Chapter 3

3

1. New Interpreter at EW Agency, Taehyunseok (3)

Being alone in the elevator with Harry Watson was quite a trial. The fact that Harry Watson was a bald white man who looked extremely displeased added to my fear. Not long ago, I had seen a video on an internet community where a skinhead was being racist, and it was terrifying.

The atmosphere made me naturally shrink, as if I might get hit if I made even the slightest mistake.

When the elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors opened, Harry Watson tapped my shoulder.

"...Why are you so scared, like you've seen a ghost?"

"No, I was just thinking about something else."

I couldn't say that I was scared of you.

"I was thinking about something and couldn't greet you properly. My name is Taehyunseok. Should I be called Taehyun or Hyunseok? You can call me Harry."

Unlike Katie Cubitt, he didn't pronounce it as "suk." He was grinning widely, a complete contrast to his earlier displeased look. I silently apologized for the prejudice I had briefly held against Harry Watson.

"Call me Hyunseok. Nice to meet you, Harry."

"Hyunseok, Hyunseok. Good. You said you're Seba's interpreter, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's talk more on the way to Brighton. Is this all your luggage?"

I lifted my suitcase slightly to answer.

"Yes."

"Good. Let's load it into the car first. Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I had a quick meal at McDonald's..."

"Is that enough to fill your stomach! If you've had breakfast, you should have a brunch. Let's go to Brighton after that."

Harry, who had been leading me firmly, threw my suitcase into the Land Rover and held my shoulder, walking briskly while asking a few questions.

"Are you a professional interpreter? Or do you plan to continue working with the agency?"

"Continuing with the agency."

"Is that so?"

Harry scratched his shiny head with his free hand.

"Then you're about to see the dark side of the industry."

Harry muttered in a low voice.

The dark side?

We retraced the path I had taken to the interview and arrived at a café with an antique atmosphere. The sign on the building was a red dragon that didn't match the building. Seeing the dragon, I realized this must be the Red Dragon that Katie had mentioned.

When I entered the café, I understood why it was called Red Dragon. The Welsh flag with a red dragon was scattered everywhere, and the emblems and replicas of Cardiff City, the Welsh football team, were hung throughout the café.

"Ah, I'm going crazy. Hyunseok, I need to wash my face. Wait a moment."

"Ah, yes. Go ahead."

Harry, who had been leading me confidently, had a stiff expression as we approached the café. Once inside, he turned pale.

Seeing Harry run to the bathroom, I recalled what Katie Cubitt had said earlier.

She mentioned that Chris was waiting here and that we should remember we were doing business.

Is Harry's stiff expression related to business problems with Chris? I turned my head to look at the people sitting in the café. Chris must be among them.

I noticed two people in a group eating.

"Wow..."

In front of a neatly dressed man in a black suit was a boy with very, very good looks and dark brown hair.

I'm definitely into women, but his good looks almost made me question my sexuality. He could easily outshine any model. He had a gloomy face, and I felt like I should comfort him.

Snap!

I need to get a grip. When I slapped my own cheek, the people in the café looked at me as if I were crazy. The good-looking boy just kept his head down. The man in the black suit said something to the boy and then got up.

He walked towards me as if he were running.

I tried to move out of the way as he seemed to be heading for the door. The area near the entrance where I was standing was quite narrow due to the tables, so I had to move to both sides.

But this man, in a hurry, came straight and bumped into my shoulder.

"What the—!"

The man in the black suit glared at me. I'm quite athletic, so I didn't stagger and stared back at him.

"You little yellow bastard."

What?

"Chink, open your eyes."

The man made a gesture of slitting his eyes and pushed my chin, then opened the door and left.

What?

I was so taken aback that I couldn't even speak.

Damn, this is racism. This feels worse than I thought. That bastard.

Anger surged, and I was about to storm out of the café.

Zing.

"Hyunseok! Come here!"

Between venting personal anger and the first day of work, which is more important? I decided to stay in the café. My remaining anger was directed at the phone that had been ringing non-stop.

Who has been calling me all this time?

I took out my phone and turned on the screen. A small envelope icon appeared in the status bar, with +9 next to it.

"What are you doing? Come quickly!"

I turned off the phone at Harry's call. The envelope icon must be the default messaging app. If it's a message, it's probably from the Foreign Office. If they were going to send messages, they should have sent them all at once, not in intervals to annoy me.

I headed to the table where Harry was calling me. There, the good-looking boy who had just been talking to the racist bastard was sitting.

*

"Sure enough. I knew it would be like this."

"There's no contract extension. I'm really sorry. I know your situation... but..."

I began to understand what Harry meant by the "dark side of the industry" and why he looked so displeased.

The good-looking boy, Chris, was a football player, and Harry had come here to inform Chris that his contract would not be extended.

"I was prepared for this. I've already received a notice from the club. I can't do anything about it, can I?"

"Still! If the agency had put in some effort, you could have moved to another team..."

"It's okay."

Harry couldn't say anything more, looking apologetic. Chris smiled, but it felt a bit forced.

"I plan to play until the end of this season and then look for a different path. I've received a few modeling offers."

"You can't do anything else besides football. Can you really do it?"

"Isn't that a bit harsh...? I'll try, at least."

Chris, who was still a bit young and inexperienced, looked more mature than the bulky Harry. My opinion of Chris had been negative due to his interaction with the racist bastard, but now he seemed like a good kid.

"Your life...?"

"I have a sponsor now. I should be fine for a few months."

"Really? Who is it?"

"I don't want to reveal their name."

"Okay?"

Chris smiled strangely, a mix of sadness and happiness. It was a bit unsettling, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Harry, not noticing anything odd, patted Chris's shoulder.

"That's good. If anything happens, contact me."

"Don't worry."

Chris looked at me intently.

"By the way, who is this...?"

"Oh, he started today as a contract employee."

"Ah."

Chris extended his hand.

"Mr. Harry is a really good person. You'll learn a lot."

"Ah... yes."

"Stop talking nonsense. If you have any problems, you must contact me. Pass my regards to Erin and Isabelle."

"Would I worry so much if I looked like a bear?"

Chris's joke made Harry laugh loudly and pat Chris's shoulder.

Chris got up, hugged Harry, and said goodbye to me before leaving the café.

Harry watched Chris leave with a sad look, then ordered brunch and a drink, saying he needed to eat.

While waiting for the order, Harry took out his phone and started browsing the web.

Should I check what the Foreign Office sent me...?

I glanced around and turned on my phone. The screen came on, and I opened the messaging app.

"Huh?"

There was nothing. I checked KakaoTalk, Line, and other social media apps, but they were all empty.

What? I'm sure I saw something.

Zing.

Another vibration. I quickly checked the status bar. The same message icon with +12 was there. I swiped the status bar to see more details.

On the large screen, it was a different app from the default messaging app. The design had an H in the center of the envelope.

Did I install this? I tilted my head and touched the +12 part.

The app was in black and white. Four black-bordered squares were lined up on a white background.

Inside the black-bordered squares were familiar names.

My eyebrows furrowed. The app had no options.

Out of curiosity, I tapped [Aaron Ramsey].

-Current Ability: ★★★★★★

-Favorite Team: Arsenal

-Favorite Person: Arsène Wenger

My hand moved quickly. I went back from Aaron Ramsey's screen and tapped [Chris Allen].

-Potential Ability: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

-Current Ability: ★★★ (Position Mismatch)

-Deeply Troubled

-20 Days Left Until Deletion

Then I tapped [Harry Watson].

-Depressed

-Loves Fries Drenched in Ketchup

-Loves Diet Coke

I looked up at Harry. He had a bottle of diet coke next to him and was piling ketchup on his fries.

What?

A chill ran down my spine as I kept looking at the app.

I was so focused that I didn't even hear Harry calling me.

"What are you looking at?"

"Ah, nothing."

"Yours came up too."

"Ah... thank you. By the way, the Chris who just left, what's his last name?"

"Allen. Why?"

"He looks like someone I know. Let's eat."

I deflected and ignored the fish and chips in front of me, staring at the screen.

I went to the main screen and checked the app's name.

It's called Helper.

Is it a virus? Was I hacked?

I couldn't remember installing such an app.

An app that reveals a person's full name, inner thoughts, and preferences.

It was creepy. I tried to delete the app by dragging it to the delete button.

My hand froze.

I had no interest in eating anymore. I searched the Play Store and the internet for information on the Helper app.

All I found was a white hand character promoting macaroni food. If there were apps with the same name, they had different icons.

After a while, I realized Harry wasn't making any eating noises and looked up. Harry was staring at me.

"Do you know how many times I called you?"

Harry moved his hand, put a ketchup-soaked fry in his mouth, and chewed.

"Eat quickly, we need to leave soon."

Harry's expression didn't look good.

"Do you like looking at your phone? That's what young people these days do."

What am I doing?

My first impression must be a mess. A smartphone addict who ignores the food someone bought for me!

I decided to put off investigating the suspicious app and focus on enjoying the food Harry bought me.

I turned off my phone and picked up the fork to eat the British fish and chips.