WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 73: Something Always Happens on My Day Off (2)
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Hyeonyul tried to turn his head and pretend he had not seen them, but Jihwan approached with a welcoming smile.
“Did you come to see a movie too, hyung?”
“...Yes.”
Hyeonyul took two steps back.
How were the two of them here?
It was not as though this was the only movie theater around.
‘Have I been watched?’
“Did you come because you saw the messages? What movie are you here to see?”
Jihwan asked, but Hyeonyul had not read the messages yet.
The moment he saw hundreds piled up, he closed them.
That was not important right now.
He had a bad feeling.
Sinu seemed to be smiling.
“I came to see that.”
Hyeonyul pointed at the movie that had just appeared on the screen, then immediately checked Jihwan’s expression.
Disappointment lingered there.
Then he felt relieved.
It really seemed to be a coincidence.
“...That’s different from ours. Sinu, should we just watch that one?”
“Of course, I...”
“Why are you two here?”
Hyeonyul swiftly cut him off.
“Well, we drank a little yesterday...”
“Yes. Both of you drank a lot.”
When Hyeonyul pointed it out directly, Sinu flinched as if struck, while Jihwan shook his head.
“I wasn’t drunk.”
“Jihwan. Lying is bad.”
“You lie a lot too.”
“Me? When have I?”
“Hyung. Hyeonyul-hyung is watching.”
“Why would you say that now?”
“You were both drunk. Anyway, why are you here?”
Hyeonyul made sure of the situation before asking again.
Coworkers had come to watch a movie together.
‘Impossible.’
Hyeonyul thought firmly.
“We came to hang out. Sinu asked me to hang out with him.”
“You said you were bored too.”
Hyeonyul filled his head with question marks at the words from Jihwan and Sinu.
How could coworkers be close?
He could not understand it at all.
“Fine. We were both bored, and we were going to play games, but then I remembered they give out BomBom merchandise if you watch a movie. It was a BomBom I hadn’t collected yet.”
Jihwan smiled and pointed at a poster in the theater.
It said that buying popcorn came with merchandise for a seal-like character.
Was that BomBom?
“So I got used by Jihwan. This way, he gets two pieces of merchandise. Hyeonyul, do you need one too?”
“No. I did not even know about it.”
“Then that makes three.”
Sinu looked at Jihwan, asking if he was happy.
Jihwan nodded in satisfaction.
‘...Is he telling me to buy one too?’
Hyeonyul looked at the poster.
His head tilted on its own, until he finally understood when he saw the words, “Limited to one per person.”
It was certainly the most efficient way to collect the merchandise.
“But why didn’t you contact Nayun?”
Sinu asked Jihwan.
“I contacted her first. She said her head was pounding from her hangover. I asked if she wanted me to buy her some hangover medicine, but she said she was fine.”
“I told her to drink in moderation yesterday. She’ll definitely be at a café later.”
Sinu clicked his tongue, then immediately took out his phone.
[I don’t have a hangover lol]
He could not let this perfect opportunity pass him by.
Nayun would probably say the same thing if their situations were reversed.
Jihwan checked his phone and looked at Sinu.
He knew Sinu normally acted like that, but Nayun’s voice had sounded truly awful when he called her earlier.
“...Hyung. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“She isn’t here right now.”
“Don’t blame me if noona shoots you in the head.”
Jihwan shook his head.
Who was Nayun?
She could hit someone in the head from very, very far away.
He had watched Sinu get hit by that and pass out in real time before.
Thinking about it again was terrifying.
“Does she shoot people in the head? Has she ever killed a coworker like that?”
Sinu burst out laughing at Hyeonyul’s question.
He did not know why Hyeonyul was asking something so trivial so seriously.
“Nayun shoots people when she’s angry, but she doesn’t kill them. I got hit and passed out, so the Team Lead scolded both of us. We almost got our salaries cut.”
“...They cut salaries too?”
“Of course. The Team Lead is really scary when she gets angry.”
“She is. Very, very scary.”
Jihwan’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“Then why did you not call the Team Lead? If you want that, would it not be better to call one more person?”
The purpose of gathering like this was to get the merchandise.
Adding one more person would be more efficient.
“...Well, Hyeonyul.”
Sinu spoke as though he had seen something truly terrifying.
After hesitating several times, he opened his mouth.
“...The Team Lead is working right now.”
Hyeonyul’s expression immediately hardened.
“Hyeonyul.”
“...Yes.”
“We must not forget the Team Lead’s sacrifice.”
“The Team Lead said the next Team Lead would be Baek Sinu-hyung...”
“Alright, enough filming horror movies. Let’s go watch the movie.”
Sinu quickly threw an arm around Hyeonyul’s shoulders and pulled him forward.
Jihwan followed behind them with a snicker.
“Ah, yesterday was fun, right?”
“...”
Hyeonyul could not answer Sinu’s question carelessly.
What should he say?
As he sank deeper into thought, Hyeonyul suddenly stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you hurt?”
Sinu asked, followed by Jihwan’s concerned question.
Clunk.
He heard something.
It was not an unfamiliar sound.
It resembled the sound someone made when struggling to survive while tied to a chair.
The sound kept echoing, too persistently to be his imagination.
Hyeonyul looked at the employee standing at the concession counter.
They were moving normally.
There was no smell of blood, and no magic in sight.
‘Is it a mental-type ability?’
There were many possibilities.
“Ye Jihwan.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Can you sense any magic from those people?”
“Just a moment.”
Jihwan immediately became alert at those words.
Something was happening at the movie theater.
That was what Hyeonyul was saying.
The ordinary was becoming extraordinary again.
Again.
This was happening again.
“Jihwan, Hyeonyul.”
Sinu gestured to them.
If they wanted to look, they should get closer.
Hyeonyul followed and looked around.
People buying popcorn as they waited to see a movie.
People lined up at kiosks to print their tickets.
Nothing in this theater looked strange.
Places where people gathered could sometimes be used as enormous experimental subjects.
What would it be this time?
What did they want? What were they after?
Was it a hostage situation?
Were they planning to set off bombs to spread fear?
Or mass brainwashing?
There were more things one could do at a movie theater than expected, so he could not pinpoint anything.
<Calm down.>
Sinu sent a message through his wireless earpiece.
<Take it slow. First, Jihwan, check it out.>
<Okay.>
Jihwan put in a wireless earphone and answered.
“I only have cash, so I’ll take three of these. We get three pieces of merchandise too, right?”
Sinu naturally approached the counter and pointed at the popcorn that came with merchandise.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“They said yes.”
Sinu looked at Jihwan.
“We came for the merchandise, so I’ll pay.”
“No, use mine.”
Sinu handed Jihwan cash.
Telling him to pay, Sinu led Hyeonyul back outside.
<I heard something.>
Sinu asked cautiously.
It was not clear, but he had heard it.
<Yes. It has become clearer. Someone is being held inside there.>
Hyeonyul was certain.
Sinu squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
Anger boiled inside him.
“I’ll go talk to someone for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Hyeonyul blankly watched Sinu leave.
Honestly, he had not cared about things like this when he was a Villain.
Once Villains became his targets, he found himself caring about all sorts of things.
Hyeonyul walked over to Jihwan.
He picked up two drinks that had come out.
Jihwan carefully put the packaged merchandise into his bag, then looked at the three remaining popcorns and one drink.
“Wait, wait. I’m back.”
Sinu came running over in a hurry.
Holding one drink and one popcorn, he naturally stepped aside.
<I requested backup. We’ve been assigned to assess the situation until they arrive. ...A mission on my day off. This is the worst, seriously.>
Sinu sent a despairing message, but he did not actually look that way.
<...It is the worst. Anyway, it is not magic. It is a superpower.>
Jihwan lowered his voice and reported what he had confirmed.
<The people have been temporarily brainwashed. The person using this power is likely mixed in with the crowd, upstairs, or downstairs. I sensed magic deeper inside, though.>
<So there’s an ability user and a mage here right now, is that it?>
At Sinu’s question, Jihwan naturally nodded while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Sinu swallowed the sigh that nearly escaped him.
The entire theater had effectively been taken hostage.
<We need to move around inside the theater first. They could carry out all kinds of attacks with bombs, poison, and more.>
Since they were indoors, Sinu thought anything was possible.
Had they not received many missions like that already?
<There are no bombs, poison, or anything else.>
Hyeonyul sent a firm message.
Judging by the sound of someone struggling while tied up earlier, it seemed they had only recently started this.
<I can currently see about three watchers mixed in with the crowd.>
Hyeonyul casually informed them.
While everyone else moved naturally, about three people repeatedly made unnatural movements.
<They seem to be watching the area inside the concession counter. Of course, I cannot say for certain yet.>
<Anyway, it doesn’t seem like they’ve noticed us, right?>
Sinu asked.
<Yes.>
<Then I’ll investigate. If they are watching the place, certain words will be exchanged.>
Jihwan walked to a table, carrying his popcorn and drink, and sat down.
The moment he lightly tapped the table with his palm, Jihwan’s mana spread from that spot.
A severed space came into Jihwan’s view.
In a world made up of countless coordinates, Jihwan specifically connected to the cell phones.
Messages and calls from everyone’s phones appeared before his eyes.
Amid the countless lines of text that appeared like coordinates, Jihwan calmly began searching for his target.
<Just as Hyeonyul-hyung said, there are three.>
Jihwan briefly connected magic to Hyeonyul and Sinu.
Flash.
The two identified the three people.
‘...Then where are the others?’
After confirming the three, Hyeonyul thought.
A sudden thought made him turn his head.
He saw the movies currently playing.
This was a season when many movies were being released, and all nine theaters were full.
They had not come here by chance.
There was a reason for it.
<What they want are the theater screens.>
Hyeonyul was dumbfounded even as he said it.
Who came to movie theaters in large numbers?
Ordinary people.
The structure forced them to sit still in one place and watch the screens.
What would happen if a certain power were placed on those screens?
They had all recently seen what kind of power brainwashing possessed during a mission.
<What they want is to brainwash people naturally.>
<They conduct regular inspections to prepare for things like that...>
Sinu stopped typing.
They checked the results of film inspections, not the people.
Only now did he see the flaw in the system.
<If that is the case, the same magical formula may have been inscribed simultaneously. To stop it, we must erase them all at once.>
Jihwan explained while eating popcorn.
<Jihwan, can you save the person inside? Hyeonyul, can you capture the three?>
<Okay.>
<I can capture them.>
Messages from Jihwan and Hyeonyul appeared.
<I’ll handle damaging the screens.>
Considering their various abilities, Sinu thought he was most suited for it.
He could summon a sword that could pierce space itself without opening doors.
As Sinu hurriedly changed direction and set off, Jihwan appeared to follow after him.
With popcorn and cola left behind, Hyeonyul quietly sat at the table.
Three people.
He had seen them clearly.
There was only one best thing he could do while people were in such confusion.
Make them disappear in an instant.
Hyeonyul deliberately used the darkness to knock against the popcorn machine.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
As the harsh noise made everyone turn to look, hands extended simultaneously from the three shadows, grabbed their shoulders, and pulled them away.
Watching them vanish as though by magic, Hyeonyul put popcorn in his mouth.
Bzzz.
When his phone vibrated, Hyeonyul took it out.
Oh Haeryeon.
“Yes, Team Lead. Where should I hand them over?”
He wanted to take them out of the darkness and throw them away as soon as possible.
They were dirty.
* * *
“...Ha. Why is it so hard to watch a movie even once?”
Sinu lamented as he entered the café.
The incident had been resolved well.
He had been a little worried about tearing up the screens, but seeing White Sparrow’s expressions, he decided there was nothing to worry about.
There was still some time before they ate, so he thought they should kill time.
“Over here.”
When Nayun naturally raised her hand, Sinu walked over in surprise.
“You, you, you. Why are you here?”
He had thought she would be at a café, but he had not expected it to be this one.
“This is perfect for curing a hangover.”
Nayun pointed at all sorts of slices of cake.
Sinu frowned, but Nayun ignored him and looked at Hyeonyul and Jihwan.
“But you were all together? Without me? That’s harsh.”
“We ran into each other by chance. By chance. ...Ha. We just finished a mission too, so don’t start anything.”
Sinu sat down with a tired expression.
“Same here, though. On my way here, I saw some people secretly passing something between themselves. I was trying not to care, but I could see the writing.”
“What did you see?”
Hyeonyul asked.
“A brainwashing operation using movie theater screens? Something like that. It was so ridiculous that I put holes through their legs. Of course, I called the Managers too.”
Nayun whispered.
The expressions of the other two, excluding Hyeonyul, changed, and Nayun asked in surprise.
“...Don’t tell me it happened, and you stopped it?”
“Yes.”
When Hyeonyul answered simply, Nayun let out a long breath.
A powerful sense of kinship washed over her.
“Something always happens like this on our days off. Eat up, guys. Eating is what matters.”
Nayun held out the cake.
She had a hangover, and they were exhausted.
Something sweet was still best for shaking all that off.
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