Chapter 19: Chapter 14: King of Wanderers (4)

Am I going the right way? Unsure of everything in the unfamiliar dark of night, I tread carefully along the instructions Lee Sookyung gave me.

What if I took a wrong turn somewhere? What if I missed a sign? What if no one is at the station I'm going to? Doubts plagued my mind. And I loathed myself for it.

Sometimes I wondered if I could only be a main character that would be confident, analytical and calm, but alas, I was a different kind of human.

[You look like a thief trying to sneak around. Relax, you're not in danger.]

Beside me was my only anchor, ironically, because I shouldn't find any solace in a Dokkaebi's presence.

"You're not wrong. We're sneaking in as a thief to get information." I replied, but my eyes were on the road ahead, not wanting to miss any signs.

"Oh, and it should be here..." gesturing down the stairs with my finger, I descended into Indeogwon station. The people walking around in vigilance in patrols did not elicit any fear in me as I drifted along, trying to memorize the layout of the station as well as search for the leaders.

In place of the bright lights that illuminated the station before the scenarios began were the emergency lights sporadically shedding whatever light they could, which neglected the few other dim and dark spots.

It impaired my view, as I did not possess any skills pertaining to night-vision, nor were my stats high enough.

A few shadowy figures of people shifted in a corner.

"I heard something big is going down tomorrow." I heard someone whisper.

Leaning closer to hear the conversation better, I eavesdropped on the convenient piece of information.

"What's happening tomorrow?" The conversation partner asked with interest.

The other man smiled at the interest his partner showed and said, "Our boss is planning an ambush on another group. I heard this from an insider. Maybe if we also contribute to the ambush, our standing will go up."

"Really? How reliable is this information anyway? Still, this is a chance..."

Having gotten the reaction he wanted, the two began a heated but quiet discussion, and I departed, because I was in a rush against time.

"So then Youngkik, want to contribute by telling me who and where the leader and vice leader are?"

[That's not in the contract, and you know it. Besides, why would I get myself involved in Earthling matters?] Youngkik replied in disgust.

"Fair enough." Not wishing to waste time getting into a bickering bout with Youngkik, I instead focused on the matter at hand.

I kept my ears open to the possible streams of information, quickening my pace as I searched through the large, spacious station in the dark, trying to find the leader.

Not him, not her, not that one...

Anxiety began to creep up my spine as time passed, but even as I listened to the secretive whispers from time to time about the information they had on the ambush, no one had described what their 'boss' looked like, nor their name. All I knew was the gender, which everyone used 'he' or 'him' from time to time.

"The time has been decided, at around 5 o'clock tomorrow morning, we'll set out."

"What's the use of telling time at a time like this? We don't even know if it's 8 or 10 or 11 tonight," another joked back.

I turned away.

"Dear, stop snoring."

Miscellaneous information threaded through other ones, and I felt like the whispers of others did not help my anxiety.

Would I spend the whole time here searching for the leader to no avail?

Just as I was worrying, I caught sight of a slightly ajar door to the electrical room of the station. Finding it oddly suspicious, I crept closer.

"Boss, why don't we just attack that group now, instead of waiting for the morning tomorrow? Also, why did you pull me in here?"

After realizing what the words meant, a smile crept on my face. I found him in an electrical room. What were they doing here, and not closing the door completely?

"First of all, we don't even know what their leader looks like, so if they escape during the chaos then it wouldn't be good." The voice that replied was skittish-sounding, which was something I wasn't expecting when people had brought up 'boss'.

"But we have a stronger group on our side-" Just as the man's voice began to rise, their boss silenced them.

"Don't be so loud you fool! People can be listening. You know about my secret. I know the future. And you also know that your survival also depends on me now. But if there's someone else out there that has more information than us so nearby, do you think we can live easy?" Their boss snarled.

I passed through the door to try and get a look at their appearances.

To my surprise, one of their heads jerked as soon as I entered, and the voice of the 'boss' came from his lips.

"Shh, I have a feeling we're being watched."

"How?"

The man who was surveying cautiously reminded me of a rat, to be honest. The way his skinny frame and beady eyes warily watched the surroundings made me wonder how his stats looked.

Other than that, his reaction was similar to the one Lee Sookyung elicited when we first met. Did this mean I could interact with him as well?

"Boss?" The other man in the room tried to get his boss's attention. He had a straight yet hooked nose, and thin eyes that looked like he was perpetually smiling, which was charming enough.

"No, that might just be my imagination. But if you had blabbered out there like a fool, then we would really be in for it!" The 'Boss' turned his head back at the other, snarling. "Not a word, do you understand?"

Threatening the other man, the 'Boss' snorted and walked out of the electrical unit like nothing had happened.

Quietly sticking up a middle finger at their 'boss's' back, the conversation partner also left, this time keeping silent.

It seemed the group relations weren't as harmonious as I thought. From the way people were speaking, they all seemed to be taken with the plan and followers of their 'boss' but perhaps it was just that they had no choice but to obey due to the flag punishments.

This could be good information.

Forcing Youngkik to check the time for me, I spent the rest memorizing the patrol groups and their paths, as well as trying to figure out what each person was good at and bad at.

Any information at this time was welcomed, although I struggled to remember everything. However, the weight of the mission weighed down on me, and I was afraid the things I remembered were not enough.

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Still, there was a time limit.

[Time's up! Are you going to loiter around her like an idiot? Your eyes are becoming spirals.] Youngkik reminded me as they had promised, but the comments after were not needed.

At that point, I had gotten used to Youngkik's demeaning quips, and learned that ignoring them was far better than squabbling back.

Taking one last surveying look at the station, I decisively headed back, trying to memorize all the things into my brain and sorting them in importance.

So much was I engrossed in my own thoughts, I almost made a wrong turn at times, or missed the signs completely.

It was a good and miraculous thing that I still made it back on time.

Behind the familiar door was the familiar desk, and the familiar person waiting for me at midnight.

Even by looking at Lee Sookyung, I could tell she was bone dead tired, but forced to carry on at this important juncture.

Trying not to focus on that at the moment, the floating pen waving in the air signaled my presence.

Lee Sookyung nodded her head and gestured toward the empty pages, which I dove at, trying to write succinctly and completely of all the information crammed into my head.

As soon as my hand left one page and onto another, Lee Sookyung would pick the freshly written one up to read through the contents and make additional notes for herself.

Although my writing was nearly illegible at this point, I could not care with the time ticking down and a rush filling my mind.

It kept screaming at me, 'cmon, write faster! Save as much time as possible.

Patrol A consists of three people, who go along x route...

The specialty of a few people on the ambush is stealth...beware of them hiding at x locations...

The pain of my hand and wrist gripping the pen tightly, betraying my inner agitation throbbed, making its presence keenly known, but I did not stop.

Cold sweat erupted on the bridge of my nose, sliding down along with the ticks of the clock on the wall.

When my pen finally made its final stroke, I half-dropped, half set the pen down, my breaths coming out in gasps.

Adrenaline thrummed through my veins and my body trembled from it.

Did I write everything? I hoped I did. If I missed anything important, that would cost.

Without me noticing, Lee Sookyung had also finished reading through the whole stack of papers.

"It is finished."

The words were like a spell, and I suddenly felt relieved, like there would be a better future. Even if I knew, the job wasn't finished.

Picking up the walkie-talkie prop, Lee Sookyung spoke into it to summon the next members.

"Chen Ilyong, Jie Kushin, ..."

Using rather unorthodox ways, the summoned people did not use the traditional door, but appeared through the window or vents, making me wonder if they really needed to use such a way.

Unlike my deadpan, too tired to really think of anything serious, Lee Sookyung took no heed of the method of use to get into the office, and instead instantly began to give instructions.

"Han Ryuyang, you are going to be the leader of this squad."

I instantly jerked at the name, trying to study the lumps of people in the room and find Han Ryuyang.

"Yes, Leader Lee!" There it was, the familiar respect and purpose filling that voice.

But as I stared at the person I assumed was sporting a pious expression, my mind recalled Lee Sookyung's words.

There is a mole in the people I called today.

Han Ryuyang was in that meeting. As I stared at Han Ryuyang's figure in the dark like it would unmask all the answers to my confusion a question rose up in my heart.

What is Lee Sookyung doing?

Was it because Lee Sookyung trusted Han Ryuyang so much that she placed her in this squad? I couldn't understand her reason for this, otherwise.

Lee Sookyung was very thorough, so there must be a reason why Han Ryuyang was put in this mission.

Still, this did not sway a building gut feeling of something wrong.

I breathed in, in an attempt to still it. You should trust Lee Sookyung. She knows what she's doing.

Unfortunately, I continued to feel uneasy. Should I observe this squad for a while?

I glanced at Lee Sookyung.

If I followed this newly formed squad instead of Lee Sookyung, what would happen to her? My worry was torn into two.

As if able to sense my inner dilemma despite not being able to see me, Lee Sookyung said,

"Follow the plan. Don't worry about me."

"Leader lee..." Some of the other squad members bemoaned, while other nodded in silence, their actions to tell their words for them.

Despite these words being said to the members of Lee Sookyung's group, I felt like they were aimed at me.

I smiled a little tiredly and gave a dry chuckle, my mind finally made up.

And so, when the sky was light, but not quite the time of sunrise, the squad tasked with preemptive striking moved out, with me among the ranks, unnoticed.

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