What Are You Moving?
21: Chapter 21.
What Are You Moving?
* * * ‘…I’m going crazy.’ For the first time, Hyeon-yul understood exactly what that feeling meant.
The mission he had received a short while ago was as follows.
「*Incident Overview —This kindergarten is an extremely important facility where children who possess powers and have lost their parents are gathered and educated.
*Incident Progress —Villains began targeting the children after learning about the kindergarten.
—There are already indications that several children have been abducted.
—Security was tightened after the kidnappings, but there have recently been reports of a suspicious person being seen nearby.
*Points of Caution —Do not forget that the people being protected are children.
—Do not frighten the children.
—Do not let them know they are being targeted.」 This was no ordinary kindergarten.
As the incident report stated, it was a special kindergarten operated by the Black Eagles.
This was a world where all kinds of powers existed.
Most people were born possessing some kind of power, and those powers were apparently classified by type and divided into grades.
The higher a child ranked, the less proficient they tended to be at controlling their power, so they were educated in special facilities.
This kindergarten was one of them.
The fact that these children had no guardians would probably make them even more appealing targets to villains.
‘I understand why they need protection, but do we really have to do it like this?’ Hyeon-yul found the situation profoundly awkward.
Children were beings completely removed from his world.
Whenever he had gone out to kill other villains, he had only seen children as bodies sprawled on the ground or as helpless figures crying in fear and terror.
This was the first time he could remember seeing them alive and smiling so brightly.
Back then and even now, they looked so frail that it seemed they might die if he put even a little strength into his grip.
“Kids!
You remember me from last time, right?” Jihwan spoke to the children with practiced ease.
“Yes!” the children answered energetically.
“This big brother is here for the first time today.
He doesn’t know much, so if he gets lost, you have to show him the way.” “Yeees!” As if they were competing with one another, they shouted even louder, practically at the tops of their lungs.
Hyeon-yul’s ears nearly rang from the noise.
Why were they shouting so inefficiently?
What was there to compete over in the first place?
He felt as though he had encountered some completely incomprehensible life-form, and he could barely even open his mouth.
Jihwan was smiling as he looked at Hyeon-yul, but then he faltered for a moment.
Hyeon-yul’s expression looked far too grim.
“…I’ll take a look around the perimeter.” After thinking it over, Hyeon-yul decided there was no way he could act like Jihwan, and that staying beside the children was probably not the right choice for him.
The more he looked at their bright expressions, the more he felt as if they lived in a completely different world from his own.
“Mr.
Ye Jihwan, you can…” “That’ll probably be difficult.” Jihwan shrugged at Hyeon-yul’s suggestion.
It did not take long for Hyeon-yul to understand what he meant.
The children immediately swarmed toward him.
“Big brother, what’s your name?” “Oppa, are you good at playing house too?” “Big brother.
Do you eat your vegetables?” “Oppa, can you fly?” A barrage of questions suddenly came pouring at him from every direction.
Hyeon-yul froze on the spot, and Jihwan burst out laughing.
It would be nice if they could catch the villains, but actually apprehending them was usually difficult.
Even so, their visits served as a warning to the villains not to try anything because the Black Eagles were guarding this place.
There were already separate security guards stationed here, so what Hyeon-yul and Jihwan were really expected to do was play with the children.
‘If those kids ask him to play with them, I think he might actually faint.’ Jihwan knew he ought to hold back, but one look at Hyeon-yul’s face made that nearly impossible.
* * * Only after escaping from the children did Hyeon-yul finally feel relieved.
‘…They’re that tiny.
How are they even alive and moving around?’ Every time he answered one question, several more came pouring out.
—Have you ever put a snail in your nostril?
—Penguins are friends with crocodiles!
Nonsensical statements he could not even begin to understand assaulted his ears as well.
‘The mission itself is simple, but I never expected an obstacle like this.’ All he had to do was catch the suspicious person and wipe out the group responsible so it could never happen again.
Several children had apparently already been abducted, so there had to be traces left behind somewhere.
Yet once he actually arrived, the mission turned out to involve playing with children.
‘I might have acted like Mr.
Ye Jihwan in my previous life too.’ The drugs that had ruined his mind had changed many things, starting with the way he thought.
Like Jihwan, he was still undergoing rehabilitation because he had not escaped the aftereffects of the drugs.
‘As expected, dead people are easier.’ The dead did not speak, so there was no need to exchange emotions with them.
That thought reminded Hyeon-yul of something.
He searched the inner pocket of his coat, pulled out his medicine, and chewed it.
Crunch.
‘If useless thoughts are starting to surface, the medicine must be wearing off.’ If he did not take it, his head became noisy all day long, as though an alarm were constantly ringing inside his skull.
Hyeon-yul let out a deep breath, then stopped halfway as his eyes shifted to the left.
He could hear crying.
He instinctively drew his dagger to aim for the source’s throat, only to stop himself in a hurry when he saw who it was.
It was a child, so he quickly hid the dagger.
“…Mister.” The child sniffled as she called out to Hyeon-yul.
Was she not frightened of him?
“Did you come to look for Serin?” Tears pooled in her huge eyes and rolled down her cheeks every time she blinked.
Was Serin her own name?
“No.
I just happened to find you.” What was she doing here?
His curiosity lasted only a moment before Hyeon-yul decided not to concern himself with it any further.
He was about to move on and search for traces when Serin grabbed the hem of his pants.
Feeling the small hand clench tightly around the fabric, Hyeon-yul looked down.
“Ask Serin…
why she’s here.” “Why are you here?” Come to think of it, that was strange.
Why did no one seem to know that a child was here?
“…Um.
Um.
Um.” She had asked him to question her, yet once he did, Serin fidgeted with her fingers as though she had fallen deep into thought.
She kept glancing up at Hyeon-yul.
“Mister, are you a new teacher?” “No.” “Then why are you here?” “I came here for work.
Why did your teacher leave you here by yourself?” “…T-The teacher didn’t do anything wrong!” Serin’s voice rose on its own.
A brief burst of flame sprang from her body, and Hyeon-yul extinguished it with his own power.
‘She can’t control her power.’ Startled, Serin covered her mouth and twisted her head and body from side to side as if searching for the flame.
Soon, she stared quietly at Hyeon-yul.
“…Did you see it?” “See what?” “The fire.” “I didn’t see anything.” Only then did Serin relax.
“…You know, Serin is a troublemaker.” Apparently embarrassed by something, the child covered her face with both hands and shook her head.
“What makes you a troublemaker?” “Fire keeps coming out of me when I’m happy, and when I’m angry too.
So I’m not allowed to go near my friends.
One of my friends got hurt because of Serin last time.
…Serin is, Serin is a monster.” “Is that so?” At his flat response, Serin stared straight at Hyeon-yul.
It was not the kind of answer she normally heard.
Could it be that this mister knew too?
Maybe, just maybe, he understood.
“Um, Mister, has that ever happened to you too?
Like, doing something bad even though you didn’t want to?” As she asked, Serin once again grabbed tightly onto the hem of Hyeon-yul’s pants.
She did not seem willing to let go until he answered.
Hyeon-yul used his shadow to scan the surroundings.
At the very least, there was no suspicious person nearby.
“Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?” It seemed she had spent a great deal of time alone.
If Hyeon-yul were a villain, he would undoubtedly target this child as well.
Fire powers were almost always strong.
“Serin will tell you if you answer Mister’s question first.” “Very well.” Thinking it was a sensible trade, Hyeon-yul readily agreed.
He lowered himself onto one knee so their eyes were roughly level.
“It has happened to me too.” When his power first manifested, he had regained his senses to find blood everywhere around him.
It had been exhilarating, and his only regret was that he had not killed more of them.
“…Really?” Serin looked at him with eyes that seemed to hold stars.
“Did it really happen to you too, Mister?
Just like Serin?” “Yes.
Now answer my question.” Hyeon-yul cut her off with perfect decisiveness.
This was a trade.
Even if she was young, she still possessed reason.
Serin’s lips pushed out in a slight pout, but then she beckoned him closer.
Hyeon-yul knelt down again to bring himself to her eye level.
“…It’s a secret, but there’s a mister who said he’ll help me.
I’m only telling you because you’re like Serin too.” “How did he say he would help you?” A smile spread across Hyeon-yul’s lips.
He had found his lead.
Whether the teacher had neglected the child or separated her from the others to protect them was not important.
What mattered was that the child was alone like this.
When Serin saw Hyeon-yul smile, she smiled along with him.
“Do you want to come too, Mister?
Serin will ask him for you!” “Very well.” “Shhh.” Hyeon-yul nodded at her warning.
The child beamed and introduced herself.
“I’m Lee Serin.” “Seo Hyeon-yul.” Serin hugged Hyeon-yul’s leg tightly, then ran off somewhere.
Hyeon-yul raised his phone and informed Jihwan of what he had learned.
[I don’t know whether this is neglect or a protective measure, but I found a child alone.] [After speaking with her, I learned that someone is trying to take her away.
I’ll follow along with the child.] [Her name is Lee Serin.
Please confirm her identity.] Hyeon-yul lowered his phone and followed after Serin.
* * * Serin slipped out of the kindergarten grounds with practiced ease.
‘…I can’t believe there was a hole in the wall.’ It was narrow enough that even a child could barely squeeze through, so it was understandable that no one had paid much attention to it.
A forest stretched out behind the kindergarten.
When Hyeon-yul had searched for the kindergarten, it had not appeared in any search results.
Apparently, they had hidden the facility within the forest.
Hyeon-yul watched Serin’s movements from behind.
At first, he wondered what she was following, but then he noticed small ribbons tied at Serin’s eye level.
An adult would have to look downward to notice them, so most people whose eyes were naturally higher would probably walk right past without seeing them.
‘Has this been set up and used several times already?’ Hyeon-yul watched the small child’s feet patter along as she hummed to herself.
She seemed quite familiar with the route.
“Did another child come this way with you before?” “Yes!
That friend went to get fixed before me.
They said Serin couldn’t be fixed right away.” ‘That’s complete nonsense.’ Hyeon-yul could see the villain’s scheme clearly now.
“Did they tell you not to tell your teacher about this?” “How did you know?
They said they wouldn’t fix me if I told the teacher.
So, so I didn’t say anything.
They kept saying they couldn’t fix Serin, but this time they said they can.
Serin is really happy because Mister came with her today!” Serin spoke with innocent delight.
She did not seem capable of judging what was wrong with the situation at all.
‘…I knew they’d use that method.’ Long ago, Hyeon-yul had heard all kinds of things from a coworker who was much more loose-lipped than expected.
The best way to lure a child away was to use another child.
A child’s wariness crumbled very quickly when dealing with someone their own age.
It seemed the villains had planned to leave the kindergarten alone until they used this child as the final step and lowered everyone’s guard inside.
‘In other words, if I lose them here, I won’t catch them.’ Hyeon-yul quietly covered one ear and began searching for them.
They had to be nearby.
“By the way, Mister.” “Go ahead.” “Are you good at using your power now?” “I am.” “How did you get good at it?” “I made…
various efforts.” Hyeon-yul hastily changed his wording.
No matter what, telling a child that he had been subjected to countless experiments did not seem appropriate.
“You worked hard?
Then did you eat all your vegetables too, and go to bed early, and, and greet people nicely?” As she walked, Serin kept turning around to look back at him.
“…?” Hyeon-yul could not understand the flood of questions.
What did any of that have to do with controlling powers?
After thinking for a moment, he realized it must have been something her teacher told her to comfort her.
People sometimes planted false hopes in the name of reassurance.
“That’s right.” “Then what other things did you work hard at, Mister?” Perhaps this was her first time having a conversation like this, because Serin chattered away excitedly.
‘What did I work hard at…?’ Hyeon-yul thought for a moment.
After gaining powers through numerous experiments, his body had collapsed.
He had become something that could only be described as shadow or darkness, unable even to maintain a human form.
In order to become human again, he had examined the bodies of the people he killed one by one.
He believed he needed to understand how a body felt in order to maintain his original form.
‘I can’t exactly tell a child to touch corpses.’ While Hyeon-yul was struggling over how to answer, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Serin.
He could hear voices and footsteps ahead.
“…What’s wrong, Mister?” “When you release fire, does it feel hot to you?” “It’s not hot at all!” “If anyone approaches you, you may use your fire.
Ah, except for people wearing this symbol.” Hyeon-yul pointed to the eagle emblem on his clothes.
“…Mister, you’re a Black Eagle?” Serin’s eyes changed.
Her gaze was close to outright admiration.
Her face flushed with excitement as though she might scream at any moment, so Hyeon-yul immediately pressed a finger to his lips.
Serin covered her mouth and nodded.
“Sit down like you did in the bushes earlier.
Do not let anyone approach you except me or someone wearing this symbol.” “Yes!
Serin can stay here by herself!” Serin whispered as loudly as she dared.
Hyeon-yul looked at the crouching child, then headed toward the villains without hesitation.
Jihwan was already rushing over, so Serin would be fine.
As he took a step forward, Hyeon-yul pulled the completed helmet over his head.
It resembled a motorcycle helmet, though it was much thinner and looked considerably lighter.
Hyeon-yul vanished from where he stood.
By the time he appeared again, he was already behind one of the villains with a blade buried in the man’s throat.
“Did you need another test subject?” Hyeon-yul addressed the villains without changing his position.
Their widened eyes were filled with shock before shifting toward the eagle emblem on his arm.
“Looks like you never expected us to come after pulling this kind of shit.” Hyeon-yul made no attempt to hide the irritation rising inside him.