21. We met at work (1)
When Minjun has free time, he reads fortunes using Hwatu cards.
Every time Cash saw it, she freaked out and told me not to, saying it made her sound like an old person, but it was more comfortable and easier on her hands than cards.
In fact, the patterns drawn on the cards were not important. He had marked them with different magical powers to induce them to resonate with each other. The act of turning the cards in this state was close to a kind of ritual. A sorcery from another world that he had learned to kill time when he was assigned the task of guarding the crown prince of a certain race before coming to Earth.
However, Minjun is not a prophet and his fortune telling accuracy is not that high. In my experience, it is around 33%.
Nevertheless, Minjun has been practicing this divination magic consistently because he knows that it helps develop his sixth sense. His premonitions, which strangely don’t always turn out well at important moments.
‘Hmm.’
The pads interact with each other like the north and south poles of a magnet to create a shape. Read the meaning.
In this way, three divinations were derived at once.
– Today’s weather: Dry weather continues with no rain. Temperatures are expected to be moderate, but beware of localized radiation storms and uranium fallout.
– Today’s health: It is best to avoid laying eggs as much as possible. If it is unavoidable, head to the wetlands of the floating island.
– Today’s fate: There is a possibility of reuniting with someone you haven’t seen in a long time.
“······.”
The problem with this spell is that since it was created by people from another world, there are parts that do not fit when interpreted. Sometimes, the results come out differently from the Earth’s environment or the biological characteristics of Earthlings.
I glanced at my watch. I knew it was a good time, so I turned on the TV.
Morning news.
– The International Alchemists’ Association agreed at its regular meeting held yesterday to increase gold production by 100 tons per day in May and June. As a result, the price of gold traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed down 7%…
He waited, listening to the news he had no interest in. After a few minutes, he was able to check the information against his horoscope.
– Yes, next, forecaster Eun-ha Lee will deliver weather and natural disaster news.
– Hello, this is weather forecaster Lee Eun-ha. Looking at the weather in Seoul today, starting at 2:33 PM, light rain will fall in various places, starting from Gwangjin-gu. You should definitely bring an umbrella.
– Next is a disaster prediction. At 6:25:31 PM today, an earthquake measuring 2.6 occurred near Jeongmok 1-dong, Yecheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Many people will not feel the vibration and will just pass by, but if you are sensitive, please set an alarm in advance so that you do not panic…
Of course, there was no news of radiation storms or fallout. What’s the big deal about dryness? It even rained.
The committee has yet to figure out how to completely control the prophetic ability, but some information, like the weather, that becomes more of a public good over time is almost never wrong. In other words, Min-jun’s spell was wrong.
Also, since he obviously can’t lay eggs and has no plans, the second divination must also be wrong.
So, the third thing that remains is…
‘You’re reuniting with someone you knew from long ago?’
I had no idea how long a term would have to be before I could describe it with the words ‘it’s been a while’.
I was lost in thought for a moment.
Vroom!
The heavy engine sound of a sports car could be heard outside the window. Cathy had come to pick him up. Minjun cleaned up the desk where the Hwatu cards were spread out and prepared to go out.
***
Cassie asks from the driver’s seat.
“Is it okay if I just go shopping today?”
“that’s right.”
As she stepped on the accelerator, Minjun’s body was thrown backwards with a roar of the engine. At the same time, the car body was thrown forward like a wild beast. Minjun raised his voice in protest.
“Drive slowly!”
“If you feel wronged, get a license.”
He turned the steering wheel sharply and swerved into the lane. Then, as if an idea occurred to him, he asked.
“You’ve lived so long that you haven’t had time to get a driver’s license? Well, since all of this work is included in your annual salary, I have no complaints about using you as a private driver, but…”
Minjun, who had even used the Elder Dragon as a knight in Sokcho, pretended not to hear that. However, it seemed like Cathy didn’t want to end the conversation just yet.
“Yes? What’s the reason?”
When Minjun was first deployed to Earth, he had never expected to stay here this long. Also, to his eyes, accustomed to the transportation he had driven in the previous world, the cars of that time were nothing but flimsy, mechanical devices that were not fun to drive.
As one year passed like that, another year passed and I am still holding on and living until now.
Instead of telling the story, Minjun just muddled it through, like he always did.
“I’ve never really liked cars.”
“Why? Is there something bad going on with the car?”
“It’s a secret.”
I knew that if I started telling a small lie, I would have to keep making up small lies, so I just kept my mouth shut. Then, Cathy pouted.
“Anyway, I told you that I really hate talking about old times.”
“······.”
Minjun doesn’t answer, but stares at the scenery outside through the wide field of view of the open car.
“I’ve arrived.”
The Jaguar that Cassie was driving stopped in front of a building in Gangnam. Two women in suits were waiting at the entrance.
“Agent, welcome.”
They are the staff members who are dedicated to him. As if they had practiced, the two of them bowed deeply at the same speed and angle. After waiting for Cathy to hand over the keys to the valet, Minjun went inside with them. On the outside wall of the building, there was a raised sign that said ‘Witch’s Cooperative’ in sophisticated letters.
“The items you mentioned in advance are prepared here.”
As I entered the VIP room, I saw that several items had been taken out and displayed separately. I had received a pretty good compensation for the Edelines and Jang Taejun cases, so I came out today to spend some money.
Minjun inspected the items one by one. Cathy glanced at them and said.
“Top-grade spirit stone, fermented petrification fungus, dried brain slime… and mud snail secretions… Oh my? That’s fairy tree sap?”
Cathy, who had been watching the scene, quickly realized.
“Did you get some kind of amazing magic sample?”
You’re quick-witted.
What Minjun is trying to buy now is a catalyst that supports powerful magic materials.
“Hoo.”
Cassie’s eyes lit up. The fact that she only bought such high-quality catalysts meant that the main ingredient was also not ordinary. Of course, she had no idea that Minjun had gotten his hands on several liters of fresh dragon’s blood.
“Oh, what.”
Minjun handed over the card while vaguely explaining it again.
“thank you.”
——————
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An amount exceeding 3 billion won was paid at once.
“I’d like to ask you to take care of it for me.”
Minjun asked for an additional process that he could only do after paying a fee, but which was too bothersome for him to do himself. Normally, he would have to pay a labor fee of several tens of millions of won, but as always, the employee said that he would take care of it without any additional cost.
“The process you mentioned will likely take about an hour. Would you like to wait in the lounge?”
“Cassie, you go first. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
And Minjun encountered an unexpected opponent in front of the bathroom sink.
At first, I didn’t recognize him. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but look at the troll because he was moving his hands so quickly that I couldn’t tell whether he was washing his hands or peeling them.
He was very enthusiastic and careful… he was soaping himself tightly, as if he were an ascetic abusing himself.
‘I think that’s almost like labor.’
The troll rolled up his expensive-looking white shirt to his elbows and poured water on his arms. After rinsing a few times, he folded his arms like a surgeon performing a surgical operation. He headed for the hot air blower, careful not to touch anything else. He didn’t even look at the pure cotton hand towels that were neatly rolled up for each customer.
‘You seem to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Or is it obsessive-compulsive disorder?’
The time their eyes lingered seemed to have passed longer than expected. The troll turned his head and their gazes met. At that moment, Minjun wondered to himself, ‘Huh? Were we old friends?’
The trolls were quicker to identify their opponents.
“Huh? Aren’t you Agent Ye Min-jun?!”
As expected, it’s a familiar face. But I couldn’t remember the name.
“Who are you?”
“Oh, I’m Jeon Nam-gyu!”
Only then did the puzzle of names, faces, places we met, and conversations we had begin to fit together in my head.
“Oh, that lawyer!”
A few days ago, when I went to read Jang Tae-jun’s will, I also called the lawyer who helped write the document to the scene. It was a necessary part of legal procedures.
The troll lawyer who appeared in a neat suit at the VIP safe without knowing English dilated his pupils when he heard that Jang Tae-jun was dead, and his legs seemed to give out when he heard that his true identity was an alien. Thanks to this, the people gathered at the scene got to see the rare sight of a staggering troll.
Although the psychological shock seemed to have been great, Jeon Nam-gyu professionally carried out the requested task. He testified that there was no forgery or alteration of the contents of the will.
“Oh, I was so out of it at the time that I didn’t even give you my business card.”
“No, I gave you a business card.”
“Oh, is that so?”
It seems like he wasn’t really nervous. He smiled awkwardly, but then his expression changed.
“Excuse me, Agent. By any chance···”
After hesitating.
“Ah! That’s not something I should be saying in the bathroom.”
“Then let’s go out and do it.”
As soon as I open the door and go out, Jeon Nam-gyu asks with an anxious look on his face.
“Agent, you said you were an immigration agent?”
“you’re right.”
“Then you don’t accept any requests from individuals or companies?”
It’s a question he gets asked occasionally, but Minjun’s answers are consistent in these cases.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t accept requests from outside the office unless it’s a really special case.”
It’s called an exclusive contract agent because it’s nice, but Minjun has the right to refuse requests from the immigration office and can even take on work assigned to him by other clients if he has spare time. It’s a very loose contract.
However, it is not that Minjun actively seeks out or receives overseas requests. In the first place, if an incident involving aliens occurs, if it is a relatively large case, the immigration office directly makes a request to him. The cases that individuals bring are the least of the little things, and are often not attractive in terms of compensation.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Actually, it’s not me, it’s my client who’s in a bit of a sticky situation…”
He hinted at the existence of a client who could move much more money than the lawyer. But Minjun was still negative. Such requests tend to be a lot of work and have no substance.
“sorry.”
“Ah…! No. I may have been too harsh. If by any chance… you have any thoughts later, please contact me.”
Minjun changes the subject without giving a definitive answer.
“By the way, what brings you to the union?”
“Oh, I have something to do on the third floor.”
The Witches’ Cooperative also does magic certification work. Perhaps sensing that he couldn’t change his decision, the troll bowed and disappeared toward the elevator.
Minjun suddenly thought as he looked at her back.
‘Wait a minute, is it possible that the third horoscope was right?’
But it had only been a few days since I last saw that troll. It was hard to say that it had been a long time since we last met.
‘Hey, I guess not.’
***
Minjun, who had broken up with her, waited in the waiting room with Cassie and then came out to the first floor lobby with the finished items.
Cathy, who had been silent the whole time in the waiting room, suddenly asks a question as they walk together.
“By any chance, you didn’t commit some huge crime in the past and then launder your identity, did you?”
It was stinging.
But he asked with a calm expression.
“Do I look like that kind of person?”
“······I kept thinking that it would be one of two things. Either he was innocent and had never committed a crime in his life, or he had an accident that no one could imagine. I thought it would be either one or the other.”
The touch is pretty good, huh?
But Minjun really had nothing to say about this part.
He glanced at the alien language visible only to his eyes.
-Location: Earth (Dimension #22-189, Extreme Territory Level 4)
– Employment type: Indirect employment for criminal purposes based on a labor reform sentence
※ Limited memory erasure is being applied to the prisoner in question.
Minjun always thinks that there is a misunderstanding in the term ‘labor reform’. This system is similar to the reincarnation in Buddhism. It is a chain where you have to suffer in this life because of the sins of your past life that you don’t even remember.
His life before he began his incarceration was similar to his previous life in that his memories were completely erased.
But how can one be enlightened when one is not even aware of one’s own mistakes? Wouldn’t one simply be struggling in pain without even knowing the reason? What kind of enlightenment and development is possible in a life like an accident that happens without reason?
Minjun asked, calming down his distracting thoughts.
“Why do I have so many questions today?”
Cathy closed her mouth for a moment, then said as if she had made up her mind about something.
“Then, can you tell me just one thing?”
It might have felt like I was asking too much about my employer’s personal information, but as a friend, I didn’t find it offensive.
“What is it?”
She puts the question she had been hesitating into her mouth.
“By any chance… you weren’t a woman in the past or anything like that, were you?”
Minjun swore with a serious expression.
“No, what the hell are you talking about?!”
This was definitely unpleasant.
“No, because you hide it too thoroughly···.”
“Don’t even say such nonsense.”
“Really not? It shouldn’t be. That’s the only thing that can’t be. I can let everything else go, but changing genders… That’s really out of my reach.”
“You don’t have to explain to me what your Maginot Line is!”
While the two were bickering like that, the main door of the union opened and a new customer came in. It was a man with white hair and a middle-aged woman supporting him and walking together.
Minjun, who had been yelling at Cathy, turned his head and met the old man’s gaze. Minjun naturally looked away again, but the old man continued to stare at his face.
‘Do you know him?’
I try to remember, but no name comes to mind right away.
Meanwhile, the old man’s face was filled with a mixture of disbelief and joy. It was an expression that Minjun occasionally encountered, having lived a long life without aging. This was usually the reaction of old acquaintances. ‘I think you know me…’ The old man’s mouth opened first as he searched his memory.
“Huh… By any chance, Mr. Ye Min-jun?”
“Yes, that’s correct, right?”
Then the old man’s face became filled with color.
Smiling brightly, he shouted at Minjun.
“Sister!”
