“Judging by the last digits, you registered within the last five years. That makes you younger than me, huh? Serial number 56… If I check the registry for the past five years, that’d make you…”Under the soft yellow of the streetlight, La Épée blinked slowly, his lashes brushing the light. From the outside, he looked warm, gentle even. But who didn’t know that La Épée was a beautifully shaped poisonous mushroom?“Ah. Ha Uichan, right?”Uichan’s expression didn’t change, but inside, he froze. The man had identified him just by reading the barcode. Unless La Épée had perfect recall, that should’ve been impossible.What the public didn’t know was that La Épée memorized every hero registered with the Association each year. One look at a code, and he could recall their ability, personal data, and background instantly.“By registration order and age, that makes me the older one.”“……”“Mind if I drop the honorifics, Uichan? You don’t mind, right?”He was already doing it, but he said it as though politely asking permission. If Uichan tried to shake off that hand and run, he’d be branded a villain immediately. He almost kicked him in the gut but swallowed the impulse.“W-what exactly is this about?”“Nothing serious. I’m just tracking some villains. Then I happened to spot you. Got curious—villain or hero? But you said you’re a civilian, right?”“……”For a moment, Uichan couldn’t speak. He could’ve sworn La Épée had glanced toward the alley. A civilian taking down a villain? Impossible. And now his Hero Code had been exposed. His mistake.He was scrambling for an excuse when he heard the sound of a glove being removed.“Sorry. Got blood on you.”La Épée brushed the dried blood off Uichan’s shoulder, then even wiped the spot clean with his own sleeve. Uichan watched in silence, unsure what to make of it, when the man asked,“Why didn’t you evacuate? The sirens went off before the lockdown. Bad hearing?”“No. I was just… doing something.”The corner of La Épée’s mouth curved up faintly. He turned his head, glancing toward the shadowed alley Uichan had come from.“What were you doing? Hiding in there with a bad guy?”He really did have a gift for making people speechless. If he knew Uichan had been in the alley with a villain, maybe his vision wasn’t as bad as it seemed—or maybe he’d been watching from the start.If that was the case, had he seen Uichan take off his bracelet? Uichan quickly ran through the possibilities. Probably not. If he had, knowing La Épée’s temperament, Uichan wouldn’t still be standing here.And the mist still clouding his eyes meant he was likely relying on sense rather than sight. He was known for being able to feel presence and motion around him instantly.“I didn’t hear the sirens, that’s true… But we weren’t together. I was already there. He came in on his own. I couldn’t exactly stop him.”“So you hit him?”“...He came at me first.”“With this hand?”“I… used a rock.”Uichan curled his fingers and muttered vaguely. He hoped the man didn’t know what had actually happened in that alley. Maybe catching the hesitation, La Épée gave a quiet laugh, the kind that rolled like low thunder.A faint, masculine scent brushed across Uichan’s face—clean and unsettlingly intimate.People called him a “refined bastard.” Fitting enough, since before becoming a hero, La Épée had been a gangster. It was said he’d wiped out his own syndicate and switched sides out of disgust, but the details were murky.That past was what critics clung to whenever they wanted to drag his name through the mud—calling him a thug pretending to be a hero.Yet he was nothing like the gangsters Uichan had met. No swagger, no tattoos; always composed, never reckless.— If it hurts too much… talk to me.Uichan almost covered his face. That low voice from the pit flashed across his mind like lightning. The ragged breathing, the way his body had burned with it. He forced his expression to stay neutral, but when he looked up, La Épée was frowning slightly, watching him.“I can’t see too well right now… but I know your name now. Next time, I’ll come find you myself. You’re with Non-Hero, right?”“Wait… Why? Why would you come there?”“I happen to need subcontractors. Been running around nonstop lately. Then I saw you, Ha Uichan, and thought—perfect timing.”“Perfect timing? You’re just handing out jobs to people you bump into?”Uichan’s brows furrowed, incredulous. La Épée went on, unbothered.“See, even now. I can’t get any work done because of you. When I can’t work, everything piles up. I’m trying to find something—but it keeps slipping away. Hurts my heart a little, you know?”“How’s that my fault? And you don’t look very hurt to me.”“No, really. I was hurting a lot right here—” He tapped his chest. “—so I’ve been smashing villains to feel better. Usually I’d have declined that kind of request.”Uichan’s gaze dropped to the ground. Blood had pooled into a dark puddle beneath the villain’s shattered head. The brutality of it made his stomach twist. He turned his head away before he was sick. La Épée’s eyes lingered on the puddle for a moment, then a pale hand reached out to him.That hand was as white as fresh snow.“You’re heading out, right? Take my hand. I’ll walk you out.”“We just met, La Épée. You realize that, right?”“In a world where people screw on first sight, holding hands hardly counts as intimate.”Uichan’s stomach dropped. Whatever he meant by that, it wasn’t something he wanted to unpack. He gently pushed the hand away and turned his body aside.“I appreciate it, but I’ll be fine. I can go alone.”Across the bridge, rescue workers waved glow sticks and blew whistles, directing evacuees. Uichan kept his eyes straight ahead and walked quickly. Behind him, footsteps echoed—La Épée’s—matching his pace.Uichan refused to look, pretending not to notice. His memories were fractured, but every now and then, when his mind went blank, flashes of that night with the three men returned.Noa had been rough, like someone just discovering desire. With Blacktan, it had ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) felt like being struck from the inside out. But La Épée—La Épée had been the most skilled. He knew exactly where and how to touch him.Why was he thinking about this now? Uichan’s face burned, and he quickened his steps.The empty bridge wasn’t as long as it looked; he reached the end sooner than expected, where workers waved him toward the exit point.La Épée stopped there, pulling his gloves back on. His voice came drowsily, or maybe Uichan was just too tense to hear it clearly.“You’ll make it home okay? If not, just say so. I can escort you. I’ve got enough seniority for that much.”“What are you talking about? I already said I’m fine.”Wouldn’t it have been better to part ways back there? Uichan pointed silently toward the bridge, and from above came an easy laugh.“You’re shy, huh? Playing modest with me? Fine. I’ll let you off here. Don’t pout too much—we’ll see each other again soon. Through Non-Hero.”Someone shouted La Épée’s name from the other side of the bridge. Sounded like they hadn’t finished the sweep. Uichan glanced that way and said, “Shouldn’t you go?”“Go on ahead.”“Ah… right.”Eager to get away, Uichan turned his back first and hurried toward the officers. Behind him, La Épée lifted a hand and waved lazily.Uichan looked back once. For some reason, the memory of the twins squirming inside him surfaced. It was strange—during those few minutes with La Épée, they’d been utterly still. His heart, too, had felt uncharacteristically calm and light.It made him wonder, against his will—was La Épée their father?‘No. Don’t jump to conclusions.’Of the three men, La Épée was the one he most desperately hoped wasn’t.Leaving the man behind, Uichan crossed the line and headed home. But that fleeting peace had been a lie. From the moment he finished dinner and lay down, until dawn, Uichan spent the entire night doubled over with stomach pain.Curled up on the living room floor, clutching his belly and soothing the tiny lives inside, he could only think one thing.At least he’d done the right thing by keeping this to himself. There was nothing good in showing anyone what he’d become.As sweat dripped down his flushed face, a faint, breathless laugh escaped his lips.“…Finally calmed down, huh?”The pain was slowly fading. He didn’t know what had made them so upset or restless, but if they could talk, he would’ve asked—so he could avoid doing it again.He lifted his gaze toward the window.The pale night had vanished, and the first light of dawn filled the room, carrying the quiet scent of morning.

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