Chapter 73 - Something Always Happens on a Day Off (2)

* * *

Hyeon-yul was about to turn his head and pretend he had not seen them when Jihwan spotted him and came over with a delighted smile.

“Hyung, did you come to see a movie too?”

“...Yes.”

Hyeon-yul took two steps back. How had the two of them ended up here? Surely this was not the only movie theater in the city.

‘Have I been followed?’

“Did you come after seeing the messages? What movie are you here for?”

Jihwan asked, but Hyeon-yul had not read any of the messages. The moment he saw hundreds piled up, he had shut his phone. That was hardly important right now. He had a bad feeling about this, especially when Shinwoo seemed to be smiling.

“I came to see that one.”

Hyeon-yul pointed at the movie that had just appeared on the display, then immediately studied Jihwan's expression. Disappointment spread across his face, and Hyeon-yul felt a surge of relief. Apparently, their meeting really was a coincidence.

“...That's different from ours. Shinwoo hyung, should we just watch that one instead?”

“Well, of course I'd...”

“Why are the two of you here?”

Hyeon-yul quickly cut Shinwoo off before he could finish.

“Ah, well, we had a little... to drink yesterday, right?”

“Yes. You both drank a great deal.”

Hyeon-yul made a point of emphasizing *both*. Shinwoo flinched as though the accusation had hit home, while Jihwan shook his head.

“I wasn't drunk.”

“Jihwan, you shouldn't lie.”

“You do it all the time, hyung.”

“Me? When have I ever?”

“Hyung, Hyeon-yul hyung is watching us.”

“Then why would you bring that up right now?”

“Both of you were drunk. Anyway, why are you here?”

Having settled the facts, Hyeon-yul repeated his question. The idea that two coworkers would willingly come to see a movie together was absurd.

‘That's impossible.’

He was utterly convinced of it.

“We came out to have some fun. Shinwoo hyung asked me to hang out.”

“You said you were bored too, didn't you?”

Their answers left Hyeon-yul baffled. How could coworkers actually be friends? He simply could not understand it.

“Anyway, we were both bored, and we thought about playing games. Then I remembered that they're giving away Beombeom merchandise if you watch a movie. It's one of the Beombeom collectibles I'm missing.”

Jihwan pointed happily at a poster on the theater wall. It advertised a promotional item featuring a seal-shaped mascot, available with a popcorn purchase. Was that supposed to be Beombeom?

“So basically, Jihwan's using me. If I come along, he gets two promotional items. Hyeon-yul, do you want one too?”

“No. I didn't even know they existed.”

“Then that's three.”

Shinwoo looked at Jihwan as if to ask whether he was excited. Jihwan nodded in obvious satisfaction.

‘...Do they want me to buy one too?’

Hyeon-yul looked back at the poster. He tilted his head until he noticed the words *Limit one per person*. At last, he understood. Bringing more people was indeed the most efficient way to collect the merchandise.

“Why didn't you call Nayun?”

Shinwoo looked at Jihwan as he asked.

“She was the first person I called. She said her head was pounding from her hangover. I asked if she wanted me to buy her a hangover remedy, but she said she'd be fine.”

“I told her not to drink so much yesterday. Knowing her, she'll be at a café later anyway.”

Shinwoo clicked his tongue and took out his phone.

[Unlike some people, I don't have a hangover lol.]

He could not possibly let such a perfect opportunity slip past him. If their positions had been reversed, Nayun would surely have sent him exactly the same message. Jihwan checked his phone and gave Shinwoo a troubled look. He knew this was how Shinwoo usually behaved, but Nayun really had sounded awful when he called her earlier.

“...Hyung, I've got a bad feeling about this.”

“She's not here right now.”

“Don't blame me if noona shoots you in the head.”

Jihwan shook his head. They were talking about Nayun. She could hit someone in the head from a very, very long distance. He had once witnessed her shoot Shinwoo and knock him unconscious right before his eyes. Even remembering it was frightening.

“Does Nayun shoot people in the head? Has she ever killed a colleague like that?”

Shinwoo burst out laughing at Hyeon-yul's question. He could not believe the young man had asked something so ordinary with such deadly seriousness.

“She'll shoot when she's angry, but she won't kill you. She hit me once and knocked me out, and the team leader chewed both of us out for it. We almost had our annual salaries cut!”

“...You can have your salary reduced?”

“Of course. The team leader is terrifying when she's angry.”

“Terrifying. Very, very terrifying.”

Jihwan's shoulders trembled slightly at the memory.

“Then why didn't you invite the team leader? If you want those things, wouldn't bringing one more person be better?”

The whole purpose of the outing was to collect the promotional merchandise, so adding another person would be the efficient choice.

“...The thing is, Hyeon-yul...”

Shinwoo spoke as though he had witnessed something dreadful. He hesitated several times before finally continuing.

“...The team leader is working right now.”

Hyeon-yul's expression immediately stiffened at the news.

“Hyeon-yul.”

“...Yes?”

“Never forget the team leader's sacrifice.”

“If the team leader falls, Baek Shinwoo hyung will be the next team leader...”

“All right, enough filming horror movies. Let's go watch the actual movie.”

Shinwoo hastily slung an arm around Hyeon-yul's shoulders and guided him forward. Jihwan followed, chuckling.

“Hey, yesterday was fun, wasn't it?”

“...”

Hyeon-yul could not bring himself to answer Shinwoo's question. What was he supposed to say? While he was still struggling to decide, he suddenly stopped walking.

“What's wrong?”

“Does something hurt?”

Shinwoo asked first, followed by Jihwan, whose voice was full of concern.

Clunk.

Hyeon-yul had heard a sound. It was not an unfamiliar one. It reminded him of the noise made by someone struggling desperately to stay alive while tied to a chair. It kept coming, far too often to dismiss as his imagination.

He looked toward the employee standing at the movie theater's concession counter. The employee was going about their work normally. There was no smell of blood, and Hyeon-yul could not detect any magic either.

‘Is it some kind of mental ability?’

Far too many different possibilities came to mind.

“Ye Jihwan.”

“Yes, hyung?”

“Can you sense any magic coming from those people?”

“Just a moment.”

Jihwan's attention sharpened immediately. Something was happening in the movie theater, and Hyeon-yul had just told him as much. Ordinary life was turning extraordinary again. Again. It was happening all over again.

“Jihwan, Hyeon-yul.”

Shinwoo beckoned them closer. If they wanted to investigate, they needed to get close enough to see properly. Hyeon-yul followed while surveying their surroundings. People were buying popcorn and waiting for their movies. Others stood in line at the self-service ticket kiosks. Nothing about the theater looked out of place.

Places where crowds gathered could sometimes be turned into enormous experiments, with the people themselves serving as test subjects. What was it this time? What did the villains want, and what were they after? A hostage situation? A bomb intended to spread terror? Or mass brainwashing? There were surprisingly many things that could be done inside a movie theater, so he could not narrow the possibilities down yet.

<Calm down.>

Shinwoo sent the message through their wireless earpieces.

<Take your time. Jihwan, check things out first.>

<Understood.>

Jihwan fitted his earpiece and replied.

“I only have cash on me. Can I get three of these? And they come with three promotional items, right?”

Shinwoo walked up to the counter as naturally as could be and pointed at the popcorn deal that included the merchandise.

“Yes, that's right.”

“She says they do.”

Shinwoo looked back over his shoulder at Jihwan.

“We only came because of the merchandise, so I'll pay.”

“Don't bother. Use my money.”

Shinwoo handed Jihwan some cash and gestured for him to complete the purchase. Then he led Hyeon-yul away from the counter.

<I heard a noise. Something didn't sound right.>

Shinwoo asked cautiously. It had not been clear, but he had heard something too.

<Yes. It's clearer now. Someone is being held captive in the room behind that counter.>

Hyeon-yul was certain. Shinwoo shut his eyes tightly for a moment and opened them again. Anger boiled inside him.

“Hold on. I'm going to make a quick call.”

“Yes.”

Hyeon-yul watched Shinwoo leave and stood quietly where he was. When he had been working for villains, this sort of thing had not concerned him. Now that his job was to hunt villains, everything seemed to bother him. He walked back toward Jihwan and picked up two of the drinks that had been prepared. Jihwan carefully tucked the packaged merchandise into his bag, then looked at the remaining three boxes of popcorn and the last drink.

“Wait, wait. I'm back.”

Shinwoo hurried over, picked up one drink and one box of popcorn, and casually moved them away from the counter.

<I requested backup. We've been ordered to assess the situation until they arrive. ...A mission on our day off. This really is the worst.>

Shinwoo's message sounded full of despair, though he did not look particularly distressed in person.

<...It is the worst. Anyway, it's not magic. It's a psychic ability.>

Jihwan lowered his voice and reported what he had discovered.

<The people here have been temporarily brainwashed. Whoever used this power is probably mixed into the crowd or somewhere on the floor above or below us. I did sense magic in the room behind the counter, though.>

<So you're saying there's a psychic ability user and a mage in this theater?>

Jihwan nodded naturally, taking care not to draw attention. Shinwoo barely suppressed the urge to sigh. The entire theater had effectively been taken hostage.

<We should probably search the theater, then. They could use bombs, poison, or any number of other terrorist methods.>

Since they were indoors, Shinwoo believed almost anything was possible. Hadn't they already dealt with plenty of missions like that?

<There are no bombs, no poison, and none of the other things you're thinking of.>

Hyeon-yul's response was almost unnervingly certain. Judging by the noise of someone struggling against restraints, whatever was happening here had probably begun only recently.

<I think there are about three people acting as lookouts among the crowd.>

He gave them the information almost offhandedly. Everyone else was behaving naturally, but three people kept repeating movements that did not fit their surroundings.

<They seem to be watching the room behind the concession counter. I can't say that for certain yet, though.>

<Anyway, it doesn't look like they've noticed us, right?>

Shinwoo asked cautiously, keeping his expression neutral.

<Correct.>

<Then I'll check. If they're lookouts, there should be certain messages passing between them.>

Jihwan moved to a table, set down the popcorn and drinks, and sat. The moment he lightly tapped the tabletop, his mana spread outward from that point. A separate, isolated space appeared in his vision. In a world made up of countless coordinates, Jihwan selected one thing to connect to: the mobile phones.

Messages and calls from everyone's phones appeared before his eyes. With countless fragments of writing suspended like coordinates around him, he calmly searched for the people he wanted.

<Just as Hyeon-yul hyung said, there are three of them.>

For the briefest moment, Jihwan linked his spell to Hyeon-yul and Shinwoo.

Flash.

Both men were able to identify the three suspects.

‘...Then where are the others?’

Having confirmed the lookouts' identities, Hyeon-yul considered where the remaining villains could be. A thought struck him, and he turned toward the screens listing the films currently playing. It was a busy period for new releases, and all nine screening rooms were full. These villains had not chosen the theater by chance. They had a reason for coming here.

<What they want is the movie screens.>

Hyeon-yul was almost disgusted by the thought even as he sent it. Who came to movie theaters? Ordinary people. Everyone gathered in one place, sat still, and had little choice but to stare at the screens. What would happen if someone placed a particular power on those screens? Hadn't they all recently witnessed what brainwashing could accomplish?

<They're after a way to brainwash people without anyone noticing.>

<But we inspect things regularly to prevent exactly that kind of...>

Shinwoo stopped in the middle of composing his message. They inspected the theater interiors, not the people themselves. He was only now recognizing the flaw in the system.

<If that's the plan, the same magical formula may have been inscribed in every screening room. To stop it, we'd need to erase all the formulas at once.>

Jihwan explained calmly while continuing to eat popcorn.

<Jihwan, rescue the person in the back room. Hyeon-yul, can you capture those three?>

<Understood.>

<I can capture them.>

The two replies appeared almost simultaneously in their earpieces.

<I'll take care of destroying the screens.>

Considering their abilities, Shinwoo thought he was the best person for the job. He could summon blades capable of piercing space itself without even opening the doors.

Shinwoo abruptly changed direction and hurried away, with Jihwan appearing to follow him. Hyeon-yul remained at the table, where the popcorn and cola had been left behind. Three people. He had kept an eye on all of them. With the crowd moving around in confusion, the best approach was to make them vanish in an instant.

He deliberately used his darkness to interfere with the popcorn machine.

Clack, clack, clack!

The machine made a series of harsh noises, drawing everyone's attention. At the same moment, hands reached from the shadows of all three lookouts, seized their shoulders, and dragged them away. Hyeon-yul popped some popcorn into his mouth as the three vanished like participants in a magic trick.

Bzzzz.

At the vibration, Hyeon-yul took out his phone. Oh Haeryeon was calling.

“Yes, Team Leader. Where should I hand them over?”

He wanted to pull them out of his darkness and throw them somewhere as quickly as possible. They were filthy.

* * *

“...Ha. Seeing one movie shouldn't be this hard.”

Shinwoo sighed as he entered a café. The incident had ended well. He had been slightly worried about tearing the movie screens apart, but after seeing the White Sparrow's expression, he felt there was nothing to worry about. It was still too early for dinner, so he figured they might as well kill some time.

“Over here.”

Nayun raised a hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Shinwoo froze in surprise before striding toward her.

“Y-you! What are you doing here?”

He had expected her to be in some café, but he had never imagined it would be this one.

“This is just the thing for a hangover.”

Nayun pointed at an assortment of cake slices. Shinwoo scowled, but she ignored him and looked at Hyeon-yul and Jihwan instead.

“So you all met up without me? That's pretty mean.”

“We ran into each other by chance. By chance. ...Ha. We actually just finished a mission, too, so could you give it a rest?”

Shinwoo dropped into his seat with an exhausted expression.

“Same here. On my way over, I spotted some people passing something around in secret. I was going to ignore them, but I could read the writing.”

“What did you see?”

Hyeon-yul asked, his attention sharpening at once.

“A plan to brainwash people using movie theater screens, or something like that. It was so outrageous that I put holes through both of their legs. I called the managers too, of course.”

Nayun whispered the explanation. When Shinwoo's and Jihwan's expressions changed, she looked at them in surprise.

“...Don't tell me it was happening already, and you stopped it?”

“Yes.”

Hyeon-yul gave his usual brief reply, and Nayun let out a long breath. She suddenly felt a powerful sense of solidarity with the others.

“Things always go wrong like this on a day off. Come on, everyone, let's eat. At least we get something out of a good meal.”

Nayun pushed the cake toward them. She was suffering from a hangover, and the others were worn out from work. When it came to shaking off either kind of misery, something sweet was surely the best medicine.