Chapter 136: Rumors (4)

Su-myeon regretted coming to see Jang Bok-eum the moment he reached the entrance of the building.

'I should’ve worn something else.'

When Su-myeon said he wanted to meet, Director Jang Bok-eum had invited him to his office.

Since he had been invited, Su-myeon had simply come to the appointed place without giving it much thought.

But the moment he stepped inside the building, he felt an inexplicable pressure.

Dressed in the ordinary tracksuit he usually wore when coming and going from the Governance, Su-myeon shrank a little amid all the suits surrounding him.

Come to think of it, he did tend to treat the Governance far too casually for a workplace.

Among the people who regularly came and went there, there was no one above Su-myeon in the chain of command, and no one who would criticize him for how he dressed.

“Your identity has been confirmed. I’ll show you the way.”

Technically speaking, Su-myeon was practically an insider himself, so getting into the building was not particularly difficult.

After verifying his identity, an employee at the reception desk guided him to Director Jang Bok-eum’s office.

Compared to Governance headquarters, the Director’s office was extraordinarily luxurious.

When Su-myeon entered, Jang Bok-eum was looking through some documents. Without even looking up at him, he spoke in recognition.

“You’re here? I think this is the first time Chief Han has asked to see me first.”

Seeing that, Su-myeon casually dropped onto a sofa in one corner of the large office.

“Yes. There’s something that’s been bothering me.”

Only then did Bok-eum put down the documents he had been reading.

As Director Jang moved seats and sat across from him, Su-myeon recalled the questions he had organized beforehand.

“I heard you’ll be reentering Alice Hotel soon.”

Su-myeon had thought the Director must be especially busy right now, and sure enough, the man’s chin was rough with stubble as he muttered those words.

Had even someone at the Director’s level spent the night here because he had too much work?

Considering the things that happened within the Governance, it was not entirely incomprehensible.

The department Su-myeon belonged to might be small, but the scale of the matters they handled was anything but.

Providing all the personnel and funding needed to keep it running probably involved a fairly complicated process.

“Is this about that?”

At the Director’s question, Su-myeon tilted his head slightly to one side and answered.

“Probably. Indirectly, at least.”

“.......”

Jang Bok-eum looked somewhat displeased by that response.

But since he remained silent as though telling him to go on, Su-myeon continued.

He did think there was no reason Director Jang would necessarily tell him the truth in response to his questions.

But.

But.

'Judging from what I’ve seen, heard, and figured out, doesn’t he also have no reason to lie?'

Ryang’s words gave him courage.

There was nothing to lose by asking, at least.

“You prioritize eliminating ghost stories even if it means sacrificing the lives of survivors, don’t you?”

Since he had already decided to ask, Su-myeon was extremely direct about it.

“That doesn’t seem compatible with the way I do things. I’d like to hear why you insist on that approach.”

Faced with such a clear question, Bok-eum paused and fell into thought instead of answering easily.

The reason, the reason.

After considering it for a while, Bok-eum spoke again.

“I heard some dokkaebi or whatever has made a nest inside the Governance. Looks like it gave you advice.”

Su-myeon felt irritated by the way he spoke, as though completely certain this was not the sort of question Su-myeon would have thought to ask on his own.

Was he really that easy to read?

Still, since what he said was true, Su-myeon did not deny it.

“That’s right. We’re cooperating with each other anyway, so I was advised that it would be more efficient to honestly ask whatever I’m curious about.”

Cooperation.

That was the important factor between the two of them right now.

Jang Bok-eum nodded as though agreeing with Su-myeon’s words.

“A long time ago, I was caught up in a strange phenomenon that I believe was a ghost story. Of course, I escaped by my own strength and brought that ghost story to an end as well.”

The Director said matter-of-factly that because of that, the ghost story he had entered no longer existed.

“Hadn’t you already figured out that much?”

Su-myeon was momentarily speechless when the man [N O V E L I G H T] turned the question back on him.

As he said, half of the answer was exactly what Su-myeon had expected.

But the other half was something he had not anticipated.

He had brought a ghost story to an end?

“...How...?”

Su-myeon had been resolving ghost stories based on information he had obtained through the game he had played in the past, UTG.

But could someone without that possibly do the same thing?

“It was quite some time ago, and I can no longer properly remember circumstances that weren’t recorded, so it would be difficult to tell you exactly how I did it.”

Bok-eum spoke calmly, saying it had happened a long time ago.

“I lost every one of my colleagues there, and I alone survived.”

Bok-eum continued in an even tone.

“And that brings us to now. You’re asking why I’m obsessed with bringing ghost stories to an end?”

The reason was clear and simple.

It was not very different from what he had said all along.

“Isn’t it obvious? If the ghost story disappears, there can be no more victims.”

Naturally, preventing additional casualties took priority over rescuing those who had already entered a ghost story and become victims.

That was simply how he thought.

It was also the kind of conclusion someone could reach precisely because he already knew very well how terrifying ghost stories were.

“You need to survive if you’re going to enter the next ghost story too.”

He simply wanted maximum efficiency based on his past experience.

The conclusion was surprisingly plain, but also clear, and Su-myeon naturally moved on to his next question.

“Do you happen to know anything about UTG? Why is this organization abbreviated as 'UTG'?”

Su-myeon still had not revealed that the information he knew came from a game called UTG.

He had only shared that he was independently gathering information from some mysterious source.

And since the abbreviation of this organization that had suddenly been established was identical to the game’s abbreviation to a degree that made coincidence difficult to accept, he had even less reason to reveal the truth.

So, for the same reason, he could only ask again.

Why had they chosen that particular name?

At present, the most rational inference was that Jang Bok-eum also knew about UTG and had used it to bring the previous ghost story to an end....

“...Is there some kind of problem?”

But at this question, Jang Bok-eum merely looked puzzled.

His eyes seemed to ask why Su-myeon was suddenly bringing that up now, which instead left Su-myeon flustered.

“The Korean abbreviation sounded terrible no matter how I looked at it, so I simply used the English initials.”

“...Then the name Unnatural Threat Governance....”

“If you translate it into English and abbreviate it, it becomes UTG.”

So that was really all?

Then the reason the abbreviation UTG overlapped with the game was also....

'...Just a coincidence?'

Unable to hide his bewildered expression, Su-myeon fell silent.

Seeing Su-myeon react so strangely, Bok-eum instead questioned him as though trying to pry something out of him.

“Is there some problem with that? It’s a rather strange thing to ask at this point.”

Su-myeon could only look even more bewildered at Bok-eum’s words.

He was saying Su-myeon should have asked right when the Governance was first established?

Su-myeon had been an ordinary man thrown into this situation overnight.

'What the hell was I supposed to say when I asked?'

Even now, he could barely summarize it.

There was no way he could have done it back then, when he had already been confused enough.

There’s a game called <UTG>, and it’s exactly like this situation?

And all the information about it has been erased from the internet, but somehow I can still access it on my computer?

And by coincidence, our organization’s abbreviation is the same as the game’s. Why is that?

Was he supposed to have asked something like that?

No matter how he phrased it, he would have sounded insane.

“...How much influence does our organization actually have?”

“We’re a secret agency, so it varies greatly depending on the seriousness of the situation.”

“And you’re the one who decides how serious it is.”

“Correct.”

As Su-myeon continued with vague questions that seemed to circle around the point, Bok-eum brought it up again first.

“So tell me.”

To judge the seriousness of the situation, he needed to know exactly what was going on.

“What additional meaning does UTG have that makes you react like this?”

No, damn it. I came here to interrogate him, and somehow I’m the one getting interrogated.

Su-myeon listened to Bok-eum’s question with an uncomfortable feeling.

“You sound as though you’re hiding something else from me.”

At that point, Su-myeon suddenly realized something.

Just as he had looked at Jang Bok-eum and sensed some subtle hidden element about him, Jang Bok-eum must have been looking at Su-myeon and feeling something similar.

After all, Su-myeon really did have a secret he was hiding, so it was entirely plausible.

“I told you that a shaman has been helping us with our work, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“That shaman said that your energy and mine felt similar.”

However, when it came to that secret, there was simply no way Su-myeon could be honest.

All the more so because Su-myeon had already known Director Jang Bok-eum in advance as one of the characters in the game.

Of course, telling them and making them believe him would not actually be difficult.

To prove that information from the game applied to reality, it would be enough to mention several cases where not only the events but even the people carrying them out had matched exactly.

Which meant that if he was going to tell anyone, then it would only be right to tell everyone in the Governance who was risking their lives alongside him, including Jang Bok-eum.

'I saw and experienced all of you beforehand through a medium called a game.'

On the surface, they would probably accept it with an ‘I see.’

The trust Su-myeon had built up until now was not insignificant, so he believed they would at least believe that much.

Still, any human being would inevitably feel uncomfortable toward someone who had already seen their existence and future before approaching them.

Su-myeon had no intention of taking that risk right now.

Later, after everything he personally needed to accomplish was over.

For example, after he had found his parents.

Maybe then.

But for now, he did not want to do anything that might leave even the slightest negative impression on them.

So instead of answering, Su-myeon continued asking questions.

“Do you have any idea why the shaman might have felt that way?”

“Not really. Nothing in particular comes to mind....”

Bok-eum shook his head, saying he could not think of anything either.

With somewhat complicated feelings, Su-myeon sighed and nodded.

He had not gotten every answer he wanted, but at least he had asked everything he had wanted to ask.

“For now, I’ve asked everything I was curious about. Then I’ll be going.”

Even though Su-myeon himself had not answered Bok-eum’s question.

Director Jang gestured for him to go and returned to the desk where he had been working.

It had been a dry exchange without so much as a cup of tea.

Just as Su-myeon was about to leave the office, Bok-eum suddenly spoke again.

“Anyway.”

Su-myeon briefly turned back toward him, and Director Jang continued with an unreadable smile.

“One thing is certain. In the situation we currently find ourselves in, we each happened to be exactly what the other needed. Isn’t that so?”

“.......”

Su-myeon neither agreed nor disagreed with Bok-eum’s final words. He simply bowed his head and left the office.

If he had no intention of revealing his own secret, then he could hardly pry into Bok-eum’s either.

Still, he had at least learned for certain that Jang Bok-eum had nothing to do with UTG, so the meeting had not been entirely fruitless.

Of course, there was also the possibility that he had lied, but Su-myeon decided not to consider that.

If Jang Bok-eum truly was a person who resembled him in some way.

He might hide things, but lying in this situation would gain him nothing, so there was no reason to bother.

Just as he had said, they currently needed each other’s strength.

***

His meeting with Director Jang Bok-eum unexpectedly helped Su-myeon calm down quite a bit.

Even though questions remained, some things had at least become clearer.

That was what mattered.

He and Jang Bok-eum could not reveal their personal secrets for personal reasons, but they needed each other’s help.

Holding onto that certainty, another day and night passed, and eventually the night Su-myeon had desperately wished would never come finally arrived.

The very night they had promised to return to Alice Hotel.