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“This is Yeo Eunjeong. Let’s meet for a bit.”
“Where should we go?”
“Conference room 5.”
Taehyun received what felt like a challenge message from Eunjeong. If anything was different, it was that the location was a conference room rather than the rooftop. Since there was no specified time, it seemed like she wanted him to come right away.
How annoying. Taehyun headed to the conference room with increased antipathy toward Eunjeong.
“Oh, you came?”
Eunjeong was sitting in the conference room in quite a slouched position. Taehyun gave a slight nod and sat across from her.
“You came right away. Are you that free?”
Is she being sarcastic?
“You only sent the location, so I thought it might be urgent.”
“Ah, it is urgent, but…”
Eunjeong paused mid-sentence, furrowing her brow and touching her forehead. What’s with her? Taehyun quietly waited for her next words.
“I heard from Seoyeon. That you’re good at restoration abilities.”
Noona?
“What’s this about?”
“…I trust Seoyeon.”
Eunjeong confessed out of nowhere. What is she saying? Is she out of her mind? Taehyun frowned.
“So I decided to trust you too.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I need someone who can go on a mission while avoiding the Center Director’s eyes.”
Avoiding the Center Director. Taehyun realized why his noona had recommended him. Whatever information he gathered from today’s destination would also reach Seoyeon’s ears.
Eunjeong looked at Taehyun for a moment and let out a small sigh. Her attitude suggested she found him completely unreliable. What the hell. I don’t like you either. Taehyun didn’t say those words out loud.
“Where do I need to go?”
Taehyun received a note with an address written on it. It was a familiar address. However, Taehyun pretended not to know it.
“…Where is this place?”
“You’ll figure it out when you get there.”
Eunjeong answered with a slightly relaxed expression. She seemed relieved that Taehyun didn’t recognize the address on the note. Taehyun nodded.
“Bring back anything suspicious after restoring it. Take some guiding medication just in case.”
And so Taehyun headed to The Crow headquarters. More precisely, it was the “real main building.”
I doubt Noona would have told her. How did she find it? Taehyun became slightly curious about how Eunjeong had found the hidden main building.
Or did someone find it for her? Taehyun thought of the Esper Department Director who kept many secrets.
Seoyeon had been tracking The Crow for quite some time. It was probably on orders from Taehyun’s father.
That’s why Taehyun had secretly infiltrated The Crow’s headquarters before.
Since he only went to check, he confirmed the Cult Leader’s face and immediately returned to report to his noona. He told her that it was definitely the guy they were looking for.
Originally, they planned to gradually narrow down the territory and then close in, but they hadn’t expected the Cult Leader to flee before that.
The “real main building” wasn’t far from the public main building open to followers. Taehyun stopped in front of a junk shop with its shutters down. They must have left in a hurry, as even the padlock wasn’t properly secured.
Taehyun kicked the padlock away and lifted the shutter. Inside the junk shop, there was a secret staircase leading into the building.
Taehyun headed underground without hesitation. The Cult Leader primarily lived in a room underground. He would have known that Taehyun’s father wanted to capture him, so he would have minimized the risk of being seen through windows.
-Don’t believe in sameness and difference; believe in right and wrong. The obvious opens the way.
Upon entering the Cult Leader’s room, a crooked banner caught his eye. Right and wrong, huh? A scoff escaped from Taehyun’s lips. As if such things exist. Taehyun muttered words with no particular audience in mind.
Inside, there were quite a few broken flowerpots and glass fragments. They left it like this on purpose. Taehyun pushed the fragments aside with his foot, looking for anything worth restoring.
When he restored one of the wooden pieces, it turned into a broom. Taehyun tossed the broom aside carelessly. The glass fragments that looked a bit strange in color were just glass bottles or plates.
Taehyun searched the Cult Leader’s room thoroughly. Then he found a button and a small piece of paper. When he restored the button, it became a shirt. It was a shirt with an inner pocket sewn inside.
A shirt with an inner pocket? Taehyun searched the pocket, but of course, there was nothing. Taehyun restored the paper.
It had alphabets and numbers marked in an unusual format. It was written in scribbled handwriting and had quite a few wrinkles. It looked like some kind of mathematical formula.
One of the numbers had a red circle around it, and there was also a question mark. Taehyun took out his phone and photographed the paper. Then he folded the paper neatly and put it in his pocket.
He did find something, but it still felt unsettling. It wasn’t strange that there weren’t any significant items in this space. However, the lack of hiding places really bothered him.
If they had to hastily gather things like these formula-filled papers, there must have been more, but why couldn’t he see that space? Taehyun looked around the Cult Leader’s room.
Taehyun tore down the banner. As expected, a built-in cabinet with sliding doors was revealed. There wasn’t even a proper lock on it.
Well, if someone got this far, it meant death anyway, so maybe they deliberately didn’t install one.
Taehyun opened the sliding door. The inside was completely empty. Taehyun ran his hand along the inside but felt nothing.
Just then, something bumped against Taehyun’s foot. It was a black plastic fragment.
Taehyun restored the plastic. It turned into a pair of glasses. The screw at the top right was missing. Judging by the lack of wear marks around the area, the screw hadn’t popped out but seemed to have been removed by someone.
Why specifically the glasses screw? Taehyun took out a micro-magnifier from his inner pocket and examined the screw hole. Several thin wires could be seen.
Could it be a bomb? Taehyun quickly pulled the glasses away from his face. Then he took out the portable explosive detector issued by the Center. The detector was key ring-shaped, making it convenient to just toss into his back pocket.
When he analyzed it, it showed a mismatch. Wires but not an explosive?
Taehyun tried wearing the glasses. The lenses didn’t have any special functions either. I should take this separately. Taehyun folded the glasses and put them in his messenger bag.
***
Swoosh-! Thud!
A refreshing sound echoed. Eunjeong punched the punch machine. The machine bounced up like a mole. Side, neckline, back of the shin. Eunjeong struck without hesitation at the points marked by lights on the punch machine.
About a dozen enemies were generated at once. Eunjeong dodged the kicks and punches coming at her, then grabbed one machine around the waist and lifted it. Then she powered through. Five machines flew and crashed into the wall at once.
Bang!
Shooting began. Eunjeong quickly performed a breakfall to dodge to the side, then ran toward the gun barrel protruding from the wall. After dodging two bullets, Eunjeong bent the gun barrel upward, then pulled out the gun barrel and threw it.
The gun that was firing from the opposite wall was hit by the gun barrel Eunjeong threw, making an explosion sound and breaking. Two guns became lumps of scrap metal.
Ding!
The mission clear message appeared. The training area brightened as the lighting changed.
Eunjeong was walking toward the corner to drink water when she noticed Jihwan standing like a ghost and almost struck his vital point. Her hand extended quickly but was withdrawn just as fast. Eunjeong clutched her heart for a moment.
“Ah, shit! You scared me! What the hell are you doing…?”
Jihwan was staring at Eunjeong with wide eyes. More precisely, he was examining Eunjeong’s hands.
Is he scared because he was too startled? Eunjeong waved her hand in front of Jihwan’s face.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes. …But, Sunbae.”
“Yeah?”
“How do you move so fast?”
“What?”
Eunjeong picked up a water bottle and gulped down water. Working out seemed to clear her mind a little.
“Fighting so many people like that.”
Jihwan’s eyes sparkled strangely as he looked at her.
Eunjeong took a step back from Jihwan. Does this guy hold no grudges?
Eunjeong still felt a bit uncomfortable with Jihwan since their argument during the interception incident. Although she felt sorry for losing her temper, she didn’t like Jihwan. Ever since Jihwan had been paired with Minjae, Minjae’s safety had been continuously threatened.
Woo Minjae was a pushover even though he pretended not to be. Maybe because he was a rookie, it also annoyed her that Minjae seemed secretly weak to Jihwan’s whining.
“Just… You’ll get there with practice.”
Stop bothering me. Eunjeong muttered through gritted teeth. She was already busy with many troubling issues lately, plus she had instructions from Minjae.
That lazy bastard, is he even going to bring back anything useful? Eunjeong was slightly anxious as she hadn’t heard from Taehyun.
They grew up with Seoyeon, so how can they be so different? How can someone grow up so wrong on their own? As Eunjeong was lost in thought, Jihwan took a step closer to her.
“Sunbae, please teach me combat skills.”
“…What?”
“How to fight. Like what you just did.”
Eunjeong looked at Jihwan. Though they weren’t that close, Jihwan’s face looked a bit different from what Eunjeong had seen so far.
It doesn’t seem like just enthusiasm. He looks kind of angry. Eunjeong set down her water bottle and probed Jihwan.
“…Are you angry at someone? Who is it?”
“…A little.”
Jihwan didn’t hide that he was angry, but he didn’t reveal who the target of that anger was. Eunjeong’s head tilted.
“Fighting or dueling within the Center is prohibited.”
“What? No, it’s not like that.”
Jihwan opened his eyes wide and shook his head.
“…Have you ever been in a fight?”
“…Not really.”
Eunjeong quickly placed the edge of her hand under Jihwan’s chin and lightly struck his throat. Gack. Jihwan made a small coughing sound.
“If I hit hard where I just hit you, it could damage your vocal cords. If you get hit wrong, it could even make it difficult to speak.”
“Then… why…”
Jihwan seemed to be asking why she had hit his throat. He looked quite wronged.
“Striking something alive means that. It’s not like hitting a machine.”
“……”
“Do you still want to learn?”
Jihwan lowered his eyes. I thought so. Since he was always going on about being a hero, I figured he would decline if I put it this way. Eunjeong pulled her hand back.
“Yes. Please teach me.”
Jihwan said with quite a solemn face.
Would you look at that? Eunjeong found Jihwan’s changed attitude strange. If that was the case, she needed to keep an eye on him. Eunjeong nodded.
“Okay then.”
“And please don’t let Minjae Sunbae know. About me learning combat skills from you.”
Eunjeong thought she should consult with Minjae about this rookie’s strange behavior. But to Jihwan, she showed a nod.
Thank you. With a brightened face as if all his wishes had been granted, Jihwan bowed gratefully.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
