When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 34



Only Krnovel

34. The Magpie That Has Been Gracious

‘You lost your sense of taste…’

Oh Hyun-seong was quite shocked.

Even though his ultimate skill didn’t work, he never thought that it would have such aftereffects on her.

Somehow, deep down in his subconscious, he had thought that she alone would not suffer from the aftereffects of her injury.

As he came out, he came face to face with Han Su-yeon, who was drinking water.

“Ah, senior. The outside work is all done.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The two sat side by side on the floor.

The back of Choi Jeong-il, who was diligently dreaming about something, was visible.

He said that he was doing something and that he was fixing broken furniture himself.

Come to think of it, he had a talent for woodworking, and he used it to great advantage during operations.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you two.”

“Even when we ran into each other, it was only at official events where we briefly bumped into each other and passed each other by. Thanks to that, we were able to catch up on some of the stories we had been missing.”

These are trivial stories that wouldn’t come out if we hadn’t encountered them in a place like this.

It was refreshing to see each other working together and facing each other in our shabby clothes.

“But… other than that, what’s with that beard?”

“He stayed at my house for a while. He was so absorbed in fishing that he looked like this.”

“Fishing…? Are you still doing that?”

She knew Choi Jeong-il’s love of fishing.

But why did you suddenly start fishing now, even though you quit a long time ago?

More than anything, I wondered if there was a place to fish around here.

“Well… I guess that’s a good thing. It really doesn’t suit you.”

“That’s true.”

Oh Hyeon-seong burst into laughter at her words.

He shook his head and went into the kitchen to bring bibimbap to the others as well.

Indeed, contrary to Baek Ji-soo’s dry reaction, the food did nothing wrong and instead received a strong reaction.

The sight of Choi Jeong-il and Joo Ji-hye sitting on the floor eating with utmost relish.

“and.”

She, still sitting on the floor, nodded in admiration.

It really tastes great.

This was her first time eating crops influenced by the upper spirit, Albert, so she couldn’t help but be impressed.

She emptied more than half of the bowl in a daze and came to her senses belatedly.

“Sorry, it was too delicious…”

“I don’t like that kind of reaction.”

Han Soo-yeon blushed slightly, seeming slightly embarrassed.

But even so, I couldn’t put down my spoon on the food that was more powerful than last time.

“It was refreshing to receive everything after such a long time.”

Han Su-yeon said, rubbing her forehead.

Her career itself was formidable, and she had never experienced anything like this since training camp, despite her impeccable performance during her previous operations.

Of course, I’m not trying to complain because it’s clearly my fault.

Even though I did control the power, it wasn’t something you would do at home.

“It’s rare to see you so open-minded. What happened between you two?”

“that..”

Han Su-yeon was silent for a moment at his question.

Oh Hyun-seong couldn’t help but wonder. He knew that the two of them didn’t have compatible personalities, but they never opposed each other to that extent.

Although they are awkward with each other, they are mostly on good terms with each other, exchanging harsh criticisms.

But the words exchanged just now seemed quite sincere and murderous.

“If you don’t want to go into detail, you don’t have to.”

“…Thank you, it was just a bunch of stuff.”

Han Su-yeon sighed and continued speaking.

“I don’t know what Baek Ji-soo said to her senior, but it’s better not to get involved in anything.”

“Why, are you afraid I’ll get taken advantage of?”

“I don’t want you to worry about that, senior, but don’t think about the old Baek Ji-soo. Just as I have changed over the past five years, Baek Ji-soo has changed too.”

Han Su-yeon didn’t like Baek Ji-soo from the beginning.

When I first entered the unit.

She had been dissatisfied with Oh Hyeon-seong’s way of willingly giving up both to save her life, and they had clashed.

But Baek Ji-soo went one step further than his methods.

He did not hesitate to use extreme methods to achieve his goals, and at the time, Han Su-yeon felt a deep sense of resistance.

But the current Baek Ji-soo wasn’t even like that.

They are living lives that are not only cruel to others but also truly self-destructive, absorbed in their purpose.

“People change as time goes by, so that may be the case. However, there are some aspects that haven’t changed.”

“How would you know that, senior?”

These two are just meeting for the first time today.

Too short a time to judge anything.

But during that short time, Oh Hyun-seong confirmed something about her.

‘If it had changed completely, I would have already used it.’

Although he may seem calculating and ruthless at times, he is a man who never forgets the debt he owes.

That was the blank sheet he knew.

***

The wallpaper boasts a clean look that is completely unified with the surroundings, even down to the color.

After hanging on for a long time, Baek Ji-soo finally finished the painting work to his own satisfaction.

“…”

She nodded and put on her coat without saying a word.

She would have said a few words to those she hadn’t seen in a long time, but she quietly left the front door without making a sound.

But outside the gate, Oh Hyeon-seong was waiting for her.

“senior?”

“You are the same, then and now.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Baek Ji-soo responded bluntly.

“Sorry for causing a fuss. I won’t be coming to see you for a while.”

“Then why don’t you tell me before you leave? You must have had some real cards in your hand, not that deal you were talking about, like giving me whatever I want.

“No, nothing.”

Baek Ji-soo shook her head.

“A deal requires both sides to weigh the costs… but whatever I put on the table doesn’t seem to mean anything to you right now. Forget it.”

After saying those words, she turned away without any regrets.

It looks like even the final greeting has been omitted.

But Oh Hyun-seong stopped her.

“Baek Ji-soo, how about you let go of your obsession a bit?”

“…what do you mean?”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. There are many people who can do it instead of you. I learned this after coming here.”

The de facto top authority in the National Security Agency.

The one who had all the information flowing in from all over the country and the world was Baek Ji-soo.

That’s why she had no choice but to suffer from all kinds of possibilities and risks that the information brought.

It just goes on as if it were a given, but this society is actually in such a precarious and sloppy state.

“Ha, if my senior were here, I would never say something like that.”

“No. I know better. You must have forgotten already, but it was a bigger mess back then.”

Oh Hyun-seong let out a snicker.

In the early days of the Gate incident, they encountered all kinds of chaos firsthand.

It was really nice to say that I saw all kinds of stars.

That’s why Baek Ji-soo becomes even more obsessed with not going back to that time.

But there was one thing she overlooked.

Sometimes it was dangerous, sometimes it was a mess, but in the end, we moved forward.

“You don’t have to feel like you have to be perfect in everything. Just listen.”

“…I’ll go.”

She walked out with a steady pace, looking fine.

***

Thud!

Baek Ji-soo got into the newly prepared security agency vehicle.

She leaned back against the backrest and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Thank you for your hard work. But… is that man really that important that you have to come to see him in person?”

“Yeah, my mouth is so sore.”

Many people of that time have died and disappeared, and now it is a name that few people even remember.

But for the first generation hunters who remember that time, it was an unforgettable existence.

Oh Hyun-seong’s very existence could be a justification, and so he tried to bring him as close to himself as possible.

On the other hand, the argument was that he could become the center of subversive forces.

Regardless of how much strength he actually regained, he was a being who could turn even a completely tilted table around.

A huge variable that the National Security Agency must be wary of and fear.

“…What were you doing here?”

Baek Ji-soo sighed, wiping her face.

You know full well that you wouldn’t be swayed by such shallow tricks, and that it was a ridiculous assumption to begin with, yet you still came this far.

Kwajik!

She smashed the listening device she was holding in her hand.

Eventually, unused debris was scattered on the floor.

***

Baek Ji-soo returned to the security bureau on the same day.

I had to move diligently to complete my internal schedule and also to complete my overseas schedule the next day.

But while moving to the investigation room with the staff for questioning.

“Wait… you go first.”

“yes?”

Her face turned pale and she hurried into the bathroom.

Thud!

She entered the room, leaned against the wall, and then slid down, breathing heavily.

A sharp pain that feels like my whole body is being pierced.

My arms were shaking uncontrollably.

“Ugh…”

Dark blood flows from the corner of his mouth.

In the past, Baek Ji-soo had extremely strong resistance to turbidity even among the best hunters of his class.

That’s why she was always at the forefront in places where the atmosphere was the strongest.

Even agents like Han Su-yeon were unable to enter the gate, which was armed with an unusually powerful takki.

Whenever such gates appear, Oh Hyeon-seong and I take the lead in entering such scenes.

But at that time, I didn’t know that the body would steadily accumulate a tolerable amount of stress.

Her body, which had been working hard for a long time and had reached its limit, was already being consumed.

“ha…”

Baek Ji-soo, whose pain had passed, caught her breath.

I put my hand on the ground, but I couldn’t even feel the cold floor.

Every time this happens, she feels her body turning away.

The symptom that occurs in her body after being eaten by the table is ‘loss of sensation’.

The first symptom that appeared after being injured in the Battle of the Queen was the loss of taste, but his other senses gradually became dull as well.

Even his most outstanding sense, his sense of smell, was no longer of any use on the battlefield.

Baek Ji-soo came out looking haggard and faced her subordinate.

“I… I will proceed with the interrogation. Please rest for a moment.”

“Get out of the way.”

Baek Ji-soo pushed him aside and walked ahead.

Her body still creaked from the pain, but her complexion had returned and she looked completely undisturbed.

Even though her attending physician told her to immediately quit her life as a hunter and recuperate, she never stopped for a single day.

So Baek Ji-soo entered the investigation room,

Rustle!

Before entering the room where the interrogation subject was, I took out the energy bar from my pocket.

A terrible food that focuses only on essential nutrients and completely excludes taste.

It was a food she would never have thought of putting in her mouth in the past, but now she preferred it because she could finish her meal quickly and without any emotion.

Still!

She chewed the energy bar tastelessly.

But how many times did I chew it like that?

She stopped mumbling and just stood there dumbfounded.

“…?”

Baek Ji-soo’s expression reflexively frowned.

I feel an unfamiliar sensation that I haven’t felt in a long time.

It was still a very subtle feeling, but it was something she couldn’t help but know.

“It’s not tasty.”

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