Scouting 7: Chapter 7.
Scouting * * * * * * “…” Haeryeon briefly lost her words after listening to Shinwoo’s report.
They had rescued the hostages before they could be turned into test subjects.
And it had not ended there.
They had even captured the person responsible for the operation.
Haeryeon swept her hair back from her face.
‘…Hyeon-yul did all of that?’ She struggled to close her hanging mouth.
No Black Eagle on probation had ever completed a first mission this perfectly.
“Hyeon-yul says we need to get the second location out of the villain he captured.” “Why?
We rescued the hostages already.” “He says the locations get closer to the actual experiment facility starting from the second stage.” As Shinwoo spoke, he remembered what Hyeon-yul had told him.
—They can’t relocate an experiment facility immediately.
Usually they either destroy it or move everything out.
If there’s a gas explosion or suspicious moving activity starting today or tomorrow, pay attention to that area.
“Is that…
really true?” “Yes.
Hyeon-yul told me.
He said to watch for gas explosions or suspicious moving activity from today onward.” “That’s useful information.
Anything else to report?” Haeryeon turned toward Shinwoo.
Whatever he wanted to say, he seemed unusually hesitant.
“It’s about Hyeon-yul.” “What about him?” “Is his body actually fit for this job?” Shinwoo remembered the pills and syringe Hyeon-yul had used.
One of the greatest reasons villains were hated by everyone was precisely because of what they did to test subjects.
How could anyone treat human beings like animals?
Simply remembering the things those bastards had done made Shinwoo feel sick.
“Hyeon-yul satisfied the conditions for special recruitment.” Amusingly enough, someone had proposed holding another vote today.
Haeryeon had no intention of accepting that demand, but she had decided that taking another vote might at least settle the matter once and for all.
Judging from today’s mission alone, there was more than enough proof.
“He demonstrated his strength today too.
Did anything happen during the mission?” “Nothing went wrong.
If anything, he was so quick and efficient that it was hard to believe he was a rookie.” “Hyeon-yul worked for companies run by villains.
In a way, he’s a rookie with…
experience.
The kind of candidate corporations love.” Shinwoo’s eyes deepened at Haeryeon’s answer.
A former test subject had worked for companies that might have been involved in creating people like him.
“Was he manipulated into it?” “For one thing, he needed money for hospital bills.
And this is only my guess, but I think he also has a personal grudge.” “So that explains why his methods were different.” “As you know, Shinwoo, Black Eagle wasn’t created to rehabilitate villains.
We aren’t heroes.” Some people might call the Black Eagles heroes, but the organization had been created to erase villains from the land.
That meant they could never truly be heroes.
“Do I look like I’m criticizing Hyeon-yul?” “Some people will.” “The country itself left the disposal of villains up to private citizens.
Even killing one gets overlooked and forgiven, so criticizing him for it would be ridiculous.
Maybe those people would come to their senses if villains killed their own families.” “There’s still a line we can’t cross.
Even we can’t torture villains to death, use them as experimental subjects, or commit other acts no human being should.
The consequences would be much worse for us.” The greater the privileges Black Eagle received, the heavier the price of the rules that constrained them.
The corners of Shinwoo’s eyes lowered before he nodded.
The penalties were enormous, extending beyond legal consequences into material losses far worse than most people imagined.
Some Black Eagles had even fled simply to escape those restrictions.
“Even so, Team Leader, I think we should keep a close eye on Hyeon-yul’s condition.
He needs to work with us for a long time.
I’ll help watch him too.” Shinwoo spoke with unusual seriousness.
The mission mattered, but so did Hyeon-yul’s health.
Even if only because of his hospital bills, it was right to accommodate him so he could keep working longer.
That was also what a teammate should do.
“Of course.
Do you know how excited I am right now?” The corners of Haeryeon’s mouth refused to come down.
She could not express how glad she was that Yang Dojin, the leader of Team 2, had failed to steal Hyeon-yul away.
“My heart’s racing too.
I’m looking forward to seeing how many more shocking things he’ll do.” When Shinwoo agreed, Haeryeon held out her palm.
CLAP!
Shinwoo slapped his palm against hers.
They understood each other without saying anything more.
New recruits were precious, and strong new recruits were even more precious.
Haeryeon and Shinwoo smiled in satisfaction before leaving the room together.
* * * The moment Shinwoo left to report to Haeryeon, Hyeon-yul used his power to listen in.
He thought he had a right to know what they were saying about him.
There was nothing especially strange in the conversation, but he did not understand why they kept mentioning his body when they knew nothing about it.
The word “long” bothered him most of all.
—You’ll work with us for a long time, right?
Isn’t that so?
It overlapped too neatly with the words of villains who had recruited him in the past.
Hyeon-yul closed his eyes for a moment and took a long breath.
‘Don’t get oversensitive.’ No matter how carefully he looked, he had never found a workplace better than this one.
Whatever they said, this was a place he needed to endure and keep enduring.
When Haeryeon rose from her seat, Hyeon-yul lowered the hand that had been covering his ear.
As she came outside, Hyeon-yul turned toward her.
“You worked hard, Hyeon-yul.” Haeryeon smiled with her usual pleasant expression and soon exchanged a high-five with Shinwoo.
Smiling faces had to be treated cautiously, so Hyeon-yul gave her a small smile in return.
“You’re the first person I’ve seen do this well on a first mission.” “It was nothing.
I only did what I was supposed to do.” Wanting to look dependable, Hyeon-yul put as much firmness into his eyes as he could.
“The people you and Shinwoo rescued are being examined right now.
If nothing is wrong, they’ll be sent home.
And we’ll definitely get the second location out of the villain you brought back.” “I don’t have to do that myself?” Hyeon-yul asked in genuine confusion.
He had been the one who brought the man in.
That meant the responsibility should be his too.
“That part is the Managers’ job.
There is one thing Hyeon-yul needs to do, though.” “What is it?” “Go home.” The corners of Haeryeon’s mouth rose.
Hyeon-yul’s face filled with the shock of someone who had just been hit by an arrow.
“Go home first, Hyeon-yul.
Actually, let’s leave together.
That would be better.” “…What?” “I’ll show you the way.” Hyeon-yul barely processed the flood of words and lowered his gaze toward the time.
It was 2:51 p.m.
Even after looking again, he could not believe it.
“I’ll go too.
I should head home.” Shinwoo immediately volunteered to go with them.
—The looks I got on the way here weren’t friendly.
Rumors about me have clearly spread, so I was wondering whether someone might intentionally leave information out when dealing with me…
Something Hyeon-yul had said earlier still bothered him.
Shinwoo intended to make it obvious that Hyeon-yul belonged to Team 3.
When Shinwoo smiled, Hyeon-yul slightly averted his gaze.
‘…What are they doing?’ He already knew the way.
Could he not simply retrace the path he had taken earlier?
‘Or is this how things are normally done?’ Hyeon-yul swallowed the irritation rising inside him.
There were many annoying things, but one word dissolved all of them instantly: going home.
For now, that alone was enough.
* * * Perhaps because Haeryeon, a team leader, accompanied them, absolutely nothing happened on the way out.
Hyeon-yul had been prepared to kill anyone who tried to stop him.
He sat on the nearly empty bus and looked through the window.
—…You took a taxi here this morning?
You did well to make it.
This bus is for us, so make sure you use it for commuting.
Otherwise, you can’t get into the Nest.
Before getting off, Shinwoo had explained various things to him.
—And because of the magic on this smartwatch and the clothes we wear…
Ah, you returned the uniform already.
Anyway, other people see a different face, along with labels like “Team 3” or “Team 2,” so you don’t have to worry about your real face being exposed.
Team members can see each other normally, though.
Learning facts about Black Eagle that he had never known while working for villain companies made Hyeon-yul feel as though he were peeking into a secret.
The bus finally stopped in front of his neighborhood.
It had genuinely brought him all the way to the front of his neighborhood.
Was this what employee welfare felt like?
‘…Amazing.’ He could not know when he had never enjoyed benefits like these before.
Hyeon-yul stepped down from the nearly empty bus.
“Thank you for your work.” After greeting the driver, he looked upward.
Hyeon-yul lived in what people called a moon village, one of the poor hillside neighborhoods built so high on the slopes that they were said to be closer to the moon.
His hospital bills consumed so much money that even rent was difficult to afford.
There had even been times when unpaid wages left him without food for several days.
For now, though, he was all right.
After killing Shin Daeho, he had taken the wages he was owed from the man’s account.
Hyeon-yul removed the smartwatch, slipped it into his pocket, and walked the familiar road while thinking.
‘They say Shin Daeho was such a big deal, but the villains’ side has been strangely quiet.’ Black Eagle had been pursuing Shin Daeho.
They said he was the loose thread that could reveal the identity of the villain controlling a major corporation.
Shin Daeho had used Hyeon-yul as both a bodyguard and an errand runner, so Hyeon-yul knew the businesses he operated, the partner organizations he dealt with, and even many of the people he met.
‘There really are too many.’ BZZZZT.
Hyeon-yul frowned the moment his phone vibrated.
Thinking it was more spam, he checked and found a text message instead.
[Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: Hi, Hyeon-yul.
Surprised I contacted you out of nowhere?
I wanted to give you some good news.] [Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: Don’t come in tomorrow.
Start again the day after tomorrow.] She sent an animated squirrel dancing alongside the message.
‘…?’ For a moment, Hyeon-yul felt as though everything had stopped.
[Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: Rest tomorrow.
Just organize the information related to Shin Daeho at your own pace and submit it the day after tomorrow.
We’ll count that as remote work.] Hyeon-yul squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds.
He genuinely felt as though he might go insane.
How could she say something like that?
‘Rest?
I only started work today.’ He covered his eyes for a moment.
Hyeon-yul was not usually shaken by much, but this was different.
He was genuinely moved by the message.
‘…She really is a good person, right?’ Still, Hyeon-yul barely managed to hold on to his reason.
‘No.
I’ll get fooled again.’ He had been equally happy the first time someone recruited him.
A person should not repeat the same mistake, and Hyeon-yul had already repeated it enough times to deserve being called an idiot.
[Thank you for your consideration.
I’ll send it as soon as I finish organizing everything.] [Team Leader Oh Haeryeon: Sounds good hahaha!
Have a great day!] She sent another animated squirrel waving its paw.
Hyeon-yul wondered what he was supposed to say in response, then gave up.
There was not really anything else to continue the conversation with, and exchanges like this still felt awkward to him.
‘Do I need to…
develop social skills?’ It had not been a particularly useful skill in companies run by villains.
Now, however, things were completely different for him.
Lost in various thoughts, Hyeon-yul reached near the top of the hill.
He was not even short of breath.
He opened the familiar door and started inside, then stopped.
Of course.
He should have known things would not stay quiet on that side.
“…Who are you?” Hyeon-yul slowly turned his head toward the voice.
“Excuse the intrusion.” A man stood silently behind him near the entrance.
“What do you want?” Hyeon-yul asked without any emotion in his voice.
“It’s nothing complicated.
My master has taken an interest in you.
In particular, he said the way you killed Shin Daeho was magnificent.” “Ah.
You’re here to recruit me?” The corner of Hyeon-yul’s mouth rose.
He had wondered where he had seen this kind of scene before.
It was extremely familiar.
He also wondered how they had found him here.
‘Haven’t they heard the news about me yet?
Or do they know everything and still have the nerve to do this?’ Hyeon-yul was not quite sure which possibility applied.
“Please contact us using this card.” “If I call, can your side guarantee everything I ask for?” Hyeon-yul did not accept the business card the man held out.
The number printed there would be attached to a disposable phone anyway.
“Of course.” “After being deceived several times, I learned one thing.” The man looked at him, silently asking what he meant.
For the sake of the waiting messenger, Hyeon-yul strengthened his voice.
“You should never deal with villains.” The man laughed lightly, almost as though mocking him.
“We know you wandered from one piece of trash to another, including Shin Daeho.
But our master is different.” Hyeon-yul thought about those words for a moment and laughed.
It was complete nonsense.
How could this master possibly be different?
“Fine.
I suppose I can trust someone one last time.” Hyeon-yul took the business card and looked at the man.
The corners of his eyes lifted.
“Go tell your master that if he lies to me, he loses his head.” “Thank you.” The man bowed and withdrew backward.
Watching him disappear quietly, Hyeon-yul looked down at the business card.
A sigh almost escaped him at the sheer stupidity.
‘Pathetic.
Coating the card with poison and calling it a test.’ The entire thing was completely ridiculous to him.
Anyone other than Hyeon-yul would have died from the poison.
It was a contact toxin that activated the moment it touched skin.
Hyeon-yul turned toward the direction the man had just gone.
“Stop.” “Yes?” Hyeon-yul walked up to him and seized the back of his neck without hesitation.
“I didn’t die, so I suppose you’ll have to.” CRUNCH.
Hyeon-yul tightened his grip around the man’s neck.
“…Why, why…” CRACK.
Something broke, and the man went limp before he could finish speaking.
Hyeon-yul looked forward, tossed the corpse aside, and raised the corner of his mouth.
“You people can tell your master instead.
Tell him I received his poison very well.”