65 – You are back (3)
The first day of work after sick leave ended without incident.
We returned to our neighborhood around 7pm.
“Hoo. Is that something like that?”
As soon as I entered the street in front of the villa, I nodded at the familiar atmosphere I felt.
The surrounding scenery was quite quiet in the morning.
But now, there was a familiar yet eerie atmosphere all around.
“I’m back, everyone.”
Little by little, I could feel the quiet eyes hidden in the darkness.
Could it be that the troubles within the team were resolved in just one day?
“What…. “You’ll find out soon.”
I raised my head high in front of the common entrance.
There was a bright light on the veranda on the 4th floor, where I was about to head.
I walked up the stairs with a smile on my face.
Beep, beep, beep.
Tiroling~♪
“I’m here~”
I opened the front door and said the words that came naturally to me.
“Welcome honey!”
Ruina jumped out from the right and ran towards me.
I lightly patted my girlfriend’s head, which had suddenly reached out.
“How are you?”
“Yes, yes. “I stayed calm.”
“Okay, okay. But Ruina.”
“Hung?”
“Why in the kitchen… ?”
Normally, she appears from the living room sofa.
The living room is on the left side of the front door. Because the kitchen is on the right.
But didn’t it definitely come from the right just now?
I was secretly concerned about that minor detail.
And that was before the answer came out of Ruina’s mouth.
“Hello. “Handler.”
“………… “What are you talking about?”
Rather than saying hello, those words came out reflexively.
Team leader Lee Tae-seok meets again after one day.
He was currently wearing a neat suit and a light pink apron, the most unbalanced outfit.
“I was teaching Ruina how to cook. “Because it’s a requirement.”
“Requirements?”
“Yes, yes. There will still be time until you come. “I think it’s better than just sitting still and idling around.”
“But what about that apron…?” …. Huh!”
Is that really true?
Last time I was suffering from a cold.
Didn’t Team Leader Lee Tae-seok come to our house and cook for us at Ruina’s request?
At that time, Ruina had emphasized several times that Team Leader Lee Tae-seok was wearing a light pink apron.
“……… ….”
And now, before my eyes, the man wearing the light pink apron stood tall.
The image didn’t come to mind even in my imagination.
The sight I actually saw was truly a spectacular sight.
Of course, this is irony.
* * *
Leaving behind the shocking reunion with the team leader for a moment.
After changing my clothes, I came out to the living room.
“It’s easy to use the snap of your wrist like this.”
“Hey~”
“It won’t be heavy even if you don’t use the snap in the first place.”
In the kitchen, a man in a light pink apron was showing Ruina how to cook using high heat.
By the way, I bought that home wok but never used it.
To have my first child taken away by a stranger…….
“No, no. “What am I thinking?”
“Oh. Are you out? Lol.”
As soon as Ruina, who was looking at team leader Tae-Seok Lee with some seriousness, saw me, her face brightened.
She is also my lovely girlfriend.
From Noble mtl dot com
I’m the only one who shows such a bright face.
“What are you doing now?”
“They say it’s Chinese food that you can cook at home.”
That was the answer I heard from Ruina, who ran into my arms.
“I had unused cooking utensils so I gave it a try. Was it a nuisance?”
“Huh? No, no. I didn’t really think so…….”
I was so stung by Team Leader Lee Tae-seok’s question that I ended up answering like that.
“Is that so?”
As expected, it was Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, and his answer was extremely blunt.
“Please wait a moment. “It will be completed soon.”
Finally, Team Leader Lee Tae-seok put a long ladle into the wok with very familiar hand movements.
What soon arrived in a ladleful was a lump of rice coated in golden color.
“Fried rice?”
“Yes, yes. “It must be delicious.”
Well, I thought there was a fragrant oil smell from the moment I entered the house.
What you were making was Chinese fried rice.
“You’re really good at cooking, team leader. “It was like that last time I caught a cold.”
“Thank you.”
Despite my praise, Team Leader Lee Tae-seok’s expression did not change even once, and he poured the ladle into a large plate.
After the ladle is removed from the bowl.
Shiny fried rice in the shape of an overturned rice bowl revealed its grandeur.
I never thought I would actually see scenes that I only saw in videos of Chinese restaurant kitchens.
I never thought a man who seemed billions of light years away from cooking would show me that too.
I also thought that there were many truly amazing people in the world.
“Let’s eat.”
“hehehe. Thank you for this food!”
Ruina quickly sat down in her seat and immediately raised her spoon.
I bought that spoon with the thought of trying to make ramen myself, but it was a tableware that had been closed for over a year.
Thanks to Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, I was able to use all the tools I had never used before.
Should I like this? ….
“Let’s eat, Handler. “The taste is guaranteed.”
“Oh, yes…” . “What about the team leader?”
Ruina has a happy expression and has already started eating fried rice.
The same amount of sticky fried rice was placed on me.
However, team leader Lee Tae-seok did not have his share of responsibility.
“I just finished a quick meal.”
“Team leader, it was like that last time too. “I always take my feet off the table.”
Ruina, who was putting a lot of fried rice in her mouth and muttering, heard one word.
“I’m sorry. “If we get a chance next time, let’s eat together.”
“hahahaha…. “Then I will eat well.”
Thinking about whether that promise could be kept, I poured a spoonful of fried rice into my mouth.
“Hmmm…” ….”
As expected, it was such a great taste that the only word that comes to mind is.
To become a team leader at the National Intelligence Service, do you have to be good at cooking?
I couldn’t help but think such nonsense.
“I’m glad you like it.”
I didn’t really express my feelings out loud, but I got that kind of response from team leader Tae-seok Lee.
“Over there. “More than that.”
He swallowed his rice and continued speaking.
“You didn’t just come to my house to cook, did you?”
“Yes. As I notified the handler. “I’m here to tell you about the payoff for the operation.”
It’s here! Operation reward!
I quietly put down the spoon on the table with a serious face.
“Originally, I was planning to deposit it directly into the handler’s account.”
“But… ?”
Team leader Lee Tae-seok paused for a moment, rummaged through the inside of his apron and the inside pocket of his jacket, and immediately pulled out something.
It was a new, stiff paper bankbook with a light blue background.
“This is Ruina’s external identity. “This is a bank account made in the name of Yuri Lee.”
“Huh? Mine?”
The arrow headed in a direction I had not expected at all.
It seems to be the same for Ruina.
She pointed her finger at herself and tilted her head.
“Yes. In a recent incident, part of the handler’s identity was exposed. Therefore, we have taken measures to avoid being caught by other public institutions.”
“Ah… ….”
It was worth it.
According to the principle, civil servants were heroes and were prohibited from holding concurrent positions unless there was a special reason.
However, it seems that team leader Lee Tae-seok, with the help of Ex Machina, manipulated various positions to make it possible for him to hold concurrent positions.
After all, having overtime allowances piled up in your account is bound to be seen as a subject of investigation.
“Incidentally, the agency that currently watches handlers most closely is the National Tax Service.”
For some reason, it seemed like it would happen even if I didn’t say anything.
They are the ones who become more vicious than any other public institution when it comes to collecting taxes.
“Please take it.”
“Eh. “Can I really take it?”
“You set up a smokescreen for the National Tax Service by claiming to be a sole proprietor. So don’t worry.”
“Take it, Ruina.”
“Uh, yes.”
At my recommendation, Ruina carefully handed over the bankbook from team leader Tae-seok Lee.
Then she slowly opened the stiff cover of the bankbook.
It’s just Ruina opening her bank account.
My heart was suddenly pounding.
“Hey… ….”
“Uh, how are you, Ruina?”
When I asked carefully, Ruina turned the bankbook around and showed me the inside.
“Work. Ten. Hundred. Cloth. Only. Hundred thousand. Million. You’re welcome…… !”
The number was definitely an eight-digit number.
The large amount of money we had been longing for had finally been returned to us.
I immediately wanted to hug Ruina High School team leader Tae-seok Lee and run away, but the strings of reason barely managed to block my rushing thoughts.
“Please continue to do better in the future. Hero Handler.”
“Yeah, right. Of course!?”
“And I would like to ask you to continue to be the leader of our strategic crisis response team.”
“…… Huh??”
A question came out of my emotions that had been surging at the sudden words.
Please take good care of the team leader.
So does that mean the man in front of me right now is not the team leader?
“When you say please take care of me…… ?”
“You will soon find out.”
Team leader Lee Tae-seok slowly adjusted his sunglasses and quietly said something meaningful.