As soon as we stepped into the motel entrance, a small lobby finished in black marble greeted us. Our reflections appeared clearly in the large mirror hanging on one wall.
Two suspicious figures bundled up tightly in black coats—a man and a woman.
One was a sturdy young man in his twenties. The other was a blonde girl who looked childish, about 145 cm tall.
It was the kind of scene that anyone would misunderstand, and cold sweat naturally broke out on my skin.
-Creak.
At that moment, a small window opposite the entrance slid open, and the motel owner poked his head out. His gaze lingered on me for a brief second before immediately shifting to Chae So-yeon.
As we walked to the counter, the owner's eyes stayed fixed on Chae So-yeon.
And the moment we arrived at the counter, his gaze turned back to me. Now etched with deep wrinkles between his brows that hadn't been there before.
I deliberately avoided that stare. I was too scared to meet his eyes.
"...Staying overnight? Or just renting by the hour?"
The motel owner let out a sigh as he asked. At a glance, his eyes looked like they were sizing up a criminal, but fortunately, he didn't pry into my relationship with her.
'I can't reveal I'm from the Security Force, so better to just rent any room by the hour.'
I didn't want to make a fuss. A weekend hourly rental couldn't cost more than a few bucks anyway.
"By the hour—"
"Neither! We have a friend in room 703, so we just came to see her face for a bit!"
Chae So-yeon cut me off and answered brightly.
"...Room 703?"
The owner raised his eyes in question, then manipulated his computer with a suspicious look. Probably checking the guest registry.
"...Room 703 has a single female guest in her twenties checked in. Is she the friend you're referring to?"
"Yes, that's right! Can we go up for a bit?"
"I'll contact her via intercom first. I can't just let you up without verification—"
"Ah, that'd be a problem! Actually, we're planning a surprise event!"
"Surprise?"
As the owner echoed her words, Chae So-yeon pulled something out with an innocent smile.
'This crazy girl.'
-Clink.
What she pulled out was a pair of silver-plated handcuffs. Not ordinary ones, but special restraints designed to subdue superhumans.
But the motel owner had no way of knowing that. His expression hardened instantly upon seeing her cheerfully produce handcuffs in the motel lobby.
"Today's a special day for that friend, so I prepared some events with this big bro here. Please be understanding?"
"..."
Under Chae So-yeon's innocent demeanor, the owner's gaze shifted back to me. Unlike before, it now carried a strange mix of envy and awe.
In his eyes, I probably looked like some weirdo indulging in perverted play with two women in broad daylight on the weekend.
'Shit.'
As I gave an awkward smile under his stare, he sighed and spoke.
"...Go on up. But next time, let me know in advance if there are additional guests."
"Yes! I'll keep that in mind next time!"
With Chae So-yeon's cheerful farewell, the two of us boarded the elevator.
"......Lucky bastard."
The elevator doors closed on the owner's dejected mutter.
-Whirr.
An awkward silence filled the elevator. Chae So-yeon casually tucked the handcuffs she'd pulled out earlier back into her coat pocket, her expression unchanged.
"...Uh, Chae So-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"That conversation just now... You did that on purpose, right? To make the owner misunderstand?"
"Misunderstand? What did that old guy misunderstand?"
Chae So-yeon tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
Then she clapped her hands with an "Ah!"
"You mean the event stuff in the lobby? Team Leader told me to do that."
"Pardon?"
"Team Leader said ahead of time: if the motel owner looks at us suspiciously when we enter, act just like that. He said they'd let us up without a word."
From what she was saying, it was clear Chae So-yeon had zero knowledge of this sort of thing. Min Chae-ryeong was scary. How did she think to have a girl like this pull off such an act?
"But why did he let us up just like that? Did he mistake us for cops because of the handcuffs?"
"Better if you don't know. No, it's better that way."
If she knew nothing, it was best to leave it that way. No need to step into a pristine snowfield and leave footprints behind.
-Ding.
The elevator arrived at the seventh floor, and soon we stood in front of room 703, where Ji Ye-won was staying.
I pulled out the taser gun hidden inside my coat and asked quietly.
"How do we do this? Just force the door open?"
"Leave it to me. I have a way!"
Chae So-yeon cleared her throat dramatically and knocked on the door.
"Room service! Can we come in?"
No response came. It was the expected result.
"What motel in this neighborhood has room service?"
"Huh? They don't? No way?"
"...Don't tell me this was another tip from the Team Leader?"
"No? I saw it somewhere."
"Where'd you see what?"
"You○ube. There's this channel that uploads American cop videos. They definitely said this when infiltrating a motel, and the perp opened the door...?"
It sounded oddly familiar. Probably that video of a U.S. sheriff busting a pedophile criminal. I vaguely remembered seeing it in my old world.
Guess that channel exists here too. Huh.
Not important info anyway.
"W-what now? Should we just break in and compensate later?"
"You can't seriously be suggesting—"
-Click.
At that moment, the sound of the lock disengaging rang out, and the motel door creaked open slightly. Hollow eyes peered at us through the gap.
Eyes sunken in black like those of a drug addict.
Just as the owner said, the owner of those eyes was a short-haired woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had to be Ji Ye-won.
"...Room service?"
"No! Green House Security Force!"
Chae So-yeon thrust out her badge cheerfully and shouted. Ji Ye-won's eyes widened at the sight.
Right then.
-Whoosh!
A dagger shot out suddenly, hurtling toward my chin.
"Whoa?!"
Chae So-yeon shoved me aside. The dagger grazed my cheek and embedded in the wall.
"Tch."
"Where do you think you're going!"
As Ji Ye-won clicked her tongue and tried to close the door, Chae So-yeon kicked it open and charged inside.
"Green House Security Force, Special Countermeasures Division, Chae So-yeon! As of now, you're under emergency arrest for assault and injury against a Security Force officer! I advise you to stop any pointless resistance!"
Chae So-yeon boldly declared as she drew her stun blade. Pressing the button, blue electricity crackled along the club-like blade.
Meanwhile, the opposing figure (presumed to be Ji Ye-won) was unarmed. No other weapons visible besides the dagger she'd just thrown.
-Grind. Graaate.
The moment I thought that, the sound of metal grinding rang out, and black blades began growing from her palms. Soon, with two completed swords aimed at us, Ji Ye-won lowered into a stance.
"...What business does the Security Force have with me?"
"Material Composition superpower? Pretty annoying ability for a criminal."
"Answer the question. What do you want?"
"Hold on!"
As the atmosphere grew hostile in an instant, I rushed in and shouted.
"Ji Ye-won!"
Ji Ye-won glared sharply at me. I hurriedly pulled out my badge and spoke to her.
"I'm Ahn Su-ho of the Green House Security Force! We're not your enemies! Calm down and let's talk!"
"Talk? She attacked you out of nowhere. No way I'm talking with a criminal like that."
"You approached suspiciously first. Come on, what motel has room service? I was so baffled I opened the door on reflex."
"American motels do!"
"That's ridiculous. So is this America? No, if you're gonna lie to trick someone, at least make it believable. What's in that head of yours?"
"What?! You done talking?!"
"Both of you, calm down!"
I shouted, wedging myself between the standoff. Fighting among ourselves here would do no good.
Causing a commotion would draw attention. Neither Ji Ye-won, who was on the run, nor us, who wanted to handle this quietly, wanted that.
Plus, though unlikely, if Ji Ye-won died in combat, I'd drop dead too.
"Ji Ye-won. You're being hunted by the Dawn Corps right now, right? The Security Force will protect you. Please lower your weapons."
"Protect me? You? Why?"
"Because you're a student at our Academy. Isn't that obvious?"
"Bullshit. You think I don't know what you're after? You heard about the item I stole from the organization somewhere, and you want it."
"Item from the organization?"
That was news to me. Actually, everything about her was news to me.
'Is the reason she betrayed the Dawn Corps related to that item?'
If she'd betrayed a perfectly fine organization, there had to be a reason.
And judging by her attitude, the item she'd stolen from the Dawn Corps was valuable enough to tempt other groups.
"We don't know what item you stole. All we know is that you betrayed the Dawn Corps and are being hunted. We're not interested in any item. We're purely here to protect you!"
"...You expect me to believe that?"
The tip of Ji Ye-won's sword trembled slightly. Still wary, but her attitude had softened a bit.
"Forget it! Why talk to a criminal? It's 2-on-1 anyway, so just subdue her and she'll have to come with—"
"Shut up."
"What?"
"Be quiet. I'm in the middle of a conversation."
Chae So-yeon ranted behind me. Ignoring her, I focused only on Ji Ye-won in front of me.
"Ji Ye-won. I get it's hard to believe us showing up out of nowhere. But you need to believe us now. It's all for your sake. How long can you run from the Dawn Corps alone? You'll get caught soon."
"...What's your point?"
"To survive, you need reliable allies. Wouldn't the Academy Security Force make decent ones?"
"..."
Ji Ye-won bit her lower lip. Praying desperately she'd be convinced, I pleaded inwardly.
How much time passed?
Ji Ye-won broke the tense standoff first. After agonizing, she sighed and lowered her swords.
"...Fine."
Sincerity worked after all. Her expression strangely relieved, Ji Ye-won spoke weakly.
"You're right. I'm in no position to be picky—"
"Opening spotted!"
In that instant, the silent Chae So-yeon aimed her taser.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
By the time Ji Ye-won and I reacted, the taser prongs were already embedded in her body.
-Zzzt!
"Grrraaah?!"
The next moment, a harsh groan escaped as blue electricity sparked from Ji Ye-won's body.
-Thud!
Ji Ye-won's body crumpled to the floor. Froth bubbled at her mouth as she convulsed like a fish out of water.
"Haha! Gotcha, criminal!"
Chae So-yeon crowed triumphantly. But soon, shock crept over her face.
"Uh, huh? Why isn't it stopping?"
Chae So-yeon fiddled desperately with the taser dial.
-Zzzzt!!
The next instant, an even stronger current visibly surged through Ji Ye-won.
"Kyaaah?!"
"Eh?"
"This is insane!"
I rushed to Ji Ye-won and yanked out the electrode wires. Freed from the shock, her body let out a final gasp and went limp.
'Is she alive? She has to be.'
Checking her vitals frantically, I was relieved to find her breathing and pulse normal. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.
Right then.
-Hiss.
A leaking sound accompanied a sour smell spreading faintly.
"...Oh no."
The crotch of Ji Ye-won's jeans darkened noticeably as she lay there. Unable to watch, I turned away and locked eyes with Chae So-yeon, who stood dumbfounded holding the taser.
I stared at her with eyes demanding what now, and she gave an awkward smile.
"O-operation... success?"
Operation success my ass.