Is he out of his mind?
What kind of question is that? What’s he trying to get at?
Even though I was thrown off, my mouth answered on its own.
“…Well, yeah. You’re better looking.”
Am I an idiot?
Why the hell did I just answer that so honestly?
The back of my neck grew hot.
“Hey, you—”
I was about to scold him, ask why he’d throw out a question that flustering out of nowhere…
But then.
“Thanks.”
Je-ha’s ocean-blue eyes, sharp and delicately shaped like they were carved by hand, softened into a smile.
“I’m really happy to hear you say that.”
Turns out I was the idiot.
I stared at him, stunned.
Sometimes, Je-ha would smile in that bright, radiant way just for me. But this time—it was different.
It was the warmest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen from him.
Even the faint blush coloring his cheeks seemed like the perfect final touch, like it was painted on just to complete the picture.
I found myself silently admiring him, completely dazed, before snapping out of it and stammering,
“Uh… yeah… I mean, if it makes you happy, then… sure.”
What the hell does that even mean?
I was acting like a total fool…
But I couldn’t even be annoyed with myself anymore.
Not when Je-ha looked so genuinely happy. I didn’t understand why that question had meant so much to him, but…
Whatever. If it makes Je-ha happy, that’s what matters.
And honestly, he was way better-looking than any of the suspects on that list. That was just a fact.
Seeing him grinning like that made me chuckle too, in spite of myself.
“You really like being told you’re handsome that much?”
Je-ha didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah.”
“That’s kinda unexpected….”
“Only if it’s coming from you.”
A beat of silence fell.
And then the heat shot up from the back of my neck straight to the top of my head, like I was boiling over.
Even I, as dense as I could be, knew that wasn’t something you just said between friends.
Je-ha—my most reliable comrade, my closest friend.
Just moments ago, he’d been the most comfortable person in the world. Now, in the blink of an eye, he’d become the most uncomfortable.
What am I supposed to say?
My mind went blank.
Sure, it’s common knowledge that Espers and Guides often end up as couples because of how close their bond has to be.
But… Je-ha never once gave even the slightest hint, not even when I was still Ahn Ga-hyun.
And yet… there was no mistaking the feeling I’d just gotten.
Even in the dark, just looking into Je-ha’s bright, intense eyes was enough to know this wasn’t a joke.
Time felt like it was slowing down.
I knew I needed to say something—but I couldn’t.
It was Je-ha who broke the unbearable tension, as if nothing had happened, switching the conversation back to what we’d originally been discussing.
“The reason we were able to narrow it down to three candidates for X—it’s all thanks to you, Ga-hyun.”
“O-Oh, really?”
“Yeah. The Baekho Unit’s been trying to uncover X’s identity for years, but… our progress didn’t amount to much, considering the time we poured into it.”
Twenty years. That’s not a short span.
Je-ha and his comrades had burned through every one of those years, chasing a single goal: to catch the real killer.
“It was hard. Being branded a deserter made me a ghost, legally and socially. Sure, I could use my ability to erase memories, but even then, digging up information about X was like crawling through a field of thorns. Every lead came with risk. There were limits to the data we could even access.”
His eyes reflected the weight of the past.
“Some of our people… didn’t make it.”
“…Ah.”
I couldn’t begin to imagine it.
The grief he must’ve carried. All those years—just to finally get this close. And the pain of holding on to the memories of those who’d fallen along the way.
Je-ha wore a faint smile, fragile like ashes after a long-burning fire. He looked at me quietly.
“Me, Na-ro, and the rest of the Baekho Unit—we’re all grateful to you. Thanks to the database you copied from the Bureau, we were finally able to complete the last piece of the puzzle.”
“Isn’t that giving me too much credit? I mean, there are still three suspects, right?”
“No. There are only three.”
His gaze narrowed, sharp and deadly like a beast eyeing prey.
“Just three. That’s it. Every one of them fits X’s profile perfectly. And if we watch them long enough, one of them will crack. They will show their true face.”
“Because by now, X must be desperate to kill you. And the Baekho Unit.”
…And probably me too.
So I told Je-ha about my encounter at the Bureau—the one where I came face-to-face with someone I suspected might be X.
“…If one of these guys is the real X, I figure he’ll come looking for me.”
As I spoke, Je-ha’s face turned cold and hard as concrete.
“That’s too dangerous. You’re saying you’re willing to use yourself as bait again?”
“It’s fine. I’ll be busy with the comeback anyway, and even after that, I’ll constantly be surrounded by people. It’s not like I’ll ever be alone.”
Je-ha’s frown deepened.
I understood why. If X could sneak into the inner levels of the Bureau, there’s no reason he couldn’t show up in a crowd.
“If something happens to you again—if I lose you—”
“You won’t. I’m not gonna throw away this second chance I’ve been given just to bait him.”
There’s one crucial fact that X still didn’t know.
That I was Ahn Ga-hyun.
That I was the one who helped Je-ha and the Baekho Unit get this close to his true identity.
If the man I met at the Bureau was X, and if he had even half a brain, he had to be suspicious by now.
Why was “Yeon Yu-jin” wandering around the high-security archives of the Bureau—especially in the database vault?
Even with permission, it would’ve pissed him off.
Unlike the Baekho Unit, X moved openly in the world. He had everything to lose.
I looked over the photos Je-ha had handed me. Every suspect was from a well-off background. Despite twenty years having passed, they were all listed as being in their late twenties—which meant their identities were entirely fabricated.
X had stolen others’ powers and lived as an A-rank Esper for two decades under a fake name.
By now, he had to be sweating bullets.
“X will come for one of us. You or me.”
More likely, me—since I’m the “easy” target. A measly C-rank Guide. But X couldn’t afford to underestimate me.
He knew the stakes. He had to be furious, terrified his cover had been blown.
He only had two choices left: Get caught by us. Or kill us first.
I pointed to the suspects in the photos and whispered to Je-ha, voice low and grim.
“We don’t even have to go looking for him. If he’s really X, he’ll come to us. Just us lurking near the candidates will be enough to make the real one panic.”
The fact that he’d been bold enough to breach the Bureau’s inner layers told me everything I needed to know—X was getting reckless.
Twenty years of careful hiding, and now he was slipping up. Acting like he was untouchable. Like we didn’t stand a chance.
But I wanted him to suffer for thinking that. I wanted him to live in constant fear and tension—just like Je-ha had, all those years he’d spent chasing him.
Je-ha sighed deeply, then nodded.
“Alright. We’ll do it your way.”
“You’re agreeing faster than I thought.”
“But on one condition.”
“What is it?”
“Pick a bodyguard. Me, or someone from the Baekho Unit. I need to know you’re safe, or my heart’s gonna explode.”
Above my head, Potato let out a high-pitched squeal.
[Wooow~]
I wished I could throw him into a pot and boil him into mashed potatoes.
***
I really couldn’t say no, huh.
In the end, Je-ha’s one non-negotiable condition was having someone from the Baekho Unit serve as my bodyguard.
I tried telling him that the members of Secreti were all A-rank natural-type Espers, so I’d be fine. But Je-ha was firm.
He wasn’t budging on this.
Well, considering the Bureau had someone infiltrate as my manager, I guess Je-ha can pull some strings to sneak in one of his own too.
So I left the details to him. But what greeted me when I got back wasn’t a dark, quiet dorm.
It was the entire group of members sitting under the bright lights, waiting.
A wave of dread swept over me.
“…Why are you all still up? You’ve gotta be exhausted.”
Ra Ho-yeon looked at me, expression dark.
“As if we could sleep.”
“…Why?”
“Because we’re worried. You keep sneaking out at night.”
“……”
I turned my head to Seo Yoon-chae.
He avoided my gaze, pretending not to notice.
“…Didn’t you say you weren’t gonna doubt me anymore?”
