By Zephyria 
“Is anyone there?”
My body stiffened at the sound of a voice. Geum Na-ro, reflected on the screen, seemed to feel the same, his face noticeably hardening.
It wasn’t Director’s voice. It was a young man’s voice.
‘Who is it?’
I was flustered. I thought only a few people within the Bureau had access to this place?
Even when I entered the information room with Director, I didn’t sense anyone else’s presence. That’s why I felt relieved and thought I could comfortably copy the Database.
‘Right. It felt too easy.’
Director had been suspicious of me until the Guide rating re-examination results came out. Wondering if I had any connection with Hyeon Jae-ha.
So, it wouldn’t be strange if he brought another Bureau employee as a monitor for insurance. The frustrating part was that I was too naive.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
The man’s voice, close by, was heard once more. This time, it was accompanied by footsteps. The heavy, rhythmic clicking of the Bureau employees’ signature leather shoes echoed.
The man didn’t seem to know if I was the one inside the information room, perhaps because he hadn’t received any instructions from Director.
If not, it meant that he was a Bureau employee who had entered this floor before Director and me.
The Bureau accepts both Ability Users and non-Ability Users, but the proportion of Ability Users is overwhelmingly high, so that man is also an Ability User… probably an Esper. It was safe to assume he had an ability optimized for stealth.
Geum Na-ro in the screen mouthed words to me.
‘You can’t get caught here.’
That was right. It would take a long time for the Database copy to be completed successfully.
[Copying in progress.]
[Current progress: 13%]
Geum Na-ro moved his lips again.
‘Just get through this situation safely until the copy is complete. You’re someone who came with official permission from a Bureau employee. Don’t be intimidated. Deal with it smoothly, like a snake slithering over a wall.’
He was right.
Showing signs of panic here was something only an amateur would do.
I straightened my shoulders and confidently asked the man.
“Who are you to ask?”
The man responded with a wary tone.
“I haven’t heard that voice before…. Who are you and what are you doing in there?”
Judging by his cautious approach, he didn’t seem to be a watchdog planted by Director. That was a relief. If I mentioned Director’s story, I might be able to get through this.
If I was lucky.
‘Stay calm.’
Director had moved to another floor far away, or perhaps he was completely out of range. There was no one else on this floor except for the man who spoke to me and me.
So, all I had to do was stall for time until the Database copy was complete.
I sent a signal to Geum Na-ro that I would take care of this. Geum Na-ro looked blank for a moment upon seeing it.
‘Why is he like that?’
I didn’t know the reason, but I couldn’t dawdle any longer. The man had reached right in front of where I was.
I deliberately stood in front of the door. To prevent Geum Na-ro, a White Tiger Unit member being chased by the government, from being seen on the giant screen instead of Alice.
‘Yeon Yu-jin’s height… it’s average, so it should be fine, right?’
I desperately hoped that the insoles Manager Hyung had given me to put in my shoes, so that I would appear as tall as the height listed on the profile, would do their job.
Soon, the man revealed himself before me.
“I asked who you were.”
The man was a young man in his late 20s, dressed in a neat suit, with the air of a rookie. A vague impression, about the average height of a Korean man. It was fortunate for me.
He even had a Taser Gun for suppression in his hand, as if he thought I was an intruder.
‘He’s not an Ability User specialized in attack, is he?’
His presence, which was there but not there, made it more likely that he was a stealth Ability User.
I pretended to be a civilian frightened by his threat.
“H-Huh! A g-gun!”
“I asked who you were! If you don’t answer….”
“I-I’m just someone who came with an employee! I only came because I was allowed to browse this Database once!”
I looked at the man with my hands raised and a tearful expression, but he didn’t let go of his suspicion.
“…But there’s no one here right now. Why are you alone?”
“I don’t know! I came here with a female employee. She said she had other business to take care of and told me to look around on my own. She said I could ask Alice, the AI, if I had any questions.”
I showed the man the temporary access card I had received from Director, making a big show of being wronged.
“See? This access card!”
“…It’s definitely a temporary card issued by the Bureau.”
Since the temporary access card had the unique number of the Bureau employee who guaranteed it, there was no more solid evidence than this. This number was probably Director’s.
The hostility in the man’s tone subsided. He hid the Taser Gun in his pocket.
The man bowed slightly to me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a guest who had permission to enter.”
“Hmph. Good to know.”
When I glared at the man as if I was upset, he sweated profusely.
“I’m really sorry…. This is a highly confidential space within the Bureau, so I was rude because I thought you might be an intruder.”
“I heard. That if you do something wrong here, you might be dragged to the interrogation room. The employee mentioned it as a joke… but I guess it’s true. I can’t believe there’s actually someone pointing a gun like this.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Hearing the man’s voice repeatedly apologizing made me feel guilty.
‘No. You smelled and heard it well. If you knew who I was working with and how I got the authority to enter here from your Director, you’d want to throw me in the interrogation room right away.’
Hiding my true feelings, I smiled and gestured for the man to leave.
“There’s nothing wrong here, so please go back. The employee who guided me here said she would come back to pick me up when I was done.”
It was practically an eviction order.
‘It’s better to chase away a rookie who wants to achieve something, since they’re annoying.’
I didn’t know if Geum Na-ro had completed the Database copy because I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to do this nerve-wracking tightrope walk any longer.
But the employee rejected my words, contrary to expectations.
“I can’t do that.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m currently patrolling the underground floor of the Bureau. I can’t neglect my assigned duties. Excuse me, but I’ll take a look inside the information room.”
“No, um….”
The man pushed me aside before I could say anything and entered the information room.
‘…He pushed me aside that easily?’
Yeon Yu-jin’s body had regained all of my strength from when I was ‘An Ga-hyeon’, so I shouldn’t be pushed back by ordinary force.
Potato exclaimed.
[He looks dull, but he seems to have good strength. Well, that’s probably why he was assigned to patrol this underground floor.]
‘I guess so… wait a minute, not that, but wait!’
Geum Na-ro, wasn’t Geum Na-ro caught?
‘More than that, what about the USB?’
I hurriedly turned around.
In the transparent screen, instead of the tired, emaciated man, the beautiful appearance of AI Alice, implemented with artificial intelligence, was visible.
-Welcome. What can I help you with?
The man, having confirmed that there was no problem, finally came out of the room.
Perhaps because he was only focused on whether there was an intruder, he didn’t seem to have noticed the small lighter-shaped USB embedded in the system.
“There’s nothing wrong.”
“I told you so….”
“Still, there’s a procedure to follow. Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes. Good work.”
The sound of leather shoes faded away.
‘Hoo.’
I sighed in relief inwardly and approached the screen.
Then, the beautiful appearance of Alice disappeared, and Geum Na-ro reappeared on the screen.
[Copy progress: 100%]
“I’m glad it went well.”
-It was close, but it was possible because I could interfere with the connected system and implement the AI’s image for a moment.
“It would have been over if the USB had been discovered.”
I was lucky.
Geum Na-ro told me that I could now remove the USB.
-While copying the Database, I also manipulated all the CCTV records in that room, so you can rest assured. The probability of being dragged to the interrogation room is zero.
“Let’s contact Jae-ha and have him send it directly.”
Of course, I’ll take a look at it too before that.
Geum Na-ro flinched at the mention of Jae-ha’s name.
-To call the Captain’s name so casually….
“Because we’re friends.”
I was just stating the truth, but Geum Na-ro was even more horrified.
He muttered quietly.
-Oh my god…. Poor Captain. Everyone was worried about whether it was an affair, but it’s just a simple friendship.
“Excuse me?”
-Ah, no. I’ll be going now!
What was that, what word did I just hear?