At my wary remark, all the members of Secreti shook their heads.
As if trying to reassure me, their faces were full of hurt and injustice.
“It’s not suspicion. I’m saying this because I’m worried—as a teammate. The whole Jin Eutteum incident, and now there’s some criminal stirring up the Bureau… We couldn’t help but worry about you disappearing late at night like that.”
At Ra Ho-yeon’s words, Seo Yoon-chae clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
“We’re… on the same team. And we’re Esper and Guide partners too.”
“……”
Partners, huh.
If I said that hearing that word made Je-ha’s smiling face flash through my mind, these guys would definitely be hurt. Because I didn’t recognize the Secreti members as true partners.
Seo Yoon-chae, unaware of that, had turned red-faced, on the verge of tears.
“You can’t even tell us that?”
So we meant nothing to you at all?
The misery in Seo Yoon-chae’s twisted expression was unmistakable.
And the other members didn’t look much different.
They barely kept it together, but the Espers’ unrest radiated like tiny needles piercing my chest.
Cha Si-yoon looked straight into my eyes and pleaded.
“Hyung… I want the truth.”
“…What truth?”
“Just what it sounds like. Where do you keep sneaking off to at night when the rest of us are asleep? Even when you don’t leave the dorm… you’ve been having secret conversations with someone while holed up in your room.”
“I thought everyone was passed out. Even you were awake and eavesdropping?”
I figured they’d all crash hard after practice. Even me, Ahn Ga-hyun, got fooled.
As I grumbled, a little stunned, Cha Si-yoon frowned.
“Don’t deflect. The person you meet outside at night—is it the same guy?”
Of all people, the usually reserved youngest member was pressing hard. There was no way to dodge this.
“…Yeah.”
Screw it.
Hiding any more would only look more suspicious.
If the Secreti members found out about Je-ha and the Baekho Unit, things could get ugly. But this was about trust—about the integrity of the team. I couldn’t step back.
They were trusting me now, trying not to let doubt ruin the bonds between us. It was different from how they’d treated Yeon Yu-jin before.
If they had changed, then I had to respond in kind. So I gave them an honest answer. And just like that, everyone but me went stiff.
Shin Tae-beom growled at me.
“Who the hell is that guy?”
He was clearly trying to rein in his hostility, but his sharp glare said it all—he wasn’t going to react kindly to Je-ha.
“Uh… well…”
Right. How the hell was I supposed to explain Je-ha?
Where do I even begin?
I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Yeah, he’s the leader of an anti-government faction that the Bureau is desperately hunting down.’
As I hesitated, Cha Si-yoon narrowed his eyes.
“…No way.”
No way what?
“You’re not saying… that guy is involved in all of it? The Ability Measurement Lab, the Jin Eutteum incident, the break-in at the Bureau…”
“…Involved?”
My mouth went dry.
Have these kids been eavesdropping outside my door all along, wide awake every night?
Of course not… but still, had they already figured out who Je-ha really was?
I was panicking on the inside when…
“You’re not saying he’s the culprit, are you?”
“…Huh?”
“If that guy’s been forcing you to meet up, then you need to go to the police. No, to the Bureau. This is dangerous, you can’t—”
“Hey! It’s not like that!”
Hyun Je-ha? The culprit?
What kind of absolute nonsense—like hell I’d let that slide.
As I glared, dead serious, Cha Si-yoon immediately backed off.
“…So, he’s not?”
“I swear on my life—absolutely not.”
I gritted my teeth and growled it out. The others seemed convinced, nodding slowly, instinctively taking a step back, probably startled by the intensity in my voice.
It was so absurd—Je-ha, a criminal? I burst out, unable to stop myself. It was just too damn ridiculous.
“The culprit? Don’t make me laugh. The guy you’re accusing is the one helping me track the actual criminal.”
Ra Ho-yeon’s eyes went wide.
“…Wait. So you did find the real culprit?”
That’s when I should’ve shut my damn mouth. But my tongue just kept going.
“Not quite yet. But I’m close. Just a little more and I’ll expose that bastard’s face.”
One step closer to revenge. Even I could hear the thrill in my own voice.
“……”
I didn’t notice how rigid their expressions had gotten.
In the heavy silence, Shin Tae-beom finally spoke.
“…Who are you?”
“What? What do you mean, who am I? I’m Yeon Yu-jin—”
“Even if Yeon Yu-jin lost his memory, he wouldn’t just casually hang around someone capable of tracking down a criminal the Bureau still can’t catch.”
Silence fell. No one scolded Shin Tae-beom for being crazy. Instead, they began listing everything that hadn’t made sense.
“Come to think of it… why was Yeon Yu-jin the only one attacked at the Ability Measurement Lab?”
“His powers suddenly skyrocketed, too. We’d been wondering if he was faking it to fool the Bureau.”
“And he asked the Bureau for access to the ability users’ database—so that was all to track the culprit?”
Questions poured out like a storm.
The excitement faded, replaced by a heavy sense of dread.
“I…”
What could I say?
As I faltered, Shin Tae-beom narrowed his eyes, demanding an answer.
“Tell us. You, the one in Yeon Yu-jin’s body—who are you really?”
I let out a powerless laugh.
Guess this is it. I can’t keep pretending to be Yeon Yu-jin anymore.
***
Realizing I couldn’t hide the truth anymore, I confessed everything.
That the one inside Yeon Yu-jin’s body was actually Ahn Ga-hyun. That maybe it had something to do with my own abilities.
I even told them about Je-ha—decided if I was gonna expose myself, I’d go all the way.
They froze. Completely shell-shocked, pale as ghosts.
“No way…”
Cha Si-yoon clutched his mouth, trembling.
“Y-Yu-jin hyung… died?”
“Yeah. I’m using his body now, and I have no clue where his soul is. That’s pretty conclusive, don’t you think?”
“That can’t be… But Yu-jin hyung’s body is moving, talking… he’s right here in front of us…”
“I told you. I’m Ahn Ga-hyun. I don’t know how I ended up in this body, but it’s the truth. The real Yeon Yu-jin is already gone.”
“Yu-jin hyung…”
Cha Si-yoon’s eyes welled with tears.
The others weren’t much better.
Ra Ho-yeon covered his face with both hands, speechless. Seo Yoon-chae leaned his head against the wall, staring blankly into space.
Shin Tae-beom leaned over the table, his face twisted, eyes bloodshot, barely holding back tears.
He gripped the table and forced the words out.
“…You’re lying, right?”
“No.”
“Liar. Tell me it’s a lie. I can’t believe this. You’re saying you’re not the Yeon Yu-jin we knew? That everything changed after he woke up? But… we were just happy that he seemed better… This can’t be happening.”
Shin Tae-beom finally broke down.
The truth hit hard, and on top of that, he was furious with himself for not realizing sooner—as someone who’d been closest to Yeon Yu-jin, even if they always butted heads.
But I had to be cruel.
“I meant what I said. Every word.”
Yeon Yu-jin was dead. The one moving his empty shell now was me. And I’d catch the bastard who killed me—with my own two hands.
Ra Ho-yeon, looking haggard, stood up and wiped his face. His eyes were red and raw.
“…Give us some time to think.”
“…Sure.”
It was late into the night.
Maybe things would feel different after some sleep.
So we all went back to our rooms.
***
…Or so I thought.
When I woke up, my whole body was bound.
“You bastards ambushed me in my sleep?”
With powers, no less? They really tied me up with fucking magic chains?
As I gritted my teeth, struggling against the ice-cold restraints, Cha Si-yoon apologized.
“Sorry, Yu-jin—no, I guess I should call you Ahn Ga-hyun.”
“You gonna untie me?”
I glared daggers, but Cha Si-yoon didn’t even flinch.
“We’ll let you go after we confirm a few things.”
“What things?”
Suddenly, I was terrified.
Shit. Are they gonna rat me and Je-ha out to the Bureau?
Goddamn it—I knew I shouldn’t have told the truth.
I thrashed with everything I had. That’s when Potato chimed in.
[Tsk, tsk.]
Don’t just watch—help me out somehow!
[What do you expect me to do? My power only works within the domain of Resurrection.]
You little—!
As I panicked, the members stepped closer.
Is this the end?
And just as fear started to fully settle in…
Ra Ho-yeon asked me:
“When we joined the Secreti debut lineup… remember what we said to Yeon Yu-jin back then?”
