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“나는 눈치를 참 많이 보는 편이다.”

I’m the type to be very perceptive.

“겉으로는 아닌척 대범하게 굴어도 속은 완전히 딴판이었다는 얘기다.”

I might act bold on the outside, but inside, it’s a whole different story.

“이는 직업 때문에 생긴 습관이었다.”

This habit formed because of my job.

“정보관이란 늘상 누군가를 살피고 속내를 짐작하며 계산기를 두들기기는 것이 일이니.”

Being an Information Officer means constantly observing someone and guessing their inner thoughts while crunching numbers.

“더군다나 사람을 대할 일이 많은 게 내 업무라서 더더욱 눈치를 봐야했다.”

On top of that, my job involves dealing with many people, so I really had to keep my eyes peeled.

“유달리 장난기가 짙었던 후배는 이를 두고 인간 판독기가 됐다며 좋아했다.”

My particularly mischievous junior liked to joke that I had become a human lie detector.

“그러나 내게 눈칫밥으로 먹고 사는 정보기관이란 직장, 정보관이란 직업이란 항상 골칫거리였다.”

But working in an Information Agency, where I eat and breathe perceptiveness, has always been a headache for me.

“죽어도 그것 만큼은 안된다고 만류하셨던 엄마가 있었으니.”

There was my mother, who begged me passionately never to become one.

“그래서일까.”

Is that why?

“정보관이 된 뒤로 나는 눈치를 참 많이 보는 사람이 됐고.”

Since becoming an Information Officer, I’ve become quite the observant person.

“아일라.”

Ayla.

“눈썰미도 조금 늘었다.”

My observational skills have also sharpened a bit.

“너 대체 뭐 하고 다니는 거냐?”

What on earth have you been up to?

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Episode 19 – HELLDIVERS

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느지막한 오후.

A late afternoon.

바람은 고요하고 단조롭게 울렸다.

The wind blew quietly and monotonously.

느릿하지만 조용한 기세로 켜켜이 쌓인 낙엽을 쓸어내리면서, 회백색 하늘에서 불어온 바람은 허름한 잎사귀들을 물고 떠나갔다.

Sweeping away the layers of fallen leaves with its slow yet silent momentum, the wind blew in from the gray sky, carrying off the shabby leaves.

오밀조밀 건물들이 들어앉은 골목길.

In a narrow alley crammed with small buildings.

고양이의 구슬픈 울음이 들려오는 가운데.

The mournful meow of a cat echoed.

전등 으스름한 그 담장 아래에, 한 소녀가 서 있었다.

Under the dim light of the street lamps, a girl stood by the wall.

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“갑자기 근황은 왜 묻고 그래? 쌩뚱맞게.”

Why are you suddenly asking about my recent news? It’s so out of the blue.

아일라는 뚱한 얼굴로 대꾸했다.

Ayla retorted with a pout.

“…그냥 대답해라.”

Just answer me.

“뭐래는 거야.”

What are you talking about?

“좋은 말로 할 때 순순히 불자. 자수해서 광명 찾게.”

Keep it nice and tell me so you can find the light of day.

“자꾸 무슨 뚱딴지 같은 소리를 해?”

What nonsense are you spouting?

눈썹을 추켜세운 그녀는 탐탁지 않은 시선으로 가방을 바라보았다.

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at her bag with a displeased expression.

“안 그래도 물건 다 버리게 생겼는데. 오빠까지 왜 이래, 진짜.”

As if I’m not already about to throw everything away, why are you acting like this, big brother?

소지품을 챙길 겨를조차 없이 반쯤 끌려 나와서일까.

Maybe it’s because she got dragged out without even the time to grab her belongings.

아일라는 이게 무슨 시츄에이션이냐고 묻는 듯한 표정이었다.

Ayla had a look on her face that questioned what kind of situation this was.

제리와 아델라의 표정도 크게 다르지는 않았다.

Jerry and Adela’s expressions weren’t much different.

영문도 모른 채 따라 나온 두 남매는 주변만 두리번거리고 있었다.

The two siblings, following along without understanding, just stared around.

“어쩐 일이야? 왜 나왔어.”

What’s the occasion? Why did you come out?

“냅둬, 제리. 또 이상한 부분에서 싸우나 보지.”

Leave him be, Jerry. They’re probably just arguing about something weird again.

“아델라 너는….”

Adela, you…

동생에게 면박을 주려던 장남이 말을 멈췄다.

The eldest son stopped mid-sentence, about to scold his younger sister.

오빠를 툭툭 건드리던 장녀의 시시덕거림이 멎은 건 바로 다음이었다.

Just then, Adela’s playful nudging of her brother halted.

웃음이 잦아든 골목길은 한순간에 텅 비어버렸다.

The alley, once filled with laughter, fell silent in an instant.

기류를 읽었는지 막내도 잠잠했다.

Maybe sensing the mood, the youngest also fell silent.

나는 그 얼굴을 바라보지도 않고, 아무 말 없이 기다렸다.

I didn’t even look at that face, waiting in silence.

어색한 침묵을 깨트린 것은 외마디 질문이었다.

The awkward silence was broken by a single question.

“…뭐가 궁금한데?”

What are you curious about?

으스름한 전등 아래로 바람이 오가고, 아일라는 멋쩍게 목덜미를 쓰다듬고서 운을 뗐다.

The wind flowed beneath the dim light, and Ayla awkwardly scratched her neck before speaking up.

“요즘 뭐하냐고 물었다.”

I just asked what you’ve been up to lately.

“나야 일하지. 직장 다니는 중이니까.”

Oh, I’m just working. I’m at the office.

“무슨 직장.”

What kind of job?

“무역 회사. 저번에 얘기했잖아. 그새 까먹기라도 한 거야 설마?”

A trading company. I told you last time. Did you seriously forget already?

“거기서 하는 일이 뭔데.”

What do you do there?

눈꺼풀은 느릿한 움직임으로 열리고 닫혔다.

Her eyelids slowly opened and closed.

한번 눈을 감았다 뜬 그녀는 아랫입술과 윗입술을 조금 벌리곤, 아랫입술을 살짝 안쪽으로 당겼다.

After briefly closing her eyes, she parted her lips slightly and pulled her lower lip inwards.

“영업일. 해외 영업 부서고 나는 일반 사원이야. 수출입 업무를 주로 하는데, 최근에는 출장 다녀왔고. 뭐…. 그렇지.”

Sales work. I’m in the international sales department. I’m just an ordinary staff member, mainly dealing with import/export, and recently I went on a business trip. Well… that’s it.

“수출입인가 뭔가 그거 얘기 좀 해보지 그래.”

Why don’t you tell me about that import/export stuff?

“대단한 건 아냐.”

It’s nothing spectacular.

아일라는 주머니에 손을 넣고서 설명을 이어갔다.

Ayla put her hands in her pockets and continued to explain.

“연금 포션 재료들 있지? 원자재 수입하고 국내에서 포션으로 제조한 다음 해외에 유통하는 거. 그게 우리 회사가 하는 건데, 해외로 유통하는 쪽이 내 업무야.”

You know the materials for potion-making? We import raw materials, manufacture them into potions domestically, and then distribute them abroad. That’s what our company does, and my job is on the distribution side.

“제조랑 수출을 함께하는 회사시다? 어, 좋아. 그럼 너는 신입이니까 보조업무만 하겠네?”

So the company does manufacturing and exporting together? Oh, nice. Then as a newbie, you must only be doing support work, right?

“배워가는 시기니까.”

Yeah, I’m in a learning phase.

나는 흙바닥이나 쳐다보며 끄덕였다.

I nodded while staring at the dirt ground.

“사무행정, 마케팅, 시장 조사야 무역회사에서 다 하는 거니까 해봤을 테고. 주로 어디랑 연락하냐.”

You’ve probably done stuff like office administration, marketing, and market research in a trading company. Who do you mostly contact?

“공급업체부터 해외 바이어나 셀러까지 다양하게 연락해.”

I contact a range of people from suppliers to overseas buyers and sellers.

“다들 외국인이라 거래처 관리할 때 나는 키옌어 쪽을 맡고 있어.”

Everyone’s a foreigner, so when managing clients, I handle it from the Kien side.

“화주(貨主)는.”

The consignor?

“…무슨 주?”

What do you mean by “consignor”?

구둣발로 바닥을 긁어대던 나는 고개를 들고 먼 하늘을 올려다보았다.

I had been scraping the ground with my shoe and looked up at the distant sky.

“…모르면 됐다.”

Never mind if you don’t know.

나는 휘휘 손을 내저었다.

I waved my hand dismissively.

의아한 눈으로 쳐다보는 아일라를 뒤로하고 마저 질문을 이어갔다.

Ignoring Ayla’s bewildered look, I continued my questions.

“해외 출장 나갔다고 했지.”

You said you went on a business trip abroad.

“응.”

Yeah.

“여기저기 다녀왔다던데 어디로 갔다 왔냐?”

You mentioned you traveled around. Where did you go?

“그냥, 엄청 많지.”

Oh, just a ton of places.

직장에서 보내준 해외 체류 경험이 썩 나쁘지 않았던 모양인지 목소리에 제법 생기가 돌았다.

Maybe she had a good experience on her overseas trip arranged by work, as there was a lively tone in her voice.

라투안 공국, 톨티포카 연방, 리푸요, 은루와나 등등.

LaTuan Empire, Tolti-Poca Federation, Ripuyo, Enruwana, and so on.

아일라의 입에서 나온 이름은 많고 많았으며 내가 가보지 못한 나라도 상당수 포함되어 있었다.

Many names spilled from Ayla’s lips, including quite a few places I had never been.

“나야 임원들 따라서 쫓아다니기만 했지 제대로 해본 건 없지만.”

I just followed the executives around, so I didn’t actually do much myself.

그래도 전시회랑 박람회들 몇 군데 다녀왔어. 구경하는 맛은 있더라고.”

But I did go to quite a few trade shows and expositions. It was fun to look around.

“전시회랑 박람회.”

Trade shows and expositions.

“얼마나 체류했냐.”

How long did you stay?

“외국? 모르겠네 따로 계산해 본 적은 없어서…. 3개월은 있었던 것 같은데.”

Abroad? I couldn’t really say, as I haven’t calculated it… But I think it was about three months.

“3개월이라.”

Three months, huh.

잠잠히 서 있던 내가 손짓으로 사람들을 불렀다.

I silently beckoned the others over.

제리와 아델라.

Jerry and Adela.

두 남매는 살금살금 우리 사이에 자리잡았다.

The two siblings tiptoed to our side.

“제리.”

Jerry.

“으응…. 왜 그러냐?”

Uh, why?

“무역회사들도 컨소시엄 많이 참가하지?”

Don’t trading companies participate in a lot of consortiums?

I nodded my head and started to speak.

“Right. The international expo is practically a stage for trade companies, so if the main character is missing, the event can’t proceed.”

“Where is it usually held? Those kinds of events, I mean.”

“The Ministry of Finance oversees commerce and industry, but the international aspect is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

I shifted my gaze to Adela. Adela shot me a look that said, “What are you looking at?” with a hint of annoyance.

“What’s up?”

“When exhibitions and expos are held, how long do they usually last?”

“Um… about five days? Sometimes it wraps up in two days if it’s short. There are cases where the timeline is ample, but I think anything over five days is rare.”

“Is there nothing weekly?”

“Do you think this is some world expo? There’s hardly time for several weeks.”

The current diplomat grumbled while adding a friendly explanation.

“Did you hear that?”

As soon as the words finished, I turned my head toward Ayla. She was still standing quietly, not a peep.

“Five days. That’s the longest a consortium can last.”

“….”

“If you multiply this by all the countries you’ve been to, you’d barely scrape a month. But three months? What is this, Go-Stop? Shake it for multiplication!”

“You should think before you lie. Did you throw arithmetic out the window?”

“Hey, what’s with you being so harsh to the youngest?”

Noticing the weird vibe in the atmosphere, Jerry jumped into the conversation.

The moment he grabbed my shoulder, I twisted my joints, pulled my hand away, and skirted past Jerry.

Even without putting in much effort, he stumbled back. The oldest daughter, supporting the swaying eldest son, shouted, “Hey!”

Then I threw an envelope in front of the two.

“Huh?”

“What’s this?”

Adela, having lifted Jerry back up, picked up the envelope that had fallen to the floor. It was a transparent bag filled with small white granules.

“Is it medicine…?”

The two, bewildered by something they’d never seen before, alternated glances between Ayla and me. Checking the envelope in her hand, Ayla momentarily licked her lips.

I sighed tiredly, pointing at the envelope.

“It’s drugs.”

“What did you say?”

“That’s methamphetamine.”

The diplomat raised his head in an instant. The Treasury Department official, with a dazed expression, went to touch the envelope, only to jerk back as if it had burned him.

“What on earth is going on? Drugs?”

“No, how do you know what it is? Can you tell just by looking…?”

Jerry and Adela began to ramble in a daze for quite a while. However, it didn’t take long for their prattling to stop.

“Why wouldn’t I know?”

I’ve been making a living as a spy for several years now.

“Ephedrine, iodine, red phosphorus, if you isolate it from phenyl-2, you get meth. You guys.”

For reference, ephedrine is commonly found in cold medicines. That’s precisely why junkies search for someone to discreetly buy them cold medicine with and find a supplier to sell it through back channels. Buying a lot of cold medicine puts you on the radar of law enforcement.

I gently rubbed my wrist and spoke in a composed manner.

“Typically, people mix ephedrine with other chemicals. They put that mixture in places like gasoline and crystallize it by extracting a ton of firepower. What you’ve got there is exactly that.”

“There are recipes using Birch reduction and hoses and straws, but those are for little junkies making stuff for themselves at the store. They are so broke they use picked-up PET bottles, so hygiene and quality are downright crap. The process is so wild that they probably have no brain to adhere to safety rules, resulting in explosions and fires….”

“Cavities and abscesses are also common. Among those making drugs, there are occasionally guys who skimp on equipment, inhale volatile compounds, and ruin their organs. So there are standards, but those only apply to the local dealers who are still just boiling things in pots.”

“But not these hacks. The real dealers are on a different level, you see? There are brands for drugs too. They use high-quality materials and excellent stoves, have proper vents, and have procedures for dealing with the stench from making the stuff and disposing of waste… of course, they also buy good raw materials.”

“The products made by those dealers come out as clear and nice crystals.”

Just like the drugs sitting right there.

I closed my eyes briefly and let out a long sigh.

“Trade company, huh? These days, is selling meth considered trade too?”

“….”

“You decide.”

I said.

“Are you going to come clean now, or should I just call people to raid your company?”

 

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