Chapter 4 - I'm the New Recruit

* * *

'...10:40 a.m.'

Hyeonyul checked the time, then checked it again. How could they tell him to come in by eleven on his first day?

'You can start work this late?'

Once again, he was moved as the reality sank in.

He stood before the building called the Nest, unlike when he had arrived carrying Shin Daeho's head. It felt different.

'This is where I'll be working from now on.'

Hyeonyul stood quietly, taking it in.

The Nest stood on the outskirts of the city. Given its considerable size, that seemed to be deliberate. There was no subway, but there was a dedicated bus, so this time he had enjoyed a comfortable ride over.

Even seeing it again, it felt like looking at an ordinary company, which was very strange. There were other buildings on either side, though he didn't know what they were for.

"Mr. Seo Hyeonyul."

He turned toward the familiar voice. The moment he saw the woman with long, fluffy permed curls, he recognized Haeryeon.

"You're twenty minutes early!"

"Punctuality is important. Thank you for coming out to meet me."

Haeryeon smiled awkwardly at his impeccably respectful ninety-degree bow. He looked as though strict military discipline had been drilled into him.

"You don't have to bow like that."

"It's a habit. I'll correct it going forward."

He sounded as though he was holding something back, prompting Haeryeon to think for a moment.

'... Did something bad happen if he didn't do that?'

Hyeonyul had worked for companies run by villains. That fact alone brought all sorts of possibilities to mind. Could he have been beaten?

"Team Leader."

Haeryeon gave a slight start at his voice, then nodded.

"Was there an uproar at the meeting?"

Seeing her distracted expression, Hyeonyul couldn't help asking.

That day, a majority vote had made him a member of the Black Eagles. Even when official procedures were followed, there were always bastards who had a problem with it.

"Oh, it's all right."

Haeryeon smiled, but recalled the meeting she had been subjected to until just now. It had been very, very loud.

["No, even if we gave you the authority, this is unacceptable!"]

["You're saying we should accept someone who worked for villain-run companies? He could be a spy! Does it make any sense to let him in so easily?"]

'Then why the hell did you give us the authority?'

If they felt wronged, they should have stayed that day.

'... Ugh, just thinking about it pisses me off.'

Haeryeon felt a hollow laugh rising in her throat. It had been an official procedure, with no rules violated. Overturning it simply because someone protested would have been the strange thing.

"I expected as much."

Hyeonyul read her expression. Of course they weren't going to let this pass smoothly.

"You told me I might be treated unfairly if I was hired, didn't you, Team Leader?"

That warning had simply come true. It was nothing particularly unusual.

"Still... All right, I understand."

Haeryeon stopped herself from saying more. Hyeonyul looked so genuinely unbothered that she felt she was the only one making a fuss.

'But wrong is still wrong.'

Even if he didn't mind, this was something she had to prevent as his team leader.

'That's right. I have to protect my team. Who else will?'

With a firm step, Haeryeon strode spiritedly into the building.

* * *

"I'll start with the basics."

Once they were inside, Haeryeon spoke again.

"First, we work on a four-shift rotation. One a.m. to six a.m., six a.m. to noon, noon to seven p.m., and seven p.m. to one a.m. Each team stays on one time slot for a full week, then switches to another the following week."

"Four-shift rotations actually exist...?"

Hyeonyul asked in wonder. His former companies had worked him relentlessly, behaving as though the very concept of shifts had ceased to exist. This was utterly unfamiliar.

"They do. They're just uncommon."

"Then why is the early-morning shift shorter?"

"Because those hours are hard on you."

Haeryeon stated the obvious, but her answer left Hyeonyul reeling as though he'd been struck in the back of the head.

'Am I dreaming?'

Hyeonyul slapped his own face. He felt it.

'... This isn't a dream?'

The early-morning shift was shorter because it was harder. He really had heard her say that. He felt even the corners of his mouth trembling.

"And overtime is converted into paid leave. Everything else is exactly as stated in the notice."

"Why... do you do that?"

Hyeonyul felt as though he were floating. None of this felt real.

"What do you mean, why?"

"You don't make people work long hours, and you even give them paid... leave for overtime. Can this place actually function properly?"

"Of course. We're civil servants. Special civil servants, so it does feel a little like a state-owned company."

"Do you do that to stay in the government's good graces?"

Hyeonyul genuinely wanted to know.

"That might be part of it, but we exist to deal with villains whose actions threaten the nation. The police handle ordinary crimes, while we handle the more serious and dangerous ones."

'Is that why the name Black Eagles sounds more familiar?'

Hyeonyul thought for a moment. While working for villain-run companies, the phrase he had heard most often was "those goddamn Eagle bastards."

"We have to shoulder a great deal. Our responsibilities are heavy, too."

She meant that the considerable benefits came with equally considerable penalties.

"... Of course, on very rare occasions, we have no choice but to work extra hours."

Haeryeon met his eyes as she spoke. His gaze immediately hardened.

"Even with paid leave, I expect it to remain reasonable."

At his chilling words, Haeryeon looked sheepish and tried a joke.

"Otherwise, will you cut my head off?"

"That's my intention."

"... Wow."

His unexpected response made her shoulders stiffen slightly. She had no intention of going down easily, but to think he was partly serious.

"... Well. That's rather bloodthirsty."

"I have no intention of denying the truth."

"You do understand emergencies, right?"

"Those I understand."

"Then we're fine. As long as you cooperate with me as much as possible, that won't happen."

Haeryeon's confidence reassured Hyeonyul for the moment.

He relaxed as they walked, only to pause when he felt gazes converging on him. The looks from people passing through the corridor were too sharp to be merely reactions to the conversation they'd just overheard.

They weren't Black Eagles. He spotted the sparrow emblem he had seen before.

'Word about me seems to have spread already.'

At this speed, it was reasonable to assume someone had spread it deliberately.

"The same goes for me."

Quietly watching them, Hyeonyul raised the corners of his mouth. He could still put up with more.

* * *

"By the way, Team Leader, who are the people wearing sparrow emblems?"

Hyeonyul asked as he looked at the plaque by the door marked Team Three.

"Oh!"

As though only now remembering her oversight, Haeryeon stopped turning the handle and looked at him.

"They're our support staff. Their official name is the White Sparrows. You can simply call them managers. Before we go into the field, they investigate cases received through the police. They also handle office work and help us with all sorts of things."

"Then if they dislike me, I'll have to do all those things myself?"

He couldn't let anything interfere with his work, so Hyeonyul had to ask.

Haeryeon stopped dead halfway through opening the door.

"What do you mean?"

"The looks I got on the way here weren't friendly. Rumors about me have spread, and I wondered whether they might deliberately withhold information..."

"Which bastard's doing that?"

A loud voice suddenly came from inside. Hyeonyul turned his gaze. A tall man approached—so tall that Hyeonyul had to look up at him.

"Who's picking on our new recruit?"

"... What, you're here? What about your mission?"

Haeryeon looked at him in surprise.

"Just finished it and came back, Team Leader."

The man addressed her with impeccable respect.

"Then you should go home. Why are you here?"

"I heard the new recruit was coming today."

"You certainly catch wind of things like this fast."

"I rushed over, and what's all this? Who's withholding information from our new recruit?"

This man, whose identity Hyeonyul didn't even know, was getting angry as though it were his own problem. The first thing that caught Hyeonyul's eye was his dark brown hair, which covered part of his neck.

'... What do you call that hairstyle again?'

He simply stared.

"All right, Sinu. Let's quiet down. Come inside first, Mr. Hyeonyul."

Haeryeon gestured them in. Before Hyeonyul could enter, the man called Sinu leaned his head toward him.

"We're Team Three. Nice to meet you, rookie. I'm Baek Sinu, your big brother here."

Sinu confidently held out a hand, which Hyeonyul regarded in silence. Hyeonyul started to reach for it, then stopped and looked at him over what he had said.

"Sinu. Do you want another one to run away?"

At Haeryeon's smile, Sinu immediately lowered his hand and merely beamed.

"Who's running away?"

Hyeonyul blinked as he asked.

"For some strange reason... our team is short-staffed."

Haeryeon trailed off. Right now, Team Two's leader, Yang Dojin, had his sights set on Hyeonyul.

"Why is only Team Three short-staffed?"

"Each team has its own atmosphere, right?"

Sinu abruptly chimed in.

"Yes."

"With us, it's usually at the welcome party..."

"Oh, it's nothing. Really, nothing, so don't worry! I mean, please don't worry!"

Haeryeon's stumbling delivery made Hyeonyul suspicious.

'Is it a kill-or-be-killed initiation?'

Having changed companies so many times, he had been through countless initiations. One company had made the new recruits fight each other under a rule that only five would be left alive.

He didn't know why they did it, but watching them snicker in amusement while new recruits died during the welcome ceremony had been deeply unpleasant. That was the kind of initiation he knew.

"Sorry, I slipped into informal speech just now. I was too, um..."

"Team Leader, you can speak casually to me. Someone here already is, isn't he?"

Hyeonyul glanced meaningfully at Sinu.

"Did that bother you?"

Sinu asked, and Hyeonyul shook his head.

"I was simply wondering why you called yourself my big brother."

"Because I'm older than you."

"... Ah."

Hyeonyul nodded in understanding.

"Right. It would be a bit odd for me to be too formal with you here, wouldn't it?"

Haeryeon readily accepted his suggestion. She looked as though she might have wanted to do that from the beginning.

"My name is Seo Hyeonyul. Have you also heard about my background?"

He directed the question at Sinu.

"I have. You got in through special recruitment, right? Team Leader, where did you find such a great rookie?"

Sinu spoke delightedly. Only a handful of people had ever joined the Black Eagles through special recruitment, and Hyeonyul was one of them. To think someone that impressive was his teammate!

Hyeonyul didn't avert his eyes from Sinu's shining gaze. He was simply suspicious.

'What is he trying to pry out of me?'

That look and smile were the same kind the villains who recruited him had worn.

'I'm not falling for it anymore.'

"I didn't bring him here. He came of his own accord."

Haeryeon shrugged.

"A lucky charm landed right in our laps! So what did he do to qualify for special recruitment?"

Sinu couldn't wait to hear the rest.

"Hyeonyul brought in Shin Daeho's head. Yes, the Shin Daeho we let get away."

Haeryeon emphasized it twice.

There was opposition within the organization, but that would soon be settled. Hyeonyul actually knew the company Shin Daeho had run. They wouldn't be able to ignore that information once they saw it.

"His head? An actual head, like this one?"

Whatever else he thought, Sinu was particularly caught up on the word "head."

"That's right. His severed head."

"... Wow. That's impressive."

Sinu looked ready to applaud at any moment.

Determined not to be fooled, Hyeonyul simply voiced the question circling in his mind.

"What's so special about Shin Daeho? Why were you looking so hard for him?"

What could that alcoholic possibly have had? Shin Daeho had been too drunk even to resist Hyeonyul before he died.

"We uncovered the possibility that one of the major corporations was run by villains. While following that lead, the name Shin Daeho came up. We needed him to take down that corporation."

"I remember Shin Daeho's business contacts. Do you need them?"

"Yes! Very much!"

Haeryeon looked as though a long-standing weight had finally been lifted. Apparently, she had been pursuing this for a long time.

'Shin Daeho was that important?'

Hyeonyul remained puzzled. Perhaps he knew a lot of people; Shin Daeho certainly had plenty of visitors. Since he had used Hyeonyul as a bodyguard, Hyeonyul had been forced to see their faces whether he wanted to or not.

Who would have thought that would come in handy?

"Oh. I'd better give you this first. One moment."

Haeryeon walked straight to her room, picked up a box from the desk, and returned to Hyeonyul.

"Open it."

"Yes."

With an impassive expression, he opened the box. Inside was the same smartwatch Haeryeon and the other team leader had worn. Its design was no different from an ordinary smartwatch.

"It doesn't have a name, though people call it a notification watch. It's used for mission assignments, destination details, communication between teammates, and various other things. It has a spell that makes people less likely to recognize you, so it's best to keep it on."

"That kind of magic really exists?"

"It does. If you want to hide your face, you'll need to have a mask made. Would you like to?"

"You mean it's optional?"

"Surprising, isn't it? Some villains once tried hacking us to expose the personal details of Black Eagles agents. It was a huge crisis, but funnily enough, we discovered vulnerabilities in their system instead and hacked them back. Ever since that incident, even the villains..."

BZZZZZ

Suddenly, the smartwatch buzzed. Haeryeon's expression stiffened in the middle of her animated story. The timing was absurd.

"That means a mission has come in."

After the brief explanation, Haeryeon operated it with practiced ease.

<Thirty minutes ago, a mass murder occurred.>

Even the words "mass murder" didn't greatly surprise her. She was used to it.

"Anything unusual?"

<The manager monitoring the area was also killed.>

"Understood."

Haeryeon looked up as she answered. Sinu happened to be there. She thought this would be a good opportunity for Hyeonyul to experience a mission.

"This may be sudden, but we start with fieldwork. You'll probably only watch from the sidelines, but that alone weeds people out."

"... Then I haven't been fully hired yet?"

Hyeonyul's expression turned serious. Was it acceptable to lie to him like this?

"No. You've been hired. But some people run away when they actually get into the field. I know you won't, but you still need to know, right? Including the fact that we teach theory after fieldwork."

Haeryeon gave him a thorough explanation. No matter how many times she explained it, saying they taught theory after fieldwork did sound ridiculous.

"Anyway, are you all right with that? I hope you can handle seeing gruesome things."

"I can."

"I love that attitude. You already have field experience, so honestly, we could probably send you out alone. But you're on probation, so someone has to accompany you."

Haeryeon pointed at Sinu. Far from surprised, he smiled as though he'd expected it.

"He'll be reassuring to have along."

Hyeonyul looked at Sinu for a moment.

"At the very least, I'm good enough not to hold you back, so don't worry."

Sinu pointed his thumb at himself.

"I'll go."

Hyeonyul calmly accepted the job. Honestly, no matter who stood beside him or what villain came at him, he would take them down just the same. Missions had to be completed, and cutting off heads was very easy.