WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 71: Welcome Party (3)
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Today had originally been her day off.
“...Let’s have a welcome party.”
The moment Haeryeon saw that message from Hyeonyul, she changed the date.
Hyeonyul had suggested it himself.
It felt like an electric current had shot all the way to the top of her head.
Everyone except Hyeonyul had probably felt the same way.
The greater their anticipation, the more impossible it was to know how the welcome party might get out of hand. It was safer to take tomorrow off.
‘I can barely keep them in line as it is.’
A welcome party was normally held during the week a new employee arrived, just as its name implied. Black Eagle was unusual.
Given Black Eagle’s nature, the party’s timing inevitably got delayed once someone was sent on an actual mission, since there was no guarantee they would survive.
Still, welcome parties themselves were encouraged.
Their colleagues might not be there tomorrow, so it was a policy of leaving as few regrets as possible.
‘...Let’s think of it happily.’
Haeryeon tried to push away the bad thoughts.
Honestly, her chest hurt every time someone mentioned a welcome party.
She hated being reminded all over again of just how many people had died.
“I know. I’ve been waiting this whole time.”
Sinu answered excitedly, and Haeryeon smiled.
This was the atmosphere she had hoped for.
“Today, I agree with Baek Sinu. I’ve been waiting for this day too.”
When even Nayun spoke firmly, Jihwan looked at Hyeonyul before quietly calling out.
“Hyung. Noona.”
Jihwan glanced toward Hyeonyul.
His expression had stiffened.
“You’re not nervous, are you?”
Jihwan asked cautiously.
What exactly did Hyeonyul think a welcome party was?
He was curious, inwardly.
“More than nervous, it’s on my mind.”
Hyeonyul was still surprised by his own somewhat impulsive action.
Why had he said that then?
Had it slipped out unconsciously because they always talked about welcome parties?
“You really said that? Wow! That’s great! That’s wonderful!”
The moment Jeongmin heard what he had said, he had been delighted enough to fly away.
Was this a good thing?
Why did everyone think it was good?
“Hyeonyul, you just stay still. We’ll take care of everything.”
Sinu grinned, and Hyeonyul’s eyes narrowed.
There was not a shred of trustworthiness in those words.
Stay still.
That was usually a lie.
“Baek Sinu. Look at Hyeonyul’s eyes. How unreliable do you usually act for Hyeonyul to react like that?”
Nayun seized the chance to scold Sinu.
“What are you talking about? Me, unreliable?”
“If I really just stay still, will that be enough?”
Hyeonyul asked just in case.
“Of course, of course.”
Sinu answered readily.
Having received confirmation twice, Hyeonyul finally nodded.
At the very least, he would not lie.
Jihwan glanced at Hyeonyul, then subtly addressed Sinu.
“Hyung. Even if it’s going to be a quiet welcome party, shouldn’t you avoid saying something so definite?”
‘A quiet welcome party...?’
Hyeonyul wondered what that was.
“I have it all planned out. See you later, Hyeonyul.”
Sinu casually rose from his seat, and Hyeonyul’s gaze naturally turned to Haeryeon.
“Hyeonyul and Nayun can go together today.”
Haeryeon immediately changed the subject.
It showed.
Still, Hyeonyul tensed his body.
He had read more than enough books about welcome parties.
‘I’m prepared too.’
* * *
「*Incident Begins
― At around 12:23 a.m., a truck driver passing along the highway found it suspicious that all the cars had stopped and reported it to the police.
*Incident Progress
― The police responded and assessed the situation.
― They discovered bombs attached to the road.
― While the police attempted to disarm the bombs, they caught an ability user, who was later identified as a Villain.
― The incident was handed over to Black Eagle.
*Points of Caution
― Do not allow the bombs to explode.
― Secure the road.」
A highway explosion at this hour of the night.
Nayun imagined what would have happened if they had failed to find the bombs and spoke up.
“Seriously, aren’t they insane? If they’d found it in the morning, who knows how many people might’ve died. Bombs on the road are cheating. Don’t you think, Hyeonyul?”
<Yes.>
“Hyeonyul, you’re not really nervous because of the welcome party, are you? Your messages seem shorter than usual.”
Watching the highway from the mountainside, Nayun looked at Hyeonyul through her night-vision goggles.
His helmet hid his expression.
<I’m not nervous.>
Hyeonyul’s message appeared.
For some reason, Nayun could imagine his expression, and it made her laugh.
“Then that’s fine. Everyone’s just excited, so don’t read too much into it. It’s been quite a while since we last had a welcome party.”
<How long has it been?>
“Hmm... Let’s see.”
Nayun sank into thought for a moment.
A familiar face briefly crossed her mind.
“A year... Yeah. It’s been a year.”
A gentle smile appeared on Nayun’s lips.
<Does Black Eagle deliberately avoid hiring people?>
Nayun snickered at that.
“No. We hire people, but they all get screened out, and among the ones who make it through, they die during their probationary period. It’s hard to survive. I’ve already sent off five rookies myself.”
Looking at the number of deaths alone, he could understand why rookies were not sent out alone during their probationary period.
Hyeonyul was exceptionally unusual and impressive.
“I don’t want a sixth, so hang in there.”
<I don’t want to be the sixth either. I have no intention of becoming one.>
“Right, that’s the spirit you need. That gives us strength too. Hyeonyul, you need to know just how amazing and precious you are.”
<.......>
When no reply came, Nayun giggled.
Hyeonyul was weak to things like that.
Ah.
Something suddenly occurred to Nayun.
“By the way, Hyeonyul.”
<Yes.>
“Are you close with the bomb disposal team, by any chance?”
The man who had introduced himself as Pyo Yujin had run over in delight the instant he recognized Hyeonyul.
The rest of the bomb disposal team had been the same.
It was deeply unsettling.
Their rookie was doing well, so people everywhere were salivating and rushing in.
<I met them for the second time today.>
“Then next time will be the third?”
<Yes.>
“Only think of it that way. Don’t think any further than that.”
<Understood.>
Nayun stopped reading Hyeonyul’s message and turned her head.
Something was moving in the darkness.
Without hesitation, Nayun pulled the trigger.
She aimed for the leg.
Bang!
The gunshot rang softly through the air as Nayun spoke.
“We’re under attack.”
<Yes.>
After that short reply, Nayun looked for Hyeonyul.
He was no longer where he had been.
Before Nayun told him they were under attack, Hyeonyul had already seen everything.
It was a night shrouded in darkness.
The darkness told him everything.
Pop.
A small flame flickered skyward before disappearing.
It was a signal flare Nayun had fired.
Mindful of Nayun, Hyeonyul moved.
Since Nayun could see everything so clearly, there was no benefit in moving recklessly.
The Villains only had one target right now.
The bomb disposal team.
As bomb specialists, they were relatively lacking in combat ability.
They called it support, but in truth, it was a protection mission.
Hyeonyul looked to the left.
Whoosh.
A hole appeared in the head of an approaching enemy.
Hyeonyul turned his head at the sight.
‘Fast.’
Guns had always been the finest weapons, possessing absolute power. But after ability users began to appear, they had become weapons of only limited use.
To begin with, the Empire did not permit firearm ownership, so they could only be obtained through illegal channels.
But it was very different for Nayun.
Even if Black Eagle’s in-house technology made their guns different from ordinary firearms, technology was only as good as the person using it.
The corner of Hyeonyul’s mouth rose.
Nayun took care of all the troublesome things on her own, as though she were his own hand.
Hyeonyul stepped forward and extended his dagger.
Clang!
Something struck it, making the tip of his dagger tremble.
A tingling sensation reached even his fingertips, and Hyeonyul immediately looked in that direction.
‘A superpower.’
An invisible, deeply irritating force.
The debris around them floated into the air.
“Please stay still.”
Hyeonyul spoke to the bomb disposal team and wrapped his dagger in black power.
The way to clear away the debris was simple.
He just had to kill the person moving it.
Hyeonyul seemed to step forward, then appeared right in front of the ability user.
Startled gazes met.
Hyeonyul swung his dagger broadly to the side.
Thick darkness streaked through the air.
As a head fell, the floating debris dropped.
Hyeonyul thrust his dagger behind him.
“...Urk.”
A groan escaped as he felt the blade sink in.
“I can smell you.”
Even if they crept up on him, the overpowering scent of blood merely brushed against his nose.
Hyeonyul immediately turned and seized the enemy by the neck.
“You don’t smell like gunpowder.”
If they had planted the bombs, that smell should have clung to them. But these people did not have it.
There was a strong possibility that they were Villains unrelated to the bombing.
“Who are you people?”
“...Fuck you.”
Blood streamed from the Villain’s abdomen as he moved his lips.
“Yes. It seems you understand that one mouth is enough to talk.”
Hyeonyul pierced the man’s neck with his dagger, then sliced sideways.
Why had they come here?
Feeling doubtful, Hyeonyul shifted his gaze.
Watching the Villain crumple headfirst, Hyeonyul counted their numbers.
Three.
Hyeonyul bent backward at the waist.
A heavy blunt weapon swept past him.
Hyeonyul melted away like smoke and appeared behind the Villain.
‘Two.’
The dagger emerged through the man’s neck.
‘There’s no lingering gunpowder smell.’
There was a scent of gunpowder, but it differed from the bombs over there.
It meant they had brought different bombs.
‘What good does making this incident bigger do them?’
If they escalated the incident, Black Eagle would only come.
Was that what they wanted?
‘...Childish.’
Unable to crush their opponent themselves, it seemed they were trying to rely on Black Eagle.
It might seem efficient, but it was an extremely poor method.
The longer they kept at it, the more likely they were to get caught.
Thud!
One man fell, and Hyeonyul knocked out the last one instead of killing him.
‘For now, it would be better for Black Eagle to find out what they’re plotting.’
He knew Villains took care over their clothes and many other things so that no one could infer where they had been or where they came from.
But there was one thing they could not be careful about.
Radios.
Using his darkness, Hyeonyul searched the bodies of the dead men.
He gripped a radio.
Before turning it on, he listened closely.
The instant a signal formed, the darkness heard the sound.
It spread far and wide before stopping in one place.
Hyeonyul turned his head.
All darkness became his eyes.
Far away, even farther away, he saw someone using a radio.
‘Found you.’
Hyeonyul placed his darkness at that location.
It was best to strike when they let their guard down.
So he planned to move tomorrow.
* * *
“...Here, Hyeonyul. Put this on.”
Nayun handed him something.
Hyeonyul blinked at the item she offered.
They were round glasses with a beard attached.
Hyeonyul looked around.
Perhaps they had rented out the entire place, because they were the only people inside the establishment.
He did not know where they had found such a throne-like chair, but he was sitting in it.
“Just sit here, sit here.”
Sinu had pointed to the spot excitedly.
He had told him to sit, so he had sat down, but Hyeonyul did not know why he was being told to wear this.
After thinking for a moment, Hyeonyul reached for the glasses.
He could feel everyone staring at him.
He briefly raised his head and looked at them all.
They turned away, pretending not to look at one another.
‘This is different from the books...’
Hyeonyul put on the glasses.
Laughter burst out from all directions.
Just as he wondered if they were laughing at him, they hurried over to Hyeonyul wearing similar glasses.
‘?’
Hyeonyul blinked.
He did not know what they were doing.
Click.
“...!”
Hyeonyul was startled.
They were suddenly taking pictures.
“Come on, smile, Hyeonyul.”
Nayun gently lifted the corners of Hyeonyul’s mouth.
“Why... are you taking pictures?”
“Because we don’t want to regret it. You have to leave behind photos worth remembering, so the next person can find the strength to live.”
Nayun said it with a smile.
Everyone nodded as if they agreed, but Hyeonyul found it difficult to understand.
“One more time!”
Jihwan shouted happily.
Click.
Hyeonyul stayed still, while everyone else moved left, then right, suddenly made V signs with their fingers, and struck strange poses.
Overwhelmed by everything happening around him, Hyeonyul felt as though his mind had stopped.
‘...What are they doing?’
They had not asked anything of him at all, but for some reason, he felt pressure bearing down on him.
He just did not know exactly what it was.
It felt like they spent over twenty minutes taking pictures alone.
‘This is... a welcome party?’
“Good! We’ve taken enough pictures, so shall we start by singing our hearts out?”
Sinu shouted at the top of his lungs and handed Hyeonyul a tambourine.
Hyeonyul blankly accepted it.
“If you’re excited, shake it. If not, you don’t have to. I’m not forcing you.”
What insane consideration.
Sinu smiled as though he were proud of himself.
“...Shouldn’t we eat first?”
Hyeonyul asked hesitantly.
“We have fun first, then eat. Team Lead rented this place, so it would be a waste.”
“Right. It would be.”
Haeryeon had a microphone in her hand.
“That’s too fast!”
Jihwan exclaimed in surprise, though he already had a microphone in his own hand.
“Jihwan! You’re faster!”
Nayun cried out in despair.
To think she had lost the first song.
“Ah.”
Nayun suddenly looked at Hyeonyul.
“Do you want to sing? If you do, Hyeonyul, I can give you the privilege of singing first.”
Of course.
Everyone agreed.
“...No.”
“And Hyeonyul.”
Nayun continued.
“...Yes.”
“If you don’t like a song, press this.”
Nayun handed over the machine and pointed at a button.
“If you press this, the song will stop in the middle. We’re only giving it to you because it’s you, Hyeonyul. This is tremendous power.”
Hyeonyul’s eyes widened.
Press it if he did not like the song.
How could that possibly be allowed?
“Oh, and if you want to say something during a song, shake the tambourine three times. We’ll immediately listen to what you have to say. You’re the star today, Hyeonyul!”
Nayun held both hands out toward Hyeonyul and shook them excitedly.
Even her tone of voice was different, as though she had been restraining herself a great deal until now.
It was very frightening.
“That’s right, that’s right. Today is a quiet welcome party for Hyeonyul. You don’t have to dance, and you don’t have to sing if you don’t want to. You don’t have to pose for pictures either. We took out everything you might dislike.”
Haeryeon considered it perfect consideration.
Still, one thing bothered her.
“Though, um, wouldn’t the tambourine be a little burdensome? Wouldn’t waving this carrot light stick be better instead?”
Expecting this, Haeryeon held out a carrot light stick.
“...As expected, none of us can match Team Lead in thoughtfulness.”
Sinu quietly raised a thumbs-up.
“The carrot light stick definitely stands out more. And it’s quieter.”
Jihwan agreed as well, clapping his hands together.
‘What’s the difference between this and that?’
Only Hyeonyul was confused.
“Anyway, Hyeonyul. Want to sing first?”
Haeryeon asked quite carefully.
The question itself put immense pressure on Hyeonyul.
Sing no matter what.
That was how strongly it felt.
“...I’m fine.”
“Okay! Shake it if you need anything. We’ll stop the song immediately and listen to you, Hyeonyul.”
After handing Hyeonyul the carrot light stick, Haeryeon picked up the microphone and confidently walked to the center.
‘...’
Hyeonyul looked at the carrot light stick.
‘Is this bullying...?’
He had thought there would be no more bullying, but it seemed he had been mistaken.
This was a new kind of bullying.
How was he supposed to take this?
He did not know about anything else in this situation, but he knew this much for certain.
‘...I want to go home.’
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