Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Rules Episode 53

 

ep10. Agent Seo’s Complete Surprise (1)

 

“Oh? Hello, Otter Agent!”

 

I came to find Baek Sa-ra’s hospital room, but an unexpected person greeted me.

 

It was Ha Yu-ju, sitting face-to-face with Baek Sa-ra with her left arm wrapped in bandages.

 

Ha Yu-ju was still recovering after receiving finger reattachment surgery for her wrist amputation.

 

In the meantime, when Baek Sa-ra was hospitalized, she must have come to visit.

 

But what are these two doing?

 

Nail art?

 

Surprisingly, Ha Yu-ju was decorating Baek Sa-ra’s nails with one hand.

 

“Hello, Ms. Ha Yu-ju. I didn’t know you were here first.”

 

“It’s fine, so please come in! Oh wait, should I step aside?”

 

Ha Yu-ju smiled and looked back and forth between me and Baek Sa-ra.

 

I also smiled at her playful face and shook my head.

 

“No, please stay. I just stopped by briefly to deliver a book.”

 

I slightly lifted the book in my hand to show it.

 

Then Ha Yu-ju’s eyes widened as she looked at me again.

 

“Huh? Agent, where are you going?”

 

She must have properly noticed my outfit now.

 

I was currently wearing the Management Bureau’s dress uniform.

 

The Management Bureau’s uniforms are divided into dress uniforms and work uniforms.

 

Among them, the dress uniform is sharply tailored clothing suitable for formal occasions.

 

So I looked grand as if I was going to receive a commendation, but in reality, I had simply been asked to provide simple work support.

 

“The Post-management Team asked me to meet with Mr. Choi Sang-eun once.”

 

“Ah. It suits you well, Agent. Since you’re dressed up, would you like to decorate your nails too?”

 

“No, I’m fine.”

 

Ha Yu-ju asked while attaching glitter to Baek Sa-ra’s nails, and I quickly declined.

 

I had been a bit nervous since yesterday because several of Jae-gyeom’s nails were sparkling light green, so it was Yu-ju’s doing.

 

I carefully placed the book on the table so as not to interfere with Ha Yu-ju’s work.

 

Then Baek Sa-ra, who had been following my actions with her eyes, greeted me.

 

“Thank you, Otter.”

 

“Don’t mention it.”

 

Baek Sa-ra, who was hit in the head by Alpha at the National Theater and fell from the 3rd floor height, ended up hospitalized.

 

So I had brought the book I promised so Baek Sa-ra could read it while resting.

 

“Done…”

 

Ha Yu-ju, who had completed her work, stepped back with satisfaction.

 

Indeed, Ha Yu-ju was skilled with her hands.

 

Baek Sa-ra’s nails were sparkling neatly in a soft pink color.

 

“Unnie, don’t chip them this time, okay?”

 

Ha Yu-ju gave a firm warning and then began efficiently packing up her tools.

 

Amazing. Both having such capability with one hand, and still being so spirited despite being injured that much.

 

Ha Yu-ju was also from Page, she said.

 

Moreover, unlike Jae-gyeom who first met Baek Sa-ra after being appointed to the Management Bureau, Yu-ju’s time at Page overlapped with Baek Sa-ra’s.

 

Perhaps that’s why Ha Yu-ju and Baek Sa-ra seemed as close as real sisters.

 

“Oh right, Agent.”

 

Ha Yu-ju suddenly spoke to me as if remembering something.

 

“Those contaminants, they were all arrested. Did you hear?”

 

“Yes, I also saw the photos that were posted.”

 

“Huh? The mugshots came out?”

 

Ha Yu-ju heard my words and quickly ran toward the bed.

 

Then she grabbed the tablet that had been lying on it and came back.

 

“Wow, it’s really true?”

 

—

 

■ All Staff Notice / May 4th

 

All 17 contaminants from the illegal organization related to “National Theater Exposing Fakes” arrested.

 

—

 

This was a post uploaded to the Management Bureau’s internal network.

 

Below that brief text, mugshots of the arrested contaminants were lined up one after another.

 

“Unnie, do you recognize any faces?”

 

“Hmm… I wonder?”

 

“Oh! This person. It says ‘Agent murder threat.’ Do you know this person?”

 

“No, it seems like a face I’m seeing for the first time?”

 

“What… Just a small fry?”

 

The agent murder threat criminal that Ha Yu-ju pointed out.

 

That guy was exactly Teddy Bear’s hyung-nim who had threatened to kill me.

 

Therefore, he was also the one who had pretended to know Baek Sa-ra, calling her sister, but Baek Sa-ra seemed to have no idea who he was.

 

So I also silently agreed with Ha Yu-ju’s dismissal.

 

Old sayings are never wrong.

 

Both the saying that birds of a feather flock together, and that empty carts make the most noise were all true.

 

This guy must have been a small fry with only a loud voice, just like Teddy Bear.

 

“Anyway, that’s good news, Otter.”

 

“Haha, yes…”

 

The guy who had been determined to kill me was caught.

 

It was good news for me, but, well, how should I put it.

 

I think I need to gradually reconsider my perception of the Management Bureau.

 

To me, the Special Management Bureau was people who acted very pretentious but didn’t actually work, engaging in work slowdowns with all sorts of excuses.

 

But now I’m trying to acknowledge it.

 

They were right to be pretentious.

 

They were a group that did things properly when it mattered.

 

Above all, the Otter Rescue Operation was much more powerful than I had thought.

 

Actually, the reason that Teddy Bear’s hyung-nim was caught so quickly was rather absurd.

 

-Hyung-nim says he’ll kill you.

 

Does he know?

 

That the Otter Rescue Association members were enraged by this one sentence.

 

Of course he wouldn’t have known. I only found out yesterday too.

 

Five days ago, when I was still at the National Theater, the Otter Rescue Association people were watching over me.

 

So as soon as they heard those words, they rose up in fury.

 

Their stance was roughly: “Otter Agent is already tough enough, where do you get off threatening him, we’ll grind you to powder first…”

 

Actually, that Teddy Bear’s hyung-nim was unlucky.

 

The Otter Rescue Association was already in a state of serious frustration from having to watch me roll around like a hoop.

 

Then a target they could directly catch and crush appeared, so they united with the attitude of “this bastard walked right into our hands.”

 

The sparks even flew to the external company that was managing the National Theater.

 

Even Manager Jo from the General Affairs Department stepped forward and strongly protested, saying “Due to your management negligence and reporting omissions, our otter, no, our agent was put in danger.”

 

“Manager Jo from the General Affairs Department is a big shot in the Otter Rescue Association. Number one in donations!”

 

Thumbs up!

 

Yu-ju raised her thumb and boasted about the Otter Rescue Association’s influence and financial power.

 

“So this time, the people from Apophysis admitted all their mistakes and even apologized. They’re usually really shameless.”

 

‘Apophysis’ is the name of the external company that manages the Special Zone.

 

I heard it’s a company created by retirees from the Management Bureau.

 

The advantage is that their operational capabilities are excellent.

 

The downside is that he still expects to be treated as a senior.

 

Overall, he seems like a ‘competent but difficult external collaborator,’ and the management company for the problematic「National Theater」this time was also Apophysis.

 

And that Apophysis was also held responsible this time without being able to make a peep.

 

As a result, those contaminants were dealt with in truly lightning-fast fashion.

 

The Analysis Team tracked their base, the Control Team identified the organization’s scale, the Exploration Team secured infiltration routes, and Manager Jo pressured Apophysis.

 

“Yes, I heard. The Otter Rescue Association folks really, ahem, worked hard.”

 

“Worked hard? Our name is literally ‘Otter Rescue Operation Headquarters’!”

 

Thumbs up again!

 

Right, the ability to become a Management Bureau agent.

 

The otaku power to turn humans into otters.

 

With that combination, there was no way they wouldn’t be formidable.

 

So I won’t mock you anymore, Otter Rescue Association.

 

I still wonder if this is right, but please continue to work well with us, Otter Rescue Association…

 

* * *

 

And if you receive something, you must also give something in return.

 

“I understand what you’re saying.”

 

At my persuasion, Choi Sang-eun reluctantly replied.

 

“It would turn the world upside down. If this kind of thing became known, there would be great chaos.”

 

This was the Post-Management Team Interview Room of the Crisis Management Department.

 

Choi Sang-eun sitting in front of me was wearing gray training clothes provided by the Management Bureau.

 

Moreover, he hadn’t shaved for ten days, so he looked five years older than when I first saw him.

 

Five days ago, Choi Sang-eun came out of the「National Theater」with me.

 

But he still hadn’t been able to go home.

 

It was because Choi Sang-eun had held out without signing the confidentiality agreement.

 

So the Post-management Team, which handles citizens’ return home, requested my help.

 

Since I was acquainted with Choi Sang-eun, they asked me to persuade him instead.

 

“The agency folks must have many difficulties too. Park Hyun-jin also risked danger… Is the name Park Hyun-jin correct?”

 

“No, my name is Seo Do-un.”

 

When I revealed my real name, Choi Sang-eun smiled weakly.

 

Certainly, Choi Sang-eun’s mood softened immediately upon seeing me.

 

The emotions from sharing hardships with me during the six days trapped in the Special Zone remained, and above all, it was because he misunderstood me as something like ‘an agent who entered a danger zone with his bare body to save citizens.’

 

“Yes, I saw firsthand how dedicatedly Seo Do-un worked.”

 

Um, yes. Sorry, but I’ll use that misunderstanding a bit.

 

“I just did my job. All our staff are the same.”

 

“You fought almost like it was a war, so I’m grateful you saved us risking your lives. I truly respect you.”

 

No, reporter… Actually, it’s a bit different…

 

“Still, this isn’t happening in some remote border area, but to unspecified masses in the heart of Seoul. The people who died before the performance even started, maybe they could have lived.”

 

Choi Sang-eun’s argument was this.

 

If innocent citizens being dragged into Special Zones was going to happen anyway, it should be made known like preparing for fires or landslides.

 

That makes sense too.

 

But those familiar disasters and Special Zones have different natures.

 

“Revealing the truth is certainly important. But you know too, reporter. Some facts are more beneficial when buried.”

 

“…”

 

“Later, when this matter is all sorted out, it might be made public then. But not now. What would happen if this chaotic space became known without safety measures?”

 

“It would stagnate.”

 

Stagnate?

 

“Like sewage stagnating in drains, all sorts of things would fill that place. Since no one could stop whatever was done there, whether killing people or human trafficking. Moreover, if they gained monster-like power, everyone without a tomorrow or who hates reality would flock there. If the problem becomes that bloated, it would eventually leak out to the outside…”

 

I hadn’t thought that far.

 

Indeed, reporter, you’re well-versed in the world’s darkness.

 

“It can’t be helped.”

 

In the end, Choi Sang-eun was persuaded by his own words.

 

“I’ll keep quiet. But later, when it’s time to organize the records, please contact me. I definitely want to participate.”

 

At Choi Sang-eun’s declaration of surrender, I glanced at the door behind his shoulder.

 

Some man was pressing his face against the glass window on the door, watching us.

 

It was Heo Gu-yeong, supervisor of the Post-management Team.

 

I nodded slightly toward him.

 

Then Heo Gu-yeong almost tearfully covered his mouth.

 

I looked at Choi Sang-eun again and said.

 

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

 

Mission accomplished.

 

I hope Supervisor Heo Gu-yeong is also liberated now.

 

Before giving my final farewell to Choi Sang-eun, I brought up one question.

 

“And reporter, there’s one thing I’d like to ask you.”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

“You remember the performance you saw inside, right?”

 

“Of course I remember.”

 

“The white male figure that appeared in that performance, from when was it stretching its neck toward me?”

 

On stage, it continued from creation to apocalypse, and white roses bloomed.

 

And those roses had formed the shape of a hanged man.

 

But I had to close my eyes to endure the strange attraction.

 

So I couldn’t see.

 

When that figure had thrust its face toward me.

 

That sight would be chilling from my perspective, but it would have been very bizarre from other audience members’ viewpoints too.

 

“A white man?”

 

But Choi Sang-eun tilted his head as if hearing this for the first time.

 

Then he rather asked back like this.

 

“Was there such a thing?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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