The drink Kim Yul had ordered was a sweet caramel latte.
She put the straw in her mouth, stared at Ian sitting across from her, and drooped the corners of her eyes in dissatisfaction.
"Why aren't you sitting next to me?"
"…? Is it important who I sit next to?"
"It is important. It's been a while since we saw each other. I need to smell you too."
"What you just said made me really not want to sit next to you. I'll just stay here."
"Pfft!"
She stuck her tongue out and leaned back against the chair. Then she turned to look at Yuna, who was awkwardly drinking a smoothie, and broke into a wide grin.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"…! Cough, cough—ack!"
"Mmm, I guess I'm uncomfortable enough to make you choke. Sorry? But I came here to help you. Don't hate me too much."
"I-I don't hate you. I-it's just a little awkward, that's all…"
"That's a relief, then. Ah, for your information, I'm the type who wants to get along with community mages. As long as you don't do anything that rubs me the wrong way, I'll always be on your side, so don't worry."
"…You know how to say some surprisingly gentle things?"
Ian said in a voice that sounded slightly surprised. Kim Yul turned to him with a deep gaze, curving her eyes into crescent moons.
"What do you think? Don't you think I'd make an excellent mother? I want about five kids total. I was lonely because I was an only child."
"I'll refrain from compliments from now on."
"Meanie!"
"Shut up and eat your damn cake."
Shove!
Ian cut the corner of a whipped cream cake with his fork and forcefully stuffed it into her mouth. Kim Yul immediately rolled her eyes upward.
"Ghk♥"
"…"
"It's too bwig…!"
"If you really don't want to get your ass kicked, behave."
"Yes sir."
Kim Yul answered calmly and munched on the cake in her mouth. Ian let out a deep sigh and placed the theme park ticket he had borrowed from Han Yuri on the table. It was a sign that they were slowly getting to the main point.
"Fortunately, the talk with the Management Bureau about how to enter the theme park went well. It looks like we'll be able to get in through proper channels too."
"R-really?"
"Yeah."
Rustle.
He pulled a black tablet from his bag. It was an item provided by the Management Bureau, a terminal that had recorded and stored the minutes of the meeting between Ian and the Management Bureau. It was incapable of anything other than playing video.
"I got a separate recording. We should start by watching this."
Not a single customer in the café. In a corner seat during the bright afternoon, where even the owner was nodding off, Ian propped the tablet against the wall and took out three earphones, handing them out. Kim Yul, who already knew the meeting's contents, casually put on just one earphone, while Yuna adjusted the volume of her earphones with a nervous expression.
"Starting."
Click.
The moment Ian spoke, he clicked on the recorded video stored on the terminal.
*
[April 29, 2027, 09:21 AM]
Ian looked down at the clock on the round table and tapped his leg. Blue ceiling lights brightly illuminated the spacious room, and Management Bureau agents standing tall in every corner of the room were staring at Ian through their sunglasses.
Kim Iseo was among them. The moment her eyes met Ian's, she gave him a short nod. Ian also waved his hand roughly in response.
"Ah, I'm a bit late. Sorry."
Just then, the meeting room door opened and Kim Bom walked in. As if it were routine, she sat down in the seat across from Ian and opened her mouth.
"I heard you were looking for me. What is it?"
"Getting straight to the point?"
"I'm busy, and you're busy too, Shin Ian-nim. It's best to handle matters quickly. And it's not like we're strangers."
"If we must split hairs, we are strangers."
"Don't say such hurtful things. So, what business do you have?"
Kim Bom asked, lifting her half-closed eyelids.
As she said, there was no need to chat leisurely, so Ian immediately placed the theme park ticket he had brought on the table.
"This is…"
Kim Bom's face hardened stiffly after checking the ticket. As expected, she seemed to already know about the ticket.
'Well, it would be strange if she didn't know. How could an agency in charge of a country's aberrations have less information than a single mage?'
Ian spun the ticket around once and handed it to Kim Bom. Though she could have been wary, she accepted it without much suspicion or caution. The texture of the soft paper transmitted through her fingers.
"…A theme park ticket. Did you receive an invitation too, Shin Ian-nim?"
Kim Bom asked with a serious expression. Ian shook his head.
"It wasn't me; my acquaintance received the invitation. My first and last time there was a few months ago."
"Your acquaintance… is a mage?"
"A normal person. That's the problem,"
"…"
"I'll be blunt. If you know a way to enter the theme park without a ticket, or any other workaround, I want you to tell me. I'm thinking of going in this time to destroy the theme park itself."
"…The entire space?"
"There's a way for everything, so don't worry. This should be good news for you too, shouldn't it?"
"…That's true. If you're volunteering to handle an aberration, we have no reason to refuse."
Kim Bom took a sip of tea and continued after a brief silence.
"We became aware of the theme park's reopening about two days ago. Suddenly, similar posts flooded internet communities."
"…"
"People received unidentified red tickets. Something about Eden Theme Park; some said it looked like spam so they wouldn't go, or that they were curious so they'd check it out, and so on. About 100 posts of various contents appeared over the course of a week. Of them, only 15 people have had their current whereabouts confirmed."
"The rest all flowed into the theme park, you mean."
"That's right. Too many people disappeared in a short time. So we urgently formed a response team, but…"
She glanced around at the agents in the meeting room.
"Based on what we've confirmed so far, it seems the tickets are only being delivered to ordinary people without any powers."
"…What?"
"It's unclear whether Management Bureau agents even fall under the category of ordinary people, but only two tickets made their way inside the Management Bureau. And both of them were office workers."
"…"
"Given the situation, it's become quite ambiguous how the Management Bureau should respond. We can't exactly order office workers to rescue personnel and destroy the mystery."
"…So, you don't have a way either, so give up on my acquaintance? Is that what you're saying right now?"
Ian asked with a slightly distorted expression. Kim Bom shook her head.
"No. What I'm about to say is the key point."
She cleared her throat once, then looked straight at Ian and moved her lips.
"Among the superhuman organizations currently in Korea, there is only one that maintains a friendly relationship with the Management Bureau. And they offered to copy the tickets for us."
"…Copy, huh."
Ian leaned back against his chair and looked up at the ceiling.
Ian was well aware of the diversity and possibilities of superhuman abilities.
On one hand, there were trivial abilities like someone in the Management Bureau who simply flicked a coin to determine the total amount of fortune. On the other hand, there were ability users like Laura who could revive the dead. Of course, various conditions were required and it couldn't be abused, but it was nonetheless an amazing ability.
These mutants possessed abilities with absolutely no consistency whatsoever—that was exactly what superhumans were. So it wouldn't be strange at all for an ability user who could suddenly copy tickets to appear.
"His name is Kim Jin-seong. His ability is copying byproducts of mysteries. He fails occasionally, but his success rate is quite high."
Kim Bom said.
"The problem is that this person is a superhuman but also a magic enthusiast. He can't use any magic at all, yet he buys magic books and ritual materials in bulk to experiment every time."
"You're saying he's a lunatic."
"That lunatic requested that we arrange a place where he can talk with a mage, in exchange for helping copy the tickets this time. That was his price."
Kim Bom didn't bother to deny Ian's word "lunatic," and returned the ticket to him.
"But Kim Jin-seong can only copy one type of byproduct three times total, so even if he copies the tickets, he'll only make three and that's it. After that, even if you give him tickets, he can't do any work."
"It means the number is far too few to deploy a response team. There's not much three non-mages can do."
Three non-mages.
The moment Kim Bom heard those words, her eye corners trembled slightly and she clasped her hands together neatly.
"…You're quick on the uptake."
"It'd be more stupid if I didn't know after you said all this."
Ian habitually put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
"Isn't this what you're trying to say? Even if you copy three tickets, there's not much the Management Bureau can do. You'll deploy agents, but if you only send a few, it's hard to rescue people and handle the mystery simultaneously. But you can't just leave it alone either. So, hand over full authority to a mage and minimize the damage. Am I wrong?"
A pungent yet sweet fragrance rose into the air. Kim Bom smiled bitterly and tapped the table with her finger.
"Your expression is a bit extreme, but you've got the context exactly right."
"What if I refuse?"
"Then you refuse. We have no intention of forcing Management Bureau work on you, Shin Ian-nim. That was our contract from the start."
"Hoo…"
Ian exhaled smoke and let out a chuckle.
"Fine. I'll play along. To rescue my acquaintance and destroy the theme park, I need to go there myself anyway."
"…"
"From the start, what I requested was a way into the theme park. Since you told me, I've practically achieved my goal. Thanks for letting me know."
But.
Ian added that and tilted his head.
"Since you offered first, I should take what I'm owed too. My goal is to rescue my acquaintance, not every single person in the theme park."
"We'll prepare compensation that will satisfy you fully."
"I don't like vague answers. 500 million won upfront, and an extra 20 million for each person rescued. I'll accept it at that. I'm being quite reasonable."
"…Understood. Money is no object."
Kim Bom smiled brightly and extended her hand.
"Thank you, Shin Ian-nim. Thanks to you, we'll be able to handle the theme park without using Management Bureau agents."
"We haven't even gone in yet, and you're already certain it'll be resolved?"
"I heard about your exploits at the art museum. It's only natural to believe in you."
Ian smiled faintly and took her hand. The two shook hands lightly and continued their conversation while tidying up the meeting room.
"If there are three copied tickets, two will remain. Do you have separate people to use them?"
"Two people including me are already decided. Only one spot remains."
"Then shall I go? It wouldn't be bad to get back out into the field after a long time."
"Hmm… no, it's fine. The person going with me dislikes the Management Bureau, and I'd rather go with someone I've worked with before. Kim Yul alone should be enough."
"…Understood. What a shame."
"Rather than that, what's the name of the superhuman organization? The address? You need to tell me so I know whether to go or not."
"Ah, the address is here."
Kim Bom gave Ian the information about the superhuman organization.
"Gangbuk? They've set up shop in quite a bustling area. The name is…"
His gaze scanned over the organization's name. At the same time, Ian's face contorted.
"…Is this for real?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Fuck. I feel like I'm being set up."
Cut.
The video cut off.
*
"That's the end of the content. We just need to visit the superhuman organization through this route and get their help."
Ian took off his earphones and put the turned-off terminal back into his bag as he spoke. Kim Yul nodded with a drowsy expression, yawning.
"Yawwn… let's leave right away. There's no reason to dawdle, right? Of course, the more time I spend with our newbie, the better, but…"
"W-wait. So what's the organization's name? Why does it cut off here? W-what's the reason you're driving people crazy with curiosity?"
Yuna cut off Kim Yul's words and turned to stare at Ian. Kim Yul, whose conversation with Ian had been interrupted, slightly furrowed her brows, but Yuna ignored her and pressed toward Ian.
"What's the name!"
"It's nothing much, though…"
"Tell me anyway!"
"…"
Ian hesitated for a moment, then stood up from his seat and opened his mouth.
"The Ultimate Awesome Ability Users."
"Uh, uuh?"
"The Ultimate Awesome Ability Users. That's what they call themselves."
"…Ah."
Yuna let out a sigh.
"T-that's such a fucking stupid name."
It was a remark she had blurted out without thinking, but Ian inwardly agreed with Yuna.