* * *

"... How did it come to this?"

Huijun looked as though his world had collapsed. He closed his dark eyes, then opened them again.

"Hey. Seo Hyeonyul."

"Yes."

"Listen carefully."

"I'm listening."

"I know it's really... hideous."

"What is hideous?"

"Well, here's the thing. I don't know if you got the same orders, but my Team Leader just told me to be your legs. You heard something similar, right?"

"I was instructed to cooperate with you, Mr. Kang Huijun."

"Right? So listen carefully."

Hyeonyul nodded at the repeated instruction.

"You just got here easily using my power, right?"

"That's correct."

"That only worked because it was a short distance. It looks like we'll be traveling farther this time. ... For me to be your feet, you have to, um..."

Huijun trailed off, his face twisting more and more. He really looked unwilling to do it. Hyeonyul had no idea what he meant, so he waited.

"... You have to."

"Yes."

"Ride on my back."

"Understood."

Hyeonyul readily agreed. He had wondered what Huijun was getting at, but that was all?

"N-no! I said you have to ride on my back!"

"Understood. I understand."

"That's not the point! This is fucking embarrassing!"

Huijun acted as though he might jump out of his skin. Just imagining it was utterly, utterly unbearable.

"Won't you be embarrassed too?"

"If it's necessary to complete the mission, we should do it."

Huijun covered his eyes at Hyeonyul's answer. How could he accept something so horrible without batting an eye?

"You... really have a strong stomach."

"My stomach is fairly strong."

"Hang on... I need to prepare myself."

Huijun thumped his chest as though something was rising in his throat. He knew people wouldn't be able to see them properly, since their eyes couldn't keep up with his speed, but it was still the worst. The mere thought made him want to kick his blankets in mortification.

"But earlier, you moved incredibly fast, as though everything around us slowed down. Will I have time to get a proper look?"

"You will. Just focus on what you need to see. Tell me if you miss anything. We can go back and check."

"Understood. Please let me know when you've calmed down."

With that, Hyeonyul checked the time and stepped away for a moment. The sooner they did this, the sooner he could go home.

'... And I have to come to work tomorrow too.'

He took out his medication and water and swallowed a mass of pills. Then, after checking his surroundings again, he injected himself in the abdomen.

"... Ha."

As the drug circulated, Hyeonyul briefly closed his eyes and took a long breath. He turned his head. Huijun was still pacing restlessly. Why was he agonizing over it for so long?

Hyeonyul was about to approach him when he turned his head. Sujeong had dismounted her summon and wore a grimly determined expression.

"Excuse me."

Pushing up her glasses, she glanced sideways at Hyeonyul as she approached Huijun. She immediately raised her hand and slapped his back.

SMACK!

"Stop embarrassing yourself. Seriously."

"... Aagh!"

"What's so embarrassing about carrying someone on your back? The way you're acting is more embarrassing."

"What do you know...?"

SMACK!

Sujeong slapped his back again.

"That I'll kill you if you keep dragging your feet?"

She reached out, grabbed his clothes, and lowered her voice. Huijun went pale.

"... I-I'm going. I'm going."

Sujeong stared at him before letting go, then walked back to Hyeonyul.

"If that idiot does something stupid, just accept that he's like that and bear with him."

"Understood."

At Hyeonyul's unhesitating answer, Huijun gave him a resentful look. He was supposed to say Huijun wasn't an idiot.

"Ugh, I'm going! I'm going!"

Huijun approached Hyeonyul with an edge in his voice, then turned his back and crouched.

"Get on."

"Yes."

Hyeonyul approached without hesitation and climbed onto his back. Sujeong turned her head away for a moment. Even her shoulders shook, prompting Huijun to shout at her.

"You're laughing too! Why are you laughing? You said it wasn't embarrassing!"

"I'm not laughing."

"Forget it! We're leaving, right now!"

Hyeonyul's less-than-comforting words made Huijun snap. Only after they disappeared did Sujeong burst out laughing.

* * *

When Hyeonyul pointed left, Huijun moved left. Riding on Huijun's back, he followed the magical formulas linked by lines. At first, he couldn't adjust to the speed and lost track of the formulas several times.

He didn't know how it worked, but it resembled his own power. Everything around them looked slow, yet rushed past at the same time. Just when it seemed Huijun was taking a single step forward, they suddenly moved far into the distance. Because it wasn't his own power, adapting to its rhythm was difficult.

"... Ugh, this is embarrassing."

Huijun's voice sounded stretched out. He had been repeating that ever since they started moving. Hyeonyul kept his eyes on the formulas, since catching up once he lost them was difficult, but he had briefly looked around when he'd failed earlier. No one had noticed Huijun. They were moving too fast for anyone to see.

Hyeonyul pointed right, and Huijun immediately veered in that direction. In the span of a blink, countless obstacles loomed before them: ordinary trees, streetlights, bicycles, and more. At their current speed, failing to dodge might kill them. Yet the very act of weaving past each obstacle and continuing to run was exhilarating. Though Huijun kept talking about his embarrassment, delight filled his smile.

Running, accelerating, cutting through the wind. To Huijun, it all felt like liberation.

Then came a signal to stop for a moment. Huijun stopped abruptly.

"Why?"

"... Shh."

Hyeonyul looked down. The magical formula broke off here. In other words, it hadn't been connected yet.

"No, tell me. Do you know where we are?"

Huijun spoke with his head lowered. They were right in front of a traffic light. He was wearing his Black Eagles uniform and carrying Hyeonyul on his back. With Hyeonyul wearing a helmet as well, they would look strange to anyone. Murmurs were already rising around them.

"... Are you, by any chance, Black Eagles?"

"Hey, what do you mean, Black Eagles? Aren't they cosplayers?"

"No, look at the uniforms and insignia. I heard the Empire punishes people severely for wearing that."

People asked after noticing the Black Eagles uniforms and then the insignia.

"Yes, we're Black Eagles."

Hyeonyul's reply nearly gave Huijun a fit.

"... Why would you answer that?"

"Am I not supposed to? During classroom training, we were told not to conceal it."

"Shut up and hurry up and do something!"

The mounting embarrassment made Huijun feel as though his ears were burning. He had no idea why they'd stopped. Clearly, Hyeonyul must enjoy all this attention.

"Please wait a moment."

Hyeonyul listened to the sounds pouring in from every direction. If the formula ended here, either someone was still working on it or he needed to search elsewhere.

CLICK.

"Ah, please don't take pictures. We're performing official duties. You can't do that. It's illegal. You may be punished."

Huijun spoke halfheartedly. Filming and photographing Black Eagles was prohibited, because such actions could give villains various openings to exploit.

Huijun's eyes widened when Hyeonyul climbed down. He could have gotten off that easily all along.

'... This bastard likes attention, doesn't he?'

"I need to make a wide sweep of this area. Please wait a moment."

Hyeonyul started to leave after saying this, but Huijun grabbed his clothes.

Hyeonyul looked at Huijun's hand. He had grabbed him. That alone was surprising—and quite unpleasant.

"Take me with you."

"Understood."

Only then did Huijun look relieved. Among civil servants, Black Eagles weren't usually in the public eye, so dealing with people who weren't villains was awkward.

WHOOSH!

Hyeonyul hurriedly pulled Huijun toward him. A kitchen knife thrust into the spot where Huijun had been. Screams quickly spread, and people backed away.

Hyeonyul looked at the civilian holding out the knife.

"What are you doing?"

"... Wow."

Huijun sounded stunned. Something like this, in broad daylight. Since Black Eagles rarely appeared in public, quite a few people disliked them and called them a waste of taxpayers' money.

'Still, this is going too far.'

Huijun snatched the knife and returned to Hyeonyul's side.

"I don't know if you realize this, but this is dangerous."

"...!"

The disarmed civilian stared at their hand in astonishment. When they tried to use their power, Huijun kicked their legs out from under them, twisted their arm, and pinned their back with his knee.

"Hey. Go do your thing. I'll hand this one over to the police."

"Is this a villain?"

Hyeonyul's voice lowered.

"We'll have to investigate to find out, won't we?"

"Does this happen often?"

Huijun was remarkably calm for someone who had just been attacked.

"Sometimes. There's always a nutjob or two, right? That's all this is. Ah, everyone, you can cross safely. Don't worry."

Huijun pointed at the light, which had changed.

"Don't take pictures. Don't post them either. You can still be punished later."

Speaking casually, he waved Hyeonyul away. Hyeonyul was the one who could read magical formulas, so it made sense for him to go.

Hyeonyul looked at Huijun, then turned his attention to the crowd. Now that they had dispersed, he ran. People marveled at his gliding movement and raised their phones.

"Don't take pictures."

Huijun interrupted his call to the police to wave a hand and warn them.

* * *

Hyeonyul climbed along a shadowed building wall and stood on the rooftop. He looked down. People wandered the streets in small groups. Some might be out for a short errand; others might be enjoying the freedom of a vacation. Since the magical formulas took the form of lines, he thought they might be hard to recognize up close but stand out when viewed over a longer stretch.

'I could use Sis Chu Nayun's eyes.'

The city was busier than he'd expected, and complicated too. With so many people clustered together, it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake.

<Look down to your right.>

Just then, a message from Nayun appeared.

Hyeonyul looked around, but couldn't see where Nayun was. For now, he looked down to his right. People were gathered there, just as they were elsewhere. Whom did she mean? He kept staring down. The only unusual thing he could find was some roadwork.

<Do you mean the roadwork?>

Hyeonyul asked.

<Yeah. Those people. They look like they're doing construction, right?>

<I can't see them.>

<Oh, let me explain. They're pretending to do construction. They've made it look real too. But I checked, and it isn't authorized. It's them. They're writing something on the ground right now.>

<Then they're the ones.>

Pretending to do construction was one thing, but if they were also inscribing something on the ground, there was no doubt.

<Stay there, Hyeonyul.>

Nayun's message was firm.

<Understood.>

Hyeonyul stayed still. Suddenly, he felt a change in the air currents. Two people fell at once.

Thinking about the trajectory, Hyeonyul turned his head toward the park. He could see someone who appeared to be a woman. Judging by the black clothes, it was probably Nayun.

'She saw me... from there?'

How had she seen him atop the roof from ground level?

'Did she spot me when I leaned out?'

Hyeonyul was about to keep watching from above, but instead slipped into a shadow and descended. He emerged smoothly from the wall and ran toward them. Another two fell simultaneously. People murmured. He had wondered if the villains were dead, but they were unconscious. There wasn't the slightest smell of blood.

When the others fell, the remaining villain looked around and ran forward. Something formed in his hand. Before he could use it, Hyeonyul appeared in front of him. He started to swing his dagger, then stopped. As though struck in the head, the villain bent backward at the waist and fell. Objects resembling throwing stars tumbled from his hand. Perhaps that was his ability.

<I told you to stay there. I knew you'd been running around working hard, so I was trying to give you a break.>

Reading Nayun's message, Hyeonyul lowered his gaze. The rounds lying on the ground looked like rubber bullets.

<I should have.>

It wasn't that he didn't trust Nayun. But he couldn't stand still with villains right in front of him.

Hyeonyul sheathed his dagger and looked around. The looks he was getting were strange.

"... Are you a Black Eagle?"

The people nearby asked.

"Yes. I'm a Black Eagle."

"... Th-then are those people villains?"

"That's correct. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Hyeonyul bowed his head, then raised it.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Unexpected applause reached his ears. It soon spread.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you for helping us."

Their sudden words brought Hyeonyul to a standstill. Not knowing what he had helped them with, he couldn't say a word until Nayun arrived. He didn't know how to respond to their thanks. He merely fidgeted with his clothes.

* * *

Hyeonyul stared at his cup. He had been ordered to stand by briefly until the mission was complete.

["Don't go anywhere. Stay in this café for a bit."]

Nayun had dumped him here and left.

He had removed both his helmet and his uniform jacket. Since he had a dress shirt underneath, he thought he might at least look ordinary without the jacket. He noticed someone sit down behind him, but stayed still. Probably a customer.

Just as he cut a piece of cake with his fork and put it in his mouth, a distorted voice reached his ears.

"Hello, Mr. Black Eagle."

Realizing the person knew he was a Black Eagle, Hyeonyul looked at his uniform. He was sure he'd hidden it.

"Ah, maybe you'll recognize me if I say I'm the Bomber."