Chapter 15: I Don’t Like Clingy Things
“…Cough.”
As I stepped off the bus, I let out a short cough.
It was something I could’ve brushed off, but I took it seriously.
I’d been told by Jeong-min long ago that since my immune system was maintained with medication, even small symptoms had to be taken seriously.
‘I should go see my doctor.’
If I didn’t, I’d get scolded.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out some emergency meds.
Just in case, I chewed and swallowed one.
I checked the time.
Twenty minutes until theory class.
Plenty of time.
A life with evenings.
A life where I didn’t have to tiptoe around hospitals.
It felt great.
After meeting Jeong-min, I entered Team 3’s room and found Na-yoon sitting inside.
She was maintaining her weapon, with countless parts scattered across the table.
“Hello.”
“…!”
Na-yoon flinched and turned to look at me.
Despite her startled expression, the barrel of her gun was aimed precisely at my head.
She quickly lowered the gun and gave an awkward smile.
“Hello. Did I… scare you?”
“Not at all. It’s understandable.”
Given the nature of our work, we had to be ready for anything.
In that sense, Na-yoon was solid.
“…Team Leader stepped out for a bit.”
“Then could you let her know I checked in?”
“Hyeon-yul.”
“…Yes?”
I hesitated for a moment.
What was she about to say?
I felt a slight tension.
“Don’t get nervous. I won’t say much.”
“…I’m listening.”
“You don’t have to report to the Team Leader every time you arrive.”
“Then… how would she know I came in?”
In response, Na-yoon pointed to her smartwatch with a smile.
“Once you pass through the main gate with this, the time gets recorded. Same when you leave. There are sensors installed.”
‘There are sensors…?’
So basically, if I don’t leave, the record shows I’m still inside.
It was a new fact.
One that made the corners of my mouth want to twitch upward—but I held it back.
Seemed like it could come in handy.
“Thanks for telling me.”
“I’d love to tell you more, but some of it’s coming up in theory class. I should hold back, right?”
Na-yoon asked playfully, her face full of mischief.
She seemed to be saying, “Lucky you, huh?”
I nodded and glanced at her gun.
“It looks different.”
“It’s custom-built for me, so it’s a bit different from standard ones.”
Her hand paused mid-maintenance.
I could see the tension in her fingers.
“I swear, if I could, I’d just put a bullet in the heads of those gossiping about you with this gun. But instead, I’m calming down by working on my weapon.”
“Are the rumors that widespread?”
Na-yoon bit her lip at the question.
“They’ve spread like wildfire. People are openly spreading them. Everyone knows you’re in Team 3, at the very least. But don’t worry. Those rumors will be gone soon.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I hate to say it myself, but… I know a lot of people. I called in a few favors.”
Though she sounded bashful, her eyes sparkled even brighter.
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
“It is, but… you know those things that are true, but it’s embarrassing to admit out loud?”
“I don’t… really understand.”
“…Ah! But I do know something.”
Na-yoon’s eyes narrowed just a little.
“What are you referring to?”
“I saw you yesterday.”
She let out a small laugh.
It was a subtle smile.
What exactly had she seen?
I didn’t waver.
“You like cake, don’t you?”
“You saw me?”
“Yeah. Sitting by the window, eating cheesecake. I thought about saying hi, but decided not to.”
Cake and me—she thought it was an odd combo.
But I was eating it so happily, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt.
“You’re welcome to say hello.”
I smiled faintly.
If it weren’t for the scars on my face, it might’ve looked more natural.
“Really…? You shouldn’t say that so casually. I might get too excited and talk for hours.”
“Then, maybe just talk a little.”
When I revised my words, Na-yoon giggled.
“But weren’t you working then?”
“Oh, right. I was on a recon mission, so I was scanning the area and happened to spot you through my scope.”
She mimed aiming her gun, then suddenly paused as something came to mind.
“Oh!”
She slapped her forehead hard.
“I was assigned to investigate the second location connected to the test subjects on your behalf. I figured you’d be curious, so I wanted to tell you right away… but I wasn’t sure if I should text you.”
It had been one of the most seriously debated moments in her life.
She’d asked Shin-woo quietly, and he had firmly told her not to.
“You can text me.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yes. So… did you find anything?”
“…Hmm.”
Na-yoon drew out the sound.
Hmm. Hmm.
She dragged it out for quite a while.
“It might be difficult to find the third location. The one we found got destroyed when a new villain suddenly attacked. We did manage to rescue a few people, but… they passed away today.”
As she spoke carefully, she kept glancing at me.
She’d heard from Shin-woo that I was one of the test subjects.
It was a touchy subject, so her heart pounded the entire time.
‘…Ah. So that’s why the doctor was in a bad mood.’
I thought of Jeong-min.
I had just come from seeing him.
“Still, thanks to you, the victims’ families were spared the pain of never knowing. …Thank you.”
“You’re the one who did the work, Chu Na-yoon. I don’t deserve the thanks.”
“No, it’s thanks to you. These situations usually don’t end well. The victims are often in such terrible shape that not even proper autopsies are possible. Every time I saw a missing person flyer, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was them. But today’s different.”
Even though we couldn’t save them, they got to return to their families.
That one fact gave her a sense of comfort.
“That’s… a good thing.”
Na-yoon saw my faint smile.
Was it relief?
I was still hard to read.
“So that’s why the Team Leader stepped out?”
“Probably.”
“Thanks for telling me. Then, I’ll head out first.”
“Okay. Stay strong today too.”
She raised a single fist and waved it lightly.
After I bowed and left the room, Na-yoon placed a hand over her heart and let out a long breath.
‘…Did I do okay? Was that the right point to stop and send him off?’
Shin-woo had warned her not to get too close too fast, so she tried.
But honestly, she wanted to talk more.
Partly because he was a new recruit, and that was exciting.
But the more they talked, the more it became clear—he wasn’t a bad person.
Maybe it was his awkwardness that made her want to talk to him even more.
‘He’d totally get along with Ji-hwan, wouldn’t he?’
Was it the vibe?
The way he thought?
There was definitely something similar.
‘…Come to think of it, he and Shin-woo have something in common too.’
She blinked.
They had different vibes and personalities, but somehow… there was a shared thread.
‘Maybe Hyeon-yul was destined to be part of Team 3.’
Na-yoon chuckled to herself.
“…Excuse me.”
I lifted my head from my book at the soft voice.
I’d already heard their footsteps approaching.
I looked at the person’s forearm—there was a White Sparrow emblem.
They were White Sparrows.
They were likely here for one of two reasons.
Either about the manager I killed yesterday.
Or the ones who got fired because of me.
I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Is there something you need?”
When I answered gently, they looked surprised.
As if they hadn’t expected me to speak that way.
They exchanged glances, seeming unsure whether to go through with what they’d planned to say.
“Do you have something to deliver to me? Theory training starts soon, so please make it quick.”
“Have you… seen this person before?”
One of the managers held out a phone.
The moment I saw the photo, I tilted my head slightly.
I honestly had no idea who it was.
“Who is this?”
The question slipped out instinctively, and they looked flustered.
It was clear I genuinely didn’t recognize the person.
“Am I supposed to know them?”
When I turned the question back on them, they quickly masked their emotions.
Pushing any further now would only work against them.
“No. My apologies.”
The managers quickly bowed their heads.
Watching them rush off, I had a hunch.
‘It’s because of the manager I killed.’
Apparently, more people were paying attention than I thought.
For things to blow up just because one person didn’t show up to work—it meant the situation had gotten big.
‘No… they’re all connected, aren’t they?’
Who else would’ve told them things about me?
The anonymous group chat I’d found must’ve been spreading rumors.
With Hae-ryeon confronting the Coordinator yesterday and the manager who’d spread rumors about me now gone, it must’ve been terrifying for them.
I leaned on my hand as if resting my chin and quietly focused my hearing.
It took longer than expected to catch their conversation.
“…Hey. He said he doesn’t know.”
“He really looked like he didn’t.”
“But he didn’t come in today. He’s not answering his phone either.”
“Maybe he’s sick.”
“Yeah, m-maybe he’s sick…”
They were trying to brush it off, but it wasn’t going so well.
“Do you not get what happened yesterday? Two people got fired. And it involved Team 3. It has to be the same thing this time.”
“He might be in a situation where he can’t answer his phone. If we act rashly now, we might be the ones getting misunderstood.”
“No. I’m going to his house today.”
As the heavy footsteps faded, I lowered my hand.
‘Looks like something fun will happen after class.’
I glanced at the theory book.
Two Black Eagles brushed past me and entered.
They clearly had plenty they wanted to say, but again, they didn’t speak aloud.
Unlike with the White Sparrows, Black Eagles had to work with each other.
They were probably being wise.
A moment later, the instructor entered.
I looked at him with interest.
Hae-ryeon had said today’s content was important, so I paid attention.
Just the fact that someone was teaching me something—it was something to be grateful for.
It was a big shift from the past, where I had to find and learn everything on my own.
Today, just as Hae-ryeon said, there was a lot of important material.
They taught us about the structure of Nest, the relationship with White Sparrows, and how Black Eagle was formed.
What interested me the most was the theory about the source of power.
The origin of strength—where it came from, and what it was made of.
—The most accepted theory is that power is born from pain and fear.
‘Pain and fear, huh…’
I thought it was a pretty convincing theory.
Those were the two emotions I remembered most vividly as a test subject.
“…That’s all for today’s class.”
As the instructor finished, I closed my book and stood to leave, quietly smiling.
‘It’s pretty noisy out there.’
I deliberately walked out first.
The moment I turned the corner into the hallway, I saw a hand reaching toward me.
But I pretended not to notice—like I knew nothing—and took a step forward.
Only when I was grabbed by the collar did I drop my book, as if surprised.
Thunk.
The sound caught people’s attention.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
I looked up, pretending to be startled, and faced the manager who had grabbed me.
I recognized the face—he had shown up before class.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You killed him!”
As he shouted, silence fell over the corridor.
I took a long breath, as if stunned.
The startled reactions around us followed.
“…Let go of me.”
Though I had let myself get grabbed on purpose, the hand squeezing my neck began to irritate me.
Before the desire to tear him apart overtook me, I coughed—hard—thanks to the pressure on my throat.
“…Cough, cough, cough!”
As my coughing became violent, people finally rushed in to stop the manager.
“Hey! Stop it! He’s seriously going to die!”
“Let me go! That bastard’s a murderer!”
The manager shoved people aside and pointed his finger at me.
“I knew from the start this villain bastard didn’t belong here! Felt good to kill, huh?! Did it make you happy?!”
Even as he cursed and shouted, I kept coughing uncontrollably.
‘That bastard…’
My throat hadn’t been in good shape today, which is why I saw Jeong-min.
My immune system had its flaws.
Even with medication, there were days like this.
As long as I wasn’t triggered, it was manageable—but this had pushed it too far.
I knew I had to make a big scene for effect, but I still felt filthy about it.
‘I’ll kill you. No matter what.’
I never wanted trouble at work.
They were the ones trying to ruin that.
I hadn’t intended to harm anyone.
Was it really so difficult to just let me quietly adjust and do my job here?
“What the hell do you think you’re doing…!”
A familiar voice rang out.
It was Shin-woo.
I noticed how everyone’s attitude shifted instantly at just his words.
The hostility vanished.
I turned toward him.
“You okay?”
He rushed over, worried.
My throat was completely red.
“…I’m fine.”
“You need to see a doctor.”
Hae-ryeon had brought in a specialist who handled test subjects for me.
“I already went today.”
“Today…?”
Hearing that, Shin-woo turned and glared at the manager who had been restrained by the others.
“I don’t know what happened, but how could you do something like this to a sick person?”
He snapped at the manager.
Unlike when he looked at me, his expression was furious.
“…That bastard killed my colleague!”
“You’d better shut that mouth.”
Shin-woo warned him coldly.
“…I’d like to know, too. He came to me before class, showed me someone’s picture, and now he grabs my collar and calls me a murderer. How am I supposed to react—cough…”
I coughed again, lightly covering my mouth.
When I pulled my hand away, there was a bit of blood.
I was used to it.
Whenever my immune system malfunctioned, this happened.
It was nothing.
If anything, the small cut on my finger was more of a nuisance.
“How is this okay?! Come on, we’re going now! If you can’t walk, I’ll—”
“No. I need to clear up the misunderstanding first. If I leave like this, who knows what rumors will start.”
I stopped Shin-woo and deliberately addressed the people watching.
This was the best moment.
When no one could say a word.
“Who exactly am I supposed to have killed?”
I looked the manager straight in the eye and asked.
“This person! You killed him!”
The manager held up his phone to show a photo.
“That’s the same photo you showed me earlier. Who is he?”
“He’s the colleague you killed…! He was my friend!”
“I’ve never even met this person. On what basis are you accusing me? Show me the evidence.”
I demanded firmly.
Assumptions weren’t enough.
You needed proof—always.
“……”
The manager said nothing, and the crowd’s attention shifted.
The mood quickly cooled.
Even if they had heard rumors, this crossed a line.
Accusing someone without evidence, based on speculation alone—there was no excuse.
“So you have no proof?”
Shin-woo stepped in, pressing the question for me.
“H-He died in the evening. The apartment CCTV shows him entering the building that night!”
“And?”
I asked.
“And…?”
“That’s your answer?”
“There was theory class yesterday, so it ended early. You had time! You could’ve been waiting there in hiding!”
“Then am I on the CCTV?”
I asked, stunned by the sheer absurdity.