Hae-il first checked if there were cameras in the house. He grabbed a small detector he’d kept in a hidden space inside his suitcase and silently went around every corner of the house.
While burying his body in darkness, he thoroughly scanned all spaces in the house—rooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom—but there was no reaction showing on the detector.
‘I thought he would’ve installed at least CCTV.’
It was a bit unexpected that there was none, but it was fortunate for Hae-il.
While going around, he also checked if there was anything that could be a clue. Unfortunately, important things like documents and tablets were all inside Moon Woo-shin’s room.
Finally returning to the front of the room, Hae-il stood at a distance by the door and also scanned Moon Woo-shin’s room once with the detector.
Though accuracy dropped a bit if the distance was far, he couldn’t dare step foot into the room. It was because of his intuition that the moment even a very small presence leaked, Moon Woo-shin would immediately open his eyes. He’s a sensitive person, so he’d do that and more.
This time too, there was no reaction caught by the detector.
‘No cameras.’
Moon Woo-shin was still sleeping without moving just as he’d seen before.
Hae-il regretfully stared at the tablet PC and documents placed on the small table beside the bed, then quietly retreated without being greedier.
Since it was the first day, this much was sufficient achievement.
Without leaving even very small sounds, he returned to his room, hid the detector well back in place, and crawled back into the blanket.
It felt like the fatigue accumulated doubly from trying not to sleep was rushing in all at once.
Hae-il, who forcibly lifted his heavy eyelids to check Moon Woo-shin’s situation once more, gradually fell into sleep. Right before falling asleep, he thought he briefly felt a faint gaze, but it was ambiguous whether it was a dream or reality.
***
Similar days continued for about a week.
Waking up at dawn to visit unfamiliar places, at some of them casually using his ability as Moon Woo-shin instructed, returning home to take guiding medicine and fall asleep.
Irregularly about once every day or two, he chose searching instead of sleep. Though there was no big harvest because Moon Woo-shin thoroughly hid things that could be clues, Hae-il persistently secretly went around inside the house.
The day after completing confirmation by advancing to the yard and in front of the gate.
‘I need to go out today.’
Hae-il decided on making contact with Choi Ji-yeon for the first time in a very long while.
He needed to entrust investigation of the regions they’d toured during the day, and most urgently, guiding was most pressing. The phenomenon where the guiding index he’d been holding out with medicine suddenly dropped sharply was gradually becoming more frequent. At this point, there was a need to contact a Guide even very briefly.
In the deep dawn, Hae-il, who familiarly escaped the bed and crossed inside the house by the shortest route, reached one corner of the fence he’d confirmed in advance.
Jumping up from his spot without a running start and lightly placing his hand, he pulled his body up soundlessly. After lightly climbing atop the fence exceeding his height and checking the surroundings, after confirming there was no movement, he agilely jumped down beyond the fence.
Landing with only very slight footstep sounds, Hae-il immediately advanced toward his destination with quick steps.
The rendezvous location was one corner of a secluded park near here.
The footsteps running soundlessly into the dark shadows were very skillful and swift.
Only after approaching the innermost part of the park, a secluded position half-hidden by trees, did a black vehicle standing like a shadow become visible.
Hae-il, who approached carefully enough not to be visible from inside the car, reached out only his hand while lowering his body and knocked on the window three times. His fingernails hitting the glass created small noise. Not many seconds passed before the sound of knocking the window once from inside was quietly heard.
Hae-il, who opened the passenger seat door as quietly as possible, quickly entered inside the car. Click, the sound of the car door quietly closing carefully settled inside the quiet park.
“Long time no see, Seo Hae-il-ssi.”
Choi Ji-yeon’s voice heard after several months felt very welcome.
“We need to finish as quickly as possible, so guiding first please.”
Choi Ji-yeon held out her hand without complaint. Hae-il, who clasped the slender hand, soon let out a deep sigh at the guiding rushing in. Though the rank difference was large as E-rank and compatibility didn’t match well either, even just this felt like breathing room opened up.
She, who’d been examining Hae-il, carefully asked.
“Should I request support from another Guide next time? Since it’s once every few months and you’re only making simple contact, I’m insufficient, right?”
“This much is enough. It seems dangerous to increase people more too.”
Hae-il, who gripped her hand with strength, quickly listed the addresses he’d memorized and necessary things to Choi Ji-yeon.
***
Moon Woo-shin stared at the black sedan Seo Hae-il had climbed into moments ago while hiding his body in dark shadows.
Soon keenly catching the movement of subtle wavelengths, he hardened his face stiffly.
Though it was quite a far distance with pathetically weak wavelengths, he could feel it clearly. That guiding activity was being performed inside there right now.
Forgetting the fact that he was quietly tailing for a moment, he let out a hollow laugh.
‘To meet while risking danger during an infiltration mission is just…’
Being generous, maybe about E-rank level? Absurd.
He’d thought ‘handling it well on my own’ meant filling in with guiding medicine. He wondered if this was meeting a collaborator or something.
It was hard to be certain of a Guide who didn’t even meet the minimum standard for Ability University entrance qualifications, and even treated as a Special Abilities Agency general employee, was at a level that couldn’t get anywhere near guiding duties, as a work partner.
In the incomprehensible situation, thoughts extending wildly brought several clues.
The appearance of Seo Hae-il lightly acting during college saying he got good guiding efficiency even from E-ranks, the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand he hadn’t missed for even a moment since they met again. Even the conduct over several days of enduring only with shitty guiding medicine in front of an S-rank Guide.
Judgment tilted toward them possibly being more than simple collaborators or guiding partners.
Moon Woo-shin, who gritted his teeth, glared at the black car before his eyes.
‘With just an E-rank.’
What should I really do with that?
Frustration rose to the tip of his throat at the behavior of selecting only annoying actions.
Rather than that…
Moon Woo-shin, who disciplined thoughts trying to extend in an irrational direction in time, took one deep breath in and exhaled long again.
The jaw muscles that had risen firmly soon loosened. Unlike the surface that erased all impulses, emotions he couldn’t fully gather remained sharply stuck in his black eyes.
Not long after, the car door that had been buried without presence carefully opened.
’13 minutes 20 seconds.’
Considering the rank difference and the trend of wavelengths at simple contact level, it was absurdly insufficient time to consider as having received guiding.
Seo Hae-il, who erased his presence in an instant, began moving. It was quite nimble body movements. The momentum alertly guarding all directions was quite sensitive too. Thanks to that, he almost lost him once while following to here.
He, who only followed with his eyes the sight returning home, finally followed with leisurely steps only after sufficient distance opened.
Unlike Seo Hae-il moving while completely hidden, Moon Woo-shin no longer intended to hide his traces. This time the destination clearly matched, so there was no need to strain nerves on Seo Hae-il’s route.
After crossing through the fastest route on the main street, he leisurely arrived home one step ahead.
As soon as he hid his presence in a dark corner, Seo Hae-il climbed atop the fence. The timing was exactly right.
Moon Woo-shin watched the sight of Seo Hae-il jumping into his space without missing a single moment. The minimized light body movements and unhesitating attitude, the short hair fluttering while jumping down and the shape of legs bent preparing to land, the movement of muscles slightly revealed under thin clothes.
Finally the moment he stepped on the ground and completely entered inside the fence.
He, who rushed in, snatched Seo Hae-il with one arm.
“Ugh!”
Hae-il, who encountered the surprise attack, rolled his body instinctively with a suppressed groan.
The two people tangled together rolled on the lawn. It was because forces colliding to gain advantage and subdue the opponent.
Just as Moon Woo-shin, who gained center first by a slight difference, was about to pin him down from above, Seo Hae-il pushed hard in the same direction his body had been rolling.
The two who created distance in opposite directions each gained center and stopped. At the same time, their eyes met. The gazes toward each other were clear cutting through the darkness.
