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28. Come over, young lamb 4
28. Come over, young lamb 4
Yoon Tae-ha tilted her chin slightly upward and stared blankly at the point where the sky met the edge of the building. She could feel the soft fabric of the tie slipping between the stiff collar of her shirt.
“I thought you’d refuse.”
“If I can’t do something, I usually ask someone else to help.”
“Anyone?”
Even though she tried not to look, his long fingers moving slowly caught her peripheral vision. So did his broad, sturdy shoulders and wide chest—flawless, as if nothing could ever mar them.
Yoon Tae-ha answered slowly.
“If it’s my guide, then no, not just anyone.”
Cheon Geon-young, eyes lowered as he worked on the knot, was almost done tying it.
“It could be dangerous, you know.”
His hand slid up along the completed knot, nearing her neck. Her neck looked so delicate against his large hands.
His hand stopped at just the right distance. She simply watched, completely vulnerable, as if surrendering everything.
As Cheon Geon-young made the final adjustments to the shape of the knot, Yoon Tae-ha responded.
“Teach me how to tie this later.”
“Sure.”
“And practice with me too.”
“That’s easy enough.”
Opening the car door politely, Cheon Geon-young gestured for her to get in. Yoon Tae-ha fiddled with the perfectly tied knot before settling her body onto the cool seat.
---
The road to the shelter was long.
Yoon Tae-ha tried to close her eyes and rest, but she couldn’t fall asleep because of the driver—or rather, the fact that there was no human driver. Something else was controlling the car they were riding in.
- Master, I really like your new partner!
Joy tinged Jet’s voice. Cheon Geon-young responded with an overly gentle tone.
“I like them too.”
“Don’t give him too much attention. He’ll get overexcited and make mistakes.”
- But Master, why have you been using formal speech with your same-age friend since earlier?
The sharp observation caused a brief silence to settle inside the car.
- If you use formal speech during this mission, there’s a 99.23% chance the targets will find it suspicious!
“Is there even a calculation method for that? I’ve never heard of it.”
- Are you doubting Jet?
The car body swayed lightly. No way—was this artificial intelligence threatening human lives now?
Yoon Tae-ha felt a chill run down her spine at the terrifying high technology and quickly changed her attitude.
“Of course we should drop the formalities. We’re not idiots…”
“When do we start?”
A question arrived from the passenger seat. She glanced at Cheon Geon-young, who tilted his head slightly as if asking for an answer.
He was quite direct. For a moment, she thought maybe this was just how things were between people who hadn’t known each other for long.
“I think we just dropped it.”
“Then let’s start now.”
“Agreed.”
- Jet has helped bring the two of you closer. In human relationships, the psychological impact of formal speech…
“No, that’s fine. Let’s check our character backgrounds instead. We’ll be arriving soon.”
- ...
“Jet.”
Suddenly, the air conditioning switched from low to high intensity. Ugh, this AI had serious passive-aggressive tendencies.
While Yoon Tae-ha manually adjusted the airflow, Jet began explaining the roles they would need to play.
- Mr. Cheon Geon-young.
- You lived in the South Shelter but caused trouble and were forcibly transferred to the West Shelter. You bribed a teacher to sabotage the evaluation of an esper you disliked.
“How exactly did you sabotage it?”
- The esper was originally rated D-class, but monsters equivalent to B-class opponents appeared during their sparring match.
- The opponent suffered severe psychological trauma and is currently hospitalized long-term. Since the victim must not encounter Mr. Cheon Geon-young after returning to school, he is being transferred.
To act as someone who bribed a teacher—a third-generation chaebol heir, no less. Who on earth came up with this script?
- And Master…
Jet paused briefly before speaking.
- She’s a late bloomer as an esper. Her rank is B-class, telekinetic type. There’s no teleportation ability.
- The teleportation ability was removed from her profile for the sake of mobility.
“That’s convenient. It means I can move around freely.”
- Jet will help you as much as possible.
In the distance, the buildings of the shelter began to come into view through the car window. Yoon Tae-ha took a small, deep breath.
“Who knows that Cheon Geon-young is an undercover agent?”
- All agents currently dispatched to the West Shelter, including collaborators, are aware.
“And who knows that I’m an undercover agent?”
- Other than Seo Do-jin, only your guide, Cheon Geon-young, knows.
The car Jet was driving came to a natural stop on the shoulder of the road. Yoon Tae-ha picked up her bag.
She would get out here, a little ways away from the shelter, and take a taxi to enter separately. This was to handle the transfer procedures independently from Cheon Geon-young.
After stepping out of the car and scanning her surroundings once, she placed one hand on the car door and leaned toward the inside.
“Seo Do-jin will arrive in a few days. Until then, it’s just you and me we can trust.”
“I know.”
“We’re not ruling out the possibility of a traitor among the collaborators. That’s why we’ll be acting separately. Be suspicious of the agents who entered earlier too.”
“Are you that worried?”
His gaze seemed to ask if there was any other reason for reiterating what they already knew. Yoon Tae-ha flashed a cool smile.
“No interference between us.”
Thud. The door closed, and the car carrying Cheon Geon-young headed toward the shelter. After a brief interval, she hailed a taxi.
---
Lee Seung-hyuk, the homeroom teacher of the senior class at the West Shelter, arrived at work today with the same heavy shadows under his eyes.
He was infamous for being the homeroom teacher of G-class, known as the rowdiest and most unruly group of students in the entire graduating year. Some even joked that “G” stood for “group of troublemakers.”
When he entered the teachers’ office, he nearly clutched his chest upon seeing a girl standing blankly next to his desk.
“So, you’re the new transfer student.”
Realizing she wasn’t one of his students causing trouble, he sighed in belated relief.
“Hello. Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”
The girl bowed politely to him.
At least she had manners—that counted for something. He thought she must have come from a family with deep-rooted principles, like a true scholar.
“Your name is Jeon Sung-ha?”
“Yes.”
“Pleased to meet you. Shall we head to the classroom together and talk along the way?”
Instead of offering words of encouragement, Lee Seung-hyuk rattled off a list of precautions.
As they walked up to the classroom during self-study period, students roaming the hallways whistled a duet at the sight of the new transfer student. Despite the chaotic noise attack, the transfer student didn’t shift her focus.
“The kids in my class are… a bit lively. They’re not bad kids, but you get what I mean, right? Since you’re an esper too…”
“I understand.”
Her short, curt reply carried a hint of indifference. Still, at least she was using polite speech—better than nothing.
The teacher slid open the classroom door. The transfer student followed closely behind him.
Inside the lecture hall-style classroom, students were scattered sparsely across the seats. Their gazes immediately locked onto the newcomer. If she had been an ordinary human, the intensity of their stares would’ve made her break into a cold sweat.
Even after years of socialization, many espers couldn’t suppress their instinctive predatory glares.
“A transfer student? Coming to our class?”
“Right before graduation? Seriously?”
“She’s hot. Hey, stand up! She’s a newbie!”
“Teacher! Who’s this cutie? Your secret daughter?”
Provocative questions flew from all directions.
“Are you going to show this kind of behavior without even hearing the new student’s name?”
Show what? One esper warped the teacher’s voice into an eerie echo that reverberated through the classroom.
The transfer student watched the chaos unfold with an expressionless face. Unable to bear it any longer, the teacher clapped his hands loudly once. Clap! The clamor that had grown like a bustling market vanished in an instant.
The students’ mouths were still moving, but their voices had disappeared. The homeroom teacher, having used his ability first thing in the morning, extended his hand toward the transfer student.
“Alright, let’s introduce her.”
The transfer student stepped forward. The students, who had been opening and closing their mouths like fish, fell silent and focused their attention on her.
Her slender frame and perfectly proportioned features, filling her small face without a trace of imbalance, were striking from any angle—beautiful whether viewed from below or above.
So this was the epitome of our school uniform! Some students even reached that realization.
The new transfer student didn’t shrink back despite being an outsider, and her gaze conveyed an unshakable refusal to back down from anything. It came off as arrogantly confident.
What would her voice sound like? Everyone waited in anticipation.
And with a voice that met their expectations, the transfer student finally spoke.
“Jeon Sung-ha.”
“…”
“I use telekinesis, so I’d prefer it if no one touched me unnecessarily.”
Yoon Tae-ha, disguised as the transfer student, smiled enchantingly.
---
The interest in the new transfer student was nothing short of explosive.
Throughout the morning classes, Yoon Tae-ha had to endure the relentless gazes of her classmates. Whether she was changing pens, picking up a dropped highlighter, or casually eating jelly out of boredom, their eyes never left her.
When she took out her glasses to wear them, they acted as if they’d made some grand discovery, clapping and laughing amongst themselves.
Why are they acting like this?
With an indifferent expression, she glanced at them once, and they erupted into whispers about how she’d looked at them.
Probably because espers with poor eyesight were rare.
Regardless, the glasses were an essential tool for Yoon Tae-ha when working. To be precise, they were connected to the chatty AI that accompanied her.
As soon as she put on the slim, round silver-framed glasses, Jet appeared, sparkling brightly after scanning her irises.
[Hello, Miss Jeon Sung-ha.]
[Initiating facial scans.]
She first casually glanced at one of the boys sitting in the back row. In an instant, Jet captured his face and displayed the information.
〈Kang Jin-ho (20 years old)〉
[Expected Esper Rank: B (Telekinesis + Low-level Teleportation)]
[Aggressive personality; becomes highly agitated in the presence of competitors. Showed a sudden surge in ability starting last year.]
[One of the students most strongly suspected of using amplifiers.]
[Predicted to be the top graduate of this year’s West Shelter class, barring any anomalies.]
[Special Note: Strong desire to join Ark.]
This guy was already a person of interest.
Kang Jin-ho. An esper who had shown an incredible rise in power since last year. He couldn’t stand having rivals around and would pick fights with anyone stronger than him just to satisfy his urge.
Why he acted this way wasn’t clear, but that was his personality. What could you do about it?
From Yoon Tae-ha’s perspective, the only option was to play along.
[The goal is to provoke Kang Jin-ho into action.]
The fabricated identity of “Jeon Sung-ha” had been tailored specifically to target Kang Jin-ho.
According to her backstory, she was a novice esper who had awakened her powers two years ago. She was also a telekinetic user, ranked identically at B-class.
It was the perfect profile to irritate the nerves of a twenty-year-old already perched atop the pyramid of power.
[First, act inexperienced with your abilities to make the top students let their guard down.]
[A rapid growth spurt from someone initially perceived as insignificant will make people anxious.]
Conveniently, there was a class today for the graduating seniors’ telekinetic users called “Movement and Transformation.”
Pretending to make mistakes? Too easy.
Without a word, Yoon Tae-ha popped another jelly into her mouth.
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