A week had passed since the Celestial Personnel Department’s Audit Team paid their visit.
Tap-tap-tap, Mujae was happily tapping away at his keyboard.
“Dosan Hell?”
“Eek!”
Mujae had been so focused, he didn’t even notice Hallakgoong peering over at his monitor. He was so startled, he jumped out of his chair and toppled to the floor.
Clatter!
There was nothing actually dropped, but he fumbled around the floor, then clutched his non-beating heart and cried out.
“Gah! I almost lost my heart! If you’re here, make some noise, Sir!”
“I didn’t sneak in. You just didn’t notice.”
Hallakgoong shrugged and began reading the document at the top of Mujae’s monitor.
“[Promotion Team Business Trip Plan]… Are we going on a trip?”
“…Well, I was just wondering what if we did.”
A flash crossed Mujae’s eyes. Only then did Hallakgoong notice the mountain of documents piled up on Mujae’s desk, all filled with place names from the Otherworld.
Not long ago, Mujae had been worn out from wandering every hell, but now he was planning a hell tour with his own hands.
“You want to visit other hells?”
“Anywhere?”
Mujae’s voice was full of excitement.
“Fire Hell, Ice Hell, Geomsu Hell! Oh, right. Did you see the Geomsu Hell manager commented on our video?”
“I saw it, yeah.”
“The Seocheon Flower Garden’s Promotion Team could travel all over the Otherworld doing reviews. We could have meet-and-greets with our Flower Keepers, do collaborations…”
“Flower Keeper? What’s that now?!”
Hallakgoong frowned at this new nickname for subscribers. But Mujae, whose mind was already elsewhere, didn’t hear him.
“And we could network, like when we met the Audit Team!”
“That’s not happening.”
Suddenly, Sara appeared with a dark tone. With heavy steps, she sat down and sighed.
“There have been complaints from the other hells.”
“What?”
“The recent Celestial Personnel Department audit has apparently become the talk among the higher-ups.”
Sara awkwardly cleared her throat.
“The atmosphere is strange. It would be best to lay low for a while.”
“What do you mean…”
“Not only are visits to other regions of the Otherworld forbidden, but even live broadcasts are suspended for the time being.”
The Promotion Team’s office fell silent at Sara’s words. Hallakgoong, already pale, looked as stiff as a marble statue as he finally spoke.
“So that’s the conclusion.”
Hallakgoong’s cold voice wrapped around them.
“We’re supposed to keep our heads down because the higher-ups’ moods are more important than ours, huh?”
“Goong.”
Hallakgoong shot to his feet.
“What did we do wrong? We just did what you told us to do!”
“Goong…”
Sara couldn’t meet Hallakgoong’s angry eyes.
“I… There’s nothing I can do.”
“There it is again.”
Hallakgoong’s anger blazed so fiercely, it was hard to imagine how he’d kept it hidden until now.
“It’s always the same, with Father. There’s nothing to be done.”
“Hallakgoong.”
Unable to take it anymore, Mujae called his name, but it was no use. Hallakgoong was like a runaway train.
“When he left us, it was ‘nothing could be done,’ even when Mother was dying, ‘nothing could be done.’”
Sara’s face turned increasingly pale at Hallakgoong’s voice, thick with sorrow.
“To Father, Seocheon Flower Garden is all that matters. The Flower Garden is his reputation… Other people mean nothing to him.”
“Goong…”
Sara looked like she wanted to deny it, but all she could do was call Hallakgoong’s name. Hallakgoong delivered his ultimatum.
“If this keeps up, I’m quitting the Promotion Team.”
Just as Hallakgoong was about to turn his back and leave without hesitation—
Zack, who’d just entered the office, urgently gestured to Hallakgoong, but he didn’t spare him a glance and walked out. Bewildered, Zack gestured at Mujae and Sara.
‘Did something happen?’
“…Haah.”
Sara answered with a deep sigh instead of an explanation, then got up from her seat. As she tried to leave the office, Mujae blocked her path.
“…What is it? Do you want to argue with me too?”
“Did Sir order Hallakgoong to join our Promotion Team?”
“What?”
Sara asked back, looking incredulous.
“Then what did you think?”
“Of course, I thought Hallakgoong wanted to do it!”
“You fool.”
Sara pressed her forehead in frustration.
“He’s a pushover.”
“He does whatever I tell him. Understand?”
Leaving those shocking words behind, Sara walked out. Zack was the only one to comfort Mujae, who was so shocked his mouth just opened and closed wordlessly.
“Are all fathers like that?”
Mujae grumbled, anger belatedly rising. Zack, sprawled alone on the sofa, followed Mujae’s movements with his eyes. He raised his hand and signed carefully.
‘Well, my father wasn’t like that.’
“‘He’s a pushover, understand? Is that something to be proud of? If you know, you should treat him even better!”
Mujae raised his eyebrows with both fingers, imitating Sara’s voice. The voice was so spot-on that Zack almost burst out laughing. Mujae’s anger wasn’t done yet.
“The Hallakgoong I saw joined the Promotion Team because he wanted to. He enjoyed the work! Even while grumbling, he worked with us, pulled his weight in the cafeteria, too. Does that sound like someone forced by his father?”
‘You’re right.’
“But instead of helping his son, all his father does is get in the way!”
Bang! Mujae slammed the desk.
The more he thought about it, the more resentful he felt toward Sara.
She’d been so happy after the Celestial Personnel Department’s audit, but now she flipped her attitude like turning over her hand.
Mujae’s hopes for the new content, so full of anticipation, turned instantly to anger.
Zack, who had been watching Mujae’s reaction, raised his hand again.
‘But Hallakgoong’s mother was ill, right?’
“Oh…”
Mujae’s anger halted at Zack’s question. He recalled Hallakgoong’s words.
‘Even when Mother was dying, nothing could be done.’
Mujae nodded. Zack’s reassuring eyes grew shadowed. Just then, Hallakgoong returned.
“She’s fine now.”
“Hallakgoong!”
“It was a long time ago. I won’t forget, though.”
His lips were tightly pressed, showing his anger hadn’t quite subsided.
But the way he squeezed in beside Zack showed they were still a team. Zack gestured.
‘To a son, his mother is important.’
“She’s important to everyone.”
‘Fathers are important, too.’
“…You’re the one who fought with your dad and ran away.”
Hallakgoong chuckled. Only Mujae, who didn’t know the story, looked wide-eyed. Zack shook his head as if to say it was nothing.
‘We didn’t fight.’
“Then why’d you run away?”
‘Because I couldn’t stand it.’
Zack’s signing picked up speed.
‘We never asked anything, never answered anything. There was never any conversation.’
He mouthed the words as he signed.
‘To my father, I might as well have not existed.’
‘So I decided to believe I didn’t have a father, either.’
It was a serious story, but Zack looked rather pleased with himself.
‘I came here to solve my own problems.’
“…That’s right.”
‘There’s no such thing as a perfect family. Not for humans, not for gods.’
‘But this team we’ve gathered here is real. Here, I’m needed.’
Zack grinned. It was the smile of a winner.
‘And you’re the same. We all know how important you are to this team.’
At that moment, Hallakgoong’s lips trembled at his teammate’s sincere words.
“Zack…!”
But it was Mujae, beside them, who was first overcome with emotion. Tears welled up in Mujae’s eyes as he shouted.
“That’s right! We can’t lose even a single person here! Do you know how hard it was when I was alone?”
“Yes, yes, senior. Calm down.”
Hallakgoong seemed much calmer now, even teasing Mujae. Suddenly, a question Mujae had forgotten resurfaced.
“Come to think of it, did you really join the Promotion Team because Sir told you to? Why?”
“That’s…”
-Bzzzzzzz…
A buzzing sound from somewhere. It was Mujae’s phone. Mujae quickly grabbed the vibrating phone from his desk before it rolled away. The screen showed [Facilities Team] in bold letters.
“Yes, this is the Promotion Team. Hello! Oh, you need the data checked?”
Hearing Mujae on the call, Hallakgoong quickly moved to the computer. He logged into the shared drive where all their video footage was uploaded. As he stared at the screen, Hallakgoong’s face drained of color.
“What… is this?”
Mujae, peering over his shoulder, also gaped in shock. On Hallakgoong’s monitor, a series of alarming messages flashed.
[File Deleted: 47 videos]
[File Deleted: 23 videos]
[File Deleted: 15 files]…
“Our videos… they’ve been deleted? By who?”
Zack stared at the screen, frozen in disbelief.
“Who would do such a thing?”
Hallakgoong frantically tapped at the keyboard, but every folder he opened was empty.
“The backup folders are all empty, too.”
“It looks… like an inside job?”
Mujae’s voice trembled as he spoke on the phone. Hallakgoong desperately dug through the computer, grasping at straws. But there was nothing left.
“There aren’t even any access logs.”
All the traces of what they had worked so hard to achieve had been wiped away by someone else in an instant.