Ho-eun lightly brushed his hand over the photo of the three children.
“I hope she’s not an Esper suspect.”
On screen, Paul and Kang Him-chan appeared, entering the building where the academy was located.
“She’s finally found a family where she can settle down…”
Even without hearing the rest, Do In-ho understood what Ho-eun meant. He stared impassively at Han Yeo-ul’s photo.
The seats in front of Paul and Him-chan inside the classroom were empty. A moment later, children who had arrived on the academy shuttle began filing in and taking their seats.
Over the headset, amid classroom noise, came Kang Him-chan’s voice.
“Hey, Yeo-ul.”
As Han Yeo-ul sat down, wearing a crewneck sweatshirt and black skinny jeans, Him-chan poked her back with his pencil in greeting.
She glanced at him briefly and turned her head away. Ho-eun had worried that Him-chan might slip into his usual odd tone, but thankfully he seemed to have picked up how children speak—nothing felt off.
“Yeo-ul, did you do your English homework?”
While Him-chan got flat-out ignored, Paul tried a different approach, holding out his English workbook as he spoke to her. Watching like he was viewing a TV drama, Ho-eun silently cheered—Nice question.
“Yeah.”
Her reply was blunt. Her cynical attitude made her seem much older than ten.
“They’ve been attending the same academy for four weeks, and they still aren’t close?”
At Ho-eun’s comment, In-ho rested his chin on both hands, his dispassionate eyes fixed on the screen.
“There’s a wall between them.”
“A wall, huh…”
Repeating In-ho’s words under his breath, Ho-eun watched Han Yeo-ul silently memorize vocabulary in the midst of the chattering classroom. She gave off a distinct air of isolation.
“What would drive someone that young to study so hard?”
Ho-eun glanced at Han Yeo-ul’s report card. Perfect scores across all subjects. A few minutes later, the English instructor entered and began class.
Ten minutes into the lesson, Him-chan’s camera began to bob up and down. He was clearly dozing off.
While watching the shaky feed, Ho-eun noticed someone hand a note to Han Yeo-ul.
She unfolded the note, read it, and quickly scribbled a reply. When the teacher turned to write on the board, the note was passed to a student in the next row.
“Paul, did you see that note being passed just now?”
Ho-eun spoke into the headset mic, and a chat window popped up on the laptop screen. A quick “Saw it” message appeared—Paul’s, since he couldn’t speak during class.
Paul nudged the sleepy Him-chan with his elbow and began writing something in the margin of his textbook. He seemed to be suggesting they retrieve the note once class ended.
Eventually, the boring lesson came to a close, and break time arrived. The student who had exchanged notes with Yeo-ul tossed the note into the trash before heading out. Paul fished it out.
I brought what you wanted.
ㅇㅇ
Is the rumor true?
If you don’t believe me, don’t do it.
No, I’ll trust you!
Come to the spot during break.
Ok
“Maybe the rumor really is true?”
“I’m not sure yet. But where’s the spot, I wonder?”
After reading the note, Ho-eun spoke, and Paul murmured in response. Around them, kids were either chatting noisily or heading to the bathroom.
“If we follow Han Yeo-ul, we’ll find out.”
Yeo-ul glanced at the clock and quietly stood. Paul and Him-chan discreetly trailed her out of the classroom.
Behind the academy, there was a short wall running along the alley. After confirming no one was watching, the girls stacked three bricks hidden among the trash and climbed over the wall.
From a distance, Paul observed the top of the wall. Spotting a streetlight on the opposite side, he grabbed Him-chan’s hand and teleported.
They hid behind the streetlight and watched Han Yeo-ul meet another girl, who handed her what looked like a white envelope—something like a bundle of cash.
After checking its contents, Yeo-ul carefully folded the envelope multiple times with her small hands and slipped it into her pocket.
“I’m applying to the gifted academy next year. I heard you had the predicted test questions.”
“Even if I get in, I probably won’t last long anyway. But I got the money, so I don’t care.”
Yeo-ul said this without the slightest change in expression as she pulled out her phone. The two girls pressed their phones together, and Paul radioed in to HQ.
“Requesting CCTV feed near Special Monitoring Subject Han Yeo-ul’s current location.”
There was a camera installed on the streetlight where Paul stood. The phones weren’t visible from the front, but from above, they might be.
The laptop screen Ho-eun was watching split, and the new feed from the requested CCTV popped up. He zoomed in on the phone screen.
“Looks like a workbook?”
What Han Yeo-ul was sending was a photo.
“The questions will mostly come from what I sent. Just study this and you’ll be fine.”
“You sure I can trust you?”
“Find out next year.”
The tension in the room spiked—what they were watching was a clear case of leaking test questions. Of course, the images Yeo-ul sent seemed handwritten. There was no way to confirm now if they matched next year’s exam.
“Maybe she’s just smart and made her own predictions?”
“She might’ve seen the real questions in the future.”
Watching the two girls climb back over the wall, Him-chan and Paul each chimed in.
“But… wasn’t that an actual payment just now?”
Ho-eun’s tone was puzzled. Yeo-ul was only ten years old—an age where pocket money from parents should be plenty.
Why would she be charging money in exchange for test questions?
“If she won the lottery recently, her family probably isn’t struggling financially.”
Supporting Ho-eun’s suspicion, In-ho chimed in and followed up with a crucial question.
“Have we confirmed the parents’ current employment status?”
“The last records show the mother worked in hospital admin and the father was a taxi driver.”
“I’ll request updated info right away.”
Since break time was nearly over, Paul grabbed Him-chan’s hand and teleported them back to the academy.
Back in the classroom, Han Yeo-ul had her hand in the pocket where she’d stashed the money. Ho-eun couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. As the lesson drew to a close, he finally spoke.
“What if one of us casually mentioned just now seeing her?”
At his suggestion, Him-chan made an OK sign with his hand toward the camera. After two hours of class, Yeo-ul had about 20 minutes before heading to her next after-school activity—a reading discussion class.
As she was about to leave, Him-chan tugged on her backpack.
“What?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Really? Then I’ll just tell the head instructor.”
“?”
“I saw you and that girl near the convenience store.”
When Him-chan turned away nonchalantly, it was Yeo-ul who grabbed his bag this time.
“Follow me.”
The stairway to the rooftop was dusty—clearly not a space regularly used, let alone by children. And yet, Yeo-ul had deliberately chosen it.
“So, what did you see?”
“You. Giving out test questions. I want them too.”
“What are you talking about? How would I know the test questions?”
“Oh yeah? Then what’s in your pocket? You got paid for giving someone the questions, right?”
Yeo-ul’s blank expression twisted into a frown.
“I didn’t do anything like that.”
“I’ll pay too.”
At that, her scowl softened. She scanned Him-chan from head to toe, then unexpectedly asked:
“Where do you live?”
“Near here.”
“XX Castle?”
Him-chan nodded vaguely.
“Not a rental, right?”
“What?”
This was getting further and further from what any child would normally say.
“Judging by your clothes, you look like a rich kid.”
Yeo-ul crossed her arms. From the screen, the uncertainty she’d shown earlier was gone—she now spoke like she had the upper hand.
“Alright then, which test do you want the questions for?”
“Huh? Uh, well… I want to get into the gifted academy too.”
“They only take a set number of students. You probably won’t make it.”
“What the hell? Not even if I pay?”
“I could give you the questions, but I’m not promising you’ll get in.”
At her aloof tone, Him-chan scratched his cheek.
“I don’t care. Just give them to me.”
“Sure. Bring the money and I’ll send it.”
“How much?”
She held up three fingers.
“Thirty thousand won?”
“Are you kidding? Three hundred.”
“How’s a ten-year-old supposed to get 300,000 won?”
“You live in a fancy place. Just ask your mom.”
Having said her piece, Yeo-ul zipped her lips with a gesture and warned Him-chan to keep his mouth shut.
“I’m cutting you a deal, so don’t tell anyone.”
The charisma of a ten-year-old was no joke. When Him-chan nodded, Yeo-ul turned and walked down the stairs without a second glance.
Back in the classroom, Paul saw the completely deflated Him-chan shuffle in and quietly brought him back to the café-turned-operations room.
“Welcome back.”
The two immediately changed out of their disguises. With the pill’s effects wearing off after two hours, they reverted to their adult forms.
“It’s confirmed. Han Yeo-ul is not an Esper. She’s just some mob-boss kid extorting money with good grades!”
Still fuming from being disrespected by a child, Him-chan was practically snorting in outrage.
“Technically, anyone could make mock test questions like that.”
Paul rewound the footage and watched.
“She probably just tweaked some existing problems. We’ll only know for sure next year, and since there’s no risk of exposure now, she’s free to do as she likes.”
“Han Yeo-ul’s just a regular kid. She won the lottery because of karma from a past life. All those rumors? Total garbage!”
Ho-eun, who had been quietly listening, murmured:
“But still… isn’t it odd for a child to take money in exchange for test questions? She’s not a middle or high schooler—she’s only in elementary school.”
“Considering the neighboring district is Daechi-dong, the competition here might be intense enough to make that possible.”
Paul began replying but suddenly stopped mid-sentence and picked up his phone to make a call.
“It’s me. Were you able to look into what Kang Him-chan requested earlier?”
As he listened, Paul’s pupils dilated in surprise.
“Understood.”
He hung up and turned toward Ho-eun, visibly rattled.
“Both of Han Yeo-ul’s parents quit their jobs two months ago.”
“Didn’t she win the lottery two months ago too? Maybe they’re planning to start a business?”
Ho-eun mentally replayed the image of Yeo-ul on screen. The cuffs of her sweatshirt were stained with old food marks that hadn’t washed out.
Her skinny jeans looked short, and her once-white sneakers were now yellowed. Anyone not paying close attention wouldn’t have noticed how worn her clothes were.
“…”
She took money for test questions and assessed people’s wealth by asking about their apartment complex. Ho-eun, hoping he was wrong, finally spoke.
“I want to meet Han Yeo-ul in person.”
