The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home - Chapter 4

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

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◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈

Chapter 4: I'm a New Hire

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* * *

'...10:40 a.m.'

Hyeonyul checked the time again and again.

How could they tell someone to come in at eleven on the morning of his first day?

'You can actually start work at this hour?'

Hyeonyul was moved by the realization all over again.

Unlike when he had brought Shin Daeho's head, he now stood before the building called the Nest.

It felt different.

'This is where I'll be working from now on.'

Hyeonyul stood still and looked at it.

The Nest stood on the outskirts of the city.

It was quite large, so it seemed to have been deliberately placed there.

There was no subway, but there was a dedicated bus, so he had come comfortably this time.

Even seeing it again, it felt strange to be looking at an ordinary company building.

There were other buildings on either side, though Hyeonyul did not know what they were for.

"Seo Hyeonyul."

At the familiar voice, Hyeonyul turned.

The moment he saw the woman with the long, fluffy hippie perm, he recognized Haeryeon.

"You came twenty minutes early?"

"Appointments are important. Thank you for coming to meet me."

Haeryeon gave an awkward smile at the precise ninety-degree bow.

He looked as though strict discipline had been drilled into him.

"You don't have to greet me like that."

"It's a habit. I'll correct it from now on."

It sounded as though Hyeonyul did not want to say much more, and Haeryeon paused to think.

'...Did something bad happen whenever he didn't act like this?'

Hyeonyul had worked for a company run by villains.

That fact alone left much to imagine.

Perhaps he had been beaten there.

"Team Leader."

At Hyeonyul's call, Haeryeon looked slightly startled.

Then she nodded.

"Was there an uproar at the meeting?"

Seeing Haeryeon's absent expression, Hyeonyul could not help asking.

That day, he had become part of Black Eagle by a majority vote.

Even when proper procedures were followed, there were always people who complained.

"Oh, it's fine."

Haeryeon smiled, though the meeting that had just tormented her came to mind.

It had been very, very noisy.

"No, even if you were given the authority, this is too much!"

"You want us to accept someone who worked at a company run by villains? He could be a spy. Does it make any sense to take him in so easily?"

'Then why give me the authority and make a fuss afterward?'

If they objected, they should have stayed that day.

'...Thinking about it just makes me angry.'

Haeryeon almost let out a hollow laugh.

There had been no violation. The process had been legitimate.

It would have been stranger for it to be overturned just because they protested.

"I expected as much."

Hyeonyul read Haeryeon's expression.

As expected, it had not gone smoothly.

"You warned me that I might receive unfair treatment after being hired, didn't you?"

That warning had simply come true.

It was nothing particularly unusual.

"Still... all right."

Haeryeon started to say something, then stopped.

Hyeonyul looked so unaffected that Haeryeon felt as though she alone were making a fuss.

'Still, wrong is wrong.'

Even if Hyeonyul did not mind, it was her job as his team leader to stop this.

'Right. I have to protect my team member. Who else will?'

Haeryeon planted her feet firmly and marched into the building.

* * *

"I'll explain the basics first."

After entering the building, Haeryeon spoke again.

"First, we work a four-shift rotation. From 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., from 6:00 a.m. to noon, from noon to 7:00 p.m., and from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Each team works one of those shifts for a full week, then moves to a different shift the following week."

"Four-shift rotations really exist...?"

Hyeonyul asked in fascination.

The company he had worked for had acted as though shifts did not exist and kept everyone working endlessly.

This was deeply unfamiliar.

"They do. They're just rare."

"Then why is the overnight shift shorter?"

"Because working overnight is hard."

Haeryeon stated the obvious, but her answer struck Hyeonyul like a blow to the back of the head.

'Is this a dream?'

Hyeonyul slapped his own face.

He felt it.

'...It's not a dream?'

Overnight work was shorter because it was hard.

He really had heard that correctly.

Even his lips trembled.

"And if you work extra hours, you receive paid leave. Other than that, everything is as stated in the job posting."

"Why... do you do that?"

Hyeonyul felt as though his body were floating.

None of this felt real.

"What do you mean, why?"

"You don't make people work long hours, and you even give paid leave for extra work... Does this place actually function properly?"

"Of course. We're civil servants. We're unusual civil servants, so it does feel a little like a public corporation."

"Do you do this because you have to answer to the government?"

Hyeonyul genuinely wanted to know.

"That may be part of it, but we exist to deal with villains who commit acts that threaten the country. The police handle ordinary crimes, but you can think of us as handling crimes that are more serious and dangerous."

'Is that why the name Black Eagle sounds more familiar?'

Hyeonyul thought for a moment.

When he worked for the villain-run company, the words he heard most often were, "Those damn eagle bastards."

"We have to take on a great deal. The responsibility is great too."

It meant that the benefits came with considerable drawbacks.

"...Of course, there are rare times when we have no choice but to work extra."

Haeryeon met Hyeonyul's eyes as she spoke.

Her gaze immediately turned hard.

"Even with paid leave, I want it kept within reason."

At Hyeonyul's murderous words, Haeryeon looked embarrassed before making a joke.

"Or what, you'll cut off my head?"

"That is what I intend to do."

"...Wow."

Haeryeon's shoulders stiffened slightly at the unexpected response.

She had not intended to go down easily, but there was genuine sincerity in those words.

"...Well. You're frightening."

"I have no intention of denying the truth."

"You understand emergencies, right?"

"I understand those."

"Then that's fine. If you cooperate with me as much as possible, it won't come to that."

Haeryeon sounded confident, so Hyeonyul relaxed for now.

As he walked, Hyeonyul felt people watching him.

The sharp looks from those passing through the halls were too pointed to be a reaction to the conversation they had just heard.

They were not Black Eagle agents.

Hyeonyul spotted the sparrow insignia he had seen before.

'It looks like word about me has already spread.'

At this speed, someone had likely spread it deliberately.

"I feel the same way."

Quietly looking at them, Hyeonyul smiled.

He could endure a little more.

* * *

"By the way, Team Leader. Who are the people wearing the sparrow insignia?"

Hyeonyul asked as he looked at the plaque on the door reading Team 3.

"Ah!"

As though she had only just remembered, Haeryeon stopped turning the handle and looked at Hyeonyul.

"They support us. Their official name is White Sparrow. You can just call them Managers. Before we go into the field, they investigate cases referred through the police, handle office work, and help us with all sorts of things."

"So if they dislike me, does that mean I'll have to handle all those things alone?"

Hyeonyul could not help asking. He could not let his work be affected.

At the question, Haeryeon froze halfway through opening the door.

"What do you mean?"

"The looks I received on the way here weren't kind. Rumors about me have spread, and I was wondering whether they might deliberately leave out information..."

"Which bastard is doing that?"

A loud voice suddenly came from inside.

Hyeonyul turned.

A tall man walked over. Hyeonyul had to look up at him.

"Who's bullying our new hire?"

"...What? You were here? What about your mission?"

Haeryeon reacted as though this were new information.

"I just finished it and was on my way back, Team Leader."

The man spoke respectfully to Haeryeon.

"Then you should go home. Why are you here?"

"You said the new hire was coming today."

"You're always unbelievably quick about things like this."

"I rushed over here, and what is this? Who's withholding information from our new hire?"

A man Hyeonyul did not even know was getting angry as though it were his own problem.

The first thing that caught Hyeonyul's attention was his dark brown hair, which lightly covered his neck.

'...What was that hairstyle called again?'

Hyeonyul simply watched him.

"All right, Sinu. Let's be quiet. Hyeonyul, come in for now."

Haeryeon gestured inside.

Before Hyeonyul entered, the man named Sinu leaned his head out.

"We're Team 3. Nice to meet you, new hire. I'm Baek Sinu. Think of me as your big brother."

Sinu confidently held out his hand, and Hyeonyul stared at it.

He had been about to reach for it, but paused at Sinu's words.

"Sinu, do you want to run away again?"

When Haeryeon smiled, Sinu immediately lowered his hand and simply smiled brightly.

"Who's running away?"

Hyeonyul blinked and asked.

"Our team is strangely... short on people."

Haeryeon trailed off.

At that moment, Yang Dojin, Team 2's leader, was after Hyeonyul.

"Why is only Team 3 short on people?"

"Every team has its own atmosphere, right?"

Sinu abruptly cut in.

"They do."

"We mostly do it at welcome parties..."

"Ah, it's nothing. It's really nothing, so don't worry about it! I mean, don't worry about it, please!"

Something about Haeryeon's stumbling tone made Hyeonyul suspicious.

'Is it a welcome party where people kill each other?'

Having changed jobs many times, Hyeonyul had attended countless welcome parties.

At one company, there had been a rule that only five new hires could be left alive, so they were made to fight one another.

Hyeonyul did not know why he did it, but watching people laugh as new hires died at a welcome party had been unpleasant.

That was the kind of welcome party Hyeonyul knew.

"I slipped into informal speech just now. It's just that, um..."

"Team Leader, you can speak comfortably around me. One person already does, doesn't he?"

Hyeonyul glanced meaningfully at Sinu.

"So it bothered you?"

Sinu asked, and Hyeonyul shook his head.

"I was only wondering why you called yourself my big brother."

"Because I'm older than you."

"...Ah."

Hyeonyul nodded as though he understood.

"Right. It would be a little strange if I acted too stiffly around you too, wouldn't it?"

Haeryeon readily accepted Hyeonyul's suggestion.

She almost seemed as though she had wanted to do so from the start.

"My name is Seo Hyeonyul. Did you hear where I came from as well?"

Hyeonyul asked Sinu.

"I did. I heard you joined through a special hire? Team Leader, where did you find such an amazing new recruit?"

Sinu spoke delightedly.

Few people had joined Black Eagle through special hires.

Hyeonyul was one of them.

To think someone so impressive would become his teammate.

Hyeonyul did not avoid Sinu's sparkling gaze.

He was simply suspicious.

'What is he trying to pry out of me?'

That was the look and smile villains had worn when recruiting him.

'I won't be fooled anymore.'

"I didn't bring him in. Hyeonyul came here voluntarily."

Haeryeon shrugged.

"A treasure rolled right into our laps. So what made this a special hire?"

Sinu could not wait to hear the rest.

"Hyeonyul brought Shin Daeho's head. You know, the Shin Daeho we failed to catch."

Haeryeon emphasized it twice.

There was internal opposition, but it would soon be dealt with.

Hyeonyul knew about the company Shin Daeho had run.

They could not ignore that information.

"His head? An actual head?"

Sinu was particularly hung up on the word "head."

"That's right. I mean his severed head."

"...Wow. That's impressive."

Sinu looked as though he might start clapping immediately.

Since Hyeonyul had decided not to be fooled, he simply voiced the question that had been circling in his mind.

"Is there something important about Shin Daeho? Why are you looking for him so intensely?"

What could that alcoholic have had?

Shin Daeho had been too drunk to resist before dying.

"There's a possibility that one of the major conglomerates is run by villains. We pursued that lead, and the name Shin Daeho came up. We needed Shin Daeho to take down that company."

"I remember Shin Daeho's business contacts. Do you need them?"

"We do! Very much!"

Haeryeon's expression was like someone whose blocked chest had finally cleared.

It seemed they had been pursuing this for a long time.

'Was Shin Daeho really that important?'

Hyeonyul remained puzzled.

Many people had been looking for Shin Daeho, perhaps because he knew so many people.

Since Shin Daeho had used Hyeonyul like a bodyguard, he had had to see those people's faces whether he wanted to or not.

Who would have thought it would be useful?

"Ah. I should give you this first. Just a moment."

Haeryeon walked straight into her office.

She returned to Hyeonyul with a box from her desk.

"Open it."

"All right."

Hyeonyul opened the box with an expressionless face.

Inside was the same smartwatch Haeryeon and the team leaders wore.

Its design did not look any different from an ordinary smartwatch.

"It doesn't have an official name. People call it an Alert Watch. It handles mission assignments, locations you need to go to, contact between team members, and more. It has magic that makes people less likely to notice you, so it's best to wear it at all times."

"That kind of magic really exists?"

"That's right. If you want to hide your face, you'll need to have a mask made. Do you want one?"

"Is it a choice?"

"Surprised? Some villains once tried to hack our systems to uncover Black Eagle agents' personal information. It was a huge problem, but funnily enough, we found weaknesses in the villains' systems and hacked them back. After that, even the villains..."

Bzzzzzz.

The Alert Watch suddenly vibrated.

Haeryeon's expression hardened as she had been speaking excitedly.

The timing was unbelievable.

"It means a mission has come in."

After a brief explanation, Haeryeon operated it with practiced ease.

Even at the words "mass murder," Haeryeon was not greatly surprised.

She was used to it.

"Anything unusual?"

"Understood."

Haeryeon answered and lifted her gaze.

Sinu happened to be there.

It seemed like a good chance for Hyeonyul to experience a mission.

"This is sudden, but we'll start with fieldwork. You'll mostly be watching from the side, but it helps us screen people out."

"...Then am I not fully hired yet?"

Hyeonyul's expression turned serious.

Was it all right to lie like this?

"No, you're hired. But some people run away when it comes to actual fieldwork. I know you won't, Hyeonyul, but you should know that. We even teach theory after practical training."

Haeryeon explained thoroughly.

The idea of teaching theory after practical training sounded ridiculous no matter how many times she explained it.

"Anyway, are you all right with it? It would be good if you can handle seeing gruesome things."

"I can."

"That's exactly the attitude I like. You already have field experience, Hyeonyul, so honestly, I could send you alone. But you're in your probationary period, so you must go with someone."

Haeryeon pointed at Sinu.

Rather than being surprised, Sinu smiled as though he had expected it.

"He'll be quite reliable."

Hyeonyul looked at Sinu for a moment.

"At least you won't have to worry about me holding you back."

Sinu pointed his thumb at himself.

"I'll go."

Hyeonyul calmly accepted the work.

Honestly, it did not change anything whether someone was beside him or what villain appeared.

A mission had to be completed, and cutting off heads was very easy.

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