Ch.137137. The Protector

The plan is simple. I’m going to meet with the police to provide important information. These police officers are the suspected informants.

We need to identify the real ones among nearly 200 suspects divided into 10 teams.

[We’ll make contact with police leadership. We’ll secretly screen the suspects. We’re deliberately gathering teams to make secret contact with you.]

First, we decided to meet with one team at a time.

“So it’s you. Wow, plainclothes officers dress quite flashy these days.”

“It would look more suspicious if we tried too hard to hide. I deliberately pretended to take photos.”

I met with the police officer in front of me and passed along false information.

The truth of what I’m telling this person doesn’t matter.

The point is whether these guys are prepared to kill me or not.

Someone who might be connected to monsters comes to provide information?

If they’re legitimate, the normal response would be to eliminate me to prevent information leaks.

So there are two key points: which side attacks me here, and ‘where’ they leak the information I have.

[We just need to catch one of them. We’ll make them confess, law be damned.]

Our Mr. Dokgo-jun is very reliable in situations like this. When he’s on our side, that is.

Anyway, after passing the information, it was a tense moment. The plainclothes officer wrote down my story on his phone and stood up.

“Thank you for the information. Is this real?”

“Yes. You’ll know when you see it later.”

Once we catch the informant, they’ll find out automatically anyway.

For reference, this was the second day. Fortunately, nothing unusual had happened so far.

“By the way, is the person next to you your girlfriend?”

“What? Yes. Yes. That’s right. Why?”

“No reason. I’m sorry for interrupting your date. She doesn’t look happy.”

He whispers to me. No, I know. I can see Seol Yu-hwa’s coldly frozen expression very clearly.

“Haha, we had a bit of a fight earlier.”

“Oh my… You should treat her better. She’s so pretty.”

“Yes. Yes.”

I kept watching this officer with tension, wondering if something might happen, but that was really it.

So far, nothing unusual with the first two teams. I breathed a sigh of relief, but the problem was on my side.

“Are you angry?”

“…”

Seol Yu-hwa had turned her head away. If this continues on just the second day, the operation will fail.

I really did make a mistake. If I hadn’t done that, this wouldn’t have happened.

I recalled what happened today.

*

Seol Yu-hwa had values she considered important from before.

Family.

And success.

A home without parents, and younger siblings. Having taken on the role of mother in a declining household, she was extremely cautious and obsessed with her goals.

Becoming stronger was one of them.

She needed to become strong and earn money to feed her family.

That was her important goal.

This mission, from her perspective, was a stage for a successful career.

‘I have to do well. If I fail, everything…’

Perhaps because of this, she was excessively rigid.

It was bad enough that Do Jong-hyun, who was beside her, demanded affectionate gestures he normally wouldn’t.

“We’re supposed to be lovers. Lovers.”

“Y-yes, but…”

It was embarrassing. This always happened when she was with Do Jong-hyun.

To the point where she momentarily forgot her purpose. She needed to do well.

‘Do I like him?’

Seol Yu-hwa hadn’t yet acknowledged her own feelings. The mission came first, and this was work.

She felt comfortable with Do Jong-hyun, but that was all.

She was deliberately hiding and enduring it. But even when given an obvious opportunity like now, her hesitation was great.

‘I need to focus on the mission. I can’t let my attention drift elsewhere just because I might like someone.’

There are clearly other priorities. So that’s how it is right now.

“Well then…”

Do Jong-hyun naturally guided her to link arms. Seol Yu-hwa blushed but wondered:

‘But why is Jong-hyun so natural about this?’

Her head was spinning, but this man seemed comfortable.

As relaxed as having a beer after dinner.

‘I wonder if he’s dating… Ariel?’

Judging from Ariel’s attitude at school, she was certain they weren’t dating.

But what about after the break? Ariel had become more subdued when talking about Do Jong-hyun afterward.

Before, she would mock or ridicule him.

‘She’s changed a bit. But should I not be like this…?’

Despite encouragement from her sister and Lee Chae-rin, she was in this state.

Confused.

Because she wasn’t properly looking at her sense of duty and the emotions she was feeling.

That’s why Do Jong-hyun’s smooth attitude was confusing her.

‘Here I am worrying so much!’

Do Jong-hyun showed no such signs. The date itself was ordinary and not bad. This man was always kind to others.

‘Am I… just one of them?’

Seol Yu-hwa seemed to understand but avoided the truth.

So she asked Do Jong-hyun a question.

“Jong-hyun, are you friends with Ariel?”

“Yeah. She has a sharp tongue, but still.”

“What about me?”

“Yu-hwa? Of course you’re my friend too. Why do you ask?”

If she had expected something more, honestly, it would be Seol Yu-hwa’s own fault.

It’s natural not to expect more when they’re not even dating.

But compared to her own worrying, his casual response was somewhat disappointing.

‘Here I am worrying so much.’

Do Jong-hyun takes it lightly. This perception became fixed in her mind.

To make matters worse, Do Jong-hyun tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere with nonsense.

“What’s wrong? You should be grateful. To be honest, both you and Ariel are beauties anyone would envy.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I’m thrilled to be friends with two beautiful women. Haha, how great would it be if you were both my girlfriends?”

He seemed to be trying to lighten the mood by raising the joke level, but it happened to deal quite a blow to Seol Yu-hwa, who was already troubled.

‘He’s so shallow. Both of us?’

Feeling betrayed, Seol Yu-hwa maintained a scary expression and didn’t speak for the rest of the time.

The result was this heavy expression now. Do Jong-hyun apologized after completing the mission.

“No, it was really just a joke! I’m seriously focused on the operation right now.”

“Right. The operation is the main mission.”

Seol Yu-hwa responded coldly. In the end, the atmosphere remained unresolved as the third day began.

But Seol Yu-hwa wondered why she had to pretend to be his lover.

‘Should I just let someone else guard him?’

It felt foolish. Why did she have to be doing this?

Her own fluttering heart now felt stupid.

Of course, that didn’t mean her feelings had changed.

It was just that disappointment overshadowed everything else. And seeing Do Jong-hyun trying to cheer her up with her still unsettled emotions made her heart soften.

‘I should just quit for now.’

In the middle of the date, Seol Yu-hwa called Lee Chae-rin.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore. Jong-hyun, I’m sorry.”

Feeling pathetic, she said she was giving up.

But Do Jong-hyun wasn’t looking at her. He was running somewhere.

‘That’s too much.’

Seol Yu-hwa was angry and about to storm off.

As she ran for a while, Lee Chae-rin suddenly blocked her path.

“You had a fight.”

“…Yes. I don’t think I can continue.”

“This is a mission. Separate from personal feelings. You’re still young so I can excuse mistakes, but this isn’t a game, is it? Besides, what did Jong-hyun do wrong? You need to be precise.”

Seol Yu-hwa had no response to Chae-rin’s cold words.

“From what I can see, you’re just sulking because you couldn’t handle it properly. This isn’t about trauma or suffering from the mission. Yu-hwa, you’ve made a serious mistake.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Seol Yu-hwa realized. This was an important mission to catch informants, and honestly, she had ruined it with her own worries.

Lee Chae-rin looked at her watch.

“It’s not time for the plainclothes officer to arrive yet, so that’s fortunate at least. If he had chased after you, it would have been the worst.”

Do Jong-hyun had been dedicated to the mission from start to finish.

She was the one not doing her job properly.

In other words, she had committed a clear mistake as a White Dragon Guild member. She had let emotions overwhelm her and failed at something important.

To the point of risking even her family, which she valued most.

Seol Yu-hwa hung her head, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she realized she had been making a mountain out of a molehill.

Lee Chae-rin then lifted Seol Yu-hwa’s head.

“However… Jong-hyun said it was his mistake. Maybe there’s something I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Yesterday, Jong-hyun told me he was sorry for making you upset. He asked for understanding if you couldn’t continue.”

“Jong-hyun did?”

Surprisingly, Do Jong-hyun had a good grasp of Seol Yu-hwa’s mental state.

Perhaps it was because he had seen the pre-regression Seol Yu-hwa who was manipulated by Geum Do-hyun.

He knows a Seol Yu-hwa that Seol Yu-hwa herself doesn’t know. The girl’s heart fluttered for a moment.

Lee Chae-rin stroked Seol Yu-hwa’s head.

“He’s more sensitive than he looks. He cares about you a lot… if you really dislike it, I’ll replace you.”

“No. I behaved selfishly toward Jong-hyun.”

“That’s it!”

Lee Chae-rin gave a thumbs up and finally smiled.

“That’s how you win someone over. Even someone older and gruff will eventually melt—that’s what women do! You can do it!”

“The… mission is important. Because it’s a mission!”

Seol Yu-hwa was embarrassed but regained her energy and ran off.

Lee Chae-rin watched her fondly, then glanced behind her.

“Isn’t this the essence of youth? High school emotions…”

“…You talk too much. Why did you tell that story?”

Dokgo-jun sighed. Lee Chae-rin had a bright smile.

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? This old, gruff man. But in the end, you came around, and what happened? I didn’t know you were so passionate.”

“…Good grief.”

Dokgo-jun was unusually embarrassed and turned his face away.

But at that moment, their radio crackled to life.

“Perfect timing.”

They moved like lightning from their position.

*

I can see it. In the distance, Do Jong-hyun is talking with someone.

‘Jong-hyun had a reason for not looking at me then.’

He had spotted a signal. A signal from the plainclothes officer. So he ran to prioritize the mission.

‘And I didn’t even realize!’

I was still too swayed by emotions to make proper judgments.

‘I’m sorry.’

In the distance, Do Jong-hyun and the plainclothes officer were now exchanging greetings.

[“It’s not time for the plainclothes officer to arrive yet.”]

“Huh?”

As I moved to apologize to Do Jong-hyun, I realized something.

If the plainclothes officer wasn’t supposed to arrive yet, who was this officer meeting with Do Jong-hyun?

As Seol Yu-hwa rushed forward with her magic, her sister’s warning flashed in her mind.

And as Do Jong-hyun turned around, the plainclothes officer’s body transformed into a monster.

‘No!’

At that moment, Seol Yu-hwa’s Brisingamen activated. She instantly collapsed the legs of the monster transforming into an Elk.

The momentum of the charge was still carrying it forward.

Here, Seol Yu-hwa attempted two operations simultaneously.

‘I need to visualize it.’

She aimed at both the Elk and Do Jong-hyun’s movements. At that precise moment, the two stopped exquisitely in front of each other.

Mind control is harder on monsters, but Brisingamen’s revealed ability so far restricts physical freedom.

As Seol Yu-hwa’s Brisingamen exerted its power at a distance where their clothes almost touched, the monster staggered backward.

She had succeeded in saving Do Jong-hyun.

“Jong-hyun!”

Seol Yu-hwa called out with a happy face.

“I’m sorry. I…”

“No, everything’s fine, but look ahead! Ahead!”

Beyond his urgent voice, the Elk was lunging forward.

But soon arrows flew, wrapping around the monster.

“Phew…”

They faced each other with sighs of relief.

“I’m really sorry. I selfishly…”

“No! Don’t cry. You did well. You saved my life.”

She’s still fragile. Seol Yu-hwa was crying and apologizing in front of Do Jong-hyun.

Do Jong-hyun had already experienced Seol Yu-hwa’s fragility before the regression.

That’s why he wanted to embrace and strengthen her.

Lee Chae-rin gave her a wink.

“Good job, Yu-hwa. You saved someone.”

“I…”

“Excellent. Now leave this one to us.”

Dokgo-jun passed by Seol Yu-hwa with a smile. But as soon as he passed, he exuded killing intent as he approached the monster bound by arrows.

“You should consider yourself lucky to be alive. We’re going to interrogate every member of Team 3. You’ll need to tell us exactly who the informant is.”

Their operation was a great success. They discovered three informants in Team 3, and by digging through them like sweet potato vines, they managed to uncover nearly 20 informants within the police force.

It was a perfect achievement for humanity. They had identified information leakers in Korea, essentially the center of the Jaegers.

But the Goegyeopdan didn’t stop.

On the 29th, the evening before the 30th. The vacuum operation finally began.

Heading straight for Busan.