episode_0065
by fnovelpiaMy first day back at work after sick leave went smoothly.
Our neighborhood, where we returned around 7pm.
“Oh. Is that so.”
As soon as I entered the street in front of the villa, I nodded my head involuntarily at the familiar atmosphere.
The surrounding scenery was extremely deserted in the morning.
But now, a familiar yet eerie atmosphere was permeating the surroundings.
“You’re back, everyone.”
I could also feel the quiet eyes hidden in the darkness little by little.
Could it be that the trouble within the team was resolved in just one day?
“What the… . You’ll find out soon.”
He raised his head high in front of the common entrance.
The fourth floor veranda, where I was soon heading, was brightly lit.
I walked up the stairs with a smile on my face.
Beep, beep, beep.
Tiroling~♪
“I’m here~”
I opened the front door and let out a natural comment.
“Come in, honey!”
Then, Ruina suddenly appeared from the right side and rushed towards me.
I lightly patted my girlfriend’s head as she suddenly barged in.
“How have you been?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been doing well.”
“Yeah, yeah. But Ruina.”
“Huh?”
“Why in the kitchen…?”
Usually, she appears from the living room sofa.
The living room is on the left of the front door, and the kitchen is on the right.
But didn’t it definitely come from the right just now?
I was secretly concerned about that little detail.
And before the answer could even come out of Ruina’s mouth.
“Hello, Handler.”
“… … … … What the hell is that?”
I was the type of person who blurted out those words reflexively rather than saying hello.
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, whom we met again after just one day.
He was now wearing a neat suit and a light pink apron, the height of imbalance.
“I was teaching Ruina how to cook. It was a request, you know.”
“Requirements?”
“Yeah, yeah. I think there’s still time until you come. I thought it was better than just sitting there blankly.”
“But what the heck is that apron… … . Huh!”
Could that be it?
Last time, when I had a cold and was coughing.
Didn’t Team Leader Lee Tae-seok come to our house and cook for us at Ruina’s request?
At that time, Ruina had definitely emphasized several times that Team Leader Itaeseok was wearing a pink apron.
“… … … … .”
And now, standing before my eyes was the man wearing that very pink apron.
Even in my imagination, the image didn’t come to mind very well.
The sight I actually witnessed was, as expected, a spectacular sight.
Of course, it is sarcasm.
* * *
Let’s put aside the shocking reunion with the team leader for a moment.
I changed my clothes and came out to the living room.
“It’s easy to do this by snapping your wrist.”
“Hehe~”
“It won’t be heavy even if you don’t use snaps in the first place.”
In the kitchen, the man wearing a pink apron was busy teaching Ruina how to cook a meal using high heat.
By the way, I bought that home wok but never used it.
To think that my first love would be stolen by another man… … .
“No, no. What am I thinking? ”
“Oh. Honey, you came out? Hehe.”
Ruina, who had been looking at Team Leader Lee Tae-seok with some seriousness, brightened up as soon as she saw me.
As expected, she is my lovely girlfriend.
Am I the only one who sees her with such a bright face?
“What are you doing now?”
“This is Chinese food that you can eat at home.”
That was the answer I heard from Ruina, who ran into my arms.
“I tried it once because I had some unused cooking utensils. Was it a nuisance?”
“Huh? No, no. I didn’t really think about it… … .”
I was so touched by Team Leader Lee Tae-seok’s question that I ended up answering like that.
“Is that so?”
As expected from Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, his answer was extremely blunt.
“Please wait a moment. It will be completed soon.”
Soon, Team Leader Lee Tae-seok put a long ladle into the wok with very familiar hand movements.
Soon, a ladleful of rice was loaded up, each grain coated in golden granules.
“Fried rice?”
“Yeah, yeah. It must be delicious.”
Actually, I thought I could smell the delicious oil from the moment I entered the house.
What I was making was Chinese fried rice.
“Your cooking skills are really good, Team Leader. It was the same last time when I had a cold.”
“Thank you.”
Despite my praise, Team Leader Lee Tae-seok’s expression did not change even once and he poured the food into a large plate with a ladle.
After the ladle is removed from the bowl.
The shiny fried rice in the shape of an overturned rice bowl revealed its grandeur.
I never thought I would see in real life a scene I had only seen in videos of Chinese restaurant kitchens.
And I never thought a man who looked like he was a billion light years away from cooking would show me that.
I really thought that there were many truly amazing people in the world.
“Please eat.”
“Hehe. I’ll eat well!”
Ruina quickly sat down in her seat and immediately picked up the spoon.
I bought that spoon with the thought of trying to make ramen myself, but it turned out to be a piece of cutlery that had been out of stock for over a year.
Thanks to Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, I got to use tools I hadn’t used before.
Should I like this… … .
“Please eat, Handler. I guarantee the taste.”
“Ah, yes… . What about the team leader?”
Ruina’s expression was filled with happiness as she began eating the fried rice.
There was the same amount of fried rice as hers for me.
But Team Leader Lee Tae-seok did not have his own share.
“I just finished a quick meal.”
“Team leader, you were like that last time too. You always step away from the table.”
Ruina, who was stuffing her mouth full of fried rice and making noises, spoke up.
“I’m sorry. Let’s have a meal together next time.”
“Haha… . Then I will eat well.”
I put a spoonful of fried rice into my mouth, wondering if that promise could really be kept.
“Um um… … .”
As expected, it was such a great taste that the only word that comes to mind is “as expected.”
Do you have to be good at cooking to become a team leader at the National Intelligence Service?
It was to the point where such nonsensical thoughts came to me on their own.
“I’m glad you like it.”
Although I didn’t express my feelings out loud, I got that kind of reaction from Team Leader Lee Tae-seok.
“There. More than that.”
He continued speaking while swallowing his rice.
“You didn’t come to my house just to cook, did you?”
“Yes. As I informed the handler, I came to inform you about the maintenance of the operation.”
Here we go! Operation maintenance!
I quietly placed the ceramic spoon on the table with a serious face.
“Originally, I was planning to deposit it directly into the handler’s account.”
“But… ?”
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok paused for a moment, then searched the inside of his apron and the inside pocket of his jacket before taking something out.
It was a crisp, new paper passbook with a sky blue background.
“This is Ruina’s external identity. It’s an account opened in Yuri’s name.”
“Huh? Mine?”
The arrow headed in a direction I had never expected.
It seems the same goes for Ruina.
He pointed at himself with his finger and shook his head.
“Yes. Some of the handler’s identities were exposed due to a recent incident. So we took action to prevent other public agencies from being caught.”
“Ahh… … .”
Well, that was understandable.
In principle, civil servants were prohibited from holding multiple positions unless there was a special reason, including being heroes.
However, it seems that Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, with the help of Ex-Machina, manipulated this and that to make it possible to hold a concurrent job.
Of course, it is inevitable that the extra pay that is deposited into an account will be subject to investigation.
“In addition, the agency that is currently watching handlers the most closely is the National Tax Service.”
I had a feeling it would be like that even without me saying anything.
When it comes to collecting taxes, they are the ones who become more vicious than any other public institution.
“Please take it.”
“Uh. Can I really take this?”
“You have set up a smokescreen for the IRS by claiming to be a self-employed person. So don’t worry.”
“Take this, Ruina.”
“Ugh, yeah.”
At my suggestion, Ruina carefully received the bankbook from Team Leader Lee Tae-seok.
Then he slowly opened the stiff cover of the bankbook.
It’s just Ruina opening her bankbook.
My heart was pounding on its own.
“Hehe… … .”
“Hey, how are you, Ruina?”
As I asked cautiously, Ruina quickly turned the bankbook over and showed me what was inside.
“One. Ten. One Hundred. One Thousand. Ten Thousand. One Hundred Thousand. One Million. Ten Million… … !”
The number was definitely an eight-digit number.
The huge sum of money we had longed for had finally returned to us.
I immediately wanted to hug Team Leader Ruina and Lee Tae-seok and jump for joy, but my sanity barely stopped my thoughts from running wild.
“Please take care of me even better in the future. Hero Handler.”
“That, that’s right. Of course!?”
“And please continue to take good care of our Strategic Crisis Response Team Leader.”
“… … Huh??”
A question naturally came out of the emotions that had been rising in response to the sudden words.
Please take good care of the team leader.
So does that mean the man in front of me right now isn’t the team leader?
“What do you mean by “please take care of me”… … ?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok quickly adjusted his sunglasses and quietly said something meaningful.
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