Editor’s Survival Guide

Team Leader Cha became somehow uncomfortable without answering.

“If you have something to say, say it in words.”

For some reason, I was irritated and murmured that, and Cha Si-eon thought for a moment before speaking in a complete sentence.

“I do not want to accept the offer because I doubt whether Mr. Seo Do-un’s help has that much value.”

“…….”

Only at times like this, really…….

I bristled, then let out a sigh.

“Understood. Then Team Leader, about the operation you mentioned in front of Manager earlier. Honestly, what do you see as its probability of success?”

“There are several variables, so it cannot be discussed yet. We need to check the convicts’ condition first.” “You are saying it would only be worth trying if there were 11 S-grade convicts who obey Team Leader, but is that realistically possible?”

“…….”

“Of course, if the attempt itself is what matters, then it does not matter. But if the goal is to save Lee Sol, would it not be better to be a little more serious?”

“……So what exactly are you saying you will help with?”

“We only need to add 2 things to Team Leader’s current plan.”

I presented the most rational method for Cha Si-eon to avoid failure and a dog’s death.

However, Cha Si-eon immediately showed rejection.

“Say something that makes sense.”

“It does make sense.”

“As if…….”

“Does what Team Leader himself is doing make sense? No, since we are on the subject. Team Leader, you also think it is actually right for Lee Sol to be ‘disposed of humanely,’ do you not?”

“…….”

“So is that why you are risking your life alone? Because you acknowledge that judgment, you cannot oppose it directly, so you are trying to create variables by yourself.”

At my words, Cha Si-eon’s face stiffened, then he lowered his gaze.

I drove the wedge in toward him.

“Do only one of the two. Whether you will follow the upper level’s decision, or save Lee Sol.”

Cha Si-eon fell silent again.

I found this silent mode quite troublesome, so I did not wait and opened my mouth again.

“If you are perhaps thinking, ‘If I choose, it is right to follow the upper level’s decision. I cannot treat only Lee Sol specially,’ then judge a little more rationally.”

“I am judging rationally.”

“I do not think so at all.”

At my point, Cha Si-eon’s expression turned complicated.

But that reaction was a complete misread, so I spoke clearly again.

“I am not saying your words and actions are playing separately, and I am not saying it is irrational that you cannot give up on Lee Sol.”

“……?”

“The most irrational thing at this point is giving up on Lee Sol.”

Cha Si-eon’s brow narrowed.

As if asking what I was talking about now.

So I asked directly,

“Can you not treat Lee Sol specially at this point?”

“That is not desirable.”

“But because you cannot do that, you risk your life whenever you have the chance, do you not?”

Now I saw it properly.

The reason Cha Si-eon had acted as if he had gone mad wanting to die.

When I had not known, I had simply wondered if he was insane, but that was not it.

Cha Si-eon had always had a consistent purpose.

When he rolled around alone on the 「Island」, saying he would send me out alive.

When he recklessly stepped forward to obtain a fragment of 「Big Cat」.

At the end of it all, there had always been Lee Sol.

Perhaps thinking that his private motive had been exposed, Cha Si-eon murmured lowly.

“That is not desirable either.”

“That is why I am saying that judgment is irrational.”

I immediately denied that reflection that was not a reflection.

Then I explained again to Cha Si-eon, who still had not understood.

“It is already a confirmed phenomenon. What remains if you deny it? If you injure your leg and say that is not desirable, does it heal on its own? No. Continuing to run on that leg is simply irrational.”

“That case is different. Injuring a leg is a physical problem, and this is…….”

“A mental problem. But the case is not different.”

I laughed inwardly at Cha Si-eon’s rebuttal.

Yes, when the body is injured, it is immediately visible, so you know it and I know it.

But some problems are seen only by those who look and known only by those who know.

Even the person involved sometimes does not know and leaves it alone.

Of course, that problem is something they must solve themselves.

Doing someone else’s assignment for them is not help, but interference.

But if they have forgotten even the fact that they have an assignment, it should be possible to say it once from the side.

“Lee Sol has already become special.”

“…….”

“Too much meaning has been assigned to her by the people of the Bureau.”

If I only said it like this, he would again say it was not desirable.

“Team Leader, you must also have some idea where Lee Sol’s father is.”

When I mentioned Lee Seop, Cha Si-eon’s expression froze coldly.

But I did not care.

I did not care in the slightest and put their weaknesses and shame into words.

“But you have left him alone until now. Because there was no helping it.”

“…….”

“So now even his daughter was dragged there and is about to die. In the exact same form as her father. Perhaps she may be dying because of the father who was not rescued. A 15-year-old who has done nothing wrong.”

I saw force enter Cha Si-eon’s jaw.

It seemed he had clenched his teeth, but I did not stop.

“Lee Sol is the one who dragged back with her whole body what you people had looked away from. So of course she has to be special. Lee Sol is not only the child called Lee Sol, but your past.”

The past they had buried with effort had returned in a more brutal form.

Usually, people called that karma.

“But you are saying you will kill that again with your own hands.”

“…….”

“If you can be all right even after that, then doing so would also be rational. But you cannot, can you? You are already running wild in every way now. If even Lee Sol goes wrong, do you think you will be able to handle the aftermath?”

“……What do you mean by that?”

“Even now, you are spending personal funds on compensation, keeping an innocent citizen in check without reason, and acting recklessly enough to be told you are out of your mind with wanting to die, are you not? And because of that, you keep getting criticized by your superior. Physical problems and financial problems have already all burst open, you are causing trouble for the people beside you, and your own life is hanging by a thread. So what exactly is different about this case? It would be far better to break one leg instead.”

Cha Si-eon’s expression stiffened in a quite different sense from before.

An extremely irritated expression.

I did not want to say this much either.

This is because you failed to understand.

“So this is something that cannot be helped. No, in the first place, is it right to constantly say things like ‘endure it with mental strength,’ then pretend that does not exist when the mind itself is about to burst? Dying mentally is also a characteristic of the human species, and ignoring it when there are more than enough signs already is irrational.”

“…….”

“So save her somehow this time. This is not something you can give up on.”

When a buried past returns in a more brutal form, people usually call that karma.

But it probably did not come only to punish them.

It could be a chance to set the past right. So this could not be helped.

Saving Lee Sol was something you people had no choice but to do.

“Moreover, this probably is not only Team Leader’s problem. There will be differences in degree, but besides Team Leader, there are likely quite a few people for whom Lee Sol is special. This is a problem those people are entangled in too.”

Cha Si-eon did not deny my words.

He remained for a long while with one hand covering his jaw, and in the end, he let out a large breath.

“Even if that is the case for me, Manager will not permit it.”

Would it hurt you to say “I understand” first?

I did not like this procedureless way of speaking either, but for now, I decided to treat it as acceptance and move on.

Besides, it was also true that a greater mountain remained.

“Manager will not be easy.”

“He will not be easy.”

“How was the atmosphere after I left in the morning?”

“…….”

Team Leader Cha said nothing.

Yes, I understand this silence.

You got cursed at a lot.

But now that we had come this far, we could not stop.

In that place, we briefly plotted together to overcome the enormous trial called Kwon Mu-seop.

And steeled our resolve for tomorrow.

---

The next day.

“Why again…….”

Kwon Mu-seop muttered weakly as he looked at me and Cha Si-eon.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop seemed subtly wary, especially of me.

I smiled pleasantly at him, and Cha Si-eon also took a harmless posture in his own way.

“Team Leader Cha acknowledged that there was an error in yesterday’s operation.”

“……?”

At the words I abruptly brought up, Kwon Mu-seop looked at us with suspicious eyes.

“In fact, we overlooked something important. As Deputy Manager Yoon U-jeong said, this was not a problem we could decide among ourselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“We cannot stop a Special Zone without 「Crow」’s agreement. So Team Leader Cha’s operation was not viable from the start. Even if I tried to enter 「Railway Station」, if 「Crow」 does not want it, I will be diverted somewhere else.”

“Did you come here to say that?”

“Yes.”

“Is that really the end?”

“So, about that.”

When I subtly continued, Kwon Mu-seop laughed as if dumbfounded.

Hoping that smile would be maintained, I opened my mouth.

“I think I must enter 「Railway Station」 first.”

Fortunately, the smile blooming on Manager’s face did not disappear.

Kwon Mu-seop smiled as usual and said,

“Both of you, get out.”

An order to leave, delivered mercilessly while he was still smiling.

Then, as if changing his mind, he gestured at Cha Si-eon.

“No. Cha Si-eon, you stay.”

Kwon Mu-seop intended to destroy Team Leader Cha again today, and I hurriedly cut in.

“Manager, this is a matter that should be considered seriously. If 「Railway Station」 is among 「Crow」’s choices, I will be dragged there in some way. So we must at least confirm it. If we finish preparations to suppress 「Railway Station」 and I enter, the conclusion will come out. If I am flung somewhere else in the middle of entry, Team Leader Cha will give up too.”

But if I enter 「Railway Station」 safely, this is something that must be done.

Hiding that inner thought, I argued diligently.

But there was no way Kwon Mu-seop would fail to recognize this obvious trick.

“Do-un, you should do this moderately too.”

Kwon Mu-seop was still smiling at me, but he seemed to be reaching his limit.

At this rate, I might get destroyed along with him, but even so, there was no path to retreat.

“Manager, I also have no intention of using my life carelessly. Unless I am unavoidably dragged in, I do not want to walk directly into the jaws of death.”

Kwon Mu-seop furrowed his brow and let out a sigh.

As if asking whether a bastard who knew his life was precious was doing this.

I had expected it, but Kwon Mu-seop was not easy.

Moreover, if the first stage was already like this, the atmosphere was such that I would be kicked out the moment I brought up the next stage.

Thinking that dragging out time for no reason would only make things more unfavorable, I simply charged straight in.

“So I request this. I would like Bureau agents assigned to Team Leader Cha’s operation instead of convicts.”

At that moment, the smile vanished completely from Kwon Mu-seop’s face.