What Are You Moving?
(2) 22: Chapter 22.
What Are You Moving?
(2) * * * The reason they needed children was because they wanted test subjects, just as Hyeon-yul himself had once been used.
They were trying to create another monster like him and repeat those same horrific acts, so there was no way his emotions could remain calm.
“Looks like you really had no idea.
Pathetic.” Hyeon-yul sneered at the enemies watching him warily.
“Kill him…!” The enemies rushed him, but Hyeon-yul remained standing calmly.
“Three grown adults trying to abduct a child.
Aren’t you ashamed?
Even villains should have some minimum line they refuse to cross.
Leave little kids alone.” “You Eagle bastard, are you insane?
If I cared about a line like that, why the hell would I be here?” Flames rose from the enemy’s palm.
The sight of that fire reminded Hyeon-yul of Serin.
“Then bark.
Animals don’t get to speak like people.” Hyeon-yul hurled his dagger forward.
Black power clung to its tip as it slammed into the head of the villain wielding fire.
The dagger quivered vigorously like a dog’s wagging tail, and Hyeon-yul counted the remaining enemies in his head.
‘Two.’ Hyeon-yul caught the dagger as it sprang up from the shadows.
The weapon had excellent elasticity, as expected of something made for him by the Black Eagles.
He stepped forward and glided naturally across the floor, slipping past one of the enemies.
Following the smooth arc of the dagger, the man’s head separated from his body and blood burst violently from the severed neck.
Hyeon-yul walked quietly toward the last remaining enemy.
The villain watched his dying companion spray blood like a fountain, then stumbled over a stone and fell backward.
‘…T-That’s a Black Eagle?’ At least among the Black Eagles he knew, there had never been anyone like this.
Some strutted around in the name of justice, while other idiots would even show mercy if someone begged desperately enough.
And their methods were no better.
They were terribly inefficient.
All anyone had to do was look at the kindergarten.
What kind of idiot raised children with powers out in the open like that?
If they kept the children locked away, no one would be able to steal them, yet the Black Eagles practically left them outside with a sign saying they were free for the taking, then condemned anyone who actually tried to steal them as evil.
That was what the Black Eagles were like in the villain’s mind.
Yet the way this man spoke and acted was somehow different.
It felt as though he were facing a major villain rather than a Black Eagle.
“You understand the situation well enough.
Crawl back to your hideout like the animal you are.” “…A-Are you going to let me live?” Hyeon-yul approached the villain, who was clearly trying to calculate his chances.
He casually took hold of one of the man’s fingers.
“You have ten fingers.
How many do you think you can lose before life becomes inconvenient?” “…” The villain swallowed dryly.
“I have less patience than you seem to think, so I don’t overlook people testing me.” Hyeon-yul brought his dagger close.
He would start with one.
Before the villain’s scream could spread along with the loss of his finger, Hyeon-yul covered the man’s mouth.
“Shut your mouth and quietly guide me to your hideout.” The villain nodded with tears pooled in his eyes.
* * * “It’s all right now.
You waited a long…” Serin jumped at the sudden voice and accidentally unleashed her flames.
Fire blazed around her entire body.
‘Small.’ It was not even enough fire to cook something over.
Hyeon-yul calmly extinguished it.
“…!” Only afterward did Serin realize what had happened and stare at Hyeon-yul.
He was looking at her with exactly the same expression as before.
“Let’s return to the kindergarten.” “…You’re not going to scold Serin?” “Why would I scold you?
That fire exists to protect you in the first place, and it worked exactly as it should.” “To protect Serin…?
But Serin just tried to hurt you!
Serin almost, almost, almost did something bad again!” “That little flame cannot harm me at all.” “That’s because you’re a Black Eagle, Mister!” Serin pointed at Hyeon-yul.
He was not sure what she meant by that, but after thinking briefly, he spoke.
“You may hate that fire right now, but you only need to become friends with it.
If you look at it often and get used to touching it, you’ll eventually be able to control it.” The more Hyeon-yul spoke, the brighter the child’s eyes became.
“…Really?” Once, when fire had burst from her body, she had burned down a room.
Everyone had told her it was her fault and shouted at her for not being more careful.
After the fire, even the friends who used to play with her began avoiding her.
But Hyeon-yul neither said those things nor looked at her that way.
He simply looked at her exactly as he had before.
“Yes.
You don’t need to go over there anymore.” “Then can we bring my friends back?
My friend is over there.” At Serin’s innocent question, several thoughts passed through Hyeon-yul’s mind.
There were important cautions attached to completing the mission.
—Do not forget that the people being protected are children.
—Do not frighten the children.
—Do not let them know they are being targeted.
“No.
They went somewhere farther away.” Hyeon-yul looked directly at Serin.
Her friend might already have been moved somewhere else as a test subject.
He did not make some foolish promise that he would bring the child back.
There might no longer be any possibility of doing so, and it was better not to make empty promises.
“…Chichi!
You could’ve at least said goodbye!” Serin pressed her lips tightly together, then abruptly began waving toward the forest.
“Everyone!
Go on ahead!
I’ll see you later!” The more she spoke, the brighter she smiled as she waved with all her might.
Hyeon-yul knew the gesture had no real meaning, but he waited for a while anyway.
By around the seventh time Serin called out a friend’s name, Hyeon-yul realized she had looped back to the first name she mentioned and finally spoke.
“Let’s go back now.” “Hey, Mister.” “Go ahead.” “There’s something I wanted to do with my friends.
Can I do it with you instead?” Would it have anything to do with the mission?
Hyeon-yul thought briefly before asking.
“What is it?” “I want to see the fireworks at the festival!” Serin raised both arms high and fluttered her hands excitedly.
Her eyes gently closed as her plump cheeks lifted with her smile.
“If I watch them with you, Mister, I’m sure I’ll be happy!” Hyeon-yul’s shoulders slowly lowered.
There was no reason watching them with someone like him would make her happy.
Yet the absolute certainty in her voice left him feeling strange and deeply confused.
* * * Jihwan’s mouth was practically trembling.
Hyeon-yul’s message had shocked him beyond belief.
Why was he taking the child with him?
If he had to go, shouldn’t he have gone alone?
All kinds of thoughts had been racing through Jihwan’s mind when Hyeon-yul appeared standing there with the child.
—It ended faster than expected.
Serin is unharmed.
The completely flat way Hyeon-yul said it made Jihwan want to say something, but he forced his mouth shut.
The child was safe, and the eyes she turned toward Hyeon-yul were astonishingly clear and trusting.
—I’m going to step out again, so please take good care of her.
Hyeon-yul said it so naturally that Jihwan nearly waved him off without thinking.
Jihwan quickly came to his senses, took Serin back to the kindergarten, and then followed Hyeon-yul.
‘And this is where he meant…?’ Jihwan’s gaze traveled upward.
It was a building.
‘…Three floors?
Five?
Eight?’ It was quite tall.
Jihwan lowered his gaze back to Hyeon-yul, wondering why he had come here.
Hyeon-yul clenched and opened both hands, then sat briefly on a nearby bench and took something out.
“Hyung.
What…
is this place?” Jihwan was curious about what was in the packet too, but more than that, he wanted to know why they had come here.
“This is the hideout of the villains who tried to abduct the children.” Once Hyeon-yul learned the location, he had not forgotten that he still needed to deal with the villains.
It was merely that the time to take his medicine happened to arrive just before he stormed the place.
“…What?” Jihwan could not understand what he was hearing.
Their hideout?
Had tracking a villain’s hideout always been this easy?
“Mr.
Ye Jihwan.” “…Yes?” Jihwan almost let out a hollow laugh as reality washed over him.
If hideouts could be tracked down this easily, countless cases would have been solved long ago.
But their enemies were not idiots.
They approached their targets with extreme caution precisely to prevent their bases from being discovered.
‘He solved this…
that quickly?
What the hell?
How did he do it?’ Jihwan wanted to ask Hyeon-yul immediately.
“Can you destroy it?” Hyeon-yul had seen Jihwan’s magic before.
The strength of magic varied from mage to mage, but Jihwan was powerful even among them.
“Destroy…
what?” The blank look in Jihwan’s eyes still had not disappeared.
He had been unable to keep up with Hyeon-yul’s pace for a while now.
“The building.” Hyeon-yul casually pointed at it.
He had once tried swallowing an entire building with his power, but it had only made him feel ill and was extremely inefficient.
“I’ll go in there and kill the boss.
Once I come back out, destroy the building.” Only after saying that did Hyeon-yul finally look around the surrounding area.
One neighboring building was somewhat close, but he did not think it would suffer much damage.
More importantly, wiping everything out at once would let him leave work early.
Ah.
Hyeon-yul remembered something he had forgotten and continued.
“If collapsing it is likely to cause serious damage to other places, I’ll try to evacuate the people first.” He thought that much consideration should be sufficient, then looked at Jihwan.
The dazed look in Jihwan’s eyes still had not returned to normal.
“It seems I made an unreasonable request.
You don’t need to concern yourself with it any further.” “I can do it.
…But, um, what happens to the people inside?” “They die.” It was an obvious question, so Hyeon-yul could only give the obvious answer.
When Jihwan fell silent, Hyeon-yul swallowed his medicine and continued.
“I told you I used to be a villain.
Do you remember?” “I remember.” “Once someone becomes a villain, it isn’t because they somehow don’t know what they’re doing.
You may think those people deserve another chance, Mr.
Ye Jihwan.
But they have already had countless chances.
It may have been difficult, but they could have stopped.
They chose not to.” Hyeon-yul had no intention of making excuses for himself either.
He had stayed a villain and worked for villain-owned companies because he could not afford the ever-increasing cost of his medicine and because he needed to find the people who had turned him into a test subject.
“You don’t have to do it, Mr.
Ye Jihwan.
My hands are already stained with blood.
One more death added to that number makes no difference to me.” Hyeon-yul smiled at Jihwan.
He did not care if Jihwan condemned him as being no different from them.
“Hyung.
Let me ask you one thing.” “Go ahead.” “Why do you have to go this far?” “Villains are weeds.
Even if you think you pulled them out, you turn around and find them growing again.
The more carelessly you pull at them, the farther they spread.” As Hyeon-yul looked at the building, one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Watching villains commit atrocities while being incapable of honoring even a simple employment contract had taught him that the only answer was to sweep them all away without leaving anything behind.
“If we leave those people alone, countless children will be dragged away as test subjects.
Children should not grow up like that.” As Hyeon-yul’s argument grew steadily heavier, Jihwan’s lower lip began to tremble.
“…Hyung!” Hyeon-yul’s eyes widened at Jihwan’s sudden approach.
“Hyeon-yul hyung!
That was seriously cool!” Jihwan clenched his fist with an expression that suggested he wanted to exchange an enthusiastic high five.
Since they would be carrying out many missions together from now on, he had wanted to understand what kind of person Hyeon-yul really was.
‘Now I know exactly what kind of person he is!’ He was a hopeful man trying to leave his past behind and dream of a new future.
‘Right.
What does appearance matter?’ The scars on Hyeon-yul’s face made him look a little frightening, but he was otherwise an exceptionally striking man.
‘And what does the past matter?’ What mattered was the present, and Jihwan stared hard at the building.
It was a place that intended to turn children into test subjects, and now it looked utterly disgusting to him.
“Hyung, I’ve actually always wanted to blow up a building at least once.
I kept wondering whether I was allowed to do it, and the responsibility felt too heavy, so I never could.” Hyeon-yul eyed Jihwan warily and took a step back.
He could not understand why anyone needed such a speech just to blow up a building.
“If you’ve made that kind of resolve, Hyung, then as your teammate I should make my resolve too.” “What exactly are you resolving to do…?” “To uproot villains completely.
I was too complacent.
I kept thinking this much would be enough, but that was half-hearted.” When the time came, you had to act.
Jihwan had learned that through Hyeon-yul.
Without looking at him, Jihwan raised a thumb.
“Go, Hyung.
I’ll make sure not even one rat gets out.” “How long will it take?” “Give me five minutes.
I’ve never blown up a building that large before either.” “Then I’ll finish taking my medicine first.” Only then did Jihwan look at Hyeon-yul.
Seeing the handful of pills in his palm and the syringe he pressed into his abdomen, Jihwan could not bring himself to ask anything.
Hyeon-yul had been a test subject.
How healthy could a surviving test subject possibly be?
‘…So Hyung joined the Black Eagles to burn away the last of his life?’ Just looking at the amount of medicine made Jihwan assume that Hyeon-yul must be terminally ill.
No healthy person would take that many drugs.
‘Is this…
his atonement?’ “I’m fine.” When Jihwan’s gaze grew strange, Hyeon-yul stated it clearly.
Jihwan merely nodded.
His eyes still looked oddly troubled, but Hyeon-yul assumed he had understood and slowly walked away while covering his eyes.
The boss was usually on an upper floor, so Hyeon-yul started by examining the topmost areas.
It was obvious which room was likely to belong to the boss because it stood out from all the others.
The kind of room built to maintain a needlessly weighty atmosphere for someone whose work consisted of little more than signatures and golf.
‘There.’ The president’s office.
Hyeon-yul confirmed the nameplate.
To make sure someone was actually inside, he covered one ear and walked closer.
“…You can’t even handle one thing properly, so why are you dragging your feet like this?” The scolding tone alone was enough for Hyeon-yul to know.
‘That’s him.’ “Hurry it up!
Do you have any idea how angry the Poison King is?
Move all the kids we acquired, now!” ‘…What?’ Hyeon-yul doubted his ears.
Why was the Poison King being mentioned here?
Hyeon-yul walked to a place where Jihwan could no longer see him.
There were no security cameras in the president’s office.
The more crooked someone was, the less likely they were to install something that might record their own weaknesses.
Hyeon-yul melted into the shadows and appeared behind the president, drawing his dagger.
“Don’t forget to check the merchandise before you leave!
Got it?” The president ended the call irritably.
“I’m going to kill that bastard one of these days.” He pulled a cigarette from inside his clothes and opened a drawer to look for a lighter.
Rattle.
As the drawer slid open, a voice came from behind him.
“Where are you moving them, and what exactly are you moving?” The voice was low and cold.
The president’s eyes shifted, then slowly dropped downward until he saw the blade lightly pressing into his throat.