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Chapter 91 - Branch Head's Work (1)
Chapter 91 - Branch Head's Work (1)
Chapter 91: Branch Head’s Work (1)
TL: SHW
Lee Mi-seon is busy.
Not just busy, but dizzyingly busy.
She was busy yesterday, she’s busy today, and she’ll be busy tomorrow. She figured she would probably still be busy twenty years from now.
It wasn’t as though she was complaining, she had chosen this path on her own, but every now and then, she wished her ungrateful nephew would appreciate it. Did he even know how difficult it was to carve out time from her packed schedule just to check in on his achievements?
After squeezing every bit of time she could, she finally managed to show her face, yet her nephew barely glanced at her, completely oblivious to his aunt’s tearful efforts.
“Ah, aren’t you busy? Just leave already!”
What a brat.
However, the title of Head of Special Operations, Korean Branch of the International Ability Association wasn’t something she had obtained for nothing.
Lee Mi-seon easily brushed off the rebellion of her 18-year-old nephew. She had dismissed much worse; a high schooler’s attitude was nothing in comparison.
But since she was a kind-hearted aunt, she covered her mouth and smiled as she approached her nephew.
“Cut out that fake smile!”
“Are you really going to keep being disrespectful to your aunt?”
And her lovable nephew, Lee Seung-yeon, who shared the same blood as her, ignored her all the same.
“Respect is only given when it’s deserved!”
Such an cheeky child.
But Lee Mi-seon was a good aunt who loved her nephew. Beautiful, kind, capable, wealthy—a perfect aunt…
So, instead of smacking her nephew on the head like she had years ago, she struck up a conversation.
“Forget about respecting me for now. What’s going on? You should at least tell me, so I can help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“So, you’re just going to stay locked up in your room forever?”
“……”
“Is this because the Hunters are taking care of you? Don’t you not remember what your dad used to say? He’s the great one, but you’re nothing, so stop acting so full of yourself.”
“Don’t curse.”
“I didn’t.”
“I heard everything you were about to say.”
“I was going to say it, but I didn’t actually say it, right?”
Lee Mi-seon sighed.
“At least go out and eat. Don’t just wait for them to bring the food to your room.”
“……”
“Attend your classes, too.”
“……”
“Your teachers are worried. So are your friends.”
“……”
Normally, her nephew would have clung to her, chattering away non-stop, but now he just kept his mouth shut. Wondering if maybe he had confided in Sun Sun-jin, she asked her, but even she had just shaken her head with a frustrated expression.
“Fine.”
“…What?”
“I’ll let you be until this week.”
After thinking for a moment, Lee Mi-seon delivered an ultimatum.
“Do whatever you want until Sunday. But after that, I won’t let it slide. I’ll drag you out of your room, even if I have to force you. Got it?”
“……”
“You know you can’t keep this up forever.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t feel sorry for her nephew, who sat with his head hanging low.
This time, Lee Mi-seon didn’t hide her concern.
“…Or are you just scared?”
She felt a little guilty for saying such a thing about her own nephew, but it must have been tough for a kid who had grown up in a relatively sheltered environment to suddenly face hostility.
According to Woo Hwijae, if Alex Hope had taken the kids seriously, they wouldn’t have held out until his arrival. Woo Hwijae had spoken with a tense expression.
‘He was toying with them. Thanks to that, I was able to rescue the kids.’
Once again, Woo Hwijae had saved her nephew. She wasn’t sure if her nephew fully realized it or not.
“…That’s not it.”
Lee Seung-yeon responded after a brief pause.
Maybe she had hit a sore spot.
Lee Mi-seon frowned slightly. Her nephew might be a Hunter, but he hadn’t properly participated in any raids. If he didn’t have a Hunter license, she would have made him get counseling. No, wait. There’s a family doctor, so she could inquire through them…
Lee Seung-yeon pulled his knees up and buried his face in them. He looked pitiful sitting like that on the bed.
“Aunt.”
In a dry voice, Lee Seung-yeon called out to her. Lee Mi-seon flinched slightly, but answered as casually as she could.
“What?”
“…Is he… okay?”
“He?”
“Him…”
Not understanding who her nephew was referring to, she asked again. After a long hesitation, he answered.
“The transfer student.”
“Tae-woo?”
“……”
Though she heard they hadn’t properly talked, it seems he was still worried about the one who was with him.
The nephew that Lee Mi-seon knew had a slightly obsessive side. He probably didn’t like the fact that his junior, who was a year younger, had to lead him in their escape. Seung-yeon had always talked about wanting a younger sibling, so even if it was just by a year, a younger junior is still younger then him. He must have felt some sense of responsibility.
Lee Mi-seon felt somewhat proud of her nephew.
“Luckily, there weren’t any injuries, and he’s fine. I even saw Teacher Woo giving him some lessons, and his skills are improving by leaps and bounds.”
“……”
“Even the principal checks in on him sometimes, and seeing how surprised he was at how well he’s keeping up, I’d say we can expect great things from him.”
“Enough.”
“Huh?”
“I said, enough. Get out.”
What?
Lee Mi-seon looked at her nephew in confusion.
Without showing his face, Lee Seung-yeon spoke sharply.
“Get out.”
“Lee Seung-yeon! Is that how you talk to your aunt?”
“You said you’d let me be until Sunday.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you be rude to me!”
“Get out!”
Lee Seung-yeon raised his voice.
Sometimes, when teasing her nephew, his voice would get louder, but that was all in good fun. Even in those moments, there was always a hint of playfulness in his voice. That’s why Lee Mi-seon enjoyed playing around with him so much.
But this was different.
This wasn’t a joke.
“Get out!!!”
Lee Seung-yeon lifted his head and glared at her.
Lee Mi-seon instinctively reached out her hand toward her nephew but then let it fall. She didn’t know what to do.
So, she quietly closed the door and left the room.
***
Temporarily relocating to the villa had at least made things more comfortable.
The three containers set up in the empty lot had been dreadfully uncomfortable. While classes could somehow be managed, for Lee Mi-seon, who worked year-round without holidays, there wasn’t nearly enough space to get her work done.
Sitting in an SUV, listening to reports over the phone, checking her laptop, while subordinates transported classified information that couldn’t be sent electronically, it wasn’t just inconvenient; it was a security risk.
At least here, there was a study. With a few security upgrades, Lee Mi-seon could temporarily get her work done in peace.
“When are we returning to Pilot High School?”
One of the Hunters who always accompanied her asked casually after finishing his report.
“Why?”
“So I can mentally prepare myself in advance.”
“Don’t want to go back?”
“Honestly, it’s uncomfortable for you too”
“…That’s true.”
“The only one who enjoyed it was, Yoo-geon.”
“Ah, hyung. Why me?”
“You should be working part-time at a café instead of being a Hunter.”
“Why a part-timer? At least let me be the owner.”
As Ji Yoo-geon grumbled, Choi Dae-hyun snorted.
“You’re not even cut out to be an owner, kid.”
As she watched the Hunters bicker, Lee Mi-seon did some quick calculations in her head.
“Hunter Hong did mention building a new facility during this opportunity… so I guess we’ll be staying here until the construction’s done.”
“Are they really building it?”
“Then can we have a cafeteria, too?”
“Why don’t you just go work there full-time?”
“Hyung, you can’t be so stingy when it comes to feeding the kids.”
“Just don’t drag the kids into your personal hobbies!”
Lee Mi-seon snapped her fingers. Ji Yoo-geon and Choi Dae-hyun straightened up immediately.
“Boys. Your Big sister is thinking right now.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“…We’ll need to make a teacher’s lounge too, so how about we quietly slip in a chairman’s office as well? What do you think?”
“Sounds great.”
“Honestly, Branch Head, you’re funding more than half of this. We should put up a statue of you.”
“Yoo-geon.”
“Yes, Branch Head?”
“Go and bring some coffee. Iced.”
“Right away.”
Lee Mi-seon, having sent Ji Yoo-geon out of the room, reviewed the blueprints for Pilot High School, which had been completed just a few days ago. There weren’t even ten students yet, so calling it a “school” still felt a bit too generous. Still, the building had been designed with expansion in mind, so once Pilot High School was fully operational…
It was expected to be officially recognized as a high school by the end of the year. Recruiting new students for next year was a concern, but for the first few years, operating on a recommendation basis would probably maintain things at their current level. And wasn’t Yoo Ji-eun already enrolled? At least one student was secured.
She just hoped none of the current students would quit.
Having a student leave early on had been quite a blow. They had to let the kid go because the parents thought the school couldn’t guarantee their child’s safety?
Who could’ve predicted that the guild would misclassify a Dungeon’s rank due to negligent management during a field training session, and that it would just happen to break out? And besides, wasn’t Hong Seok-young in the middle of taking down the Dungeon Boss?
…Complaining wasn’t going to change anything. Lee Mi-seon forced herself to calm down. She needed to look toward the future. Yes, focus on the future, not the past.
“Branch Head, here’s your coffee.”
Ji Yoo-geon politely handed her the coffee. After downing more than half of the iced coffee in one go, Lee Mi-seon finally felt her head cool down.
Alright, there was still a mountain of work to do.
Pilot High could wait. There were more urgent matters.
“How’s the investigation of the contacts in the notebook going?”
The notebook they had found with Kang Tae-woo’s cooperation.
Naturally, the task of investigating it had been handed over to Lee Mi-seon.
“The process is slower than expected. We’re looking into all the people who owned those numbers, and that’s taking time…”
“Don’t let even a single person slip through.”
“Of course. I understand, Branch Head.”
Lee Mi-seon stirred the straw in her coffee cup, making the ice clink loudly against the glass.
“What about the orphanages? I told you to prioritize those.”
“Yes. We’re investigating them too, but… we haven’t found any child with the name Teacher Woo gave us.”
“If that name had been used as is, we would’ve found them ages ago.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re investigating all the children at the orphanages. We’re making a list of kids around the same age, and once we have it, Teacher Woo can check and see if he recognizes anyone.”
It was labor-intensive, but it was the most reliable method.
However, Choi Dae-hyun didn’t look particularly pleased.
“What is it? Is there a problem?”
“Well, uh, I received a report this morning…”
“You received it, and?”
News delivered this hesitantly usually wasn’t good.
“…There are orphanages with fatalities.”
“Fatalities?”
Lee Mi-seon’s voice sharpened.
“Yes. They got caught in a Dungeon Break… Some with at least two or three deaths, but in some cases, nearly everyone was wiped out.”
“……”
“In all cases, the orphanage directors were among the dead.”
“…Damn it.”
“Yes, it’s a mess.”
“Was it that bastard’s doing? Alex Hope? Can we find out why they died?”
“No, we don’t have any data on that.”
“…Are there any sites left to investigate?”
“None.”
“Damn it, this is why Dungeon Breaks need to be handled separately! With Dungeon Breaks happening all the time, why don’t they separate the work like the U.S. does, dividing awakened criminal cases from Dungeon management would make things so much smoother!”
Lee Mi-seon raked her fingers through her hair in frustration.
“…There’s no way Teacher Woo’s brother is among the dead, is there?”
“That… we can’t be certain.”
“Check the dead kids too.”
“What if we do find Teacher Woo’s brother?”
Lee Mi-seon, feeling her insides burn with anxiety, took another gulp of coffee.
“We’ll have to tell him, no matter what.”
Even if the child had died, the family would want to know. That was the only option.
Lee Mi-seon couldn’t hide her growing unease. She was just hoping to avoid the worst-case scenario.
*****
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