Chapter 186: Meeting 1
Translator: - - Editor: - -
Zaira helped out big time with all the work for the Administrative Department. Junhyuk finished everything before lunchtime, but realized that the restaurant had also been destroyed.
"Should I eat out?"
He was about to get up when he received a message on his computer. It was from Eunseo.
[Let's have lunch together.]
Junhyuk had no reason to refuse, and he had been wondering what to do about food.
[I'll head your way.]
He walked out and climbed the ladder. Outside, he saw Dohee giving Eunseo a piggyback ride. Dohee placed her on a wheelchair and got on the phone, and Junhyuk walked over to her.
"Not having a restaurant is a hassle."
Eunseo looked at him and said, "We should use the temporary HQ."
"Temporary HQ?"
"I sent an email with the address. It will take another fifteen days for the HQ in Seoul to be completed, so we rented a building in Ilsan. After lunch, we'll pay it a visit."
She could rent out a building just like that, and Junhyuk wondered what she couldn't do without hesitation.
A car arrived, and Eunseo looked at Junhyuk.
"Let's go together."
"Sure."
Dohee walked over and placed Eunseo inside the car, and Junhyuk sat next to her. While the car moved, she started speaking to him.
"Tomorrow, bring the applicants to the temporary HQ."
"I'm not sure we'll even get five of them."
"If they are all scared and don't want to work for us, we have no reason to hire any of them," she said coldly and did not speak further.
Eunseo was looking out of the window, and Junhyuk looked at her, realizing she was in a tough spot. Guardians was the symbol of hope for the world from the monsters, but the monsters' consecutive attacks had destroyed the HQ, leaving no buildings standing.
While she looked out of the window, she thought of something.
"Do you like Korean food?"
"I do."
Eunseo didn't say anything else, and the car drove for ten more minutes before arriving at an upper-class Korean restaurant. She got on her wheelchair and went inside.
She must've been a frequent customer because the staff recognized her and guided her to a room. Inside, Eunseo told Dohee, "I want to dine with him alone. Is that OK?"
Dohee left, and the foods started to arrive. Eunseo had to have made a previous reservation, and the food came out one item at a time. She raised her chopsticks and said, "Let's begin."
"Let's."
Junhyuk dined with her. The food came out in sequence, and she did not speak during the meal. They both ate quietly. When they finished their meal and the dessert came out, Eunseo looked at him.
"I have a big favor to ask you."
"Does it have to do with work?"
She had said it was a favor, but he had a feeling it wasn't work-related. Junhyuk was right. She shook her head and said, "I want to you to meet someone for me."
He didn't know why that had to be a favor, but Eunseo fixed her glasses and added, "No one must know about the meeting."
He calmly stared at her, and she pulled out a USB-drive and gave it to him. Then, she wrote an address on a napkin.
"You have to do it after work today. I already contacted them."
"Sure."
Junhyuk didn't feel burdened by the idea and picked up the drive. In any event, he didn't think he would be in danger while meeting anyone.
Eunseo smiled at him.
"Thanks. It doesn't have to do with work, and I will repay you later."
"No. I'm sorry I have to quit, but I'm happy to help out."
She finished the dessert and asked, "Then, should we head to the temporary HQ?"
"Sure."
Eunseo left the room, and he followed her. Dohee got in the car, and they all headed to the building at Ilsan. Once Junhyuk saw the building, he clicked his tongue.
"This is it?"
"Right."
It was a seven-story building at Ilsan Lake Park. They had wanted to rent it for a while, but it was too lavish. Junhyuk had a hard time believing in it. The building had been recently built, and they were renting all of it.
Each department was assigned to a different floor, and Junhyuk's Administrative Department would take the 3rd floor. There wasn't anything special on that floor. It was a huge office space with a few desks.
Because they were looking to hire five new employees, there were six desks on the floor. The extra one was for him.
Junhyuk looked around, and Eunseo looked at him and said, "Zaira is also in control of this place. However, while Zaira can't help to the same extent as the original site, Zaira is still efficient here."
"That's nice."
He had worked with Zaira and was aware of how much Zaira could come in handy.
"Report here starting tomorrow."
"Sure."
Junhyuk didn't care where he had to go. He looked around once more and then at Eunseo, and she started moving out on her wheelchair and said, "Let's go back to HQ. We have a lot of work to do."
Once they returned to HQ, Junhyuk worked on his assignments with Zaira's help. He immediately email and called all one hundred applicants requesting that they come to work the next day.
He listened to all the conversations at the same time. There were many voices, but Junhyuk wanted to pick out Soyeon's voice in the exchange and was successful. She sounded calm even though she had encountered a monster the last time she was at Guardians.
He thought she might show up again. Zaira told everyone about the temporary HQ and reported the job to Junhyuk.
[I've contacted everyone.]
"Thanks."
Junhyuk's office phone rang, and he picked it up. A Guard at the entrance was calling him about the monsters' bodies that had arrived from the airport, so he took Zaira's reports on the monsters and went outside.
The containers were showing up one after the other. They were still rebuilding the facilities, so the bodies would be placed in a special refrigerator. Despite the monster attack, the special refrigerator was still intact because it was located away from the main building.
Junhyuk guided the containers to the refrigerator and started to check their contents. Excluding South Korea, forty-nine nations had sent specimens, and their sizes all varied. Once at the refrigerator, he saw that the specimens were all frozen, and there were people opening the containers, so he was able to inspect the contents.
There were monsters Junhyuk had never seen before.
It was possible the monsters weren't just from the Dimensional Battlefield. Junhyuk inspected each of them, and they all look like used rags.
He was about to leave the storage refrigerator when a monitor popped up, and Elise appeared on screen.
"How are the specimen?"
"They are all frozen, but the iron soldiers are too powerful. They are all disfigured."
"I thought so too. We are recruiting researchers for the new monsters. When they gather, we will be able to come up with new weapons against huge monsters."
He looked back at the containers and asked, "Is this place safe?"
"Only monsters will be able to break in by force. Don't worry."
Junhyuk nodded and looked at her.
"Then, I'll lock the storage refrigerator."
He put his hand on the screen where Elise had appeared. The monitor scanned his fingerprints and locked the door. He walked out and looked at the building. That was part of the Administrative Department's duties, but he hadn't done it before. Once he quit, the new employees would have a lot more to do.
He headed to Eunseo's temporary office. She didn't have her own room at the moment, so she shared a room with Zaira's equipment. Once there, Junhyuk made his report.
"I sent emails to the applicants and called them as well."
Eunseo didn't speak.
"And I've stored the monsters that arrived from the airport in the storage building."
"Overseeing the bodies is a new task for the Administrative Department. Is it difficult?"
It took hours to place specimen in storage, but Junhyuk shrugged and replied, "It's nothing. When the new employees get here, I won't have much to do. It's nice that I can be of use."
"Thanks for thinking like that," she said and looked at the screen. "We have to move before tonight, so gather your things. While you were in the storage room, I sent boxes to your office. Just place your things in them."
"Sure."
Junhyuk said goodbye to Eunseo and went to his office to pack his things. He didn't have any more work, and it was five o'clock when he finished gathering everything. He was getting ready to go when Eunseo appeared in his computer screen.
"It's five. You may leave."
"I will go ahead."
She looked around once and looked at him, and Junhyuk smiled at her as if to tell her not to worry. She didn't want Zaira to find out she had asked him a favor.
"Then, I'll get going."
She nodded slightly, and Junhyuk left his office and climbed the ladder. The iron soldier Mk-II was working in place of the heavy machinery, and there was still some debris left.
They would be moving to the satellite HQ, but he felt that they would be back in the main HQ soon enough.
On his way out, he understood that nobody should know about the secret meeting and headed home. There, he put his mask on and teleported out of the house. Then, he took a cab to Ilsan, and headed into the subway. He had to go to Seoul's Heukseok District, which was currently going through redevelopment. There were many new apartments, but there were still underdeveloped areas. He was heading into one of those areas that day.
The building was cramped up among other buildings behind the national cemetery, in a poorer area of town. The place he was looking for was underground, and Junhyuk started growing wary of the favor because the conditions were so decrepit. However, he had made a promise, so he would meet this person.
He had the USB-drive and some memos with him when he knocked on the door to a basement.
"Who is it?"
"I have to give you something. There was an appointment."
"Just a moment."
The door opened, and a head popped out. The person looked to be in his early twenties and probably not gone through military conscription yet, but his head was shaved.
He looked around and looked at Junhyuk and pushed his hand forward.
"Give it to me."