"Lee Werin, Korean teacher, tends to speak in a different language... Kang Lingo, Math teacher, really upbeat...."

He groaned. This was totally getting nowhere. No matter how much he probed his brain for new theories, he was as dry as a desert. He couldn't figure out just WHO in the school could do something as large-scale as illegal weapon shipping. The janitor? The teachers? Even the principal- wait no that can't be it.

Inhale, exhale. He repeated this routine once his eyes grew blurry from staring too hard. His head felt light. He had, after all, spent some nights awake, no sleep, trying to put the pieces together.

The notes he had seemed so random, so out of place. It was a puzzle with all the pieces, but they weren't connected correctly, forming a fractured picture.

The special agent eventually left it, massaging his forehead to ease the ache it had underneath the skin.

The profiles were not making sense. Right now, he had ten suspects. TEN. Usually after reading the profiles, he could narrow it down to five. What was the problem with him now? Was it the kids? Were they distracting him?

Well, it was something he had been willing to invest in, proven with his smile as he watched the kids play on the playground, being kids. It broke his heart even more after he did a quick background check.

There were kids whose families had died in accidents or deaths, and most people blamed them for the deaths. Despite that, they knew that they were smart, so they couldn't waste that potential. Their orphanage (they lived in the same place, which explained the bond they had) had invested lots of money into their education, but neglected them, only using them as trophies to parade around.

It made him gag. How could anyone be so horribly biased? Even his own family had made the choice heavily due to pressure from the elders. Kamkyung could only feel nothing but outrage on this.

If he could make a difference in these kids' lives, give them hope when he himself never got it after being sold and mistreated, then it would be worth it. Even if he died from exposing himself.

Okay, back to the mission, tiger. You need to find that thief and get those weapons back.

He rubbed his forehead, going over the profiles he had. Some of them matched up what was known about them, but others, like the vice principal, were shady.

He frowned. He knew better than to let his bias get in the way. But for now, the vice principal was off the hook.

For now.

Something in his gut told him that person treated the kids worse than anyone else. That had been proven after asking Oh Kinyu, another member of the class skilled in stealth. Apparently, he wasn't their teacher, but he liked coming to their class with kids from the other classes, telling the kids that they were only useful for their talents and that the others were just useless if they didn't have one.

That only served to dig a bigger hole in his stomach. One filled with white anger, concern and all the others. What was this guy? Was he even human? Treating ALL of them like trophies? How on earth did he become a teacher then?!

Wait.

He stopped, eyes wide as something clicked for him, looking once more at the interview transcript.

"Why I love them! They're such adorable angels!"

The interview had been two days before the kids had started school there.

He gave a start.

The vice principal had lied his way to his position.

If he had done that, then who knows what else had been a lie?

It clicked, and that feeling expanded.

He was right, wasn't he?

The vice principal...

Was the smuggler.

Kamkyung should have felt proud of himself. After all, he had found the person in record time. It was a personal best to the people who knew him well.

But somehow...

His heart felt heavy, and it only got worse as he watched the kids play around happily.

He would never admit this, but the kids had grown on him. After the sympathy he felt, he had slowly begun bonding with them each, helping them find their passion and grow even closer.

The kids had, in turn, been understanding. As a horribly social awkward person whose expressions were quite... Abnormal, they had tried their best to help (even though they were basically the same as him). It was cute and sweet and...

And it broke his heart even more.

He knew that this was a mission in the end.

He was near its end.

Soon, it would be back to the work cycle. One that he, with a bit of a start, didn't want to go back to now. But he had to. It was his life.

He was nothing but a tool. A shadow.

And these kids... They didn't matter compared to his Boss.

He didn't care about those kids.

Right?

Somehow his heart said otherwise, leaving him there as he watched them, sadness and guilt and regret all crashing down on him.

How could he break their trust? He shouldn't have gotten so close to them. If he had known... Maybe he wouldn't be experiencing this heartache.

Breaking one's trust never seemed more terrifying than it did now.

He had gotten too close.

He deserved the mental backlash.