AGENT 8

Even so, as Yongnae stood there still, only shifting his pupils here and there,

“I think this is finished.”

He snapped out of it, startled by the man’s voice mixed with laughter, and hurriedly pulled out the rubber tube. Perhaps because he was flustered, his hands fumbled and he was slow, but the man didn’t even show a sign that it was heavy; he waited until Yongnae had pulled the tube all the way out before slowly placing the equipment on the floor.

Yongnae organized the device step by step without saying a word. Out of embarrassment, he simply wanted to escape this place quickly.

“Take your time—.”

However, at the man’s kind voice, Yongnae’s fumbling hands regained their composure.

“…Yes.”

After sealing the opening of the aluminum collection bag containing the sampled air, placing it in a light-blocking case, and finishing the organization of the equipment, Yongnae stood up. Then, he bowed his head slightly to greet the man who was standing in front of him waiting.

“…Thank you.”

“Mm-hm—.”

“…”

In response to his thanks, he expected a reply like, “Not at all. We are the ones who should be more grateful—.” That would be the conventionally polite thing to say. However, the man’s returning answer was, as expected, unusual. To say, “Mm-hm—.”

“Is it finished?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you leaving?”

“…Yes.”

He only realized it now, but come to think of it, the man had used informal language from start to finish. He hadn’t been able to say anything because he was flustered by a level of beauty he had never encountered in his life, but wasn’t this incredibly rude and strange behavior?

“…Then, I will be going.”

Nevertheless, he couldn’t bring himself to say it was rude. In truth, if Detective Moon had done this, he would have taken issue with it immediately, but because he was still not immune to the man’s beauty, he couldn’t possibly speak while looking him in the eye.

To think he was someone so weak against appearances. While he felt it was pathetic,

‘When you see a person who is too beautiful, your brain freezes even if it’s a man.’

It was fascinating because new information about himself had emerged. It was information he likely would never have known for his entire life if he hadn’t met the man.

Behind Yongnae, who walked to the hotel room door dragging his carrier, the man followed out. Thinking the man would probably close the vent again, tidy up, and then come down separately, Yongnae bowed his head again to say he would go first.

But the man lightly ignored that greeting and opened the door for Yongnae instead.

“By the way, what do I smell like?”

Then he threw out a single question.

The man’s eyes, which had been smiling the whole time, were not smiling now. With a face that looked truly curious rather than asking as a joke.

What did he smell like?

Honestly, he didn’t want to answer. Because it would seem like he had been sniffing and smelling too closely, just as the man had said. Because he thought the man might think of him as a pervert.

“…”

However, at the man who was staring intently at him as if urging him, Yongnae finally opened his mouth. Although a lot of it had dissipated by now, the man still had that sweet fragrance remaining.

“You smell like disinfectant.”

But he didn’t mention that story and only brought up the talk about the disinfectant smell he had smelled at first. This was because he couldn’t possibly look the man straight in the eye and tell him he had a sweet scent.

“Ah—.”

Then the man let out a small exclamation as if he understood what he was talking about.

“That’s fascinating.”

And with a face that wondered how he knew that, he looked down at Yongnae while smiling with his eyes again as if it were fascinating.

I wish he wouldn’t smile.

Yongnae felt the small of his back tingle and his ears become ticklish again, so he quickly turned his body and headed for the elevator. The man followed behind such a Yongnae while smirking. Then, just as he had personally opened the room door and held it, this time he pressed the elevator button. He seemed like a person whose manners were ingrained in his body.

“Mr. Odor Agent.”

Then, as Yongnae boarded the arrived elevator, he gave a short wave of his hand.

“Get back safely—.”

He was a strange person until the very end.

To wave his hand like a child to greet someone he met through sudden work. Should he call it rude, or should he call it free-spirited?

[The doors are closing—]

But he didn’t feel bad. No, rather, he felt that the closing elevator door, which blocked the sight of such a man, was heartless. He felt a sense of regret.

And that was truly strange. Why was he feeling the emotion of “heartless” toward an elevator door? Why was he feeling regret toward someone he had seen for the first time in his life?

“…”

The fingers of Yongnae, who gripped the carrier handle tightly, still felt hot. His eyes did not go toward the descending indicator panel but stayed only on the button for the 12th floor where the man had been.

His stomach felt queasy. He wanted to go home quickly.

[It is the 1st floor—]

“Oh, my goodness, Researcher…!”

“Detective Moon…?”

When the elevator arrived on the 1st floor and the doors opened, Detective Moon was standing there with a surprised face.

Earlier he said he would stay in the car in case the hotel staff thought it was strange, so why was he all the way here?

As Yongnae got off the elevator with a puzzled face, Detective Moon, who let out a large sigh of relief as if he were glad, took the carrier from Yongnae’s hand.

“Whew… No, this jerk Detective Park wouldn’t pick up his phone.”

“Ah…”

“Did you meet Detective Park? Did the collection go well?”

“…Yes. I met Detective Park, and the collection finished well. I think Detective Park was unable to answer the phone because he was busy holding the equipment.”

“Ah, is that so? Whew… I was startled thinking something had happened up there.”

Without realizing it, Yongnae was defending the man to Detective Moon. Even though it would have been enough to just say the collection finished well.

“Whew… Then, let’s go straight to the research institute.”

In any case, it was now time to check the results.

Of course, finding out the results was not truly a duty Yongnae had to perform.

“Oh boy… I have no face to show the Researcher for this…”

“Do you know the method for connecting the suction tubes?”

“Oh, I know that for sure!”

Yongnae, who returned to the research institute, handed over the collection bag with a blunt face, and the researchers who were waiting for Yongnae received the sample while sweating profusely. Meanwhile, they flattered Yongnae, saying things like he did a great job or asking if it wasn’t difficult, and they coaxed Yongnae by saying they would write down well what Yongnae did in the afternoon so he could leave early. This seemed to be because these people could even face disciplinary action depending on what Yongnae wrote in the field trip log.

If it were the usual Yongnae, he would have been stubborn and insisted on doing things by the rules, but it seemed he was tired because he had been so tense since the morning. Yongnae said he understood and told them he was leaving the rest to them, then returned to his lodging, packed his things, and immediately boarded the train heading down to Jeonju.

He wanted to return home quickly and fall into a deep sleep.