The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

22. We Met Through Work (2)

"Unni!"

The sound of a voice that shattered the calm atmosphere of the room.

The sudden word, though short, had a destructive force. Considering the location where it was spoken, the situation, and the person it referred to, it was even more impactful. The air in the room grew cold.

"······."

Everyone's conversation halted, and after a moment of awkward silence, someone finally spoke. It was the one who had just been addressed in an unwanted way.

"I asked you not to call me that."

A voice devoid of emotion. After speaking in a flat tone, she pushed her glasses up.

Sitting at her desk, she looked at the unexpected visitor who had just entered. Her name was Blair Campbell. She was the secretary general who worked closely with Chairman Jenkinson. Not long ago, it was she who personally delivered the Chairman's handwritten letter to Seon Min-jun.

Blair passed through the closed door into her office and looked at the person who had just greeted her with "Unni."

"Ah, I…"

The employee who had been reporting to Blair froze. They had been so absorbed in their work, looking at documents, that they didn't notice the new arrival.

The intruder spoke to the employee.

"Hey, how about you step out and grab a cup of tea? I need to have a little private chat with my unni."

Looking at her superior, Blair sighed lightly, almost resigned, and nodded. The door opened and closed again. With just the two of them left, Blair removed her glasses and narrowed her eyes.

"I wish you would show some basic respect for language, especially when other employees are around."

She had asked several times, but the other person, dressed in a bold red suit, didn't seem to care.

Her name was Larisa Andreyeva. She was the head of security management for Jenkinson Company's real estate division.

She shrugged, as though it didn't matter. Under her neatly trimmed silver-white hair, which revealed a partially exposed forehead, the signs of age were evident. She seemed to be somewhere between middle and old age, by human standards.

Larisa sat on the desk, crossed her legs, and lit something that resembled a cigarette.

Fwoosh!

A pink flame sparked from her fingers. Soon, the room filled with a sweet candy-like scent as smoke billowed.

Blair frowned.

"If the Chairman finds out…"

"The old man's on a business trip to another world. I'm enjoying myself while he's away."

It wasn't to a foreign country, but to another world. So, it was unlikely he would return any time soon.

The sweet scent from Larisa's fingers wasn't unpleasant, nor did it seem to bother the other employees, but Jenkinson disliked her smoking it. It had to do with her racial traits.

With pointed ears, beautiful features, and a slender figure, she almost looked like an elf. But if one took a small step back and observed from a slight distance, the differences became clear.

Behind her, folded neatly, were four pairs of translucent wings, resembling those of a sleeping creature. Her proportions, from head to body, arms to legs, were almost identical to Blair's, but there was a significant difference in size.

Her body seemed like a shrunken elf, scaled down by about five to one.

Blair looked at the fairy, who was puffing out hazy smoke like a mini humidifier, with an unamused expression.

"Isn't that a bit too strong?"

For fairies, sugar acts like a drug. That's why they are obsessed with things like candy and cake. The sugar grass that Larisa was smoking was comparable to marijuana for other species.

Larisa, slightly flushed, responded.

"What's wrong with it? It's not illegal."

There were no laws prohibiting the consumption of sugar by fairies. That's because they had never been part of a large-scale immigration to this world. It was expected that setting up a separate zone just for them would incur significant social costs, so all proposals were rejected. Creating a fairy-only area to house them would reduce costs, but that was not the committee's approach.

In other words, there was no environment where fairies could live comfortably in this world. But Larisa could afford to wear perfectly fitting suits from Earth, smoke sugar grass that matched her fairy-sized fingers, receive medical care from a doctor familiar with fairy physiology, and live in a home filled with appropriately sized furniture because she had a lot of money. She was hired by Jenkinson for that reason. The Elder Dragon always hired the best experts.

Larisa's expertise was unmatched. Even though, during working hours, she was indulging in hallucinogenic substances.

Blair snapped out of her thoughts and asked.

"So, what's the issue?"

Larisa exhaled the thick, sugary smoke and spoke.

"The items that came into the 'B-39' area a few days ago."

Blair tensed for a moment but quickly hid her reaction. She urged her to continue speaking.

"What's inside that area?"

Larisa was also responsible for the vault. In Jenkinson Company's storage in Bukhan Mountain, which was of utmost importance, treasures that required extreme caution were kept. The B-39 area was part of that warehouse.

"What happened?"

"I figured asking you wouldn't get me any answers... When is our scaly old man coming back?"

"······Next week, I think."

Blair gave an ambiguous response.

"Hm, then it's going to get troublesome."

"Why? What's going on?"

The fairy frowned, deepening the wrinkles on her forehead.

"After 'those' things were brought into B-39, someone started snooping around the area near the Bukhan Mountain warehouse."

"······!"

"If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have noticed. The traces are too neat—too neat. This is something only someone properly trained in this line of work would do."

Larisa, a top-tier fairy capable of freely moving between worlds, was undoubtedly right.

The problem, however, was the identity of the items stored in that area. The Chairman had left Earth to make a deal with the committee about when and how to share some of them.

"We'll need to reinforce security."

"Yeah, I think our team alone might not be enough."

"Is it that serious?"

"I've never seen anyone so cleanly erase their tracks. They were just testing the waters these last few days, but if they're after something, their true intentions will soon become clear. The fact that this started the very day the Chairman left for another world is odd. His schedule is top secret, right?"

It implied they might need external help.

"But, who in their right mind…!"

The unspoken part of that sentence was about how crazy someone would be to covet the Elder Dragon's treasure.

"Whoever it is, they must think they can handle it. And that makes it even more dangerous."

Larisa sighed, mixed with contemplation.

Suddenly, a name came to Blair's mind. The items currently stored in B-39 had once been in Sokcho, and during the transfer to Bukhan Mountain, an agent had made a crucial contribution.

'No, it's still too early to say.'

There were only signs of trouble. It was too risky to leave such sensitive items in the hands of contract agents. There were things in that warehouse that should never be known to outsiders. Even if they were called elite agents.

"I'll report to the Chairman and wait for his response. In the meantime, I'll reinforce the security around the warehouse."

Seeing the scale of the reinforcements Blair suggested, Larisa frowned.

"That might not be enough."

"With the barriers the Chairman himself set up, I think it's appropriate. Above all, this is the extent of my authority. I'll need the Chairman's approval to proceed further. He'll probably reply soon. Even though he's on a business trip to another world, communications aren't completely cut off."

However, much to her surprise, it was quite some time before Chairman Jenkinson's response arrived.

Cathy muttered in a daze.

"What did I just hear?"

The elderly man who had entered, assisted by someone. He was at least in his 70s... or maybe even 80s? And he called Minjun "Unni."

Unni? Wait a minute... Unni? Why Unni? Why? How?

Her head was spinning. The elderly man's warm expression and eyes full of joy were still fixed on Minjun. It didn't seem like a case of mistaken identity.

Seeing her almost on the verge of a panic attack, Minjun clicked his tongue.

'The timing was bad.'

Her trembling gaze contained a lot of unspoken words. Before her delusion could grow any bigger, Minjun decided to cut it off at the root.

"Please tell me you're not mistaken."

"Ah, yes?"

Kids these days wouldn't understand. It's easy to make such a mistake.

On the other hand, Minjun recognized the man's identity from the title he used.

"Professor Oh Mansik?"

The man smiled widely and spoke.

"Yes! You remember, Professor!"

Minjun smiled bitterly.

"Well, it's better when you call me 'Professor' like that. What would have happened if you just shouted my name like you used to in the old days with all these people around? There'd be misunderstandings."

The elderly man, seemingly flustered, whispered to the middle-aged woman who was supporting him. "What did I just call him?" The woman, likely his daughter-in-law, replied quietly, and Oh Mansik's face turned red with embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Professor. I'm just so used to calling you that from the old days…"

They were, after all, former colleagues, and Minjun remembered how close they were back then.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, it was not uncommon for men to call older men "unnie" instead of "hyung" when they were close. Language changes with the times, after all.

Oh Mansik likely hadn't used that word in decades. Yet, when Minjun appeared before him, those old memories and habits briefly resurfaced.

"But Professor, you haven't changed a bit! You look exactly the same."

If Minjun had appeared looking old, he probably wouldn't have made the mistake. Seeing the unchanged face naturally led to the slip of the tongue. Even Cash realized the misunderstanding after hearing the explanation.

The two, reunited after a long time, exchanged pleasantries. In the conversation, Cash caught the mention of "Goseong Academy," which seemed to be a workplace they had once shared.

"So, what have you been up to lately?"

Minjun noticed a slight stiffness in Oh Mansik's expression.

"I'm just running a small… alchemy workshop."

"Ah, that's right. You were always good at alchemy, Professor Oh."

"Professor, are you still teaching magic?"

"I'm no longer teaching. These days, I'm chasing aliens."

"…Pardon?!"

His last words, despite being faint due to his old age, sounded almost like a scream.

The woman supporting him was startled, and Cash was also somewhat surprised.

Was it really that shocking?

"No, I'm just old and hard of hearing… I must've misheard you."

"You heard right. I'm currently working as an agent."

The elderly man's mouth hung open, unable to close.

He repeated the same sentence several times as if in disbelief, staring blankly at Minjun. "An agent... Professor Minjun as an agent? This refined gentleman doing such rough work... Good heavens, what is the world coming to?"

The atmosphere was turning strange.

The woman standing next to him gently placed her hand over his. As if snapping out of his daze, the elderly man cleared his throat.

"Oh! My apologies!"

Flustered, he checked his wristwatch as if suddenly remembering something.

"I should've taken my time to catch up with you, but I'm truly sorry. I have an appointment on the third floor right now…"

Before parting ways, the two exchanged business cards. Upon seeing Minjun's card, the elderly man couldn't help but sigh again. "An agent… unbelievable!" After the woman gave him a subtle look, he finally bowed deeply.

"I don't know how many more days I have left, but if the opportunity arises, I hope we can meet again for tea. I'm truly happy to see you again, the most virtuous person I know."

Hearing the words "most virtuous person," Cash gasped audibly.

'…She really thinks that.'

Trying to control her expression, Cash spoke.

"I'm embarrassed to show my face. Well then, Professor, take care of your health."

"Oh, I…"

The woman accompanying Oh Mansik cut in. Her gaze was fixed on Minjun's business card.

"Are you an Immigration Department contract agent?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I've heard of you. They say the Immigration agents are the best of all the contract agents in the country…"

"Ah, well…"

It was true.

The woman hesitated as she examined Minjun's expression before asking.

"Do you take private or corporate commissions?"

What kind of day was this?

Just as he was about to respond similarly to when he had rejected Lawyer Jeon Nam-gyu…

"Hey."

Oh Mansik spoke first.

"What are you doing?"

This time, Minjun was slightly taken aback. The look on Oh Mansik's face had changed completely. His face was now rigid, far different from just moments ago.

The woman defended herself.

"But Father…"

"Enough."

His voice had a heavy authority. Gone was the embarrassment he had shown just moments ago.

"…"

Then, his face softened again, and he bowed deeply to Minjun. Minjun, caught off guard, nodded.

As he headed for the elevator, Minjun watched him for a moment, thinking.

"Third floor… That lawyer from earlier also mentioned having business there."

Then, he had inquired whether he could take on a commission after hearing about his client's troubles.

"Hmmm."

A picture formed in his mind. This was too coincidental to be mere chance. It seemed Jeon Nam-gyu had come to this place for Oh Mansik.

"Wait a minute. That lawyer also handled Jang Tae-jun's case."

If he was a lawyer capable of drafting wills for the rich, he wouldn't be handling ordinary clients. Minjun glanced back at Oh Mansik's business card, feeling like the company name was familiar. He thought for a moment, trying to place it.

After a few seconds, Minjun chuckled softly.

"Small alchemy workshop? This guy is still too modest."

Though he was slightly moved by the old connection, since Oh Mansik had said he didn't need any help, there was no reason for Minjun to pry further. He shoved the business card into his front pocket and prepared to head back.

"...Minjun?"

There, Cash was looking at him, waiting for an explanation.