SWEEPERS, REPORTING FOR DUTY

YUJIN, who was shocked after she saw Wook hit the glass wall, gasped aloud. "Wookie!"

She was confused.

One minute, everyone around them disappeared. Then the next, Wook was sent flying by an invisible force. But despite the confusion, she immediately got herself together. The most important thing was to check on Wook first!

She was about to run to him when someone grabbed her arm. When she turned to her side, she was surprised to see a boy her age looking down at her with a sharp look on his face.

The boy wore a white long-sleeved polo over a black turtleneck shirt, a pair of gray trousers, and… some sort of combat shoes?

[He pulls it off because he's so freaking handsome.]

The boy actually looked like a top idol or an A-list actor.

"Moon Yujin, you are arrested for giving a doppelganger a name."

Okay, her admiration for the boy's handsome face disappeared quickly.

Yujin gulped when the realization hit her. "Uhm, are you a S-Sweeper?"

"That's right," the boy who wore a different school uniform confirmed while nodding. "I'm Hong Rowoon, the captain of the Sweepers who has taken over Mir City starting today."

She gulped once again.

[Aunt Hayi warned me that this will happen, but I didn't expect the Sweepers to come so soon.]

And she didn't expect them to attack Wook, too!

"I'm not going to escape, so can you please let go of my arm?" Yujin asked meekly. "It hurts…"

"Ah," Hong Rowoon said, then he immediately let go. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright–"

She didn't get to finish her sentence when she heard a loud explosion.

When she turned to the source of the noise, she was shocked to see Wook strangling a girl (who wore almost the same outfit as Hong Rowoon: a white long-sleeved blouse over a black turtleneck shirt, pleated gray skirt, and a pair of black combat shoes).

She gasped when she realized that the girl's feet weren't touching the ground anymore.

And Wook's expression…

[This is the first time I've seen a murderous look on his face!]

The doppelganger didn't budge even though the girl he was strangling was punching and clawing his arm.

[At this rate, he might really kill the girl!]

"Wookie!" Yujin yelled when she recovered from her initial shock. "Stop–"

Again, she didn't get to finish her sentence.

After all, she was forced to swallow her words when she saw Hong Rowoon behind Wook…

… and the Sweeper was pointing a handgun at the back of Wook's head.

[No!]

How could Hong Rowoon get there fast when he was just standing next to her a few moments ago?!

"Don't kill him, Hong Rowoon!" Yujin yelled while running towards Wook. But much to her shock, Hong Rowoon pulled the trigger without hesitation. She covered her ears with her hands as she fell to her knees. "No!"

To be honest, she didn't have to cover her ears with her hands because the handgun didn't make a sound. However, she was still shocked to hear the sound of bullets (?) hitting the back of Wook's head.

[Is that supposed to make a sound like that…?]

And were those real bullets?

[I don't think so...]

The things that fell to the ground after hitting the back of Wook's head looked like beads. Hence, it just hit his head and didn't even make him bleed.

However, it seemed to have a bad effect on the doppelganger.

After all, Wook fell to his knees while clutching her head as if he was in pain.

As much as she hated seeing the doppelganger in pain (because he had Sun Geun-wook's face), she was relieved to see that the girl he tried to strangle was still alive.

The girl plopped to the ground while holding her throat and catching her breath.

Even so, Wook…

"No, Hong Rowoon!" Yujin yelled again after he saw the Sweeper grab Wook (who suddenly looked lifeless) by the collar. This time, Hong Rowoon was holding a dagger that looked so ancient. The blade was also emitting a mysterious blue light. She didn't know what exactly it was, but she could tell that the Sweeper had a murderous intent at the moment. "You can't kill Wook!"

However, her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Hong Rowoon callously stabbed the dagger deep into Wook's chest. The Sweeper obviously aimed at the doppelganger's heart.

[But the heart belongs to Sun Geun-wook!]

"Stop it, you ducking psycho!" Yujin yelled, gathering the remaining strength in her body to stand. Then she ran towards Wook and the Sweepers. However, she was forced to stop when she felt a strange pang in her chest. Her hand automatically clutched her chest and, much to her shock, she realized that she was bleeding. "Huh? What's happening to me…?"

Why was Yujin bleeding in the same area where Wook was stabbed?!

***

"ROWOON-AH, Moon Yujin is in a critical condition!"

Rowoon could see that.

After he stabbed the doppelganger who took over Sun Geun-wook's body, Moon Yujin started to bleed in the chest area as if she was also stabbed. Then the doppelganger and Moon Yujin fainted at the same time.

"Moon Yujin is losing too much blood," Kang Danbi, the vice-captain of their squad, reported to him while cradling the unconscious and bleeding Moon Yujin in her arms. After all, Kang Danbi caught Moon Yujin before she hit the ground earlier. "If we leave her be, she'll die."

He didn't like how his vice-captain was worrying about someone else when the red mark around her neck was still visible.

[The doppelganger almost killed her earlier and yet…]

"Captain!" Kang Danbi yelled in frustration, calling him by his title this time. "What are you hesitating for?"

"I'm thinking," Rowoon said, then he looked at the doppelganger who fainted at his feet. He already pulled the ancient dagger out of his chest earlier. The flesh wound was there, but the doppelganger didn't bleed. However, Moon Yujin did. "Our order was to kill the doppelganger."

But judging by what happened…

"If we kill the doppelganger, it seems like Moon Yujin will die in his stead," Kang Danbi said. As expected of the vice-captain of his squad, she was also quick to catch on. "We can't risk an innocent person's life just to test if our hypothesis is correct, Rowoon-ah."

"Moon Yujin isn't really "innocent.""

"Aigoo, you're so frustrating!" the vice-captain complained. "I know that Moon Yujin is guilty of giving the doppelganger a name."

"She's also guilty of escaping death ten years ago."

"That's out of our jurisdiction," Kang Danbi insisted. "And we weren't ordered to kill Moon Yujin. We can always kill the doppelganger AFTER we find out why Moon Yujin is the one bleeding in his stead."

[I know that, but…]

"Hong Rowoon, you're still as inflexible as ever."

Kang Danbi gasped aloud when their uninvited guest finally arrived. "Miss Hayi…"

Ahn Hayi, the 'Outlaw.'

The greatest shaman of her generation still wore the same outfit as the last time he saw her: a set of golfing attire.

"Are you going to let my precious niece die?" Ahn Hayi asked, smiling "sweetly" at him. "In the name of your mission, just like how you let a friend die in the past?"

That statement hurt, but it wasn't wrong, so he didn't react.

"Miss Hayi, you're being harsh," Kang Danbi said sternly. "Please don't talk to our captain that way."

"I can't be friendly to people who want to kill my niece, can I?" Ahn Hayi asked. Her voice was lighthearted, but the murderous glint in her eyes said otherwise. "The Strainer that you put up won't last long. Do you really want to fight me here?"

The "Strainer" that she mentioned was the reason why the people in the area "disappeared."

"Hong Rowoon, I'm not as soft-hearted as my sister," Ahn Hayi said coldly. "I can kill my former students if it means saving my precious niece."

Kang Danbi visibly shivered after hearing the Outlaw's threat.

[Miss Hayi is still scary even though she's no longer our instructor.]

Rowoon didn't want to admit this, but he wasn't confident that he would win if Ahn Hayi decided to eliminate them for real. Moreover, he couldn't put Kang Danbi in danger when she hadn't completely recovered yet from their last mission. Hence, he had no choice but to yield this time. "I concede," he said calmly. "I'll give up on the doppelganger and Moon Yujin for now."

***

YUJIN stood in front of the bed where Wook was sleeping when she saw Hong Rowoon enter the bedroom.

To be honest, she didn't know how she was able to return home after she fainted. But when she opened her eyes earlier, she was already in the same bed as the sleeping Wook. Moreover, there was a bandage that covered her chest.

[Did I really get a flesh wound out of nowhere?]

Unfortunately, before she could even gather her thoughts, Hong Rowoon already burst in.

Hence, she quickly stood protectively in front of the sleeping Wook.

"You still need to rest, Moon Yujin," Hong Rowoon said calmly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you or the doppelganger. For now, at least."

Yujin gave the Sweeper a suspicious look. "Do you expect me to trust you?"

"Your aunt brought me here."

Oh, that was enough for her to believe Hong Rowoon.

[Aunt Hayi won't let him in our house if he's still determined to hurt me or Wook.]

"Moon Yujin, congratulations."

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "For what?"

"I just heard from Miss Hayi," Hong Rowoon said in an annoyingly calm manner. "Apparently, your soul is now married to the doppelganger."

Yujin's eyes went wide with shock. "I'm married to Wookie?!"

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~