Chapter 13 - Don't Get Cocky

* * *

BZZZZZ

Hyeonyul left the medical room and answered his vibrating phone. It was Team Leader Oh Haeryeon.

"Yes, Team Leader?"

<"Are you on your way?">

"Yes. I'm coming. Is something wrong?"

With Jeongmin, his attending physician, joining the Black Eagles, getting treatment had become much easier. The medical room was close by, too, so he visited frequently.

<"No. You know you have classroom training today, right?">

"Yes, I'm aware."

Hyeonyul checked the time. 9:11 a.m. He had been told to arrive for classroom training by 9:30.

"I was just about to ask where I should go."

<"What...? You didn't get it? Nothing came through on your smartwatch?">

Hyeonyul glanced at his smartwatch. There was no such notification anywhere in its history.

"I haven't received anything."

He faintly heard Haeryeon mutter, "Damn."

<"Hyeonyul, where are you right now?">

"Near the medical room."

<"Stay right there and wait.">

"Understood."

Hyeonyul stood still where he was. Looking at his phone, he gave a faint chuckle.

'I knew they'd try to screw me over, but aren't they being a little too obvious?'

As soon as he had obtained the phone belonging to one of the people who had tried to follow him yesterday, he had found another spare handset, transferred the data, and examined it. Some of the White Sparrows knew he was a former villain and disliked it so much that they had even created an anonymous group chat. Apparently unable to find anything to hold against him, they had gone so far as to suggest tailing him themselves to get him kicked out.

'And this is their opening move? How childish and unimaginative.'

He had already delivered results and signed his employment contract. The harder they tried to drive him out, the bigger the results he could deliver. Every workplace protected capable people, after all.

"Hey."

A familiar voice reached him. He turned to find a woman with layered, wavy, deep-purple hair. Holding a phone, she kept moving her thumbs without even looking at him. The star design set into her face and her fingernails were quite flashy.

'That's Ye Juhyeon, Team Seven's leader, isn't it?'

Hyeonyul looked at Juhyeon and replied. She was still as fond of her phone as ever.

"What can I do for you?"

"Why are you here?"

"My Team Leader told me to wait here."

Juhyeon's thumbs moved furiously before stopping. She let out a short breath. "... Ha."

Not knowing why she was sighing, Hyeonyul waited quietly.

"This obviously isn't the place for training."

"I know," Hyeonyul answered briefly. He had just received an answer from Haeryeon. She had told him to stay put and wait, so that was all he was doing.

"I heard you decided to join us?"

"That's correct."

"I opposed it back then, but now that you're here, you should stand up for yourself. What is this?"

Juhyeon had intended to walk past, but it was hard to ignore him standing there looking clueless, not even knowing where his training was. It wasn't as though she didn't recognize him.

"Come with me. I'll show you where it is."

"I can't leave."

At his refusal, Juhyeon surveyed their surroundings. There was a peculiar mockery in the many eyes watching them. Had those people made Hyeonyul stand here? Unbelievable.

"Do you think they'll stop if you do this? They just don't like you, period. That isn't going to change."

Ever since Hyeonyul had decided to join, she had tried not to concern herself with him. His past as a villain still bothered her, and plenty of others felt the same. But she could swear she had never spread information about him. She was trying to find out where it had leaked from herself. By any standard, that was shameful conduct for a Black Eagle.

'... What is she talking about?'

Unable to make sense of her words, Hyeonyul followed her gaze. He had wondered what she meant, but she was clearly on guard against the White Sparrows. Ah. Only then did he catch up with the conversation.

"I know that. Whatever I do, their opinions won't change easily. But I still can't leave this place."

Hyeonyul played along naturally, reinforcing her impression.

"I didn't spread your information."

"Is that so?"

That surprised him. Hadn't she opposed him?

"I don't do childish things like that. This whole business..."

Juhyeon stopped mid-sentence and let out a long breath. Whatever she said, he would suspect her. Hyeonyul's expression hadn't changed once since the start.

CLICK

Juhyeon took a photo in the other direction. Startled by it, the gathered onlookers backed away.

"I find this disgusting, too."

She said it openly, making sure they could hear.

"Thank you."

His sudden thanks caught Juhyeon off guard. That wasn't what she had been trying to hear.

"I didn't say that so you'd thank me. I read about your missions and could see you were sincere. That's all."

Juhyeon gripped her phone in both hands and busily worked her thumbs again. What on earth was she typing? Hyeonyul's gaze drifted to her phone, and a thought occurred to him.

"Team Leader Ye Juhyeon. Can you hack, by any chance?"

"I can. You're observant, aren't you? I can interfere with electronic devices. You'd better watch out, too."

"Then could I ask for your help if something comes up later?"

"Where did that come from?"

Juhyeon lowered her phone and stared at him in surprise. She had just warned him, and he was asking her for a favor?

"Would that not be possible?"

At his blunt question, Juhyeon narrowed her eyes. 'He's certainly easygoing.'

The two of them could never be on good terms. She still suspected him, and he must resent her for opposing his entry into the Black Eagles.

"What are you planning?" Juhyeon didn't agree outright.

"I'm working on something that will help the Black Eagles."

"You'd better mean that."

"Thank you."

Thanking her in advance, Hyeonyul pretended to rummage through his pocket and handed her a phone. It was the original handset belonging to the man who had tried to tail him.

He understood what they had been trying to do. Now what mattered was who had led it. He needed to catch the ringleader. Their anonymity made that difficult, so he needed someone to do it for him.

"Could you find out who's behind this?" Hyeonyul asked quietly.

Juhyeon was dumbfounded. He had only just asked for her help, and now he was shoving this at her?

"... What is this?"

"A manager was following me. So I stole it."

"You stole...it? S-stole?"

Juhyeon's black eyes wavered wildly. He had admitted to stealing it so brazenly. She felt as though common sense was crumbling around her.

"Haven't you heard anything from Team Leader Dojin or my Team Leader?"

At that mere hint, the look in Juhyeon's eyes changed. As he had thought, she seemed to have heard that there might be villains within their ranks.

"This could provide a solution."

"Does Unni know?" Juhyeon lowered her voice.

"Who do you mean?"

"Haeryeon. Your Team Leader."

"She doesn't. I was going to tell her. I simply ran into you first, Team Leader Ye Juhyeon."

Juhyeon took the phone almost as though snatching it away.

"Tell her. I won't let you deceive her."

"Of course."

"Anyway, you. You'd better not be doing this again the next time I see you."

"Thank you for your help."

Juhyeon narrowed her eyes at his words and walked past him. He knew how to use his head, so why was he standing here like an idiot?

'Whatever. I told him to come with me, and he refused.'

Juhyeon swept her hair back and walked away. Several times, she nearly looked back, then stopped herself. He wasn't on her team anyway.

Hyeonyul remained where he was even after Juhyeon left. Just as the murmuring grew louder, it abruptly fell quiet. Everyone passing through parted to either side. Haeryeon approached through the gap.

"Team Leader. There's something I need to tell you..."

"Come with me first, Hyeonyul."

Haeryeon was furious. 'I'll have to tell her on the way.' Hyeonyul followed her quietly.

* * *

"... I'll keep this brief."

Hyeonyul had wondered why there were several buildings; one was for the White Sparrows. Upon arriving there, Haeryeon headed straight to the top floor. Hyeonyul watched the situation from three steps behind her.

On the desk was a plaque reading "Black Eagles Manager Supervisor." Was supervisor the highest position?

"Team Leader? Whatever this is about, please calm down first."

Team Three's leader. That was who the supervisor saw before him.

"First, I sincerely apologize for arriving unannounced while you're working. But calm down? I can't do that."

Haeryeon narrowed her eyes. How could she calm down when even dragging every last one of them in and giving them hell wouldn't be enough?

"I will not tolerate this bullshit of deliberately withholding information from my team member a second time."

"Pardon...? What do you mean...?"

"Don't think you can get out of this by claiming ignorance. A single piece of information can mean life or death for us. And you're deliberately leaving information out for my team member?"

Haeryeon's expression was more murderous than ever. She looked ready to bury someone on the spot.

"... Team Leader. I'll check right—right away." The supervisor hurried to restrain her.

There had been a tremendous uproar over Team Three lately. So many people were outraged that the new Black Eagle had actually been a villain. Countless complaints had come in from those who refused to assist a villain. But work was work. Now that he was a Black Eagle, they did need to set aside their personal feelings and treat him as one.

The supervisor tapped at his computer, then took off his reading glasses. A short, heavy sigh escaped him. The records currently confirmed that the information had been passed to Team Three's recruit.

"If you look here, it says he was informed. There appears to be some misunderstanding."

The supervisor turned the monitor around for her to see. The information really was marked as delivered, which only made Haeryeon more incredulous.

"That's entered manually. Anyone can mark it as delivered."

Haeryeon looked at Hyeonyul. "Hyeonyul. Show him."

Hyeonyul held out his smartwatch and showed the various messages he had received as notifications. None had anything to do with training. Only then did the supervisor's expression stiffen.

"As a rule, notifications cannot be deleted from these devices. That policy protects the managers, not us. To have them deleted, we have to visit the repair room separately."

"Then perhaps he went to the repair—"

BANG!

Haeryeon slammed the desk. Bullshit.

"Stop talking nonsense and bring those employees here immediately. I'm lodging a formal complaint!"

"Team Leader, what happens if you lodge a complaint?" Hyeonyul, who had been watching throughout, spoke up.

"We respect our managers. But interfering with our work is another matter. This is a serious offense. It's simply never happened before. They've not only disrespected us, they've broken our trust."

"That certainly makes sense. Once trust is shattered, you can't gather up the pieces, can you?"

The Black Eagles and the White Sparrows. Their relationship required mutual trust.

"But honestly... I wonder whether this really will be the last time. If the information I'm given on a mission turns out to be wrong... Just thinking about it is frightening."

Hyeonyul's eyes turned toward the supervisor. Contrary to his words, his gaze was that of a predator, not someone afraid. The supervisor felt a chill.

"If I died without knowing the information had changed, I suppose this is what would happen then, too. The notification was sent, and it was my fault for not receiving it."

The more Hyeonyul spoke, the darker the supervisor's expression became. He hadn't used a single curse, yet his words hit hard.

"That's, well, that's not what I meant..."

"Why haven't you called the employees responsible yet, Supervisor?"

At Hyeonyul's urging, the supervisor finally became aware of another gaze. Team Three's leader. How could he not know how fiercely she cherished her team members? Making an enemy of her would be trouble. He bowed his head first.

"I apologize for saying something that could be misunderstood."

"You really are very slow to read the situation." Hyeonyul whispered softly, pretending to console him. He looked at the supervisor with a mocking smile.

"Why did you do it, then?"

After those loaded words, Hyeonyul patted the supervisor's shoulder.

The supervisor could only feel his heart pounding, a cold dread coursing through him.

"Team Leader." Hyeonyul looked at Haeryeon as he always did.

"Yes?"

"If it's all right, could I meet them after training?"

"... Oh!" Only then did Haeryeon remember what she had forgotten. The instructor must be waiting by now.

"You know where it is, right?"

"Yes. I've memorized it."

"I'll make sure things go the way you want, Hyeonyul, so you should go to training first."

"Then I'll be on my way."

Hyeonyul bowed and left the room. After waving him off, Haeryeon turned her gaze on the supervisor. He reflexively lowered his eyes.

"Supervisor. I don't want to see someone else in your position. Neither do you, do you?"

The Black Eagles respected the White Sparrows. How admirable they were, working tirelessly on the Eagles' behalf. But they were sparrows. They were in no position to get cocky with an eagle.

"You understand, don't you?"

Haeryeon smiled brightly. It was a quiet warning. Don't get cocky.