Chapter 63: Did You Think I Wouldn’t Know? (1)
“What? You already found them…?”
Shin-woo asked in surprise.
From the CCTV's perspective, Hyeon-yul, holding the remote, specifically changed the channel three times.
It was adding confirmation that there were three people.
“Did you memorize their faces?”
Shin-woo asked.
“I memorized them.”
Na-yoon answered as if it were obvious.
“Good. Ji-hwan, stop now.”
At Shin-woo’s words, Ji-hwan stopped his magic.
Hyeon-yul moved the remote.
He changed the channel several times, then moved his thumb while holding his phone.
[There’s nothing interesting.]
“Hey. Is it okay to just flip through channels noisily?”
Ji-hwan let out a sharp breath and targeted Hyeon-yul.
But his eyes trembled.
Sorry, Brother.
That look filled his eyes.
Shin-woo bit his lip hard.
He was suppressing laughter, but from afar, it might look like he was suppressing anger.
“I apologize for that.”
[Then, you should get permission before changing channels too.]
Unlike the apologizing Shin-woo, Hyeon-yul confidently held out his phone.
The role I played wasn't someone mentally sound.
Having been unable to speak for five years, would I even have the patience to endure being picked on?
Besides, Ji-hwan seemed to want it that way.
“What did you say? What did you just say?”
As Ji-hwan’s voice rose sharply, the White Sparrow ran over in surprise.
“No, Morning Stars. Please calm down for a moment.”
“Ah, get out of the way.”
Ji-hwan pushed the White Sparrow.
Would he care about anything else right now?
It was right to think he was being ignored.
What would happen if things escalated like this?
Ji-hwan was curious about that.
“Mr. Dong-hoon. Calm down.”
Na-yoon subtly pushed Ji-hwan, pretending to stop him.
If they were being wiretapped now, people would surely rush over from the opposite building.
Ji-hwan was waiting for that.
“Didn’t you see those words? He’s ignoring me!”
[When?]
Hyeon-yul held out his phone.
“Chan-dae. You stop too. As his older brother, I apologize.”
Shin-woo stopped Hyeon-yul and apologized first.
“No, even if someone apologizes, he should be the one apologizing, what is this?”
[Is turning on the TV such a crime?]
“……Ha.”
Ji-hwan let out a scoff looking at the text Hyeon-yul presented.
“…You want to go at it, is that it?”
Ji-hwan looked around, then snatched the remote Hyeon-yul was holding and broke it.
Crack.
In that instant, Shin-woo’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“Morning Stars? Morning Stars, stop.”
The White Sparrow tried to stop them with a flustered face.
He didn’t know why they were suddenly inducing the situation like this.
“Let me tell you, I absolutely hate being ignored. Got it? When you have no money, people treat you worse than an animal. They do!”
“Why are you saying that to my brother?”
Shin-woo scowled and approached Ji-hwan.
He usually had a grinning impression, and since he had actually been like that constantly, people didn't know, but when angered, he looked quite fierce.
“Like brother, like brother.”
The same went for Ji-hwan.
He usually had a roundish impression due to his large eyes, but now he looked like someone ready for a fight.
“Watch your mouth.”
“I watched it just fine.”
The moment Shin-woo approached Ji-hwan at those words, the door burst open.
People rushed in and separated the two.
“Morning Stars. Morning Stars, you mustn't do this!”
“Calm down!”
“Morning Star, you shouldn’t act like that.”
Ji-hwan looked at the scene as if creeped out.
“What is this……”
“No…, how did you all know to come?”
Na-yoon finished the thought.
She pointed at the White Sparrow with her hand.
“That person was using both hands just now, how did you know to come?”
“You wiretapped us, right? You were all on the same side, weren’t you? You came to catch me, didn't you?”
Ji-hwan stopped shouting and glared at Na-yoon.
His voice rose even higher.
“Senior! What is going on?”
“I don’t know either……. I’m creeped out too! I didn’t know it was this kind of place! Let’s get out, Mr. Dong-hoon.”
Leaving.
At those words, a momentary silence fell.
Glances were exchanged between them.
The surprise was brief; as if by prior agreement, they all beamed at each other.
“We just dropped by while passing, so don’t misunderstand.”
“That’s right. We came because we heard a noise.”
“This is the 4th floor, can you really hear that?”
Ji-hwan pressed the issue.
Logically, could this noise possibly reach downstairs?
Ji-hwan approached each person one by one, pushing their shoulder and repeating the same words.
“Can you hear it?”
He applied his mana to everyone for later use.
“We were just so happy to see the Morning Stars. We apologize if we made you uncomfortable.”
“That’s right. We wanted to come welcome you.”
“We’re sorry for suddenly barging in. We wanted to give you a surprise welcome.”
Even though Ji-hwan acted like trash, everyone wore the same expression and uttered similar words.
Aside from gender differences, it was like they were copy-pasted.
They looked like they might start begging any second now.
“…Isn’t this place a madhouse?”
Ji-hwan wanted to say that, even if it wasn’t acting.
He had actually been deployed to places like this several times, but none were as systematic as today.
He wanted to dig into their heads to figure out what was going on.
Clap.
Just then, the sound of clapping hands was heard.
At that single sound, everyone startled, then quickly apologized and moved aside.
“We’re sorry!”
It was one of the villains Hyeon-yul and Na-yoon had seen.
Behind him stood the other two.
“It seems we’ve entered an era where Morning Stars are precious due to people’s heightened vigilance. We sincerely apologize for the rudeness committed out of everyone’s eagerness to welcome you.”
The man smiled faintly.
Hyeon-yul looked at the man.
Their eyes met.
He had remarkably snake-like eyes.
‘……The smell of blood.’
It rose to the point of being nauseating.
I couldn't tell what he had been doing, or what he was doing now.
“Now, everyone apologize. The Saint might become angry.”
“We’re sorry.”
“We’re sorry for startling you!”
I thought they might bang their heads on the floor, but they apologized by bowing their heads normally.
At the simultaneous apologies, Ji-hwan just sighed.
The man approached Ji-hwan.
Just as Ji-hwan stepped back, the man quietly handed something over.
When the man’s fingers touched his palm, Ji-hwan confirmed the object handed over after applying his mana.
His jaw dropped the moment he saw it.
“A token of apology, Morning Star.”
No matter how you looked at it, whichever way you looked, it was gold.
“…Ahem. Since you put it that way, I will specially accept your apology this time.”
Ji-hwan put it in his pocket, trembling inwardly.
As a civil servant, he couldn't accept such things.
Even Black Eagles couldn't be exceptions in this regard.
‘I’ll submit it as evidence immediately. I definitely didn’t accept it.’
Ji-hwan steadied his wavering heart and maintained his expression.
“Thank you for accepting the apology.”
The man smiled faintly.
He immediately turned his head to look at the people behind him.
“Everyone, withdraw.”
“Just a moment.”
Shin-woo pushed Hyeon-yul behind him and stopped the man.
The man turned his head to look at Shin-woo.
“…Something about your actions just now was quite strange. I’m asking just in case, but you weren’t wiretapping, were you?”
“Of course not.”
“It’s just that, …um, it was too fast.”
“If you’re uncomfortable, we can change the building for you. We cannot have our Morning Star trembling in anxiety.”
“…No. Not that far.”
Shin-woo trailed off.
The role he played was someone who cared for his brother but was timid.
“In that case, I will take responsibility and conduct an inspection.”
The man offered first.
I will inspect.
Words that could quell anxiety, but Hyeon-yul found it laughable.
What did it matter if they inspected things in their own territory?
It was just a setup.
‘After checking, they’ll say there really was wiretapping. They’ll apologize, claim the relevant believer was punished, and pretend to treat us better.’
Hyeon-yul read the obvious tactic.
What wouldn't villains do to get what they wanted?
Their cover story was that they were alienated from society.
What these people craved most was attention and warmth.
They intended to treat us bewilderingly well, coddling us warmly.
Once we grew accustomed to their touch, after taming us well, they would reveal their true nature.
It was safe to say the reach of their grasp had just begun.
“Will you trust me? I will definitely take responsibility.”
The man lowered their guard with a smile, his words carried in a soft voice.
‘He’s a mental-type.’
Hyeon-yul felt a strange power emanating from the words.
Who knew that enduring all sorts of experiments would be helpful like this today.
Hyeon-yul glanced at everyone.
They underwent physical examinations before becoming Black Eagles.
Among them, defense against mental-types was not omitted.
As for myself, my brain circuits were already fried, so mental powers had no effect whatsoever.
But the others were different.
They said they had received training to defend against mental attacks.
‘Is defense really possible?’
Shin-woo, Na-yoon, and Ji-hwan suddenly smiled brightly, as if on cue.
“Of course. For my brother’s sake too, please take good care of us. I wonder if I was unnecessarily suspicious.”
Shin-woo abruptly changed his attitude.
“As for me, I accepted the apology earlier.”
Ji-hwan smiled even wider.
“I was worried, but I don’t need to worry anymore. I can feel your sincerity.”
Na-yoon was relieved.
All of this seemed as if they were dominated by the mental power.
I couldn't intervene now.
Shin-woo naturally looked at Hyeon-yul.
He smiled as if to reassure him, and Hyeon-yul realized they were pretending to be affected.
I smiled along with them.
Everyone went into their respective rooms.
Perhaps they would stay in their rooms like this until dinner.
I couldn't just stay still.
Hyeon-yul lay on the bed, his back to the CCTV.
He curled up and then pulled the blanket completely over himself.
Time was flowing towards the encroaching darkness.
My eyes and ears began to melt into the darkness.
‘Should I kill them if I find them? Or bring them back?’
I pondered for a moment.
First, understanding the situation was paramount.
Eyes, ears, and nose melted away.
Moving separately, I sent them wherever there was shadow.
Morning Star.
That word entered my ears countless times.
They were genuinely welcoming us.
I could hear and see bright smiles, wondering what they could do for us.
Looking only at this, one could see how bright this place was.
But everywhere, the smell of hallucinogens permeated.
Were they really seeing a field of flowers? The laughter heard began to feel increasingly bizarre.
“What do you think?”
A voice caught my ear.
Sending my eyes over, the building was marked with the number 6.
“The new guys?”
“That’s right.”
“If they get hit with this, they’ll go crazy like the others. Staying here constantly is making me go crazy too.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Ah, come on. I am being careful. If I don’t talk like this, I’ll really go nuts. It’s disgusting watching those whose eyes have glazed over because of the drugs, seriously.”
“Enough, are the preparations ready?”
“Ready. They’ll chow down well, not even knowing what’s mixed in their food. Gotta watch how deliciously they eat. How messed up will they get when this gets shoved into their bodies after they collapse? That's the fun part of being here, I guess.”
He giggled.
Hyeon-yul looked at what the guy was holding.
It was a drug contained in a syringe.
‘Is he talking about the hallucinogen?’
While uncertain, sending my nose over finally confirmed it.
‘…It’s one of the drugs I was injected with.’
It was a familiar smell.
What effect did it have again?
‘……Right.’
Hyeon-yul slowly recalled.
It was a drug used when trying to create powers that didn't even exist.
It showed gradual effects but was also a drug that had been discarded because it failed.
Why was it here?
Hyeon-yul suppressed the surging emotions.
‘Including those guys, a total of 5.’
Hyeon-yul confirmed the CCTV's location, smashed it, and then sent separate hands to grab the two by the scruff of their necks.
“……?”
“!”
Their surprise was brief; along with the drug the guy was holding, they were sucked into the darkness.
“Hey.”
Just then, the door opened, and 3 more entered.
“……?”
“Where did these guys go?”
“……Ha. These bastards, really, I told them to manage the drugs properly.”
He looked around with an irritated voice.
The guys’ shadows writhed.
Just then, something black stretched out and covered their mouths.
“Mmph!”
Before they could resist, they were dragged into the darkness.
All hell might have broken loose within the darkness.
‘Caught 5 out of a total of 8.’
Hyeon-yul briefly emerged from under the blanket.
<Na-yoon. Did you see anything else?>
A message popped up.
It was Shin-woo.
<There are 4 more. So about 7 so far?>
It seemed Na-yoon had found 4 more.
Hyeon-yul thought they didn't overlap with his count.
This brought the total to 12.
With the wireless earphone in, Hyeon-yul lifted the blanket again, covering only his mouth.
<There are 5 more, and I’ve caught them.>
After some thought, Hyeon-yul stated the number honestly.
It was something that could be confirmed later.
What if the numbers didn't match?
This was a mission, and revealing it was the right thing to do.
<I knew it!>
Ji-hwan was excited.
<Caught them, caught them!>
<Uh……?>
On the other hand, Na-yoon spoke as if dumbfounded, and Shin-woo asked in surprise.
<…Caught them? When? We all went into our rooms together, right? Are you outside right now?>
<I am not outside. I am lying on the bed. I am also covered with a blanket.>
When Hyeon-yul stated it firmly, laughter flowed from Na-yoon and Shin-woo.
<ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ>
It seemed the laughter was captured like that in the message.