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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Half an S-Rank
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**Chapter 2**

**Half an S-Rank**

A middle-aged man sitting at the head of the conference room table spoke into the microphone. Jeong Yu-jin answered swiftly.

“Kang Ha-ra is currently recovering. She is in no condition to attend.”

-Does that make any sense?

“Of course, it does.”

Chief Jeong Yu-jin raised an eyebrow.

“She’s an agent who barely survived a B-Rank Gate. Isn’t it only natural for her to be in the hospital’s ICU? It’s only been a week since the gate closed.”

Director Yoon Hyeon-dong frowned.

-Every agent on site saw the message that the dungeon clear was complete when the gate closed. And yet Kang Ha-ra can’t attend?

“Then why don’t you all go to the ICU, place the unconscious patient on a round table, and hold your meeting there.”

-Chief Jeong Yu-jin!

Director Yoon slammed his hand on the table. A tremendous sound echoed from the heavy desk, startling everyone present.

-We all know Kang Ha-ra is in a private room, not the ICU! Agent Shim Yu-jeong?!

At his words, Yu-jeong, who had been summoned as a witness and was huddled to one side, jumped in surprise.

For three days straight, she had been attending the disciplinary committee meetings with Chief Jeong Yu-jin, all because she had been with Ha-ra when the guerrilla gate appeared.

Director Yoon pressed on.

-Agent Shim Yu-jeong, you are also complicit in covering up and downplaying the Yeouido Gate clear!

Yu-jeong’s eyes filled with panic and fear. Seeing this, Jeong Yu-jin sighed and cut in.

“What do you want me to do about it?”

The directors stared wide-eyed at the Mapo Branch Chief’s insolent reply. But Chief Jeong Yu-jin merely scoffed.

“This is the third day of this disciplinary committee. How many times do I have to tell you that Agent Kang Ha-ra did not have a second awakening?”

-This is a matter of national crisis! The Mapo Branch is intentionally concealing an agent’s potential second awakening, and it’s clear you’ve smuggled the agent away to evade the disciplinary committee!

“Do you have any proof?”

The director stared at Chief Jeong Yu-jin, dumbfounded. Even under Director Yoon’s incredulous gaze, Chief Jeong Yu-jin didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.

“As the branch chief, I have a duty to protect my agents. The Seoul Branch is trying to force an agent who can’t even function in her daily life to attend a disciplinary committee based on mere speculation.”

Director Yoon gritted his teeth and raised his voice again.

-This isn’t speculation, it’s our duty to protect the nation!

“And the agent who just fulfilled that duty is sick, I’m telling you! Instead of rewarding an agent who brought everyone back from a dungeon without a single casualty, you immediately summon her to a disciplinary committee!”

-We’re not saying she won’t be rewarded, Mapo!

“What!”

Yu-jeong squeezed her eyes shut with a wince. After her divorce, she had transferred to the Mapo Branch and worked there for a solid eight years. Thanks to that, she was well aware of the formidable temper of Chief Jeong Yu-jin, also known as the “Tiger of Mapo.”

Three days was a long time for the chief to hold back. As expected, she finally exploded.

“Recess! Hey, Yoon Hyeon-dong! Are you going to keep treating people like criminals? The kid is sick!”

Everyone was stunned by the sudden declaration of a recess, but their faces contorted at the chief’s subsequent outburst. Another director quickly spoke into his microphone.

-Chief Jeong! This is the branch headquarters! You can’t just unilaterally declare a recess!

But the problem was the now-incensed Director Yoon.

-Senior Jeong! Stop speaking to me so informally! I’m a director!

“Good for you, you bastard!”

-Hey! I’m your superior now!

“Go fuck yourself, you bastard! What class are you? If I hadn’t taken maternity leave, I would’ve been promoted way before you!”

A stream of crude insults flew back and forth.

Listening to it all, Yu-jeong wanted to cry. *Ah, Chief Jeong. When you lash out like that without thinking, it’s us subordinates who suffer later…*

-Don’t you think I’m doing this out of frustration? We need some kind of result to give a briefing! A gate opened in the middle of Yeouido! Wouldn’t it be good for the Mapo Branch if an E-Rank agent awakened?!

“Go drag the president of the broadcasting station here and ask him if this is what the license fees are paying for! Is that our responsibility? If you want to assign blame, you should be asking the Yeongdeungpo Branch! We’d be thrilled if she awakened! But I told you, she didn’t!”

-Then let us confirm it!

Chief Jeong and Director Yoon were now on their feet, pointing fingers at each other.

Their already booming voices, amplified by the microphones, were deafening. Others banged on the table, telling them to be quiet, but the two continued to shout, veins popping on their necks.

Then, someone bent a microphone with a sharp *snap*.

*Screeeech–*

The sound of microphone feedback echoed throughout the conference room. At the piercing noise, everyone clapped their hands over their ears and looked toward the center of the table.

A smiling middle-aged woman was seated there. In her somewhat plump hand, she held the bent microphone.

“Both of you, stop.”

“But Chief, they’ve been grilling me and my agents for three days straight. This is just so—”

Chief Jeong began to voice her grievance, but the pleasant-looking woman cut her off, her smile never wavering.

“Jeong Yu-jin. And what class are you, you little shit.”

The room fell silent. Yu-jeong couldn’t believe her ears.

But the woman, still with the most serene expression in the world, pressed Chief Jeong again.

“Huh? What class are you.”

“…The 11th, ma’am.”

“I’m from the 3rd. If you’re going to bring up class ranks in front of me, you’d better be ready to zip your lip.”

“I apologize.”

Lee Eun-ju, Chief of the Seoul Branch.

People often described this pleasant-looking woman as “gentle and harmless,” and many secretly wondered, *“Is she really an S-Rank Hunter? That has to be a lie, right?”* Her kind demeanor seemed a world away from combat.

But Chief Lee Eun-ju’s true nature revealed itself in moments like these. An aura so menacing it could subdue even the ferocious Tiger of the Mapo Branch in a single blow.

“Chief Jeong.”

“Yes.”

Chief Jeong instinctively straightened her back as she responded. Chief Lee Eun-ju smiled.

“The middle school girls who survived the dungeon with her said that Kang Ha-ra never mentioned her rank. But they did confirm she has a flight skill.”

“Yes.”

“And news anchor Yoon Se-heon says he doesn’t remember much?”

“That’s correct.”

“But Chief Jeong Yu-jin. You interviewed Yoon Se-heon while he was in the ICU, even before his family.”

Chief Jeong couldn’t answer. Chief Lee continued in a soft voice.

“It’s not unheard of for someone’s memory to black out inside a dungeon. But Yoon Se-heon’s father is Assemblyman Yoon Sun-hyeon, isn’t he? The one pushing the bill to privatize the Hunter Bureau.”

The room grew quiet.

Assemblyman Yoon, who had been advocating for the privatization of the Hunter Bureau for years, was a thorn in the side of every chief. For his son, Yoon Se-heon, to be caught up in a dungeon… one could just imagine how Assemblyman Yoon would use this as an excuse to rail against the Bureau’s incompetence.

Of course, it was public knowledge that Yoon Se-heon held opposing views to his father, but now that he’d been involved in a gate incident, no one knew how his perspective might have changed.

Her smile gone, Chief Lee Eun-ju spoke into the microphone.

-For now, let’s hold a press briefing and close the case.

“Chief!”

Yoon Hyeon-dong called out to her, but Chief Lee shook her head.

-Director Yoon, I know public opinion of the Hunter Bureau isn’t great these days. An S-Rank awakener would be a blessing at a time like this. But this is the situation we’re in. Are you going to drag in someone who saved a bunch of kids and have people say we’re persecuting her?

Director Yoon fell silent. Chief Lee raised an eyebrow and continued.

-Let’s just be grateful that no one was hurt.

“…Yes.”

-Chief Jeong Yu-jin, are you heading to Yeouido today?

Yu-jin nodded. Chief Lee smiled again.

“I’ll go with you.”

＊ ＊ ＊

*If you get bullied in a dungeon, is it school violence or just an accident?*

┗It’s school violence.
┗What’s this about?
┗Some students got trapped in a dungeon and they intentionally pushed one of them to the mobs to get eaten.
┗Damn, this is about the Yeouido gate, right? Is this post for real?

In a private room at the largest general hospital in Yeouido.

Ha-ra was lying in bed, looking at her phone. The content was incredibly engrossing, but she couldn’t focus on the text. She had tried and failed to read it at least half a dozen times.

The reason was simple. Her mother had been on the phone nonstop.

“Oh my, what a mess. It’s been crazy. Yes, she’s fine. Our girl is perfectly fine. A few scratches, but that’s it. No, I thought something terrible had happened, I was crying my eyes out. But it was all a fuss over nothing. Oh, of course. People look down on her because our kid is an E-Rank, you know. But rescuing everyone without a single death, how hard is that?”

On the guardian’s sofa in the private room, Ha-ra’s mother had been repeating similar stories on the phone all morning.

After the Yeouido Gate opened, Ha-ra’s personal information had been reported with some redactions, listing her as missing. But it seemed like anyone who needed to know had figured it out.

Her mother grumbled that she had no idea how many messages had come in during the ten hours Ha-ra had been fighting in the dungeon.

But most of the grumbling was for show; her true feelings were a mix of joy and pride.

In response to the curious calls disguised as concern, Ha-ra’s mother, Yoon Hyeon-sook, boasted endlessly about her daughter. It was an unfamiliar and embarrassing experience for Ha-ra.

“Our girl is fine. Oh, she was always good at her studies, but after she became a civil servant, I thought she was just coasting. Yes, yes. Oh, Hyeri is much sharper. Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Bye. Hey, Ha-ra.”

“…Huh? Oh!”

Startled, Ha-ra replied. Her mother had called her name so seamlessly after hanging up the phone. Yoon Hyeon-sook narrowed her eyes but held out the plate of apples she had been peeling.

“You’re so out of it. Here, eat this. It’s a Gamhong apple. Your uncle from Daegu sent it to congratulate you. They’re only available this time of year. Do you have any idea how much a box of these costs?”

*I don’t know how much, but from the way Mom’s talking, it must be expensive…* Ha-ra reached out, picked up a slightly browned apple slice, and put it in her mouth. It made a crisp sound. It was delicious.

But Yoon Hyeon-sook didn’t give Ha-ra a moment to savor the taste.

“Hey, did they say you could quit?”