Exception

IV. Test

4 hours ago.

Jaeyoon raised his voice. "I said, those are superpowers we possess."

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"What?"

Jaeyoon suppressed his urge to stand up and leave. He knew this was going to end like the way it did every time: he would be told that the police would contact him as soon as possible, then he would be sent home, and in the end no one would ever call him again.

Inseong's face was of utter incredulity, while Dawon's eyes widened by a degree and were sparkling. Maybe Jaeyoon was amused by the latter's reaction, and that was why he decided to stay.

"So, are you saying you have the ability to see the past?" Inseong's struggle to form words didn't go unnoticed to Dawon, so he grasped the opportunity to do the talking.

Jaeyoon glanced at the higher-ranked detective, hoping to garner some sort of reaction from him. But Inseong was expressionless, so Jaeyoon turned back to Dawon almost disappointingly. "We can do a small test."

"Test?"

"Well, I always find myself in this kind of situation where I have to prove myself to others." Jaeyoon shrugged.

"Let's hear it." Inseong finally spoke up, grabbing all of Jaeyoon's attention.

"I'll leave the room for twenty minutes and you can do whatever you want in this room." Jaeyoon looked around the messy office. "When I come back in, I'll re-watch everything that happened and re-tell the events. To make this reliable, you shouldn't change the appearance of the room, because then anyone can deduce what you did."

The detectives took a few seconds to let the information sink in. When it did, both of them nodded, deciding that it was the best way to see Jaeyoon's 'powers' in play.

"I have a question." Dawon raised his hand up like a student. "How do we know that you're actually seeing the past? We can't rule out the possibility that you have X-ray vision instead and can totally just watch us through the walls."

Inseong shot him a warning look, but Jaeyoon didn't seem to care about the rude accusation. "First, there's really no reason why I would lie about my real powers. Second... if you want, one of you can watch over me to make sure I don't cheat when I leave the room."

"I'll do it," Inseong said without hesitation, already standing up.

Jaeyoon watched the detective head for the door, slightly taken aback by the sudden eagerness. From the corner of his eye, he caught Dawon grinning so widely it was hardly going to be for a good reason.

He pushed himself off the couch and followed Inseong out the room. Even if he didn't look back, something told him Dawon was waving them goodbye.

They didn't stop once they went outside. Inseong led him past the workstations of other officers, their desk surfaces entirely covered by documents, forensic reports, and evidence photos.

There was this constant buzz of conversation in the background, accompanied by the occasional hum of printers.

"You guys look busy." Jaeyoon said, hoping to start a conversation. After all, they had to be together for twenty minutes.

"Welcome to my life." Inseong turned left abruptly, towards a hallway with dark sea-green chairs along the side. He sat down on the one closest to the aisle and gestured for Jaeyoon to do the same.