The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 332

331. Side Story – Episode 9

Seoul Headquarters, Task Force 1 Office.

The office was filled with the quiet tapping of keyboards as everyone stayed behind to work on reports after the afternoon’s subjugation.

Of course, that didn’t last long.

“Ugh…!”

Geum Se-young Hunter broke the silence of the office with a stretch.

“Ah, now that I think about it, the Yellow-grade dungeon subjugation is coming up soon, right?”

“It’s next Monday.”

“Only 3 days left. Is the preparation going well?”

Geum Se-young asked Kim Min-ju, whose expression turned quite complicated.

Geum Se-young quickly understood the meaning of her expression.

“You still haven’t heard anything.”

“…….”

Kim Min-ju answered with silence.

“Only 3 days left, and you haven’t even had a meeting yet?”

“I don’t know. No one has said anything to me.”

“Surely they didn’t exclude you from the operation because of what happened last time… right?”

Geum Se-young Hunter asked cautiously, but immediately realized her mistake and quickly shut her mouth.

But Kim Min-ju’s face had already hardened.

Right now, a dungeon, a single achievement, was important to her.

Above all, a Yellow-grade subjugation wasn’t an opportunity that came easily.

So, being excluded from the team now would be a significant loss for her.

Geum Se-young Hunter was aware of Kim Min-ju’s situation and spoke carefully.

“When Kim Jun-woo comes, go and talk to him. Ask how the operation preparations are going. Maybe he’s just forgotten about it.”

“It’s not just anything, it’s an operation that the team has had a plan for since a month ago, there’s no way he’d forget…….”

“That’s… true.”

“Honestly, I don’t really want to run into him alone.”

Kim Min-ju’s voice was quite dry.

“Well… they’ll call me when it’s time for the meeting. Or maybe I really have been excluded.”

“Tsk, honestly, I’ve never participated in a Yellow-grade before, so I don’t really know… Is it normal to not have a meeting when there are only 3 days left?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Kim Min-ju shrugged.

She had only participated in one official Yellow-grade subjugation herself.

But that was beside the point.

“And it’s not Yellow anymore.”

“…What?”

“The control team recently upgraded it to Orange-grade. It seems the monster information inside the dungeon has changed.”

“Does that make sense? Aside from dungeon intervention situations, isn’t the grade determined from the moment it appears?”

“If the boss is an evolved monster, there’s a very slim chance the grade can change. I just heard about it, so I don’t know the details.”

“Then… does that mean the grade could go up even more in the future?”

“Maybe.”

Geum Se-young Hunter’s expression momentarily stiffened at Kim Min-ju’s nonchalant words.

Then, Kim Min-ju smiled slightly and said.

“Don’t worry too much. To be honest… it’s Kim Jun-woo’s operation, after all. Or, like you said, maybe I’ve been excluded.”

“Hey, what are you saying…….”

Geum Se-young Hunter started to speak, then let out a soft sigh. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, as if she was bringing up another story.

“By the way, Kim Jun-woo. I heard he’s been hanging out with some girl lately? Do you know her?”

“……Do I need to know her?”

Kim Min-ju showed no interest, with a blank reaction.

Nevertheless, Geum Se-young Hunter continued to speak.

“She’s a newbie sent by the committee as a supervisor… Other team members say that something has changed since she’s been around.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…….”

Just as Geum Se-young was about to say something.

“Kim Min-ju.”

“……!”

“……!”

The two of them froze for a moment at the chilling call.

Kim Min-ju slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice, and there stood Kim Jun-woo, who she didn’t know when he had arrived.

“Come to the conference room right now. We’re going to have an operation briefing.”

“……Yes, yes.”

He only said what he needed to say and immediately turned away.

Startled by the sudden call, Kim Min-ju got up from her seat with a relieved expression.

And then.

“Ah, and.”

Kim Jun-woo, who was about to leave the office, stopped for a moment and opened his mouth quietly.

After a moment of hesitation.

“…No, never mind.”

He glanced at the office atmosphere and moved again.

As she followed him to the conference room, not a word was exchanged between them.

A suffocating atmosphere.

It was only relieved after arriving at the conference room.

All the other team members were already present in the conference room, all of whom had more than 10 years of experience in Team 1.

‘Is it more about experience than rank……?’

Of course, she was the highest-ranked among them, but wasn’t there a saying that subjugation wasn’t done by rank?

Kim Jun-woo seemed to have considered that point when organizing the team.

Soon, she sat down and exchanged eye contact with the 9 subjugation team members, when a face she had never seen before caught her eye.

A woman standing next to Kim Jun-woo.

Since it was her first time seeing her, she wasn’t part of the operation team. And judging by her youthful face, she looked like a newbie…….

‘Is that the person Se-young was talking about…?’

As she muttered to herself.

“Let’s start when you’re ready.”

Kim Jun-woo stood on the platform and gestured to the woman.

At the same time, she turned off the conference room lights and turned on the projector.

“The dungeon location is an alley about 400m from Yongsan Station. It’s a dimensional dungeon, and the boss’s name is Eggsphere. We expect it to be a monster that increases its numbers by continuously laying eggs in the dungeon.”

That’s how the meeting started.

While reciting the basic information written on the PPT [PowerPoint presentation], Kim Jun-woo looked straight ahead and said.

“Well, as you all know, it was originally Yellow-grade, but the control team has temporarily changed the difficulty to Orange-grade this time. The reason for the change is believed to be due to the boss’s evolution or increase in numbers… Given the boss’s characteristics, the increase in numbers is more likely.”

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone in the conference room hesitated to answer, sensing that it was different from the usual subjugation.

But even in that atmosphere, Kim Min-ju didn’t concentrate much.

After all, her role was just to do mapping in the back, as Kim Jun-woo had said.

He’ll do the subjugation alone again, and I’ll just do what I’m told…….

“So, this subjugation will proceed with individual combat, not a one-man position.”

“……?”

“……Yes?”

At that moment, an unexpected word was heard.

At the same time, bewilderment appeared on the faces of the subjugation team members.

Moving away from the one-man position, where they assisted and supported the attack centered on one main subjugation team member, and proceeding with individual combat meant…….

‘Is he going to distribute positions……?’

That Kim Jun-woo?

Kim Min-ju secretly wondered.

“First, Hunter Lee Hak-tae.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Hunter Lee Hak-tae will be in charge of the left flank. I’ll send you the expected floor plan of the boss room, so please familiarize yourself with your position.”

“…I understand.”

Kim Jun-woo really started to distribute positions.

“Bae Su-hyeok.”

“Yes!”

“You’re on the right flank. Seo Jeong-woon is rear support, and Kang Jin-gyu is marking the priest.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kim Min-ju was just blinking blankly at the unfamiliar scene.

And then.

“And Kim Min-ju will take the boss position with me.”

“……Me?”

“Is there another Kim Min-ju here besides you?”

For a moment, Kim Min-ju doubted her ears.

She carefully asked, wondering if she had heard correctly that he said boss position.

“Last, last time, you told me to do mapping…….”

“The situation has changed. Or what, do you want to just do mapping alone and have an easy time?”

“…….”

Kim Min-ju took a short breath.

She hadn’t misheard.

She was really taking the boss position.

Her eyes were filled with strength.

“I understand.”

“Good.”

Kim Jun-woo answered, glancing at the woman next to him.

Only for a moment.

“I’ve sent the details to your personal email, so check it out, and the first meeting is over. We’ll have the final meeting the day after tomorrow, so set up your strategies for each position by then. If you don’t know anything, I’ll give you feedback, so come and find me anytime.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Then… let’s call it a day.”

With those words, Kim Jun-woo almost ran out of the conference room first.

At the same time, laughter erupted from here and there.

“What, is he telling us to participate in the subjugation now?”

“I thought he was going to do it all by himself again, and we’d be stuck in the back.”

“Did he get an earful from above?”

The subjugation team members were still shaking their heads, as if they still couldn’t believe it.

“I heard he changed a bit after Eun-hye came… it was true.”

“Who’s Eun-hye?”

“What. Haven’t you ever been on an operation together? I’m talking about the person next to Kim Jun-woo earlier. They say the committee assigned her as a supervisor.”

“So, are you using honorifics to someone who’s not even on the operation team?”

“Hey, hey, it depends. She’s a newbie, but she’s very sociable and cute. And… it’s fun to watch the almighty Kim Jun-woo being helpless and flustered by a newbie.”

They started talking among themselves about the woman who was next to Kim Jun-woo earlier.

Of course, Kim Min-ju wasn’t very interested, so she was about to get up to pack her documents when.

“By the way… Min-ju, I feel bad for you.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, a team member spoke to her.

“You’re in the main position with that human.”

“If you make even a small mistake, he might exclude you right away.”

“Ugh… you have to work with that human? I’d rather not participate.”

The team members said something that was hard to tell if it was concern or something else.

But Kim Min-ju smiled slightly at their banter.

It was a story she somewhat agreed with.

But more than that…….

‘Even so, can a person change in just a few days…?’

Her head was still full of thoughts about Kim Jun-woo.

Of course, it was closer to suspicion than relief that he had turned over a new leaf.

***

“……Why are you smiling to yourself so much?”

I asked Ha Eun-hye as soon as I came out into the hallway after the meeting.

It wasn’t that she kept looking at me and smirking.

“Did you see the team members’ reactions? Everyone was stunned, wondering if they ate something wrong.”

“…….”

That’s right.

She was just teasing me.

“By the way, it’s a bit unexpected. You were so serious back then… why did you suddenly listen to me?”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I listened to you, it’s just that the situation has changed, so I changed the operation accordingly.”

“Chuckles, sure.”

“…….”

Now, it seems that she is losing her manners beyond the level of being fearless.

But what’s even more infuriating is…….

I’m getting used to it too.

“Anyway, let’s make sure to do the subjugation together in the future. We’re colleagues, right?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

I vaguely avoided answering.

“By the way, it’s Orange-grade… I’m a little nervous too.”

“What is it? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of following me all the way there?”

“Isn’t that obvious? That day is the last day of the investigation period. I have to do my best until the end too!”

As I watched, she glanced at me and asked.

“Why. Are you worried?”

“…….”

“Hey, what could happen? I’ll just stick to the back and stay still…….”

“The 10 people I organized are the minimum number of people for subjugation. In other words… it means it’s not enough to do something other than subjugation.”

I said in a rather serious voice.

“Unlike before, there’s no one to protect you there. Especially since we’re going into individual combat. And if…….”

I hesitated for a moment, trailing off.

I spoke again, clearly.

“If something really happens to you, I have to prioritize subjugation. Do you understand what that means?”

“…….”

Her expression momentarily hardened.

Yes, no matter how fearless she is, she’s only a 3-month-old newbie.

She’s not crazy enough to go to a place where she could die…….

“You shouldn’t be worrying about me.”

At that moment, Ha Eun-hye said something strange.

A different, rather heavy expression than usual.

“…What do you mean?”

When I asked, she hesitated to answer for a moment.

After looking around for a while, she slowly opened her mouth in a low voice.

“The control team file… seems to have been manipulated.”

“……!”

She then said something shocking.