Unlike the work uniform she'd worn during the day, Chae So-yeon was dressed in a pink tracksuit.
Even if she'd changed for the sake of disguise, pink of all colors?
A hollow laugh escaped me at the outfit that directly contradicted the basic premise of tailing: don't stand out.
"...You said you have something to tell our team leader?"
Chae So-yeon looked up at me, her shoulders gripped in my hands. Her eyes darted quickly left and right.
"...Can we talk after you let go first?"
"If I let go, you'll run away again."
"I won't run."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then fine."
I released the arms holding Chae So-yeon. She rubbed her shoulders where I'd grabbed them and quietly looked up at me.
A moment of awkward silence.
Her eyes rolled quickly left and right. She seemed somehow anxious.
"Uh, are you alr—"
And in the next instant, Chae So-yeon spun behind me in a flash and hooked her leg into mine, sending me crashing to the ground.
-Thud!
"Urk?!"
"Y-you let go so easily! Gotcha, you idiot!"
She swiftly mounted my back and twisted my arm. Suddenly pinned down, I heard Chae So-yeon bellow over me.
"No, what the hell is this?"
"Shut up, you pervert! Taking advantage of the night to harass a defenseless woman! As a member of the Academy Security Force responsible for Green House security, I place you under emergency arrest! Spend the night in a cold cell, shedding tears as you realize your mistakes!"
"What?"
What the hell was that all of a sudden?
"Criminal? Is that what you're saying right now? You've been tailing me for days. Isn't stalking a crime too?"
"Y-yeah. Stalking is a crime."
"Then we're even—"
"But!"
Chae So-yeon puffed out her flat chest and spoke with utter confidence.
"When a cute girl like me follows you around devotedly, isn't that a reward in your line of work? Right?"
From what she was saying, it was clear her head was half off-kilter.
"What industry reward! Don't lump me in with those perverts!"
"Forcibly hugging a frail woman in a dark alley and pinning her against the wall. If that's not perversion, what is?!"
"That was!"
My retort caught in my throat. Hearing it laid out like that, yeah, it did sound perverted.
But I swear to the heavens—no impure intentions whatsoever.
"I admit it. That action could be interpreted that way. But I had no choice. If I hadn't grabbed you like that, you'd have bolted again, right?"
"The Security Force doesn't listen to criminals' excuses!"
Chae So-yeon let out a shrill peep like a chick.
"You stalked me too, so we're even. Criminal to criminal. Let's overlook each other's sins for now and settle this through talk."
"The Security Force doesn't talk to criminals!"
A single chick let out a peep.
"No, seriously—what am I supposed to do when you come at me like this? Didn't Team Leader Min Chae-ryeong give you any orders? Like, contact her if I approach—"
"The Security Force doesn't leak information to criminals!"
The cute chick opened its beak and peeped... Fuck, I couldn't take any more.
"Fuck this shit for real!"
Chae So-yeon glared at my blurted curse. But I didn't care.
"You've shot down this, shot down that from the start—conversation isn't going anywhere! Let's talk, damn it, talk!"
"The Security Force doesn't talk to—"
"That damn Security Force, Security Force, Security Force!"
Pinned with my arms held, I desperately craned my neck to glare at her.
"How long am I supposed to play along with your half-assed tailing? Min Chae-ryeong's goal is recruiting me anyway, right? That's why she sticks a subordinate on me to monitor openly! Staking her claim so everyone knows she'll snag me!"
"N-no, it's not!"
"Then what?!"
"The team leader—!"
Chae So-yeon's shout scattered into the air. Hesitation flickered across her face, and she bit her lip, trailing off.
"...The team leader said to just watch for the time being. Told me to monitor carefully without getting spotted...."
"What?"
What the hell?
Not on purpose?
My surging emotions sank flat at her words.
"Then that was you trying not to get caught?"
"...Yeah."
"Not intentionally making sure others saw?"
"Not intentionally. I just suck at it...."
"So it was never supposed to be obvious? I've already told Min Chae-ryeong about you at least three times."
Chae So-yeon clamped her mouth shut. Her expression went beyond frustration into outright sorrow.
"...So she ripped into me hard after. Said I couldn't even handle one simple thing."
I felt the strength drain from her hands gripping my arms.
Seizing the opening, I slipped free of her grasp. But Chae So-yeon kept her head bowed, not moving an inch.
Or rather, not quite—her slender shoulders trembled as she hung her head, a heartbreakingly pitiful sight. Watching it tugged at something in me.
"Uh, are you—"
"You said you had something to tell the team leader."
Chae So-yeon raised her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed.
"Yes. It's urgent—needs to get passed on—"
"C-can't you just... not say anything?"
"Pardon?"
Soon, fat teardrops welled up along her reddened eyes.
Chae So-yeon was crying.
"...She said last time was my final chance. Hic! If the team leader finds out I got caught again, I-I might really get fired...."
She wiped the streaming tears with the back of her hand. They were so big that her sleeve soaked dark in seconds.
"No. Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
"Hic! B-because...."
This was bewildering. A grown adult crying over something like this?
'Is she really grown?'
I scrutinized her closely. Youthful face, childish voice, petite build. In her uniform, she'd barely passed for adult—but up close, she looked every bit the underage girl.
'No way Min Chae-ryeong has a minor on her team?'
Impossible—or so I thought, then shook my head. With Min Chae-ryeong, entirely possible.
"Hey, So-yeon. How old are you, exactly?"
"Hic! Twenty-f-four...?"
Correction. Chae So-yeon was a full-fledged adult. At least on paper.
"Then quit crying over something so minor, grown woman."
"Minor! You have no idea how scary she gets when she's mad!"
Chae So-yeon yelled indignantly. Then she gasped, clapped a hand over her mouth, and shot me a sidelong glance.
"If you've got something to say, spit it out without the side-eye."
"R-really gotta contact the team leader...?"
"Yes."
"No way around it?"
"It's urgent. If I can't go through you, I'll have to contact the Special Countermeasures Division officially."
At "officially," Chae So-yeon panicked. Like begging me not to, she clutched at my sleeve.
"P-please. I'm begging. Just let it slide this once...."
She clung to my arm like a grade-school girl throwing a tantrum. Her streaming tears soaked my sleeve in moments.
The sight was so wretched and pitiable that, innocent as I was, a dull ache bloomed in my chest.
"...No need to worry that much."
I said, gently shaking off her arm.
"Min Chae-ryeong probably won't grill you over this. I told you—it's urgent and important. The team leader will understand the situation."
"But—"
"Plenty of ways to reach her without you anyway. Just let it go."
She started to argue, then drooped her head. Awkward silence hung around us for a while.
How much time passed?
"...Fine."
With a half-resigned look, Chae So-yeon handed me her smartphone. The screen displayed eleven digits—Min Chae-ryeong's number.
I snatched it and hit call. A startled yelp escaped Chae So-yeon.
-Ring, ring, ring
-Ring, ring, ring
-Ring, ring, ring
-Click.
-What's up?
Finally, the line connected, and a soft, gentle voice came through the receiver.
"Team Leader Min Chae-ryeong."
-Not So-yeon's voice? Who is this?
"Academy Security Force, General Division—Ahn Su-ho."
-Ahn Su-ho?
A brief silence flowed from the receiver.
-Hah. Not content with getting caught, now you hand over my number too? Wait, not handed over—you put her through? So you're right there?
"Yeah."
-Then switch?
Chae So-yeon jumped at the quiet words. I glanced at her, and she shook her head desperately—like pleading for her life.
I gave a small nod and stepped away from her, phone to my ear.
"...More importantly, I have something crucial to discuss. Mind if I go first?"
-Crucial?
"I dug up another piece of intel. This one's about the Dawn Corps."
A gulp sounded from the receiver at "Dawn Corps."
-...Dawn Corps? The one I know?
"Yes. Can't reveal the source, but it's solid info."
-Solid? Why not tell the Security Force?
"Can't do that. Without a source, they'll just suspect me."
-Then what about me? Aren't I Security Force? Why spill to me so freely?
Her voice rose slightly. Even through the phone, her excitement came through thick.
"You're different."
-Why?
"You prioritize results over the small stuff. Even if it's fishy, as long as the info checks out, you won't pry. Right?"
-What's with the "right?" How well do you think you know us?
Irritated tone.
But woven into that voice was a sticky anticipation toward me.
-Well, fair point.
She spoke with a soft laugh.
-You're right. If the info's solid, I won't pry. Even if you're Dawn Corps, a terrorist, or some anti-government nut—who cares? Whatever you are, I'll crush it and use you however I want.
Attitude bordering on arrogance.
But when backed by ability, it's called confidence. And Min Chae-ryeong had ability to match.
-Gotta hear the details first. But I get the rough picture.
And Min Chae-ryeong wasn't one to let easy prey slip away within her reach.
-So. What do you want from me?
At her go-ahead, I clenched my fist tight.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Time until incident: 2 days 1 hour 03 minutes 11 seconds]