Chapter 249: Smile (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 249: Smile (3)
Smile is a student.
That was the conclusion reached by the Square Garden Strategy Department after analyzing a massive amount of information, ranging from data handed over by the police to the records of Smile’s communications with me.
Even if not a student, the individual was likely quite young and unfamiliar with the gritty reality of the backstreets.
While the police had missed it, one of the Strategy Department employees noted that they had seen the anecdote of Smile’s first appearance in a movie.
In the movie clip sent as reference material, a character known as a legendary killer sneaks into an organization’s headquarters and leaves a single bullet on the boss’s desk.
It was a message that he could kill the boss at any time. When the boss was paralyzed with fear, the killer would call him and deliver a threat in a calm, composed voice.
What Smile had left behind was drugs, and instead of a threat, he had demanded a deal, but the format was strikingly similar to the movie.
While it might look cool on the surface, it wasn't a particularly effective way to conduct business.
Drug deals might be secretive, but in the beginning, trust cannot be established unless the key players—people in significant positions like a boss—meet face-to-face to open the channel.
Who would agree to a deal with an anonymous figure without even knowing what the product really was?
The underworld is rife with suspicion and distrust; they never truly trust someone who operates like that.
In the end, the organization tried to play dirty by snatching the drugs without paying, which led to their total annihilation.
It was the price of their greed, but Smile’s approach had played a part in that outcome.
The Strategy Department estimated Smile to be a clean individual with no prior criminal record.
A greenhorn with no experience, someone who knew nothing of the underworld's ecology and was simply mimicking what they had seen in movies.
At least, that was how Smile had started.
Though obscured by a trail of brutal actions, the person was clearly inexperienced and ignorant of the way the backstreets worked.
After a meticulous analysis of Smile’s emergence and active hours, the Strategy Department finally deduced that Smile was a student.
Why are these people even working here? Wouldn't they be more useful to the world in professions like the police or the prosecution?
The conclusion was simple, but the cognitive ability required to sift through vast amounts of data to find evidence pointing in the same direction, solving the puzzle among dozens of inferences—and the report proving that conclusion—was impressive even to me.
I guess money really is everything.
It’s a loss for society that people who could have excelled in the police force are working for Square Garden because of the pay.
Still, having such talented individuals makes Square Garden feel reliable.
Now that the target group had been narrowed down, it was Eli’s turn to step up.
She might not have the extraordinary intellect of the Strategy Department, but she possessed a cheat-like skill that allowed her to read human emotions to a certain extent.
Eli combed through the school like a bloodhound, accompanied by members of the Black Unicorn who visited on a rotating daily basis.
She read the students' emotions, picking out anyone who showed hostility toward us, anxiety, or even those intoxicated by a sense of superiority. Since we didn't know Smile's exact personality, she flagged every emotion that Smile might potentially harbor.
After filtering and filtering again, only one suspect remained.
“Woo-seong… aren’t we not supposed to come up here…?”
Seo Hye-ri, who had climbed onto the rooftop through a window, looked around with an anxious gaze.
To think this is all an act—it’s incredible.
The moment Eli saw her, she warned me that the girl was dangerous.
A dangerous individual overflowing with negative energy.
Eli said she wasn't struggling like Han Ra-im; rather, she was consumed by hatred and rage.
While roaming the school, no other student possessed emotions suspicious enough to rival hers.
Since the Black Unicorn was so famous, Eli could read nothing but admiration, joy, or excitement from almost every student the moment they saw the members.
And the only person whose emotions remained unchanged was Seo Hye-ri.
With hatred and rage as her baseline, just how much resentment did she hold toward people and society?
Since I was constantly by her side, the issue of school violence didn't apply to her anymore.
Or perhaps, from the beginning, the bullying she endured wasn't significant enough to affect her emotions.
If she was an Awakened, the students who tormented her by spitting in front of her must have looked pathetic.
I couldn't detect her with Mana Detection, but if she possessed a stealth skill like Seo Han-na, it all made sense.
The traces leading to the high school, the assumption that the culprit was a student, an Awakened capable of wiping out an organization alone—since she was young, her control might be lacking, but if it was a stealth skill intended solely for hiding, everything fell into place.
The rooftop was still clean, as no one had come up since I had cleared it out once before.
Since the police had been coming and going for a while, the students were likely too intimidated to even come near.
I sat on a chair that Jo Ga-young’s now-dead gang had painstakingly prepared and smiled.
“It’s fine. It feels good to come up to the roof once in a while.”
“Yeah… I guess so, but…”
Seo Hye-ri looked around with a tense face before sitting down next to me.
Rather than the tension of someone suspected of being Smile, she gave off the vibe of a shy girl in front of the person she loved.
Dammit, is it really her?
Looking at her expression made me doubt the brilliant report from the Strategy Department and Eli’s skill.
If this was acting, she deserved a Best Actress award.
When our shoulders touched, she flinched, yet she was shyly enjoying it, unable to hide her reddening cheeks.
Though out of sight, Satomi—who had come today as a guest teacher—was waiting behind the rooftop door, and the other members were out in full force, surrounding the school.
Sung Hee-na was also stationed on the roof of a nearby building with the Tactical Support Team, her sights trained on Seo Hye-ri.
We all came out just to catch you, Smile.
“Hye-ri, you said your hobby was reading, right? Do you not like movies?”
“I like movies too. My older sister is a movie buff, so we usually watch one together every night before bed.”
Seo Hye-ri spoke with a bright face, looking at me.
“Ah, you have an older sister? How old is she?”
“Uh… we’re a year apart…”
“Oh, Irish twins. Does she go to the same school?”
Perhaps it wasn't a pleasant topic, as Seo Hye-ri hesitated and glanced at me before speaking.
“She… used to go to the same school… but she doesn’t… anymore.”
It matched the information.
I had already read all the files on Seo Hye-ri.
Her older sister had attended the same school and had been bullied by thugs like Jo Ga-young until she developed a mental illness and eventually dropped out.
The bullying methods had been so subtle and cunning that the school couldn't do anything.
The harassment she claimed had all occurred after school, off-campus; within the school, they hadn't touched a hair on her head.
Being popular and socially savvy, the lead bully had lured the sister's friends into her own group one by one.
She didn't even have to bully them; she just drew them in by being fun to hang out with, naturally isolating the sister. Eventually, those very friends were the ones who bullied Seo Hye-ri’s sister.
The lead bully hadn't even given orders, but she had subtly manipulated the atmosphere to make it seem like the more they tormented her, the higher their status in the group would be.
In the end, even when the committee was convened, the bullying by the former friends was recognized, but the lead bully got off scot-free.
This only came to light because the police, who had originally suspected the Iljins, continued their investigation. Until we arrived, the school had continued to view that thug as a model student.
Her own family member was suffering in and out of mental hospitals, while the mastermind lived happily at school without a care in the world? Of course she would be filled with hatred and rage.
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to.”
“Thanks, Woo-seong…”
When our eyes met, Seo Hye-ri turned her head away as if embarrassed and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Time to start.
Facing her kept bringing up distracting thoughts, so it was better to get it over with quickly.
I channeled my mana and looked at her coldly.
My hand moved slowly toward the dagger tucked at my waist. Seo Hye-ri blinked and looked at me.
“Woo-seong, isn’t it a bit cold…? It’s summer, so it’s strange…”
It was the typical reaction of an ordinary person who couldn't process mana.
If even this is acting, I’ll truly be impressed.
Just as I gripped the handle of the dagger to draw it, I heard a presence by the rooftop door.
“What are you two doing?”
Satomi asked in a serious tone as she looked at us.
Her voice sounded like a teacher scolding students about to get into trouble.
“Oh, uh… well…”
Seo Hye-ri’s eyes darted around in panic. I looked at Satomi’s hand resting on her waist.
Her ring finger was folded down naturally. Dammit.
“…It’s nothing… Satomi-nuna.”
Since the students already knew I was acquainted with the Black Unicorn members, I answered her, calling her 'nuna.'
“It doesn’t look like nothing. Seeing as the rooftop door was locked, it seems access is prohibited. You shouldn't be up here, right?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Seo Hye-ri lowered her head, sounding as if she were about to cry.
“I’m not a teacher, so I can’t punish you. But you know you shouldn't do this, right?”
“Yes…”
“Go back down. The rooftop is blocked off because it’s dangerous even within the school.”
At Satomi’s words, we stood up and walked past her with our heads bowed like sinners.
“Woo-seong, stay. I have the right to scold you, don't I?”
At her words, Seo Hye-ri looked on with fearful eyes, but I nodded to show I was fine and sent her down.
Using Presence Detection to its limit, I confirmed she had descended to the floor below before looking at Satomi.
“Captain…”
“Did Smile really appear…?”
“Yes. This time, he contacted Detective Oh Eun-yul directly.”
“Is there a possibility it’s a body double?”
“The analysis is already complete. The pitch and the rhythm of the speech patterns were identical.”
I let out a sigh.
The Black Unicorn and the Tactical Support Team had all turned out, yet Smile had appeared elsewhere as if mocking us.
We were completely toyed with.
“What was the content of the call?”
“…He gave the location of the kidnapped police officer.”
“He’s playing with us.”
As I gave a bitter smile, Satomi lowered her head with a dark expression, even though it wasn't her fault.
The reason Smile knew my number and the internal details so well was because he had kidnapped the detective.
The detective, who had been reassigned to another mission after clashing with me, had gone missing while investigating another organization.
And Smile had boldly revealed where she was.
“What happened to the detective?”
“She’s dead. We’ll need to hear the results from the analysis team for details, but seeing as the body was left for a long time, it seems she died shortly after disappearing.”
The police, the Black Unicorn—everyone had been made a fool of by Smile.
I unfastened the dagger hidden behind my back and handed it to her.
“Captain, it’s dangerous, so you should keep your weapon…”
“No, Smile isn't here. Contact the field team and tell them to prepare my gear.”
When I said I was going to prepare to catch the bastard, Satomi’s eyes sparkled, and she immediately agreed.
Smile, who was presumed to be a student, had broken his behavioral pattern.
A break in a consistent pattern meant something significant had happened.
Many things could be inferred, but for example, a situation might have arisen where an accomplice could be suspected.
These were all just guesses based on a mountain of information, so I couldn't complain if they were wrong, but I trusted the Strategy Department’s judgment.
I think I need to meet that movie-buff sister.
After parting with Satomi and returning to the classroom, Seo Hye-ri approached me with a worried face.
“Woo-seong, are you okay…? You didn't get in trouble because of me, did you?”
“Huh? No. I’m the one who suggested going up, so why would it be because of you?”
I spoke nonchalantly as I sat down and looked at her.
“What are you doing today?”
“Huh? Oh, I don't have any plans.”
“Can I come over to your house today?”
“What? To my house?”
Seo Hye-ri looked at me in surprise. Do you have a sister hidden away or something?
“Uh… it’s fine, but… yeah, let’s go. My mom will like it too.”
“Is your mom at home?”
In this world, where fewer men enter the workforce, it was common for the woman to earn the money and the man to handle the housework.
When I asked, Seo Hye-ri nodded casually.
“Yeah, she’s usually at home. she does her work from there.”
This makes even less sense.
Is her mother involved with Smile too? A family business?
Regardless, I had permission. I’d find out once I went to her house today.