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Cale slowly climbed along the ledge.
He should not hurry - any noise might alert the guards three floors below. The building was well guarded, so the only way inside was on the roof - from there a small window led to the exhibition hall. All he had to do was to lower the rope down, activate his powers, and walk quietly through to take the golden ancient statuette from the exhibit booth.
Cale smiled.
The plan was perfect.
The heist of the Museum should be a success.
He slowly climbed to a small ledge on the wall and then stood on it, about to cautiously ascend higher to the floor. The building was full of bas-reliefs, which made it very easy to climb. Pulling himself up gracefully, grasping the gutter fastener and climbing with a couple of movements onto the metal surface of the roof, Cale exhaled.
There wasn't much left to do.
He moved forward on all fours, crawled to the flat rooftop platform, and slowly made his way to the window.
The statue could be seen far below, surely surrounded by lasers, cameras, and other security equipment.
«Good...»
But not that bothered Cale, who, with a smile on his face, took out his lockpick. His ability allowed him to remain invisible to humans and technology both, the latter at most able to take a glimpse of the blurry silver haze.
Thus Cale, the Villain Thief, earned the nickname Silver Shadow.
The lock pick made a quiet sound, and Cale slowly pulled the door handle toward himself...
«Wha...!»
Cale's exclamation was interrupted by a palm covering his mouth.
«Don't move. You're caught in the act, Silver Shadow.»
Someone knocked him off his feet, making him lie face down on the cold concrete.
Cale felt waves of panic building up.
'How did he notice me...!'
No one was capable of that.
He could have walked right in front of the nose of the Sun Prince, of the Scarlet Rose, of Ocean's Fury...
None of them were capable of noticing him.
So Cale was free to do whatever he wanted.
But it was different now. This guy saw him.
«Give up. Don't move, I'll cuff you and we'll go to the police.»
With these words the guy loosened his grip, obviously counting on Cale to obediently follow his order...
«Wait..!!»
Cale rushed forward, taking out a smoke grenade as he went, throwing it back, heading for the edge of the roof...
He hoped to jump to a nearby building and escape. It was dangerous - but he didn't want to get caught...
«Hah!!..»
Cale froze in place.
The cold blade touched his skin, and a strong arm encircled his waist from behind.
«I told you not to move.»
A chill ran down the back of Cale's neck. The guy's voice, which had just sounded so calm, was pierced with an icy cold.
'He's ready to kill me.'
«Raise your hands and turn slowly to face me.»
Cale obeyed. Without making any unnecessary movements, he slowly turned around and finally saw his pursuer.
The suit the guy was wearing was very recognizable.
A dark polo neck, slightly baggy pants, high boots, a cape, and an eye mask, the kind that was capable of hiding a man's appearance.
'Black Wolf.'
The guy in front of him was a rookie superhero. He was said to have caught minor criminals, but nothing more...
How did he end up here?
And more importantly...
How could he see Cale? See him perfectly, even behind a cloud of smoke...?
'It seems I can't escape.'
Cale looked straight into the Black Wolf's eyes.
The Black Wolf looked back at him.
The pause lingered, and it began to seem to Cale that the look in those eyes was not as cold as it had been at the beginning.
Black Wolf's lips moved, and suddenly he asked.
«Why are you doing this?»
Cale's eyes widened in surprise.
«Huh? Why do you want to know that?»
The Black Wolf was clearly confused. It was as if he didn't know why he asked that question himself.
«Well... You don't look like a bad person.»
The black-haired guy put his sword down, looking away.
Suddenly Cale thought that Black Wolf looked more like a puppy right now.
A cute puppy, whimpering in bewilderment as he stared at the new, incomprehensible thing.
Cale let out a light chuckle.
«You will not believe me anyway.»
***
Cale didn't know why, surrendering under the gaze of stubborn dark eyes, after all, he told him that the bad guys were planning to steal the statue tomorrow, framing Bud, the museum archives guard and Cale's good friend. Told that he never steals things to sell them - he was going to send the statue back to the museum in a month. Breaking into prisons to save the innocently convicted, stealing from private collections of things obtained illegally - these were the kinds of things Cale did.
He wasn't really a Villain, but... No one knew that.
But the black-haired guy believed him.
Believed him and helped him steal the statue.
And now they were standing at Cale's base, where for some reason he had brought this guy.
'What am I doing...?'
«Come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll get you something to eat.»
However, the guy stood frozen, looking around.
'Oh, right.'
Cale smirked.
Maybe his base was a little too rich for this guy.
Right now they were standing in a large space filled with an enormous amount of technology. Lots of screens, all sorts of surveillance gear, hacking... And before that, they'd passed through a huge garage, and maybe Black Wolf had thought it was public property up to that point.
Cale took the mask off his face, walked over to Choi Han and held out his hand for a handshake, then introduced himself with a sweet smile.
«Nice to meet you, I'm Cale Henituse.»
The black-haired guy's eyes widened in surprise even more. And then, a little fussily, he too took off his mask, his glove, and shook Cale's hand.
The guy's hand was slightly calloused and...
'Scars...?'
Suddenly Cale felt an unexpected warmth in his chest. He didn't know why, but...
'That's not why I brought him here.'
Meanwhile, the black-haired guy smiled and introduced himself.
«My name is Choi Han.»
The guy's eyes expressed a mute question.
«You can ask.»
Cale had already guessed exactly what the question would be.
«You're the... The Cale Henituse?»
Disbelief glowed in Choi Han's eyes.
Of course, after all, the Henituse family was one of the richest families in the city - and their son...
No one knew anything about him. He was an utterly mysterious person, ignoring all the loud, flashy events. So much so that some even claimed he didn't exist at all.
However, he existed. He existed, and right now he was standing in front of Choi Han.
With red short hair, a cheeky smile on his face, and...
'Damn, he's so beautiful.'
Cale didn't know that was the thought now beating insistently through Choi Han's mind. He thought he must be shocked to see the most famous but most mysterious man in town. Or perplexed by what that man was doing.
Waving to the frozen Choi Han to the sofa, Cale went to the kitchen and brought small snacks and wine, sitting down on the opposite sofa.
***
Several hours passed, but they still continued to talk.
Cale was surprised. Even though he had originally started this conversation with Choi Han only to divert his attention and ask about the ability that allowed him to notice him...
Right now he felt the pleasure of the conversation, as if they had known each other for a long, long time.
«I'm not going to get in Basen's way. To be honest, most of the time I just lay in bed and sleep. I like to sleep.»
Choi Han smiled. Just like that, the mysterious individual turned out to be just a slacker who doesn't even like the fact that he needs to breathe.
«And I... I've only been in this town recently. Before that... Something unpleasant happened, I...»
Choi Han hesitated.
It was as if he was deciding whether or not to talk about something.
However, was it the wine to blame, or was he just eager to finally share his heartache with someone, but...
«Did you hear about the Pied Piper Incident...?»
Cale frowned.
Of course he had heard about it. There was probably no one in the whole town who didn't know about that terrible incident.
«The crazy bastard was stealing children and sending them to the Catacombs under the city. He wanted to see what would happen. I heard there was only one guy left alive who had spent more than ten years in the Catacombs. And I also heard that... There was a massacre. Supposedly criminals killed each other...»
When he had finished recounting everything he knew about this highly classified case - and he already knew more than the others - Cale looked at Choi Han.
And he shuddered.
Choi Han's gaze grew cold, and Cale thought he saw a black haze surrounding him. In a second, however, the illusion was gone, and the nice, smiling guy was sitting in front of him again. His smile, however, was filled with sadness.
«I was that survivor. But... Let's not talk about the bad things, okay?»
Cale didn't ask any questions.
***
Cale looked down nervously.
He and Choi Han were on the roof of a building, looking at trucks belonging to a terrorist group.
Normally Cale didn't do this kind of thing - he just didn't have enough combat power and sent anonymous requests to the police - but now...
«Are you sure you can handle it...?»
Cale looked down, where there were dozens of men armed with machine guns. However, Choi Han stood up, drawing his sword from its scabbard.
Then he asked a question.
«If something doesn't go according to plan... Which of them should stay alive?»
'Huh.'
Cale widened his eyes.
He and Choi Han had known each other for a couple of months already. On that, distant night, Choi Han suddenly offered his help, and after that, they started going on missions together.
Of course, Cale couldn't help but notice something strange, but...
«The one in the blue jacket. He's in charge.»
Choi Han jumped down.
Cale saw him knock out the terrorists one by one and then wave happily, telling Cale it was okay to come down.
***
«Just break the wall apart, that's all.»
In the fourth month of their acquaintance, Cale began to do more and more ambitious things. Right now, for example, they were opening, or rather cutting open, the bank vault of an animal-torturing bastard. The protective services couldn't prove anything and the law was powerless. So Cale was going to get the forbidden transaction papers out of the bastard's bank vault and send them to the police.
Cale saw Choi Han cut through the massive door with his dark aura and was glad that he now had such useful help. They were the perfect combo. Choi Han was strong and possessed extraordinary hearing, smelling, and seeing. In fact, that's why he was given the nickname Black Wolf.
«Let's get the papers and go.»
«All right. Cale, what are we going to watch today?»
Cale smiled. As he answered, he thought of one more thing.
His new partner wasn't just useful.
The feeling of loneliness that had accompanied Cale for the past few years was finally gone.
***
«Cale, look out!!!»
Choi Han's warning was a little late.
Cale felt something hit him powerfully from behind - yes, his enemies couldn't see him, but...
A piece of the pillar came crashing right down onto him.
Falling to his knees, feeling slightly dizzy, Cale saw the criminals looking back, staring right at him.
'Damn, the ability is off...'
Cale tried to get up, to move, to activate the ability...
Strange dark shadows swirled before his eyes, and his body refused to obey.
'Shit...'
Already seeing the muzzle of the gun aimed at him...
'Huh?!!..'
Another dark shadow appeared in Cale's field of vision.
The picture was getting blurry - Cale was losing consciousness.
But he managed to notice the cold rage on Choi Han's face, as he cut off the hand holding the gun aimed at Cale.
***
Cale and Choi Han were sitting on sofas across from each other, watching the news.
<It was established that those killed were a known criminal gang... Killed with extreme violence... Cold weapons were used... Presumably the work of a supervillain codenamed Blade.>
There was silence in the room.
Cale, wrapped in a blanket, took a sip of some hot broth and shifted his gaze to Choi Han. The latter didn't look back at him.
«That's how it is.»
Cale reached over to the table, putting the mug there, and then threw off his blanket, getting up.
He was already feeling better.
«So, you are the Blade...?»
Choi Han flinched, but then answered quietly.
«Yes.»
He must have expected Cale to hate him.
«Choi Han.»
Choi Han continued to stare down with a faded look in his eyes.
Cale sighed and then sat down beside him. Choi Han immediately lifted his head, looking up in surprise.
«Choi Han. Blade only killed dangerous criminals. I saw the report. And just now...»
Cale sighed heavily.
«When you could handle it without blood, you acted like the Black Wolf, didn't you?»
Cale looked directly into Choi Han's eyes. Now he understood how the latter acted.
At first Cale was surprised that the Black Wolf was considered a newcomer, not particularly strong, though righteous. Many people liked him, but he never really took on anything serious.
However, it was strange now that Cale knew the true strength level of him.
But now...
Wrapped in black smoke, a figure with only the blade of his sword shining brightly, crushing his enemies into small pieces... Blade was a very controversial character. Everyone feared him, but at the same time the police loved him. He killed people, but the common people were grateful.
But everyone feared that one day it wouldn't just be the bad guys who got caught in the swing of his sword.
And now Cale knew the identity of this high-threat supervillain.
«You didn't do anything wrong.»
Choi Han looked at Cale in surprise.
«But... I've killed people... It's unacceptable...»
However, Cale only smirked.
«I've seen the lists of people killed by the Blade.»
He closed his eyes.
«Let me tell you a story...»
***
It was a strange world. A world where people could have abilities. They could be useful, or not so much. They could be used in everyday life, or for work. They could be ignored, or they could be...
«Let's be heroes!»
A boy with a bright smile and funny disheveled brown hair was standing on the swing he had just swung to the limit. But now...
«Have you lost your mind? Do you know how easy it is to die if you're a hero?»
The boy sulked. His friend, sitting on a nearby swing with a book in his hands, harshly suppressed such an amusing idea. However, another boy, slightly older, sitting on the bench nearby with his smartphone and watching some movie, smiled and said.
«We can be stealthy heroes. Dark cardinals, saving the world from the darkness of night... Unknown heroes who...»
The guy jumped up from the bench, getting into a pathos pose and with a stoic expression on his face theatrically saying.
«Yes, we are called villains, let the whole world think so, but we will bring justice to the world!»
Laughter erupted. The brown-haired guy was holding his stomach, dying of laughter.
«Damn it, hyung, I hope you become an actor after all! That was great!»
The boy with the book, frail and black-haired, smiled slightly.
«Yes, that's a more realistic dream. But being Heroes... It's too hard.»
«Rok Soo, buuut! Can you imagine? You could be a strategist and we'd get into battles with our enemies! That would be so cool!!!»
A slight, barely noticeable smile appeared on the face of the guy who went to the most ordinary school under the fake name Kim Rok Soo.
***
«They died. There was a criminal gang, their members were caught constantly, but they avoided prison all the time. And finally, demanding untouchability, they went into a store and took the customers hostage...»
Cale was silent for a while, pulling himself together.
«Then they realized they weren't going to get untouchable. So they drew their machine guns.»
Closing his eyes, Cale whispered.
«Choi Jung Soo shielded the pregnant woman by himself. He was only a 15-year-old boy himself, but he chose his own death in exchange for the life of an unborn child. And Lee Soo Hyuk grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter...»
A slight, slightly proud smile appeared on Cale's face.
«They really were Heroes that day, albeit only once. Lee Soo Hyuk distracted the criminals - he really knew how to handle a cold weapon. And then the police burst in and finally killed these non-humans because of resisting apprehension.»
Opening his eyes, Cale looked at Choi Han.
«After that, all I could think about was: why hadn't anyone killed them before? If the police had seen them slip through their fingers time after time, why hadn't they stopped their crimes by the most radical method...? There are some people who are better not to exist.»
***
It had been a year - Choi Han and Cale continued to work together. Choi Han moved in with Cale, living at his base - it was more convenient to make plans that way. Their old nicknames were forgotten - they got a new one - the Silver Blade. Two silhouettes, black and silver haze, stopped the most dangerous crimes and people hesitated - so are they Villains, or Heroes?
But they themselves did not care what others thought of them. They went to cafes together, took walks and watched movies in their free time.
They were each other's companions, friends, and...
«Choi Han, we have to wake up. We have to save the world in an hour.»
Choi Han mumbled something in reply, only hugging Cale tighter.
«Choi Han, criminals will not destroy themselves.»
Smiling, Choi Han stood up after all, letting the slightly embarrassed Cale out of his arms. And then he froze, gazing happily into the eyes of the man he loved.
«Cale, I love you.»
Cale flashed a blush, turning away.
It... It was weird.
Just yesterday they'd just come back from another mission where Cale had almost been shot by a machine gun. He thought it was going to be the most normal day. They'd walk into the apartment, Choi Han would anxiously say that Cale should be more careful, Cale would complain that he was wearing a bulletproof vest anyway and there was nothing to worry about, but...
Cale flinched when Choi Han suddenly rushed toward him, hugging him.
He almost cried.
<Cale, I thought I was going to lose you.>
That embrace...
Cale had fallen asleep almost on Choi Han's shoulder more than once. He'd carried him on his back more than once when they needed to make a quick escape, but this...
The warmth, the care, the soft but sure desire to protect...
And then... Then Choi Han confessed his love to him. Cale froze for a second, trying to comprehend his happiness. He had long ago begun to catch himself thinking that he would like to stay with Choi Han forever together, but he pushed these strange ideas out of his mind. After all, Choi Han would probably want to find a girlfriend, start a family, but...
So they became not just partners, friends...
But also lovers.
***
The sun shone brightly over their heads, the food was delicious, nature was beautiful.
Cale lay with his head on Choi Han's lap...
Who was nervous for some reason.
«Choi Han, something's wrong...?»
Cale frowned as he noticed Choi Han's condition.
However, the latter became even more nervous. Blushing, he looked away, then bit his lip, closed his eyes and...
Exhaling heavily, he asked Cale to sit across from him.
«Аh?.. Okay...»
Cale felt strange.
It was as if Choi Han was gathering his thoughts and then...
«Cale. I'm... I...»
Once again blushing, Choi Han gave out in a strange, slightly whiny tone.
«Let me take at least half the weight of your hardships and share your sorrows and joys?»
And he pulled some sort of object out of his bag.
'Huh?'
Cale froze.
'W-What...?'
He opened his mouth hesitantly, looking at the beautiful ring with a small diamond.
«I-Is this a... P-Proposal...?»
Cale felt dizzy.
«Y-You don't want to...?»
Choi Han frowned, tentatively withdrawing his hand back, trying to take the box with the ring...
Cale, momentarily forgetting everything in the world, exhaled indignantly, and snatched the box from him. Taking the ring out of it, he put it in Choi Han's hand, and then held out his hand.
His face must have flattened to the color of his hair at that moment, but...
«Of course I agree.»
The happy smile that lit up Choi Han's face was definitely worth it.