Chapter 106

It went cold.

When everyone froze at the chilling premonition.

Baek Sa-ra smiled faintly and murmured just one sentence.

“Jae-gyeom, do you want to die?”

“No, noona! I didn’t choose this. Deputy Manager gave it to me!”

Kwak Jae-gyeom begged for his life in terror.

Jae-gyeom stammered in panic, then hurriedly moved to the next photo.

It was not a good judgment.

No, Deputy Manager Yoon U-jeong had gone too far.

The next photo continued the scene from the previous photo as if it were a movie.

In other words, Baek Sa-ra was clinging to Cha Si-eon, who had grabbed her by the back of the neck, and hooking her leg around his neck.

Perhaps intending to choke him or throw him down……?

Click—

Kwak Jae-gyeom, startled, turned the tablet screen off entirely.

But our harmonious table had already grown quiet and cold.

If this continued, Jae-gyeom seemed likely to be crushed to death by the silence, so I subtly cut in.

“You two used to be on the same team, right? Then I suppose these are training photos.”

Let us think.

Cha Si-eon’s face was covered in blood, but no one was stopping them.

Rather, someone had been taking a picture of that sight with a camera.

That meant this was not such a serious situation.

The nosebleed must have been an accident during training.

I believed that and waited for an answer that would resolve this awkwardness.

But why are you two saying nothing……?

Did you really fight?

Then what is that photo?

Was it a photo taken with the intent of “those two are fighting again” or “let us leave evidence”?

……But you shared that with Jae-gyeom, Deputy Manager?

After an awkward silence, Baek Sa-ra slowly opened her mouth.

“When you work together, there are times when differences of opinion arise.”

People do not give their coworkers nosebleeds because there are differences of opinion, Ms. Baek Sa-ra.

“When we were on one team, Agent Baek Sa-ra was my direct junior. So we had many occasions to communicate individually.”

What kind of communication involves grabbing someone by the back of the neck, Team Leader Cha?

“W-what other photos are there?”

“Ah, yes, one moment.”

At my question, Jae-gyeom lifted the tablet and brought it close in front of himself.

He scanned quickly through the photos in that state, then his expression brightened a little.

“Oh, it is Ji-su hyung.”

Having found a safe photo, Jae-gyeom placed the tablet back on the table.

A photo appeared of Han Ji-su in the Bureau’s full dress uniform, his hair cut very short.

“That was at the appointment.”

Han Ji-su, who had been checking whether the corn had finished grilling, saw the photo and muttered.

“When was this?”

“The year before last. There should be photos of them too.”

Han Ji-su answered my question and pointed at Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju.

Just as he said, when the photo moved on, photos of Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju in full dress uniforms appeared.

Jae-gyeom had black hair, and Yu-ju’s long hair was neatly tied into one.

“The three of us are the same cohort. The Bureau’s final cohort.”

Yu-ju suddenly boasted about her cohort connections.

But this was not only a heartwarming story.

“Because there has been no personnel increase after that.”

“Ji-su hyung and we caught the last train.”

“If I had known it was this kind of place, I would not have come…….”

Han Ji-su chewed on corn bitterly.

Ah, the mood again…….

A few more photos of the three people’s appointment ceremony followed.

But…….

“Urgh……!”

Jae-gyeom, who was moving through the photos, flinched and froze again.

At the same time, something rough appeared on the tablet.

It was none other than blond Cha Si-eon.

“Pff, cough!”

At the completely unexpected visual, I choked while drinking water.

“Kwak Jae-gyeom…….”

“No, Team Leader, I really did not choose this……!”

At his Team Leader’s low call, Kwak Jae-gyeom only felt wronged.

Jae-gyeom hurriedly tried to move to the next photo, so I grabbed his hand.

“Wait, ahem! I did not see it yet.”

I kept coughing but still checked the photo.

In that photo, not only Cha Si-eon but also Kwak Jae-gyeom was present.

Both of them had bleached blond hair, and Jae-gyeom in the photo was grinning, as if he liked the new style.

So Jae-gyeom did not look particularly different from how he did now.

On the other hand, Team Leader Cha beside him, who was expressionless, mm, how should I put this?

He looked like he would do bad things.

Like he would smuggle something in.

That was right.

Just because someone was handsome did not mean they could do anything.

There were styles in this world that could not be covered by a face.

“This was dyed to distinguish you from 「Alpha」, right?”

“That is correct.”

“But why did you change course?”

“Because employees in other divisions got scared…….”

“Ha Yu-ju.”

“I am sorry.”

Ha Yu-ju exposed the truth quickly and apologized even faster.

When Cha Si-eon clicked his tongue, Jae-gyeom read the mood and moved to the next photo.

What came next was Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju, who had suddenly become much younger.

Haha, they really are young.

Their ages were around their late teens?

Both were in casual clothes, and they stood side by side holding something like a certificate.

“What are you holding in your hands?”

“Our high school equivalency certificate.”

Qualification exam? Ah…….

Both of them had been pulled into Special Zones when they were minors.

Because of that, they must have taken qualification exams instead of school.

“Ah, look at Kwak Jae-gyeom’s expression.”

Yu-ju enlarged Jae-gyeom’s face in the photo and burst into laughter.

In the photo, Yu-ju was smiling brightly too, but Jae-gyeom beside her had exactly the indifferent expression of an adolescent male student.

“Let’s not enlarge our faces carelessly…….”

Embarrassed, Jae-gyeom quickly moved to the next photo.

A few more photos from Yu-ju and Jae-gyeom’s teenage years came out, and then an even younger Yu-ju and an unexpected person appeared.

“Huh? It is the Manager.”

That person was none other than Manager Kwon Mu-seop.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop looked to be in his early 30s, sharper than he was now.

And Ha Yu-ju looked about middle school age.

Unlike Kwon Mu-seop, who was smiling faintly toward the camera, middle schooler Ha Yu-ju looked expressionless and tired.

This is somehow a strange photo.

“When was this taken?”

“This was when I was 16. Manager bought me a cake because it was my birthday.”

Cake?

Ah, come to think of it, there is a white cake in front of Yu-ju.

Yu-ju’s expression was so dark that I failed to notice it.

“Did you perhaps get scolded before the photo was taken?”

“No, I did not get scolded.”

At my question, Yu-ju smiled and shook her head.

Then she spoke in a slightly calmer voice.

“It is because it was not long after I was rescued. I was pretty sick at the time.”

“Ah…….”

“So Manager often came to see me. Manager Kwon Mu-seop was the one who rescued me too.”

“I see.”

At my words, Yu-ju nodded several times.

As if proud of her bond with Manager Kwon Mu-seop.

“But if you were 16 then, Ms. Ha Yu-ju, you have been at the Bureau for a very long time.”

“That is right. I am probably the most senior here after Sa-ra unni.”

Yu-ju had become a Bureau employee the year before last, but she had come under Page’s protection a full 7 years ago.

That is true. Cha Si-eon said he was in his 6th year at the Bureau, so she has been here longer than him.

But if she is still second after Baek Sa-ra, how long has Baek Sa-ra been at the Bureau?

“So I did not even get to enter high school. It is sad that I wasted so much of my life.”

Yu-ju said she was sad with a face that did not look particularly sad.

To be able to speak of something like this as a joke, Yu-ju’s mentality was truly amazing too.

“Agent, what kind of place is high school?”

Uh, suddenly?

“Agent, you had lots of friends, right? What did you do for fun in high school?”

Ha Yu-ju was definitely an extrovert.

And this question just now was bright and cruel, exactly like an extrovert’s.

Of course, there was no malice, but I flinched inwardly.

“I did not have many friends. And at school, one usually studies.”

“Really? I thought you would have had many friends, Agent. Did you perhaps attend an all-boys high school?”

“Yes, that too…… and my life was 9 parts college entrance exam and the remaining 1 part commuting to and from school.”

“You were a model student after all, as expected.”

“Haha, not exactly that either…….”

As I broke into cold sweat under Yu-ju’s barrage of questions, Jae-gyeom cut in.

“Come on, hyung, you went to a good university.”

“Really? Which one?”

“Haha…….”

Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju suddenly began digging into my academic background.

When I only laughed awkwardly, Jae-gyeom did not bother mentioning the school’s name.

Instead of digging further, Yu-ju sighed and said,

“Ah, I want to go to school too.”

Yu-ju seemed to have a romantic image of campus life.

She also seemed to want to hear about my university life.

Unfortunately, I had nothing in particular to tell her.

The me from the period when I was carrying out my studies was very different from how I was now, so I could hardly think of any decent memories.

So all I could do right now was smile regretfully.

---

Crackle—

With a burning sound, sparks glittered in the front yard of the pension.

Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju, who were sincere about playing, had even bought a great number of sparklers.

Then as soon as the sky grew dark, they lit them and began playing.

“Hey, I said I am recording a video!”

“Puhaha!”

It would have been a truly great problem if we had not brought those two to the sea…….

Jae-gyeom and Yu-ju squabbled even with a few glittering sticks and played as happily as anyone in the world.

Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su were also joining them in those fireworks.

And so I ended up sitting on the wooden platform in front of the pension with Cha Si-eon.

Clink—

And the metallic sound that naturally followed whenever I moved.

It was the sound from the vest I wore like leather.

Earlier at the beach, Baek Sa-ra had been beside me, so I had briefly taken it off, but as expected, I grew anxious and put it back on.

To think I could not take off this survival vest even on vacation.

Looking down at my stuffy vest, I opened my mouth.

“I just suddenly thought of something. What if, conversely, I do not get dragged into Special Zones if I am defenseless?”

Cha Si-eon looked at me with eyes asking what nonsense I was talking about now.

“I do not get dragged into Special Zones when I am undergoing treatment, do I? And when the Manager was waiting with the special supplies for 「Ant Hill」, I was pulled exactly into 「Ant Hill」. Then could the fact that I constantly possess this equipment be sending a message to 「Crow」’s side that ‘I can go to a Special Zone at any time’…….”

“That may be so. But being defenseless does not necessarily mean you will not be dragged in, so please prepare thoroughly.”

Mm, yes…….

At Cha Si-eon’s firmness, I humbly fastened the vest.

As Team Leader Cha said, there had been a time when I had been dragged in while asleep in pajamas too.

No, wait.

“But the phenomenon of being dragged into Special Zones only occurs in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, does it not?”

Where I was now was none other than the East Sea.

Then had I not left the sphere of influence of Special Management Zones?

“Usually that is so, but Mr. Seo Do-un is probably an exception.”

“May I ask why you think that…….”

“In the past, an agent in a situation similar to Mr. Seo Do-un’s was dragged into a Special Zone while staying overseas.”

“From overseas?”

“Yes. Once already related to Special Zones, physical distance likely does not mean much.”

Damn…… as expected, it is not easy…….

“Still, it is not as if I am completely the same as that person…….”

It was when I was about to complain roughly.

Shwaaa—

Along with the sound of waves, Cha Si-eon suddenly pressed down on my head with his hand.

THUD—!

Then he pressed me down onto the wooden platform as I was.

“……!”