By Zephyria 
As expected, Tae-un laughed and firmly declined the suggestion he had tossed out.
“I’m not going.”
The conversation about Director Noh, the original purpose of the talk, took place while Kim Si-baek watched Tae-un get ready for work. It was always fascinating to watch him tie his necktie and style his hair in front of the mirror.
Honestly, it was almost funny that the feeling of Tae-un being a working member of society didn’t come from hearing about him from others or seeing photos of his office, but from watching him prepare for work. He had never thought someone else’s suit looked particularly impressive, but the three-piece suit Tae-un wore was truly splendid.
“At this point, Director Noh is the optimal talent to manage the Invitation Bureau. She’s fair and upright, and she’s very skilled at coordinating between the government and hunters. Personally, she’s someone I trust. Her only real flaw was a husband with a business obsession, but they’re divorced now, so.”
Kim Si-baek nodded. Although they had only spoken briefly, he had also received a pretty good impression of her. Seeing as Tae-un, who had dealt with her for a considerable amount of time, vouched for her, it seemed she was trustworthy.
“Do you think it would be okay to reveal the truth to some extent?”
“Hmm, at the very least, she’s not the type to secretly sneer and call you a crazy person. Depending on the situation, she might even keep secrets from the President. Above all, if she wants to hold onto the one and only healer, she’ll at least pretend to believe you.”
“Do you think I could ask for cooperation to recover divine power?”
“I don’t know exactly what method you’re considering, hyung, but if the benefits to Korea outweigh the damages, she’ll cooperate. It’s quite rare these days, but her patriotism is genuine.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Whatever you want.”
Kim Si-baek pondered again, chewing over Tae-un’s explanation, but the conclusion remained similar.
〈I trust not Section Chief Gwak or my own eyes, but Guild Master Tae-un’s eyes.〉
Just as Director Noh had said, he trusted Tae-un.
✽ ✽ ✽
He called Director Noh and set an appointment for four days later. While she was eager to secure Kim Si-baek, she hadn’t expected him to contact her so immediately, so adjusting her schedule seemed difficult.
According to Bae Jihan, it seemed she had forced herself to make time to meet him yesterday despite her busy schedule.
〈Mom said she postponed her overseas business trip by a day to meet that mister.〉
Though the point Bae Jihan emphasized when saying that was the ‘blind date.’
Now that he had some breathing room, Kim Si-baek decided to go out for other business today.
“I’m thinking of heading down with you when you leave for work.”
“Where? Under the desk in my office?”
“Are you suggesting we play hide-and-seek under the desk? Aww, look at you. Such a baby, a baby.”
Kim Si-baek tapped the bridge of Tae-un’s nose with his index finger. Tae-un remained silent for a moment before beaming a smile.
“Even the feeling of talking to a wall isn’t so bad when the other person is hyung.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, where are you planning to go?”
“I want to take a look around the barrier.”
“Then I shall provide a first-class guide service—”
Tae-un jumped in as if he had been waiting, but Kim Si-baek’s firmness was one step ahead.
“No half-days, no annual leave, and no following me.”
“Yes, sir.”
This time, accompanied by a relentless barrage of texts from Tae-un, he was able to reach the barrier by taking the subway and bus without any issues. Of course, Biyendwe’s help was immense.
[Death and Beauty evaluates that the magical engineering is truly pathetic.]
“They say it’s only been 21 years since they started using magic. It’s not too bad for that.”
The barrier that isolated the magical beasts’ habitats from human cities was not a physical wall built with cement and rebar. A translucent veil, several meters high, extended from magical tools that were being invented and improved through the various research of mages. However, the height of the veil was uneven, as if its stability was inconsistent.
The area inside and outside this barrier was collectively called District 0, which was further subdivided. The place Kim Si-baek had come to was District 0-C, near where the rift that brought him back to Earth had opened.
[Death and Beauty asks what you plan to do now.]
“I just intended to look around… but I can’t tell anything from outside the barrier. Whether it works or not, I think I should try going inside.”
He quickly found the entrance used to move in and out of the barrier. Following the direction of people who looked like hunters, he encountered a noisy, bustling commotion. It was a systematic chaos.
The area around the entrance was planned and divided like a shopping district. Centered around a small plaza used for finding party members or as a meeting spot, shops that bought magical beast by-products or sold magical tools crafted by mages lined the streets. Ordinary restaurants and motels were also visible.
According to Tae-un, there were several such infrastructure hubs formed near the entrances of the barriers. Kim Si-baek strolled toward the entrance. Compared to the hunters who were either heavily armed or driving refrigerated trucks to transport magical beast carcasses, his incredibly light attire drew attention from those around him.
Just as he managed to send a reply to Tae-un saying he was lining up to enter the barrier, Kim Si-baek reached the gate. And he discovered one important fact.
“A hunter license?”
♥Un-i♥
?
Hyung, you can’t go in there without a hunter license ㅠㅠ
ㅠㅠ
If you had come with me, you could have entered ㅠㅠ
Hyung is a dummy
Dummy dummy
ㅠㅠ
“Unless you are a registered hunter or accompanying a hunter as a porter, entry is prohibited.”
The civil servant managing the checkpoint answered mechanically without even looking at Kim Si-baek’s face. Since Kim Si-baek had no ID, let alone a hunter license, he had no choice but to back away.
Kim Si-baek scratched the back of his neck and turned around. He decided to be satisfied with just sightseeing the barrier today and confirming how to take the subway by looking at the map.
[Death and Beauty requests that since you’re already here, you should try eating nearby. It is said that hidden gourmet restaurants are usually found in places like this.]
“Shall we?”
There were not only restaurants but many food trucks as well. It was just as he started walking, swept up in memories of street stalls.
“Hunter Kim Si-baek?”
Thebarrieris-Ithinkyou-wanttogo
He wondered why the text had arrived so quickly, only to find it was nothing but typos. Tae-un, leaning deep into his chair, pressed the keypad with an expressionless face to inform him that he couldn’t enter the barrier without a hunter license.
“…….”
Quite a bit of time passed after that. It was about time for another mess of a text to arrive, but it was quiet. Tae-un, who had been staring down at his phone screen, picked up the internal phone.
“Yang Eun-ho. What is the contact information for the District 0-C checkpoint?”
One moment, please.
Yang Eun-ho soon provided the contact information for the checkpoint.
Because there was a risk of wanted criminals escaping, the checkpoints conducted strict identity checks. However, with one phone call from him, Kim Si-baek would have no problem even without a hunter license.
Just as he was about to press the call button, a new text from Kim Si-baek arrived.
I-got-through^0^
Tae-un’s eyebrows, which had been indifferently lowered the entire time, twitched.
“Here is a temporary entry pass.”
Gwak Yun-sang handed over a key card.
As it happened, there was a hunter at the checkpoint who recognized Kim Si-baek. He was a hunter from the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency who had cleared the Id Portal at the MA Department Store together. After learning the situation, the hunter contacted Gwak Yun-sang, who, while patrolling the barrier, immediately issued a temporary entry pass.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. The maximum validity is one week, but if you need to enter the barrier after that, I’ll re-issue it for you.”
Gwak Yun-sang answered readily, as if this were nothing in order to get on his good side, then looked around and whispered in his ear.
“I heard you met the Director. She told me to help you as much as possible regardless of where you decide to settle, so just say the word. Where in the barrier are you planning to look around? If it’s your first time, it might be hard to find your way, so shall I attach a hunter as a guide? Ah, I don’t mean to monitor you.”
“This is the northwest entrance, so even if I get lost, I can come back if I walk south. More than that, I’d like to ask about a location. Where exactly was the place where we first met?”
Looking briefly at the map of Daejeon that Kim Si-baek fumbled to take out while asking for the location, Gwak Yun-sang silently installed a hunter-exclusive app on his phone.
“It’s an app made by our Agency. I’ve logged in with the temporary pass ID, and the password is 1111, so change it later. I’ll also bookmark the map of the Daejeon barrier in the ‘My Menu’ section.”
“Oh.”
The app’s map, which was more detailed than a general map, even indicated the habitats of major magical beasts. It would have been strange that Kim Si-baek didn’t know where he had appeared, yet Gwak Yun-sang showed no sign of it and even marked the location where he had been spotted.
“Do you not need a weapon? Shall I lend you one?”
“I’m fine. I studied before coming, and they say there are no high-ranking magical beasts near the barrier, nor do they swarm in packs.”
“Pardon?”
Leaving behind the man who tilted his head, wondering what the lack of a weapon had to do with the rank of magical beasts, Kim Si-baek sent a text to Tae-un as he passed through the checkpoint.
As soon as the text was sent, the phone rang. It was Tae-un.