WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 32: Street Casting (2)
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“Wasn’t that movie really fun?”
Sinu smiled brightly.
Hyeonyul had only intended to watch the movie and go home, but Sinu had tagged along.
He naturally walked beside him and suggested they eat.
“Want to get something to eat? This isn’t a company dinner. I’m really asking with absolutely no ulterior motive.”
Sinu made that point very clearly.
It was awkward to refuse after hearing it was not a company dinner.
Hyeonyul followed Sinu, feeling tense.
He had almost no good memories of eating with coworkers.
Still, regardless of Hyeonyul’s nerves, Sinu did not say a word until they entered the restaurant.
Hyeonyul set out his utensils as if used to it, then looked at Sinu.
“Honestly, it was exactly what I expected. Aside from being a little boring at the beginning, it tied up its plot threads perfectly enough to make me look forward to the sequel.”
Sinu giggled at the stiffly delivered review.
He poured water into a cup and passed it to Hyeonyul.
Hyeonyul stared blankly at the glass as though even that small gesture had surprised him.
‘Ah...’
Sinu tightly suppressed the anger rising inside him.
Whenever he saw reactions like that, he was reminded of how terribly the Villains’ company must have treated Hyeonyul.
Sinu smiled even more brightly.
“That director is one I like. I happened to see their first movie, and it was awful.”
“Yes. It was awful.”
“You definitely shouldn’t have expected anything from the next one, but something about it pulled me in. Did you feel that too?”
“No. I watched it because the reviews were good. I do not follow directors.”
There was no guarantee that the same director would make another enjoyable movie.
Hyeonyul simply wanted to watch something fun.
Life was short.
“It’s good to enjoy things, whatever they are. It was nice for me too, getting to watch a movie peacefully for the first time in a while.”
Sinu spoke with a giggle.
Hyeonyul asked what he meant with his eyes.
“My first mission took place at a movie theater.”
“Is that so?”
“I couldn’t save anyone. I watched them all get blown up and die.”
“And you still come to movie theaters?”
“You’re curious, right? Aren’t you?”
The corner of Sinu’s mouth lifted.
Mischief showed on his face.
As Hyeonyul considered how to react, Sinu stopped teasing him and gave him the answer.
“It’s anxiety. I have to check periodically before I can feel at ease. Then I ended up getting into movies.”
“There is such a thing?”
Hyeonyul’s eyes widened.
That was honestly surprising.
This was Black Eagle, of all places.
“Everyone has one or several issues, not just me. This isn’t work you can do with a sound mind, is it?”
Every day at work, they saw corpses.
Even if they became desensitized to it, it was not something they could grow accustomed to.
They probably never would.
“Is that so?”
Hyeonyul was expressionless.
His face gave no hint of what he was thinking.
“Yeah. Everyone has at least one mental illness, so you aren’t strange either.”
Sinu wanted to tell Hyeonyul whenever he got the chance.
Black Eagle had never been a normal group to begin with.
What was strange about an abnormal person coming to an abnormal place?
“...Is that so?”
It was the same answer as before, but Hyeonyul’s gaze deepened.
As expected, Sinu could barely read what he was thinking.
“Just a moment.”
Sinu leisurely picked up his phone and rapidly moved his thumbs.
[Ah, what should I do?]
[I happened to come watch a movie, and I happened to run into Hyeonyul.]
[I’m having a meal alone with Hyeonyul.]
[Everyone, enjoy your meals.]
[Have a nice evening!]
He finished with a smug ghost emoji.
[Choo Nayun: What? ??????????????]
[Choo Nayun: Are you crazy?]
[Choo Nayun: If you’re drunk, cut it out and go home.]
[Choo Nayun: 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕]
‘...Heh. I win.’
Sinu felt like he might be carried away by the surge of victory inside him.
They always bragged so much about having lots of friends, but this time, he had won.
[It is true, though?]
[Want proof?]
Sinu’s fingers moved smoothly over the screen.
[Jihwan, the Youngest: Brobrobrobrobrobrobro!!!]
[Jihwan, the Youngest: Where are you?]
[Jihwan, the Youngest: Tell me!!!!]
[Jihwan, the Youngest: Pwease..., bro!!]
Jihwan sent, then sent again, an emoji of a crying fox.
[Oh, Jihwaaan.]
[Your big brother is sorry.]
Sinu put away his phone.
Messages came pouring in, and his phone was ringing like mad.
“Ah! Hyeonyul.”
“...Yes.”
Hyeonyul looked at Sinu warily.
“We’re going to have a welcome party. When would be good for you?”
“I am the only new recruit. Who are we supposed to kill?”
Hyeonyul had attended quite a few welcome parties where new recruits killed one another, so he did not understand what Sinu meant.
“...Huh?”
Sinu was the one taken aback.
Kill someone?
A welcome party was literally a place to welcome someone.
“...Ah. You mean eat until we die? That kind of expression? Hyeonyul, you’re funnier than I thought.”
“Yes?”
Hyeonyul and Sinu stared at each other, each filled with questions.
“...That is not it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wait. This is getting tangled up. What is a welcome party to you?”
“It is a place where you kill new recruits.”
“With alcohol?”
“You can kill people with alcohol?”
Hyeonyul reacted as though he had learned an unknown fact.
“Wait. Waaait.”
Sinu hurriedly stopped again.
He needed to sort this out in his head.
Something was different.
Very different.
“You really killed... new recruits?”
“I did not kill them. I just avoided them, and they all died on their own.”
New recruits were ordinary people.
There was no reason to kill them.
What had gone wrong?
Sinu gulped down water before speaking.
“...We’re not like that.”
“You are not?”
“No. It is simply a gathering to welcome you.”
“Why are you welcoming me?”
Hyeonyul’s expression made it perfectly clear that he genuinely did not know, so Sinu set down his cup.
The expression he had finally managed to read was that one.
It made him feel awful.
“If it is difficult to explain, you do not have to answer. I will find out on my own.”
Hyeonyul answered as if accustomed to it.
Medicine could not solve his inability to react normally to things other people considered normal.
If he did not know, he only needed to study and learn.
And if he still did not know, he could ask Jeongmin.
That was how he had always lived.
“Hyeonyul.”
“Yes.”
“You came to our Team Three instead of somewhere else, so we are welcoming you. We are glad, and grateful.”
Hyeonyul did not understand, but simply listened.
It was necessary information.
“Of course, plenty of places are not like this, but we are. The word colleague means something special here, unlike elsewhere. It means someone you can trust with your back.”
“I have not experienced it, but... is it similar to celebrating a birthday?”
“It is similar!”
Sinu’s voice rose slightly.
That was a relief.
“Did Dr. Jeongmin perhaps do that for you?”
“Yes. Every year, he gave me a cake and celebrated. It may not be my real birthday, but it did not feel bad.”
“That is exactly it. What do you think? Is it okay?”
Hyeonyul did not answer immediately.
After hesitating briefly, he replied.
“It is okay.”
“Good. Then, we have a group chat. Would you like to join that too?”
“No.”
Hyeonyul answered without hesitation.
Then he frowned, thought about it again, and let out a breath.
Sinu did not rush him.
He could wait as long as necessary.
‘He is awkward. Very awkward.’
Perhaps he should approach Hyeonyul more slowly than he had thought.
“Will you... give me time?”
“I can give you all the time you need. If you refuse and later regret it, tell me again. I will always be ready to invite you.”
Sinu beamed.
He had even gotten him to agree to a welcome party, so he felt no impatience at all.
“Ah, and this may sound a little strange, but have we ever met before?”
“We may have, but I do not know.”
“What do you mean, you do not know?”
Sinu blinked at the odd answer.
“I have memory loss, so I do not know who I am.”
Silence followed Hyeonyul’s answer.
Sinu immediately wanted to pummel his own mouth.
Hyeonyul’s face had seemed more and more familiar, so he had casually thrown out the question, only for it to come back as such a massive boomerang.
‘How could I... mess that up?’
He wanted to rub his face, but held back and forced a faint smile.
“Your food is ready.”
Only at the employee’s words did Sinu finally let out a deep breath.
He stared stupidly as the dishes filled the table one by one.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Hyeonyul greeted him, and Sinu forced a smile.
“...Eat a lot.”
It felt as though something were lodged in his throat. He chewed his food, but could not feel himself chewing.
‘Ah...’
While eating, Hyeonyul suddenly remembered something and looked at Sinu.
“By any chance, is there a Villain with a nickname like Night Rat?”
The assassin had said Night Rat was behind the assassination of the internal informant in this case.
Night Rat.
Hyeonyul did not know what it meant.
He could not tell Haeryeon how he had found out, so he could not even mention it.
But perhaps it would be fine to ask Sinu.
“There is.”
Sinu became quite serious, as though changing expressions.
However, he also grew extremely cautious.
Villains did not have their identities written on their faces.
Few Villains had been identified by face.
Even if he did not know anything else, there could be Villains here who would listen carefully when a nickname came up.
“Who is it?”
“An information broker. I do not know what that name means, and I do not know their identity. That is all.”
‘An information broker... It feels like I might remember something.’
Had he seen one before?
Thanks to Shin Daeho, Hyeonyul had seen many Villains.
He did not know their names, but he knew their faces.
“By the way, have you decided to move?”
Sinu asked, chewing.
Hyeonyul had come into contact with the Red Witch.
The Red Witch must be looking for Hyeonyul by now.
If the Poison King had learned where he lived, other Villains could quickly catch on too.
“Yes. I should start looking soon. Slowly.”
As Hyeonyul dragged out the last words, his gaze turned left.
Sinu, who had been about to say something, moved his eyes in the same direction.
Were they Villains?
‘...No.’
Sinu relaxed.
There was no sound, but amid spectacular flames, various ingredients flew through the air above a frying pan several times.
It was quite eye-catching.
“There are three.”
Hyeonyul spoke while watching the cooking show.
Villains on their day off.
It was certainly an infuriating situation, but the food in front of him calmed him down.
“...What?”
Sinu immediately tensed.
“How far away are they?”
“Far enough away that they cannot hear us talking here. It was a little unclear, but I am certain.”
Hyeonyul narrowed his eyes.
The people had not announced that they were Villains, so how could Hyeonyul pick them out from so many people?
He could not conclude someone was a Villain simply because that person had looked at them.
But after seeing them follow the pair all the way to the restaurant, Hyeonyul was certain.
“Where did they start following us?”
Sinu asked.
Embarrassingly, he had not noticed them at all.
“From when we left the movie theater.”
Hyeonyul turned back to his food.
Their gaze had continued since then.
“...That is strange.”
Sinu frowned.
Both he and Hyeonyul were wearing smartwatches right now.
In other words, the Villains had followed them while knowing their disguised faces.
“We can check later.”
Hyeonyul answered simply.
The others did not seem to intend to make a scene either, since they had done nothing yet.
Honestly, Hyeonyul did not want to do anything at all, but Sinu was there.
They could not pretend not to know.
“Eating comes first right now.”
Hyeonyul gripped his spoon.
Egg, onion, and all sorts of ingredients were mixed between the fluffy grains of fried rice, and a black sauce lay lightly draped over them like clothing.
How could he remain still before such beautiful food?
The Villains were not important right now.
The rice was important.
“But can you just eat anything?”
Sinu asked, suddenly wondering.
Hyeonyul took so much medicine that there might be food that caused problems.
“Yes. There is nothing I avoid.”
“I mean, does it not cause problems for your body?”
“Ah. As long as I take medicine to aid digestion, I can eat anything. In the first place... No.”
Hyeonyul started to say more, then stopped.
Jeongmin needed to hear about his condition, but Sinu did not.
It could only make him uncomfortable for no reason.
“Eat a lot.”
Sinu pushed the sweet-and-sour pork toward him.
The failed experimental subjects could not even become human.
Thinking that he could never ask about Hyeonyul’s time as an experimental subject, no matter how long passed, Sinu forced down more food.
* * *
Hyeonyul was satisfied.
Other than Jeongmin, this was the first time someone had bought him a meal.
After finishing everything, he felt strange.
It was not bad.
“Thank you for the meal. Next time, I will buy.”
“Forget it. You can just let me treat you.”
Sinu waved his hand.
He had more than enough money to buy his junior a meal.
Hyeonyul quietly looked at Sinu.
For some reason, he felt like Jeongmin.
As Hyeonyul moved his eyes, one eyebrow soon rose.
Those people were coming.
Hyeonyul looked around.
They were on a busy street with many people.
‘Are they planning to attack like this?’
The method did not matter.
The crime of interrupting his day off was serious.
All three approached at once.
Hyeonyul was about to draw his dagger when he hesitated.
“Um, we’re with this company.”
They suddenly held out business cards.
S.T.D. Entertainment.
They were real business cards.
There was no poison on them, either.
“...Would you happen to be interested in becoming a singer or actor?”
Hyeonyul froze at the words that followed.
‘...?’
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