Chapter 124 - Caught You (3)

* * *

"... Ha."

The director gave a hollow laugh. What the hell was this nonsense?

"Experiments...? You're saying those exist?"

"Yes."

Hyeonyul answered without hesitation.

Information about test subjects and the like had never been made public. The Empire had never officially mentioned any facts concerning them. Supposedly, this was out of concern that it could fuel social unrest and increase crime.

Strip that long-winded explanation down to its essence, however, and it also meant the Empire was not ready to take responsibility for its failures, or for failing to prevent what had happened.

"... Ah, is this something I'm not allowed to discuss?"

Hyeonyul glanced at Nayun. If he wasn't allowed to say it, wouldn't she have stopped him?

"Yes. It's classified."

Nayun smiled brightly, and Hyeonyul blinked. Why hadn't she stopped him?

"We're on a mission. It was necessary to get to the heart of the case, and above all, I knew I could handle the aftermath."

One signed agreement. That would be enough.

A look through video-sharing platforms would turn up material on the subject, presented as a mystery. Most of it was wrong, but it had quietly spread in the form of conspiracy theories.

The Empire knew about it, yet made no particular effort to stop it. Apparently, that was precisely the level it wanted to keep it at.

"Anyway, you heard that, didn't you? This is confidential. You'll need to sign a nondisclosure agreement later."

Nayun delivered the warning with a look that was almost a glare at the director.

"How could anyone..."

Yujeong broke off, her face immediately contorting. Confidentiality was the last thing on her mind now; her head burned with anger. If that was true, then what the Black Eagle had just said was true as well.

"How could anyone... do something like that? How could you do that to those children, Director?"

It was revolting. She even doubted whether they were the same kind of human being.

Under Yujeong's gaze, the director shook her head.

"It's all lies. You believe that?"

"What reason would we have to lie here? Do I need to show you evidence from a case before you'll believe it?"

Hyeonyul took out his phone. As he went from one experimentation site to another, he had ended up recording all sorts of things without intending to.

"I'll do it."

Nayun stopped Hyeonyul and held her own phone out to the director first. She didn't want to make him dredge up unpleasant memories unnecessarily.

"This is footage from the case. Everyone else, don't look."

As Nayun spoke, the video began to play. The director's expression instantly froze, her face turning deathly pale.

"Every one of those things you think looks grotesque is a child."

The moment Nayun explained, the director shut her eyes.

"... Bleeugh."

Even so, the rising nausea made her retch where she stood. Tears streamed down her face.

"Why are you throwing up? There's worse than this. You were going to turn those children into this, so you should be smiling. You should be happy."

Nayun's anger was quiet.

"... No. That's a lie."

"You say they'll die if they become Black Eagles? Yes. The chances of dying are high. Of course they are. Our opponents are villains. We face villains who see people as something other than human beings, so our fatality rate is higher than in any other profession."

A Black Eagle had died just recently, too. Today—or tomorrow—there was no telling who might die next.

"You can't become a Black Eagle simply because you want to. You can't keep doing it simply because you want to. You have to endure devastation, every kind of horror, and pain. Your children were the ones who chose that."

"Lies... Stop lying! Don't say it! Shut your mouth! Stop spouting that bullshit...!"

The director stood, but Nayun held her gaze steadily.

"Because if we don't deal with a villain today, someone will die. Because if we don't bring a villain down today, there might be no tomorrow. If those children chose it despite knowing it was the hardest thing they could do, it must have been because of someone's love."

"You can't fool me! You... none of you can fool me! Everything I did was for the children!"

Flames flared around the director's body. They multiplied endlessly, threatening to swallow everything in the room.

Nayun caught the hem of Hyeonyul's clothes and shook her head. If anyone was going to deal with this, it ought to be her.

As Jihae and Yujeong screamed, a knock sounded.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Teacher! Teacher!"

At the child's voice, the director stopped using her power and turned her head.

"Director!"

The doorknob rattled, then slowly moved. The flames faded.

'... No.'

The director hurried to the desk and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

'No, no, no!'

The knob turned, and the door opened a crack. As a child's face appeared in the gap, the director moved toward it, only for Nayun to stand and catch her.

A heavy pressure pressed against her back, accompanied by a cold voice.

"That's a gun."

Then Nayun looked at Yujeong and jerked her head, urging her to go. Yujeong hesitantly approached the door.

"... What is it?"

Her voice trembled.

"Isn't the director here? I have to give her this."

The child held out a crumpled, folded piece of paper. Yujeong went up to the child and bent her knees with practiced ease.

"What might this be?"

"We folded hearts this morning, and our teacher said to give it to the person we wanted to give it to most. I'm going to give mine to the director."

The child hid both hands behind their back and squirmed shyly.

"Um, because last time, last time the director gave me candy. Strawberry candy. I like strawberry candy best. So I want to give her something pretty."

"Could I give it to her for you? The director is a little busy."

The child seemed to consider this briefly, then looked at Yujeong.

"You have to give it to her. Promise."

"I promise."

When Yujeong held out a finger, the child shyly offered the paper, then bowed and scampered away.

Yujeong instinctively smiled at that bashfulness, only to stop as reality came rushing back. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

'... How? How could she?'

Biting her lip hard, she stood. After closing the door, she went up to the director and slapped her across the face.

SMACK!

Her head knocked to one side, the director looked at Yujeong in surprise. Yujeong didn't care if the director ranted that she was crazy. As a kindergarten teacher, this was something she could not accept.

"Do you feel better now?"

Yujeong held out the paper the child had folded.

"Does using these children for your ideology make you feel better?!"

The director's gaze moved to the paper.

"It's hard. When they won't listen, when I have to keep saying the same thing, I get angry with them sometimes, too. ... But this isn't right. That child said they wanted to give you this paper they folded so beautifully!"

"... What are you talking about, Ms. Park Yujeong?"

The director's eyes rolled wildly as she beamed.

"If it comes to this, I can take matters into my own hands. Aren't they precious? You send them off while they're still that cute and lovable."

"... You're insane. You're insane. You really are insane!"

Yujeong instinctively backed away. How could this woman be in her right mind? The heart-shaped paper fell from her hand.

"Yes. She is indeed insane. I see signs that she could become a great villain if we don't stop her here."

Hyeonyul answered calmly, quietly binding the director's arms with a cable tie.

"We'll cut this off at the root, so please protect the children, Ms. Park Yujeong. Ah, I strongly recommend that you visit a hospital."

She had been confronted with an abnormal situation. It was exactly the sort of thing that could leave someone psychologically traumatized.

"I checked again just a little while ago. It's these two. No one else is involved."

With everything over, Hyeonyul belatedly reported to Nayun. This was something she wouldn't have believed without seeing it herself, so he thought now was the right time to tell her.

"Good work. I'll call the White Sparrows, so go outside and rest for a bit."

"Are you sure I don't need to keep watch?"

"Well, there's nothing much left, is there? I just have to call them. It's just that I have a few things I'd like to say."

Nayun smiled brightly, but there was something heavy about it.

"Understood."

Without asking anything further, Hyeonyul started to leave, then looked at Yujeong. She flinched under his gaze.

"This sudden question may surprise you, but why have you been praising Lee Serin lately? Could you answer that for me?"

"... Because she did well."

"Is that the only reason?"

"She's not in my class, but I often saw her being left out. Then I heard she'd recently learned to control her power a tiny bit, so whenever I saw her, I told her she'd done well. You can see how hard she's worked. ... Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. It was merely a personal question. Thank you for answering."

Hyeonyul bowed his head and went outside.

Simple kindness. Was it really just simple kindness?

Hyeonyul walked down the corridor, his suspicions still intact.

"... Oh! It's the Black Eagle mister!"

The words came like a surprise attack, freezing Hyeonyul in place. When he turned his head slightly, a mischievous-looking child was pointing a finger at him.

"It really is! It's the Black Eagle mister!"

At another child's voice, Hyeonyul reflexively ran. As he ran, the children joyfully ran after him, giggling.

"Catch the Black Eagle mister!"

"Get the Black Eagle mister!"

* * *

"... Mister."

"... Yes."

Surrounded by children, Hyeonyul answered hesitantly. All he'd done was run, and a whole crowd of children had flocked to him. Only now did he realize that running in front of children was like becoming the Pied Piper.

Hyeonyul clutched his knees while the children around him watched with eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Mister, can you, like, fly?"

"... I cannot. That is a privilege only some mages enjoy. It is why airplanes still exist."

"Then do you eat a whole lot?"

"I don't eat very well, but I understand that children should."

Hyeonyul stared at his knees. Who knew gazes filled with boundless expectation could be so uncomfortable?

"Do you ride an eagle too, mister?"

"Yes."

"Really? Is it really big?"

"It is. And... no. Please disregard what I just said."

He had been about to say it was an extremely uncomfortable ride, but thought that wasn't a remark suited to those eager eyes.

"Do villains really look mean?"

"Who told you that?"

Hyeonyul questioned this unreliable information. How did villains look mean?

"Another mister."

"Appearance is not important. Be careful of people who approach you with friendly faces. They are usually bad people."

The children looked shocked at his firm declaration.

"Adults are worn out from work. They don't have cheerful faces."

"Is that why you don't smile either, mister?"

"Yes. I am waiting to get off work. It is an adult's only refuge."

The thought of getting off work briefly gave Hyeonyul strength. Then he lowered his gaze and checked the time. When the White Sparrows arrived shortly, the mission would be over.

Since it had ended sooner than expected, he wondered whether he might have to do another mission.

Hyeonyul was mechanically answering the flood of questions when he felt someone watching him and turned his head. Serin was peeking at him from between the trees. Then, as if startled, she hurriedly ran off somewhere.

What was wrong?

"There is somewhere I need to go for a moment. Please excuse me."

Hyeonyul carefully stood. Since the children's eyes followed him, he smiled to reassure them.

"I'll be back soon."

* * *

SNIFF, SNIFF.

Along with the sound of crying, he could see flames rising gently. Hyeonyul watched Serin quietly, then asked,

"Why are you crying?"

Startled, Serin began to lift her head, but curled up again when she realized it was Hyeonyul.

"You were Serin's mister..."

"Your fire has come out."

At his warning, Serin glanced behind her, then began bawling loudly.

"Serin couldn't... control it again! Serin's a stupid idiot!"

She buried her face in her knees and cried miserably. Hyeonyul let out a long breath. He was quite tired.

"That is part of the process, too. You are doing well at controlling your power."

She sobbed and sobbed. But the crying didn't stop.

Praise wasn't working? Considerably shocked, Hyeonyul sat blankly beside her and looked at the sky.

It was still blue. He couldn't tell how far the clouds had moved. Just as he was wondering how long she would cry, something occurred to him.

"... Earlier, I asked Ms. Park Yujeong why she praised Lee Serin."

As though she hadn't been crying at all, Serin shifted her head slightly to look at him. Her eyes urged him to hurry up and continue.

"She said she praised you because she knows how hard you've worked."

"... Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"My teacher knows Serin worked hard?"

"She does."

"Do you know too, mister?"

"I do."

Only then did Serin stop crying and wipe her eyes with her sleeve. Hyeonyul took a tissue out of the darkness and held it out to her.

<Hyeonyul. Can you come over now?>

A message from Nayun appeared.

<Understood. Could you wait a moment?>

<Of course. Take your time.>

<Yes.>

After replying, he looked at Serin.

"I have to go now."

Serin, who had all but covered her eyes with the tissue, looked at him in alarm. Was he going to abandon her? Her heart jolted, leaving her unable to say anything.

"I'll walk you back. Would you like to come with me?"

Hyeonyul held out his hand. Looking at it, Serin smiled brightly and nodded over and over.

"... Yes!"

Serin started to reach out, then looked at her own hand. It was a mess of tears and snot. But Hyeonyul took it anyway.

She looked up at him with reddened eyes and shed more tears. But she wasn't crying miserably. She simply smiled that silly smile again as he matched his steps to hers and walked beside her.