The corners of my lips curled into a smirk.
“That’s more than enough.”
It finally felt like I could breathe again.
I gathered all the members of Secreti and laid everything out about myself—about Ahn Ga-hyun.
What had happened in my past life. How I died. And how, after waking up again, I started moving with revenge in mind, targeting the ones who killed me.
The story stretched on until dawn. The living room light cut through the darkness the entire time.
It should’ve made them sleepy, but not one of them left for their room. They stayed, listening to the end.
I tried to leave out anything about Je-ha, thinking they’d be in danger if they knew too much… but the story didn’t make sense without him. In the end, most of it came out.
By the time I’d finished, the members’ faces were all clouded with confusion.
Seo Yoon-chae messed up his hair and locked eyes with me.
“So you’re really that Guide who died on the frontlines twenty years ago?”
“I am.”
“But in school and textbooks, it always said ability users voluntarily joined the frontlines to handle dungeons…”
“All lies. Can you name a single ability user who actually came back home in one piece from that war?”
Seo Yoon-chae stammered at my question.
“W-Well… now that you mention it… There were reports of a few surviving ability user soldiers, but the only thing we ever heard after was that they were hospitalized, suffering from mental and physical trauma.”
Exactly. Even if there were survivors, their bodies must’ve been ruined—or their minds.
“They’ll probably never leave those hospitals. Even if they do recover, the government will have the Bureau of Awakened Ability Users watching their every move.”
Ra Ho-yeon frowned at my bitter tone.
“Even so, isn’t that a bit much? They were national heroes, weren’t they?”
“If being a national hero meant decent treatment, my former partner, Hyun Je-ha, wouldn’t have had to spend twenty years on the run.”
“……”
“The government isn’t clean. Neither is the Bureau. Don’t bother expecting anything from people who cover up the truth.”
Even now, they’re using the Bureau to hunt down Je-ha and the rest of the Baekho Unit.
“And on top of that… they’re acting like they want to protect the monster who killed me and stole others’ powers.”
I didn’t hold back about Je-ha, and I sure as hell didn’t when it came to the one called X.
Ra Ho-yeon’s face darkened.
“…So that’s what caused Hunter Jin Eutteum’s death?”
“Yeah. X was involved in that. And the incident at the ability testing center? Same bastard.”
Every Secreti member visibly stiffened, the fine hairs on their skin standing up.
“…We could’ve died,” Shin Tae-boem murmured.
I answered flatly, “If I hadn’t masked my stats, X might’ve picked me out and left you all to die—blaming it on a simulator malfunction or whatever excuse was convenient.”
“……!”
Their faces turned grim, but I kept talking.
“The unique ability I have—Resurrection—it’s probably the only thing X doesn’t have.”
“Resurrection? You have Resurrection?” Cha Si-yoon asked.
“Yeah. I thought it was just self-healing at first. But the higher-ups lied.”
“That’s…”
“Thanks to that ability, I did manage to come back to life. But my original body was too far gone. That’s why I ended up possessing Yeon Yu-jin’s body like this.”
I gestured to myself, giving a half-shrug. The wariness in their gazes softened a bit into something more like pity.
Cha Si-yoon murmured sympathetically, “You must’ve been through a lot… Yu-jin—no, Ahn Ga-hyun.”
“I’d rather you not look at me like that. Sure, I went through some real shit and died a miserable death. But since I came back, I fully intend to return the favor—with interest.”
[Damn right!]
Potato raised both his tiny arms above my head, ablaze with vengeance.
Ra Ho-yeon rubbed his face with both hands, sighing.
“…So, what’s the plan?”
“You heard it already. I’ve been working with Hyun Je-ha, leader of the Baekho Unit. We infiltrated the Bureau and copied their entire national database of ability users.”
Seo Yoon-chae shouted, “Wait—so that deal with the staffer… that was all planned from the start?!”
“I made good use of it. Though I didn’t expect X to be there stealing info at the same time.”
“Haa… So? Did you figure out who the culprit is?”
“I’m close. But not quite.”
“Not quite?”
“Using the data Baekho Unit gathered over the years and the Bureau’s records, we narrowed it down to three possible suspects.”
But the actual identity of the real one among those three—still unknown.
“Three? Then it shouldn’t take long to figure it out, right?”
“Wish it were that easy. This guy’s a freak who steals others’ abilities and uses them as if they were his own. And Je-ha and I already confirmed he’s got skills like brainwashing and disguise. Perfect for hiding his identity. He could be living under an entirely fake persona right now.”
“…So we’re dealing with someone really hard to catch.”
“Exactly.”
We couldn’t just recklessly go after the suspects. If X realized we were closing in, he might blow his cover and do something that could cripple the whole city.
“Remember what happened with Jin Eutteum? X might actually have the power to trigger dungeon breaks.”
“Wait—people can do that?”
“I didn’t believe it either, but I’m almost certain now.”
Shin Tae-boem, who’d been quietly listening, grabbed my shoulder.
“Then what do we do? How do we catch him?”
“…What’s this? You offering to help?”
I said it a little bitterly, and Shin Tae-boem looked a bit hurt.
“You’re the one who said you still think of us as your partners in this life.”
Well, yeah. Even if they were rookie partners, I did say that.
I kept my mouth shut, thinking he might get pissed if I brought that up.
When I stayed silent, Shin Tae-boem sighed and made his stance clear.
“The real Yeon Yu-jin is gone forever… but the rest of us—we’re not blameless in what happened to him.”
“…So?”
Shin Tae-boem quietly knelt before me.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“There’s nothing we can do for the dead. But his body still remains. Let us help you with your revenge—as penance for what happened to him.”
“…What?”
I was about to tell him to cut the crap, but then, one by one, the other members knelt beside him, asking me for permission.
“We want to help.”
“Please let us fight with you.”
“You might not be the real Yu-jin, but… I want to take responsibility. I want to believe it’s not just coincidence that you ended up in Yu-jin’s body.”
“……”
Now that I’d spilled everything, they couldn’t exactly walk away from this without consequences. The government and the Bureau would never leave them alone.
God, what’s Je-ha gonna say when I tell him? I can already hear him chewing me out—
“Why the hell did you drag a bunch of green twenty-somethings into this mess?!”
But their eyes were unwavering—resolute.
As leader, Ra Ho-yeon spoke on behalf of the group.
“We’re practically civilians, sure. But we’re still A-rank Espers. And more importantly, we’re people the government and the Bureau would never suspect.”
“……”
“So please—let us be part of your plan. If this is what the current Yeon Yu-jin is doing, then we want in.”
It was ridiculous.
I wasn’t even the real Yu-jin. Yet instead of calling me a fraud, they wanted to stand beside me.
I should’ve said no. But instead, my mouth said…
“Chasing after X could get you killed. You sure you’re okay with that?”
“The old ability users faced the same thing, didn’t they? In the end, they’re the ones who gave us the peace we have now. It’s only right that we step up, too.”
Shin Tae-boem added in a small voice:
“…To make up for the pain we caused Yu-jin.”
Potato clicked his tongue.
[Doesn’t look like there’s any stopping them.]
“…Yeah.”
At this point, I needed to let Je-ha know we had some new recruits.
I sent him a message immediately.
“Don’t regret this. Once you’re in, there’s no getting out.”
***
And then, just like that, the day of the comeback showcase arrived.
