* * *
Kiwoo shot him a glance, then turned to look out the window.
[But seriously, why do you think Koo Hyukjun called us back all of a sudden? Right in the middle of a mission, no less.]
[Said there’s something urgent we need to do. Not sure what yet.]
[Yeah, that’s the problem. What the hell is it?]
[He’ll tell us at the Center. Be patient.]
[You’re way too chill for someone in this mess.]
After that, both their spoken and telepathic conversations came to a halt.
Silence settled in the car.
The driver occasionally glanced at them through the rearview mirror, but they ignored it.
They just wanted to get out of the suffocating car.
Eventually, the building of the Center came into view, vast and heavily secured.
The car passed through the entrance without issue.
“We’ve arrived. Please exit the vehicle.”
At the driver’s words, neither of them responded.
They simply stepped out.
The cool air barely registered before a staff member started rushing them along.
[Guess whatever this is, it’s urgent. They keep rushing us.]
Jaerim sent the thought to Kiwoo, who kept walking without replying.
Still, his expression agreed, and Jaerim gave a small nod in response.
“You can go in. He’s waiting inside.”
They reached the Director’s office.
As the staff stepped aside, Jaerim walked in first, with Kiwoo behind him.
The office was ridiculously lavish, as always—an eyesore.
Jaerim instinctively frowned.
Sitting in the middle of the room on a sofa was Koo Hyukjun, sipping coffee.
He gestured at them like he was calling a dog.
The sight made Jaerim’s brow twitch.
He didn’t bother hiding his irritation as he sat down across from Koo Hyukjun.
Kiwoo silently joined him.
Hyukjun gestured to the tea set in front of them.
“You must’ve had a rough trip. I prepared this tea just for you. Take a moment to breathe.”
“No need. Just get to the point. It’s not like we’re here for a social visit.”
The one who answered wasn’t Jaerim—it was Kiwoo.
His voice was calm like still water, but colder than ice.
Hyukjun shrugged, pretending not to be fazed, though a twitch crossed his lips.
He’d loaned them his nephew as a guide, thinking he was doing them a favor.
And yet, they remained arrogant and disrespectful.
He didn’t like it—not one bit.
Still, they were basically dogs on a leash.
He decided to let it slide.
Putting on a smile, Hyukjun set his coffee cup down and spoke.
“I called you back so urgently because there’s something I need you to do. A background investigation, to be precise.”
“What kind of shit are you trying to pull this time?”
This time, it was Jaerim who snapped.
The idea that they’d been summoned over something like that infuriated him.
Even though he was already neck-deep in some fucked-up, dirty work thanks to a certain someone, now they were being dragged here just to run a background check?
Park Jaerim twisted up one corner of his mouth.
It was an unmistakable smirk of mockery.
Even as the room’s atmosphere chilled in an instant, Koo Hyukjun continued speaking without a care.
“Don’t look at me like that. The background check is just one of the many things I need you to do.”
“Cut the bullshit and tell us straight what you want. I just got back from a bloody mess, and I’m in a piss-poor mood. If you want to see blood here too, keep dragging it out.”
Park Jaerim’s nerves were stretched thin.
Their supposed guide hadn’t even shown his face once before Jaerim and Seok Kiwoo boarded the plane in the U.S.
Not even now, after they’d arrived.
No contact at all from Koo Seojin, and it only soured Jaerim’s mood further.
“Alright, alright. Calm down. I’ll explain.”
Koo Hyukjun waved a placating hand and finally began laying out the mission he had summoned them for.
After stepping out of the director’s office, Park Jaerim and Seok Kiwoo remained silent all the way to the car and through the center’s main gates.
Kiwoo sat in the driver’s seat, Jaerim beside him in the passenger seat.
The one to break the silence first was Jaerim.
“What the hell is that bastard Koo Hyukjun thinking? Did he have some kind of beef with Team 1? Does any of this make sense to you—him telling us to team up with those fuckers and spy on them?”
“Not really.”
“Is it because of Woo Jiyoo’s death? Did that let those assholes off the leash or something? Tch. I was too busy getting dragged through the mud in the States to keep up with anything.”
Jaerim ran a hand through his bangs, shoving them back in irritation.
“And what was that other crap? He wants us standing behind him at some fancy event like we’re fucking assistants? That prick think we’re his damn lapdogs or something?”
“Aren’t we, though? Look at us. He snaps his fingers and we come running.”
“If that bastard Koo Seojin wasn’t his nephew, I swear to God, I would’ve—”
Seok Kiwoo’s eyes twitched, just barely, as Jaerim cursed and ranted beside him.
Jaerim, sharp-eyed as ever, caught the flicker of movement immediately.
“What. Something bothering you? I don’t sense anyone tailing us.”
“No. I just saw Lee Hyunjae .”
“Lee Hyunjae ? That uptight security chief?”
Following Kiwoo’s gaze, Jaerim turned his head and tilted it slightly.
Across the street, in the driver’s seat of a car, sat Lee Hyunjae .
His lips were moving—he seemed to be on a call.
“Isn’t he one of Koo Hyukjun’s lapdogs too? Think he’s on some errand?”
Jaerim tried to listen in, but heard nothing.
Usually, if he focused, he could pick up sounds just fine.
But this time, the car was completely silent.
Likely equipped with Esper interference and bugging-blocking tech.
“I can’t hear a thing. Did you see something weird?”
“I read his lips.”
“Read his lips?”
Jaerim tried to catch another look, but just then the traffic light changed.
Hyunjae ’s car pulled away and disappeared from view.
“So what’d he say? Don’t leave me hanging.”
Kiwoo wasn’t the type to frown over nothing, which only made Jaerim more curious.
As he pressed, Kiwoo dragged a hand along his jaw before speaking.
“…He said to retrieve the ability assessment records again. Without the director knowing.”
“Whose records?”
Kiwoo went quiet, and Jaerim frowned at him, annoyed.
“Go Yeonwoo. The one who’s already dead. Killed by Team 1 and officially listed deceased.”
“…What?”
“He said he wanted Go Yeonwoo’s ability assessment data. That’s what Lee Hyunjae was saying.”
“You sure you didn’t misread?”
“I’m sure.”
Jaerim furrowed his brow, unable to wrap his head around it.
“Lee Hyunjae ’s digging into a dead guy’s records behind Koo Hyukjun’s back? And not just any records—his ability assessment?”
“Yeah.”
“…Smells like shit already.”
Jaerim’s eyes gleamed. This was getting interesting.
One of Koo Hyukjun’s minions conducting a secret investigation?
On someone who just suddenly died?
There was definitely something here he didn’t know about.
And it might just be the key to royally screwing Koo Hyukjun over.
* * *
