PTT - 31

“Did I really seem like that to you?”  

His single remark struck a subtle but piercing chord. Raon awkwardly chuckled and took another sip of her drink. The lingering sweetness on her tongue suggested that honey had been added in small amounts.  

Perhaps it was the placebo effect of Rhea’s words, but she felt her tension easing. At least for this moment, as she sipped her chrysanthemum tea, Raon felt an overwhelming sense of calm.  

Rhea shrugged as he leisurely sipped from his cup.  

“You didn’t seem physically unwell, at least. I’m more perceptive than you might think. Whatever it is, just make sure you recover fully by tomorrow, and then you can handle my share of the work too, alright?”  

“…Only you can do what you do. You have a special talent.”  

Habits were terrifying things. Raon barely managed to stop herself from calling him “Rhea,” letting out a quiet laugh instead. Referring to him as “you” felt oddly foreign.  

She suddenly turned her head to look at the shop owner, who was busy calculating something. It seemed the elderly men playing Go were regulars, as they were chatting casually about various topics.  

“Is that person a relative? If it’s uncomfortable to answer, you don’t have to.”  

“After revealing even one letter of my name, does it matter? Well, yes—she’s my aunt. She’s taken care of me since I was little.”  

Which meant… he must have lived apart from his parents during his childhood. Sensing the question in Raon’s eyes, Rhea began sharing details she hadn’t asked for.  

“My mom passed away in an accident when I was three, and I was left with my dad. But he was an alcoholic, and things were a complete mess. He hardly ever came home, and when he did, he’d smash furniture and scream… It was chaos. That’s why I only grew to be 164 cm tall—I couldn’t eat properly. So unfair.”  

“So your aunt took care of you instead?”  

“To be precise, I was the one pestering her. I’d come to this shop every day asking for food or tea.”  

The shop was already quiet, but now they were the only customers left. After confirming that his aunt had gone into the kitchen, Rhea gestured toward the right wall.  

“There used to be a computer there—it’s gone now. You know those old monitors that were super bulky? After school, I’d always come here and spend hours on that thing. The internet was fascinating—you could communicate with people who didn’t know you, free of prejudice.”  

Was it that old computer that helped Rhea become a white-hat hacker? Raon gazed thoughtfully at the desk now piled high with old magazines.  

A strange feeling washed over her, but it wasn’t unpleasant. As a colleague, she felt grateful that Rhea had willingly shared a piece of his past with her.  

Staring at the chrysanthemum petals floating in her tea, Raon exhaled deeply. On days when she needed emotional stability, she suspected she’d find herself craving this yellow flower tea again.  

---

Meanwhile, at the NIS Cafeteria  

It was still early for lunch, so there were only a few people in the cafeteria. In an hour, hungry agents would flood in.  

“Team Leader, what are you thinking about?”  

“…Ah, Diane. It’s nothing. Let’s eat.”  

Baek Siheon glanced briefly at Diane, who had sat across from him. He had no reason to refuse her offer to have lunch together since their first day.  

Rhea had left to drop off Raon, while Mabel and Rock had gone to the training room for shooting practice. This left him with no choice but to accept Diane’s company.  

As usual, Siheon chose Korean cuisine over Western. Today’s menu featured his favorite soybean noodle soup, but after receiving his meal, he remained lost in thought, not even touching his chopsticks. Raon’s pale face as she left early kept haunting him.  

Still, it was rude to dwell on other thoughts while someone was sitting across from him. Diane watched him take a sip of water before breaking into a small smile.  

“You say it’s nothing, but you look pretty serious. Oh, and please speak casually. Given our age difference and the fact that I’m your subordinate, it’s fine. Our organization is pretty hierarchical, as you know.”  

With a playful wink, she neatly rolled up a bite-sized portion of her rosé pasta and swallowed it cleanly. Smiling sweetly at him, she continued.  

“Well then, let’s start fresh. Since we’ll be working closely like family, it’s better to clear up any past issues, don’t you think?”  

“Do you already know some of our team members? From what I saw earlier, it didn’t seem like it.”  

“More accurately… I know one of them. And I think you should be aware of it too.”  

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Diane gave a bitter smile. Rubbing her face with both hands, she sighed as if dredging up an unpleasant memory. Something was definitely there.  

Siheon raised an eyebrow and leaned back against his chair. While it was generally discouraged to pry into agents’ pasts, unresolved relationships could pose problems in the present.  

Especially in a small, specialized team like theirs, where seamless cooperation—like that of a family—was essential.  

If unresolved tensions led to hesitation during missions, it could jeopardize everyone’s safety. With a slight nod, Baek Siheon signaled for her to elaborate.  

“Where should I start…? Earlier, you noticed Yeon turning pale when she saw me, right?”  

“Yeon?”  

The unexpected name made Siheon unconsciously furrow his brow. His straight eyebrows twitched slightly. So Diane knew Yeon?

Since Raon had been mentioned, it was crucial to uncover the full story behind their relationship. Diane let out a slow sigh and began fiddling with her glass of water using the tip of her thumb.  

“Yes. I’m sure she was quite surprised to see me. It’s been over ten years since we last met… She probably never expected to run into me here at the agency. I was startled too, but given the circumstances, I couldn’t show it. So I followed her to the restroom to talk, and as I suspected, she remembered me.”  

“So you two met during middle or high school?”  

“Yes, exactly in middle school. I transferred to a school in Korea from the U.S. after following my father… That’s where we crossed paths.”  

Her smile faded, replaced by a somber tone. She hesitated, drawing out the ends of her sentences as her lips trembled slightly.  

“Back then, I struggled to adjust to the sudden move to Korea. And… well…”  

“I’m listening. Go ahead.”  

“Now that I think about it, I don’t believe their intentions were entirely malicious. We were all minors, after all.”  

Whether in the past or present, Raon had never brought up stories from her school days. Siheon had casually asked her about it a few times during their college years, but she had always brushed it off, saying it was uneventful.  

Now, flashes of her evasive expressions—like she didn’t want to remember—played in his mind like a panorama.  

“They cursed at me, bullied me… Sometimes they even shoved my head into the toilet bowl. But unlike other kids, they didn’t make me run errands for cigarettes. Instead, I had to sneak bottles of my father’s liquor from the fridge.”  

“It was Yeon who did that, right? Just to confirm—are you sure you’re not confusing her with someone else?”  

“…I understand if it’s hard to believe. But everything I’ve told you is true. The moment I heard her codename, I knew. I thought, what an incredible coincidence this was.”  

At that moment, regardless of whether her story was entirely truthful, Baek Siheon realized one undeniable fact: Diane definitely knew Raon. The codename “Yeon” was derived from Yoo Sim-yeon, a name Raon had used in the past.