"Are you certain?"
"Yes. The circumstantial evidence and the testimony match perfectly."
Back from their mission, the group immediately passed the testimony on to the Director.
That a mysterious figure called the Angel was operating in secret behind the aberrations.
"......."
"Director?"
"Give me a moment to think."
Hearing the group's report, the Director's expression turned grave.
"A leak of classified information, then. Does anyone else know about this?"
"No one but us."
"Good. Don't breathe a word of it to anyone."
With that, Tae-jun put a question to the group.
"What do you think? About why this happened, I mean."
"Maybe the cleanup was sloppy?"
"That's possible. Though considering the abilities of Team Leader Chang-ho and the dedicated team, the chances are slim."
The Director paused for a moment before continuing.
"From now on, we'll put more effort into security and information control through a dedicated team. And we'll look further into this so-called Angel. And I'll say it again: never breathe a word of this. It's only a hypothesis, but..."
After a short breath, the Director finished.
"There may be a mole inside the organization."
***
"So what do you think?"
"Think about what?"
"What the Director said."
The staff lounge in the middle of the night.
The group sat with their heads together, quietly having a serious talk.
"Honestly, I'm not sure."
"I'm tired. Let's just call it a day and go home."
"Ugh, you people."
To be exact, only Chang-ho was being serious.
"Do you two really not have any thoughts on this? This is a serious matter. Whoever he is, if the guy helping aberrations sets his mind to it... that's not all. Our identities could all get exposed at the drop of a hat! And then our workload goes up too!"
Despite Chang-ho's worries, Jae-hwan and Ji-yeon just looked blank.
"Yaaawn..."
Even yawning, as if they couldn't bear their accumulated fatigue.
"Forget I said anything."
Chang-ho finally seemed to give up, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
"But there's nothing we can do. We've already done everything we can anyway..."
"Right. Isn't the rest up to the Director's side anyway? They're even putting together a dedicated team."
"All we have to do is keep our mouths shut."
To the end, the other two brushed off Chang-ho's worries.
"Yeah, is that so? Am I worrying for nothing...?"
"You are. You should go home and rest now too, Team Leader. Pushing through for days like that was seriously exhausting."
"Ugh, I feel like the smell of blood has soaked right through my clothes, you know?"
As the mood naturally turned to breaking up.
Jae-hwan grabbed his things and got up.
"I'll head home first, then."
"Wow, the rookie's leaving while the Team Leader's still here."
"Wow, what a total old fart."
Leaving Chang-ho and Ji-yeon's playful send-off behind, Jae-hwan stepped out the door.
***
Under the night air, an icy wind blowing.
Jae-hwan dragged his tired body toward the subway station.
'Seriously... I can't see even an inch ahead. Every day is a tightrope walk. I have to put my life on the line every mission, and I never know what danger's coming... Not that I regret it, since I chose this job.'
As he went down the stairs, going over his grueling day.
Bump.
He bumped shoulders with a passerby.
"Ah, sorry."
Not wanting to make a big deal of it, Jae-hwan apologized to the passerby.
"......."
But he gave no answer.
'What's with this guy?'
Putting aside his bafflement, Jae-hwan was about to move on.
Jae-hwan froze where he stood.
The man's eyes were unfocused.
That wasn't all.
The passerby was drooling from his mouth.
"Uh... excuse me, are you okay?"
Jae-hwan hurriedly grabbed the passerby's shoulder to stop him.
But the passerby said nothing.
He just quietly walked on into the station.
'Don't tell me... an aberration?'
Flustered, Jae-hwan hastily took out his phone and called Ji-yeon and Chang-ho.
But only the ringing tone came from the phone.
Only then did Jae-hwan realize it was now the small hours of the morning.
'I'll have to follow him, even if it's just me.'
His mind made up, Jae-hwan began following the passerby, muffling his footsteps.
There was nothing especially odd about the passerby from behind.
He just walked on like a machine.
Still, Jae-hwan couldn't shake his suspicion.
'Fine, he's heading the same way as my home anyway... I'll follow him as far as the subway.'
A nearly deserted subway car.
Jae-hwan managed to casually take a seat near the passerby.
The subway made a loud racket as it ran along the tracks.
But the passerby didn't move at all.
Just as he felt the atmosphere growing more and more suspicious.
Darkness suddenly fell inside the subway car.
'A blackout?'
It wasn't something you saw often.
As he kept watch, it wasn't long before the lights came back on.
The inside of the car looked no different from before.
Except for one thing.
"What's this?"
At some point, the subway's lights had turned a gloomy green.
Flustered, Jae-hwan slowly looked around.
Sure enough, the passerby was gone.
But something else caught Jae-hwan's attention.
The inside of the subway was thick with rust.
'This is... An aberration? When did it start? Damn it, I should've noticed...'
Quickly forming a weapon, Jae-hwan looked around.
But there was no aberration anywhere.
No, there was nothing anywhere that posed any threat to Jae-hwan.
Only the noise of the running train came from outside the car.
'What? This can't be possible unless it's an aberration. What on earth is...'
Just as Jae-hwan's tension was starting to ease.
[This stop is Dangsan Station. Dangsan Station.]
A static-laced announcement echoed through the train.
At the same time, the subway opened its doors onto a station thick with rust.
It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sight.
'Does it want me to get off?'
With no other choice, Jae-hwan got off the subway, wary of his surroundings.
Like the inside of the car, the station was lit by dank green lights.
Swallowing his unease, Jae-hwan forced himself to walk on.
At that moment.
"You came."
An unfamiliar voice rang through the station.
Jae-hwan slowly raised his head and looked toward the voice.
There stood a man with his hood pulled up.
He'd definitely never seen him before, but the description and the situation felt somehow familiar.
Jae-hwan instinctively knew who he was.
"So you're the Angel. The one who's been driving aberrations berserk..."
"Berserk?"
The man tilted his head at Jae-hwan's words.
"That's a bit harsh. Berserk, really. It was a cooperation by mutual consent, plain and simple."
Jae-hwan let the man's words go in one ear and out the other.
"So, are you the one who created this aberration too?"
Instead, Jae-hwan asked, wary of the man.
"Hmm... no? It's not an aberration, it's my ability."
"...What?"
The man gave Jae-hwan a mocking look.
A human who wielded an ability like an aberration's.
Jae-hwan felt something was wrong about that.
But only for a moment.
"Well, I guess that's possible. When I think about it, I'm that kind of human too."
The man spoke to Jae-hwan.
"You catch on quick, huh? Good. Then we can get straight to the point."
"Fine, go ahead."
Jae-hwan played along with the man.
"I've been watching what you do. Especially that business in the army. I liked it a lot. Though I didn't much care for the ending."
"......."
Jae-hwan didn't react at all to the man's words.
"You're not even surprised?"
"I've seen enough surprising stuff to trip over it everywhere I go."
The man laughed loudly, as if he liked Jae-hwan's answer.
"Good. So here's the thing: how about working with me?"
"...What?"
Jae-hwan had meant to stay calm no matter what happened.
But the man's offer was completely unexpected.
"No need to be that surprised, right? You seem to sympathize with aberrations quite a bit too. So together..."
"I refuse."
Jae-hwan cut him off at once.
It was true he had sympathized with a few aberrations.
But that couldn't erase his rage toward aberrations as a whole.
Whatever anyone said, Jae-hwan had lost his only family to an aberration.
Seeing this, the man looked disappointed.
"Didn't expect you to turn me down in one stroke like that. Do you want to kill aberrations that badly?"
"None of your business."
Hearing the answer, the man heaved a big sigh.
Then the man said something incomprehensible.
"Killing aberrations won't make this situation any better, you know."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Jae-hwan voiced his doubt at the man's words.
Hearing that, the man looked surprised.
"Don't tell me you still don't know why aberrations come into being?"
"They come into being when a grudge reaches its peak. That's obvious..."
"No, not that. The fundamental reason aberrations come into being."
"...?"
Jae-hwan gave the man an incredulous look.
After a brief silence.
The man suddenly burst out laughing.
"It's still classified! Impressive, huh?"
Along with that, the man spat out more cryptic words.
"What are you talking about? Spouting incomprehensible nonsense..."
"It's not nonsense. The secret the organization is hiding. If you say you'll help me, I'll tell you everything. How about helping me settle the aberrations' grudges?"
Jae-hwan took it as a simple attempt to drive a wedge.
So Jae-hwan answered the man without hesitating for even 1 second.
"No. I've got no reason to go along with crazy stuff like that."
Hearing the answer, the man gave Jae-hwan a meaningful look.
"So firm. I thought you of all people would help me, naturally."
"Naturally? No, before that, the very idea that I'd naturally help you is strange."
"Well... you burned an entire village to death just to help one aberration, didn't you?"
At that moment, Jae-hwan flared up in anger before he knew it.
"How do you know...?!"
"It's a small world. Don't tell me you thought nobody would know what you did?"
"......."
But Jae-hwan's resolve didn't change.
"Even so, my answer doesn't change. I refuse."
At Jae-hwan's firm answer, the man let out a groan.
"Fine, it can't be helped."
The man shrugged and went on.
"Go. I'll let you go."
Jae-hwan frowned slightly at his words.
"You're letting me go? Just like that?"
"What good would holding you here any longer do? I could fight you and kill you, sure, but I've got no intention of doing that yet."
As the man finished with a twisted smile, darkness fell over the station again.
'Damn it, so he was lying after all? Is he going to attack in the dark...?'
Jae-hwan immediately drew his blade.
But the darkness didn't last long.
Click.
The station soon regained its light.
'This is... Dangsan Station?'
Jae-hwan soon found himself in the middle of the subway station.
His tension draining away, Jae-hwan let out a sigh of relief.
'...It's over. So now... huh?'
But Jae-hwan wasn't alone.
Countless police officers surrounded him.
"Uh... police?"
While Jae-hwan made that dazed sound.
"Freeze! Police!"
"The suspect is armed! Drop your weapon! Now!"
"Suspect located! Making the arrest immediately!"
"...Huh?"
The police surrounded Jae-hwan in an instant and began taking him in.
"Wait, wait a minute! What is this?! Why am I being arrested?! At least tell me why!"
The police fired back something absurd at him.
"Mr. Kim Jae-hwan, you are under arrest, caught in the act of drug dealing. You have the right to an attorney..."
"...What??"
Didn't someone say that when something's absurd enough, words fail you?
'What the hell is this out-of-nowhere...??'
Speechless, Jae-hwan was dragged away limply by the police.