Chapter 39 : The Scarlet Visitor

Explorer Association, Seoul Branch.

Park Mi Sun swallowed a Tylenol, trying to suppress the nagging headache.

Without water, she chewed the painkiller roughly, soon awaiting the visitor who was about to arrive.

‘Sigh, what on earth is going on all of a sudden?’

She nearly fell backward upon hearing the recent news.

The Seven Stars Guild, which the Adventurers’ Guild had been monitoring closely, was found cultivating drugs on the Ninth Layer.

Though they had been tracking the guild due to unclear funding sources, no one imagined drug issues would be involved.

If only that were the end of it—it would have been a relief, since the matter was somewhat removed from Park Mi Sun’s duties at the Abyss Entry Management Bureau.

Strictly speaking, it was a matter for the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Awakened Task Force.

The problem was that the incident didn’t come to light through an investigation by any relevant agencies.

The Seven Stars’ drug base was completely wiped out.

Moreover, the guild master and core members were turned to stone by the Medusa Rat.

An entire guild obliterated—and the mastermind behind it all was said to be Baek Yuseong and Red Eye.

One was the person who sold information on the Parama Camellia Colony directly.

The other was the guild that begged and pleaded for information.

How the two were connected remained a mystery, but together they struck the Seven Stars’ drug den.

“Oh dear, what a mess.”

Park Mi Sun felt as if caught in a massive conspiracy.

Naturally, the Adventurers’ Guild was being dragged through the mud.

They scrambled to investigate the whole affair, but once things had escalated this far, there was little they could do.

There was no law that Baek Yuseong and Red Eye had broken.

The Abyss was not strictly the territory of the Republic of Korea, effectively a lawless zone.

On top of that, Yuseong and Red Eye claimed self-defense.

There was even evidence that Seven Stars had struck first.

The real issue was…

“The Special Awakened Task Force…”

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Awakened Task Force, known as the Dae-gak, would not stay idle.

They were the ones who sent a formal request for the arrest of the Adventurers’ Guild.

Though the guild was an international organization, it was based in Seoul, so refusal was impossible.

That was why she was waiting for the Dae-gak on this rainy day.

“Excuse me…”

At that moment, as she absentmindedly stared at the main entrance, someone spoke to her.

Turning around, Park Mi Sun was momentarily stunned.

It was a foreigner.

White skin, fiery red hair that seemed to burn, and most strikingly, a scar covering the right eye.

“Uh, heh, hello.”

Park Mi Sun blurted out in English unconsciously.

Foreign explorers frequently visited the Seoul Branch.

When the other did not reply, she wondered if her pronunciation was the problem.

“Ah, sorry. Are you looking for someone?”

“I’m Korean.”

“Oh, Korean. Ah, no…”

The foreigner, who had been mistaken for a foreigner by Park Mi Sun, took a deep drag on a cigarette.

She seemed accustomed to such misunderstandings.

“I’m Deputy Commander Hwang Rian of the Dae-gak Special Task Force.”

“Oh, Ri, Rian-ssi, I’m sorry. That was my mistake.”

“My father is Italian. I’m used to it.”

Hwang Rian casually placed the stubbed cigarette into a metal case.

Park Mi Sun was internally surprised to learn the identity of her visitor.

She had not expected the formidable deputy commander of the Dae-gak Special Task Force to be such a young woman.

The gender-neutral name ‘Rian’ had unconsciously biased her.

But the imposing aura she radiated was unmistakable.

Her reluctance to cover the scar over her one blind eye only added to her intimidating presence.

“Is Baek Yuseong here?”

“Yes, he’s waiting inside.”

“Let’s go.”

Without further ado, Hwang Rian cut straight to the point.

Park Mi Sun hesitated a moment before beginning to guide her.

The Dae-gak Special Task Force was the government’s check on the explorers.

While the government turned a blind eye to whatever happened inside the Abyss, they would not tolerate crimes committed on the surface.

To maintain the nation’s prestige, the Dae-gak pursued explorers who committed offenses on the surface by any means necessary.

Former explorers and war veterans formed their special forces.

Once a target was marked, no means were spared to bring them down.

And the deputy commander of that unit was no ordinary person.

She would not be outmatched by even the country’s top explorers.

“But… may I ask why you want to meet Baek Yuseong?”

It was curious.

Hwang Rian wanted to meet Yuseong specifically.

He hadn’t committed any offense worthy of their attention, so the reason was unclear.

Yuseong had also come to the Explorer Association for this meeting.

“It’s confidential.”

Despite Park Mi Sun’s probing, Hwang Rian gave no hints.

Her expression remained unreadable, as if lost in thought.

Park Mi Sun noticed modern weaponry just visible inside her coat.

An automatic pistol, grenades, and a Kevlar bulletproof vest.

A person who could openly carry such arms.

Feeling Hwang Rian’s piercing gaze, Park Mi Sun quickly averted her eyes.

She wondered if it was wise to let Hwang Rian see Yuseong just like that.

The Explorer Association was an organization dedicated to Abyss clearance—the hope of humanity—transcending national boundaries.

If the Korean government and Dae-gak Special Task Force were to harm Yuseong for some unjust reason…

Park Mi Sun and the Adventurers’ Guild had an obligation to protect him.

“Please wait here.”

Despite her thoughts, time passed, and they finally arrived at the reception room where Yuseong waited.

Park Mi Sun involuntarily hesitated before opening the door.

“Please open the door.”

“Yes.”

When she remained still, Hwang Rian urged her.

Park Mi Sun had no choice but to deactivate the security and open the door.

Then it happened.

Until now, Hwang Rian had been slow and composed, but suddenly she moved like lightning.

Even Park Mi Sun, a former explorer of considerable skill, could not react.

Hwang Rian passed through her as if toying with her and entered the reception room.

“No, wait!”

Park Mi Sun hurried after her.

The expression she caught on Hwang Rian’s face was fierce.

Like a predator eyeing its prey.

Inside the reception room, Hwang Rian and Yuseong were already facing off.

Yuseong’s expression looked as if he had just seen something unbearable.

Meanwhile, Hwang Rian’s was full of smug satisfaction.

“Long time no see, kid!”

“Why is an ajumma showing up here?!”

Hwang Rian charged at Yuseong, who grimaced and dodged.

Soon, the two were engaged in a chaotic chase inside the cramped room.

Park Mi Sun’s head ached again, unable to understand the situation.

***

“Who’s the ajumma?!”

“We’re only a few years apart, so I’m the ajumma. You’ve called me that since forever.”

“Pfft, that was when you were 15, now we’re both in our twenties.”

“…In our twenties? Isn’t that a stretch?”

“Don’t count age. By Korean age, we’re both still in our twenties.”

Saying that, Hwang Rian lunged at Yuseong.

But Yuseong was no pushover.

He sprang onto the expensive sofa in the room, evading her physical assault.

Hwang Rian was as fast as remembered.

A far cry from the Seven Stars’ former member Gu Chil-seong he had faced recently.

Had Yuseong not grown much stronger, he would have been caught immediately.

The standoff continued.

Hwang Rian seemed to be getting more heated.

“Let me hug you once.”

“Are you talking about Won Bin?”

Yuseong was left speechless by her earnest delivery of a famous movie line.

Granted, they shared a special forces background.

“You’ve gotten faster. Still, if I hit you with the taser, there’s no chance.”

She searched inside her coat for the taser.

The automatic pistol and other weapons flashed briefly.

“Damn, didn’t bring it.”

“You’re crazy.”

Amid such absurd exchanges, Park Mi Sun stepped in.

“Wait, wait. Do you two know each other?”

It was a natural question.

Hwang Rian silently looked Yuseong over.

She was considering whether it was alright to say.

Park Mi Sun recalled how perceptive Hwang Rian was in such matters.

Yuseong nodded.

“This kid was left alone on an island crying six years ago. I rescued him.”

Perceptive? Scratch that.

Crying like a baby? No way. If I hadn’t intervened, no one would have gotten off that island alive.

“Haha, even back then, you weren’t cute at all, no childlike side.”

Back then, Yuseong lived on an island with his grandfather.

Eventually, his grandfather Baek Mun-cheon died of old age, and Yuseong was left alone.

Almost all the food his grandfather had left was consumed, and Yuseong was waiting to die.

To rescue him, special forces from the mainland landed.

Though not all to save him, at least thanks to them, Yuseong survived.

“May we talk alone for a moment?”

Hwang Rian requested Park Mi Sun.

Gone was her casual demeanor; her voice was curt, as if icicles were dripping.

Park Mi Sun sighed, having realized Hwang Rian bore no ill will toward Yuseong.

“Yes, then. Please contact me when you’re done.”

Once Park Mi Sun left the reception room, Hwang Rian spoke.

“He really messed up.”

“What happened?”

“He completely destroyed a drug guild.”

“Well, I can’t blame him. There was a potato base there, after all.”

Though the reason for destroying a guild seemed absurd, Hwang Rian understood it easily.

“You still can’t resist food, huh?”

“Had no choice to survive.”

Yuseong flopped onto the sofa.

“So, is that why you called me here?”

That was the question.

Hwang Rian owed him a debt of gratitude.

Of course, Yuseong had also saved her and the special forces during their escape from the island, but they maintained a relationship of mutual favor.

“I never thought I’d see your face again.”

“My work’s always busy.”

Yet, she had no memory of meeting him since then.

Though they occasionally kept in touch, communication ceased once her Dae-gak duties became especially demanding.

One day, she heard news of his death.

“Hmm.”

Honestly, she hadn’t expected her old acquaintance to be so warm.

Her unique mixed-race appearance and the scar cutting across her face gave her a charismatic presence.

When she saved Yuseong, she had been in her mid-twenties, already a special forces squad leader.

That said it all.

“These kids were even on Dae-gak’s radar. The superiors kept blocking me from taking them down. How did you catch them?”

“I didn’t know from the start. They were moving with Red Eye. They attacked me first.”

There was no need to say the bad blood between Yuseong and Seven Stars in his previous life was behind it all.

Hwang Rian seemed to accept the explanation.

“We had a tough time too.”

“Almost died of scurvy on the mainland.”

“You got a good backer, it seems.”

“President Lee Udo was a friend of my grandfather.”

“That’s good. These days, explorers without proper backing have a hard time.”

She was once an explorer herself.

Hwang Rian pulled out a cigarette but quickly put it back when she noticed this was a no-smoking area.

“Quit soon if you don’t want lung cancer.”

“My mouth gets bored.”

“Contact me next time. We got a lot of potatoes this time, I can even boil some for you.”

Yuseong’s friendly gesture.

“That’s good news.”

“That’s about it.”

She paused.

Then suddenly made a startling proposal.

“Join Dae-gak.”

That was why she sought Yuseong.

“What? Suddenly?”

“Continuing as an explorer won’t do you any favors. Once the 20th Layer opens, the walls with China and Japan will fall too.”

“I see.”

“Did you know? Or did you hear from Cheongwadae?”

The Korean Abyss borders the Abysses of China, Russia, and Japan.

Currently, these borders are sealed by impenetrable walls within layers.

But the deeper the layers, the thinner those walls become.

At the newly opened 18th Layer, explorers from China made contact.

Though they haven’t fully crossed over yet, they can hear each other.

In fact, after the 20th Layer, the walls vanish completely.

“China and Russia have many vicious ones. If their explorers infiltrate domestically, Dae-gak won’t have enough personnel.”

That was true.

She recalled that Hwang Rian’s death was caused by overseas criminals.

“I think you overrated me.”

“We investigated you too. Of course, no big position yet. But we believe you can rise quickly.”

Hwang Rian’s expression had turned cold.

She was not someone who worked out of personal affection.

Yuseong knew that well.

Though sudden, the scout offer likely came after thorough investigation of his abilities.

“I’ll say it again.”

She pulled a contract from her coat.

Yuseong silently checked its contents.

“Disgusting.”

“I’m blunt.”

Yuseong was aware of government explorer recruitment.

The pay wasn’t bad, but due to the nature of a public institution, the process was lengthy and inefficient.

He was currently C-Rank.

Yet the contract was drafted based on an A-Rank explorer.

“Full employment guarantee, lifetime pension. Do you know there’s a government-stockpiled food supply in the Cheongwadae basement?”

“That exists?”

“Yes. During the Great Abyss Incident, they secured and stored provisions. The country can’t let its people starve.”

“The Energy Bar quickly replaced food, so there should still be some left.”

That was information even Yuseong hadn’t known.

The government had a food warehouse stored at a national level under Cheongwadae.

It could hardly be compared to a chaebol’s storage.

They would supply as much food as he wanted from there.

Hwang Rian repeated her proposal.

“Join Dae-gak. Work with me.”