* * *

Hyeonyul was about to turn away and pretend he hadn't seen them, but Jihwan approached with a delighted smile.

"You came to see a movie too, Bro?"

"... Yes."

Hyeonyul took two steps back.

How were the two of them here? Surely this wasn't the only movie theater around.

'Was I being watched?'

"Did you come after seeing our messages, by any chance? What movie are you here for?"

Jihwan asked, but Hyeonyul hadn't read the messages yet. He had closed the chat immediately after seeing hundreds of them piled up.

That wasn't important right now. He had a bad feeling about this. Sinu seemed to be smiling.

"I came to see that one."

Hyeonyul pointed to the movie that had just appeared on the display, then immediately checked Jihwan's expression. Disappointment crossed it.

He felt relieved at once. Apparently, this was just a coincidence.

"... That's different from ours. Sinu, Bro, should we just watch that one?"

"Of course I'd—"

"Why are you two here?"

Hyeonyul quickly cut in.

"Well, we drank a little... yesterday, remember?"

"Yes. You drank a lot. Both of you."

At Hyeonyul's pointed remark, Sinu flinched guiltily, while Jihwan shook his head.

"I wasn't drunk."

"Jihwan. Lying is bad."

"You do it all the time too, Bro."

"Me? When have I ever?"

"Bro. Hyeonyul's watching."

"Then why are you bringing it up now?"

"You were both drunk. Anyway, why are you here?"

Having set the record straight, Hyeonyul asked again. Coworkers coming to see a movie together?

'That's impossible.'

He was adamant about that.

"To have fun, of course. Sinu asked me to hang out with him."

"You said you were bored too."

Jihwan's answer, followed by Sinu's, left a question mark floating in Hyeonyul's mind. How could coworkers be friends? He simply couldn't understand it.

"All right. We were both bored, and we thought about playing games, but then I remembered they were giving out Beombeom merchandise if you saw a movie. It was a Beombeom item I hadn't collected yet."

Smiling, Jihwan pointed to a theater poster. It said that buying popcorn would get you merchandise featuring a seal-like character.

Was that Beombeom?

"So basically, Jihwan's using me. This way, he gets two. Hyeonyul, do you want one of those too?"

"No. I didn't even know about them."

"Then that makes three."

Sinu looked at Jihwan and asked if he was happy. Jihwan nodded contentedly.

'... Am I supposed to buy one too?'

Hyeonyul looked at the poster. His head tilted involuntarily, until he spotted the words "Limit one per person" and finally understood.

It was certainly the most efficient way to collect the merchandise.

"But why didn't you contact Nayun?"

Sinu asked Jihwan.

"I contacted her first. Sis said her head was pounding from her hangover. I asked, 'Should I buy you a hangover remedy?' but she said she was fine."

"I told her not to overdo it yesterday. I bet she'll end up at a café later."

Sinu stopped clicking his tongue and immediately picked up his phone.

[No hangover for me lol]

He couldn't let such a golden opportunity go to waste. Nayun probably would have said the same thing if their situations were reversed.

Jihwan checked his phone and looked at Sinu. He knew Sinu always did this, but Nayun had sounded genuinely awful on the phone earlier.

"... Bro. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"She's not here right now."

"Don't blame me if Sis hits you in the head."

Jihwan shook his head. This was Nayun they were talking about. She could hit someone's head from very, very far away.

He had witnessed Sinu getting knocked unconscious by one of those shots before, right as it happened. Thinking back on it, it was terrifying.

"Does sis shoot people in the head? Has she ever killed a colleague that way?"

Sinu burst out laughing at Hyeonyul's question. He had no idea why Hyeonyul was asking so seriously about such a casual remark.

"Nayun shoots when she's angry, but she doesn't kill anyone. I passed out after getting hit, and the Team Leader told us both off. We nearly got our salaries cut!"

"... They cut salaries too?"

"Of course. The Team Leader's really scary when she's angry."

"Scary. Very, very scary."

Jihwan's shoulders trembled slightly.

"Then why haven't you invited the Team Leader? If you want those, wouldn't it be better to invite one more person?"

The purpose of this gathering was to obtain merchandise. Adding another person would be more efficient.

"... The thing is, Hyeonyul."

Sinu spoke as though he'd seen something truly terrifying. After hesitating several times, he finally opened his mouth.

"... The Team Leader says she's working right now."

Hyeonyul's expression instantly stiffened.

"Hyeonyul."

"... Yes."

"We must never forget the Team Leader's sacrifice."

"The Team Leader said that the next Team Leader would be big brother Baek Sinu—"

"All right, enough of this horror movie. Let's go watch our movie."

Sinu quickly slung an arm around Hyeonyul's shoulders and pulled him along. Jihwan followed, snickering.

"Oh, you had fun yesterday, right?"

"..."

Hyeonyul couldn't readily answer Sinu's question. What should he say?

As he deliberated, he stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you feeling sick?"

Jihwan followed Sinu's question with one of his own, full of concern.

CLUNK.

He heard something. It wasn't a particularly unfamiliar sound. It resembled the noise someone made as they struggled to survive while tied to a chair.

It kept repeating, too persistently to dismiss as his imagination.

Hyeonyul looked at the employee behind the theater counter. They were moving normally. There was no smell of blood, and he couldn't see any magic.

'Is it a mental ability?'

There were plenty of possibilities.

"Mr. Ye Jihwan."

"Yes, Bro?"

"Can you sense any magic from those people?"

"One moment."

Jihwan snapped to attention at those words. Something was happening in the movie theater. That was what Hyeonyul was telling him.

Ordinary life was turning extraordinary again.

Again.

It was happening yet again.

"Jihwan, Hyeonyul."

Sinu beckoned. If they wanted to check, they needed to get closer.

Hyeonyul followed, surveying their surroundings. People waiting with popcorn to see a movie. People lining up at kiosks to print their tickets. Nothing in this theater looked out of place.

Sometimes, a gathering place itself was used as one enormous test subject.

What was it this time? What did they want, and what were they after? A hostage situation? Were they planning to set off a bomb to inspire terror? Or mass brainwashing?

There were more things they could do in a movie theater than one might think, so he couldn't pin it down.

<Calm down.>

Sinu used his wireless earbud to display a message.

<Take it slow. First, Jihwan, check it out.>

<Understood.>

Jihwan put in his wireless earbud before replying.

"I've only got cash. Could we have three of these? We get three merchandise items with them, right?"

Sinu approached casually and pointed to the popcorn that came with merchandise.

"Yes, that's right."

"They say we do."

Sinu looked at Jihwan.

"Since we came for the merchandise, I'll pay."

"Don't bother. Use your Bro's money."

Sinu handed Jihwan some cash. Telling him to pay, he led Hyeonyul away from the counter.

<I heard some sort of noise.>

Sinu broached the subject cautiously. It wasn't clear, but he had heard it.

<Yes. It's become clearer. Someone is being held captive in there.>

Hyeonyul was certain. At his words, Sinu squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. Anger boiled within him.

"I'll go talk to someone for a moment."

"Yes."

Hyeonyul stood motionless, watching Sinu leave. Honestly, when he had been a villain, he hadn't cared about things like this. Now that villains were his targets, all sorts of things caught his attention.

He walked over to Jihwan and picked up two of the drinks that had been served. Jihwan carefully placed the packaged merchandise in his bag, then looked at the remaining three popcorns and one drink.

"Wait, wait. They're ready."

Sinu hurried over. He picked up one drink and one popcorn, then casually moved away.

<I requested backup. We've been assigned to assess the situation until they arrive. ... A mission on our day off. This really is the worst.>

Sinu's message sounded despairing, but he didn't actually look that way.

<... It is the worst. Anyway, it's not magic. It's a psychic power.>

Lowering his voice, Jihwan reported what he had confirmed.

<They've been temporarily brainwashed. The person using this power is most likely mingling with the crowd, upstairs, or downstairs. The magic I sensed was farther inside over there.>

<So there's a psychic and a mage here right now, is that it?>

At Sinu's question, Jihwan nodded casually, mindful of their surroundings. Sinu suppressed a sigh that threatened to escape. The entire theater was effectively being held hostage.

<We should look around inside the theater first. They could carry out all kinds of terrorist attacks here, with bombs, poison, and so on.>

Since they were indoors, Sinu considered anything possible. Hadn't he been sent on plenty of missions like that?

<There are no bombs, poison, or anything else of that kind.>

Hyeonyul sent the message with emphatic certainty. Judging by the sounds of someone moving while restrained earlier, this seemed to have started only recently.

<There appear to be about three lookouts mingling with the crowd.>

He discreetly informed them. While everyone else moved naturally, about three people kept repeating unnatural actions.

<They seem to be watching the area behind the theater counter. Of course, I can't say for certain yet.>

<Anyway, it looks like they haven't noticed us, right?>

Sinu asked.

<Yes.>

<Then I'll investigate. If they're keeping watch, they should be exchanging particular messages.>

Jihwan walked to a table and sat down with his popcorn and drink. The moment he lightly tapped the tabletop with his palm, his mana spread out from that spot.

An isolated section of space appeared before his eyes. Within a world composed of countless coordinates, what he singled out and connected to were cell phones.

The messages and calls on everyone's phones appeared before his eyes. Amid all kinds of text emerging like coordinates, he calmly searched for his targets.

<There are three, just as Hyeonyul said.>

Jihwan briefly connected his magic to Hyeonyul and Sinu. There was a flash, and the two of them identified the three people.

'... Then where are the others?'

Hyeonyul wondered after identifying the three. A thought suddenly struck him, and he turned his head.

He could see the movies currently showing. With so many new releases at this time, all nine auditoriums were full.

Their presence here was no coincidence. There was a reason for everything.

<What they want is the movie screens.>

Even as he said it, Hyeonyul was appalled. Who made up most of a theater's audience? Ordinary people.

The setup left them all sitting still in one place, with no choice but to watch the screen. What would happen if a particular power were placed on that screen?

Hadn't they all seen what brainwashing could do on a mission just recently?

<They want to brainwash people without arousing suspicion.>

<Of course, they conduct regular inspections to guard against things like—>

Sinu stopped midway through displaying his message. They checked the results of inspections of the films themselves, not the people.

Only now did he see the loophole in the system.

<If that's the case, the same formula may have been inscribed on all of them simultaneously. To stop it, we need to erase them all at once.>

Jihwan explained while eating popcorn.

<Jihwan, rescue whoever's in there. Hyeonyul, you can capture those three, right?>

<Understood.>

<I can capture them.>

Jihwan's and Hyeonyul's messages appeared.

<I'll destroy the screens.>

Considering their various abilities, Sinu thought he was best suited to the job. He could summon a sword capable of piercing space itself without opening a door.

As Sinu quickly changed direction and set off, Jihwan appeared to follow him. Left behind with the popcorn and cola, Hyeonyul quietly sat down.

Three people. He had them clearly in sight.

With people milling about, there was only one best way to handle this: make them disappear in an instant.

Hyeonyul deliberately used darkness to jostle the popcorn machine.

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

Everyone turned toward the harsh noise. Hands simultaneously reached out of the three people's shadows, gripped their shoulders, and pulled them down.

As they vanished like a magic trick, Hyeonyul popped some popcorn into his mouth.

BZZZZ.

When his phone vibrated, Hyeonyul took it out.

Oh Haeryeon.

"Yes, Team Leader. Where should I hand them over?"

He wanted to pull them out of his darkness and dump them somewhere as soon as possible. They were filthy.

* * *

"... Ha. It's so hard to watch one movie."

Lamenting, Sinu entered the café. The incident had been successfully resolved. He'd been a little worried about having torn up the screens, but the White Sparrow's expression suggested there was nothing to worry about.

There was still some time before their meal, so he figured they should kill some time.

"Over here."

Nayun casually raised her hand. Startled, Sinu strode over.

"W-why are you here?"

He'd expected her to be at a café, but not this one.

"These are perfect for curing a hangover."

Nayun pointed to an assortment of cake slices. Sinu frowned, but she ignored him and looked at Hyeonyul and Jihwan.

"You all got together? Without me? That's mean."

"We ran into each other. By chance. ... Ha. We've just finished a mission too. So let's keep the teasing to a minimum."

Looking tired, Sinu sat down.

"So have I. On my way here, I saw some people secretly exchanging things. I wasn't going to pay much attention, but I could see the words."

"What did you see?"

Hyeonyul asked.

"An operation to brainwash people using movie screens? Something like that. It was so ridiculous that I put holes in both their legs. Of course, I called the managers too."

Nayun spoke in a whisper.

When the expressions of the two men other than Hyeonyul changed, Nayun asked in surprise,

"... Don't tell me it actually happened, and you guys stopped it?"

"Yes."

At Hyeonyul's simple answer, Nayun let out a long breath. A powerful sense of kinship swept over her.

"Something always happens on a day off. Let's eat, guys. At least we'll get something out of eating."

Nayun offered them cake. She had a hangover; they were exhausted. Something sweet was the best way to shake all of that off.