Chapter 19: Experience a long sleep.

The people who were injured in this incident, including Lee Hyejin.
They were all quickly transported to the hospital via the ambulances that had been prepared in advance.
Had they predicted that such a situation would occur?
For a moment, such a question came to mind, but anyway, I heard that all their injuries were minor.
I also received positive news that Lee Hyejin would not take long to recover.

Thanks to that, I sighed in relief and flopped onto the bed.
The two angels had also returned to their respective countries, utterly dispirited, and I had finally resolved all the problems and returned to my room.

‘Tired… bothersome… sleepy…’

I buried my face in the bed and hugged the teddy bear tightly.
I no longer wanted to use my brain or worry about anything.
All I desperately wanted now was to fall asleep.

So, I immediately closed my eyes, and…

Swoosh—

In an instant, I fell into a deep sleep.

The major incident that occurred in Korea.
The whole world was in an uproar over it in an instant.
Even beyond the US, Japan, and Korea, who could be considered the parties involved in the incident.

Well, it was a significant matter with three angels gathering in one country.
Everyone was on high alert, so in a way, it was a very natural process.
It wasn’t a secret place, and even if they were actors, there were still many ordinary people there.

In other words, the leaking of information was truly unavoidable.

“Haa… No matter what, it’s spreading this fast…”

One of the US leaders let out a deep sigh.

In response, the Korean leadership also expressed their regret in English.

“It was such a sudden situation… we can only express regret.”

“… This isn’t a problem that can be brushed aside so vaguely. Do you know what kind of conversations are happening everywhere right now?”

“What kind of conversations?”

“Ha…. The Angels’ power rankings…. In short, their hierarchy.”

The US side sighed deeply again.

Nevertheless, Korea replied calmly.

“That’s not exactly a new topic, is it?”

The hierarchy of the angels.

It was one of the worldwide gossips that had been constantly mentioned since the moment there were two awakened angels in the world.

It was definitely not a story that needed to be specifically pointed out now.

But the US asserted firmly.

“No. This is a completely different story.”

“… In what way?”

“All the stories that have come out so far were simply assumptions, but this time, a genuinely plausible result has appeared.”

What they were referring to must be the sight of the two angels crying.

“That’s true, but… what can we do about spilled milk? Honestly, as mere humans, we couldn’t have stopped what happened between the angels, could we?”

Korea maintained an air of difficulty.

This time, Japan interjected.

“No, you keep derailing the discussion. What I’m saying is, even if you couldn’t stop it, couldn’t you at least have quietly covered up the incident?”

“… There was a rock tens of meters large floating in the sky. And you want that to be quiet?”

Korea let out a short, hollow laugh and continued,

“And let’s be frank. Couldn’t this whole thing have been avoided if one of you had just sent your angel a little later? I don’t think it’s fair to blame us for this.”

“……”

“……”

A remark that hit home.

Thanks to that, the meeting entered a temporary lull.

After much more squabbling, the meeting then fizzled out.

However, as it was a serious matter, it was not completely over.

The current meeting was scheduled to resume after a few days.

During that time, the two countries would certainly thoroughly investigate their respective opinions or matters related to the incident.

The reason why the two countries were so genuinely concerned about this matter was simple.

Even if the angels did not feel a sense of belonging to a nation, from the perspective of the owning nation, it was different.

Angels were the very ‘symbol’ of a nation.

The moment the secretly spreading hierarchy was officially recognized, it would become a national image.

It was clear as day that it would even affect global political situations.

Vroooom—

Therefore, inside the car returning to the airport.

The director of the Japanese Angel Research Institute sighed deeply and said,

“Ah, we really got played properly.”

To that, one of the researchers tilted their head.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It means this whole situation itself is a well-orchestrated script.”

“… Huh?”

Her expression was one of complete incomprehension.

The research director began to explain step by step.

“Think about it carefully. What was the reason our Angel went to Korea in the first place?”

“Um… wasn’t it because she was jealous of the American Angel?”

“Right. But America must have conveyed the news of the visit as quietly as possible, right? But what was the result?”

“It spread all over the internet. To the point where the Angel found out…”

The researcher’s expression was tinged with doubt, and the explanation continued.

“That’s strange from the start. Even if it were anyone else, that human Choi Eunju would never not have known what would happen if it spread.”

“Who is Choi Eunju?”

“The director of the Korean Angel Research Institute.”

“Do you know her well?”

“Just studied together for a long time? We weren’t particularly close. That woman, how should I put it… in my opinion, she had a bit of a sociopathic side.”

The research director closed her mouth tightly, reminiscing about the past.

The researcher couldn’t wait and immediately asked.

“Sociopathic?”

“… Ah, yes. That woman would stop at nothing to satisfy her curiosity.”

“What happened?”

“That’s… no. If I were to tell that, it would take too long.”

As the research director drew a firm line, the researcher clicked their tongue in disappointment.

“Anyway, my point is that bringing the two angels to Korea was all part of a plan.”

“… But isn’t it too risky to call it a plan? Honestly, we don’t even know if it would be beneficial, do we?”

“No, even if nothing else, they must have already fully calculated that the Korean Angel is stronger than the other two angels.”

“Huh? How?”

The researcher tilted their head.

“You know, when the Korean Angel came to Japan to learn psychokinesis. She must have gauged it while watching our Angel. That information is top-secret, so it’s not disclosed.”

“… So, that was also a plan…?”

“Well, I don’t know. It might have just been a coincidence. Anyway, she definitely noticed something extraordinary back then.”

He looked out the window for a moment, then slowly continued,

“Anyway, the key is this. The rapid spread of this incident strongly suggests that the Korean side intentionally leaked the information.”

“… So we need to find physical evidence.”

“Exactly. Though I don’t know if that meticulous woman would have left any.”

And so, the research director naturally began to reminisce about the past again.

Flash.

At some point, I suddenly woke up from my sleep, almost as if it were ‘abrupt.’

I felt incredibly refreshed.

My condition was so pleasant that a smile naturally formed on my face for no reason.

Thanks to that, as I happily raised just my upper body from the bed, I immediately saw Lee Hyejin and Park Gyutae.

They were sitting on the sofa, intently reading piles of unidentified papers.

It seemed they had no idea I was awake yet.

A mischievous impulse took over, and I lightly got off the bed and stealthily began to approach them.

And standing right behind Lee Hyejin, I quietly whispered,

“Are you all recovered…?”

“Squeak!“

Suddenly, Lee Hyejin’s startled scream echoed throughout the room.

Flap—!

In her struggle, the papers she was looking at scattered in all directions.

“Oh. I-I’m sorry…”

I apologized immediately, greatly flustered.

But the two reacted completely differently from what I expected.

“A-Angel! When did you wake up!?”

“Oh, you woke up. That’s a real relief…”

“……?”

It was a mix of relief and joy…

It was as if they were looking at someone who had just recovered from a major accident.

“Wh-What is it…? Did something happen…?”

Because of that, this time I asked, feeling bewildered.

“Ah, haha. Well, of course, the Angel wouldn’t know.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be anything bad.

Lee Hyejin chuckled lightly and continued,

“Today was exactly one month… that is, the 30th day since you fell asleep. You didn’t wake up at all, even when we tried to wake you up during that time…. Phew… we were really so worried.”

“What…? Th-Thirty days?”

Huh…? Th-That can’t be true…?

Isn’t that more like a coma than just sleeping and waking up…?

As I tilted my head, unable to easily comprehend, Park Gyutae gathered the papers scattered on the floor and asked,

“Anyway, you’ve woken up after a long time. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“Ah… No, I don’t. I’m fine.”

Shaking my head at that, I too began to lift the scattered papers with psychokinesis.

It was my doing, so it was only natural for me to clean it up.

Rustle—

The floating papers instantly gathered together.

“Wow~ Angel, you’re the best!”

From beside me, Lee Hyejin’s genuinely admiring voice was heard.

Feeling proud of that, I pressed down on the smile that threatened to form on my face.

And the papers, gathered together, were an enormous amount, thicker than an encyclopedia.

Although I didn’t know exactly what the two of them did,

Nevertheless, this seemed like far too much to be work-related documents.

‘… What on earth is this?’

So, out of sudden curiosity, I picked one up and began to read it.

It seemed Park Gyutae was trying to stop me from the side, but it was already too late.

[Korean Angel Center CS Complaint – Care Items (17)]

• The Angel is continuously sleeping, so please do something in preparation for when she wakes up, instead of slacking off.

• Wipe her body occasionally. Shouldn’t you bathe her?

• Is it right to run a noisy vacuum cleaner next to the sleeping Angel?

• Please clean thoroughly. When was the last time the bed sheets were washed?

The densely packed words had an oddly malicious feel, to a bewildering extent.

Filled with questions, I alternated glances between Lee Hyejin and Park Gyutae and asked,

“… Wh-What is this?”

“That’s…”

And so, I received an explanation of what this was, and the place I immediately headed to was the CS team’s office.