Chapter 26 - Why Is This Here? (2)

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'Is asking someone to go to a festival together really that wonderful?'

As he pondered, Hyeonyul stopped wandering down the corridor and looked around. Everyone who used to steal glances at him had disappeared. Since they weren't on his team, they probably couldn't see his face clearly, but they should still be able to see that he belonged to Team Three.

If anything, it felt as though they were avoiding him.

'Perfect.'

This was the sort of atmosphere that made coming to work worthwhile. Now that no one paid attention to anything he did, he could move about more freely.

On his way to the training room, Hyeonyul stopped dead. There were an unusual number of people around.

'Is something going on?'

There were normally only three people in the training room, himself included.

"Oh, it's nothing like that."

The laughter-filled voice sounded strangely familiar. Hyeonyul stepped forward, thinking it couldn't be, then froze again.

Nayun was standing outside the training room. His gaze wavered violently.

'... Why is she here?'

Hyeonyul was quite nervous. Who was Nayun, after all?

The most talkative person. The absolute most talkative.

That was no joke. Even if he spent an entire day with her, she would keep talking the whole time. He could already picture how utterly drained he would be by the end.

Just as he was about to back away, he met Nayun's eyes. She was beaming. He had no idea why her smile was so confident.

"Woooow!"

With exaggerated gestures, Nayun approached Hyeonyul without hesitation. He flinched as eyes immediately turned toward him from every direction.

The impact was tremendous.

"I heard you caught the Poison King personally, all by yourself. Is that true?"

Nayun deliberately raised her voice, pouring her very soul into every single word.

The Poison King.

The actual Poison King.

Hyeonyul had caught him.

She had cheered the moment Jihwan told her the news.

It was satisfying to see him blatantly give the finger to the people whispering childishly behind his back, but hadn't he also proved just how powerful he was?

What a strong, sturdy teammate to have.

Yet Jihwan had looked strangely bitter while delivering the news.

["Hyeonyul, he... Ha, never mind."]

What had Jihwan been about to say?

Right now, though, there was something more important.

Nayun looked at Hyeonyul with confidence. Facts like these needed to be made absolutely clear. That way, those people wouldn't get cocky again.

"..."

But Hyeonyul couldn't even part his lips. Every last thing about this baffled him. He was the one who had caught the Poison King, so why was Nayun so delighted and making such a fuss?

"Are you feeling all right? You're not hurt anywhere?"

Nayun kept approaching as she asked, and Hyeonyul backed away.

"... Yes, I'm fine."

"What? You fought the Poison King! And you didn't get so much as a scratch? Is that even possible?"

"I never said—"

BANG

Nayun suddenly struck the wall. Hyeonyul blinked rapidly. He couldn't predict what she was doing at all.

"What should we call it when someone talks shit about our teammate, who caught the Poison King without getting so much as a scratch? They're just begging to be killed, aren't they?"

Nayun turned to look behind her. She wore a little smile, but her presence was fierce. Her anger was palpable.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

Various unfounded rumors about Hyeonyul were circulating. The most vicious of those gaining traction claimed that villains had willingly let him capture them to boost his credibility as a new Black Eagle.

In other words, Hyeonyul was the one colluding with the villains.

Nayun could no longer tolerate that bullshit, so she had come in person.

She surveyed the people around her. Only once she knew everyone present had taken it as a clear warning did her expression soften.

What a relief.

They should have gotten the message sooner.

"Hyeonyul."

"... Yes."

The bewilderment in his voice made Nayun break into a nervous sweat, wondering if she'd gone too far. She wanted to shout right then that she wasn't a bad person.

"The thing is... could you spare a moment after training?"

She lowered her voice and asked cautiously.

"..."

Hyeonyul didn't answer immediately. All sorts of thoughts were running through his mind.

"Just a moment."

Nayun beckoned and stepped away. She only stopped once she reached a spot with no one around, then got to the point with Hyeonyul, who had followed hesitantly.

"During a mission, a villain fled with some important documents, then killed themselves by entering an area filled with poison."

'... Oh.'

Once the conversation turned to work, Hyeonyul relaxed and listened.

"We tried repeatedly to get inside, but even our protective equipment melted. We think it might be a new poison."

'A new poison?'

Hyeonyul found that irritating. Apparently, the villains had developed yet another weapon.

"We need your help now. Of course, I've already gotten the Team Leader's permission."

"Have you made an antidote?"

"... We collected samples, but it's a mixture of several poisons, and there could be even more in there. She said an antidote wasn't possible."

Haeryeon had said it was impossible. That was as close as it came to being truly impossible.

Nayun bit her lip.

"I'll do it."

Hyeonyul agreed without the slightest hesitation. According to '101 Ways to Make Workplace Life Run Smoothly,' maintaining good relationships with coworkers was advisable. The best way to do that was to help a coworker in trouble.

"Really?"

Nayun asked with an expression of immense relief.

"It won't run past my normal quitting time anyway, so it's fine."

"Thank you so much. Really, really, I won't forget this favor. No, let me buy you dinner after work. What do you like? Just name it."

'... Dinner?'

Faced with her suddenly intense gaze and words, Hyeonyul pressed his lips together. He had abruptly found himself in a difficult situation.

Weren't meals meant to be eaten leisurely, alone?

Dinner with Nayun, of all people.

"It won't just be me. There'll be other people too. How does that sound?"

Nayun was being considerate. Eating alone together might be awkward, so perhaps a group would be much better. He could get to know people, and they were a fun bunch, so wouldn't it make for an enjoyable evening?

But Hyeonyul's expression darkened further.

'People I don't know, too...? Is this a work dinner?'

How many people had he poured drinks for at the work dinners Shin Daeho summoned him to?

Sing for us.

Dance for us.

They had even showered him with lewd remarks.

It had been the worst. Merely imagining it was horrifying.

"... I'll think about that. I have class, so I'll be going."

Hyeonyul dodged the invitation as indirectly as he could. He couldn't kill someone just for telling him to eat with strangers, could he?

Watching him hurry into the room, Nayun fiddled with the corner of her mouth.

'... Did I do something wrong?'

Alarmed, she opened the team group chat, where Hyeonyul was the only one she hadn't yet invited, and typed frantically.

[Hyeonyul said he'd help, so I asked him to dinner to thank him... Did I mess up?]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : Dinner...?]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : You asked Hyeonyul...?]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : Oh dear...]

A startled squirrel emoticon followed.

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Hey. Are you crazy?]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Don't tell me you said other people would be eating with you.]

[I did?]

[Why?]

[It might be awkward if he ate alone with me.]

In response to Nayun's answer, Sinu sent a horrified ghost emoticon.

[No, why?]

Haeryeon sent the startled squirrel emoticon again.

[No, no, eating together is fun! You like it too, Team Leader, and so do you, Sinu!]

[It's not just me! Isn't it fun eating together and getting to know each other? It makes you happy!]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : It is fun! So much fun!]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : But not for Hyeonyul. Absolutely not.]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Hyeonyul would run away!]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : And you think running away is all he'd do?]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : You're on his block list now lolol]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Good luck with that.]

[Noooo...]

Nayun squeezed her eyes shut at those words. Usually, she could become friends with anyone after about three conversations, but Hyeonyul was the exception.

It felt as if the distance between them was only growing. There was no point unless they became friends while they were still alive.

[Then how can I become friends with Hyeonyul?]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : I'm... working hard to figure that out myself.]

[Team Leader Haeryeon : Hahaha...]

An awkward squirrel emoticon accompanied the message.

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : I think we're pretty close. He calls me big brother!]

A smug ghost emoticon followed.

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Jealous, Nayun?]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Ha.]

[Our Jihwan : b r o]

[Our Jihwan : Bro! Bro! What's your secret?!!]

[Our Jihwan : Tell me!]

[Baek Sinu (Psycho) : Why?]

[Our Jihwan : I need to know too!!]

Jihwan sent an emoticon of a crying fox.

Nayun narrowed her eyes at the replies.

'... Shiiit.'

Her gaze was fixed on Sinu's messages. Being jealous meant losing, and she had unquestionably lost today.

'... Why does he only call that psycho big brother? Call me that too! Me too!'

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The eagle carried them to a place far from the city center. The trouble was in the mountains, and with hardly any cars passing through, they walked side by side along the road. Paths leading into the mountains branched off on both sides.

'... I can't believe she got close to the doctor that quickly. It took me years.'

Hyeonyul glanced sidelong at Nayun.

'Is this a power too?'

After finishing his theory training, Hyeonyul had looked for Nayun, but she had just received another minor assignment, so he went straight to Jeongmin instead. Nayun came while he was receiving his IV, and from that moment, she and Jeongmin became friendly.

Her sociability was so frightening he feared it might haunt his dreams. If she'd talked a little longer, he suspected Jeongmin might actually have revealed even the password to the doctor's bank account.

Nayun suddenly looked back, startling Hyeonyul.

"... Hyeonyul."

"... Yes."

"Earlier... um, you don't need to give that dinner invitation too much thought."

Really?

Hyeonyul's face brightened. Seeing his expression change completely, Nayun felt somehow aggrieved.

'He really is that happy, isn't he?'

Nayun had no choice but to keep pondering. Was there a way to become friends without sharing a meal?

"... Oh! Dr. Jeongmin was so kind. I heard you've known each other for a long time?"

She tried changing the subject. Hyeonyul had looked more comfortable beside Jeongmin than he did anywhere else.

"Yes. We've known each other a long time. I was fortunate, since the doctor is one of the few who treat test subjects."

His expression had unmistakably softened.

Just as she'd thought.

For some reason, Nayun found herself smiling. When Hyeonyul looked at her, she briefly closed her mouth and shifted her eyes.

"The doctor seems like a good person."

"Yes. A good person."

Surprised in turn by Hyeonyul's uncharacteristic response, Nayun pointed ahead.

"I-in about three more minutes, a building will suddenly come into view."

"Will it?"

"It's pretty deserted, isn't it? It's a good thing this isn't downtown."

"What was the mission?"

"Oh, apparently the police requested help because more people had been going missing around here. The managers discovered a base during their investigation."

"A secret base?"

Hyeonyul asked with interest as well. A secret base was something he'd wanted to see at least once.

"That's right. They were already clearing out when we arrived. We caught a few and chased a few others, and one of them ran off with the documents. Then they threw something strange—a bomb, I guess?—and poison came out of it."

"Was it something you'd never seen before?"

"Yes. I'd never seen that shape before."

Nayun narrowed her eyes, spread her hands wide, then brought them inward toward each other.

"It looked like... two rice bowls joined together like this, with their openings facing each other?"

Nayun's eyesight was exceptionally good. Hyeonyul assumed she had seen it accurately.

"Do you happen to know what it is?"

"I've never seen it. I wasn't responsible for weapons or civilians."

"Then what were you responsible for?"

"Villains. Not much different from what I do now."

"... Villains?"

"To expand your power, you need to kill rival factions or villains in the same area."

"But you're on the same side?"

"There are no sides. If they need something, they take it. If they want something, they stop at nothing to get it. That's how they operate."

Nayun needlessly fiddled with her hair. It was a very unfamiliar concept.

"You don't need to understand. It would be strange if you did."

"I suppose so? Oh! There it is."

She pointed toward their destination, which was now coming into view.

In the distance, they could see a barrier with talismans attached.

'Looks like they use talismans as their power.'

Among the various powers, there was one whose wielders were called talisman casters. Hyeonyul put on his helmet and approached.

Could it be called a dome of poison? The talismans' power kept the poison from escaping, leaving it floating inside like multicolored clouds.

"I've brought our teammate. He's our new recruit. Please take good care of him."

Nayun introduced Hyeonyul to the other two people assigned to the mission.

Team Three's new recruit.

Even if they didn't know his name, he was the person everyone was talking about lately. There was no way they wouldn't know who he was.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you."

Both smiled, but they couldn't stop their bodies from stiffening.

A former villain.

That fact alone put them on guard.

'Team Six.'

Rather than speak, Hyeonyul bowed his head to greet the Team Six members. That was the cleanest way to handle it.

"May I go inside now?"

Hyeonyul pointed at the dome.

"Will you be all right?"

The Black Eagle who appeared to be the talisman caster asked hesitantly.

"I'll be fine."

"Then please wait a moment."

Without further hesitation, the talisman caster stood before the barrier. They opened their clenched hand as if fanning out cards, and five talismans sprang out of thin air. When they extended their index and middle fingers, the talismans stuck to the barrier.

They suddenly burst into flame.

"You can go in now."

At the talisman caster's words, Hyeonyul entered without hesitation. After only a few steps, he stopped. Several different poisons seeped into his nose.

'Making an antidote really would be extremely difficult.'

Several poisons were mixed together, and he smelled different ones with each step. The closer he came to the center, the more varieties there were. Whatever this weapon was, it was bad news.

'They've made another useless thing. How annoying.'

How many more people would they kill with it?

Hyeonyul lowered his gaze. A woman lay dead there, with papers scattered beside her. Clear scratch marks on her neck suggested she had clawed at herself as she writhed in agony.

Without so much as a glance at the villain, Hyeonyul picked up the documents one by one.

'Are these that important?'

He stared at them for a moment, then tilted his head. They were extremely familiar.

'This looks similar to the expulsion list the Team Leader gave me this morning.'

Hyeonyul took the list out of his shadow and compared the two. No matter how many times he checked, the names overlapped.

After thinking for a moment, he let out a small chuckle.