Chapter 379: I Want to Go Home
"Oh my, really?"
"Yes!"
"Oh my, oh my, oh my!"
The cheerful voices of the two women echoed.
This wasn't what I had hoped for.
I thought there'd be more... you know. Park Ye-eun making fun of the Branch Chief's age and things like that.
But contrary to my expectations, Park Ye-eun's affinity was truly incredible.
With that level of social skill, she'd be a perfect fit for the HR Team.
"I totally thought you were the same age as Oppa! Or even younger! That's why I thought you must be incredibly capable."
"Oh, come on, we're not the same age! I'm a bit older than him!"
Right. Only by a century or two. It's true that she's capable, though.
"Wow, really. You look so young!"
"Oh my, oh my. I must not have lived hard enough. Really. Mr. Kim Jae-heon, can't I take Ms. Ye-eun to the Branch Chief's office?"
"So you can suck out her youth?"
I kept driving as I said that, and the two of them continued chattering happily.
"Aha! So that's how you ended up in the HR Team!"
"Yes! That's right! Oh, Oppa. I peeled a tangerine for you."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks."
"No need to use your hands. Open your mouth."
"Uh, uh. Okay."
When I opened my mouth, half a tangerine was shoved in.
"Gah! Hey!"
"What, Oppa? A man can't even eat half a tangerine?"
"You try eating it, huh?"
"Mr. Kim Jae-heon, watch the road."
"..."
Did I call her for nothing?
I thought to myself as I continued driving.
Park Ye-eun couldn't drive, so the Branch Chief and I had to take turns driving.
It was quite a long distance for one person to drive all the way.
Who would've thought it was all the way down in the southernmost part?
The Branch Chief said she'd drive first, but since she's my superior and an elder by a vast margin, if I let her drive first and she throws out her back or something, I'm the one who'd be responsible. So I had no choice but to drive first.
"I want to get my license soon, too."
"Ugh, there's nothing good about getting older. You just gain more responsibilities, and there's not a single part of your body that's intact."
I was nodding along, thinking the Branch Chief was finally saying something right for once, when Park Ye-eun pouted and grumbled.
"But I still want to become an adult quickly."
"Young people these days don't often say they want to become adults."
"How curious," the Branch Chief murmured, looking at Park Ye-eun. "Is there a reason you want to grow up so badly?"
"Yes, there is."
Park Ye-eun answered with a serious expression and looked at us.
"I... want to become someone like Oppa."
"...Me?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Upon hearing her answer, the Branch Chief tilted her head, looked at Park Ye-eun for a moment, and then spoke.
"I think the life of Mr. Kim Jae-heon that you're imagining might be a little different."
Park Ye-eun silently looked at the Branch Chief, who spoke in a calm voice.
"..."
As she remained silent, the Branch Chief watched her for a moment, then smiled and held out a tangerine to me.
"Mr. Kim Jae-heon, please peel this tangerine."
"Sorry, but I'm driving right now."
"Even when you're driving, if your heavenly superior asks, shouldn't you peel it?"
"If we get into an accident, only you will die, Branch Chief."
"I'll protect Ms. Ye-eun!"
"Branch Chief...!"
What a commotion.
*
How long did I drive?
The sun was setting low, and my eyes were starting to get tired.
"Let's switch at the next service area."
The Branch Chief spoke calmly, and I nodded as well.
"Alright."
I was just thinking about taking a break. Good timing.
Thinking that, I parked the car at the soon-to-arrive service area, stretched my back, and looked inside the car.
Park Ye-eun was lying down in the back seat, fast asleep.
"Good timing."
The Branch Chief smiled as she looked at me.
"Does sleep not come easily as you get older?"
"Unfortunately, I sleep quite well. My physical age is on the younger side, you see."
"I had a feeling."
It wouldn't make sense otherwise.
As I was stretching my back with that thought, the Branch Chief continued in her calm voice.
"Please take good care of Ms. Ye-eun."
"..."
"It's not that I'm saying she's like the other HR Team members, it's just... If she came to the Management Bureau at that age, she probably hasn't lived a proper life."
"...Well, that's true."
It's a sad story.
"So I looked into it a bit earlier..."
"..."
No wonder she was tapping away so diligently on her tablet while I was driving.
"One thing I never forget, if I ever forget anything, is the Management Bureau personnel who died in the line of duty."
"..."
The Branch Chief continued calmly.
"If my memory serves me right, Ms. Ye-eun's father also volunteered to enter the hospital."
"I know that."
Well, I met him myself.
"It's remarkable. There are quite a few people who, after losing family or loved ones, enter areas with anomalous phenomena."
"I suppose so."
"But not many of them achieve what they want there."
"..."
That must be true. After wandering around a few times myself, I thought that if I didn't have the manual or the HR Team, I probably wouldn't have succeeded either.
"And Ms. Ye-eun probably received help directly from her father..."
"I can't imagine forgetting that scene."
"That's right."
The Branch Chief murmured calmly.
"And what we adults must do..."
"...I think I know without you saying it."
Adults have duties they must fulfill.
"Take good care of her."
"Don't worry. I made a promise, after all. I have to take responsibility."
I intend to take responsibility for Park Ye-eun as long as I'm able.
"To what extent will you take responsibility?"
"Should I prepare her wedding trousseau or something?"
"What's that about? You're not her father."
"I can guarantee this."
I said, looking at the Branch Chief.
She's someone who has seen it all.
"Given the Branch Chief's personality, I bet you've prepared trousseaus for more than a few people."
"..."
Upon hearing my words, the Branch Chief closed her mouth for a moment, then gave a faint smile.
"If I started telling you stories just about the sons and daughters I've prepared trousseaus for, it would take a whole year, you know?"
"As expected, living for two hundred years gives you a whole different scale of storyå 袱."
"If you tell Ms. Ye-eun my age, you're dead."
"Understood."
She wouldn't believe me even if I told her anyway.
Thinking that, the Branch Chief got into the driver's seat, and I got into the passenger seat.
Park Ye-eun was still sleeping, oblivious to the world.
"Mr. Kim Jae-heon, why don't you get some shut-eye too?"
"I don't need much sleep."
"Oh my, you must be getting old."
Saying that, the Branch Chief started driving.
"Then keep me company."
"Of course."
And so, we were back on the highway.
"Ah, by the way, do you know how to drive a carriage too?"
"My goodness. What do you take me for? When was it... About a hundred and eighty years ago, when I went to Sevanna..."
"Sevanna?"
"Spain. Spain. Anyway... So, that..."
And so, the two of us chatted about everything and nothing as we headed toward our destination.
How long did we drive?
We found ourselves standing before a rural road with not a single streetlight.
"We're here!"
The Branch Chief stretched with a big yawn.
"We're here...?"
And Park Ye-eun staggered to her feet from the back.
"Did the new nation's new child sleep well?"
"Yeees..."
Looking at her, the Branch Chief gave a kindly smile and pointed ahead.
"We're here. Our home for tonight."
Following her words, I looked ahead.
There stood a derelict house that looked like it belonged in the Joseon era.
A creaking gate, and rooms without a single light.
"...We're sleeping here? Here?"
"It's atmospheric and nice, isn't it? If we light a fire in the hearth, the ondol floor will heat up too!"
"Ah, you Management Bureau people really..."
Hearing the Branch Chief's words full of laughter, Park Ye-eun sighed and muttered.
*
Anyway, as the Branch Chief had said, we were able to sleep.
Though the interior was a bit...
"I-Is this a dead rat?"
"It's alive."
[Name : Rat]
[Age : 3 years]
[Specialty : Fleeing]
[Talent : Fleeing]
[Background : The rat is preparing to relocate, thinking, "Why are there uninvited guests in the place I've been living comfortably?"]
[Weakness : An ordinary life form. Will die if its vitals are attacked.]
At the same time, the rat scurried away with a skitter-skitter sound, and Park Ye-eun screamed and collapsed on the spot.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
"What! What's going on!"
And the Branch Chief, who had been lighting a fire in the hearth, came rushing over in a panic.
"A rat! A rat!"
Park Ye-eun shouted, startled, and the Branch Chief stared at her blankly for a moment before nodding as if she understood.
"Ah, you're still young, so you're not used to rats yet!"
"Must be a generation gap."
The Branch Chief glanced at me, then stomped her foot Boom! making the whole house shake.
"The landlord is here, so all tenants, out!"
The Branch Chief shouted in a booming voice.
Damn, did she boil and eat a train whistle or something? Why is her voice so loud?
-Swishswishswishswish!
As if by prior agreement, all sorts of bugs and animals scurried out of the house.
As if a giant beast had threatened them.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
And Park Ye-eun screamed as if she was really going to faint.
"I chased them all out!"
The Branch Chief announced in a bright voice, then disappeared again to tend to the hearth.
"...Oppa."
"What."
Park Ye-eun called out to me in a hoarse voice, looking at me.
"Can't we just sleep in the car?"
"No."
"Why not...?"
"We're in the same HR Team, so we share the hardships together."
"Ah, Oppa, please..."
"What are you doing? Let's get the blankets out."
"Oppaaaaa..."
Ignoring the sulking Park Ye-eun, I took out the blankets.
The floor warmed up faster than I thought.
While the Branch Chief was diligently lighting a fire outside, and Park Ye-eun and I were killing ourselves to make the inside livable, it didn't take long for the place to at least resemble a habitable space.
"This seems alright, doesn't it?"
"...You threw everything away..."
Park Ye-eun made a crying face.
"I want to wash up. I touched all those dirty trash items..."
As she said, countless trash items had been gathered together and thrown out by Park Ye-eun.
But what can you do when she's so good at that? She was born to be a porter.
"What can I do when you're so good at carrying loads? People naturally have things they're needed for at the right time."
"I want to transfer teams..."
Leaving the sulking Park Ye-eun behind, the Branch Chief flung the door open.
"Dinner's ready! Rice cooked in a cauldron, no less, and it's beef intestine soup!"
"Do you have soju?"
"Of course not!"
"I want to go home..."
Leaving behind Park Ye-eun's feeble complaint, I went to help the Branch Chief.
As expected, you can't ignore seniority; the Branch Chief's cooking skills were quite excellent.