Chapter 82: The Weight of Unspoken Truths

“It’s normal.”

It was a very simple test.

A few patches similar to ECG sensors were attached to Irihyeon’s body, and after a short while, the results appeared on the screen.

Despite the examiner announcing the results, no one gathered in the hospital room could bring themselves to speak.

They seemed unsure how they were supposed to react.

Meanwhile, Irihyeon sat there with a remarkably calm expression.

It was fairly decent acting, but I couldn’t just let it pass.

“Could you explain it in more detail.”

“This is my first time seeing this machine.”

I stepped in to deliver the final confirmation.

“Um… generally, if it’s over 80%, the mana is considered very stable.”

“It’s a state where guiding isn’t necessary and the person can be deployed to combat immediately.”

“And in the subject’s case… it’s 95%.”

So, to put the situation simply, it meant he was faking it.

“It’s because I was guided earlier!”

That was the best excuse he could come up with.

Even with so many people present, Irihyeon grabbed the shirt of Jaeyul, who was standing beside me, and desperately squeezed out his excuse.

“…Irihyeon.”

“I already checked before I came here.”

“Agent Jin Sehyun stayed in this hospital room for less than ten minutes.”

“How could he stabilize mana that was supposedly in complete chaos to this degree in such a short time.”

“……”

He must have felt wronged to the point of wanting to die.

During that short time, I had dragged Irihyeon to the brink of death and then restored him to normal.

But since there was no way to prove that, it was only natural for him to feel furious.

I wanted to throw his own words back at him.

“If you want to prove your innocence, you’ll have a hard time.”

“What on earth is all this commotion.”

“Did you really gather all these busy people here just to say that this was a lie.”

“From inside the gate, even.”

The deputy director of the Second Center finally opened his mouth.

His voice was filled with anger.

That was understandable.

Instead of celebrating the successful clearing of an S-rank gate, the place had turned into something like a funeral because of a pointless lie.

“What.”

“So this was really just… a show.”

“I carried him on my back the entire time inside the gate.”

Irihyeon’s friends chose to remain silent.

Park Bomyeong seemed to understand the situation a beat late.

“Bomyeong, that’s not the important part.”

“Because of Irihyeon, the difficulty of the gate raid increased several times.”

“And it means Team Leader Seon Jaeyul almost died.”

“On top of that, by blaming guiding, Agent Jin Sehyun almost ended up taking full responsibility for it.”

…Yu Eden, you can talk after all.

He was so taciturn that I thought he couldn’t speak.

Since he always hung around Park Bomyeong, I assumed they had similar brains.

But he seemed better at judging situations than that.

Maybe they were the kind of pair that covered each other’s weaknesses.

At Yu Eden’s precise summary, the air in the hospital room grew even heavier.

Eyes demanding an explanation poured toward Irihyeon.

But the mouth that had been so confident earlier remained tightly shut, showing no sign of opening.

He was cornered.

No matter what he did, he was trapped in a snare he couldn’t escape.

Unfortunately, it was a trap he had set himself.

“There’s no way he did it on purpose.”

“You’re on the same team.”

I really didn’t want to, but I opened my mouth.

At my words, which sounded like I was defending Irihyeon, all attention turned to me.

Even if I let Irihyeon be completely buried here, I wouldn’t suffer any real loss.

If anything, getting rid of someone who disliked me would be convenient.

But if Irihyeon was to be cast out, it couldn’t be by my choice.

The one who had suffered the most was Jaeyul.

From the very first raid, an injury occurred, diminishing the meaning of the success.

On top of that, he had suffered a serious injury he never wanted.

If rumors spread that the gate raid had almost failed due to discord among team members, it could even raise questions about his qualifications as a team leader.

And then…

He had turned a blind eye even while knowing I was lying a little.

He had even brought that machine to clear my name.

So the decision regarding Irihyeon belonged to Jaeyul.

I was only trying to create a justification to wrap things up smoothly.

“What do you mean, Agent Jin.”

“I believe Agent Irihyeon’s trait is Omega.”

“Is that correct.”

Nod.

Irihyeon reluctantly affirmed my words.

You little brat.

I’m trying to help you, and you’re still annoying.

“If he’s an Omega, isn’t it possible for pheromones to go out of control and make mana unstable in rare cases.”

“Inspector.”

“For example… around a heat cycle.”

At my question, the inspector Jaeyul had brought opened his mouth.

“…It is extremely rare, but there are such cases.”

“However… it’s really very rare….”

“There you have it.”

“Agent Irihyeon, isn’t your heat cycle coming up soon.”

I cut off the inspector, who was about to add more.

I had already heard the answer I wanted.

Irihyeon looked at me with eyes full of confusion.

He seemed unsure whether he should agree with me or refute me.

“…Yes.”

At least he wasn’t completely stupid.

He realized that the only way out of this crisis was to step onto the stage I had set and gave the proper answer.

“Then it seems likely that you ‘mistook’ the pheromone abnormality for a guiding issue.”

“It can be hard to distinguish between pheromone and mana abnormalities.”

“And earlier, you probably just woke up and couldn’t clearly tell the difference between a dream and reality.”

“Right, Irihyeon.”

Jaeyul seemed to understand my intention and neatly summarized the situation.

“…Yes.”

“I misunderstood.”

“I’m sorry, Agent Jin Sehyun.”

“I don’t even know how to apologize….”

“I almost caused you trouble because of me.”

I even got an apology I hadn’t expected.

But that fox had already started acting again.

I never thought I’d regret helping him this quickly.

That face that looked genuinely apologetic was truly irritating.

“Well, well then… ahem.”

“Let’s wrap this up nicely.”

“I’ll report separately to the Director of the Support Office.”

“Agent Irihyeon is safe, and the raid was successful.”

“Isn’t that a good outcome, haha.”

Na Dongchan stepped in and brought everything to a close.

Before anything else could be said, he ushered everyone out of the hospital room and single-handedly created a celebratory mood.

Was this… really the right thing to do.

Late regret washed over me.

Haah…

I don’t know.

It had been an excessively long three days, so for now, I needed to rest and think.

“Come with me, Agent Jin Sehyun.”

But hearing Jaeyul call me aside, it seemed like this long day still wasn’t over.

…Why are you angry again, Jaeyul.

“Why are you angry, Team Leader.”

Look at this guy.

Even when I called him, he didn’t turn around and just strode ahead.

Maybe because he looked so furious, neither the deputy director nor the team members could stop him.

“What did I even do wrong, huh.”

Without saying a single word, Jaeyul didn’t open his mouth until we got into the elevator and down to the underground parking lot.

I was going to get sick from frustration.

“Hey… Seon Jaeyul.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything.”

The moment we got into the car, I dropped the honorifics.

I needed to know the reason at least, to decide whether to calm him down or not.

I had no idea why he had come all the way to the parking lot with such a scary expression.

“Pfft…!”

Just as my anger was about to boil over, a suppressed laugh slipped from Jaeyul’s mouth.

Looking closely, the corners of his lips were twitching.

“What is it.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Why would I be angry at you.”

“I just thought this was the only way we could get to my place, so I tried acting a bit.”

“It wasn’t bad, right.”

Damn it.

I really wanted to flick him on the forehead just once.

He could have given me a hint beforehand.

Why act so viciously.

Thanks to that, no one stopped us, which was fortunate, but my heart nearly dropped out of my chest in the meantime.

“Lie down and sleep a bit.”

“You haven’t even properly gone home while we were at the gate.”

“Let’s talk later.”

After reclining the passenger seat I was sitting in, Jaeyul started the car.

I had a lot to say too, but I decided to put it off for now.

I didn’t want to pile unnecessary stress onto someone who had gone through even more than I had.

Still, this much needed to be said.

“…You did well.”

“Really.”

“Thank you.”

“We made it back safely because of you.”

No further words were exchanged.

Our sincerity had been fully conveyed and received.

Maybe because of the gentle vibration of the car driving through the city, or because all the anxiety that had built up was finally released, my eyelids grew heavy.

I’ll just close my eyes like this for a moment.

…That’s what I thought.

But when I opened my eyes, I was on my bed.

I was lying under a soft blanket with my head on a fluffy pillow.

Sunlight was gently seeping in through the blinds by the window, so it didn’t seem to be night yet.

“…Kiiing… whine….”

And under the blanket, I could feel a large lump and a small lump.

The large lump was Seon Jaeyul.

The small lump was Poppy.

Poppy…

Why are you wedging yourself between us and imprisoning yourself like this.

I should have been annoyed at these intruders, but not today.

It felt like reassurance.

Reassurance that I had finally returned to my original daily life.

Reassurance that nothing about our lives had changed.

That we could still sleep together like this on one bed, the three of us, just like always.

I was… grateful for that.

Jaeyul must have been extremely exhausted, because even when I shifted slightly, he didn’t stir at all.

After fighting a harsh battle and then being worn down by people afterward, it was only natural.

Even I, who had only waited at the center, felt both physically and mentally drained.

“…Good night, Jaeyul.”

I slipped my arm under Jaeyul’s neck and wrapped it around his back.

Just like I used to do whenever sleepless nights came for him, I gently stroked his back at a steady rhythm.

Even though he was already asleep, I hoped it would make his rest just a little more comfortable.

Perhaps my wish reached him, because Jaeyul’s breathing softened slightly.