“Since we have to communicate at a level kids can understand, we prepared mascot suits. Don’t worry—both of you are from the Center, so it’ll be fine.”
Ho-eun waved the rabbit’s front paw, opened and closed his hand, and played around cutely.
“Goddamn it.”
Do In-ho, watching the screen, leaked blue flames from his body in frustration that he couldn’t witness it in person.
The three entered the counseling room guided by the teacher. Sunlight streamed through the windows, filling the room with a warm atmosphere.
Once they confirmed the table stocked with snacks kids loved, the teacher left, saying they would bring the student.
Since three students were scheduled to come in at once, they divided the table into three sections and rearranged the seats with enough space in between so they wouldn’t overhear each other. Just as they finished setting up, the door opened, and three third-grade students entered the room.
“Okay, let’s all take a seat in order.”
At Kang Him-chan’s words, the children each sat down. Ho-eun waved at Han Yeo-ul, the girl who sat across from him.
“Aren’t you hot in there?”
Han Yeo-ul spoke as if she knew there was someone inside the mascot suit. Ho-eun nodded exaggeratedly so she could see the movement.
“Hi, Yeo-ul. Can you guess who I am?”
“How would I know that? I can’t see your face.”
A remarkably sharp answer for a ten-year-old.
Ho-eun felt his hand, resting under his chin, slip awkwardly inside the headgear, but he pushed on with the character concept.
“I’m a rabbit who wants to be friends with you, Yeo-ul.”
“Mister. Didn’t you learn that you’re supposed to introduce yourself properly when meeting someone?”
With an aloof expression and arms crossed over her little chest, Han Yeo-ul stared him down. Inside the costume, Ho-eun let out a low groan. He couldn’t tell whether it was the lack of air or the cheeky girl that was making him sweat.
“My name is Carrot.”
Yeo-ul probably wouldn’t know his real name anyway, so Ho-eun gave her a pseudonym.
“You must really like carrots?”
“Yep! Because I’m a rabbit.”
The interrogation from little detective Han Yeo-ul seemed to be over.
Her obsidian-black eyes stared at the mascot suit for a while, then—apparently bored—she pulled a notebook out of her pocket.
“What’s that?”
“English vocab.”
“Wow, Yeo-ul, you know English? That’s amazing!”
Raising her head slightly, Yeo-ul shyly held out the notebook she’d been looking at. Her plump cheeks, round like cherry tomatoes, looked irresistibly soft.
Ho-eun raised both arms in awe as he looked at the English notebook.
“You’re memorizing words this hard?”
Ho-eun’s exaggerated gestures were partly a tactic to lower her guard by showering her with praise, but truthfully, the words she was studying weren’t at an elementary level at all.
Careless.
A third grader memorizing the word careless?
Returning the notebook, Ho-eun mimicked the gentlest voice he could manage.
“Do you like studying, Yeo-ul?”
“Nope.”
“Huh? But you’re memorizing English words right now.”
“Because I don’t want to waste time.”
Just when he thought he’d broken through the wall, it turned out to be concrete. No matter how hard Ho-eun pounded, it wouldn’t crack.
“Then what do you like, if not studying?”
Her plump lips sealed into a line. Eyes darting in thought, Han Yeo-ul remained silent for a long while, unable to answer.
“I like carrots! And carrot cake! And carrot juice too!”
Ho-eun wiggled the rabbit feet as he listed his favorites.
“That’s all carrot stuff.”
Yeo-ul replied in a grumbling tone. Ho-eun nodded.
“Because I’m a rabbit, I like carrots. What people like varies—it could be food, or even a person. Don’t you have something like that too, Yeo-ul?”
Thinking he’d explained it in simple terms, Ho-eun waited, but Yeo-ul still looked confused.
She looked like someone facing their very first unanswerable question.
“For example, something that makes your heart feel warm and fuzzy. Do you get that kind of feeling when you’re with your parents?”
Listening quietly, Han Yeo-ul blinked her thick lashes several times.
“Money. When we have money, the house feels warm.”
“Money?”
“The more money Mom and Dad have, the more they smile at me.”
Ho-eun was glad he had the mascot head on. Otherwise, the child would’ve seen his face freeze.
“There’s no adult who doesn’t like money, right?”
“So you’re studying so you can make a lot of money? Carrot’s really curious!”
Pressed close to the edge of her seat, Han Yeo-ul looked at him with expectant eyes, and Ho-eun knew he had to keep up the act so she wouldn’t think it was a counseling session.
He pressed his fists to his cheeks and shook his upper body enthusiastically.
Yeo-ul gave an involuntary smile and spoke again.
“You have to be good at both studying and sports for your value to go up.”
Do kids even say things like value going up? The more they talked, the more curious Ho-eun became about Yeo-ul’s parents.
“Is your dream to make lots of money, Yeo-ul?”
Yeo-ul shook her head.
“Then what do you want to be?”
She fell into thought again. Ho-eun waited patiently. But the silence dragged on, and her expression darkened.
“To have somewhere to go back to……”
She muttered softly, looking far too lonely for a ten-year-old. Ho-eun quickly tried to steer the conversation away.
“Yeo-ul, if you guess this right, I’ll give you a prize! Just pick a number between one and nine.”
He gently patted her head and pulled out a card he had prepared.
Yeo-ul blinked her big eyes, looking at Ho-eun instead of the flipped card.
“What’s the prize?”
“It’s no fun if I tell you in advance!”
At Ho-eun’s playful response, Yeo-ul looked at the card on the table with curiosity.
If she could really see the future, she should guess it right. Her lips puckered into a small O.
“……Seven.”
“Okay, let’s see, let’s see.”
Ho-eun flipped the card—five heart symbols.
A moment of silence passed between them. Regaining his senses, Ho-eun brought out the hidden prize.
“Wrong! But since you played with Carrot today, I’ll give you the gift anyway!”
“……”
Yeo-ul accepted the box Ho-eun offered.
The counseling session was nearing its end. From the sounds coming from Paul and Kang Him-chan’s side, it seemed they were wrapping up too.
When the kids stood to return to their classroom, Ho-eun crouched down to meet Yeo-ul’s gaze.
“Yeo-ul, how was it talking today?”
“Not bad.”
“Haha, not bad, huh?”
Ho-eun opened his arms.
“Can I give you a hug?”
Yeo-ul hesitated, then set her gift box on the floor and slowly approached. Ho-eun embraced her gently.
“Let’s see each other again, Yeo-ul.”
Pressing her head to his chest, Yeo-ul—contrary to his expectations—nodded quietly, if slightly.
The assigned teacher arrived right on time and guided the kids away.
As she walked out the open door, Yeo-ul turned back and looked at Ho-eun.
After sending the children off and cleaning up, the three returned to the situation room. Paul and Kang Him-chan had only heard bits and pieces of what happened and asked for details.
“We didn’t find any signs of physical abuse, but……”
Remembering his conversation with Yeo-ul, Ho-eun pulled a recorder from his pocket.
“There were several things that felt off during the conversation. Like how she said her parents love money… I think it’s best if we all listen to it.”
“What about the card test?”
When they first entered the room, Kang Him-chan had spotted the playing cards.
He was convinced it wasn’t precognition and wanted to prove it.
The guess-the-number game had been his idea, and Ho-eun had gone along with it.
“The card was five, but Yeo-ul guessed seven.”
“See! Told you! Han Yeo-ul’s not an Esper!”
While the two were discussing, Do In-ho pulled his laptop over and played back the video recording.
“Or maybe… Han Yeo-ul did know it was five.”
At his words, the others turned to the screen.
Yeo-ul’s mouth formed shapes that looked like she was about to say five, six, or nine.
Just before speaking, she paused and changed her mouth shape to say seven.
“If you think she meant five, her mouth does look like it.”
“Or maybe she was about to say any number and just landed on seven. Looks like coincidence to me.”
Paul and Kang Him-chan each gave their take.
“Whether it was five or seven…”
Do In-ho looked at Ho-eun’s clear, open face. He could already predict what the man was about to say.
“I’d like to keep watching over Han Yeo-ul. Even if she’s not an Esper suspect, I think she still needs help from adults.”
“Once the observation period ends, we’ll refer her to a different agency.”
“…Sorry?”
At Paul’s firm response, Ho-eun asked again.
“That’s not really our concern, is it?”
“But what if something happens before that…”
“Hah.”
Paul let out a low laugh. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.
“Mr. Ho-eun. Your mission is to monitor the Special Subjects and catch anti-government Espers. That’s it.”
Kang Him-chan nodded, agreeing with Paul.
“Don’t you think what you’re trying to do might cause trouble for the team?”
Ho-eun felt his lips drying.
He hadn’t anticipated this reaction.
He genuinely believed they’d all agree with him—
After all, if a child was being abused, wasn’t it only right for adults to step in and help?
But maybe that only applied to regular people.
They were Espers and Guides.
“Even if you don’t intervene directly, we’re observing her anyway during this period. I’m saying there’s no need to go beyond that.”
Paul’s stance made sense. HR was a busy department.
They couldn’t get personally involved every time something like this came up.
And if an Esper suspect caught on to their identity, they had no choice but to let things slide.
“Agreed. Once the period ends, we’ll assign someone from our side.”
With even Kang Him-chan siding with Paul, Ho-eun said nothing more.
Silence meant agreement.
While Paul and Kang Him-chan patted him on the shoulder, Do In-ho struggled to suppress a smirk.
Those two didn’t know anything.
Only he had caught on to Ho-eun’s thoughts.
He hadn’t stayed silent out of agreement—he’d kept it hidden.
Even now, his eyes were still gleaming.
That was not the look of someone who had given up.
“…Heh.”
The fact that he alone had realized this delighted Do In-ho to no end.
