If it were the usual Lee Taeseong, he might have just let it go. But he didn’t.
Was it because he was feeling sensitive? No.
The reason he deliberately stopped and spoke up was because the man had claimed to be a Gamma-grade administrator.
‘That thing is a Gamma?’
In Taeseong’s standards, a Gamma-grade administrator was a formidable force, deserving of considerable recognition.
And most of them carried themselves accordingly.
After all, the presence of someone like Taesan had left an overwhelmingly strong impression. Taesan was a man who valued loyalty, cherished his subordinates like his own life, and never forgot a debt.
Yet now, seeing this pathetic excuse of a man claiming to be the same Gamma grade as Taesan made Taeseong’s blood boil.
The man, staring at Taeseong with an skeptical expression, spoke.
“What? ‘Bitnari’? Hey, were you talking to me just now? Just because you’ve got a pretty face and a cute chick hanging off your arm, you think you can act all high and mighty?”
(‘Bitnari,’ is a disrespectful term implying someone is showing off or being flashy.)
Clench.
A vein poped on Taeseong’s forehead.
The man had just said something he absolutely shouldn’t have. Taeseong didn’t care about much, but when it came to Sooah, he lost all reason.
Worried that her brother might rip the man’s head off, Sooah quietly tugged at Taeseong’s sleeve and murmured,
“Oppa. You can’t kill him. He’s still an administrator.”
Hearing those words, Taeseong swallowed his anger and gave a small nod.
“What’s that girl mumbling about? Hey! From the looks of it, you’re an administrator too. Which branch are you from? What’s your name?”
“Lee Taeseong.”
“Lee Taeseong? What the hell, you’re a damn Joseon-jing*? Wait a sec… Lee Taeseong… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…”
(‘Joseon-jing,’ is a also a disrespectful term used by some Japanese people to insult Koreans.)
At that moment, the woman beside the bald man turned pale and urgently whispered,
“…Team Leader. That’s him. The hero everyone’s been talking about—the one who slaughtered thousands of yokai alone in the Aokigahara forest in Trees subjugation operation!”
Not thousands—hundreds of thousands.
Judging by the reactions around them, most of the people waiting in line had already been fed up with this bald bastard. It was obvious that he had been causing trouble long before Taeseong’s group arrived.
Though they had been full of complaints, no one had dared to step up because the bald man had been acting as if he was some high-ranking administrator.
That idiot might be a complete moron, but a Gamma-grade administrator was still considered a top-tier rank.
Even among administrators, they were rare, and to office workers or employees from other departments, they were practically untouchable.
‘He’s being called a team leader, so he really is a Gamma-grade administrator…How the hell can a moron like that be Gamma?’
Even if his ranking was disguised, Taeseong’s official grade was Delta. And even he believed himself to be a Delta.
So this situation was just baffling to him.
The more he learned about Tree, the harder it was to understand.
The bald man sneered.
“Oh… you’re that so-called hero? Is that why you’re acting so cocky, huh?”
This man had only recently been promoted to Gamma. He had been appointed as the leader of a newly established management team, and his abilities had been acknowledged within the Japan branch, leading to his promotion. Because of that, he was brimming with confidence.
And toward Lee Taeseong, he harboured a strange sense of inferiority and jealousy.
‘A damn Delta being called a hero? Fuck that. He just got lucky. It’s obviously exaggerated. Rumors are just rumors. There’s no way that guy is some hero.’
He had already made up his mind to use this opportunity to expose Taeseong as a fraud and ruin his reputation.
“Pfft.”
“You laughing? You think this is funny? Yeah, I bet it is. With everyone sucking up to you, you must think you’re untouchable now, huh? You reckless little shit, I’ll…”
One of the employees, watching the situation unfold, hastily intervened.
“Sir! You can’t act like this here!”
The bald man shoved the employee aside roughly and shouted,
“Get the hell outta my way!”
With a thud, the employee was sent flying—only to be caught midair by Taeseong.
Though the bald man hadn’t used his full strength, the employee was just an ordinary person. Meanwhile, the bald man, as idiotic as he was, was still a Gamma-grade administrator. There was no comparison.
“You okay?”
“…Y-yes, thank you.”
The employee winced, clearly in pain.
Taeseong turned his cold gaze toward the bald man, who now looked even more arrogant as he stepped closer.
“What? Got a problem with me? Huh? You wanna throw down?”
Taeseong was well aware that strength didn’t always correlate with character.
And there was only one way to deal with fools like this.
“A famous athlete once said…”
“The fuck are you suddenly babbling about?”
“Everyone has a plan.”
“What?”
“Until they get punched in the face.”
As soon as Taeseong finished speaking, the bald man scoffed and threw a punch at his chest.
BOOM!
“Ghehhrrk! Thith bithh-hh-hherhhheee!!”
So this was all he had?
And yet, why…
Why was his vision spinning? Why couldn’t he move his mouth properly?
By the time the bald man realized what had happened, he was already sprawled on the ground.
He had thought he was the one attacking first.
But that was pure delusion.
Before he could even throw his punch, Taeseong’s fist had already smashed into his jaw.
Had Taeseong miscalculated his strength even slightly, the man’s head would have exploded on the spot.
Fortunately, he had been careful.
The bald man, his teeth shattered, passed out on the spot.
Taeseong shifted his gaze toward the woman who had been his subordinate.
“You.”
“Y-yes!?”
“Take him.”
“…Yes, sir!”
The woman hurriedly lifted her unconscious team leader and fled the scene.
A wave of applause erupted from the surrounding crowd. The employee who had been shoved earlier repeatedly thanked Taeseong, while he silently walked into the restaurant.
“…Oppa. You’re a scary person.”
“That’s a misunderstanding, Sooah. Oppa’s not that kind of person.”
“Oh really? Then how does someone who smashes a guy’s jaw just because he was being loud not count as scary?”
“…It was self-defense.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”
Despite her words, Sooah didn’t look particularly displeased. Rather, she was smiling brightly, as if she found the whole thing satisfying.
Following the employee’s guidance, they entered a private room.
The space was fairly large, and inside, over a dozen administrators were already gathered. Most of them were familiar faces.
With red cheeks from drinking, Eunha waved her hand enthusiastically.
“Taeseong! Over here! Over here!”
There were Yato’s and Ito’s team members.
“…Hello.”
“Captain! You’re here! We’ve been waiting for you!”
Xiao Yun.
“What took you so long? Sit down already. Let’s drink all night like the good old days.”
The heavily intoxicated Yu Gi-jun and Oh Haeyoung. And Go Yeonghui, who was already tearing up while sipping her drink.
“Captain! Hurry up and come drink with us! It’s been so long since we drank together after a mission… It reminds me of the old days…”
“Hehe. Taeseong~ You even brought your little sister~ Come sit and have a drink, our hero~”
“…”
But among them, there was an unexpected figure.
“Ashiya Doman?”
“Ahem.”
It was none other than Ashiya Doman.
Seated in a corner, he was drinking sake alone, and no matter how much Taeseong thought about it, he couldn’t understand why Doman was here.
“Why are you here?”
“…This is a gathering of survivors. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be here, is there?”
Now that he thought about it, that made sense.
Watching the scene, Xiao Yun smirked slyly.
“Old man, be honest. You have a real reason for coming here, don’t you?”
“A real reason?”
“…Ahem. Well, during this mission, I did receive a lot of help from you, and also, I felt I was a bit rude last time. I came to apologize for that.”
A sudden silence fell.
All the managers who had been chatting freely just moments ago turned their eyes to Doman.
It was a natural reaction.
Doman—the same stubborn, authoritarian Beta-rank manager—was actually backing down first.
It was an event so unprecedented that even if the sky were to collapse, no one would have expected to see it. The shock among the Japanese managers was immeasurable.
“N-noona… I didn’t mishear that just now, did I?”
“…You heard it right, so shut up and don’t make a fuss.”
“D-Doman manager actually…”
“…Who exactly were we fighting against?”
Looking to the side, Taeseong saw that Sooah was also staring wide-eyed, glancing back and forth between Doman and him.
“Oppa… What kind of person are you really?”
Doman cleared his throat in embarrassment, while Xiao Yun burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! Taesan, did you see that? That stubborn old man actually backed down first! That just means your teammate is terrifying! Hahahahaha! I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime!”
Taesan also laughed heartily in response.
“Hahaha! I’m truly proud. It’s an honor that such a fine young man is my teammate. Senior! Let’s have a drink!”
“Alright! Let’s drink until we drop today! Using internal energy to sober up is absolutely forbidden! Got it, junior?”
“Of course, senior!”
The two, both from the martial arts world, excitedly poured each other drinks. Fortunately, their relationship seemed much better than Taeseong had expected.
Watching the cheerful sight, Taeseong smirked. Then, he turned to Doman.
“I don’t mind.”
“…Ahem. You’re a rare young man indeed. Would you accept a drink from me?”
Taeseong took a seat and held out his cup. Doman poured him a drink, and the two clinked glasses while maintaining their respective drinking styles.
“Good. From now on, let’s forget everything and get along as comrades who risked our lives together.”
“Sounds good to me.”
After that, Doman, seemingly relieved, drank with satisfaction.
‘Good. He’s more reasonable than I thought.’
According to what Taeseong had heard, Doman had received a portion of the yokai captured during the Aokigahara forest subjugation operation as compensation for the shikigami he had lost.
Meanwhile, Sooah, hesitating and glancing around, quietly took a seat next to Taeseong.
Taeseong spoke.
“Sooah.”
“…Huh?”
“You should thank the managers who helped you last time.”
One of the reasons Taeseong had brought Sooah here was for this.
He had a strong sense of gratitude and wanted to make sure the debt was acknowledged. Since he himself felt indebted to Ito and Xiao Yun for their help, he wanted Sooah to express her thanks as well.
“Go on.”
Nodding, Sooah stood up and approached Ito.
“Manager Ito… Thank you for helping me last time.”
“No need for thanks! You’re the captain’s little sister. That much is expected!”
When she then moved toward Xiao Yun, he waved his hand dismissively.
“No need for gratitude. That guy already keeps track of everything. That’s enough for me. Right?”
“Of course. I keep track of everything.”
“Hah, you crazy bastard. By the way, why did you meet with the head of the Japanese branch?”
“They offered to grant me whatever I wanted if I agreed to become a manager under the Japanese branch.”
Another silence fell.
The Korean managers, who had been loudly chatting just moments ago, all turned their eyes toward Taeseong.
A moment later—
“…The Captain is moving to Japan?”
“…Taeseong is joining Japan?”
With a loud crash, the Korean managers all jumped to their feet and rushed at Taeseong.
