Chapter 15 - I Don't Like Persistence

* * *

"... Ahem."

Hyeonyul paused while getting off the bus and gave a brief cough. It could easily have been dismissed, but he took it quite seriously. Jeongmin had long told him that, since medication was keeping his immune system functioning, he had to take even minor symptoms seriously.

'I'd better go see the doctor.'

He would get scolded if he didn't.

He rummaged in his pocket, took out an emergency pill, and chewed and swallowed it just in case. Then he checked the time. Twenty minutes until classroom training. He had plenty of time.

A life with evenings to himself. A life where he didn't have to worry about taking time to see a doctor. It was wonderful.

* * *

After seeing Jeongmin, he entered Team Three's office to find Nayun sitting there. Numerous parts lay scattered around her, as though she was servicing her weapons.

"Hello."

"...!"

Startled, Nayun looked at Hyeonyul. Despite her surprised expression, her pistol was raised with its muzzle aimed precisely at his head. She hastily lowered it and gave an awkward smile.

"Hello. Did I... scare you badly?"

"No. I understand how that could happen."

Given their line of work, they had to be ready to respond at any moment. In that respect, Nayun was certainly reliable.

"... The Team Leader stepped out for a moment."

"Then would you let her know I've arrived for work?"

"Hyeonyul."

"... Yes?"

Hyeonyul hesitated briefly. What was she about to say? He felt a little nervous.

"Don't be nervous. Just hear me out. I won't keep you long."

"... I'm listening."

"You don't have to tell the Team Leader every little thing like this."

"Then how does she know I've come to work?"

At his question, Nayun smiled and pointed to the smartwatch.

"This logs the time as soon as you come through the main gate. It does the same when you leave. There are sensors installed."

'There are sensors installed...?'

In other words, wouldn't the records say he was still inside as long as he didn't go out through the gate? The corners of his mouth threatened to rise at this new discovery, but he firmly held them in check. He could put that to very good use.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Honestly, I'd like to tell you more, but you'll learn all that in class, so I should restrain myself. Don't you think?"

Nayun asked with a playful expression, as if testing him. She seemed to be asking whether that was a relief.

Hyeonyul nodded, then looked at the gun.

"It looks different."

"It was made specifically for me, so it probably looks a little different from standard guns."

Her hands briefly stopped their work. He could see her fingers tense.

"If I had my way, I'd put a bullet in the heads of those bastards talking behind your back with this gun. But I'm calming myself down by servicing my weapons."

"Have the rumors spread very far?"

Nayun bit her lip hard at the question.

"Everywhere. They're spreading them openly. Even if they don't know anything else, they know you're in Team Three, right? But don't worry. Those rumors will all disappear soon."

"How can you be sure?"

"It's a little embarrassing to say it myself, but I know a lot of people, even if I don't look it. I asked some people I know for a favor."

She sounded bashful, but her eyes actually shone all the brighter.

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"You know how some things are true, but embarrassing to say about yourself?"

"I'm... not sure I do."

"... Oh! I know something."

For the briefest moment, Nayun's eyes narrowed.

"What are you referring to?"

"I saw you yesterday."

Nayun let out a light laugh. Her smile was subtle. What had she seen? Hyeonyul remained unshaken.

"You like cake, don't you?"

"You saw me?"

"Yes. You were sitting by the window eating cheesecake. I considered saying hello, but decided against it."

She had thought cake and Hyeonyul made an odd combination. But he was enjoying it so much that she couldn't bring herself to interrupt him.

"You're welcome to say hello."

A smile appeared on his lips. It would have looked more natural if not for the scars scattered across his face.

"Really...? You shouldn't say things like that lightly, you know. I might get so excited that I talk for hours."

"Then please keep it brief."

Nayun giggled when he amended his invitation.

"But weren't you working at the time?"

"Oh, yes. I was on a search mission, and I spotted you while looking around through my gun."

Nayun started to mime aiming a gun, then remembered something. Oops. She gave her forehead a hard smack.

"I took over the search of the second test-subject site for you. I thought you would want to know, so I meant to tell you as soon as I saw you. But I wasn't sure whether I should text you."

It really had been one of the most serious dilemmas of her entire life. When she discreetly asked Sinu, she was told absolutely, absolutely not to send it, so she had given up.

"You're welcome to text me."

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes. So, did you find anything?"

"... Hmm."

Nayun drew the sound out. Hmm. Hmm. There was no telling how many times she repeated it.

"It might be difficult to find the third site. A villain we'd never seen before attacked and blew the place up. We did rescue a few people, but... they passed away today."

She spoke cautiously, watching Hyeonyul's reaction all the while. Sinu had told her he was a test subject. In a way, this was bound to be an extremely sensitive subject, and her heart pounded throughout her explanation.

'... Oh. That's why the doctor was in a bad mood.'

Hyeonyul thought of Jeongmin. He had only just been to see him.

"Still, thanks to you, the victims' families won't have to keep searching without answers. ... Thank you."

"You did that, Chu Nayun. There's no reason to thank me."

"No, it was thanks to you. These cases have always ended badly. Often, the victims were in such terrible condition that we couldn't even run tests on them. Whenever I saw a missing-person flyer, I couldn't help wondering whether it had been that person. But today is different."

Although she hadn't been able to protect them, they had at least returned to their families. That fact alone was a comfort to her, too.

"That's... a good thing."

Nayun saw Hyeonyul's faint smile. Was he relieved? He was still difficult to read.

"Is that why the Team Leader is away, too?"

"It might be."

"Thank you for telling me. I'll be going, then."

"All right. Keep up the good work in class today."

Nayun raised a fist and gave it a little encouraging shake.

After he bowed and left, Nayun placed a hand over her chest and let out a long breath.

'... I did all right, didn't I? I stopped at the right point and let him go at the right time, didn't I?'

Sinu had told her not to approach him too quickly, and she was following that advice, but honestly, she wanted to talk to him about all sorts of things. Having a new recruit for the first time in ages was exciting, but the more they talked, the more strongly she felt he wasn't a bad person. Perhaps his awkwardness only made her want to talk to him more.

'Something tells me he'd get along perfectly with Jihwan.'

Whether it was their manner or their way of thinking, something about them was similar.

'... Oh, come to think of it, he does resemble Sinu in some ways, too.'

Nayun blinked. Their manner and plenty of other things were different, but there was something about him that was actually more akin to Sinu.

'Was Hyeonyul simply destined for Team Three?'

Nayun grinned to herself.

* * *

"... Excuse me."

At the quiet voice, Hyeonyul lifted his gaze from his book. He had already heard the footsteps.

The sparrow emblems on their left upper arms already had him feeling excited. They were White Sparrows. They had likely come to see him about one of two things: the manager he had killed yesterday, or the managers fired because of him. Nothing else particularly came to mind.

"What can I do for you?"

Surprise appeared on their faces at his gentle response. Apparently, they hadn't expected him to speak that way. Confronted with this unexpected side of him, they looked at one another. They seemed hesitant to say what they had come to say.

"Do you have something to tell me? Class will be starting shortly, so I'd appreciate it if you hurried."

"Have you... ever seen this person?"

One of the managers held out a phone. Hyeonyul tilted his head slightly as soon as he saw the photograph on the screen. He genuinely didn't know who it was.

"Who is that?"

His reflexive question flustered the managers. He really seemed not to know.

"Am I supposed to know this person?"

At his question in return, they quickly concealed their feelings. Digging any further here would only put them at a disadvantage.

"No. Sorry to bother you."

The managers hastily bowed. Watching them hurry out, Hyeonyul guessed the reason.

'So it's about the manager I killed.'

Apparently, more people took an interest in those around them than he had expected. Just one person failing to show up for work had escalated into people coming to confront him.

'No. It looks like they're all connected.'

Who would have told them about him? Hadn't the news circulated in the group chat he had discovered? As if Haeryeon's intervention yesterday hadn't been enough, the manager who had spread rumors about him had vanished. That must have given them quite a fright.

Pretending to rest his chin on his hand, Hyeonyul listened closely. Their conversation would be worth hearing. It took longer than he expected before their voices reached him.

"... Hey. He said he doesn't know."

"He really looked like he didn't."

"But our colleague didn't come in today. Isn't answering the phone, either."

"Could be sick."

"Right. M-maybe it's an illness."

They tried to dismiss it as oversensitivity, but apparently weren't having much success.

"Don't you know what happened yesterday? Two people got fired. And Team Three was involved. This has to be the same kind of thing."

"Maybe there's a reason the phone can't be answered. If we act rashly now, we might end up being suspected of something ourselves."

"No. I'm going to that apartment today."

After some rather heavy footsteps, Hyeonyul lowered his hand.

'Something interesting will happen after class.'

He looked down at his textbook.

Two Black Eagles brushed past him as they entered. They still seemed to have plenty to say, but once again, they chose not to say it aloud. They might rarely come face-to-face with White Sparrows, but fellow Black Eagles could end up working together. Apparently, they had made the wise choice.

A little later, the instructor entered. Hyeonyul looked on with interest, since Haeryeon had told him they would begin covering important material today. Simply having someone teach him was something to be grateful for. It was very different from the past, when he had needed to find everything out and learn it all on his own.

* * *

As Haeryeon had said, there was a great deal of important material today. They learned the layout of this place called the Nest, their relationship with the White Sparrows, why the Black Eagles had been established, and more. The most interesting topic was the source of their powers: theories about their origin and where power came from.

["The leading hypothesis is that power was born from pain and fear."]

'Pain and fear...'

Hyeonyul found that hypothesis quite plausible. Those had been the two most vivid emotions he had experienced as a test subject.

"... That concludes today's lesson."

At the instructor's words, Hyeonyul closed his book. Just as he was about to leave, he smiled quietly.

'It's awfully noisy outside.'

He deliberately walked out first. The moment he stepped through the door and turned into the corridor, he saw a hand reaching for him. But he pretended not to see it, pretended to know nothing, and took a step forward. Only after his collar was seized did he drop his book as if startled.

THUD

The sound drew everyone's attention.

"... What are you doing?"

Feigning bewilderment, Hyeonyul looked at the manager gripping his collar. It was one of the faces he had seen before class.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You killed my friend!"

Silence followed the shout. After a moment, Hyeonyul let out a long breath. His flustered act continued.

"... Let go of me."

Although he had deliberately allowed himself to be caught, the hand gripping his collar and pressing against his neck displeased him. Before the urge to butcher them one by one could take deep root in his mind, the manager's hand pressing against his throat finally made him cough.

"... Cough, cough, cough!"

Only when the violent coughing continued did people intervene to stop the manager who had attacked him.

"Hey! Stop! You'll actually kill him!"

"Let go of me! That bastard's a murderer!"

The manager shook people off and pointed at Hyeonyul.

"I knew it from the moment this villain bastard crawled in here! Did killing my friend feel good? Did you enjoy it...?!"

Despite the accusations and abuse raining down on him, Hyeonyul was still coughing uncontrollably.

'That bastard...'

He had gone to see Jeongmin because his throat was in poor condition today. Medication regulated his malfunctioning immune system, but he still had days like this now and then. It wouldn't be a major problem as long as nothing irritated it, but this had been more irritation than he expected. Even knowing he needed to stage a scene of this magnitude, he felt like shit.

'I'll kill you. I swear it.'

They were the ones who had tried to interfere when all he wanted was to work in peace. He had never intended to harm them. Why was it so difficult for them to keep working as they always had while he settled into his job here?

"What do you think you're doing...?!"

A familiar voice reached his ears. It was Sinu. Hyeonyul saw the looks on people's faces change at those few words. There wasn't a trace of hostility to be found. He looked at Sinu.

"Are you all right?"

Sinu asked urgently. Hyeonyul's neck had turned bright red.

"... I'm fine."

"Let's get you to the doctor."

Haeryeon had said she had brought in a doctor specializing in test subjects to suit Hyeonyul's condition.

"I've already been today."

"Today...?"

As soon as Sinu heard his answer, Sinu glared at the manager being restrained by the others.

"I don't know what's going on, but what is wrong with you, attacking someone who's ill out of nowhere?"

Sinu rebuked the manager.

With a different expression from the one directed at Hyeonyul, the manager protested the injustice.

"... That bastard killed our colleague!"

"You'd be wise to shut that mouth."

Sinu warned the manager.

"... I'd like to know what's happening, too. They suddenly came to see me before class and showed me someone's photograph. Now I'm being grabbed by the collar and called a murderer. How am I supposed to respond... cough."

Hyeonyul covered his mouth lightly as he coughed. When he pulled his hand away, there was a little blood on it. He was used to this. It happened whenever his immune system malfunctioned. Since it always had, it didn't bother him; a small cut on his finger actually affected him more.

"How is any of this fine?! Come on, let's go! If you can't walk, I'll—"

"No. I need to clear up this misunderstanding before I go. Who knows what rumors will spread if I leave right now?"

Hyeonyul stopped Sinu, openly taking aim at everyone present. This was the moment he liked best. Every last one of them was struck dumb.

"Who exactly am I supposed to have killed?"

Hyeonyul faced the manager and asked directly.

"This person! You killed my friend!"

The manager held up the phone to display the photograph.

"That's the photograph you showed me earlier. Who on earth is this person?"

"The colleague you killed...! My friend!"

"I've never even met this person. What exactly makes you accuse me of being the culprit? Show me your evidence first."

Hyeonyul made the demand confidently. Suspicion alone couldn't accomplish anything. Whatever the accusation, evidence was necessary.

"..."

When the manager couldn't answer, everyone's gaze converged on the accuser. Those looks quickly cooled. They might have heard the rumors about Hyeonyul, but this had crossed a line. It made no sense to attack him this way based on nothing but speculation, without any evidence.

"Do you have no evidence?"

Sinu pressed on Hyeonyul's behalf.

"M-my friend died in the evening. I checked the apartment security footage and confirmed my friend entered the building that evening!"

"And?"

Hyeonyul asked.

"What do you mean, 'and'?"

"Is that all?"

"You finished early yesterday because you had training, so you could have done it! You must have been hiding there, waiting!"

"So am I on the security footage?"

Hyeonyul asked as though dumbfounded.