* * *

Facing the picture window, the man stretched his arms high overhead. His legs, extended straight in front of him, swayed together.

At the sound of the door opening, he spoke without even lifting his head, his back still to the door.

"... What is it?"

"Well..."

"Tell me."

A well-dressed middle-aged man approached with his head bowed and lowered his voice.

"That place... has reportedly been destroyed."

"The new place I'm building for my collection? That one?"

"... Yes."

"There's more than one or two, you know."

"The one near the mountain. That is, um..."

"Well, fine. How did it get destroyed? I can always build another, but didn't you make sure everyone kept their mouths shut?"

He spoke casually, but the middle-aged man was already frightened.

"... I did. We even sealed the entrance until construction was finished."

"And they still found it?"

The man shifted his raised hands to the left, stretching his side.

"Y-yes."

"Hmm..."

His movements slowed a little, as though he were considering something. As the middle-aged man waited, anxiety began to draw a cold sweat from him.

"... Ah!"

The man released his hands and slapped his thigh.

"I know who it was."

"Tell me, and I'll pursue them at once."

"You won't be able to. Even I don't know where he is."

When the man reached out, the middle-aged man offered the towel he had brought. Burying his face in it, the man continued.

"I didn't know who he was at the time, but I kept thinking about it. How did he erase my power? How did he overcome it? Fascinating, isn't it? It's never happened before."

His grip on the towel tightened. His hands began to tremble slightly.

"It was that child!"

The corners of his mouth rose as he spoke, overwhelmed with emotion.

"That child... sir?"

"The masterpiece I created. The child who belongs in my arms. To think he was alive..."

His voice was ecstatic. It seemed he might throw both hands toward the heavens at any moment.

"REX―3333."

"... Pardon?"

"What a shame. If I'd known, I would at least have asked his original name. But isn't it rather splendid? Rex was the name of the dog I raised so lovingly."

"..."

As the middle-aged man breathed, countless eyes appeared in midair. Sweat gathered at the tip of his chin.

Why?

Unable to say anything, he stood perfectly still.

"... That child was wearing black."

The man searched his memory.

"Why black? It reminds me of those Eagle bastards. But there's no way that child would become a Black Eagle. Ah, what am I to do?"

"I-I'll bring him back!"

"No, leave him be. He must have felt stifled, locked up in there. I'm magnanimous enough to allow him that much. I ought to give him some breathing room before putting him on a leash. I'm kind, after all."

His widening smile exposed his teeth. At the same time, strange patterns filled the countless eyes that had appeared.

One of the eyes shone.

WHOOSH!

With a sound of something cutting through the air, it pierced the middle-aged man's heart.

"The towel smells."

The man threw the towel aside and shook the bell beside him.

DING.

"Clean it up."

After that brief order, he resumed stretching.

'Ah, I want to see him again. I should have treated him a little more kindly.'

Laughter escaped him. He had thought his child lost, but he wasn't.

His laughter grew louder and louder.

* * *

Hyeonyul stepped off the bus.

Juhyeon, shuffling toward him like a corpse, spotted him and beckoned him over with a flick of her hand, her eyes dull.

He glanced around. Before he knew it, no one was behind him. Everyone had already passed him and was walking ahead.

Who actually liked coming to work?

'They're diligent.'

He approached Juhyeon.

"Good morning, Team Leader Ye Juhyeon."

"Come to think of it, you're not even a Team Leader, but you recognize me pretty easily, don't you?"

"It's because of your phone."

In truth, he could see her real face through the magic, but he feigned ignorance and pointed to her phone.

Juhyeon looked at her phone, then briefly lowered it. She had let the magic drop for a moment today because she was exhausted.

'He's sharp. It's almost as though he can see through the magic.'

Her eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Hyeonyul asked.

He had passed quite a lot of information to Juhyeon.

"You can hear the good news from Haeryeon Unni. I'm talking about the former Black Eagles."

"Yes."

He nodded. Besides the drugs, he had also dug up the news that former Black Eagles were causing trouble.

"Does it bother you?"

"It does concern me."

Just a little.

He kept that last part to himself.

"Are you good-natured, or just oblivious?"

Juhyeon fiddled with her phone again.

"We've blocked off everything that needed blocking. Remember that article that went up last time? I looked into why it happened, and the former Black Eagles were behind it. We're tracking them now. We have plenty of information on them, so it shouldn't take long."

When she finished, Juhyeon pointed behind her.

"You'll encounter additional security measures before you reach the building and when you enter."

"Is that so?"

"We installed them because of you. Try to show a little enthusiasm, at least."

"Why because of me?"

"Because you gave us useful information. If the former Black Eagles are running wild, they're bound to come after us too, aren't they? Anyway, I was telling you so you wouldn't be startled."

"Ah, thank you."

Only then did he nod as though he understood.

They would know how to get here, and they would know the layout inside. It would be stranger if they didn't come. Activating the defenses was a swift response.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

Juhyeon narrowed her eyes. Why was there so little strength in his voice and body? Every time she saw him, she wanted to get him a restorative tonic.

"I'm fine. It's just because I'm coming to work."

There was no official name for it, but people did call it "work sickness." Coming back after a day off certainly made his body feel heavy.

"Well, everyone has that illness. Anyway, I'll let you know when we have something more definite. Have a good shift."

"Team Leader Ye Juhyeon."

"What?"

"Something just occurred to me. May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

She glanced at him. Somehow, an extraordinary number of things happened around this recruit. At this point, the theory that he was causing the incidents himself wouldn't have seemed strange at all.

"Did you see the materials about the attempt to turn Black Eagles into test subjects?"

"I did. You found those too."

Juhyeon shook her head. It was truly horrific. As though everything else weren't enough, they had even targeted Black Eagles for experimentation.

"But why? Didn't Unni tell you? They haven't put it into practice yet, and there's little chance they will."

The Black Eagles were closely monitored. Any disappearance would be noticed immediately, which was why she had said there was little chance of it happening.

"What if the targets aren't Black Eagles, but former Black Eagles?"

At his question, Juhyeon hesitated. Then her expression rapidly hardened.

"Villains aren't fools. They aim for what's possible rather than what's impossible. Wouldn't that be possible?"

Villains ran the numbers before charging in. If the odds were high, they rushed in without looking back.

"What if my hypothesis explains why they've gathered the former Black Eagles into a group?"

Yesterday, he had once again seen a site built to conduct experiments on Black Eagles. Without seeing it, he would never have thought of this, but having seen it, he could formulate a hypothesis.

What if?

Wasn't that a possibility?

"... Then all hell breaks loose."

Juhyeon gripped the phone at her side tightly.

"False information would start spreading first."

Looking irritated, she pressed a hand to her forehead, then squeezed her eyes shut and turned away.

"... You're keeping me from going home again."

"Did I make a mistake?"

His question was rather grave. He had only mentioned a possibility. He hadn't expected it to delay her departure from work.

"No. You were right to ask. It's entirely possible, so we'll need to review it."

Juhyeon looked at him. She still wasn't smiling, but her gaze had softened considerably.

'Is this why we need diversity?'

The thought drifted through her mind. The recruit had yet to shake off the traces of being a villain. His perspective would still be closer to a villain's too. Yet that very perspective let him see things they couldn't.

That certainly deserved recognition.

"You did well."

With that, she walked away briskly.

Hyeonyul stayed where he was and watched her go.

'Is Team Leader Ye Juhyeon going to tell me to join Team Seven soon too?'

How could he not recognize that as a praise strategy?

He glanced behind him. It was Nayun. He quickly turned his head forward again.

'... She shouldn't be coming at this hour.'

Most of his teammates liked arriving just in time, while he deliberately came earlier. He felt more comfortable that way.

If it had been Sinu or Jihwan, perhaps he could have pretended not to notice, but not Nayun. He simply waited.

His shadow looked unusually long.

"Were you waiting for me?"

Nayun approached with a radiant smile. He merely nodded. He had waited, after all.

"That makes me happy! I'll have to make sure I put this in my diary. Oh, did you get some good rest? Do you know what mission we did yesterday?"

The light was already leaving his eyes. How many times had she changed subjects in this brief span?

"We went to the kindergarten. You know, the place that teaches special children. I heard you've been there too, Hyeonyul? Anyway, the children there are so adorable. There's this lovely child named Lee Serin..."

"Is Serin doing well?"

"... Huh?"

Nayun was startled; this wasn't the sort of thing he would normally take an interest in first.

"Is that child doing well?"

She blinked a couple of times at his question, then smiled broadly.

"Full of spirit. Apparently controlling that power was difficult, but now Serin can control it just a little."

"Is that so?"

"Serin's waiting for you. So I promised we'd come together."

She extended her pinky and wiggled it.

"Yes. I made a promise."

He briefly lowered his head to look at his hand. Serin had hooked a pinky around his and smiled brightly.

["It's a promise, mister!"]

'My hands are dirty, though... '

They were hands stained with so much blood. Both having his finger held and making a promise had left him flustered.

"Oh, I see."

Nayun's smile widened. Something in her expression had changed, leaving him vaguely uneasy.

When he started walking, she matched his pace, grinning. It felt as though she were teasing him.

"... Ah!"

At the sound of her remembering something, an inexplicable anxiety stirred in him. What would it be this time?

"How far back do your memories go, Hyeonyul?"

"I remember being experimented on, meeting Doctor Jeongmin, and everything since then."

"Do you know about how old you were then?"

"I believe I was around ten or eleven. That's only my estimate, so I could have been younger or older."

For the briefest moment, the ends of Nayun's eyebrows drooped.

"Is your current name your real name?"

"No."

"You don't remember your old name?"

"I don't."

"The search is broader than I thought. I can see why you couldn't find them. You don't even know whether you have a family to begin with."

"That's correct. That itself is a problem."

She considered his words from several angles, then asked gently,

"Have you registered your DNA, by any chance?"

"It wouldn't help. It's been altered."

"That... can be altered?"

"Have you ever actually witnessed an experiment?"

"Hmm, I've only seen the aftermath. Most people probably have."

Then he couldn't explain it. As he considered what might be appropriate, one thing occurred to him.

"You know what a chimera is, don't you? That's what I am."

"Huh?"

"My fingers might not be mine, or they might be. The same goes for my face."

"Uh...?"

"In any case, I'll do my best."

He walked on ahead, while Nayun stopped in her tracks. She had thought very little could shock her, but this did.

'The scars... Is that what they were?'

* * *

"... Sis? Are you all right?"

Jihwan whispered to Nayun. Whatever she had discussed with Hyeonyul, she didn't look well.

"I'm fine."

"Did you... fight with Bro?"

"Why would we fight?"

Hyeonyul had been pretending not to notice, but he couldn't leave that question unasked.

"... You heard that?"

"Yes," he answered with a nod.

He shifted his gaze to Nayun. Had it been that shocking?

They were dead now, but everyone who had known he was a test subject used to ask in fascination how many people's parts had been mixed together in him.

'I'd better not mention this.'

If Nayun reacted like that, it must be something bad.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you."

He apologized to her. If someone looked upset, he ought to apologize.

"No. Don't apologize for this. Absolutely do not apologize."

Nayun waved both hands, desperately trying to stop him. How could he apologize for this?

Sinu looked between the two of them, then tapped the desk.

"The Team Leader should be coming."

"She's here," Hyeonyul added.

The door leading outside opened, and Haeryeon entered.

"Sorry, an emergency meeting came up suddenly. Have you been waiting?"

"You could have stayed longer. It's only been about ten minutes."

Sinu checked the clock and looked disappointed.

"I couldn't. We've been assigned as the advance team."

"... What?"

Jihwan was horrified.

The advance team.

Just hearing the words made his heart constrict.

"You remember the drug production factory where you voluntarily carried out a mission on your day off recently, right?"

Everyone nodded at Haeryeon's question.

"There have been plenty of other drug-related incidents too. You remember?"

The cult incident. Assisting with the incident in which a villain injected civilians with drugs and fled, among others.

"Just two days ago, we also had the White Sparrows rescue. Everyone remembers that, right?"

As she spoke, Haeryeon studied Hyeonyul. The president there had known about his past. Contrary to her concerns, his expression barely changed.

"After reviewing the testimony and evidence from the White Sparrow who infiltrated that place, we learned that all of this is connected to a company called Linda."

"... Ha."

Nayun let out a long breath. Thinking about it again still infuriated her. The owner of her favorite cosmetics company was a villain.

"We took a rather long, roundabout route to find that information, but the owner of the drug production factory was Linda's president. Of course, this place might not be the real headquarters either."

For now, they regarded it as the central operation. But caution was certainly necessary.

"Now that the president is dead, they'll know we're coming. At the meeting, we discussed the need to verify whether that place is the real thing. We're the advance team for that purpose."

As the mission details emerged, everyone except Hyeonyul sighed in unison. He alone glanced around.

"Was that decision made just now?"

At Sinu's incredulous question, Haeryeon nodded.

"That's right."

"... I can't believe this is happening."

Nayun clutched her hair. Of all times, they had to get caught by this assignment right now.

"Dawn. Perfect for going in and having a look, isn't it?"

Haeryeon smiled.