Chapter 27

“They want us to move through the list faster. But how are we supposed to do that? No matter how I look at it, I can’t find any pattern. Tracking them one by one like we’ve been doing is impossible.”

Kang Yu-han frowned as he flipped through the list.

Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been staring at the same document from across the table, finally spoke after a long pause.

“Kang Yu-han.”

“Yeah?”

“Just listen to me for a second.”

“What is it?”

“Forget the list for now.”

“…What do you mean?”

Seo Ji-hyuk shook his head, his gaze sharp with suspicion.

“Something’s off.”

“What do you mean, off?”

Seo Ji-hyuk didn’t answer immediately. He looked like he was carefully choosing his words.

Kang Yu-han swallowed dryly.

He had no idea what Seo Ji-hyuk was about to say.

“Think about it. Where have all the Variants appeared so far?”

Seo Ji-hyuk threw the question back at him.

Kang Yu-han responded immediately.

“What do you mean, where? They were all inside the Center.”

“No, I mean, be more specific.”

“More specific?”

Kang Yu-han replayed the past incidents in his mind.

The first internal Variant had been Lieutenant Lee. Then there was Sergeant Kim.

Both had crossed paths with him often, either near his office or at the cafeteria.

Not just Lieutenant Lee—Sergeant Kim had also been a regular at the cafeteria, someone he had frequently seen during breakfast.

And then there was Shin Kyung-jae.

They had caught him in the cafeteria, too. He had seemed suspicious because he wasn’t eating, which had led to the scan that revealed he was a Variant.

At that moment, a single word flashed through Kang Yu-han’s mind.

Cafeteria.

The locations and methods of their elimination had varied, but there was one undeniable connection—the cafeteria.

And that was exactly what Seo Ji-hyuk was pointing out.

“They were both using Cafeteria C, right? You know how many cafeterias there are in the Seoul Center. And yet, both cases were linked to that one. Do you really think that’s just a coincidence?”

“Coincidence or not… it is strange.”

“It’s more than strange. We need to investigate Cafeteria C.”

It felt like a drastic conclusion, but with no other leads, even the smallest clue was worth following.

Kang Yu-han nodded.

But Seo Ji-hyuk wasn’t done.

“If this isn’t a coincidence, there’s something else we need to consider.”

“And what’s that?”

“Intent.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a leap?”

“Think about it. If this wasn’t deliberate, then how do you explain the fact that all these incidents have happened in the same cafeteria?”

“That’s… true, but—”

Kang Yu-han had no choice but to nod.

Seo Ji-hyuk wasn’t someone who talked excessively, but when he was working through a deduction, he was different.

Without realizing it, Kang Yu-han had become fully absorbed in his words.

At some point, the physical distance between them had shrunk.

They were sitting close—talking like old friends huddled over a secret.

If he moved away now, it would feel awkward.

So he chose to keep the conversation going.

“In that case… isn’t it possible it’s a virus? Just like how Variants outside get infected, maybe a virus got into the Center. And it just so happened to start in Cafeteria C.”

“That’s possible. But something about that doesn’t sit right with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“If it were a virus, it would’ve spread throughout the entire Center. Not just a few isolated cases.”

“But wouldn’t it make sense if it entered through an external source? Like an infection from outside?”

“Even if that were the case, don’t we have strict quarantine procedures? You really think something could get past those checkpoints and only infect a handful of people?”

“…That’s a good point.”

Shin Kyung-jae had only been admitted here a week ago.

Like every other staff member, he had undergone a thorough physical inspection upon entry—body scans, pupil response tests, and even cellular mutation analysis.

In other words, when he left Incheon and arrived in Seoul, there had been nothing wrong with him.

“…So that means Esper Shin Kyung-jae was infected inside the Center. But specifically targeting him for infection… I don’t know.”

“You mean—was there even a reason to?”

“Yeah. If there really is a group deliberately spreading the virus, they must have a motive behind their target selection. They’d choose who to infect based on what benefits them most.

But if you think about it, Shin Kyung-jae wasn’t originally from the Seoul Center—he was an outsider. That doesn’t fit the criteria for a calculated infection.”

“I thought the same thing. But we still need to investigate.”

Kang Yu-han didn’t want to go through the list mechanically, investigating people one by one.

It was inefficient, and he wasn’t convinced it was the best way to move forward.

But if someone was deliberately infecting targets, as Seo Ji-hyuk suggested, then identifying the culprit took priority.

They had to find out who was behind this—before the situation spiraled even further out of control.

* * *

The next day, the two of them shut down Cafeteria C and launched a thorough investigation.

A few staff members occasionally peeked through the glass doors, watching them move through the kitchen.

But to them, the sight of Kang Yu-han and Seo Ji-hyuk in protective suits, inspecting the cafeteria equipment, probably didn’t seem strange at all.

After all, a Variant had appeared right here just yesterday.

Now that a second Variant had surfaced within the Center, they needed to push the investigation forward.

Kang Yu-han methodically scanned the countertops and food storage areas using high-precision equipment borrowed from the lab.

For anything his own eyes might miss, the machine filled in the gaps.

Even a single can of food, a single spoon, was scrutinized.

But they found nothing.

No virus. No traces of contamination.

If anything, the cafeteria was too clean.

That, more than anything, unsettled Seo Ji-hyuk.

“Is it always this clean?”

Seo Ji-hyuk turned to Kang Yu-han.

Kang Yu-han pulled off his protective suit, exhaling as the stifling fabric finally loosened around his body.

Sweat had dampened his forehead from wearing the gear too long.

Seo Ji-hyuk’s gaze flickered toward his face.

Kang Yu-han instinctively looked away.

“How would I know? It’s not like I run a cafeteria.”

“It feels like someone cleaned up before we got here.”

“Well, the disposal team came through yesterday.”

“Not just that. Everything is too spotless.”

Kang Yu-han shrugged.

A clean cafeteria wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

“It’s like someone came here before we did.”

“What exactly are you suggesting?”

Kang Yu-han lowered his voice.

Seo Ji-hyuk glanced around before leaning in slightly, whispering near his ear.

“I’ll tell you later.”

His breath brushed against Kang Yu-han’s skin.

The unexpected sensation made him flinch, stepping back slightly.

Seo Ji-hyuk didn’t say another word.

Whatever he had read in Kang Yu-han’s reaction, he decided to keep the rest of his thoughts to himself.

* * *

The Center Chief summoned Kang Yu-han in less than a day.

“How’s the investigation going? Have you found the source of the virus?”

“No, sir. We haven’t found anything yet.”

“Damn it. This is a disaster. We’ve got staff from another Center infected, and now we can’t even figure out the cause? What are we supposed to do?”

The Center Chief looked deeply troubled.

He muttered about how he wouldn’t be able to face the Incheon Center Chief and how inter-Center exchanges might be cut off completely.

Kang Yu-han watched him quietly before speaking up.

“Sir… is it possible that someone intentionally infected Esper Shin Kyung-jae?”

“What?”

“I’m considering the possibility that this wasn’t an accident—that someone targeted Shin Kyung-jae and deliberately infected him.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? That’s impossible.”

The Center Chief’s expression darkened as he shot down the idea immediately.

“My theory is—”

“I don’t want to hear it. Stop wasting time on ridiculous theories and focus on wrapping up the Shin Kyung-jae case. After that, get back to investigating the remaining names on the list.”

His reaction was too strong.

Something about it felt unnatural.

Kang Yu-han had worked with the Center Chief for a long time—he was a man with extensive knowledge about Variants, rivaling even that of researchers.

He had always kept an open mind toward scientific hypotheses regarding Variants.

But now, he was outright rejecting a theory without even considering it.

That was a first.

“Understood.”

Kang Yu-han gave a slight nod and left.

There was an undeniable sense of unease lingering in his mind.

But this wasn’t the time or place to press further.

It could just be his imagination—he needed to step back and process everything with a clearer head.

As he walked out into the corridor, his pager buzzed.

Esper-nim. When are you ever not busy?

It was a message from Kim Si-on.

“Ah, right.”

He had been pushing off their meeting for weeks.

Then the Shin Kyung-jae case had exploded, and he had completely forgotten about it.

From Kim Si-on’s perspective, their plans had been postponed for nearly a month.

“I should get back to him…”

Just as Kang Yu-han muttered to himself, Seo Ji-hyuk appeared.

He frowned and asked,

“Who is it?”

“What?”

“You just said you needed to call someone.

Is it Guide Kim Si-on?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Why are you hiding it?”

Seo Ji-hyuk stepped in front of him, blocking his path, his tone sharp with accusation.