Just looking at him working restlessly like that every day, adding momentum to criminal acts, it seemed plausible.
‘…How annoying.’
It was more flustering and felt worse now when he started suspecting based on plausible circumstances than the moment when he faced him on the first day here in a completely unexpected state.
It was because of the feeling of betrayal felt while realizing that what he’d thought “no way, no way” was really, truly just a criminal standing on the opposite side.
Hae-il, who’d been preparing the meal with his head deliberately bowed deeply, took a deep breath just enough not to show, and exhaled long again.
There was no more foolish act than revealing emotions in the middle of enemy territory with not a single ally.
According to the original operation, it was enough to dig out as much information as possible here, dismantle the organization, and return to his place. Then they’d never meet again.
At the same time he straightened his back after succeeding in pretending calmness, Moon Woo-shin got up from his seat.
“I’ll bring it to you…”
Just like at lunch today, as he tried to pick up Moon Woo-shin’s portion of sandwich, Moon Woo-shin, who’d walked over before that, sat across from him.
“…You’re eating here?”
“Then?”
It was an attitude as if he’d done a completely natural action.
But it would be strange not to feel this was strange. Throughout the past few days, they’d never once sat across from each other to eat.
Moon Woo-shin mainly ate only simple foods that were easy to eat while working, and Hae-il ate whatever he wanted to eat, whether that mattered or not. Each in their own place.
Why did he have to come sit together for a meal right now of all times? He worried that this time he might really get indigestion.
Silently handing Moon Woo-shin a sandwich, Hae-il picked up his own spoon.
Tonight’s dinner menu was kimchi stew. Thanks to putting the boiling hot stew in a thermos container and quickly transporting it, it was still hot enough to burn his tongue. Those hyungs earlier had recommended this place so much as a hidden gem restaurant, and as expected, locals’ recommendations were trustworthy. After searing his throat with the spicy kick, his mood seemed to improve a little.
Unlike his worry, only after completely cleaning his plate including the side dishes did Hae-il notice Moon Woo-shin’s gaze.
“……”
“…What?”
Moon Woo-shin, who’d long since finished the small sandwich, had been staring this way the whole time in a posture crookedly leaning against the sofa.
Then when Hae-il asked, he straightened his body forward as if he’d been waiting.
The widely spread distance narrowed to half in an instant, and following that, a low voice stabbed into his ear.
“So. Have you done enough background checking on me?”
…He’d expected him to be listening, but he didn’t know he’d ask to check on progress like some assignment. Right after finishing the meal too. His warmly seared insides sank coldly.
Quietly flustered, Hae-il drank a sip of water while pretending to be calm without showing it.
Since they both already knew everything anyway, he decided to go shamelessly.
“I think I need to dig more still.”
“Disappointing. I thought you’d be done figuring everything out by now. Considering how much you clung to all those bastards calling them hyung, hyung, seems the harvest wasn’t much.”
Just listening to the gentle smile on his face and affectionate tone, it sounded like he was giving some kind of compliment. When actually the voice was eerie and the content was thoroughly sarcastic.
“You said you’d just buy food, Hae-il.”
The words that came back like spitting felt a bit unfair. If you knew from the first day I’d been deviating here and there, why didn’t you cut it off right away and act up about it now?
For the first time in a while, he desperately craved a cigarette.
“I can also greet people while going back and forth to buy food.”
“Do you call openly talking about Director Moon when Director Moon isn’t there a greeting too?”
“You really heard all of that? Are you a pervert? Are you very idle with work these days?”
“I’m working faithfully. Monitoring the spy.”
Faithfully…
At that single word coming directly from Moon Woo-shin’s mouth, the emotions and heat he’d tried to suppress while swallowing his meal surged up all at once.
“Yeeees, working so faithfully contributing to rising crime rates and social chaos, and getting promoted too. You must be so proud.”
He’d been thinking he’d moderately take care of himself in front of Moon Woo-shin since he was well aware of his own situation.
Like returning to the past in an instant, Hae-il couldn’t contain the boiling feelings while thoroughly twisted up.
“Since you don’t seem to know what asking openly means, I’ll show you now. Senior, was entering Ability University in the first place because of Ban?”
“Right.”
“Hiding your mental-type ability like that was also all to use it for criminal acts, right?”
“Similar.”
“Thanks to that, easily extracting and carrying information, getting prettily loved by the criminal organization’s higher-ups, and becoming close?”
“The Chairman and I have been close for a long time.”
The attitude of lightly agreeing to every question made him angrier.
“And I, like an idiot, not knowing that…”
Hae-il, who cut off his words, bit down hard on the flesh inside his mouth.
Unlike his eyes that couldn’t hide his anger, Moon Woo-shin’s gaze only looked calm. Seeing that temperature difference clearly made him feel miserable once more.
Hae-il, who kicked away from his seat and stood up, headed toward the door with fierce steps.
“Where are you going?”
“Going to smoke, why!”
If he tried to block him with that damn ability again, he was planning to kill him by any means necessary.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Moon Woo-shin didn’t use his ability to block him. He just followed behind on foot.
That made him more annoyed. Because it feels like he’s always playing above my head, dodging all my thoughts and expectations.
Hae-il, who deliberately ignored him and walked looking only ahead, stepped firmly on each stair one by one and went up to the rooftop.
When he roughly opened the door, there was no one in the revealed space. Hae-il, who roughly scanned the open sky at the time when the sun was just starting to set, benches placed here and there, and the trash can and ashtray beside them, took position in one corner.
It was the first time since coming here that he’d come up to the rooftop or smoked a cigarette. As soon as he took out the cigarette pack and lighter he’d roughly stuffed in his inner pocket, a voice flew over.
“So it’s real.”
“What is?”
“Cigarettes.”
Moon Woo-shin, who pointed with a head gesture, stood obliquely in front of Hae-il.
Throughout taking out one cigarette, putting it in his mouth, and lighting it, an obvious gaze followed along.
Not caring, Hae-il took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke long. With nicotine coming in, it definitely seemed to calm him down more than before.
Moon Woo-shin, who’d just been staring at the series of actions, suddenly asked.
“When did you start smoking?”
“What are you going to do knowing?”
“Hae-il, you need to show as much sincerity as I showed answering your open questions for me to feel like dealing with you next time too.”
The sarcastic tone looked displeased unlike when he was obediently answering.
He considered just ignoring him to piss him off more, but changed his mind at the mention of ‘sincerity.’ Hae-il answered in an insincere tone.
“It’s been several years.”
“Exactly how many years.”
When he looked because he couldn’t understand why he was asking such a thing, his eyes immediately met the persistent gaze. It was an expression that wouldn’t let him off until he spoke properly.
“I first smoked when I was a college student, and I started smoking properly right after joining the company.”
“Why?”
Why what? Because it’s advantageous to smoke if you want to quickly expand your network and get promoted.
“Ah, senior who’s never joined a proper company might not know.”
Actually, this kind of criminal organization disguised as a company was a place where it would be stranger not to smoke, but he deliberately mocked.
However, Moon Woo-shin, not caring at all, asked again.
“Who taught you?”
“I don’t remember.”
Unlike the quickly spat words, he remembered precisely. It was because he started dabbling in it while wandering around upset during his third year.
He glossed over it because he didn’t want to tell Moon Woo-shin the details of that time.
Moon Woo-shin, who’d been staring quietly, changed his question.
“Why is your hair like that?”
“It doesn’t recover when I bleach it and immediately cover it again.”
“Why did you bleach it?”
“To infiltrate.”
“…The holes in your ears too?”
“Yes.”
Both became meaningless because of Kang Cheol-hyeon though. The damaged hair texture and traces of ear piercings still remained.
He couldn’t gauge the intention of each question or the context between questions at all. Does that kind of thing help figure out what kind of schemes I’ve been doing? It’s obviously useless information.
What was more puzzling was Moon Woo-shin’s atmosphere gradually becoming more menacing with each answer.
