Fly on the Wall
On the first day of their field trip to the Church, the cadets learned about life inside the organization.
Basic living arrangements might have sounded trivial, but it was a subject that absolutely could not be overlooked. The rules were similar to those they had to follow at the Hero Academy — with one crucial difference. At the Academy they were still cadets. Once they joined the Church, they would become working adults. Any problem that arose would come with real responsibility attached.
The cadets, however, were nowhere near mature enough to feel that weight. As they trailed after the guide, they began whispering among themselves.
"I thought we'd be diving straight into a dungeon."
"Seriously… that was the one thing I was looking forward to."
"I wish we'd run into a monster or something outside."
Without Cho Seohyun around, they loosen up right away.
The cadets on the field trip didn't openly disrespect me. But the moment they were separated from Cho Seohyun, I could see just how much influence she held. Kids who normally stood with their backs ramrod straight were now slouching and dragging their feet right in front of me.
But who was I? The man who had already captured Cho Seohyun's heart. We hadn't shared a bed yet, but still—
"Quiet."
"Yes, sir…"
One sharp word from me and the cadets shut their mouths at once, falling into line behind the guide.
Currently trailing the guide were six cadets, myself, and Yoon Jia. I'd told the security detail there was nothing special scheduled for today and ordered them to rest. Starting tomorrow we'd be heading outside, so it seemed wise to let them recover while they could.
Yoon Jia followed quietly behind me. Her expression was restless, and she clearly had something she wanted to say — yet she never managed to get a single word out.
The first day of the tour focused on simple explanations — how the guild operated, how heroes received and carried out their missions. From the cadets' perspective it was probably boring. For me, it couldn't have been more comfortable.
I wandered around the room I'd been assigned, humming over the comms.
Man… this is nice. Really nice.
Ever since arriving at the Hero Academy, my mornings had been packed with physical training classes that left me exhausted. This felt like the first real break I'd had in ages.
I'd figured the difference couldn't be that big — but once I stepped inside, even the size of the room was on another level. Roughly three times the size of my Academy dorm, with amenities that left the Academy housing in the dust.
…The instructors living upstairs must have rooms like this, right?
The instructors and assistant instructors lived in the same building. The lower floors housed the assistants; the upper floors belonged to the full instructors, and I'd heard their quarters were large enough to feel like penthouses.
I'd have to see it with my own eyes to know for sure…
As I was looking around the room, one detail snagged my attention. One of the windows simply would not close. Every time I shut it, it creaked open again. There was no lock, no way to force it shut.
…What the hell? This window won't close.
Oh, come on…
It was a small window — barely big enough for a cat or dog to squeeze through — but the fact that only this one window was stuck made it all the more irritating.
Ah, shit, this is gonna give me OCD…
And of course, the broken window just had to be right next to the bed.
…Well, at least I won't need a fan even if it gets hot.
Grumbling to myself, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, planning to rest until the next scheduled gathering.
Knock, knock.
"Huh?"
I checked my watch, thinking I might have imagined it — but it wasn't time to assemble yet.
Who is it? They clearly said we'd reconvene in an hour.
Knock, knock.
Convinced it wasn't my imagination, I opened the door. And standing on the other side was—
"Um… I… I have something to say…"
Yoon Jia.
I guided Yoon Jia to the table and sat down across from her.
"…"
"…?"
Despite claiming she had something to say, Yoon Jia kept her head bowed in silence. One thing was certain — this had to do with Go Chungshin. The real question was whether he'd sent her, or whether she'd come on her own.
Doesn't seem like Go Chungshin put her up to this…
Because earlier today he ordered her to kill me in the game. Even with her personality, that request must have been hard to swallow. For her to turn around and make another request like that right after? Doesn't make sense by any normal logic.
Based on that, I decided she'd come of her own free will.
Well, if that bastard really is that far outside the realm of common sense, all the better for me.
I was smiling to myself at the thought when a sound scraped against my ears.
Bzzzzz…
Fuck! Where is it?! Where the hell is it!!
I fought the urge to leap to my feet and instead kept my eyes wide, rolling them slowly to scan the room. The fleeting sound of wingbeats vanished almost as quickly as it had come.
I'd already identified the species from the sound alone.
A fly.
Confirming it was a fly from the wingbeats alone, I slowly turned my head and surveyed the surroundings. And then—
…Armonia. Tell me I'm seeing things.
At the edge of the trash can, a tiny disposition window floated in midair.
[Magic] · [Selfishness] · [Gaming Addiction]
[Impulsiveness] · [Cunning] · [Favoritism]
[Lack of Patience] · [Superiority Complex]
[Competitive Obsession] · …
Go Chungshin had infiltrated Sung Suho's room while possessing a fly. Luck had been on his side — an open window had given him free entry. His goal was to keep Suho under close surveillance and dig up any weaknesses he could find.
But sitting right there at the table with Suho was someone who had absolutely no business being in that room.
What the hell?! Yoon Jia, why are you here?
His girlfriend, alone in another man's room? The situation defied all comprehension. The urge to drop the possession and barge straight into Suho's room surged up inside him — but he forced himself to calm down and landed carefully on the floor.
No… just watch for now… Fuck, what is this…
Even though the Church was his home turf, Go Chungshin's current position meant that a single mistake could get him discarded. From the outside, the Church was painted as a glamorous paradise that every hero aspired to join. The reality was something else entirely — the Garden of Eden, ruled by ugly snakes. And Go Chungshin was one of those snakes.
He tucked the fly's body as deep behind the trash can as he could and began observing with extreme caution. The moment he settled in to watch, his eyes met Sung Suho's.
Gah!
He ducked back behind the trash can, concentrating so hard that not a single wingbeat, not even the faintest vibration from the fly's legs, escaped him. After about ten seconds, he carefully poked his head out again.
Suho had turned back toward Yoon Jia.
Whew… thought I got caught again…
He exhaled in relief and resumed watching the two of them intently. After a long stretch of silence, Yoon Jia finally managed to speak.
"Um… I felt like we didn't really get a proper conversation earlier today."
"A conversation?"
"Yes… We're going to be spending a week together, so I thought it would be good to go over the schedule in detail."
Yoon Jia smiled as she began walking Suho through the field trip itinerary. Go Chungshin let out a sigh of relief.
Whew… just work talk…
Yoon Jia and Sung Suho continued their conversation in an atmosphere thick with awkwardness. Where they'd be going tomorrow, what practical exercises were planned the day after — Yoon Jia carefully explained the schedule point by point. In truth, there wasn't much to it. The main takeaway was that starting tomorrow, they'd be moving around a lot and things could get exhausting.
Go Chungshin already knew the field trip details, but a weary sigh escaped him all the same.
Haa… who knows what that bastard's gonna make me do next…
As he sighed in his fly form, Suho suddenly asked Yoon Jia an unexpected question.
"By the way, may I ask you something?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"How long have the two of you been dating?"
"…Excuse me?"
…What?
Yoon Jia wasn't the only one stunned. Go Chungshin, still in fly form, stared at Suho with a look that suggested his soul had just left his body. Yoon Jia began stammering and rambling.
"W-what do you… mean by that? The two of us? Who are you…"
"I overheard bits of your argument earlier."
"Ah…"
Yoon Jia's expression said everything. She'd been found out.
Ah, shit! You idiot!! Making a face like that is basically advertising that you're dating him!!
Go Chungshin was about to beat his wings in frustration when—
Suho's head snapped toward the trash can with lightning speed.
"Huh?!"
Gah!
Yoon Jia flinched at the sudden movement and asked,
"W-what's wrong?!"
"…Nothing. Must have been my imagination."
Suho turned back to face Yoon Jia. Go Chungshin pressed a fly leg against his chest and exhaled in relief.
Whew…. No, seriously, how the fuck does he hear a fly's wingbeats…
He steadied himself again and carefully poked his head out to keep listening.
"I happened to overhear it, that's all."
"Th-that's a misunderstanding…. It's not like that…"
"But from the content of the conversation, it certainly sounded like you two were dating…"
Yoon Jia's face went pale as she scrambled for words.
"W-we're not dating! W-we used to date! We're broken up now!"
…What?
Go Chungshin stared at the two of them in his fly form, looking as though his mind had completely short-circuited.
I listened to Yoon Jia's words and fought back a laugh as I replied.
"So you're saying you're not together now?"
"Yes! W-we're not dating right now!"
"Hmm… but the conversation I overheard…"
"I-I'm telling the truth! He just… he kept clinging to me after running into me for the first time in a while…"
Yoon Jia was lying to cover for Go Chungshin. The truly hilarious part was that Go Chungshin himself was right over there, catching every single word without missing a syllable.
…This is entertaining.
Let's watch a little longer.
Go Chungshin's Spirit Possession. Until now I hadn't given it much thought — just dismissed it as one filthy ability among others. But as past events came flooding back, I finally understood why that bastard had hated me so much from the start, why he'd tried so hard to kill me.
"So he's an ex-boyfriend, then?"
"Yes!"
"Then that's an even bigger problem."
"…Excuse me?"
From her perspective, it had been a desperate excuse to protect Go Chungshin. From mine, it was as good as handing me a major weakness on a silver platter. I raised my smartwatch and made a gesture as if I were about to place a call.
"So he's been stalking an instructor. I should contact someone right away and have him—"
"Th-that's—! W-wait a moment…"
Yoon Jia grabbed the smartwatch I'd lifted and launched into a frantic explanation.
"It's not like that… He just… he just acted that way because we ran into each other after so long…"
"But if we leave him alone, there's a high chance he'll keep doing it."
"Y-you don't need to worry about that!"
From that point on, Yoon Jia poured everything she had into assuring me she'd handle the problem. Watching her sweat through her explanations, I finally said,
"Very well. I'll put this matter on hold for now."
"On… on hold?"
"If I see that guy acting strangely toward Instructor Yoon Jia again, I'll report it to the Hero Academy immediately."
"Hah… okay."
Yoon Jia looked at least somewhat relieved by that. But Suho wasn't finished.
"And related to what just happened — I have something important to say."
"O-oh? What is it?"
"That would be…"
I paused for a beat, then roared a thunderous cry inside my head.
DIIIIIIIIE!!!
Zzzzt… crackle…
Yoon Jia caught the faint sound of electricity and turned toward the trash can with a puzzled look.
"Huh? What was that sound?"
"Ah, the trash can lid must not have been closed properly."
"Ah… so, about that important thing you wanted to say…?"
I put on a solemn expression and answered her question.
"Just to be safe, I think it would be best if we stick close together for the entire duration of the field trip."
Go Chungshin writhed on his bed as if he'd been struck by lightning, thrashing and kicking.
"GAAAAAAAH!!!"
(What the hell?! What was that?!)
A colleague from the next room found Go Chungshin unconscious. After receiving medical treatment, he was declared out of any life-threatening danger. It wasn't until the following day that Go Chungshin finally managed to wake up.