Chapter 92
I barely managed to hide my distaste.
"Director."
As I made a show of trying to pick myself up, Jang Seok-yoon tactfully stopped me.
"Stay seated. You’re still recovering, aren’t you?"
Without refusing, I planted my backside back on the bed.
I propped up my upper body, leaning against the headboard as I looked at Jang Seok-yoon.
’I should have seen Samra first."
I should have met Samra before having a private audience with Jang Seok-yoon.
It would have been more advantageous for me if I had heard about the current situation from him and gained even a small amount of information.
However, I realized that Jang Seok-yoon had likely thought the same thing, which is why he had come to visit without giving me any time.
Hiding my tension, I forced a relaxed, slight smile.
Jang Seok-yoon was not the kind of man to back down just because someone acted weak.
If anything, he would only press harder.
Even if it was a bluff, I had to project strength.
Jang Seok-yoon pulled up a chair and sat beside me, as if he were making a mundane hospital visit.
"You regained consciousness after three days. How is your body feeling?"
So l had been unconscious for three days.
Still, I felt much better now. When I replied that I was fine, he picked up a water bottle and asked.
"Would you like a glass of water?"
"Thank you."
As I drank the water, I speculated on how Jang Seok-yoon would try to persuade me.
He must know that it would be difficult to catch me with ordinary conditions.
However, the Trial Response Agency is a government institution; it cannot match the conditions offered by a private corporation like Pasung.
The conditions Director Seo Moon-chan had laid out for me while showing me that insane contract were already far beyond the level of any other conglomerate.
Most likely, Jang Seok-yoon would talk about things that only the TRA could provide-for example, Samra or Ham Ji-wol.
Ham Ji-wol.. she was terrifying, but her abilities were undeniable.
Developing vaccines and cures for the Trials, among other things there were many tasks that only she could perform.
"Trainee Han."
Jang Seok-yoon began with praise.
"To actually close the Trials. And three of them within a month. As the Director of the TRA and as a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I am truly grateful to you, Trainee Han."
Considering Jang Seok-yoon’s position, this was a remarkably humble statement.
In terms of military rank, he was a General, and in terms of government, he was a figure on the level of a Minister.
Because such a man expressed his gratitude so candidly, fear surged within me rather than emotion.
It was because I felt a certainty that he would never let me go.
I chose my words carefully.
"It would have been impossible without the Trial Response Agency. It is thanks to the trust and support you provided, Director, so I would also like to express my gratitude."
When I answered with polite formality, Jang Seok-yoon let out a hearty laugh.
"Trainee Han."
"Yes, Director."
"I truly like you. Not because you are a talent capable of closing Trials. I like you as one human being to another."
While I was pondering an appropriate response, Jang Seok-yoon continued on his own.
"You have the temperament of a gambler, don’t you? Even knowing it’s reckless, if there’s even a sliver of a chance for success, you place your bet. Even on a 1% probability."
"..."
"I believe that this extraordinary gambling spirit is one of the reasons you were able to close the Trials."
A gaze landed on me, as if he knew everything about me.
Jang Seok-yoon wasn’t part of the Special Task Force; how much could he have possibly seen of me?
The total time he and I had spent talking face-to-face must be less than an hour.
He might have received reports from the Special Task Force, but Jang Seok-yoon was acting as if he had been watching me personally.
I could sense it.
Right now, he wasn’t speaking to the ’Trainee of the Trial Response Agency.’
The target of Jang Seok-yoon’s remarks was...
’Goyo, the former pro-gamer.’
It was natural.
If I were Jang Seok-yoon, that’s the first thing I would have checked.
If he wanted to, he could find as much data as he pleased about my past.
I slowly clenched my faintly trembling hand into a fist.
Whenever my past came up, I always felt awkward.
Even though so much time had passed.
There weren’t many people left who remembered or looked for ’Goyo’ anymore.
With incredible players pouring out every year, who would remember a player who was active for barely a year?
At most, people only looked for him as a piece of gossip.
The numerous records left behind about ’Goyo’ were simply used for purposes like this to dig into me and tear me apart.
I slowly calmed my heart.
Fortunately, the trembling in my hand subsided.
I think I understood why Jang Seok-yoon was acting this way on purpose.
He wanted to shake me from the start and seize the upper hand.
Vowing not to fall for such an obvious move, I pulled the comers of my lips up again.
"...Thank you."
Fortunately, it seemed I had answered well enough. My voice didn’t shake.
Jang Seok-yoon mirrored my smile.
"I was like that when I was young. If there was even the slightest possibility, I clung to it without giving up. I believed that was the only way. Perhaps because I pushed forward with youthful vigor, I achieved results many times. Now that I’m older, I can’t do it like I used to, which is why watching you is a pleasure, Trainee Han."
After rambling about himself- something I wasn’t curious about at all-Jang Seok-yoon got to the point.
"Trainee Han. How about officially enlisting in the TRA?"
"I am honored that you trust me so much, Director: However, I would like some time to think. I cannot make this decision easily."
"Of course you should."
His clean retreat was unexpected.
I had certainly expected him to drag me into it with some kind of threat.
As I harbored suspicions about why he was being so docile, Jang Seok-yoon made a proposal.
"Goyo, would you like to go see Captain Mo?"
When I looked at him with questioning eyes, he added an explanation in a nonchalant tone.
"Captain Mo has been hospitalized since clearing the S2P. Since the TRA building was damaged this time, Captain Mo’s hospital room was moved to a location close to yours, so I thought I’d ask if you’d like to visit her together."
I had a bad feeling.
However; upon hearing that Mo Hae-in was hospitalized, worry took precedence over everything else.
I wanted to see with my own eyes that she wasn’t seriously injured.
She belongs to the TRA
If I refused Jang Seok-yoon’s proposal now, I didn’t know when I would be able to visit her.
I might not even be able to see her face for a long time.
After some deliberation, I followed Jang Seok-yoon.
Thanks to the paralysis in my lower body being lifted, I could walk on my own.
As I stepped out of the room pulling the IV pole, armed soldiers were standing guard.
Jang Seok-yoon gave them a signal with his eyes and led me toward the basement levels.
Arriving at the deepest floor, I looked down the hallway with unfamiliar eyes.
"Director Jang! Oh... uh, Goyo-ssi..!"
The entire basement floor was a laboratory filled with various experimental equipment.
Researchers from the Research and Analysis Headquarters were moving about busily with tablets in hand.
Ham Ji-wol, who came running out with quick steps, widened her eyes upon seeing me.
"Director Ham. I’ve come to see Captain Mo."
"Ah, Captain Mo. ... Th-this way, please! I’ll guide Goyo-ssi."
Ham Ji-wol couldn’t take her eyes off me, but perhaps because she was in front of Director Jang Seok-yoon, she couldn’t say much.
And I...
From the moment I realized Mo Hae-in’s place of hospitalization was a laboratory, I was feeling a great sense of anxiety.
’Why is Captain Mo in Ham Ji-wol’s lab?’
Since the TRA building had been destroyed, this must be a temporary lab set up in another building.
Unless it was something extremely important, they wouldn’t have brought her to a temporary lab.
However, regardless of what it was, being in Ham Ji-wol’s lab was never a good sign.
Unconsciously, my pace quickened until I was side-by-side with Ham Ji-wol, who was leading the way.
Ham Ji-wol looked up at me and smiled beamingly.
"Goyo-ssi.... You don’t need to worry too much. I’m taking very good care of Captain Mo..!"
The fact that she was receiving Ham Ji-wols attention was a great misfortune in itself.
I tried my best not to show too much of my anxiety.
And finally, we arrived at the place where Mo Hae-in was ’hospitalized’.
Ham Ji-wol opened the sealed door with a researcher’s card.
I... saw a massive glass cylinder.
Mo Hae- in was contained within the cylinder along with some unknown liquid.
Ham Ji-wol brushed past the frozen me and tapped on a machine.
Checking the numbers displayed on the screen, she spoke.
"Captain Mo... The levels have stabilized a lot.... But for the time being, it’s better not to enter a Trial..!"
I couldn’t take my eyes off Mo Hae-in.
Wearing a tank top and shorts, asleep within the liquid, there was something embedded in her abdomen.
A small stone emitting a faint light.
It was a Trial meteorite.
I felt suffocated.
A ringing sound echoed in my ears, and my vision narrowed.
I didn’t even have the mental capacity to judge what the current situation was.
My mind simply went blank.
Jang Seok-yoon stood beside me. He spoke to me as if engaging in casual conversation.
"You had a very strong sense of responsibility, didn’t you?"
"I watched the match videos; it was truly impressive. Especially in the final match before retirement, you really shone."
"Who would’ve known? You are the perfect existence for the TRA. As if you fell from the sky."
"You know, Captain Mo’s younger sibling is twenty-four; right? The same age as you, but Captain Mo’s sibling will be twenty-four forever."
He slowly walked forward.
Then, placing his hand on the glass, he looked up at the sleeping Mo Hae-in.
After staring at her for a while, Jang Seok-yoon turned back to me.
"If they had simply died. Captain Mo wouldn’t have been this miserable. The meteorite embedded in Captain Mo’s abdomen do you see it? Her sibling is..."
"...Director."
"Trapped in there. Every time she sees you, Captain Mo probably feels like kneeling and begging. Begging you to please save her sibling. Isn’t Goyo the only hope who can close the Trials?"
"Director Jang Seok-yoon!"
Jang Seok-yoon looked at me with a composed face.
I glared at him.
With words that had discarded even the minimum courtesy toward the Director of the
TRA. I could no longer tolerate him exposing Mo Hae-in’s personal history just to catch me.
Especially since this might be a vulnerability she never wanted to reveal to me.
Barely swallowing the curses surging up, I opened my mouth.
"I understand what you’re trying to say. Please stop now."
"No!"
Jang Seok-yoon shouted abruptly and glared back at me.
With a flashing gaze, his voice dropped into a low, intimidating roar.
"You didn’t know. If you had known, you would have already enlisted in the TRA
Instead of weighing your options with Pasung!"
"...I"
"You don’t think Captain Mo is the only one in this situation, do you? Lieutenant Colonel Je, Captain Kwak, Samra- they all need you."
"Are you going to abandon everyone who is looking only at you? The Special Task Force that was created for you?"
He slowly approached me.
Then, he pulled an item from his inventory and thrust it toward my chest.
I lowered only my eyes to look at it, then slowly took it.
It was the TRA enlistment contract.
Not the paper contract I had signed as a trainee, but a formal contract made from a Trial item that binds the eligible party.
Jang Seok-yoon looked me straight in the eye and whispered.
"I trust you will make a wise decision, Trainee Han."