Chapter 56 : Kim Hana
Chapter 56: Kim Hana
-Jeong Nayeon: gg
"....."
As always, once the start signal arrived from Jeong Nayeon, Baek Woohyun slowly rose from his seat and began to move.
He made his way toward the Otherworld Management Bureau's training room─having returned while the broadcast was still being prepared.
Since increasing the PVP ratio was something reserved for the next broadcast onwards, his intention was to run through a story mission first, just as he had done before.
The answer to why he needed to go to the Otherworld Management Bureau's training room in order to run a story mission was simple.
It was because a text had come in on his work smartphone while he had been logged in alone to save Black Devil.
The sender was Lee Yujin, and the message said that since her injuries would prevent her from fulfilling the role of senior partner for the time being, she would introduce a substitute if he came to the training room.
'Ah, right.'
As Baek Woohyun strode forward, he suddenly realized that he had been the only one to see that text. It was only natural, since he had checked it when he wasn't broadcasting.
This way, the studio side would have no way of knowing where he was going or why. Cha Seongcheol and Jeong Nayeon must be puzzled by his sudden movement.
So he paused briefly, took out his smartphone in a natural manner, and pulled up the text.
[Sender: Lee Yujin
It looks like my injuries will make it hard to carry out the senior partner role for a while, junior
So I've found someone to fill in for me
Come to the training room and I'll introduce you!]
'That should do it.'
Having made a point of displaying the text contents, Baek Woohyun judged that they would have had enough time to read it, then resumed his walk toward the training room.
Just as he had anticipated, the studio staff who had checked the text were in the meantime throwing out guesses about 'who would be taking on the substitute role.'
Both Cha Seongcheol and Jeong Nayeon, as well as the viewers, were all voicing their own opinions and trying to guess who would show up as the substitute.
"At this point in the story, who among the Otherworld Management Bureau would be suited to take on Lee Yujin's role as substitute?"
"It's still the early stage, so everyone except for a handful would still be at HQ, which makes it even harder to figure out. Kim Hana, Jang Hoyeong, Son Yunji, Kim Hyeonseong··· who else was there."
-Isn't Kim Cheol going to take over?
-Nah, probably not. Last time we saw him he looked insanely busy
-It's gotta be either Kim Hana or Jang Hoyeong
-Either way, it seems like a given that it'll be a named agent
"I agree with the opinion that they'll assign a named agent. The Otherworld Management Bureau's assessment of Hackphysical must be extremely high right now."
"That's right. They already know about his performance during the research facility escape, and on top of that he cleared the Reverse World even after Lee Yujin went down, so they'd definitely want to assign him a properly capable agent."
The fact that the Otherworld Management Bureau was already struggling with corporations poaching its talent had been something Lee Yujin had mentioned during the earlier 'First Field Training' mission.
As such, the chances of them assigning an ordinary agent to Baek Woohyun, who was a prime candidate for their ace, were virtually zero. If he ended up disappointed in the Otherworld Management Bureau because of that, it would be a serious problem.
At the very minimum, they would be assigning someone with a title─what Reverse Planet users would call a 'named agent.'
The issue was that, since the current point in the story was still the early stage, the named agents were all still in perfectly good shape, meaning there were far too many candidates to guess from.
If the story had progressed a little further, the numbers would have dwindled for various reasons, making it easier to speculate.
Though since, at the point where things had advanced that far, it would no longer be Baek Woohyun who needed a senior partner─rather, he would be at a level to take on that role himself─it was a meaningless hypothetical.
-Wait, don't tell me Yujin is just out like this??
-She said 'for the time being', so she'll come back later··· she will··· she really will···
-In the original story there's no dropout at all, hmm···
-The original story where Yujin keeps showing up is better fr lmao
"That part might honestly be a win for the original story. Ha ha!"
-agreed, totally agreed
-Original story +1 win
-Ahh so we're not gonna see Fully Responsive AI Yujin??
-Original story -1 win ㅜㅜ
Just as the speculation over who would take Lee Yujin's place was branching out into a peculiar direction, Baek Woohyun arrived at the training room.
Unlike before when it had been completely empty, multiple agents were now sweating through their drills, but finding Lee Yujin among them wasn't particularly difficult.
The only spot in the training room where an injured Lee Yujin would be was the chair set along one side of it.
"Over here, junior-!"
On top of that, she called out loudly to announce her location the moment Baek Woohyun stepped inside.
"Hmm─"
Baek Woohyun's brow furrowed at the sight of Lee Yujin waving at him excitedly.
Though that wasn't because he felt any particular displeasure at being called out to so loudly.
It was more due to Lee Yujin's appearance as she sat in the chair.
She had bandages wrapped around various parts of her body, and the arm she wasn't waving with was in a full cast.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine, perfectly fine! ···Would be a lie, wouldn't it?"
"Yes."
"Very direct, junior. Well, I suppose I should be grateful just for not dying in that situation."
Lee Yujin said with a faint smile.
Her words about being grateful just for surviving weren't an ounce of exaggeration─she meant them wholeheartedly.
The fact that she had survived after being ambushed by three veteran awakeners who served as the corporations' hunting dogs inside the Reverse World was more than enough reason to say so.
Even more so when you factored in that the person who had been at her side was a probationary agent who had only just gone out on his first field training.
The irony being, of course, that the one who had cleaned up all the hunting dogs and completed the Reverse World sweep after she had been ambushed and knocked down was that very probationary agent.
"As I mentioned in the text, my condition being what it is, I won't be able to carry out the senior partner role for a while."
"It can't be helped."
"Thank you for understanding. Anyway, so I've found someone to take over as your senior partner─and it looks like they're heading this way right now!"
Baek Woohyun turned his head to follow Lee Yujin's gaze.
There, walking straight toward the two of them, was a woman with a rather fierce look about her, dressed in the combat uniform of an Otherworld Management Bureau agent.
She was a woman with her hair in a roughly untied bob cut, a sword hanging at one side of her hip, and a scar running across the bridge of her nose that stood out as prominently as her sharp eyes.
The moment Baek Woohyun saw her face, he was quickly able to recall who she was. She was someone he had shared a fair amount of history with on 'that side.'
'Kim Hana.'
Otherworld Management Bureau Team 2 Leader, Kim Hana.
No, her becoming Team 2 Leader would come after Kim Cheol became the Otherworld Management Bureau Director─so she was probably still just a team member at this point.
In terms of raw ability alone, she was the uncontested second-in-command of the Otherworld Management Bureau after Kim Cheol, and in terms of offensive capability she boasted a power that even surpassed Kim Cheol himself.
Having crossed swords with her multiple times on 'that side,' Baek Woohyun knew all too well just how formidable she was.
To the extent that he even thought, had he faced her when he was even slightly less experienced, he might well have been the one to lose.
As an aside, her swordsmanship had also had a considerable influence on Baek Woohyun.
'Well, just as expected.'
In truth, he had been quietly anticipating that Kim Hana might be filling in for Lee Yujin.
He already knew through his experience on 'that side' that the two of them were close enough to be called best friends.
If she'd had other business, someone other than Kim Hana would have come, but barring that, he had been nine-tenths certain it would be her.
Though that was purely a conviction held by Baek Woohyun alone, based on his time on 'that side.'
For those watching from the studio, Kim Hana had been just one of several candidates for the substitute role, which was precisely why her appearance drew such intense reactions.
-Kim Hana! Kim Hana! Kim Hana! Kim Hana! Kim Hana!
-Nice, this is the good stuff~ this is exactly the good stuff~
-Lee Yujin and then Kim Hana lmaooo so jealous fr lmaooo
-Hidden story winning streak continues omg
'Quick-to-fall' donated '1,000 won'!
[Lee Yujin and Kim Hana are a matter of preference ㅇㅇ]
"Thank you for the 1,000 won donation, Quick-to-fall. Lee Yujin and Kim Hana are a matter of preference. Hmm, well, that's not wrong."
"The two of them do give quite a different feel."
-Matter of preference lmao it's obviously Yujin
-Nope~ Kim Hana is the best~
-I'm team Jeong Nayeon!
-Can't we just pick both??
There was nobody who disagreed on the point that Kim Hana was more than capable of standing in for Lee Yujin.
Whether in terms of looks or ability, the two were quite evenly matched.
Just as the donation had said, which of the two you preferred was more a matter of taste.
In the chat, people were fighting among themselves─belatedly─over whether Lee Yujin was better, Kim Hana was better, or actually Jeong Nayeon was better─Jeong Nayeon quietly handed that person a temporary mute─but that was their own business.
"Hana! This is the probationary agent I told you about, junior Baek Woohyun. And junior! This is Otherworld Management Bureau Team 2 Agent Kim Hana, who'll be taking over as your senior partner in my place."
"How do you do. I'm Baek Woohyun. I look forward to working with you."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Hana. It's only for a short while, but let's get along well."
Baek Woohyun stepped forward to greet her first, and Kim Hana gave a nod and returned the greeting.
Her tone was somewhat blunt, but it didn't quite seem like she was doing it deliberately. It was more the impression of someone whose manner of speaking was simply sharp by default.
If anything, paired with her rather fierce look, it came across as natural.
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave here! To be honest, coming here at all was sneaking out!"
"What? I thought you got permission to go out?"
"Oops!"
"Lee Yujin! Don't you move!"
Lee Yujin made a dash for the exit─though given her injuries, it was a remarkably slow dash─out of the training room.
Kim Hana had taken a step forward as if she were about to give chase, but she didn't move any further than that.
That was because she had no real intention of catching Lee Yujin as she fled. Had she been serious, she would have caught her before she'd gotten that far.
She wasn't so easy a catch that she could manage an escape while injured.
"....."
"....."
With Lee Yujin gone, an awkward silence settled between Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana.
Baek Woohyun was not particularly outgoing by nature, and neither was Kim Hana. That much was apparent just from looking at the two of them.
A haggard-looking man with handsome features but deep dark circles, and a woman with a fierce look and a long scar running across the bridge of her nose.
It was obvious to anyone that a warm and easy conversation would not be flowing between these two anytime soon.
"······I heard you mainly use a sword."
It was Kim Hana who broke the silence first.
It was only natural, given that it wouldn't do for Baek Woohyun─a mere probationary agent─to be the one to start the conversation.
Baek Woohyun gave a nod in response to her question.
"Yes, that's right."
"The materials I was given said you use a dagger, but do you not use a longsword?"
"I use both─dagger and longsword."
"Both, hm....."
A flicker of interest crossed Kim Hana's expression.
In the Otherworld Management Bureau, where the belief that supernatural abilities were all that mattered had quietly taken root, those who used cold weapons were not particularly common, and even they generally used them only for self-defense.
But Baek Woohyun wielded weapons using enhanced physical capability alone with no supernatural ability whatsoever, which made him an intriguing figure to her, a practitioner of swordsmanship.
"I'm curious about what level you're at, and since we happen to be in a training room right now..... Shall we have a light spar?"