The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 071

* * *
My first day reporting to the Special Team.
Team Leader Baek Sang-jin from Team 3 seemed to have stopped acting out after being thoroughly humbled by Pee So-won, sitting quietly instead, and Pee So-won gave the team members about a day to read materials related to the Gamer and hold a meeting.
And I had the meeting materials open, but I was actually staring blankly at my Quest window.
Quest ‘Catch the Gamer (S)’
-Time Limit: 2 months
-Reward: Skill Upgrade Token, 9,000 Gold
-Penalty for Failure: Sudden Death
I was hoping something might have changed…
‘As if it would.’
Sadly, not a single character had changed in the Quest window, and I contorted my face.
But I had gained one hint.
‘Catch the Gamer,’ not ‘Choi Woo-jin.’
What if I framed someone else and pretended they were the Gamer to catch them?
‘…Right, sudden death risk.’
I immediately abandoned that thought.
As if that would work.
I could fool other people, but not the Quest window.
Then what about catching the Gamer and letting them go?
‘It says “catch,” not “arrest,” after all.’
This seemed worth trying at least once.
With plenty of time to spare, why not give it a shot?
Every time I went to the bathroom, I’d go to a secluded hallway where Choi Woo-jin’s ‘spider’ might be lurking, hold a file folder, and quietly mutter to myself.
“Ahem… Look at this, the Gamer’s going to be caught real soon, huh? Should I report this to the higher-ups? Or not? Should I just keep it all to myself?”
Even if it looks like an act, I can’t help it!
Choi Woo-jin might be watching from somewhere with his skill!
Then wouldn’t he try to approach me, who has the decisive evidence?
He hasn’t attempted any personal contact yet, but if I say I’m the only one with decisive evidence, might he target me?
‘The Gamer likes you.’
I recalled Kwon Ik-seong’s words.
If he really does like me—
Then how should I lure the Gamer?
Wait, but why does Choi Woo-jin even like me in the first place!
We had no connection whatsoever!
If there had been a connection, shouldn’t he have been at least a little sad when the entire Team 5 exploded in the original story?
Of course, in the special side story where I die, he did seem a bit sad…
‘…Special side story.’
At that moment, that word brushed across my mind.
There’s a special side story I haven’t checked yet.
Should I take a look at it now?
That’s what I was thinking.
A shadow fell across my feet.
I startled and looked up to find a man gazing down at me—his hair neatly styled as always, his shirt perfectly fitted.
Kwon Ik-seong.
He glanced at the folder in my hands, marked with the Special Team label, and spoke.
“Special Team materials cannot be removed from the office.”
“Oh.”
I quickly hid it behind my back and replied.
“I’m s-sorry. It’s my first day, so I haven’t familiarized myself with the rules yet.”
“….”
Kwon Ik-seong’s expression shifted subtly as he observed my reaction.
He looked like he was contemplating something.
An expression I’d never seen before.
Then words I’d never heard from him spilled from his lips.
“Will you accept today’s date invitation?”
“Pardon?”
I asked blankly, and he replied with an unfazed expression.
“Haven’t you read the note yet?”
“Ah….”
That thing about meeting in the interrogation room?
That’s actually a date?
How is that possible?
“Well….”
“I’d like to have lunch together in the interrogation room.”
Kwon Ik-seong’s dark eyes gazed down at me quietly.
So beautiful….
In that moment, lost in such thoughts, I couldn’t come up with another excuse.
“I suppose that would be nice…?”
Damn it.
I’ve fallen into my favorite’s trap again.

* * *
When I arrived at the Interrogation Room, I was surprised to find pasta and pizza laid out instead of sundae soup.
There was orange juice and lemonade too.
…?
I picked up the pizza and became even more bewildered.
‘Wood-fired pizza.’
This didn’t look like delivery—it seemed like he’d bought it fresh from somewhere nearby.
“What is all this?”
“As I mentioned, it’s meal preparation for a date.”
He answered my question in a matter-of-fact tone, as if reporting on an investigation.
So this was all for the fake relationship and whatnot?
“But for something like that, the location is….”
I frowned while looking at the rectangular Interrogation Room—perfect for pressuring suspects—and the metal chair.
“The foundation of workplace romance is confidentiality.”
“…Oh….”
That’s a surprisingly convincing argument…?
“But wait. Isn’t a fake relationship supposed to only happen in front of the person you want to fool?”
There’s no one here but us right now.
Who are we fooling?
“Well.”
He looked up at the CCTV above his head with an expressionless face.
The red light blinked like an eye, watching down at Kwon Ik-seong and me.
“Since we can no longer pinpoint exactly where the Gamer is located.”
Oh.
That’s definitely Ik-seong for you.
At this point, he’s grasped the true nature of Choi Woo-jin’s ability—something no one else understands.
‘He exists everywhere.’
His power as ‘the protagonist of this narrative.’
“But then wouldn’t it be exposed that we’re in a fake relationship?”
I pointed out the flaw in his logic.
But Kwon Ik-seong remained unmoved.
“While there’s a possibility that could be discovered as well, it doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
That seems like the biggest flaw to me.
“Because we can mix in genuine feelings.”
He served my portion of pizza onto a disposable plate that clashed with the well-prepared pasta and pizza, then spoke.
“You said you were looking for love, didn’t you?”
“…Yes… I did say that… But what I meant was….”
Don’t you dare forget that!
I was screaming internally.
Kwon Ik-seong continued speaking seriously, as if he didn’t mind either way.
“Love cannot be seen. It cannot be touched or tasted. To find it, you must awaken new senses purely through experience.”
He spoke to me as if proposing a new project.
“Try dating and search for love. It would be fine if it’s me, and it would also be fine if you discover it isn’t me, wouldn’t it?”
“…?”
What kind of sophistry is this?
I looked at Kwon Ik-seong with a puzzled expression and asked.
“Then what about you, Team Leader Kwon?”
You’re telling me to try loving you? But it doesn’t matter if I don’t?
Then what will you do?
What if I love you, and what if I don’t?
“I will simply protect Investigator Lee Yu-ji. Regardless of how the situation unfolds.”
He hesitated for a moment before lifting his head.
In his eyes as he looked up, I felt a hollowness I had never seen before.
What on earth was that?
The Kwon Ik-seong I knew from the original novel was not like this.
He was always someone who approached work and people with sincerity.
Where did such solitude come from?
Was there a hidden layer I had missed?
Just as there had been hidden layers I missed in Choi Woo-jin?
I gazed blankly at Kwon Ik-seong’s solitude—that ancient, musty loneliness with dust so thick that perhaps no one, not even he himself, had ever looked into it.
“You don’t need to worry much about my feelings. I can catch the Gamer and protect Investigator Lee Yu-ji, so I’ll do whatever Investigator Lee Yu-ji wants under that premise.”
Words both vague and resolute.
Looking at those words, I gazed at Investigator Kwon Ik-seong, as if he were sinking into a deep swamp.
Then I furrowed my brow.
This doesn’t make sense.
So what, you’re saying you’ll even date me if I want? Regardless of your own feelings?
And you’ll break up with me whenever I want?
Actually, this proposal wasn’t bad for me at all.
Romantic feelings? That wasn’t the issue.
To prevent the sudden death two months from now, I had to provoke Choi Woo-jin somehow. Even if the method was this childish fake relationship, it didn’t matter.
If there really was a hidden layer in Choi Woo-jin that I had missed, and if there was even a hint of feelings for me in that layer, I had to use it.
And to do that, I had to use Kwon Ik-seong as well.
But—
My favorite character was treating himself this carelessly.
‘I’m disappointed.’
Thinking that, I glared at Kwon Ik-seong with a slightly angry expression.
“I don’t like it.”
“…?”
“I don’t like it. Not something like that.”
“…I….”
Ik-seong probably wanted to say it wasn’t something so serious, but I couldn’t let it go at that.
I had been a reader who loved my favorite character in the novel for a long time.
I like you.
It doesn’t matter if it’s not romantic love.
I’ve been rooting for you all along.
Unlike me, a civil servant who had always been trapped in routine, you pursued your work with genuine passion.
“Team Leader Kwon, please put in the effort too. I want sincerity mixed in. Otherwise, I won’t do it. So….”
I stared at Kwon Ik-seong with my nostrils flaring, gripping the plastic fork and knife tightly.
“Let’s use each other.”
Kwon Ik-seong’s expression became enigmatic as he listened to my words.
With a face as if suppressing laughter, he gently pushed down my hand holding the knife and spoke.
“I understand. I understand, so—”
“….”
“Let’s eat. For now. We have 29 minutes left of lunch break.”
His smile was something else.
It was… beautiful again.
“It seems the first round of negotiations has concluded with positive consideration.”
Of course, the words that followed were purely professional.

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