The Shadow Behind the Blossoms

"Where the hell did they go? Did they notice us and bolt?"

A bronze-skinned boy was scanning the surroundings with a relentless, searching gaze. He peered intently at the passersby, occasionally knitting his brows as he stared into the distance. But his target was nowhere to be found. Sweeping back his bright blonde hair, he let out a heavy sigh that bordered on a groan.

"...Honestly, stop it, will you? I'm starting to feel embarrassed just standing near you."

Arin, who was trailing a short distance behind Leo, shook her head in exasperation. And for good reason—Leo's behavior was so incredibly suspicious that it was drawing stares from everyone around them. A heavily built guy with a fierce, delinquent face glaring at every single person walking past was bound to attract attention.

"Why are you trying to find them anyway?"

"What do you mean? I just want to watch. It's not like I'm causing trouble."

"You are definitely causing trouble."

"Yum, yum. So tasty. So cold. So tasty. So refreshing."

"Anastasia! We lost them because of you, so you help look too!"

"Too lazy. Don't wanna."

"I'll buy you another ice cream!"

"I'm a clone, so I can't use cloning techniques."

With a sudden glint in her eyes, Anastasia stepped up right next to Leo. In her hand, a nearly finished soft-serve ice cream cone was rapidly melting down her fingers.

"..."

Watching the two troublemakers band together, Arin silently reaffirmed that she had made the right choice by tag-gong along. If she had let these two go off on their own, there was no telling what kind of disaster they would have caused.

The place they currently occupied was the District 4 National Park, where the cherry blossom festival was in full swing.

The whole ordeal had started two days ago, sparked by a promise made between Lucia and Yujin.

Asking her to clear her schedule for the weekend—wasn't that basically asking her out on a date? Leo's eyes had sparkled with mischievous glee, sensing a golden opportunity for some teasing. That stiff, dense blockhead going on a date with a girl? He had vehemently denied any such relationship back at the hospital, but in the end, they really were dating. There was no way Leo was going to let a monumental event like this slide.

He immediately resolved to stalk them on their date.

When Arin caught wind of his plan, she promptly slammed him into the dirt with a shoulder throw. She had a rough idea of how Yujin felt about Lucia. After he had asked to be left alone with her last time, it seemed he had finally pulled it off. Internally, she felt a swell of pride, glad she had helped them along—but then Leo had to go and pour cold water on the parade.

Stalking? That was incredibly disrespectful to the two of them.

However, no matter how much she scolded and warned him, Leo refused to budge. Ultimately, Arin had no choice but to tag along as a supervisor. Anastasia, who had been clapping cheerfully at the sight of Leo dangling upside down with his head planted in the ground, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to help out at her uncle's noodle shop, so she had sent a clone to accompany them instead.

But when the weekend actually arrived, the situation turned out to be quite different from what they had imagined.

There was someone else there besides Yujin and Lucia.

Though caught off guard, Leo didn't abandon his plan. Tailing them was easy enough. He had been wary of Yujin's sharp senses, but surprisingly, the boy seemed completely oblivious. He must have been incredibly relaxed. Or perhaps, the exact opposite.

They had followed them all the way to the cherry blossom festival without a hitch. If not for an unexpected variable, they would still be hot on their heels.

Just when everything was going smoothly, Anastasia had suddenly vanished. She might not be a toddler, but her mental age was certainly close to one. Leo and Arin had spent a frantic chunk of time searching through the dense crowds for the missing child.

After a grueling search, they finally found Anastasia standing blankly in front of an ice cream stand, drooling at the display.

"Why don't you just give up? It wasn't even a date anyway."

"Hey, you don't know that. Who knows? Maybe Yujin is two-timing them?"

"He doesn't have the personality for that."

"True, that pushover would never."

Leo nodded in agreement, but a new doubt quickly surfaced.

"Then why did the three of them meet up? They could've invited us too. Are they freezing us out?"

"They're obviously being considerate of Aris. She's extremely shy around strangers, remember? If a whole crowd of us showed up, she'd be too overwhelmed to enjoy the flowers. That's why only the three of them came."

"Shy, huh..."

She certainly was timid. Leo could easily picture her clutching Lucia's sleeve, hesitating to speak. In particular, because of Leo's somewhat fierce face, Aris seemed especially terrified of him.

"But man, when she fights, she's absolutely insane."

"Right? Honestly, that was a shock."

During the field training, Aris had been truly incredible—in more ways than one. It was as if she had become an entirely different person. She felt like a stranger who just happened to share the same face. For a brief moment, Leo had seriously wondered if Aris had a twin sister.

"You know how some people's personalities completely flip the moment they get behind a steering wheel? It's probably something like that."

"Haha, I seriously suspected she had a split personality. It was actually terrifying how fast she changed."

It wasn't a joke; it had been genuinely frightening. Spitting on the ground, her eyes gleaming with raw, murderous intent... The sheer pressure she exuded was no joke. An invisible weight had practically pinned his legs to the ground. In terms of raw pressure, Aris might have actually been stronger than Yujin before the field training.

"Anyway, let's stop looking. We've been searching for over thirty minutes. If they're still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nowhere to be seen, they might have actually noticed us and are actively avoiding us."

"Ugh..."

"Give up? We're giving up? Then what about my ice cream? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"I'll buy it for you instead of Leo."

"Wow! I love you, Class Pres! I'll gift you one of my clones later."

"No thanks."

"Aw."

Leo took one last look around. If they really had noticed the tail and were actively hiding, finding them would be nearly impossible. For all his competitiveness, Leo was the type to acknowledge the facts when they were staring him in the face. Right now, Yujin was stronger than him. By a significant margin. The gap was substantial. It would actually be stranger if Yujin *didn't* notice them.

In fact, Leo figured Yujin was probably just pretending not to notice. He had no way of knowing that Yujin was actually so distracted by Lucia that he genuinely hadn't realized.

If Yujin was actively trying to hide or avoid them, Leo stood no chance of finding him. He had been treating this half as a game of hide-and-seek and half as a competitive challenge, but if he couldn't find them now, there was nothing to be done. Leo let out a sigh.

"Fine, fine. I give up. I give up."

"Good choice. Let's not cause them any trouble. Since we're already here, we might as well enjoy the cherry blossoms ourselves."

"Wait, I was planning on just heading back. I don't even like flowers that much."

"Haha, do you want to get thrown again? Is the dirt calling your name?"

Who was the reason they had dragged themselves all the way out here? She hadn't even been able to look at the flowers because she was too busy babysitting these two troublemakers. Arin hated wasting things, and she certainly wasn't going to let this trip be a waste. If she had spent a precious resource like time, she deserved a proper return on her investment.

Arin smiled warmly, but her eyes locked onto Leo with an intense, silent pressure.

Feeling the weight behind that polite brow, Leo immediately backed down.

"Well, I guess we could? Come to think of it, looking at flowers doesn't sound too bad. Even if I went back, I'd just be training anyway... Ah, ahaha..."

If he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said no, she probably would have snapped his limbs. It was baffling how those slender arms of hers possessed a physical strength that rivaled his own. What was the deal? Did Arin have some kind of hidden, compact muscle structure? Or was it her lineage? Was a child born between a Captain and a Vice-Captain of Cheonmyeongdae ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just built different?

Leo took the lead and started walking.

He decided to look on the bright side. Yeah, a day like this was fine once in a while. You couldn't spend every waking moment training. A person needed room to breathe. Taking a break to relax today wasn't a bad idea.

"...Huh?"

But sometimes, life has a funny way of working. The moment you abandon your goal, the very opportunity you were seeking presents itself on a silver platter.

Leo rubbed his eyes.

Far in the distance, at a range that would be difficult to discern without the enhanced vision of a supernatural ability user, were two familiar faces. A boy and a girl walking amidst the crowd. Those heads of hair—one as black as the night sky, the other as deep as the ocean—could only belong to them.

"Hey, I found them!"

"What?"

"Yujin and Aris. I don't see Lucia, but where are they... holy shit?"

"What is wrong with you? Why are you suddenly swearing? I warned you to watch your language, didn't I?"

"Holy shit!"

"Holy shit!"

"Anastasia! Don't copy him!"

Arin pinched Anastasia's squishy cheek. Ignoring the girl flailing her arms in protest, Arin glared at Leo. But her sharp gaze didn't last long. She noticed that all the color had drained from Leo's face.

"...Arin."

"What is it?"

"Can you contact your father right now?"

"I... can, but why?"

"Do it. Now."

"..."

Arin swallowed hard and turned her gaze in the direction Leo was staring. For Leo to react with such sheer panic could only mean...

"The Red Fox... Mask..."

There was a girl standing there. A girl wearing a red fox mask.

The very assailant who had turned their field training into a living nightmare.

Yujin and Aris were trailing behind her. Because of the distance, she couldn't make out their expressions clearly, but even from afar, their postures were visibly tense and rigid. She understood the situation instantly.

Arin immediately pulled out her phone.

"It's okay. My ability is still quiet. Nothing is going to happen immediately."

Arin's supernatural ability was Crisis Detection. The fact that it was quiet meant that, at least for now, there was no immediate danger to her. But there was no telling how long that safety would last.

With trembling fingers, Arin tapped the speed dial for her father. A monotonous ringing tone echoed from the speaker. Suppressing her mounting anxiety, she prayed he would pick up quickly.

Fortunately, her father answered almost immediately. His voice was flat and businesslike, but hearing it brought a small wave of relief. Her breath was caught in her throat, making it difficult to speak.

Perhaps sensing something unusual from the ragged breathing on the other end of the line, Karlad's tone sharpened.

"D-Dad... the thing is, we're..."

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP───!!!

Arin clutched her head. The warning alarm in her mind was so deafeningly loud that a sharp pain shot through her temples. Realizing that her ability had finally triggered, her hand holding the phone began to shake violently.

She was used to her ability activating, but a warning so intense that it completely drowned out all external sound was incredibly rare.

Channeling all her rising panic into her voice, Arin cried out:

"It's dangerous here. Extremely dangerous!"

Karlad replied instantly.