WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 85: A Cup of Tea, a Slice of Cake (2)
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* * *
“Why are you scared?”
Hyeonyul looked at Yujong strangely.
He had only asked a question.
“Ah, no. I’m not... scared.”
Despite his words, Yujong was trembling.
Hyeonyul looked at the dagger in his hand.
He quickly put it away and spoke.
“If you’ve got nothing to feel guilty about, don’t be nervous.”
“I really don’t. There’s really, really nothing!”
Jeongmin shook his head.
“I only asked because I knew you’d be curious.”
Information was the most important thing to an information broker.
There was no way Yujong could simply let this pass.
Yujong merely nodded.
“Before you step away from this, shouldn’t you sell one big piece of information? I’ll find out who the big name in drugs is and give it to you.”
“...Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
At that answer, Yujong wore an ecstatic expression.
That Mad Dog suddenly looked adorable.
Yujong even felt like going over and hugging him.
“Ah, for your information, the one who asked about Black Eagle information was a former Black Eagle agent.”
There had to be something given in return.
Hyeonyul handed Yujong some information.
Jeongmin slowly opened his mouth with a blank look on his face.
“...Excuse me? A former... what?”
“A former Black Eagle agent.”
The moment Black Eagle was mentioned, Yujong’s face twisted.
“Aren’t those bastards insane?!”
Ptoo! Ptoo!
Yujong grimaced as if he had seen something filthy.
“This business is already filthy enough. Do Black Eagles have nothing better to do than buy information? I can’t believe I took money from those bastards!”
Yujong looked disgusted enough to set the money on fire immediately.
That was the right reaction.
That was the basic attitude Villains had toward Black Eagle.
If anyone were asked what disgusted them most in the world, every last one would name Black Eagle.
“You can tell the others about this too. It should help us find whoever is behind this faster.”
“Honestly, I can’t tolerate this! Since I set foot in this line of work, this is the most disgusting and insulting thing that has happened to me!”
Yujong even shook his clenched fist.
The anger was clear in his expression and voice.
“I’ll find them! I definitely will...!”
Yujong volunteered on his own.
“Yes. I’ll come see you again soon.”
Hyeonyul waved and left the room.
“Take care.”
Yujong bowed, then immediately went outside.
For a moment, he wondered if a window was open, but nothing was.
‘...It always feels like I’m seeing a ghost.’
Yujong narrowed his eyes.
‘Still, Mad Dog was fine today.’
Yujong gripped his phone.
“Hey, it’s me.”
<Yes, Boss! Good morning!>
“You know the ones who traded with us using Black Eagle information?”
<Yes, I do!>
“They’re former Black Eagles.”
<...That’s impossible. Is that real?>
“It is. I don’t know what kind of scheme they’re pulling, but can we just stand by and let Black Eagles infiltrate our side?”
<Absolutely not!>
“Then spread the word and find them.”
<Understood. We’ll make sure to find out who they are.>
‘I built myself up with every kind of information, but this crosses a line.’
Yujong smiled sharply.
Some people said Villains were like bulldozers that never stopped.
It wasn’t wrong.
Since they didn’t care about means or methods, it could seem as though they had no standards at all.
But that wasn’t true.
Black Eagle was the final line they could never compromise on, even in death.
Those bastards existed to uproot them completely.
Yet some idiot had brought Black Eagles into this place.
Whether they had been kicked out of Black Eagle or not, the fact that they had once been Black Eagle was unacceptable.
“Pull everyone we have on the civilian side and find out which bastard egged these people on, too.”
<Understood.>
Even after giving the order, Yujong’s anger did not subside.
‘...I don’t know who it is, but that bastard is dead.’
They had provoked every Villain.
* * *
Hyeonyul looked to his left.
Nayun was there.
When he looked to his right, Jihwan was there.
‘...How did this happen?’
A crease formed between Hyeonyul’s brows.
“Hyeonyul. That’ll be a problem. You’ll get wrinkles later. Ah, do you use basic skincare products?”
“...Do I need to?”
“Of course.”
Nayun raised an eyebrow.
“That’s the bare minimum. Right, Jihwan?”
“Right. I didn’t use them either, but Nayun talked me into it.”
Nayun giggled at Jihwan’s words.
“If you don’t know what to choose, I’ll pick something for you. There’s a brand called Linda, and their products are really good.”
Linda.
Before Hyeonyul could even think about that, he first felt burdened by the words rushing toward him.
Feeling as though he were trapped in a very narrow space, he clutched his cup for no reason.
After going home and sleeping, he had been looking for locations based on the information he received from Yujong.
When he heard that the Villain who had given him drugs had had their business “taken away,” he immediately thought of Seungyu, the figurehead boss.
He had considered going there first, but Seungyu could deceive him.
He had known Yujong, Night Rat, longer than he had known Seungyu, and unlike Seungyu’s, Yujong’s emotions were all written across his face.
Seungyu had looked at him strangely.
Could it have been something like worship?
There were expressions he could not read, so it was difficult to judge that for certain.
For safety, he thought it was right to find the place first, then compare it with the information he would receive from Seungyu.
After visiting several of Yujong’s business contacts, he had reached the fifth location when Jihwan’s voice stopped him.
“Hyeong!”
He could not ignore that voice.
When Jihwan asked where he was going, the excuse that came out was, “A cafe.”
Even thinking back on it, it was ridiculous.
It annoyed him that he had no quick thinking in situations like this.
“Is your head okay? Were you badly hurt? Why are you wandering around when it’s cold? I know, no, there’s a cafe Nayun told me about. Seriously, once you go there, you’ll keep going back. Let’s go there.”
Jihwan had initially been worried, but then started talking about one thing after another while salivating over the thought of food, leaving Hyeonyul thoroughly confused.
He had been dragged along before he knew it, and Nayun was there.
He should have expected it when Jihwan said it was a place Nayun had introduced.
Surrounded by countless people, Hyeonyul suggested to Jihwan that they leave, but it did not work.
Nayun recognized them.
She smiled like a predator eyeing its prey.
After greeting the people she was with, she naturally came outside with them, and they ended up here at another cafe.
Before the subject suddenly shifted to cosmetics, he had heard again and again whether his head was all right, to the point of exhaustion.
“...Basic skincare is important, but honestly, Hyeonyul, your skin is so good that you don’t even need it.”
“That’s true. I thought that the first time I saw you. It’s just a shame about the scars, but those can be covered up too.”
“So you thought the same thing?”
When Nayun looked at Jihwan, he lifted the corner of his mouth.
They lightly clinked their cups together.
Clink.
Hyeonyul wondered whether he should raise his cup too.
“Of course, it’ll be even better if you use more products now, right? You’ll glow even more from now on?”
Hyeonyul blinked at Nayun’s words.
“Hyeonyul? Are you listening?”
“...Yes. I am listening.”
“Was I... talking too much?”
“I don’t think you said much.”
Jihwan cautiously spoke up.
Nayun had barely said anything at all.
“Right? I was worried I might be talking too much without realizing it.”
Nayun broke out in a cold sweat.
Some people liked conversations, and others did not.
Hyeonyul probably fell closer to the latter.
Naturally, she had to be careful because she did not want the other person to dislike it.
“It’s not that. The doctor told me to avoid products with any ingredients. I was troubled over how to say it.”
“Then you can just say that.”
Nayun did not seem bothered at all by Hyeonyul’s refusal.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right. I don’t like situations where I can’t speak either.”
“...!”
Hyeonyul set down his cup.
When his eyes went round, Nayun briefly burst into laughter.
She wondered if that was really so surprising.
“Hyeonyul, don’t be surprised. Just listen for a moment.”
“...Yes.”
As Hyeonyul watched her carefully, Nayun held out the plate of cake and spoke.
“I thought that if I didn’t talk to you, Hyeonyul, we would never get the chance to talk. It’s obvious when you would talk to me. During missions, right?”
Hyeonyul seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding.
“I know it’s hard to accept, no matter how much we say that being colleagues means something different to us than it does elsewhere. I also know it will take a considerable amount of time.”
Leaning against the table with her arms crossed, Nayun looked at Hyeonyul.
Her dark green eyes gently narrowed.
“Still, I don’t want things to stay that way. So it’s right for me to be careful. I’m the one who wants to get close to you, right? I don’t want to do things you dislike. It can be frustrating not to say anything, but I’m only doing as much as I can endure, so you don’t need to be surprised or feel pressured.”
When Nayun finished speaking, Jihwan examined Hyeonyul’s expression.
A tiny crease had formed between his brows.
It meant he did not understand.
“It helps with missions.”
Jihwan explained in a way Hyeonyul could understand.
“How does it help?”
“For example, there may be missions where you have to entrust your life to each other. Could you do that if you didn’t trust each other?”
Hyeonyul thought for a moment.
He had never even considered that he might receive a mission like that.
Still, the question itself was not bad.
Trust was an uncertain factor.
And he had to rely on that too.
‘...Horrible.’
“Talk while you eat. This isn’t an interrogation or anything.”
Nayun relaxed the atmosphere again before it could turn stiff.
“Right. That’s what matters. We’re just sharing our opinions.”
“Opinions, ah! How about thinking of it as practicing communication?”
As though she had just come up with a good idea, Nayun lightly tapped the table.
“Practicing communication...?”
Hyeonyul’s gaze changed as if he had become interested.
“Yeah. If your communication improves, that’ll be good for you too, Hyeonyul.”
“It would be good. I always feel that I am lacking in that. ...It is quite difficult.”
“That’s why you should think of it as practice and speak a little more comfortably.”
“I do not know what I should talk about.”
Conversation was not about demanding something.
Threats were easy, but conversation was difficult because it was not simply making demands.
He had to observe the other person, listen closely, and react as well.
“You think too much about it. That gives you more things to be careful about. Still, I think practicing like this wouldn’t be bad. What do you think?”
“I think that is correct.”
Hyeonyul nodded.
“Good. I’ll help you, Hyeonyul. Jihwan, you’ll help too, right?”
Jihwan had been nodding, but he glanced at Nayun.
Her smile was different.
‘...Wow. I almost got fooled too.’
Jihwan suddenly came to his senses.
It had been Nayun who slipped Hyeonyul into the group messenger chat last time.
As Jihwan’s expression changed slightly, the corners of Nayun’s lips rose even higher.
Hurry up and agree.
At Nayun’s look, Jihwan hurriedly opened his mouth.
“...Of course I’ll help. Why wouldn’t I?”
When Nayun held out a plate with cake on it, Jihwan stopped talking and picked up his fork.
“What do you think, Hyeonyul? Doesn’t this make you feel much more comfortable?”
When Nayun asked with a smile, Hyeonyul nodded.
“Yes.”
Thinking of it as training definitely made it less burdensome.
They had said they would actually train him.
Only then did Hyeonyul pick up his fork and eat the cake.
“...!”
Hyeonyul lowered his head.
Something was different.
“It’s good, right?”
“...It is different somehow.”
“I know lots of genuinely good restaurants, not just the places that are all over social media. Let’s come here often, Hyeonyul.”
“May I bring Teacher along too?”
At Hyeonyul’s question, Nayun looked at him fondly.
People naturally wanted to share delicious food with those precious to them.
“Of course. I’d love that. I like Teacher too. He’s so kind, and he feels like such a real grown-up.”
“Teacher is an adult.”
“And he’s wonderful too, right?”
“Yes.”
Resting her chin on her hand, Nayun looked at Hyeonyul.
She felt like she was starting to understand how to treat him.
Perhaps she needed to think of his conversational age as even younger than she had expected.
“Jihwan, eat plenty too. It’s good, right?”
“Is this a place you discovered recently?”
Jihwan’s eyes sparkled.
Nayun giggled at the sight.
Who could dislike delicious food?
“Of course. Let’s keep it a secret between us. You didn’t invite that idiot Baek Sinu, did you, Jihwan?”
“I didn’t. Sinu hyung has been boasting so much about what he did with Hyeonyul hyung. I can boast too, right?”
“Jihwan. My wonderful Jihwan. You can boast as much as you want. If it’s Baek Sinu, you absolutely have to. I already did.”
Nayun showed them her phone.
In the group messenger chat was a neatly arranged photo of three forks, cake, and drinks.
Below it was a cat emoji making a V sign.
“As expected, you were quick.”
“Quick, right? For the record, he did this first. Not me, Hyeonyul.”
Nayun quickly explained in case Hyeonyul misunderstood.
Wondering why she was telling him this, Hyeonyul merely nodded.
He still did not understand Team Three’s atmosphere.
As they exchanged more words, Hyeonyul focused at first, then gradually relaxed and grew drowsy.
He remembered what he had been trying to pursue earlier.
Since he could not leave now, he only ate cake.
He had not intended to eat it, but his hand kept reaching out.
It was not as if he should have an appetite.
“...Oh, right. About the drugs.”
At the words that slipped from Nayun’s lips, Hyeonyul became fully alert.
‘Drugs?’
“Apparently, after hearing from several teams, they’re collecting the locations we found, the places Team Two got through their support request, and the places you found yesterday, Hyeonyul. For now, they seem to be separate factions. The locations aren’t exact, but some rough matching areas came up, and I saw them too.”
“You saw them?”
When Hyeonyul immediately asked, Nayun nodded with a slightly bewildered expression.
Even his gaze had changed.
“They kind of form a triangle, and the center looks really suspicious, doesn’t it?”
‘...A triangle?’
At those words, Hyeonyul recalled the places he had seen.
But soon, he furrowed his brow.
He had not seen how they looked on the full map.
Whatever Nayun said felt like a new idea to him.
“It kept bothering me, so I deliberately went near there and took a little look. Just a little look.”
Nayun deliberately dragged out the last words.
Gulp.
Jihwan swallowed his drink as he looked at Nayun.
For some reason, he felt nervous about what she would say next.
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