Chapter 120: When Familiar Faces Return

“Serves you right for betraying us and leaving. Hahaha!”

It was embarrassing.

I had done absolutely nothing wrong, yet the entire Defense Team 15 had vanished, and somehow it felt like it was all my fault.

No one actually said, “Defense Team 15 ran away because they didn’t want Jin Sehyun,” but I could tell everyone was thinking it.

Every person I passed tried to suppress their laughter.

As expected, Park Bomyung burst out laughing the moment I stepped into the office.

“…Shut your mouth.”

Ignoring him, I walked over to Jaeyul’s desk.

It hadn’t even been an hour since we arrived together by car, and I never imagined I’d be back this soon.

We’d made such a scene in the parking lot, like a family being torn apart forever.

“Look on the bright side. You don’t have to take on another team’s work, right? And it’s definitely not because of you.”

So Jaeyul had already heard the news.

The way he reassured me that it wasn’t my fault somehow made it feel even more like it was.

If the rumor about them actually running away was true, then why on earth would they reject an SS-rank guide?

Did they have some guide with an absurdly high matching rate or something?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

I was about to head to my seat after seeing Jaeyul’s face, when he spoke again.

“Oh, apparently they didn’t run away. They all applied for center transfers.”

“A center transfer…?”

“They said they’d terminate their contracts and quit on the spot if they weren’t sent elsewhere. I don’t know the details, but it doesn’t seem like it was because of you. Just bad timing.”

“R-Right? Yeah, exactly. I knew it. There’s no way they ran because they hated me.”

Thank goodness.

I didn’t even care why the transfer talk suddenly came up.

Knowing they hadn’t all fled because of me was more than enough.

Na Dongchan even suggested pretending the team transfer issue had never happened, and do you know how much that hurt my pride?

If someone was going to abandon something, it should’ve been me first.

Unfortunately, my attempt to put some distance between Jaeyul had failed.

Still, once we filled the team and finished reorganizing, we’d be busy out in the field again.

Then both Jaeyul and I would be too occupied to drown in pointless emotions.

By then, sorting out my feelings should be easier.

I steeled myself and sat down, turning on my computer.

The moment it booted up, a message popped up.

[Hyung, how about white-tailed eagle for lunch? They just got some in.]

Ah.

How could I forget something this important?

Jaeyul’s obsession with health food clearly wasn’t over yet.

I really had to endure this again.

Maybe I really should talk to Na Dongchan one more time.

What the hell made Defense Team 15 apply for transfers anyway?

…Also, what even is a white-tailed eagle?

Is that something people are allowed to eat?

“Whoa, are all those people test participants?”

“Looks like it. If you didn’t know better, you’d think they came to stage a terrorist attack instead of taking a test.”

Park Bomyung, Yueden, and I sat side by side in the spectator seats of the combat training arena, watching the Special Team 1 applicants gathered below.

Without context, some of them really did look like members of a criminal syndicate.

“Let’s make a bet.”

Sitting between us, Bomyung spoke in an excited, childlike voice, glancing back and forth between Yueden and me.

With the team reduced in numbers, the three of us had been spending more time together.

We’d never expected to get along, but little by little, it had happened naturally.

Well, I still wouldn’t say Yueden and I were close.

“Fine. I pick the redhead over there.”

Used to situations like this, Yueden picked someone at random in an indifferent tone.

Even if he refused, Bomyung wouldn’t let it go anyway.

Now it was my turn to choose.

“Traitor, what about you?”

“Hold on. And stop calling me a traitor unless you want me to actually run away.”

There were quite a lot of applicants in the arena.

Yet among all those faces, I couldn’t find the one I was looking for.

I couldn’t be sure, but I’d assumed Song Jihan would pass the document screening.

He was an S-rank esper, after all.

At the very least, they should’ve interviewed him to assess his character.

But contrary to my expectations, Song Jihan hadn’t even been selected for testing.

I didn’t know what Jaeyul disliked enough to exclude him, and it wasn’t my place to question it.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Jihan had once suffered from gate sickness, and I wanted to keep an eye on his condition if possible.

“That tall guy over there.”

Pushing aside my regret, I pointed out someone who looked likely to pass.

One of these people would become our teammate, so it was worth observing them closely.

“Damn it! I should’ve said it first! Why’d you pick the same one as me?”

It seemed our judgment wasn’t that different.

The test hadn’t even started yet, and we’d already chosen the same person just by appearance.

If Song Jihan had been there, I would’ve picked him without hesitation.

Even knowing I should accept reality, the lingering regret wouldn’t go away.

Once we’d each chosen our top candidate, the arena was cleared and the combat aptitude test began.

“Something feels off…”

“Yeah. There were plenty of decent ones, from what I saw.”

I agreed with Bomyung and Yueden.

The applicants’ performances were impressive.

Some had talent enough to overwhelm Im Chan or Hwang Jiyu, while others showed clever tactics born of long experience.

Yet the results were nothing but rejection after rejection.

The best outcome anyone received was pending, and not a single person passed outright.

“Still, being picky is better when you think of it as a team. Better than dragging dead weight into a gate.”

Though it felt excessive, I could understand Jaeyul’s perspective.

Given our team’s nature, we were bound to take on the most dangerous missions.

One mistake could wipe out the entire team.

Avoiding all risk was impossible, but minimizing it meant selecting only the very best.

“Ugh, our bet’s void. Damn it! This just means deployment gets delayed again!”

Seeing the results made the disappointment hit harder.

I couldn’t help thinking that if they were going to be this strict, they might as well have chosen an S-rank esper.

I’d have to ask Jaeyul about it later.

There was no way he’d excluded Song Jihan without a reason.

“…Huh?”

As we left the training ground and headed back to the office, a familiar silhouette caught my eye in the distance.

“You guys go on ahead. I’ll come up later.”

“Hey! Where are you going?”

I half-jogged down the hallway, chasing after the rapidly retreating figure.

The closer I got, the more certain I became that I hadn’t imagined it.

I never expected to reunite this soon, much less here.

The familiarity left me both happy and stunned.

“Song Jihan.”

At my voice, he turned around.

He froze for a moment, just as surprised as I was.

“What the hell. If you came to Seoul, you could’ve at least contacted me. You know I work here.”

“Y-Yeah… You’re right. Why didn’t I?”

Something felt off.

He didn’t look surprised so much as flustered.

Had I been acting too familiar?

Back in Busan, he’d agreed when I suggested being friends, but maybe he hadn’t meant it seriously.

Maybe he’d been ignoring me again, and that was why he looked so awkward now.

I guess we couldn’t just snap back to how things used to be.

We’d need more time and more meetings.

“So what brings you all the way here?”

I asked without showing my disappointment.

There was no obvious connection between the Busan Center and this place.

If he’d come here at a time like this, then maybe—

“Don’t tell me you came about joining Special Team 1…?”

“What? No! I told you I’m not interested in that— I mean, anything like that!”

Why was he reacting so sharply?

His completely serious expression made me feel like I’d said something wrong.

Did he really hate Special Team 1 that much?

Or was he just upset about being rejected at the document stage after personally applying?

“Sorry. That was thoughtless of me. I was just wondering.”

If I was wrong, I should apologize.

It was a sensitive topic, after all.

“Why are you apologizing? We’re friends, aren’t we…?”

He started off sounding angry, but his voice softened toward the end.

Friends.

Even if he’d said it casually, the word made me strangely happy.

“I’d like to get dinner after work, but I have to head back right away.”

Why mention that without me asking?

Even if it was just an excuse to keep distance, it still felt nice.

At least it meant he was considering my feelings.

“I’m going.”

Then, without waiting for a response, Song Jihan turned and strode off, activating his ability and vanishing like the wind.

Seriously.

It was as if he’d decided we’d never meet again.

He used to be such a gentle guy.

Why was he so cold now?

Had he only treated me well because I was his team leader back then?

“Hyung.”

I snapped out of my thoughts when a hand landed on my shoulder.

It was Jaeyul, approaching from the opposite direction.

“Yeah. You done with the test?”

I had so many questions, and if he had time, I planned to ask all of them.

“Yeah. By the way, are you close with Song Jihan? You were talking for quite a while.”

Had he been watching the whole thing?

Normally, there’d be no issue telling the truth, but I’d already said earlier that we weren’t close.

Admitting it now felt awkward.

And after how Jihan had acted today, calling us close would feel even stranger.

“…No. Not really. We just ran into each other.”

Jaeyul, why are you looking at me like that?

That gaze, like he could see straight through me, made my skin crawl.