HLSEBT - 52

52. Bad Adults 3

The delivery was safely completed. After dropping Woo Joo Han off at a secluded park, Yoon Taeha prepared to return to the dormitory. 

Just as she was about to leave without so much as a farewell, Woo Joo Han’s voice stopped her. 

“By the way…” 

He seemed to be deliberating something, gnawing on his lips and running his hand through his hair repeatedly—about thirty times, it felt like to Yoon Taeha. 

In reality, he had only done it five times, but to her, it felt exaggerated. He was hesitating even after bringing up the topic. 

“If you don’t speak within five seconds, I’m leaving. Five, four, three…” 

Unable to withstand the pressure, he blurted out a word like a spring recoiling. 

“Honorifics!” 

“…What?” 

“Do I have to use honorifics?” 

Yoon Taeha made the same expression she wore when encountering an unfamiliar plant in a dungeon for the first time. 

“…Is that allowed?” 

Utterly perplexed, Woo Joo Han muttered awkwardly. 

Was this wrong? Should he have addressed her properly from the start? She might be someone highly ranked since she was an external agent brought in from outside. Had he been too presumptuous? 

His thoughts were practically visible in 72-point font to Yoon Taeha. 

“Call me however you want, junior.” 

Annoyed, the senior tossed him the reins of autonomy and left. Woo Joo Han stood rooted in place for a moment before dramatically flipping his bangs with a gust of air and rushing back into the dormitory. 

---

The senior who had vanished in a flash arrived at the dormitory where Hong Eunsoo stayed. 

She boldly knocked on the official entrance door first. Some students recognized her and teased her about her first experience in H Building. 

“You’ll be visiting often, huh?” 

“If you get marked with H Class history, it’ll be super hard to get into the Ark…” 

Ignoring them, Yoon Taeha simply knocked on the door: knock, knock, knock. But there was no response at all. 

With no other choice, she resorted to unconventional methods and entered Hong Eunsoo’s balcony. The curtains weren’t drawn. Inside the room, there were only traces of the occupant having left in a hurry. 

After briefly examining the painkiller bottle, Yoon Taeha was about to leave when she noticed a small photo perched atop the water purifier. 

It was a picture of a sulky-faced Kwon Min-gi and a strikingly posed Hong Eunsoo standing side by side. It looked like they had cropped it from a group photo to include just the two of them. 

Jet, who had been silent until now, finally seized the opportunity to speak. 

- They seem close. 

“I shouldn’t have looked.” 

- Your heart is softening again, isn’t it? 

Without replying, she returned to her own dormitory. Jet reminded her once more of the mission’s outline. 

- Just to be safe, let me remind you— 

“What?” 

- This mission requires you to follow the agreed-upon sequence with the Center. 

“Am I planning to do something reckless?” 

- You want to extract Kwon Min-gi. If he escapes the sellers’ grasp without a valid reason, their alert level will rise. 

“How many times have I done this before? We’re playing the long game. Isn’t that what we like?” 

- It’s a shame I can’t see your face right now. I’m sure your lie meter would be at 100%. 

At that moment, Cheon Geonyoung called. He must have met with the principal today, so she needed to hear the results of their conversation. It was also a refuge from Jet’s impending lecture listing all the missions where she had acted impulsively. 

Plugging the communication device issued to agents into her ear, she answered the call. Background noise hinted at where the other person was standing. 

Cheon Geonyoung was surrounded by students chatting noisily as they passed by. It seemed they were currently on the hill leading from the cafeteria and kiosk to the dormitory. 

They exchanged brief greetings. 

- I just had dinner with a new friend. 

The “new friend” referred to Hwang Sungbin. She sat lightly on the edge of her bed and asked, 

“Hwang Sungbin hasn’t changed, has he? Did the principal give him any hints or anything?” 

- No. He’s as innocent as ever. 

“What about Agent Shin Jae-il?” 

- He’s scared and exhausted. Should I try convincing him? 

“A traitor once is a traitor forever.” 

The voices of students on the other side gradually faded into the distance. 

Though they were discussing betrayal and agents, the mundane background sounds somehow made their conversation feel trivial. 

- Clean and nice. 

Perhaps his tone had risen half a pitch compared to when discussing work, making it feel less serious. 

- If we finish quickly, will there be any rewards? 

“Who knows? Maybe the company’s trust?” 

- I really want that. 

At this tone, she could almost understand Espers who regained energy just from being called by their Guides. 

Yoon Taeha reclined on a single-person sofa with her legs up, leaning against the wall—a habit she had developed to minimize vulnerable spots. With her back against the sofa and her head resting on the wall, she listened quietly to his story. 

- I have a confession to make. 

“Did you cause trouble?” 

- Not exactly trouble… more like gambling? 

“Sounds similar.” 

Cheon Geonyoung chuckled briefly. Thanks to the obsessively researched communication equipment, it felt as though he were laughing right beside her. 

“Tell me about this gamble.” 

Hold on. After a moment, the surroundings grew quiet. A door closed—it seemed he had entered his dormitory. 

- I told them I’d visit Kwon Min-gi tomorrow. 

“Tomorrow? The official meeting wasn’t scheduled for another week, was it?” 

- I figured saying that might stop them from killing Kwon Min-gi. Though I doubt the agents assigned here are stupid enough to eliminate a student, just in case. By the way, they’ve already granted me access to H Building for tomorrow. 

As she processed his words, there was a brief silence in the call. He waited patiently for her response. 

Both were aware they were communicating through machines, yet the silence stretched long enough to question whether the call was still connected. 

Cheon Geonyoung broke the silence first. 

- Are you in trouble? 

“Who with whom?” 

- I thought maybe you were angry. 

He didn’t sound genuinely worried. Was he joking? 

Since she couldn’t see his face, Yoon Taeha replied in a softer tone than usual. 

“Not a bad idea… but I think I’ll need to stake out H Building’s paths tonight.” 

- Shin Jae-il or someone else might try returning Kwon Min-gi. The principal himself might intervene. 

“The principal is currently in a meeting with Director Cheon. He can’t leave his seat. I’ll send a message asking Director Cheon to drag the meeting out as long as possible.” 

- Direct approval line? 

“…It’s not always an advantage.” 

The other party chuckled softly. Sometimes it seemed he enjoyed watching her struggle to navigate people’s relationships. 

“Securing video evidence would help.” 

Assuming she would go alone, she rose from her seat as she spoke. Cheon Geonyoung had been extremely busy lately dealing with Hwang Sungbin’s side. 

The exterior of the Shelter buildings was her domain. However, it seemed his thoughts differed. 

- Where should I go? 

“You’re coming too? For the stakeout?” 

- H Building has one ground entrance and one underground entrance, right? Are you planning to create duplicates of yourself to monitor both? 

Now that he mentioned it, she had forgotten about the underground entrance. With two entry points, naturally, two people were needed to guard them. 

“The company sent two of us for a reason. Why does everything have to be so complicated?” 

- Just tell me if I’m covering the ground or underground entrance. 

She informed Cheon Geonyoung of the route Jet would use to control the CCTV and then stood up. 

He’d figure it out on his own. 

She decided not to worry too much. 

Changing clothes for a long stakeout, she opened the balcony door. She paused momentarily as a familiar drone approached from afar. The beetle-like small drone landed on her desk through the open window. 

Jet announced the arrival of the new item in a cheerful tone. 

- The antidote has arrived from the research lab. 

“Really? I thought they said it would be delayed.” 

- It’s a sample, so the quantity is limited. 

Unlocking the drone’s compartment, a translucent vial containing purple liquid emerged. It was barely the size of a pinky finger. 

- One dose. They rushed it because you requested it as an emergency measure. 

“What’s its effect?” 

- Temporarily reduces hallucinations and auditory delusions, with some analgesic properties. 

Placing the vial into a small messenger bag, she closed the window and teleported. 

Leaping lightly across the rooftop, she began speaking. 

“If, hypothetically, an opportunity arises to extract Kwon Min-gi naturally…” 

- Here we go again. 

“Hear me out. If such a situation arises, will you help?” 

- If that situation arises, you’ll just take matters into your own hands anyway, won’t you? 

“If it happens, I’ll save him, alright? I don’t want to disrupt the overall framework either. Can’t I secretly pass along the antidote?” 

- Are you some kind of ghost, Master? 

In the blink of an eye, she teleported from the dormitory rooftop to the massive lighting tower on the soccer field. Unaware of her presence atop the tower, the students played fiercely under the night sky. Standing close to the heavens, she spoke indifferently. 

“What’s the difference?” 

---

Shin Jae-il gritted his teeth. The box containing the unconscious Kwon Min-gi was horrifyingly heavy. 

Though he had lower-level physical enhancements, carrying a secure box containing a sturdy twenty-year-old was no easy feat. 

He had managed to borrow a cart from the principal after pleading his case—it was typically used to transport ingredient boxes. 

As he trudged through the long, tunnel-like underground passage, sweat began forming on his face. 

“This is really… impossible… I’ll disappoint him…” 

Struggling to push the cart forward, Shin Jae-il suddenly froze as two people emerged from the right-hand corridor. 

They were graduating-class Espers who had just finished training in the underground facility.