Chương 103: S.05 Time to Fly 06(01)

Scene 01. The days had grown fairly warm. Watching the familiar flow of the season, Ji-young let out a small sigh, as though she felt the tension of the time drawing near. Ji-young carefully touched the thinned collar of her 한복(Han-bok_Traditional Korean dress), then smoothed her coiled-up hair. Even under the setting sun, the wind blowing in from outside was not altogether sharp. Just as she fell into deep thought for a moment, word from Hee-jin came from beyond the door. Hee-jin: The Strategist.

Ji-young: Come in. Looking into the dressing mirror, Ji-young fitted ornaments into her coiled hair. The warmth was still too early for flowers to bloom, so Hee-jin's attire, brought in from outside, was thicker than expected. Against Ji-young's slightly lowered body temperature, it looked as if only Ji-young's garments had been made thinner. Ji-young touched the pale grey 동정(Dong-jeong_Inner collar-strip) of her Traditional Korean dress. The collar-strip bore small engraved characters.

Tilting the collar-strip, Ji-young lowered her head and hooked a lacquerware ornament earring onto the earlobe reflected in the mirror. Yeon-su, who had been stationed beyond the door, opened it and let Hee-jin inside. Stepping in, Hee-jin seated herself upon a cushion and offered a courteous voice. Hee-jin: As for the budget-proposal review you ordered at the weekly assembly, the Director of the Directorate of Knowledge said she would call on you and explain it directly.

Having arranged all her ear ornaments as if tidying them, Ji-young pushed the dressing mirror aside and turned to sit facing Hee-jin. Hee-jin: Since the Secret Agent is nowhere in sight, it seems she has gone to the meeting place now. Ji-young: Yeah. Her face was so grim the whole way there that I ended up feeling sorry instead. Makes me wonder if that's why that girl So-hui told me to be the one to break it to her. Hee-jin: It will pass soon. Yeon-su is simpler than she looks ….

As if agreeing with Hee-jin's assessment, Ji-young pursed her lips and nodded. Ji-young opened the cellphone on the side table and checked the date. Ji-young: The Daeboreum's almost here already. Hee-jin: Now that you mention it, the kitchen division looked to be preparing the bureom. Ji-young: Ah. If we leave the mung beans out of the five grains, that'd be kind of off, right? At Ji-young's light tone, Hee-jin let a smile gather. Hee-jin: Do you dislike beans that much. Ji-young: Ugh. Beans, for real, ugh.

Hee-jin: I'll pass word to the kitchen division. Ji-young: The reformed bureaucracy — how are people responding? Has it been a month? At the assemblies everyone just says it's all good, so I can't really tell …. Hee-jin: To be exact, forty-six days have passed since you proclaimed it. First, since it's still a settling-in period there is some confusion, but it is also true that satisfaction runs higher with the simplified reporting chain.

Rather than a chain that runs through the Director and the Executive Secretary up to the Strategist and then to you, it has been shortened to a stage where, under a three-Director system, reports come directly to you; and since the departments that always caused trouble over enforcement costs can now be coordinated entirely under each Director, every duty has grown more efficient. Only. Ji-young: Only? Hee-jin: The problem is that your workload has grown, leaving you no time to rest. Everyone is worried about that.

Ji-young: Fair enough. Hee-jin: Since the First Calamity, since the succession of the Black Doctrine, you have not rested a single day. You haven't even had the time to properly see your younger sisters — Ji-young: I couldn't even boot up a game. If I put on YouTube I drop off right away. Ah — yesterday I konked out before I could even turn it on. Hee-jin: Will you really be all right going on like this. Ji-young: It's freer than a company job, but it is the top seat after all.

The hours are free, but the work itself isn't easy. I still don't have the knack for it. Yeon-hui would've handled it well. Hee-jin: Even Yeon-hui would not have found this volume of work easy. However well one knows the internal affairs, digesting the sheer increase in volume is no simple thing. On top of that, you already know a great deal — Classical Chinese, oracle bone script, even ancient languages — so you took to the work itself with ease.

Though barely a month has passed since you were enrolled, the volume of documents you've organized is truly vast. Ji-young: Hm. And the construction on the Black Doctrine's side — how's that going? Gyeong-seo couldn't attend the assembly, so I couldn't ask. Even the Director of the Directorate of Support doesn't know the details ….

Hee-jin: Officer Mun Gyeong-seo of the Directorate of Support is conducting the supervision together with the Second Steward of the Black Doctrine, but I heard the work is slower than expected, as it's the season when the snow melts. The documents with the details will be brought by the Director of the Directorate of Knowledge soon. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. At Hee-jin's explanation, Ji-young nodded calmly.

Ji-young: Strategist, how's the new residence you moved into this time? Hee-jin: The truth is. Serving at your side is more comfortable, but since that Detached Quarters was originally the Secret Agent's residence, I followed your wishes. The new residence isn't far either, and the facilities couldn't be better, but still …. Ji-young: A little more time and you'll get used to it, I'm sure. Hee-jin: Yes. If nothing else, it's a relief there's no one snoring. Ji-young: Ahem. Ahem ahem. A-ha-hem! Hee-jin: Ah, that.

I didn't mean you. Twitching the corner of her mouth, Hee-jin watched Ji-young's throat-clearing laced with light irritation and gave a small laugh. Ji-young: Huh?? You're laughing?? Is it funny?? You're laughing?! Hee-jin: My apologies. The sound of your snoring suddenly came to mind. Ji-young: Wow. Wo-ow. Seriously. Wow. Beyond the window Ji-young had left open, the figure of Jeong-in just crossing the front gate came into view.

Catching Ji-young's stir, Hee-jin rose from her place for a moment and prepared a seat for Jeong-in. Jeong-in: The Oldest. Yoo Jeong-in, Director of the Directorate of Knowledge. Ji-young: Come in. The moment Hee-jin stepped to the door and opened the shut door, the 두루마리(Durumari_decree) clutched in Jeong-in's arms came tumbling down in a shower. With startled eyes, Hee-jin sorted the documents again together with Jeong-in, then let Jeong-in inside. Having closed the opened door, Hee-jin prepared Jeong-in's seat.

The moment she saw the armful of documents in Jeong-in's embrace, Ji-young propped her elbows on the folding table and let out a sigh first, as if scrubbing her face with dry hands. Ji-young: Whoa. Ssi —, this is awful. Already. Jeong-in: Well, once I'd prepared everything you mentioned, the decrees came to about this much. A bit. Ji-young: Haa. Jeong-in: I-I'll explain it well. It won't be difficult. Probably. Yes.

Without even lifting her bowed head at the end of her dry face-scrub, Ji-young silently thrust out one hand. Reading none of the mood, Jeong-in promptly shoved a document into it. Only then did Ji-young finish scrubbing her face, unroll the document, and examine its contents. Jeong-in: This is the amount spent in this Calamity. It includes the Black Doctrine's main-sanctuary restoration project and the bill for the external contract.

After putting on her glasses, Ji-young first reviewed the Black Doctrine restoration project that Gyeong-seo was running. She unrolled the decree recording the progress measures alongside it and checked the contents in turn. Along with the tax issue to be folded in, Ji-young spread a blank sheet on the side table and wrote out numbers. Reviewing the documents, she spoke to Jeong-in. Ji-young: The restoration won't drag on as long as I thought.

Jeong-in: It's only that Officer Mun Gyeong-seo is lazy; the college peers around Officer Mun Gyeong-seo are quite good at their work. That firm built the house where the Guide is to stay, too. They don't leak internal matters to the outside. Ji-young: Well, to them we'll just look like some odd insurance outfit that manages shamans anyway. They might take us for a quaint hanok village or something. Jeong-in: Still, in times like these there can't be many firms doing their office work in traditional dress.

And the old words we use must feel rather unfamiliar to them, too. Ji-young: When I actually got here, I figured I'd be tossing out dialect left and right, but nothing comes out easy except the cursing. Anyway. Here, this part, this — what's it. Ji-young studied the document quietly. She pointed out one part among the line items. Jeong-in shifted over and examined the content Ji-young indicated. Jeong-in: Ah. This is the garment-production cost the Office of Rites submitted earlier.

Your spring-festival garments are included in here too. Since Officer Mun Gyeong-seo is handling the restoration work anyway, I recorded it together. Your spring-festival garment production is already nearly finished. Ji-young: So Gyeong-seo drew this up and sent it over, right? Jeong-in: Yes. Why would that — Ji-young: This — the bar tab's been folded in, hasn't it? At Ji-young's expression — the corners of her mouth lifting as if she'd snapped right onto it — Jeong-in stole a glance at Hee-jin.

Ji-young: Omo, this lot's all in cahoots. Holding light smiles, Ji-young and Hee-jin let out small sighs without a word. Grumbling, Ji-young pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to Jeong-in. Watching Hee-jin's face, Jeong-in took the card Ji-young held out. Ji-young: Recalculate this with the bar tab taken out, and fix it. The tab that's already been paid, settle it after the fact on my card. Who in the world folds their own bar tab into their labor cost. Jeong-in: My apologies.

Ji-young: Ah-ni~ what's the Director of the Directorate of Knowledge got to be sorry for. Tell them to put it on that card, out of my own pocket. I don't even have the time to spend money. Taking that advance was pointless after all. Hee-jin: As it happens, I believe she came into Headquarters just a moment ago. Shall I summon her. At Hee-jin's words, Ji-young frowned slightly with an air of indifference and shook her head.

Ji-young: When even a wench who skimmed tens of millions lived high and mighty before she dropped dead, what's twenty thousand won. Let's just call it me buying her drinks often. Besides, if you really want to split hairs, it's a matter that could be folded into labor cost anyway. That's why I let it go with just a scolding. Hee-jin: Since the subject has come up, I'll say it — what would you think of promoting Gyeong-seo to a higher rank.

Right now everyone is doubling up on duties to the point that it causes no disruption, but the place Gyeong-seo belongs is not such a lowly post. Even among the upper ranks, hers is a house seated nearly at the very top, save for the Doe house. Of course, knowing that her ability matches it and is outstanding, that must be why you assigned her to guard the persons of the Guide and Si-yeon. Ji-young was deliberating. Ji-young: Well, I don't think it's because Gyeong-seo's short on money.

Watching her, turns out she likes the drinks other people buy more. And Gyeong-seo, I'll be giving her a post separately later, so let's leave her be for now. But, Ah-ni, still — when you've itemized material costs with labor included right there in the open, having the paid amount come out different is way too obvious, isn't it. Hee-jin did not bother to object to Ji-young's intent. Hee-jin: If you have a plan for later, then that would be better.

I only meant that, despite ranking higher in house seniority and in age than the Director of the Directorate of Knowledge here, she carries on like an idler down below, and it just doesn't sit right …. Jeong-in: She always bows her head to me first and never drops her speech with me, so honestly it does weigh on me a bit. When she's a good deal older than me. Ji-young: Ah. Is the Director of the Directorate of Knowledge the youngest, then??

Hee-jin: The Director of the Directorate of Knowledge is younger even than the Secret Agent. Ji-young: Huh. Hee-jin: She's a good deal younger than me. Ji-young: Don't tell me. The same zodiac year as you, Strate — Hee-jin: Ahem! Hem. Hrm. Hm. Ji-young made a sour face and went back to reviewing the documents. In the blank of the first document, Ji-young took up a brush pen, dipped it in ink, and finished her signature. She took up the next document and examined its contents.

Jeong-in: This is the funding going into the residence of the Guide and Si-yeon. It's currently being covered out of the standing reserve, so below the deputy rank no one knows what it's for. Ji-young: This money. Is it being processed as an expense within the quarterly standing-reserve total. Jeong-in: Yes. Ji-young: Then it means it's about time to give them a formal post and bring them in. Jeong-in: It can't be logged under a no-name designation forever. With expense processing alone there's also the tax issue.

Ji-young was working her tangled head hard. At the cold wind that rushed in through the open window, Jeong-in shuddered. Belatedly noticing the two seated without even shedding their coats, Ji-young abruptly twisted at the waist and hurriedly shut the window. Ji-young: Ah-ni, you should've said something. That it's cold. Jeong-in: Th-that's. Achoo!!! Because they said you, achoo!! break a sweat after just a little while …. Ji-young: Ah. Do I — do I reek of sweat???

Sniffing, Ji-young smelled the cuff of her Traditional Korean dress. Hee-jin shot Jeong-in a glare and hurried to smooth it over. Hee-jin: No. It's absolutely not that. It's just that when you're drained it's uncomfortable to work, so we're trying to set the temperature to suit you — you have absolutely no body odor. If anything, I rather like that cherry? scent. Ji-young: I've never put anything like that on. Hee-jin: It's true. When you pass by, a faint cherry scent comes off your collar sometimes.

Ji-young: Suspicious. Ji-young lowered her sour eyes again and went back over the document. After marking that no deadline had been set on the expense-processing item, she scribbled her signature to grant authorization of the drafted budget proposal. As she tidied the decrees and looked at the still-towering pile of documents left, a sound suddenly leaked out from Ji-young's stomach. Hee-jin: Th-the Oldest, a — a meal, let's have it now. Then. Jeong-in: I-I'm hungry too. I ate a meager breakfast.

Ji-young: This pair. You do know how to read the room. Jeong-in: Normally, when a bone-thin person gets hungry, the hysterics and the gibberish pile up a — Hee-jin kicked Jeong-in, cutting her off before she could go on. Ji-young: Hey!!