."

"That's a comforting thing to hear."

"You can forget me. ...I'll stay by your side until you remember me."

How could this woman say things like that so matter-of-factly?

"If I can, I'll do that."

I shut the manual with a snap and answered her.

"But don't worry. I have no plans to resign yet."

"Yet?"

"Someday, maybe... If I get badly hurt, reach retirement age, or get so sick of the work that I can't stand it anymore, then I'll quit."

"..."

Jang Chae-yeon looked lonely.

Seeing her like that, a question suddenly came to me, and I asked before I could stop myself.

"Why are you at the Management Bureau, Ms. Chae-yeon?"

"...Me?"

She hesitated before speaking.

"...I left something here that I mustn't forget."

"Something you mustn't forget?"

"Um..."

Was she choosing what to say? She repeatedly furrowed and relaxed her brow, her lips moving slightly.

"...Sorry. It's hard to explain."

"It's all right."

I hadn't told her everything either. Wanting to know everything would be no different from an unfair trade.

"...I'll tell you when I can organize my thoughts. I promise. It's not that I don't want to tell you."

"Yes, I believe you."

Perhaps it bothered her. Her gaze moved about anxiously before she asked,

"Are you tired? Should we go back in and sleep?"

"...Are you really going to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

She brought her face close and looked up at me.

For a moment, I caught the scent of flowers.

"You're too close."

"I know."

"And that isn't the important part..."

"You said your parents can't come either."

"..."

Her gaze dropped to the floor before returning to my face.

"You must be lonely."

"I'm too old to get lonely just because I'm sleeping alone in a hospital, Ms. Chae-yeon."

"There's only a two-year difference between us."

"You know I'm older, right?"

At my words, the corners of Jang Chae-yeon's eyes curved into arcs.

"Want me to call you oppa?"

"Don't change the subject. Go home already."

Jang Chae-yeon shook her head and stood rooted to the spot.

"I won't leave unless you carry me out by force."

So this woman was... stubborn.

A sigh escaped me.

What was even more unfair was that seeing Jang Chae-yeon watch my reaction whenever I sighed, yet still refuse to move, softened my heart.

"You're only sleeping, then leaving."

"...Yeah."

Her voice rose slightly at my permission before settling back down.

The time after that truly passed without anything special happening.

We ate terrible hospital food, had meaningless conversations, and spent most of the time without speaking. Sometimes we watched TV, sometimes we looked out the window, and sometimes we each did our own thing. Yet somehow, none of it was uncomfortable.

The strange part was that only when it was time to sleep did she spread out her blanket and prepare to lie down on the sofa bed.

"Want me to turn off the lights?"

"Are you going straight to sleep?"

"I can sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow."

"I'll watch and see."

"...Actually, I don't fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. I need a little time."

She lay down as if making an excuse.

With the soft sound of the blanket sliding, she turned toward me.

A few strands of her hair fell across her face.

"I'll turn off the lights."

"I'll-"

Before I could finish, she snapped her fingers, and the lights went out.

"...Telekinesis."

I couldn't see her face clearly in the dark, but she was probably wearing a smug expression.

"Go to sleep."

"You said you'd fall asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow."

"I was going to stay awake until you fell asleep."

"Are you confident?"

"I may not look it, but I used to be in the Containment Team."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Are you asleep?"

"Seriously."

Her anxious voice was so funny that I let out a small laugh without realizing it.

"You said you'd wait until I fell asleep, so why do you sound so anxious?"

"I was worried because you weren't saying anything."

"You told me to sleep."

"...Sorry."

Her slightly dejected voice made me give in again.

"It's fine. Go to sleep already."

"Yeah."

"...Come to think of it, what are the other two doing?"

"Yoo Da-on and... that one?"

What on earth had happened between Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin that they couldn't even refer to each other by name?

"Yes, Ms. Da-on and Ms. A-rin."

"They decided to visit in order."

"How did you decide the order?"

"Rock-paper-scissors."

Jang Chae-yeon expressionlessly made a V with her fingers for me.

How primitive.

"Go to sleep already."

"I'll try."

"...You've been through a lot."

Had she noticed I was thinking about something else? Jang Chae-yeon spoke softly.

"You've been through a lot. ...Let's sleep now."

"...Yes."

In the end, I surrendered to her gentle voice and closed my eyes. I fell asleep far more quickly than expected.

Considering I was sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital bed, I slept remarkably well.

* * *

Was he asleep?

Watching him breathe deeply, Jang Chae-yeon carefully sat up.

"..."

There were memories between her and him that she didn't want to tell others about.

Perhaps it had been one second to everyone else, but it had been several months for the two of them.

She carefully approached so as not to wake him and brushed back his hair.

She had spent a long time with him in the Cube, but ironically, sleeping had been impossible there. This was the first time she had seen him asleep.

Honestly, that was why she had wanted to come here, even if she had to be a little pushy, just to watch him sleep.

"...You look peaceful."

It was different from the confident face he always showed, different from the face he made when he was thinking. This was the face she wanted to see.

As she endlessly smoothed his hair, she murmured in a soft voice.

"Rest well."

For a long time, she watched his sleeping face with a bright, sometimes gentle smile.

* * *

It felt like I had slept deeply for the first time in a while.

On the other hand, Jang Chae-yeon kept yawning as though she hadn't slept properly, but she wore a more satisfied expression than ever.

"You couldn't sleep?"

"No, I slept really well."

She smiled gently at my words, then left the hospital room while continuing to yawn.

It didn't seem like she had slept.

A few days after Jang Chae-yeon left,

"Hello!"

"I was wondering why Ms. Da-on hadn't come."

"Oh! Were you waiting for me?"

I could only sigh as Yoo Da-on appeared with a bright smile, wearing the same <Guardian> necklace around her neck.

And with that, the hospital visit commotion came to an end.

Footnotes:

“Oppa” is a Korean term a younger woman may use for an older man she is close to.

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