EP.58 Is this really an internship? (1)
After walking through Yeouido Park for quite a while, we finally arrived at the location of the <Judgment of Fire> Clan Tower.
“This is our clan tower,” Kang Ju-yeon pointed at the building with her finger.
Following her gesture, my gaze also turned towards the building.
“Wow….” This is a building, no, a tower…. It was a building near Yeouido Post Tower, boasting a grand presence, the <Judgment of Fire> Clan Tower. Even at a glance, it seemed to be more than 30 stories tall, with a simple exterior, and the clan name and emblem indicating it was the <Judgment of Fire> building were hung near the top of the building.
Compared to the auction house I had seen in Daegu, this building was much larger in scale. It was truly fitting for the title of one of the top three clans in the country.
“Come this way.”
“Ah, okay.” At Kang Juyeon’s gentle pull on my sleeve, I snapped out of my daze and followed her lead. I couldn’t just keep staring at the exterior forever. I had to understand the interior structure of the clan tower, and there was a lot to do on my first day as a member.
“Here is the 1st-floor front desk. This is where we handle external visitors, clan customer consultations, and clan tower check-ins for accommodations.”
“They offer accommodations in the clan tower?”
“Yes. It’s occasionally provided for guests visiting the clan or for clan members on special missions. The interior structure is like an officetel…”
“A true officetel, indeed.”
Korean officetels are another form of ‘home’ created by avoiding building regulations. Usually, they’re called officetels in name only and are mostly used as residential spaces… The accommodation system provided by the <Judgment of Fire> Clan Tower was truly like a genuine officetel, where work and stay were combined, a literal officetel.
We walked towards the entrance of the building. The system required showing an access card to check the entry pass and then entering. On either side stood men dressed like bodyguards. Judging by the classic weapons they carried, they were holders. However, they seemed to be going through an awkward situation. It was because a man was trying to enter the entrance in a rather impudent manner.
“You shouldn’t do that. Entry without a pass is not allowed.”
“Ugh, seriously! Hey, you guys. I’m the leader of Hunting Team 5. I’m your senior. What kind of regret are you trying to have later? You’re making an irreversible mistake, seriously? So, please let me in. Huh?”
“…Entry is not allowed without a pass.”
“It’s so frustrating. Who’s the genius who put two rookies in charge of the entrance?”
Kang Juyeon was about to enter after showing her access card, but she paused briefly and approached them when she saw the struggling man.
“What’s going on?”
“We, we greet you Holder Kang Juyeon!”
The guards quickly saluted as soon as they saw Kang Juyeon.
…This is not like meeting a major general. Why are their greetings and attitudes so rigid? However, Kang Juyeon returned the greeting with a nod as if she were used to it.
Then, the man who had been struggling in front of them. When he saw her, his expression changed as if he had met a savior. He quickly approached and grabbed Kang Juyeon’s wrist.
“Oh, you’re here! Miss has arrived. I’m saved. I can finally go in. Miss, welcome. Could you please confirm my identity to these inflexible rookies?”
“…Please don’t call me ‘miss’.”
“Ah! Kang Juyeon, Kang Juyeon. Holder Kang Juyeon. Please, I’m begging you. I’ve been like this for 30 minutes.”
“What’s the matter?”
Kang Juyeon’s gaze shifted from the man to the guards.
The rookie guards hesitated with hesitant faces.
“Uh… He kept wanting to enter even though I’ve never seen him before… So, we were following the manual.”
“You’ve said you’ve been on an external mission and came back multiple times.”
Seeing Kang Juyeon’s head tilted slightly, I quickly realized.
Kang Juyeon looked at the guards and nodded.
“He’s Kwon Oh-jun, a member of the clan. He’s the leader of Hunting Team 5 and a person with a confirmed identity… So, it’s okay to let him in.”
“I, I’m sorry. Holder Kwon Oh-jun!”
Finally understanding the situation, the tense guards saluted again.
Kwon Oh-jun heaved a sigh of relief and waved at Kang Juyeon, and entered the entrance.
“Phew, it’s over. You didn’t do anything wrong by following the manual. Make sure to guard the entrance properly.”
“Thank you…!!”
With that, the situation was resolved, and both Kang Juyeon and I entered the entrance.
And at that moment, Kwon Oh-jun’s gaze turned towards me.
“But who is this person?”
Before Kang Juyeon could answer, I quickly bowed my head and greeted.
“Hello. I’m Do Jae-hyun, a C-grade Holder who will be working as an intern in the Judgment of Fire clan from today. I’m currently a 1st-year student at the Academy, specializing in both assassin and warrior disciplines.”
“Oh, a new recruit’s new recruit.”
As lively as his personality seemed, Kwon Oh-jun extended his hand towards me with a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m A-grade Holder Kwon Oh-jun. I’ve been a senior for quite a while, so you can call me by name, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hehe, forget about what you saw earlier. I’m not used to being treated like that, but of all days, it had to happen on a day when I forgot my access card.”
He smoothly brushed it off. Then, he looked at Kang Juyeon.
“Is this the friend you recommended?”
“….”
This person is really something. Even after escaping a crisis, he immediately changed his address to miss. Kang Juyeon didn’t like being addressed as miss within the clan. She wanted to be treated as a Holder and a clan member. But for the clan members who had been seeing her from a young age, it was only natural that the title didn’t change easily.
The Holder named Kwon Oh-jun in front of me, despite his appearance, seemed to have been a Holder in the <Judgment of Fire> clan for quite some time.
“Oh, wait! I’m late. Anyway, I’ll go in first. Please show this friend around, miss.”
Immediately he felt her tone growing colder, Kwon Oh-jun waved lightly and headed towards the emergency exit stairs. He truly was like the wind.
“…He’s a good person.”
“That’s true.”
She quickly agreed with my words. Her anger gauge felt like it had reached her throat… Anyway, we took the elevator and headed to the upper floors. Our destination was the 33rd floor. It was four floors below the top floor, 37th floor.
“Going really high up, huh?”
“…Yeah. I was planning to introduce things floor by floor as we go down.”
“But why the 33rd floor? Why not the upper floors?”
“From the 37th to the 34th floors, those are the clan leadership offices.”
“I see….”
If it was the clan leadership, it was likely the Clan Master, who was also an S-grade Holder. Furthermore, he was Kang Juyeon’s father, Kang Woo-hyun.
And various clan key figures, including him, would likely be there. It seemed that not only the clan’s leadership, but also the offices were located on the top floor of the building.
Ding-
The elevator reached its destination. The 33rd floor, where we had just arrived, was filled with meeting rooms. There was a large conference room in the center, surrounded by various sizes of meeting rooms scattered throughout.
“This is the conference room. Clan-wide important meetings and clan assemblies are held here.”
“An entire floor of meeting rooms… It’s really big.”
“Yes. Small meeting rooms can be used by anyone if they’re requested through the administrative department.”
As I was listening to these mundane explanations from Kang Juyeon, I felt a mix of fascination and awkwardness. Is this something a clan heir does normally? Am I receiving special treatment…?
However, Kang Juyeon’s expression didn’t seem uncomfortable at all. If anything, she had a faint smile.
“From the 32nd to the 30th floor, it’s all archives. Clan documents, meeting materials, and reports are stored there.”
“The 30th floor looks almost like a library.”
“Yes. You can freely borrow Holder papers or related books for a certain period.”
“A real library, huh? Can I borrow books too?”
“…You’re a clan member now too.”
Right. That’s true. It was more natural for Kang Juyeon to refer to me like that.
“And from the 20th floor and below, various teams are divided by departments.”
This time, we went down to the 25th floor. It was 5 floors lower than before. After getting off the elevator, Kang Juyeon pointed to the nameplates hanging around the floor.
“The 25th floor is where Hunting Team 5 is located.”
A familiar term caught my attention. I looked at her with a quizzical expression.
“Oh? If it’s Hunting Team 5, then earlier…”
“Yes. The team led by Holder Kwon Oh-jun that you saw earlier. And…”
Kang Juyeon suddenly avoided my gaze.
“…Do Jae-hyun. The team you’ll be joining from now on.”
“…Excuse me?”
I was momentarily dumbfounded. The Holder who was so talkative earlier is the team leader of my assigned department? It was an unexpected turn of events. ‘He reminds me a bit of Park Jin-woo…’
An older Park Jin-woo as the team leader? Oh, damn. Just imagining it makes my head spin. Despite his age, he had the energy of someone younger. He definitely had a knack for wearing people out.
Kang Juyeon seemed to know that too as she kept avoiding my gaze. There was a reason she confidently claimed to be good at handling him.
Thump, thump-
“…So, you should develop a habit of always checking the team member list first when planning new strategies. You never know when there might be changes according to clan orders…”
Wasn’t there something about even the tiger comes if you mention it?
I stood outside the department, lost in thought. Then, I saw the Holder Kwon Oh-jun I saw earlier. He and a woman with short red hair were walking alongside each other, engaged in a casual conversation.
Short red hair, huh? If Kang Juyeon’s hair was a mix of black and a hint of red, the woman had completely dyed her hair red, making it really stand out.
She was a woman who caught the eye with her appearance alone.
“Oh? Miss, what brings you here?”
“……”
Kwon Oh-jun looked like he recognized him from somewhere and stared pointedly between Kang Juyeon and Do Jae-hyun.
“This is… Oh? Miss and…”
“I’ll introduce him properly. This is C-grade Holder Do Jae-hyun. He’s been specially recruited as an intern clan member through a special hiring process, and he’s also assigned to Hunting Team 5 led by Holder Kwon Oh-jun. For the next two months, Holder Do Jae-hyun will be active as a member of Hunting Team 5. In addition, during this summer break, I will also be active as a member of Hunting Team 5, so Holder Kwon Oh-jun will have to treat me as a team member as well.”
Kang Juyeon’s voice was firm as she made the declaration. On the day of my entry, the assignment of team members had already been finalized. …I didn’t know about this. Kwon Oh-jun looked at Kang Juyeon with a blank expression, then seemed to realize what was going on. He scratched his head in frustration. “…So, the newly assigned team member is this guy?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, miss. Isn’t this a bit much? I clearly requested sufficient personnel support for Team 5, and you’re giving me an intern… and a C-grade Holder at that. On top of that, you’re giving me a two-month deadline. Did the Clan Master approve of this?”
Kang Juyeon nodded her head in response to Kwon Oh-jun’s frustrated question.
“Yes, and your concerns can be alleviated. Not only Holder Do Jae-hyun, but I will also be a team member of Hunting Team 5 during this summer break. So, Holder Kwon Oh-jun, you just need to treat both of us as team members.”
“Is that really… Oh.”
Kwon Oh-jun stopped pressing the issue. The decision had already been made for personnel reassignment. The Clan Master had also approved it. There was no point in dwelling on it. Instead, Kwon Oh-jun looked at me and nodded. “Very well. But we’ll need to verify the newly added team member.”
“…Verify?”
“Yes. Well, Miss, you’ve been quite active as a B-grade Holder within the clan, so you’ll do well, of course. But we should check if our new intern, who’s a C-grade Holder and has just joined, has the skills to not cause trouble while being a part of the team. You’re fine with this arrangement, right?”
“……”
Kwon Oh-jun turned his head to the side and called out to the woman next to him. “Yuna.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Have a dueling match with this intern in the underground training room. You joined recently as a B-grade Holder too, so his level should be around there. Me and Miss will oversee. Any objections?”
“No. I’ll finish it as quickly as possible.”
Yuna, the Holder with red hair, looked at me with fiery eyes. Frankly, I felt overwhelmed by her intensity. ‘Well, that’s beside the point.’ It seemed like I had to duel with this woman… That’s something I hadn’t expected.
…I don’t get a say in this, do I?
