Lee Wan-ik smiled warmly.

    “A national superstar has graced our department first. Oh, by the way, I’ll be your evaluation officer, Suho. So, I’ll be counting on you.”

    Lee extended his hand with a grin, and Suho shook it with a polite smile.

    “Of course, I’ll be counting on you as well.”

    “Team Leader Jeong, you can head out now. I’ve received the President’s instructions, and if we need anything, we’ll contact you.”

    “Yes, sir. I’ll take my leave.”

    With that, Jeong Cheol-min exited.

    This didn’t mean Suho was left without guidance. Jeong’s role was as a general overseer, managing Suho’s overall progression. For each department, however, there were specific trainers responsible for his onboarding.

    After Jeong’s departure, Lee picked up the phone and called someone. A few moments later, the door to his office opened.

    “Ah, Officer Eom.”

    “Yes, Director. I heard Suho was here, so I came right away.”

    Officer Eom Jun-seong—he would be Suho’s direct supervisor in the Awakening Division.

    Lee introduced him with a gesture.  @@@@

    “Allow me to introduce you. This is Officer Eom Jun-seong, who will be overseeing your time here in the Awakening Division.”

    “I’m Ahn Suho. Nice to meet you.”

    “I’m Eom Jun-seong. Pleased to meet you.”

    The two exchanged greetings before Lee continued, “I’ll leave the specifics to Officer Eom. I’ll see you again later.”

    With that, Lee offered a casual goodbye.

    *Well, that’s expected.*

    As the evaluation officer, Lee wouldn’t personally handle Suho’s daily activities. In bureaucratic circles, such positions were typically reserved for higher-ups, while the actual work was delegated to subordinates.

    Eom led Suho to a small meeting room. Sitting down, Eom spoke, “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s a bit surreal to be working with someone so high-profile.”

    “Haha, I’m not sure about that.”

    Eom Jun-seong, like other officers below the rank of team leader, was addressed simply as "Officer" in Daehyeonhyup.

    This might explain why Suho had no clear memory of Eom.

    *Different departments, no direct overlap. No wonder.*

    Eom chuckled at Suho’s modesty.

    “Come now, someone like you is definitely a big deal. Anyway, don’t worry too much about the details. Just get a sense of what the Awakening Division does. Everyone already knows where you’ll end up, right?”

    “Where I’ll end up?”

    “Haha, no need to play coy. The rumors are all over the place.”

    *Hmm.*

    If even a departmental supervisor like Eom knew about this, Pi Seong-yeol must have been rather blatant in spreading it around.

    Not that Suho minded. In fact, it worked in his favor. Having someone as influential as Pi build his reputation within the Association would only make things smoother.

    *“Never thought I’d get the royal treatment.”*

    In bureaucratic slang, "royal" referred to those who had strong connections with influential figures. Currently, Suho was undeniably "royalty."

    Smiling at the thought, Suho nodded.

    “Well, I’ll leave myself in your capable hands.”

    “Yes, Suho?”“No, not really. What’s up?”

    “I just finished the theory test, and I thought I’d ask if you’d like to have lunch together if you’re free.”

    “Oh, I’d love to. Wait, theory test? Already?”

    “Yes.”

    “That’s surprising. Even though it’s graded on an absolute scale, it’s not an easy test. There are 50 questions, and the manual is pretty dense.”

    “Yes, but the condensed manual helped streamline the preparation. So, where should we meet? I’ll go with your recommendation.”

    “Ah, in that case, how about we grab a baekban? There’s a place nearby called Mijeong that serves different side dishes every day. It’s pretty good.”

    “Sounds great. I’ll head over and reserve us a table. Let’s meet there at noon.”

    “Thanks, I’ll see you then.”

    After ending the call, Suho calmly put his phone away. On the other hand, Jeong Cheol-min was left staring at his phone, dumbfounded.

    “He finished the theory test today? Right after being assigned to the department?”

    Even with a condensed manual, passing the test in such a short time seemed almost impossible unless someone had an extraordinary memory.

    Just then, Eom Jun-seong walked into Jeong’s office.

    “Team Leader Jeong?”

    “Oh, Officer Eom. What brings you here?”

    “Well, I’ve brought Suho’s theory test. I thought you might want to grade it and compile the results.”

    “Ah, yes, that’s my responsibility.”

    “I know this might sound strange, but Suho just took our department’s theory test. I wanted to make sure it’s graded properly.”

    “...I see.”

    Jeong had already heard from Suho about the test, but seeing the physical test paper in front of him made the situation feel surreal.

    As Jeong looked at Eom in mild disbelief, Eom scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

    “I was pretty shocked, too. But I don’t think he’s bluffing. Look, he’s answered everything.”

    Eom raised his eyebrows as he handed over the test.

    It was Suho, after all. There was no way someone like him would lie about something so trivial.

    Jeong nodded and took the OMR sheet to the grading machine. Eom stayed behind—not out of formality but out of sheer curiosity to see the results.

    When the machine finished grading, both men’s eyes widened in shock.

    “...?”

    “...Huh?”

    The reason for their surprise: Suho had scored a perfect 100%.

    Thinking there might have been an error, Jeong ran the sheet through the machine again. The result was the same.

    For good measure, he manually checked the answers against the answer key. The result? Still perfect.

    After triple-checking, Eom muttered in genuine awe, “Wow... how is this even possible?”

    Jeong let out a dry chuckle. “Hah....”

    Even with a condensed manual, a perfect score was almost unheard of.

    Eom gave a thumbs-up. “Now I see why Director Pi has his eye on him. Royals are really in a league of their own.”

    “Haha... I suppose so.”

    Unlike Eom’s pure admiration, Jeong’s smile was tinged with bitterness.

    “Once upon a time... no, originally, I wanted to recruit Suho first. I wanted to work with him.”

    But reality was cruel. Compared to Pi Seong-yeol, Jeong lacked both the rank and influence to hold on to someone like Suho. There was no way he could compete.

    Jeong sighed inwardly and resolved to move on.

    When lunchtime rolled around, Jeong headed to the baekban restaurant where Suho was waiting for him. Suho greeted him warmly.