HLSEBT - 26

26. Come over, young lamb 2

“This is the ID you two will use when infiltrating the West Shelter.” 

“There’s a typo in the age. I’m twenty, not eighteen.” 

“You’ll both be entering as seniors. Agent Yoon Tae-ha will pose as a B-class telekinetic esper, and Agent Cheon Geon-young as her guide.” 

Cheon Geon-young appeared unfazed, but Yoon Tae-ha looked utterly flabbergasted as she tried to confirm the facts. 

“So, you’re telling me to go back to school? As a student?” 

“It’s a great opportunity to meet your juniors.” 

“But I’m from the North Shelter. And Director Lee is also an alumnus of the North Shelter.” 

“Exactly why you’re the perfect candidate. No one at the West Shelter knows of your existence. Plus, you’ve never been exposed in the media.” 

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, too stunned to speak. Undercover work was nothing new to her—she’d used so many aliases over the years that they could fill an entire classroom. But posing as a student in a shelter full of much lower-ranked espers felt like a hard pill to swallow. Wasn’t this a waste of resources? If Yoon Tae-ha had read one less book on the virtue of humility, she might have voiced that thought aloud. 

“While pretending to be a B-class esper, what exactly am I supposed to do…?” 

“Offer advice to diligent and honest juniors so they stay on the right path.” 

Lee Hae-kyung gave a textbook response to the bewildered agent under the shelter’s direct supervision. 

“And the problematic juniors?” 

With a voice dripping with sweetness: 

“We’ll need to guide them onto the correct path.” 

In other words, root out the corrupted lambs. 

---

[Ark West Shelter Bamboo Forest] [Category] [Senior Class] [Anonymous Ask Me Anything] 

▶ When’s Professor Seo Do-jin coming back?? Just looking at him in that gorgeous dobok makes my eyesight feel sharper 😭😭 

⌞Seo Do-jin is the future. 

⌞Why is there only one Seo Do-jin? I want to get thrown by him too! I want to show him my backflip and hear him say, “Good job!” Why doesn’t the whole school get to meet Seo Do-jin? 

⌞Crazy stuff... Are these really seniors? 

⌞An A-class special instructor? It’s been ages since we’ve had someone decent. All we’ve been getting is trash. 

⌞West Shelter is stronger than South Shelter. 

⌞You’ve never even fought South Shelter. Why are you always causing trouble? 

⌞It’s a fact that West produces higher-ranked espers better than South. Who has the higher Ark employment rate? 

⌞Why isn’t anyone answering when Seo Do-jin is coming back? 

⌞Ah, he’ll come at the same time next week. Seriously, the Seo Do-jin parrots are so annoying, spamming this place every day. 

⌞Poor Kang Mo-si got kicked flying after bragging to Seo Do-jin about being B-class. Serves him right. 

⌞Wow, such a brave guy. 

⌞Bro, you’ve got no fear 😂😂 Or maybe you’re just clueless? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 

⌞@Kang Jin-ho Summoned 

⌞Summoning people in anonymous threads now? 

⌞What class are you in? 

⌞I’m bored. Hoping for some new faces to mess around with. 

⌞Mess.around.with.them. So cringy lol. 

⌞Oh yeah! Don’t forget, the Future Warfare report is due by midnight today! 

⌞It’s due tomorrow. Stop scaring people. 

⌞If a newbie shows up at this point, it’s 100% because their powers manifested late and they caused trouble before coming here. 

As Yoon Tae-ha scrolled through the screen, her brow furrowed more and more. Behind her, Cheon Geon-young stood silently, reading the comments alongside her. 

Yoon Tae-ha wasn’t particularly short, but neither was Cheon Geon-young, so peering over her shoulder at the screen wasn’t difficult for him. 

“I wasn’t like this when I was younger. Not all espers get so obsessed with their own powers…” 

She trailed off, realizing her defense of the juniors was pointless. 

Cheon Geon-young nodded understandingly and accepted two drinks handed to him by a café employee. The employee made no effort to hide the admiring gaze directed at the handsome man. 

Yoon Tae-ha had already heard the barrage of compliments and analyses fired off by the staff at the drink station ten minutes earlier. With her heightened sense of hearing—better than an average person’s—it was impossible not to overhear. She knew the admiration in their eyes was genuine. 

“His mesmerizing gaze, flawless skin, sharp jawline that looks like it could cut you, and yet when he smiles, it melts your heart...”

The florid, over-the-top descriptions used to depict the same person were being thrown together in a chaotic jumble. 

After swirling chocolate drizzle twice around her drink and topping it with whipped cream, she silently sipped her overly sweet Frappuccino through a straw. 

“Shall we walk?” 

“Yeah, I feel dizzy after reading those comments.” 

They decided to take a short stroll through the company garden to stretch their legs and balance out the air-conditioned chill with some fresh air. The summer sunlight clung thickly to their skin, cooled continuously by the air conditioning inside. 

Though Yoon Tae-ha despised the heat, for some reason, this moment didn’t feel so bad. 

The green space—too large to be called a garden but too small to be a park—was packed with office couples and soon-to-be office couples. Given the nature of the company, it wasn’t uncommon for employees to find love while working. 

Yoon Tae-ha walked on the opposite side of the path from a couple radiating something hotter than the sun’s heat, their hands tightly clasped. Cheon Geon-young subtly shifted his position to guide her toward a shadier spot. 

Sipping his iced tea, which oddly suited him well, Cheon Geon-young glanced at her drink and asked: 

“Not too sweet?” 

“It’s just right for my taste.” 

“It seems like the Center Director wishes you’d stop drinking coffee with five extra shots once you’re healthier.” 

The woman, whose palate leaned toward extremes, responded with an exasperated tone: 

“When did you memorize that?” 

“Very sweet or very bitter. Some things stick without effort.” 

“A side effect of your ability.” 

“You say that quite often.” 

“There’s nothing more comfortable than this.” 

“I met Dr. Moon yesterday.” 

Yoon Tae-ha, who had been half-heartedly brushing off his responses, immediately turned her head. Cheon Geon-young lowered the hand holding his drink, slightly surprised by her reaction. She quickly sucked on her straw again to maintain her composure. 

“Why did you go there?” 

“He said I needed a check-up before going on the mission. After drawing blood, he even gave me candy, saying it was something you liked.” 

Cheon Geon-young spoke in a calm voice. Amid the various unpleasant urban noises that he had grown accustomed to ignoring, his voice carried a strange sense of stability. 

If it hadn’t been about Dr. Moon, she might have listened more comfortably. 

“So… what did Dr. Moon say?” 

“He told me to take good care of you. He emphasized it three times.” 

“…Is that all?” 

“He also asked if I’d share any information that could affect the company’s stock.” 

“You didn’t actually tell him anything, right?” 

“The only thing I know is what you’ve already told me, so there was nothing to share. I wanted to make a good impression since I respect him.” 

Cheon Geon-young went on to talk about how deeply impressed he was by Dr. Moon and his team’s accomplishments. 

Yoon Tae-ha listened quietly, then said: 

She didn’t want to reveal too much to him. But now that he was officially her guide, it wasn’t as though she could completely shut him out. 

“Dr. Moon is busy, so don’t visit him too often.” 

“I won’t.” 

Cheon Geon-young smiled brighter than the hydrangeas planted in the company garden. 

---

It was while the two of them were occupying a meeting room, quizzing each other on how accurately they’d memorized the internal blueprints, that the company summoned Cheon Geon-young separately. 

The floor he was directed to housed the Field Support Team—a department responsible for listening to the grievances of field agents and providing them with equipment. True to its purpose, the moment he stepped off the elevator, a cacophony of voices greeted him. 

“Why doesn’t our team get Q7-grade protective gear? Isn’t this discrimination?!” 

“Team Leader, those units were recalled due to an unintentional malfunction. It’s not discrimination…” 

“But Kyung-sun’s team has been using them just fine!” 

“What? I personally contacted you and confirmed that those shouldn’t be used anymore… We need to get those back!” 

“…Is that true?” 

Of course! Leaving the sharp retorts behind, Cheon Geon-young headed toward his prearranged destination. 

He followed the sign guiding him to the weapon support station for guides. There, an employee awaited him, a sturdy black box placed in front of them. Behind the employee was a scene reminiscent of a ski rental shop.

The high shelves reaching the ceiling and people bustling about in search of something created a busy atmosphere. 

The monochromatic space differed slightly from a ski resort, and the heavier mood came from the lethal weapons packed inside the boxes the employees carried around. 

“Mr. Cheon Geon-young, this is your first field assignment, right?” 

After mechanically verifying his identity, the employee opened the secure box placed in front of him. 

Click. With a dull sound, the protective mechanism of the case unlocked. 

“This is a newly released firearm this year. It hasn’t even hit the market yet.” 

Wearing white gloves like an appraiser examining the finest gem in the world, the employee lifted a pistol. Under the fluorescent lights, its matte body exuded an elegant presence. 

“It’s lightweight but sturdy. Based on espers without self-healing abilities, a hit to a vital spot will incapacitate them immediately. It’s also extremely quiet, even without a silencer.” 

An elegant, silent killing machine. 

Though he knew Ark excelled at crafting such weapons, holding an unreleased finished product in his hands evoked a unique sense of awe that was hard to ignore. 

Even before entering the agent academy, he had been deeply interested in firearms. 

It was impossible to deny Chairman Cheon’s influence. Though Chairman Cheon was a fire-wielding esper, he was also an exceptionally skilled sniper. 

“Anyone who relies solely on their own abilities is second-rate.” 

He believed in the limitations of esper powers and quickly concluded that they couldn’t protect all humans and resources alone. 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his empire began with distrust in himself. 

“Would you like to hold it? We can quickly adjust the grip for you.” 

The employee extended the offer to Cheon Geon-young, who was visually inspecting the weapon like a new companion. 

Cheon Geon-young reached out and picked up the black-bodied pistol. 

As if affirming the employee’s pride, the gun fit perfectly into his hand—nothing more, nothing less. 

“Perfect.” 

He placed the weapon back into the case. The employee informed him of the spare magazines tucked at the bottom of the box and swiftly completed the handover process. 

With the case now fully in his possession, the employee gave Cheon Geon-young the customary reminder: 

“Be cautious. But once you’ve made your decision, don’t hesitate.” 

That aligned perfectly with the direction he intended to go.