After hearing the Retrieval Division Director’s evasive reply, Agnes slowly straightened and spoke.

  “There are members of the Retrieval Division I’d like to meet in person.A few days ago, in the situation room lobby, I saw two individuals—one tall staff member, accompanied by two agents wearing helmets.”

  The Director paused, thinking, then nodded.

  “Ah… those two.That would be Team Leader Kim Beom-u and junior staff member Yoon Ji-chung.I’ll have them sent to the interview room.”

  Realizing the conversation would go no further, Agnes rose from her seat.

  Not long after, she came face to face with the two men in the Retrieval Division’s interview room.

  “We were told the Audit Division requested our presence,” one of them said.“So we came.”

  The tall man stepped forward.

  “I’m Kim Beom-u, team leader for the Korea sector.This is my team member, Yoon Ji-chung.”

  Agnes wasted no time.

  “A few days ago,I saw you, Team Leader Kim, speaking with Marco—the situation room team leader—in the lobby.

  According to protocol, Retrieval Division teams are required to return to Pluto immediately after completing an operation.”

  Her gaze sharpened.

  “So tell me—why did you need to meet the situation room team leaderright after your operation ended?”

  “That’s why I asked to see you,” she added evenly.“I want the reason—directly.”

  A moment of hesitation crossed Kim Beom-u’s face.He took a breath, then spoke.

  “That day… during the operation, we encountered something abnormal.”

  Agnes’s eyes flickered.

  “Abnormal how?”

  Kim Beom-u folded his hands and continued in a steady voice.

  “It was black.A substance with no clear form.

  It flowed, yet remained a single mass—and at the same time, it appeared to be mimicking a human shape.

  When we approached, it fled immediately.But the way it moved—it was unlike any thought-form we’ve ever seen.”

  Beside him, Yoon Ji-chung nodded stiffly.

  “I haven’t seen it myself yet,but if that’s what the team leader saw, then it’s real.

  Compared to ordinary hidden spirits,it’s on an entirely different level.”

  Kim Beom-u continued.

  “We judged it to be a variant of a thought-formand reported it to the situation room immediately.

  That’s why—right after the operation,we needed to meet with Team Leader Marcoto verify what we’d encountered.”

  At that moment, a soft chime sounded in Agnes’s in-ear device.Helena and Agatha had arrived.

  “Come to the interview room,”Agnes said briefly into the comm.

  As soon as the transmission ended,Kim Beom-u and Yoon Ji-chung stood at the same time.

  “We need to depart.It will soon be the Hour of the Dog,and we’re scheduled for deployment.”

  As the two turned to leave,Agnes remained seated, lost in thought for a brief moment.

  Then she looked up.

  “Once I secure a bit more information,would it be acceptablefor me to accompany you on the Earth operation, Team Leader?”

  Kim Beom-u’s eyes widened slightly.

  “To be honest,Earth operations are never simple.There is risk involved—no, considerable risk.You should understand that.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Agnes answered with a faint, knowing smile.

  “It seems you don’t yet understandwhat the Special Audit Team is capable of.”

  She rose slowly.

  “The Special Audit Team existsto take on dangerous missions.

  If there’s anyone who should be concerned,” she said calmly,“it’s not us—it’s the Earth operation team.”

  Kim Beom-u and Yoon Ji-chung exchanged a brief glance.

  Then, without another word,they turned and hurried toward the Retrieval Division’s operations room,beginning preparations for the Earth deployment.

  ----------

  One week earlier, in the human world on Earth.

  Dahye’s phone buzzed with a message.

  When she lit up the screen, a familiar name appeared—one that made her heart flutter instantly.

  Dahye, would you like to go to the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival with me tomorrow?

  Just a week earlier, the whole family had gone out for kalguksu together.

  In the brief chaos when her mom, her dad, and even the shop owner all rushed toward the counter at once—each insisting on paying—there was a small, quiet gap in time.

  In that moment,Hyeonpil and Dahye met each other’s eyes.

  No words were exchanged.It simply happened.

  They shared their phone numbers.

  And now—the message she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

  For a split second, Dahye felt her breath catch.

  She almost screamed, “Kyaa!” out loud.

  She had waited so long for this message that, before she even realized it,a bright smile—like cherry blossoms in full bloom—spread across her face.

  “Dahye! Over here!”

  Yeouinaru Station, Exit 2.

  The meeting spot was already overflowing with festival crowds.People were swept along in long, unbroken streams,spilling out of the station as if carried by a current.

  Amid the chaos,Hyeonpil spotted Dahye first.

  Tall and easy to pick out, he raised his arm high and waved,making sure she could see him.

  At the sound of his familiar voice,Dahye scanned the crowd—

  and the moment their eyes met,she instinctively waved back.

  “Oppa! I’ll come to you!”

  As Dahye pushed her way through the crowd,Hyeonpil stretched out his long arms,weaving quickly between peopleand moved toward her instead.

  “I didn’t expect there to be this many people…”he said, scratching the back of his head.

  “If I’d known…maybe we should’ve come after some of the blossoms had already fallen.”

  Seeing Dahye catching her breath in the middle of the crowd,an apologetic look crossed his face.

  “Oppa, cherry blossoms are best like this,” Dahye said brightly, still a little out of breath.“With people packed everywhere.If you live in Seoul, this much is just normal. Hehehe.”

  Watching her smile,Hyeonpil found himself at a loss for words.

  In truth,he had rarely stood among so many people before.

  Most of his life had been limited tohis home, the welfare center,and the occasional trip to a neighborhood mart.

  Scenes like this—crowded, noisy, overflowing with people—had always felt distant, almost unreal.

  But now,

  beneath a clear blue sky,with cherry blossoms drifting softly through the air,in the heart of Yeouido filled with laughter,

  he was standing there—

  with Dahye.

  That alone made him feelas if he were walking inside a dream.

  “Oppa, let’s go down there and walk,” Dahye said, gesturing ahead.“If we head toward the riverside park by the Han River,there’ll be way fewer people.”

  She took the lead,and the two of them left the crowded cherry blossom road behind,descending toward the wide riverside parkstretching along the Han River.

  The ground was covered in a broad expanse of vivid green grass.On the calm surface of the river,a single white cruise ship drifted lazily toward an unknown destination.

  Across the water,rows of high-rise apartments in northern Seoul stood in neat, mechanical lines.

  Sunlight reflected off their glass windows,rippling like waves as it spilled across the Han River—quietly reminding him that the city called Seoulwas still alive, still breathing.

  Mapo Bridge stretched long across the river,a massive structure connecting both sides.Cars streamed endlessly across it,carrying the relentless rhythm of people living out their busy days.

  In the distance,cherry blossom petals scattered freely in the river breeze,and the laughter of couples riding along bike pathsdrifted past on the wind.

  Nearby, people sat on picnic mats, eating fried chicken.Soap bubbles blown by children shimmered briefly in the air before popping.

  Spring in Seoul was like this—noisy, crowded,and yet, somehow, warm.

  Standing in the middle of it all,Hyeonpil looked at himself as if he couldn’t quite believe it.

  It felt as though—

  the world had paused,just for a moment.

  “Oppa, spending all day at the philosophy office with my dad…”Dahye asked casually as they walked across the grass.“Doesn’t it get suffocating?”

  She looked up at Hyeonpil, towering over her.

  “My dad’s always acting childish, pulling silly pranks and all that.Doesn’t he do that to you too?”

  Hyeonpil thought for a moment,then gently shook his head.

  “Teacher isn’t like that at the office.

  The way he jokes around with you—like last time—I’ve never seen him do that there.

  If anything…”he hesitated, then smiled softly,“seeing him act that way only with youmade me a little jealous.”

  When Dahye stopped walking,Hyeonpil continued, his voice careful but sincere.

  “I thought…it would be niceif I had a dad like that too.”

  Dahye blinked once at his words,then shrugged and smiled.

  “Oppa, you just haven’t seen my dad’s true self yet.Do you know how sly he really is?

  He’s shameless,lies with a straight face,and saying random nonsense is basically his hobby.”

  She let out a small sigh and added,

  “And especially… teasing his one and only daughter—that’s practically his specialty. Seriously.”

  Even after hearing that,Hyeonpil continued to look at Dahyewith the same warm, gentle smile.