223 – HGL 223

223

“…Huff.”

At the same time, Sa-young took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The sight before him was pure white. He couldn’t see anything.

‘Ah.’

His whole body turned cold. The tips of his fingers trembled terribly. He hurriedly looked around, but the pure white light remained. Sa-young quickly covered his eyes with both hands. Darkness came. But once his breath quickened, it didn’t calm down easily. Then, a voice came from beside him.

“Lee Sa-young! Are you alright?”

Who is it. Who is it. Who is it. Who is it. Who is it. Who is it.

Sa-young gritted his teeth so hard that they made a cracking sound. Another voice chimed in.

“Should we splash him with water, even? Should I fetch some stream water? There’s a mountain right outside!”

“Would that work! Lee Sa-young… are you alright? Is your condition not good?”

Don’t come closer. Don’t come closer. Don’t come closer.

“Government official~ It’s better not to approach him.”

“Yes? But I can’t just leave him like this while he’s having a fit…”

“No, if you approach him now, he’ll attack right away? He’s acting strange right now…”

“Hey, Cluck… Huh? Where did Cluck go?”

“It’s been gone since we came to our senses.”

“Oh? Really? Then did it follow J?”

J.

J?

The trembling in his body gradually stopped. Sa-young blinked laboriously. A glimpse of the dark ceiling could be seen through the gaps in his fingers. Sa-young hesitated, then removed the hand covering his eyes. An unnecessarily ornate chandelier with candles, a wooden ceiling. Sa-young regulated his breathing and turned to the side. Jung-bin and Hong Ye-seong were standing awkwardly a little distance away, and Gyu-Gyu was standing next to them, rattling dice.

Hong Ye-seong, who was clinging to Jung-bin’s waist, asked.

“Sa-young-ah? Are you okay?”

“……”

“Lee Sa-young. Are you alright?”

“……”

“He seems more sane than before~”

Sa-young didn’t answer and regulated his breathing. He scanned the surroundings through the gaps in his fingers. This place is…. The Shield created by Hong Ye-seong. They were in a meeting. With many people gathered. I am….

‘I came with J.’

Then, a sparkling light caught his eye. Sa-young raised his hand. The watch slid down his wrist a little before stopping. A broken and old watch. Only one of the many watch hands is moving.

Sa-young hurriedly raised his upper body. He asked accusingly.

“Where’s J. Where did he go?”

“He probably went to save the world~”

“Shut up.”

“Could you be quiet, Gyu-Gyu.”

“Yes, yes~”

Jung-bin, who had come closer, lowered himself to meet his gaze. Worry was etched on his face.

“When we woke up, J had already disappeared. He seems to have gone to sort out the situation outside first. However, there is information about sightings, so you don’t have to worry about his safety.”

“……”

Sa-young didn’t answer and lowered his head. His stomach was churning as if he was about to throw up. Jung-bin glanced at Hong Ye-seong, then raised his voice a little.

“Um, how about we try to change the mood for a bit? The Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer has appeared. You might not be interested, but Lee Sa-young, you used to visit that place often…”

Jung-bin, who was continuing to speak at length, widened his eyes. This was because Lee Sa-young’s expression was strangely distorted. Sa-young moved his lips a couple of times with a face full of things to say, then ruffled his hair, stared into the air, swept back his bangs, took a deep breath, and finally managed to open his mouth.

“…Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer?”

Did he suddenly collapse and get a big shock? Looking at Lee Sa-young, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Was it because he saw him tossing and turning in his sleep when they were staying in the thatched-roof house? Bae Won-woo used to agree that it was like a father’s heart. Sa-young still seemed unable to escape from the shock. Jung-bin looked at Sa-young with pitiful eyes.

“Well…”

When he thought about it, it was understandable that Sa-young wouldn’t know. He had been asleep for three months. Jung-bin explained kindly.

“After the Day of Change, the part-timer closed the store and disappeared. Everyone was very worried. But just now, Hunter Yang Hye-jin contacted us saying she met the part-timer.”

Fucking hell. It sounded like a small curse was heard. Sa-young, who had rubbed his face roughly, asked.

“…What was he wearing?”

“Um, she said he was wearing a gray hoodie. She recognized him right away because he looked the same as before.”

Tududuk, Sa-young’s hand scratched the air roughly. Sa-young staggered to his feet. His purple eyes were shining fiercely. He began to drag his feet towards the door. Gyu-Gyu, who was throwing dice, asked.

“Where are you going~?”

“……”

Bang! Sa-young kicked the door open and escaped from Hong Ye-seong’s cozy love house. Hong Ye-seong, who was now clinging to the pillar like a cicada instead of Jung-bin, muttered.

“Wow~ It’s a good thing he’s out of his mind. He probably didn’t notice that I sent a text to J with his phone, right? Huh?”

“Definitely~”

“But why did you do that in the first place?”

“Huh?”

Hong Ye-seong slid down the pillar.

“I don’t know. I just felt like I had to!”

Jung-bin stared at Hong Ye-seong with cold eyes before turning his head.

Eui-jae opened his eyes.

“……”

The order not to touch him must have been real, as no one approached Eui-jae anymore. They must have shoved him in a corner room. Eui-jae fidgeted with his fingers for no reason. There was too little information he could get from this room.

‘And it’s boring.’

If Sa-young had lived in a room like this, how would he have endured it? There’s a limit to thinking and imagining. Eui-jae was already dying to move his body.

‘Is that why his personality became like that….’

Eui-jae pursed his lips. The researchers hadn’t come close since they visited earlier. They seemed to be faithfully following the Brother’s orders. He rubbed his head against the wall for no reason.

‘Are the Brother’s orders that absolute?’

Is the Brother the leader of these people? He wanted to meet him once. What the hell is in his head that he’s doing this? By now….

‘Student Ga-eul would have met the person called the Brother.’

He should have prepared a way to contact Ga-eul.

‘I was too confident.’

Haa, Eui-jae yawned loudly and smacked his lips. Well, he had to try infiltrating to know. Maybe he shouldn’t rely too much on strength…. It was then.

Swish…. He heard the sound of air leaking. Eui-jae raised his head. A hazy gas was pouring through a slightly raised gap in the ceiling. Thump, thump, thump…. The sound that had been heard from afar gradually subsided. Eui-jae raised both wrists to check the time. 5 p.m.

‘Are they spraying it at regular intervals?’

Damn it. Eui-jae frowned. He couldn’t avoid the gas in the narrow room. There was a limit to holding his breath. In the end, he had no choice but to inhale it as it was. Eui-jae looked at the ceiling with annoyance. The room was gradually filling with hazy gas. So much so that he couldn’t see in front of him.

“I just thought of something.”

A man wearing transparent goggles suddenly opened his mouth. Another man, who was scribbling something on a tablet while observing the liquid dripping drop by drop, replied carelessly.

“Uh-huh.”

“That room from earlier. The room the Brother told us not to touch.”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t gas coming out of there too? It’s a batch spray.”

The hand that was moving busily stopped right away. The man holding the tablet frowned.

“Aish…. We weren’t supposed to spray gas there at all?”

“He told us not to do anything crazy? To leave it alone.”

“Ah, fuck…. We have to take him out.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“That’s why I said we should make individual ventilation systems, but you absolutely wouldn’t.”

The two men grumbled and picked up the protective suits hanging on the wall. After putting on full-body protective suits, they put on goggles and wore gas mask filters that only covered their mouths. Finally, after putting on their gloves tightly, the two headed to the last room in the long corridor. All the other rooms were already quiet.

The inside of the iron bars of the last room was already filled with hazy gas, and a black shape could be seen through the gaps. It looked like he was sitting on the floor. It was somehow eerie. The man holding the tablet frowned deeply and took a step back.

“Hey, you go and get him out.”

“What? Why?”

“Ah, I don’t want to go in.”

“How am I supposed to get him out alone?”

“Figure it out. I’m busy as hell, seriously.”

“Aish….”

The man wearing goggles grumbled and opened the side door of the iron bars and disappeared into the gas. He didn’t take care of it himself and now he’s asking me to handle it together. He has no conscience. The man who was left alone quickly scanned the data on the tablet. Precious time was being wasted even now…. Then,

Thump.

He heard a heavy sound. The man took his eyes off the tablet and looked for the source of the sound. It was a sound from inside the iron bars.

“……”

The man frowned. What is it? He knocked on the iron bars twice with his fist.

“Hey, is something wrong in there?”

No answer came back. Instead, this time he heard a clattering sound. It sounded like the sound of chains colliding.

“……”

Could something have happened inside? No, he’s probably out of his mind from the drugs, right? He’s even tied up. Should I have gone in with him? Is a problem occurring because of such a trivial matter? Dozens of thoughts swirled around. The man looked around the corridor anxiously and knocked on the iron bars again.

“Hey, do I have to go in too? Or should I call the security team?”

“…No.”

A voice that was somehow low and subdued answered. Was it his colleague’s voice? Or not? The man frowned and listened carefully. After ahem, a sound of clearing his throat, a voice mixed with laughter returned.

“It’s just that the chains are fixed too tightly.”

“……”

“Why are you so surprised by something like this? Are you scared?”

A joke-like remark came back. The shoulders that had been stiff from tension relaxed. That bastard, he should have answered right away. The man answered brusquely to hide his awkwardness.

“Scared my ass…. I thought you passed out from inhaling the gas. Are you okay? Nothing weird, right?”

“Uh-huh…. But the chains won’t come off. How about we just leave it?”

“What? Would that be okay? What if the Brother finds out later….”

“It’s okay.”

White smoke swirled beyond the iron bars. The man took a step back without realizing it. The door creaked open, and a white protective suit emerged from the door with smoke around it. The man who came out of the door and was fumbling with the filter in a hunched posture gestured.

“Go a little further away. There’s so much gas….”

“Oh, uh-huh, okay.”

A gloved hand shook off the body. And the man tilted his head at the strange sense of incongruity. What is it? It’s strange. Isn’t the glove sleeve a little rolled up? I definitely saw him putting it on properly earlier. And didn’t he wear his shoes a little crumpled….

At that moment, the hand stopped.

“…But you. Aren’t you busy?”

“……”

The man swallowed hard. It’s strange. It was too much to say that he was the colleague who was just by his side….

“Go first. I’ll shake off my body and go.”

But he didn’t want to think any further.

He wants to avoid it.

This situation right now.

He wants to run away.

From that being.

“O, okay. I understand….”

The man took a step back. It can’t be. It won’t be. Step, step, step…. The slow steps gradually became faster, and soon the man was running. Tap, tap, tap, tap, no matter how much he ran, the white corridor that looked exactly the same continued for a long time.

‘Was this corridor originally this long?’

He’s anxious. His back was soaked with cold sweat. What should I do? What should I do?

Soon.

He felt a strong pain in the back of his neck. The man collapsed without even screaming. Behind the collapsed man, an figure wearing a white protective suit appeared. The eyes inside the transparent goggles,

Were blue.