* * *

* * *

The door burst open. Jeongmin looked at Hyeonyul in surprise.

He looked deeply confused.

"... Hyeonyul, are you all right? Did something happen?"

"Doctor..."

"Yes?"

"I don't understand why the Team Leader defends me, why she wants to know me, or why she tells me she's grateful and sorry."

He spoke unusually quickly, as though something inside him had broken. Jeongmin watched him carefully.

"Even after taking my medication, these questions won't subside. Why is that?"

"Hyeonyul."

"Didn't you once tell me to try trusting someone else? That you wanted me to broaden my world?"

"I did. And I still want you to."

Jeongmin was Hyeonyul's entire world. That was all there was to it.

How could that be right? It wasn't good for Hyeonyul, either.

"So I shared some of the work I've been doing alone with the Team Leader."

It was just one piece among the vast amount of information he possessed. He had taken over the Poison King's faction. He might be the new villain they suspected.

Out of all those terribly weighty facts, he had dangled one tiny piece before her. And Haeryeon had taken the bait.

"But why doesn't she suspect me? Why does she grant my requests? I'm not doubting what you told me, Doctor. I simply can't understand."

Haeryeon had said she wouldn't ask questions, no matter what he brought her. She only wanted him to tell her whether he had killed the other person or left them alive.

Hadn't she even offered to make it an official mission?

"She called me a Black Eagle, even though I was a villain. She told me not to hide in the darkness, when I don't even know whether I'm darkness or a shadow."

Hyeonyul wanted an answer from Jeongmin.

"Doctor. I can't understand any of those things."

His face twisted. He wanted to strike his head for freezing up.

Once again, he was tormented by the fact that things he should naturally understand were anything but natural to him. Every time this happened, it felt as though he was discovering anew that he was a monster.

All he could do was ask Jeongmin again. Beg him to explain.

"I'm certain the people who tried to recruit me said similar things. I don't know why these sound different. Am I wavering?"

"Yes. You're wavering right now, Hyeonyul."

"... That must not happen. I must not waver."

Hyeonyul frowned. He might die if he wavered. There were far too many people after him.

"Hyeonyul. Couldn't you let yourself waver this time?"

"I cannot. I must remain rational at all times. If I make a mistake, you could die too. If even one thing goes wrong, I'll be dragged back to the experimental facility. It will all happen again. This time, I might not escape."

His voice did not waver. He had returned to his usual self.

Jeongmin pressed his lips together, as though that very lack of emotion hurt him more. He knew he was special to Hyeonyul, but the thought lingered that he might instead be holding him back.

But Jeongmin shook off those thoughts. That wasn't what mattered now.

"... That's not what I meant, Hyeonyul."

"What did you mean?"

"You wanted to try trusting Team Leader Oh Haeryeon, so you did what you could. Isn't that right?"

"Trust has no meaning except where you are concerned, Doctor. I know that very well. What I did was closer to an experiment."

"Whatever it was, you did something along those lines. Right?"

"Yes."

"You thought she'd reject you, didn't you?"

"Statistically, that was the correct assumption. That was what I thought. But I also wanted to make use of the Black Eagles' power."

"That's exactly why you're wavering. Something you never expected happened. Team Leader Oh Haeryeon trusted you, didn't she?"

Jeongmin couldn't suppress the smile that rose to his face.

Trusting or not trusting. That mattered to other people too, but for Hyeonyul, it held a special significance.

Without Jeongmin realizing it, Hyeonyul had been changing, little by little. Today, he had seen it for himself.

"You've always said you don't want to rely on anything uncertain. But you've just witnessed that uncertainty becoming certainty. Like when you met me as a child."

Jeongmin smiled and pointed to himself. He had been Hyeonyul's first experience of uncertainty turning into certainty.

"You've seen that there's someone besides me, Hyeonyul."

"But the Team Leader isn't you, Doctor."

Hyeonyul's eyes wavered. His gaze deepened as he looked at Jeongmin.

He owed him a debt he could never repay, even if he gave everything he had.

Love.

Jeongmin had shown him what that word—once nothing more than letters—felt like, what form it took. He still couldn't clearly recognize the emotion, but that alone made Jeongmin special.

"That's right. Team Leader Oh Haeryeon isn't me. So she'll be different from me. And because she's different, the point of reference you've been relying on will waver, just as it did today."

"... That's dangerous."

"It isn't dangerous. That's what being human means. People grow by wavering, over and over again."

Jeongmin approached Hyeonyul and hugged him, patting his back. Hyeonyul turned his eyes toward him.

"See? You're not a monster. You're a person."

Was he?

More than anything else Jeongmin had said, Hyeonyul couldn't help doubting that.

"Please don't cry, Doctor."

"I'm not crying."

"I can feel it all."

He didn't know why Jeongmin was crying. He still struggled to understand what he was saying.

Why did he keep telling him these things?

'... But it isn't bad.'

Hyeonyul couldn't ask any more questions. He gently leaned against Jeongmin's shoulder and closed his eyes.

* * *

「*Case Origin

―A parent recently suspected their child of strange behavior and activities after joining a well-known study club, despite an improvement in grades.

*Case Progress

―Confirmed that the child was posting strange statements on various online communities (claiming that the Black Eagles actually create villains).

―After questioning the child about the current situation and consulting several agencies, the parent identified warning signs and reported the club.

―Police investigated the club and established that it was an off-campus club whose organizers were not educators.

―Police located and questioned other members, establishing that they exhibited behavior similar to the reporting parent's child.

―Established that the club has a substantial membership.

―Discovered that branches also exist.

―Transferred the information to the White Sparrows and conducted a joint investigation.

―After identifying headquarters' location, investigators were preparing to approach when the club's organizers abruptly turned hostile and took the students hostage.

*Points Requiring Caution

―Students must be given top priority and actively protected.

―The standoff must not be prolonged.

―Whether the organizers are villains has not yet been determined.」

When Hyeonyul looked up from his smartwatch, Jihwan was staring blankly into space.

"Have you been to see Dr. Jeongmin?"

Hyeonyul gently nudged Jihwan as he asked.

"... Sorry? Oh."

Jihwan shook his head, then smiled.

"He says he'll make me some medication."

"It will work well."

"Of course. Dr. Jeongmin really is a wonderful person."

Hyeonyul nodded.

"Oh, and while you were taking your medication earlier, Bro, I asked the manager about the gaps in this information. To add a little more, apparently it's known as a study club, and it was famous in online communities too."

"... Is that so?"

"They only charge a membership fee, and it isn't even expensive. They provide textbooks, tablets, and other support too, which apparently made them even more popular."

"Then why is the standoff still ongoing?"

Hyeonyul found the current situation more puzzling than the background information.

Their current shift ran from one in the morning to six. That meant the Black Eagles who had arrived before them hadn't resolved it. This could practically be called a changing of the guard.

'Aren't missions normally resolved quickly?'

Hyeonyul considered it in silence.

Jihwan cautiously cleared his throat and looked around. They were still some distance from the scene, but caution was warranted nonetheless.

"Bro."

"Yes."

"This isn't confirmed, but word has quietly spread that our team has the highest mission success rate."

"Does it differ by team?"

"It does. The atmosphere is different, the success rate is different, and the assignments differ a bit too."

"Is that why you kept carrying out missions with only three people and no additional personnel? People usually avoid that."

"... That's about right. Our assigned missions are pretty demanding. There's an internal success metric used when assigning missions, so Team Three tends to get priority. This next part is really a secret, though."

Jihwan lowered his voice further.

"Team Three's salaries are a little higher."

Hyeonyul nodded at that. Tougher work ought to mean higher pay. It was eminently reasonable.

He really liked the Black Eagles in that respect.

"In any case, are you saying the previous team failed?"

"It would be more accurate to say they ran out of time...?"

"I consider that the same thing."

Hyeonyul found it unacceptable.

They had run out of time. However one looked at it, that meant they had failed.

"... Uh, you could see it that way, but this happens more often than you'd think. The Black Eagles may be stronger than other people, but they're not invincible, are they?"

Jihwan watched Hyeonyul's reaction. He was stricter than usual.

"It seems they've dumped their work on us."

'... Oh.'

Jihwan realized what had offended Hyeonyul. It certainly could look that way.

"As for the timing, apparently it happened around eleven at night."

"That's enough time to resolve it."

"... Right? It is enough time to resolve it, isn't it?"

Jihwan swallowed nervously. Was it enough time?

'It might be possible... or it might not...'

Jihwan snapped out of his indecisive thoughts. Hadn't he just learned how exacting Hyeonyul was about missions?

'Stay sharp, Jihwan.'

He gave himself a mental prod. He generally took a relaxed approach to missions. Being rigid wouldn't make them get resolved any faster.

"While you were getting your sedative injection earlier, Bro, I took a look at the building."

Jihwan opened his hand. A building appeared in the air. It could even be moved from side to side, like a 3D model.

"Is that magic?"

"It is. Can you see how capable I am?"

Jihwan grinned.

"I can. But you didn't use this power last time. Was there a reason?"

"I didn't use it because that was a villains' building. This is different. There are civilians mixed in with the villains."

Jihwan tapped it with a finger. Red dots appeared inside the building.

"Those are people."

"Is it all right for you to use this magic?"

"Oh, this much is fine. I'm not actually manipulating space, so it doesn't use much mana. Anyway, there are a lot, aren't there?"

"Quite a lot."

The building had five floors in total, with at least several dozen people on each.

"For now, applying the information from the previous teams gives us this."

Red dots turned white. It seemed the previous group had spent all their time classifying people.

But it couldn't be called perfect. The possibility of errors made it troublesome.

"I'll go in and come back."

"... What?"

"How will it show up if I mark them?"

"You, Bro?"

Jihwan held out his hand.

"Try it here. I'll register it."

Hyeonyul placed his hand over Jihwan's. Jihwan blinked. Why wasn't he doing anything?

'Oh. I never told him when to start.'

Jihwan grinned and said, "You can use your power now."

"I already did."

"What...?"

Jihwan's eyes widened.

Hyeonyul raised his outstretched palm. Black smoke rose from it, and he placed it directly onto Jihwan's palm.

"...?"

"That's why I was curious. I wondered how you might detect it."

Darkness and shadows couldn't be perceived without seeing them. He possessed that same trait.

"... You're really all right, Bro?"

Hyeonyul didn't understand Jihwan's abrupt question. He gave a perfunctory nod.

"I'm all right."

"Give me a moment."

Jihwan first tried to calm his shock.

'... Is this really all right?'

Jihwan looked at the magic he had cast on his palm. Every red or white dot appearing there was set to show up automatically if there was life present.

Registering Hyeonyul's power was merely a way to recognize him at a glance.

'What... is Bro?'

For the first time, Jihwan felt that question arise as he rummaged through his bag. His fingertips felt as though they might tremble.

He bit his lip hard, afraid that a question he had never entertained before might slip out.

'... Those fucking scumbags.'

What had they made a person into?

How had they changed him?

Forcing aside his tangled thoughts, Jihwan took an object shaped like a ballpoint pen out of his bag.

"Take this, Bro."

He held it out, keeping his expression under control. It was something Hyeonyul needed right now.