Let’s Fill It Out (2) 12: Chapter 12.
Let’s Fill It Out (2) * * * ‘I need to do well here.’ Hyeon-yul drew a breath.
Along with negotiating his annual salary, he needed to establish the overall terms properly from the beginning.
Haeryeon studied his expression once, then gave an awkward smile.
“I said it confidently, but it is a little funny to be discussing an employment contract on your third day, isn’t it?” “No.
I’ve been waiting for this.” Hyeon-yul answered carefully, his posture stiff with concentration.
“I’m glad you said that.
Normally we should sign one immediately, but here we observe people for at least three days and sometimes as long as two weeks.
We’re judging their character.
I hope you won’t take offense.” The Black Eagles were special civil servants.
Depending on who became a Black Eagle, the consequences could be dramatically different, so the organization had no choice but to evaluate a candidate’s character.
Hyeon-yul was no exception.
No matter how many times Haeryeon searched through the records connected to him, she could find no record of him killing an ordinary civilian.
His missions had also been handled cleanly.
Even if she wanted to investigate further, there simply were far fewer records on Hyeon-yul than on most people.
At this point, she had to trust her own judgment.
‘…I knew it.’ A chill ran through Hyeon-yul when he heard her explanation.
What would have happened if he had actually rested when Shinwoo and Nayun told him to take it easy?
“I’m not offended.
In fact, I agree with the policy.
I want to work here without causing problems later.” “Then I’m glad.” Haeryeon smiled and handed him the contract.
Hyeon-yul stared at the paper with intense focus.
“These are the Black Eagle’s standard terms.
The benefits listed in the recruitment notice are all included exactly as advertised.
Read through it, and if there’s anything you want to negotiate, tell me.
I don’t know how other places handle this, but we’ll genuinely do our best to accommodate you.” Listening to Haeryeon, Hyeon-yul took the employment contract in both hands.
His heart began beating without any regard for his composure.
Just as she said, every benefit he had seen in the recruitment notice was written there.
‘Stay calm.’ Hyeon-yul forced his trembling emotions under control.
In a negotiation, the person who lost composure lost.
“Will these terms actually be honored?” “Of course.
We belong to the Empire.
If you work overtime, you will always receive additional paid leave.” “…And if that cannot be honored, the clause saying additional wages will be paid is also correct?” Haeryeon happened to notice the hand holding the contract trembling and barely managed to suppress a laugh.
Did he really like the terms that much?
“That’s right.
Two and a half times a full day’s pay.
What good does saying sorry do?
If the organization is apologizing, it should show some sincerity.” Money was the best way for a workplace to express an apology, provided the amount was large enough that neither side had reason to grimace.
“I added some benefits to that version that I thought you would especially appreciate.” Haeryeon pulled another employment contract from the drawer and slid it across the desk.
“…?” Hyeon-yul froze in place.
There was still more to add?
‘…Why is she doing this?
What is she planning?’ His wariness began rising little by little as he stared at her.
“I added clauses guaranteeing time for your medical treatment and financial support for your medical expenses.
Check them.” Haeryeon tapped the paper, and Hyeon-yul’s eyes finally moved.
He stared at it like a child seeing written words for the first time, confronted by something utterly unfamiliar.
The exact clauses she had described were right there.
“…” Hyeon-yul doubted his own eyes.
How much had he agonized over this very problem?
There had been countless times when he went hungry because of it.
“I know you’re strong, Hyeon-yul.
I’ve seen that myself.
But the aftereffects of what you suffered as an experimental subject are much worse than I imagined.” With Hyeon-yul’s consent, they had conducted a medical examination and received professional advice on his condition.
Put simply, his body could not survive even a single day without medication.
The drugs he currently took were so powerful that, for an ordinary person, they would be closer to poison than medicine.
Hyeon-yul needed drugs that strong just to keep his body functioning.
Saying that repeated experimentation had twisted his entire body out of shape might have been the most accurate description.
Those medications were extremely expensive, and because there were effectively no surviving experimental subjects, there was no established support program for people like him.
Money had been the leash villains used to bind Hyeon-yul.
“I’m fine as long as I take my medicine.” Hyeon-yul did not look disturbed.
He simply gave the familiar answer of someone who understood his own body better than anyone else.
“That’s what I heard too.
I also heard that besides the medicine you take, you have to keep visiting the hospital for injections.” “I’ll make sure it never interferes with my missions.” “I’m not trying to pressure you.
You’re doing well, Hyeon-yul.” “…” A troubled expression appeared on Hyeon-yul’s face.
‘Is he flustered?’ Haeryeon tried to read him.
His expressions were fainter than most people’s, and she had been told that was another side effect of the drugs.
“Your uniform will be made thicker and more durable than the standard version.
I’ve also ordered something to cover your face.” Haeryeon looked at Hyeon-yul’s gloved hand.
“Did you get cut?” How had she noticed?
Hyeon-yul filed the question away in his mind and answered first.
“I administered first aid.” “Your finger was stiff.
I heard your blood doesn’t clot properly.
Are you all right now?” At Haeryeon’s question, Hyeon-yul extended a hand.
A first-aid kit emerged from his shadow.
He opened it for her.
Haeryeon was impressed to see the contents neatly divided according to their intended use.
“I have everything I need in here.” He looked strangely proud of that fact, and Haeryeon fought hard not to smile.
“Then is there anything else you need?” “If necessary, I can stay up all night.
I understand that overtime may happen.
However, this clause saying I can use paid leave afterward must be honored.” “Of course.
If I fail to honor it, cut off my head.
I’ll give it to you willingly.” Haeryeon answered him with a broad, fearless grin.
“You shouldn’t say things you may regret.
I genuinely follow through.” “I figured that out the moment you arrived carrying Shin Daeho’s head.
But that’s my resolve.
There has to be some difference between us and the people who only claim they’re different.” Seeing the strength in Haeryeon’s eyes, Hyeon-yul gave a faint smile.
He rather liked that expression.
“I would also like my salary to arrive on time.
I do want to eat.” ‘Those bastards!
At least feed someone if you’re going to make him work!’ Haeryeon barely swallowed the rage threatening to erupt inside her.
“Your salary will never be late.
Never.” “I’d also prefer not to be sent on sudden errands at night.
Please don’t call me as a designated driver because you’ve been drinking, steal credit for my work, or decide you like my clothes and take them off me while I’m still wearing them…” As Hyeon-yul continued listing examples one after another, Haeryeon finally understood with complete certainty.
She understood why he had come here, why he had been driven to cut off Shin Daeho’s head, and why he wanted to bring villains to ruin.
‘I seriously want to buy him a drink.’ If she said that now, though, he would definitely flee.
He might even stare at her as though wondering why she would suggest such a thing.
“Hyeon-yul, is there anything you’ve been having trouble with since coming here?” “The atmosphere is different from my former workplaces, so I’m still adapting.” “Right.
The atmosphere must feel very different.
Is it…
difficult?” Haeryeon stumbled over the words because she genuinely wanted to help if she could.
“I’m reading books and making an effort, so even if the way I speak or behave seems unfamiliar, I hope you won’t misunderstand me in various ways.” “Books…?” “Yes.
One is titled 101 Ways to Navigate Office Life Smoothly.” The instant she heard the title, Haeryeon desperately swallowed her laughter.
It did not fit the outwardly blunt and intimidating man in front of her at all.
Still, she found the effort admirable.
‘He really is trying.’ “And…
never mind.” Hyeon-yul had nearly asked her to reduce the amount of attention she gave him, but stopped himself.
It felt like an unnecessary question.
“Please…
make sure I can leave work on time.” He hurriedly substituted another request.
Somehow, he looked almost embarrassed when he said it.
Haeryeon suddenly wanted to grab Shin Daeho by the neck even though the man was already dead.
How could anyone turn another human being into this?
‘Die, Shin Daeho!
No, you’re already dead, but die again, damn it!
Every bastard Hyeon-yul killed can die again too!’ Haeryeon smiled sweetly while cursing them all in her head.
Looking at Hyeon-yul now, she was struck by just how merciful he had actually been.
“Ah, Team Leader.” “Yeah?” “Is the company you were trying to find through Shin Daeho the place I visited today?” “The affiliated-company connection was shocking, but no.
It wasn’t that one.” “May I borrow a sheet of paper?” “One moment.” Haeryeon brought him paper and a pen.
Hyeon-yul immediately drew the wineglass-shaped emblem.
“If you see a similar symbol anywhere, assume it may be one of Shin Daeho’s affiliated companies.
It could be worked naturally into a picture by the entrance or hung like artwork in the lobby.
Wouldn’t this make it faster to locate the company you’re looking for?” Haeryeon was genuinely moved by the valuable piece of information Hyeon-yul had just handed her.
“Hyeon-yul…
I’ll treat you well.
Don’t leave us.
Just keep working with us, okay?” “That is my intention.” Hyeon-yul smiled brightly.
Compared with his large build, the smile looked unexpectedly pure.
“Then sign here and go straight to the hospital.
Got it?” “Am I off work?” “Yes.
Of course.” “I’ll do that.” Hyeon-yul moved the pen across the page with noticeably more enthusiasm.
* * * ‘…This feels like a dream.’ Hyeon-yul leaned against the bus window and stared blankly outside.
The sun had not even begun to set yet.
Being able to see a blue daytime sky after leaving work felt almost miraculous.
He could not remember the last time he had experienced this kind of leisure.
However, a persistent gaze kept prickling his back and eventually began to irritate him.
‘Something always interrupts me when I’m in a good mood.’ Without turning his head, Hyeon-yul covered one eye.
There were many passengers on the bus, but three of them kept glancing in his direction.
There was nothing remotely friendly about the looks they were giving him.
‘What are they doing?’ Hyeon-yul shifted his vision to the ceiling behind them.
Instead of speaking aloud, the three were communicating by text message.
[Hey.
Hey!
HEYHEYHEY!] [Are you sure that guy got on this bus?] After sending the message, one of them casually looked elsewhere.
[Brooding A: Isn’t that him?
The guy with the gray hair.] ‘They seem to mean me, but apparently my hair looks gray to them.’ So this was what the recognition-blurring effect actually did.
Hyeon-yul decided it was quite useful.
[Disappointed V: What are you talking about?
There’s no way he looks that vacant.
Stop staring.
He’s going to notice everything.] [Ah, damn it.
We need to find him.
Don’t you know what he looks like?] [Brooding A: If I knew, would we be doing this?] [Disappointed V: Are we even sure he got on this bus?!] [Aaaaaah!!
I don’t know!
You guys were the ones who said we should come!] [Brooding A: Hey, just get off.
We were trying to find out where he lives, but this is a waste of time.] Hyeon-yul smiled faintly as he read their messages.
‘Why do they want to know where I live?’ There were two likely possibilities.
Either they wanted to make trouble for him, or they intended to kill him once he let his guard down.
Hyeon-yul nearly laughed aloud at the situation.
‘I was wondering why they were staying quiet.’ Whichever possibility was correct, he knew problems like this had to be uprooted early.
‘…What should I do?’ Hyeon-yul considered it briefly.
Unlike in the past, he now had restrictions.
The more villains he killed, the more praise he might receive, but this situation was different.
If he killed these people right now, where would suspicion immediately point?
‘Should I kill them one by one?’ He needed to be more meticulous than he had been in the past.
After thinking for a moment, Hyeon-yul quietly smiled.
‘…No.
I don’t even need to touch them.’ The bus stopped at just the right moment.
Hyeon-yul looked through the open door and saw an unfamiliar power wavering in the distance.
Something carrying an unfamiliar power was rapidly approaching.
All three suspicious passengers stood almost simultaneously, and Hyeon-yul slipped one hand into his pocket.
Only one of the three put a phone into a pocket.
Hyeon-yul’s hand melted into darkness inside his own pocket, quietly reached over, and took the phone.
He returned his gaze to the window, then hurriedly rose when he heard the bus doors beginning to close.
He approached the driver.
“You should accelerate as quickly as possible.” At Hyeon-yul’s quiet warning, the driver nodded.
That driver was also a White Sparrow.
Perhaps the three people from moments ago were White Sparrows as well.
As the bus picked up speed, Hyeon-yul returned to his seat.
BOOOOM!
A sound almost like an explosion erupted behind them.
Everyone turned toward it, and Hyeon-yul did the same.
A spectacular pillar of fire was rising from approximately where the bus had been moments earlier.
Hyeon-yul covered one eye.
Through his remote vision, he saw the three people burning inside the violent flames.
The three suspicious passengers were burning with remarkable thoroughness.
‘Magic.’ This was the first time he had seen magic on such a massive scale.
What kind of villain was causing trouble now?
Hyeon-yul lowered his hand and glanced at his smartwatch.
Surprisingly, it remained completely silent.
That meant someone other than him had already been dispatched.
Only then did Hyeon-yul relax and return his gaze to the blue sky.
If some villain had interfered with his trip home from work, Hyeon-yul had intended to make sure they did not die pleasantly.
* * * “…Hyeon-yul.” The man took a deep breath and pushed his glasses higher on his nose.
[Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: The explosion near the bus you were riding was magic.] [Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: It looks like the Bomber’s work.
You weren’t hurt, were you?] ‘That explosion was the Bomber?’ Hyeon-yul immediately sent a short reply through the device.
[I’m fine.] “Hyeon-yul?
Are you listening?” “I’m listening.” “Who is it?” “Someone.” The man gave him a look that practically said, Look at this guy, before deciding to pretend he had not noticed anything.
“Anyway, I told you to be careful even with small injuries.
You usually follow that rule so well, so what happened today?” “I administered first aid.” “Right, right.
Excellent work.
I don’t know when you got hurt, but you did such a wonderful job with first aid that blood is still streaming out.
Isn’t that right?” The man lifted Hyeon-yul’s finger and showed it to him directly.
Blood was indeed still seeping from the wound.
They had known each other long enough that Hyeon-yul understood there was no real hostility behind the sarcasm.
The doctor sitting in front of him was Lee Jeongmin.
Hyeon-yul had been treated by him for many years.
“At least I kept my appointment today.” “Yes, exactly!” Jeongmin suddenly grew excited and clutched his own hair.
“Wow.
Just thinking about it again is shocking.
I thought my heart was going to stop.
Do you know how long it’s been?
Hyeon-yul actually came on time.
The great Hyeon-yul himself arrived on schedule!
It’s a miracle!” “Then I’ll lie down.” Hyeon-yul familiarly lay on the bed, and Jeongmin shook his head.
The man really was no fun at all.
“I’m quitting starting tomorrow.” “Is that so?” Jeongmin felt a little disappointed by the same flat response he always received.
“Aren’t you going to ask where I’m going?
How many years have we been seeing each other’s faces?” Before administering the prepared injection, Jeongmin glanced at Hyeon-yul.
For reasons even he could not fully explain, he had been fascinated by experimental subjects created by villains since childhood.
He had wanted to save people who were still human but had been transformed into something that could hardly be called human anymore.
He studied relentlessly and became a doctor, believing he could finally become the person he had dreamed of being as a child.
He eventually learned that belief had been nothing but arrogance.
Experimental subjects rescued from villains died soon afterward no matter what treatment they received.
Jeongmin had devoted more than half his life to helping them, yet he had not saved a single one.
It was the moment when everything he had done began to feel meaningless.
Then, in the middle of that despair, Hyeon-yul appeared before him.
For the first time, Jeongmin was looking at a living experimental subject.
—…Save me.
Jeongmin had thought it was an extraordinarily arrogant demand coming from such a small child.
“Where are you going?” Then and now, Hyeon-yul wore the same blunt expression.
Over the years, he had also brought other experimental subjects to Jeongmin.
Jeongmin had no idea how he found them, but Hyeon-yul would suddenly appear with one person, or sometimes three or four, leave them behind, and disappear again.
Every one of them had died.
Even so, Hyeon-yul had never stopped bringing them.
Jeongmin had also never stopped trying despite failing to save them, because Hyeon-yul existed.
As long as Hyeon-yul remained alive, Jeongmin could cling to the hope that another experimental subject might survive too.
“You’re actually curious?
You’re not just asking because you feel obligated?” Jeongmin asked sarcastically, and Hyeon-yul gave a faint smile.
“I was thinking about several things.” “Like what?” “If you were being forced out of this hospital, I was considering what I should do about it.” How could Hyeon-yul not know that the hospital director was always trying to push Jeongmin out?
Even with subsidies from the Empire, experimental subjects were not profitable patients.
If Jeongmin had been fired, Hyeon-yul had planned to kill the hospital director.
That was simply the conclusion he reached.
“It scares me because you really might do something, but I’m going somewhere good.
The Black Eagle.
You’ve heard of it, right?” Hyeon-yul’s expression froze at Jeongmin’s answer.
When Jeongmin realized he was genuinely surprised, he burst into laughter.
“Surprising, isn’t it?
I was shocked too when they offered me the position.” ‘Whose doing is this?’ Hyeon-yul blinked several times in genuine astonishment.
“The Black Eagle is starting a support program for experimental subjects.
This hospital already gives me grief over performance numbers and everything else, while they offered more money and promised they wouldn’t hold back on support.
How could I honestly refuse?” “You made the right choice, Doctor.” “It annoys me hearing that from a brat so much younger than me.” “Doctor, I mean it sincerely.” “I know.
I know.” “Congratulations.” The simple, sincere congratulations stirred an emotion Jeongmin could not quite identify.
Was he happy that the experimental subject he once knew as a child had grown this much?
Was he moved that someone who once could barely express emotion was now capable of putting genuine feeling into his words?
Or was he simply happy that Hyeon-yul was still alive?
“Oh, Hyeon-yul.
Apparently there’s a Black Eagle who used to be an experimental subject.
So there’s someone besides you.” ‘…That’s me.’ Hyeon-yul blinked, then soon smiled.
Only then did he realize whose work this had been.
“Hyeon-yul.” “Yes.” “Even after I go to the Black Eagle, I’ll still be the one treating you.
It’ll be a little farther away than this hospital, but I already received permission for you to come.
You don’t need to worry.
I will never give up on you.” “I wasn’t worried.
You’re the only person who thinks this much about me, Doctor.” The unexpectedly direct words made Jeongmin turn his head away in a hurry.
What kind of day was today?
“Your rehabilitation…
has gone remarkably well.
I wonder whose brilliant work that was.” He could only hide behind pointless jokes.
* * * KNOCK, KNOCK.
The sound at the door made Jeongmin tense.
A Black Eagle was scheduled to visit him today.
The Black Eagle’s status was enormous.
Simply meeting someone he would normally never have the chance to see felt like an honor.
“C-Come in.” The door opened behind Jeongmin’s trembling voice, and a man walked inside.
<Team 3> The designation appeared in the air.
After a brief moment of surprise, Jeongmin immediately stood and bowed.
“Hello.
I’m The doctor sitting in front of him was Lee Jeongmin.” “Doctor, it’s me.” “…What?” Hyeon-yul removed his smartwatch.
The unfamiliar man from a moment ago vanished, and Hyeon-yul stood in his place.
Jeongmin’s eyes widened until they could hardly grow any larger.
“…?” “I look forward to continuing my treatment with you, Doctor.” Hyeon-yul finished the explanation with a light, familiar smile.