Chapter 16 - I Don't Like Persistence (2)

* * *

There was no way he had been caught on CCTV. Hyeonyul was certain of that. One look at the bastard's expression told him the man had come here with evidence that didn't exist.

"..."

The manager shut his mouth.

There was none. That villain bastard wasn't on the footage.

It made no sense. Someone had died, yet no one had gone inside. He must have used some sort of power. There was no other explanation.

"It seems this is nothing more than speculation. I couldn't understand why you suspected me in the first place, but now I see. You're the ones who have been talking behind my back and spreading rumors."

Hyeonyul wiped away the remaining blood around his mouth as he spoke, as though he had figured everything out.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"You're treating me as the culprit because your guilty conscience got the better of you. It's very strange how you're attacking me without any other reason."

"Because you're a villain! You must have used your power to avoid the CCTV cameras!"

That villain had joined the Black Eagles, not the White Sparrows. Of course he had some kind of power.

"By that leap of logic, couldn't any Black Eagle have done it?"

Sinu let out a laugh. Every Black Eagle had a power. By the manager's own reasoning, all of them should naturally be included.

"While you're casting suspicions, why not include me?"

Sinu's smile grew sharp. The sword Sinu summoned could pierce walls and windows alike. Why couldn't Sinu be a suspect?

"Oh, why not just make all of Team Three suspects? That would be very convenient."

"Are you defending that bastard?"

The manager's face twisted.

"Just as you're acting for your colleague, we're speaking up for ours."

The corners of Sinu's mouth rose. The manager, who had faltered, stared straight at Sinu again, as though he had lost his mind.

As the tension rose beyond what he had expected, Hyeonyul quietly stirred the waters.

"What an interesting theory. So when exactly was this?"

"7:35 p.m."

The manager didn't hesitate. Instead, he looked at Hyeonyul as though he were an idiot. Hadn't he just dug his own trap?

"Where were you at that time?"

The manager's brightening eyes and slowly spreading smile belonged to someone who already had victory in his grasp.

What an idiot.

"You're making a mistake."

While everyone waited for Hyeonyul's confession, Sinu issued a firm warning to them all, including the manager. It was as though Hyeonyul's innocence had already been proven.

"Do you think everyone involved with you will come out of this unscathed?"

After delivering those grave words, Sinu gave Hyeonyul a look of trust.

That was quite a burden. He really had killed the man, after all.

But there was only one thing Hyeonyul would say.

"Around that time, I was having coffee and cake at a café near my home. I'll tell you which one, so you can ask them to check their CCTV footage."

He didn't bother mentioning it, but the café was a considerable distance from where he had killed the bastard.

"You must have... left!"

The manager raised his voice to suppress his fluster.

Surely not.

"I did."

"See!"

"I briefly went to the restroom to wash my hands. Is there something wrong with that?"

"... What?"

"And someone saw me there. Are you going to say I arranged that too? Or that I staged the mission itself? I never knew you rated my abilities so highly. Should I thank you?"

Hyeonyul gazed steadily at the manager as he mocked him. The man couldn't say a word.

"How much more do I have to do?"

Hyeonyul asked, tilting his head slightly.

"You don't need to. I know where you were yesterday, too. I got a text about it. You were eating cheesecake then, weren't you?"

Sinu's words surprised Hyeonyul. He hadn't expected Nayun to tell Sinu even that.

"If you find it hard to believe, take a look."

Sinu displayed the messages.

[Chu Nayun: Heeeey]

[Chu Nayun: Earlier, around 7:30, I think? I saw Hyeonyul while I was on a mission! He was right there in my scope. I shouldn't text him, right? He'll run away if I ask whether he likes cheesecake, won't he? He'll freak out if I tell him I know a really good place, right?]

[Chu Nayun: Heeey, you're reading these, so why are you ignoring me????]

[Chu Nayun: Wanna fucking die???]

"Do you see? If you want to claim we staged this too, go ahead. We plotted the mission together with the villains, we're in league with the police who referred the mission to us, and—oh, the manager who passed along the news is in on it too, isn't that right? I'm curious myself how far our reach extends."

The manager froze at the sight of Sinu's phone. Then he sank to the floor, as though even his legs had given out.

It wasn't him. It really wasn't him.

Only then did his face begin to turn deathly pale.

"Was whispering behind my back not enough? Is it fun making a fucking fool of someone openly?"

Hyeonyul raised his voice as though addressing everyone and slowly approached the manager.

"Do none of you know when to stop?"

He met the gazes fixed on him one by one. For a brief moment, his eyes settled on one person. The Black Eagle who had been talking to the manager he had killed was also lingering here.

'You're next.'

This time it had only been a manager. Why couldn't he kill a Black Eagle too?

'... You should have known when to stop.'

They had crossed the line first. Who wouldn't lose their mind when their livelihood had nearly been taken away?

"Who could watch this shit and believe this place is the Black Eagles' Nest? I can't see any difference between you and a villain."

Hyeonyul narrowed his eyes. He started to speak as though he had something else to say, then stopped. He merely wore an expression of utter disgust.

"Especially you."

Hyeonyul grabbed the bastard by the collar. For the briefest moment, a sneer crossed his face.

I won.

When the man's face contorted, Hyeonyul released his collar and stood up.

"I'm not putting up with any more of this, either. I'll file a formal complaint, so go ahead and keep talking if you like."

Hyeonyul snorted and walked away.

'The rumors should be cleared up soon.'

Only the ringleader remained. Now that he had drawn his blade, he intended to finish the job cleanly.

* * *

Hyeonyul trudged toward the bus. It was the route he always walked, but his legs felt particularly heavy today.

["Those rotten fuckers. Seriously."]

The moment Haeryeon saw him, she suddenly let loose with unfiltered curses. He had flinched, wondering if he was getting fired.

["... Sorry. That wasn't directed at you, Hyeonyul. I meant those bastards."]

She reacted as though she had been there herself.

["I'll formally ask the police to investigate this incident, so head home, Hyeonyul. I'll contact you whenever there's progress or anything else. Go home and take some time to settle your nerves."]

Apparently busy, Haeryeon had said her piece and left.

'They don't suspect me.'

Hyeonyul found it curious. Both Haeryeon and Sinu should know what power he possessed.

'Do they not want to suspect me?'

Either way, it wasn't bad. Nayun had even happened to see him. The café's CCTV footage was solid, too.

"... Hey."

The voice sounded familiar, but Hyeonyul kept walking, pretending not to notice. He was too tired to get involved with anyone else.

"Hey, Seo Hyeonyul."

Only then did Hyeonyul stop. When he turned, he saw Ye Juhyeon, Team Seven's Team Leader.

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"Didn't you hear me?"

Looking irritated, Juhyeon was once again moving her thumb rapidly over the phone in her hand.

What on earth was she typing?

"I did. But I thought someone was calling me over what happened today. You already know about it, Team Leader."

"That was bullshit."

Juhyeon stopped typing and frowned. They had even tried to pin a murder on him. They had gone far too far over the line.

"What did you need?"

"What do you think?"

Juhyeon lightly waved the phone in her hand.

"Come talk to me for a minute."

"Now? If it's something we could discuss over the phone..."

"I don't have your number."

"You're a Team Leader. Can't you get everyone's numbers?"

"What are you talking about...? That's..."

Juhyeon nearly said that it would be an invasion of privacy, but stopped herself. Would such a thing have existed at a company run by villains?

Juhyeon gestured with her head and moved away. Hyeonyul gazed longingly at the bus, then reluctantly followed. Several people watched them, but he ignored their stares.

* * *

Juhyeon stopped near the back door of the central building. It was more secluded than he had expected, not somewhere people were likely to come. Still, Hyeonyul checked his surroundings just in case.

"There's no one here, and even if there were, they couldn't hear us."

At Juhyeon's words, Hyeonyul looked at the CCTV camera. Its light was already off.

"Is that so?"

"Where did you get this?"

Juhyeon waved the phone.

"As I told you then, I stole just one of the phones belonging to the managers who were tailing me to screw me over."

"Why did you think to steal it?"

"The way they were moving as a group looked suspicious."

Hyeonyul's answer confirmed Juhyeon's impression. She had recognized it ever since he had boldly made a request of her, a Team Leader, despite being a new recruit.

'This rookie has good instincts.'

Juhyeon gave a light snort, then spoke.

"I found a lot of deleted messages. I recovered them and took a look. They were colluding with someone."

Juhyeon took a phone out of her pocket and held it out.

[SDSF213: Steer the Eagles' movements this way.]

[SDSF213: I've sent the bait, so they won't know.]

[SDSF213: Just make sure you send that thing over here.]

Hyeonyul had been reading the messages impassively, but his brow furrowed. His gaze fixed on one of them.

That thing.

What else could it mean? It was a term routinely used in companies run by villains.

'... A test subject.'

Hyeonyul slowly raised his head. Anyone could see these messages showed collusion with villains.

'Is that why they couldn't find the third site?'

["Finding the third site might be difficult. A villain we'd never seen before attacked and blew the place up."]

Hadn't Nayun told him? A previously unseen villain had attacked.

'Information was already leaking out. ... Fine. Leaving that aside, why collude with villains?'

Above all else, Hyeonyul couldn't understand why anyone would join hands with villains. Had they naively thought the villains would actually give them what they wanted?

'Oh, were they stupid and got used, like me?'

They were dead, so he couldn't hear their explanation, but Hyeonyul could draw a clear conclusion: trusting villains was foolish, and joining hands with them was even more foolish.

"You're the one who discovered this. And we've learned something shocking."

Juhyeon spoke with a grave expression. This clearly established that someone inside was colluding with villains. The relationship between the Black Eagles and the White Sparrows was built on trust, and that entire system was about to be shaken to its core.

"And the manager who died recently was involved, too."

"That person too?"

"Yes. He was in the deleted chat room. He was one of them."

'... Well, then. Killing him was the right call.'

Hyeonyul suppressed the smile that threatened to rise.

"What do you think about this situation?"

At Juhyeon's question, Hyeonyul looked at her.

'What does she mean, what do I think?'

He didn't understand the question. The villains had simply acted like villains, and the people being used had simply been foolish enough to be used. What was so special about that?

'... But I shouldn't think that way.'

101 Ways to Make Workplace Life Run Smoothly.

According to that book, when a superior asked a question, the efficient thing to do was provide a plausible answer. In other words, the answer was to tell Juhyeon what she wanted to hear.

Juhyeon was taking this situation very seriously.

"I take it very seriously."

Hyeonyul spoke gravely. Juhyeon looked expectant at his answer.

"This could undermine trust between the Black Eagles and the managers. But I don't think that's the important part."

"It isn't?"

"If a Black Eagle were involved in this as well, wouldn't that change the situation entirely?"

"... What?"

Juhyeon's face immediately contorted. Whether she hadn't wanted to consider that possibility or had had no intention of considering it, her expression grew incomparably more serious.

'Too bad. A Black Eagle is already involved.'

Hyeonyul knew the answer. That person was his target, after all.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I expected my joining would cause a stir internally. But anyone can see that today's incident was coordinated. I don't think this is a simple matter."

"... That's true. They framed you for murder, didn't they? Just enough to get you thrown out."

"I'm familiar with this method."

"What is it?"

Juhyeon asked immediately, then belatedly added something else, as though realizing her mistake.

"I'm not asking out of curiosity. I mean to draw on your knowledge."

"Splitting an organization apart from within."

"Splitting it apart?"

"Yes. I'm the perfect tool for causing internal division, aren't I?"

Hyeonyul lifted his eyes slightly. Otherwise, would there be any reason to go out of their way to ostracize him?

"Who knows about this?"

"Just you and me."

"You haven't told Team Leader Haeryeon? Should I tell her?"

"No. I was going to. It's only right that I tell her."

This was an enormous matter. She had only told Hyeonyul first because, at the very least, he needed to know.

"Do you realize strange things have been happening since you came here?"

"I understand your suspicions. But I'm the man who went so far as to cut off his boss's head because he wanted to join this place. Would someone like me destroy it? No matter what happens, I'll protect this place."

Hyeonyul made that clear. As long as they honored his employment contract, he would always be on the Black Eagles' side.

Juhyeon still regarded Hyeonyul with suspicion.

"Don't forget that I'm always watching you."

"I won't forget. May I leave, then?"

"Yes."

Hyeonyul said goodbye and hurried away without any apparent reluctance. Juhyeon tapped her phone screen.

'They said the marks looked like he'd been mauled by an animal. I heard he uses a dagger. Who on earth is the killer?'

The fact that Hyeonyul had been a villain still left Juhyeon distinctly uneasy.

* * *

'... Who killed him? Did that rookie bastard kill him?'

The man stopped biting his finger and grabbed a nearby glass of liquor. He had gone out the moment he heard that the White Sparrow was dead. He had taken paid leave yesterday in case things became troublesome.

In a crowded place, that bastard wouldn't be able to do anything reckless.

Loud music battered his ears. As lights spread bright enough to hurt his eyes, he felt a searing pain in his abdomen.

SHUNK

"Good evening."

Hyeonyul appeared, stabbing the Black Eagle he had come to dispose of in the abdomen.

"...?"

The Black Eagle didn't understand what had happened to him.

"Been having a good time shaking like a fucking idiot?"

Hyeonyul whispered in his ear.