* * *

* * *

"... You're going to be the death of me, honestly. How could you leave shards of glass embedded in you?"

"I removed them. Are there still more?"

"Yes! I'll never live out my natural lifespan at this rate!"

"You must live a long life, Doctor."

At Hyeonyul's reply, Jeongmin's fingers trembled as he extracted a glass shard from Hyeonyul's face.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

"I mean it."

"Then why didn't you come straight here? If you want me to live a long life, you should come right away. Didn't I tell you to be careful even with minor wounds?"

Jeongmin wasn't scheduled to work today, but he had rushed over in alarm when he heard Hyeonyul was injured. Yet Hyeonyul himself was nowhere to be found. It was utterly absurd.

"I wanted... to come, too."

Hyeonyul's face briefly twisted. He looked thoroughly displeased.

"Did something happen?"

Hyeonyul nodded at Jeongmin's question.

"I went straight on to another mission. It was overtime, too."

"But why? Are you the only Black Eagle? Of course you're not."

"I was the only person who could disarm the bombs."

"... Oh."

As soon as he heard that, Jeongmin nodded, then reached out and patted Hyeonyul's arm a couple of times.

"You've had a rough time, Hyeonyul."

"I will catch them and kill them. Without fail."

"Isn't that what you've always done?"

Hyeonyul glanced at Jeongmin. He knew where the Bomber was. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether saying so would earn him a scolding.

"Look at those eyes. What are you hiding this time?"

"... Will you scold me?"

Jeongmin looked at Hyeonyul uneasily. There was something. That much was certain.

"What was the mission before that?"

Jeongmin smoothly shifted to another question.

"It involved magic. We've only dealt with the immediate crisis. We still need to find out who was behind it."

"Did you meet someone there?"

"Yes."

Hyeonyul answered reflexively, then paused and glanced at Jeongmin.

"... A villain, then?"

When Hyeonyul averted his eyes, Jeongmin took off his glasses and began cleaning them.

"Yes, a villain. A bomb exploded right in front of me."

SQUEAK

Jeongmin's hands slowed as he cleaned his glasses. What was he going to do with this boy? There was probably more to the story. He breathed in and out, telling himself over and over to stay patient.

"Doctor."

"What is it?"

"People applauded me."

"Today...?"

"Yes."

"Why would they applaud? Did you do something on the mission that they liked?"

Jeongmin asked cautiously. He truly couldn't imagine it.

"I don't know either. Do I look that different wearing these clothes? I've heard it said that a person's worth is judged by their clothes. Still, I felt how great that difference was."

"How did you feel when they applauded?"

"I think a question mark comes closest. But it didn't sway me. Those cheers, those words, that applause—none of it was mine anyway."

It was simply one of the things that came with wearing the uniform. He knew that, but he wanted to tell Jeongmin.

Jeongmin was smiling. What did that mean?

"Doctor."

"Yes?"

"Sometimes I try to imagine what I'll be like when all of this is over."

"What were you like in those imaginings?"

"Every time, I see nothing."

Hyeonyul interlaced his hands and fidgeted with his fingers. That was one now. When would the second come? Would he be able to stay alive until the end came?

Jeongmin said nothing.

"Doctor."

"Yes."

Hyeonyul hesitated, reluctant to say what came next. Then he voiced something he could say only because this was Jeongmin, not anyone else.

"The cheers, the words, the applause—none of them are mine. But I hope that someday they will be."

Being a Black Eagle now was better than being the villain he had been. So couldn't he receive something like that at least once?

Jeongmin's hands stopped. He gazed silently at Hyeonyul, a multitude of emotions sweeping over him again. Hyeonyul recognized those emotions. Jeongmin wore that expression whenever he accomplished something.

Hyeonyul smiled.

"Are you moved?"

"... Yeah."

Jeongmin packed so many emotions into that brief reply. Hyeonyul had begun taking an interest in things other than revenge: watching films and knitting. It was such a limited range that it might seem insignificant, but it wasn't. It was proof that Hyeonyul was recovering. Now one more thing had been added. How could Jeongmin not be moved?

"Doctor. There's one more thing I'd like to tell you."

"... What now?"

Jeongmin fiercely tightened his eyes. Lately, tears kept welling up, and it was getting hard to bear.

"Today, a lot of people on an amusement park ride died because of magic. I saw their families gathering and crying, and then I heard some sort of voice."

"What...?"

Jeongmin's tears vanished entirely.

"What sort of voice?"

"... My son."

["... My son."]

That was definitely what it had said.

"The person looking at me and speaking was a police officer. Those words don't fit, do they? They would never call me that."

"That's insane..."

"Am I insane? Well, I already consider myself so."

"No! This is a sign."

"A sign of what?"

"Something like a sign that your memories might return."

"My memories?"

Hyeonyul tilted his head. How could this be a sign? He felt no anticipation. More precisely, he simply accepted it with an inward, Oh, I see. He felt neither joy nor sadness that such a sign hadn't come sooner.

Hyeonyul looked at Jeongmin, who was expressing great joy on his behalf. Wasn't that enough?

* * *

"... Ha."

Yujong coldly surveyed the people bound in front of him. Their faces were battered beyond recognition.

"You're tough. Still not talking after all this?"

Blood covered the floor. No matter how much they were beaten, they scarcely said a word.

'Ah... If I use drugs, Mad Dog will catch me.'

Yujong weighed his options. With no way of knowing when Mad Dog might return, he lived under constant surveillance. Not long ago, he'd even developed gastritis. They said it was caused by stress.

"Um, President."

"What?"

"Why don't we use drugs?"

"Shut up, you little shit."

Yujong suppressed the urge to beat him on the spot. As if he didn't know about that simple method. He knew, but ever since Mad Dog had mentioned drugs, he'd been keeping his head down.

'There's no way Mad Dog doesn't know about this place.'

No matter how many guards he stationed around it, that bastard was bound to come.

"Patch them up again and make them spill."

"Then shall we bring their families in and threaten them?"

Yujong immediately seized his subordinate by the collar.

"Shut up. Don't say things like that!"

If he touched civilians, Mad Dog might tear into him. Crazy bastard. He was a villain himself—what was this, some kind of movie?

"... Then what should we do?"

Yujong let out a long breath at his subordinate's question. There was no helping it. He glanced around, then approached the captives and raised a finger.

'This much should be fine.'

He moved it from side to side, using his power.

"If you lie, your whole body will itch from now on. It won't stop until you tell the truth."

TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK

An illusion unfolded, like the moving hands of a clock. After checking the captives' eyes, Yujong lowered his hand.

His power wasn't suited to combat. Through hypnosis, he could produce all sorts of illusions, visual and auditory hallucinations, and more. It was the perfect power for an information broker like him.

Though his psychic ability was quite strong, it had absolutely no effect on Mad Dog. Not the slightest. He still had nightmares about the time he'd boldly used his power on Mad Dog and nearly died for it.

"There. Now ask whether they're connected to the Black Eagles—no, they quit, so former Black Eagles is right. Ask if they're connected to them."

"Yes. I'll do that!"

"Oh, ask about the Poison King, too, just in case."

Yujong stopped massaging his tired shoulders and waved a finger at his subordinate. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember what he'd meant to say, then spoke.

"And if their faction shows up, you know what to do?"

"I'll quietly pay them off and send them away."

"Good. I'm going to rest for a bit. Don't call me unless it's urgent."

"Understood. Enjoy your rest."

His subordinate bowed. Yujong walked out, rolling his shoulders. The subordinates standing in the hallway bowed in turn as he passed.

This was the kind of man he was. He'd earned a substantial sum as an information broker and owned several decent buildings. He was even known by the name Night Rat.

'Ah... Thinking about it just pisses me off more. If it weren't for that Mad Dog, my life would really be taking off.'

He was currently withdrawing from this line of work to focus on his entertainment business. All because of that damned Mad Dog.

When Yujong stopped outside his room, a subordinate opened the door for him. He went inside, opened another door within, and jumped out of his skin.

"I'm here."

Hyeonyul greeted Yujong, hauling his heavy body along. Yujong was so delighted to see him that he sprang backward and even screamed.

"President? What's wrong?"

"President. We're coming in."

At the voices outside, Hyeonyul pointed toward the door with his thumb.

"D-don't come in! You don't need to!"

Yujong shouted at the top of his lungs.

He couldn't afford that humiliation.

"Are you that happy to see me?"

At Hyeonyul's mocking remark, Yujong hastily bowed his head in deference.

"... W-welcome."

"I've visited more than once or twice. Why are you so startled?"

"Well, it's... You turn up without a sound, so of course it startles me."

Yujong's voice grew quieter and quieter. He looked like a sneaky rat, and Hyeonyul watched him steadily as he schemed.

"Have you been looking diligently?"

He'd demanded a great deal of information from Yujong. Who was behind the Poison King? Who was distributing the drugs that had been used on him? Who had organized the former Black Eagles into a group? Every one of them was formidable.

"O-of course. I've been searching diligently the whole time."

Yujong answered with his head lowered.

He wanted to call him a leech, but honestly, he could no longer do that. Didn't Mad Dog have the Poison King's faction behind him? He'd handed Yujong a tremendous piece of information while simultaneously tightening his grip around his throat. If the bastard mobilized the Poison King's faction and ordered them to attack this place, it really would be over.

"In the course of my search, I found a faction that's been destroying the drugs on an ongoing basis."

Yujong's answer brought to mind the villain named Yeon. She was the daughter of the leader of the faction he'd just mentioned. They had reached a workable agreement: in exchange for good information, Hyeonyul would hand over the drugs collected by Seungyu, his figurehead president, so she could destroy them.

"Is that so?"

Hyeonyul asked, feigning ignorance.

"The faction's leader is relatively unknown, but the faction itself is larger than you'd think. Of course, that's only in relative terms. I'm not saying it's enormous."

Yujong spoke as though mindful of Hyeonyul. If he carelessly kept calling it big, wouldn't Hyeonyul find some way to raise hell? He didn't want to give him anything to seize on.

"Honestly, it's a little strange, isn't it? Destroying the drugs."

"Very strange."

Hyeonyul's reply was firm.

"Yes. So I looked into it because it was so strange, and they are definitely villains. They even kill civilians who've used the drugs en masse."

Yujong rummaged through his documents as he spoke.

"Anyway, to continue, that faction and the Poison King's faction recently had a meeting..."

Yujong stopped mid-sentence, feeling a sudden chill. Everyone referred to it as the Poison King's faction, so he'd taken that for granted while refining his information. But that wasn't right, was it? Hadn't Mad Dog recently swallowed up the Poison King's faction? Why hadn't he thought of that?

"A villain named Yeon will be that faction's next leader. I've done business with her as well. So, is the place called Prunal?"

'This... Mad Dog! He asked me when he knew everything already?'

Anger surged through Yujong. He didn't know whether Hyeonyul was toying with him or what his intent was, but the very fact that he'd been testing him felt filthy.

"Are you angry?"

"... No. Of course not."

Yet Yujong forced a smile. The corners of his mouth felt ready to tremble.

"You understand, don't you? Information needs to be verified against both sides."

Hyeonyul raised two fingers and crossed them into an X. Cross-checking. That was necessary.

"If either side is lying, will you take responsibility?"

Hyeonyul lowered his fingers and approached Yujong. Yujong swallowed hard. Belatedly, he realized his mistake. Why was Mad Dog called Mad Dog? Because he was always ready to sink his teeth into someone.

"Are you still angry?"

"N-no, that's not it. I made a mistake!"

Yujong immediately bent at the waist. But he could see the feet drawing closer. A shadow fell over him, and a hand reached out. Fingers pressed against the back of his neck. Yujong flinched.

"Didn't I tell you what I have?"

The Poison King's faction. He had told Yujong that himself.

"If I'm still using you despite that, it means I think highly of your abilities, doesn't it?"

'That's because you... killed all the information brokers! Here you go with this shit again!'

Contrary to what he said aloud, Yujong clenched both hands tight. They were trembling.

"You bared your teeth at me, but I let you live. I helped you avoid capture by the Black Eagles. I gave you plenty of other information. I told you I'd let you know first who controls the drugs, too. I even used the Poison King's faction to open avenues for you to gather as much information as you like. What more should I give you? How much more will it take to satisfy you?"

"... Opened avenues?"

"Yes. You didn't even notice the signs?"

Hyeonyul gripped both of Yujong's cheeks and lifted his face. Mad Dog was smiling. Yujong trembled violently, cold sweat pouring off him.

"Don't get above yourself. I'll slaughter your entire faction."

"... Yes. Yes. I'll remember that."

Despite the firm assurance, Hyeonyul stared at him for a long time before letting go.

"Now you may continue your explanation."

Hyeonyul sat in a nearby chair and looked at Yujong, signaling him to continue.