“Now you can even hear cat footsteps? This is really getting out of the human realm.”

The commander called to Cheon Geon-young. Before turning away, Cheon Geon-young warned the cat in a low, gentle voice.

“Don’t come.”

Leaving the tilting-headed cat behind, he walked the other way. Watching his retreating figure, Yoon Tae-ha finally let out a silent sigh and leaned her head against the steel shelf.

The tawny cat, having confirmed that Cheon Geon-young had completely disappeared, sauntered over to Yoon Tae-ha. Its dark green eyes were familiar. The cat flicked its tail, urging her to get up.

Yoon Tae-ha followed the cat, which seemed quite familiar with the underground shopping center, and safely made her way out.

The end of the narrow path was an abandoned house. The cat lightly climbed onto the roof with holes in it. She teleported up after it.

“What brings you all the way here?”

“Meow. Aeooong.”

“...Stop the transformation. The cat sounds you make on purpose aren’t cute at all.”

“Aeong?”

The cat scoffed at her. Then it stretched languidly under the white crescent moon. In the blink of an eye, the cat disappeared and a boy appeared. The boy’s hair was a deep honey color.

“I just came out to quickly check since there’s a rumor someone’s impersonating our name.”

“I told you not to enter my territory without a word.”

The boy playfully ran around on the roof full of holes before stopping abruptly and saying,

“I only listen to the boss’s orders. You’re the vice-commander.”

“Since when was I the vice-commander?”

“Isn’t the second strongest among us the vice-commander? Can you beat the boss? In Ark or here. Looks like you’re destined to be number two.”

Pale moonlight poured down on Yoon Tae-ha’s face. Her usual playfulness was nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s not get angry at each other, allies.”

The boy smiled innocently and gave a comically exaggerated bow.

“Black Lion.”

It wasn’t a pleasant title to hear.

•

The enemy doesn’t discriminate between day and night.

So why do we have to fight while staying within the lines?

Ark for legitimate work, Orca for illegal work. To vow to only use orthodox methods against an opponent who changes their guise like that is a shortcut to defeat, isn’t it? Especially since we’re practically under headquarters’ surveillance.

It was when Yoon Tae-ha was caught up in such thoughts that he came to her. The man who introduced himself as the Black Lion proposed a very simple deal.

<To kill Orca together.>

At that time, she seemed to have laughed more out of elation than fear.

Lee Hae-kyung’s team had many restrictions. Because the accusers couldn’t act the same way as the criminals. So she did things that Lee Hae-kyung couldn’t do with the Black Lion group.

Back then, when she found out that Orca was hiding inside the company, she had nothing to fear. And Yoon Tae-ha’s judgment had been valid so far.

“I smashed one of Orca’s armories. It’s thanks to the information you gave me.”

The boy with the murky golden hair, Lev, chattered in a cheerful voice.

“A researcher who used to work under Yoon Jeong-hoon was in charge of that factory. That pig-like guy who stuck a needle in my neck and drew blood for ten hours...”

“Did you get your revenge?”

“Sweetly.”

He smiled with a face like a satisfied lion.

“What about you? Is work going well?”

Before answering, Yoon Tae-ha teleported to a different location. Lev caught up without difficulty. Arriving a step later than her, he exclaimed, “Too bad!” and stomped his foot.

They stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building. Yoon Tae-ha hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth.

“I have a guide now.”

I see how things are going. That was the boy’s expression. Curiosity filled his round eyes.

“Is it that handsome guy from earlier?”

“You think he’s handsome too?”

“Even in our world, someone like that is a rare beauty. Wouldn’t it be the same in any world?”

She shrugged, trying to shake off her unease. Lev worried about Yoon Tae-ha’s constitution in a voice tinged with faint superiority.

“Earthlings must be a pain, for sure. Needing a partner to use your abilities. Could the hypothesis that it’s due to incomplete awakening be true?”

Lev casually perched on a dirty ventilation fan. He began to chatter on his own even though Yoon Tae-ha didn’t answer.

“In the end, I’ll be right. Yoon Jeong-hoon got some kind of inspiration from seeing us. Seeing foreigners using abilities without guides, he realized that Earthlings should be able to do that too.”

“So he experimented on both aliens and Earthlings indiscriminately?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I have no ill will towards you. I heard from the boss that you were an experiment subject who suffered even more severely than me.”

She didn’t want to rank them based on such things.

“So, will Yoon Tae-ha get healthier now? You said you could get healthier if you found a guide.”

“I might be able to postpone the time of death a little.”

“Hmm. Is the guiding not working well? They said that sometimes raising the sense of crisis helps. Should I attack you lightly when we’re alone?”

As Lev finished speaking, he felt as if the rooftop had frozen over in an instant.

The moon, which had been hidden by clouds, peeked out again. An unbelievable cold killing intent emanated from the woman haloed by the moonlight.

Is this really human?

Lev, sensing the killing intent, playfully wiggled his feet in the air with an excited expression. Cat ears popped out from his golden hair. It meant he was instinctively tense.

“The moment you lay even a finger on my guide’s body, the contract with the Black Lion is broken.”

“Wow!”

“Don’t hurt him. I’m not just talking to you. If you want to make me your enemy, feel free to attack.”

“That’s thrillingly brutal! You’ve never talked to other guides like this before!”

“I have. You just don’t remember.”

“No! Of course, you’ve said it... but it wasn’t this sincere.”

Yoon Tae-ha ran a hand through her hair like someone who had reached an unwanted truth. Her senses became extremely sharp due to the tension. She forced herself to find a rational answer.

“He’s the only one who has guided me properly. If you want to use me for even a little longer, do as I say.”

Lev nodded vigorously, as if telling her not to worry.

“I want to be with you at Orca’s execution ceremony. I hope you’ll be right next to us.”

“......”

“So I’ll never kill him. I’m even willing to protect him if he’s in danger. The Lion King will think the same way. He cherishes and likes you more than you think.”

“Please convey my gratitude.”

The boy giggled. Yoon Tae-ha turned her head to look at the distance. The place where glittering lights clustered like the Milky Way was Seoul. Red light was densely embedded in her pupils.

Lev, having come down from the ventilation fan, stood next to her.

“Does the head of the Korean branch know you’re the Black Lion?”

She frowned at the unwelcome question.

Lev had asked this question quite a few times, and Yoon Tae-ha had never given a proper answer. She had kept putting it off, like the matter of receiving guidance.

But today, she wanted to talk. If she didn’t spill out whatever was inside her, she felt like she would suffocate and die from frustration. She had been feeling this way ever since she saw Cheon Geon-young underground.

A feeling of being chased.

“He knows by intuition. Even though we’ve never talked about anything related. Oppa has a better sense of things than me.”

“You trust the center director quite a bit. Why don’t you tell him everything?”

Lev’s eyes widened.

“The moment I say that, Oppa becomes someone who hid the identity of an illegal organization. That’s a different level of problem than just a background check. Lee Hae-kyung will remain in the world as the good guy until the end. Even for the future, that’s the right thing to do.”

“The good guy...”

“What the Black Lion actually did doesn’t matter. The government and Ark already call us anti-government forces. Oppa has to play the role of the good cop.”

“Can’t you do that?”

“Lee Hae-kyung looks more righteous than me. His credibility is overwhelmingly higher.”

“Let’s drop those ridiculous reasons!”

“It’s a fact everyone acknowledges, so it’s not ridiculous.”

She had decided that long ago. If one of them had to fall, it had to be her. That was much more efficient.

Lee Hae-kyung had many friends in the Protection Bureau. Just looking at Director Gong Ju-chan, another S-class, showed that.

Lee Hae-kyung had a slightly stronger bond with Director Gong than she did. Cooperation with the Protection Bureau would be essential to sweep out Orca within the company.

An unknown name won’t be tarnished.

That was what she had thought from the moment she joined hands with the Black Lion.

“You’re quite serious.”

Lev seemed slightly impressed by her resolute attitude.

“I’ve always been serious.”

“You really do resemble the boss a bit. You’re kindred spirits.”

“He’s someone I don’t particularly want to resemble.”

As she muttered, Lev frankly agreed.

Suddenly, Yoon Tae-ha thought she should ask about the government organization that Cheon Geon-young was presumed to belong to.

“Did you find out anything about the organization the Korean government supposedly created recently?”

“I did look into it. There are rumors floating around the underground market, but it’s not much different from what you told me.”

Lev made an apologetic expression when she looked disappointed.

“It’s hard to figure out what the government’s up to without an ID.”

“I guess so.”

Lev’s eyes lit up as if he had a good idea.

“Find out yourself!”

“What?”

“Your guide, I mean. He looked like a government soldier at a glance. You can just coax him and ask. Isn’t it much more inefficient for us to find out?”

Yoon Tae-ha said firmly.

“He’s not someone who can be coaxed.”

“Well, I think that depends on you.”

A meaningful smile appeared on the boy’s face. She defensively crossed her arms.