By Zephyria 239
A week and a day after the Monsters poured down like rain.
Dark and narrow, with only a single lightbulb on the ceiling as the sole source of illumination. The interrogation room of the Awakened Management Bureau. Eui-jae sat perched on a creaking steel chair. Tap, tap, tap, long fingers danced across the keyboard. Across the narrow steel desk sat Jung-bin. He rubbed his smooth chin.
“Let me summarize one last time. J escaped from the General Assembly hall and was managing the situation outside when he witnessed Yoon Ga-eul being kidnapped. He followed the truck from there and arrived at the Prometheus headquarters… Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“He infiltrated the interior, confirmed that the kidnapped Hunters were inside the laboratory, witnessed the research site, and discovered Song Jo-heon, who has some kind of relationship with Prometheus… Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“The number of Hunters?”
“There were only about ten in the cages… There must be more.”
“I see. Leaving Yoon Ga-eul behind… was the result of respecting her wishes.”
“Yes.”
Jung-bin hummed and stared at the laptop screen. Eui-jae clasped his hands together on the desk. He had conveyed most of the necessary information. Though he had covered up some things. Eventually, Jung-bin nodded.
“Alright, we’ll end the interrogation here. Thank you for your hard work.”
Eui-jae groaned and twisted his neck. The Awakened Management Bureau’s interrogation room was stuffy as ever. Narrow, suffocating, and a space that subtly pressured the mind. Eui-jae massaged the back of his neck. Noticing his fatigue, Jung-bin, who had been staring at the laptop monitor, smiled awkwardly.
“Thank you, J. You’ve been a great help. It’s just procedure, so it can’t be helped.”
“It’s nothing. You waited a whole week for me. I would have done it on the same day, otherwise.”
Not only had he stormed the headquarters of Prometheus, the group that had brought about the Doomsday, however faintly, but he had also delivered a declaration of alliance to the Director and exposed the betrayal of Song Jo-heon, who had been active for a long time. J had moved like a storm. The Awakened Management Bureau had been eager to hear the story from the person involved, but J…
Jung-bin threw out a meaningful remark.
“I was a little surprised when you just left Song Jo-heon-nim standing in front of the Director’s office door, haha.”
That’s right. That day, J, who had appeared like a bolt of lightning, delivered the dazed Song Jo-heon to the Director’s office door, knocked, and disappeared like the wind. Eui-jae slyly turned his head. Despite the smiling face, the force was immense. Jung-bin smiled and threw out barbed words.
“If Lee Sa-young-nim hadn’t come after, we wouldn’t have been able to grasp the situation.”
“I’m sorry about that…”
“No, I’m sure you had unavoidable circumstances?”
Eui-jae rolled his eyes. It was fortunate that his face couldn’t be seen because of the mask. Unavoidable circumstances, huh? Would fighting with him in the car count as unavoidable circumstances?
“You keep focusing on useless things…”
“Don’t try to dig it up, it makes me feel bad.”
“Ugh, you know that’s nosy, right?”
“I don’t need you.”
He spat out such rude words that Lee Sa-young’s black tongue seemed like the tongue of a viper. Eventually, Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young by the collar. Bae Won-woo, who was in the driver’s seat, screamed for them to stop and pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Song Jo-heon, awakened by the desperate screams, grabbed Eui-jae’s waist and clung to him. It was a mess.
“Ah, fuck! Quit it!”
“No! Aigo! It’s all breaking!”
In the end, Eui-jae, unable to bear it any longer, kicked the van door off. He couldn’t help it since they wouldn’t open the door no matter how much he asked. He ignored the warning sounds and Bae Won-woo’s wails. And he glared at the dazed Song Jo-heon.
“Are you going with him, or with me?”
“…Where are you talking about?”
“Where else, the Awakened Management Bureau. You have to go and confess.”
“……”
Song Jo-heon answered with a sour look.
“I’d rather go with you. Than stay in this car.”
His decision was rational. It would be safer outside than in a car with a wailing Bae Won-woo and a viper with flipped eyes. But unfortunately, Bae Won-woo had stopped the car on a road far from the Management Bureau, and Song Jo-heon walked very weakly. The effects of the drug seemed to be lingering.
In the end, Eui-jae picked up Song Jo-heon like a piece of luggage and embarked on a long journey to the Awakened Management Bureau. Lee Sa-young just glared with fierce eyes, as if saying, ‘Do whatever you want.’ Without a word.
…At this point, it was definitely an unavoidable circumstance. Probably.
Eui-jae nodded.
“Yes, there were very unavoidable circumstances.”
“And you can’t tell me what they were?”
“Yes.”
“Um, according to Song Jo-heon-nim, Lee Sa-young-nim and J-nim had an argument and broke the car. And he was treated like luggage and brought to the Awakened Management Bureau… or so he said.”
He was asking even though he knew everything. Eui-jae answered gloomily.
“That’s right.”
“…Why did you break the car?”
“…They wouldn’t open the door.”
Was it a problem that he had cut out all the context? Jung-bin’s eyes changed strangely. For some reason, he looked very responsible. He carefully reached out and gently took Eui-jae’s hand.
“J-nim.”
“…Yes.”
“Humans have a means of communication called conversation. You know that, right?”
“No, they were the ones who gave up on talking first…”
“That’s right, you’re right. Lee Sa-young-nim probably did something. But you must not give up and continue to talk. You can’t give up on talking. You have to find common ground…”
The hand covering Eui-jae’s hand tightened. Cold sweat formed on Jung-bin’s temples. As if recalling a bad memory, he closed his eyes tightly and muttered.
“He’s so headstrong that it’ll be hard to talk to him… But you’ll still be able to find common ground. Probably.”
“Ah, I understand. I understand.”
“I believe in J-nim. Besides, Lee Sa-young-nim likes J-nim a lot, doesn’t he?”
“……”
Eui-jae squinted and glared at Jung-bin. Ah, does a guy who likes you that much tell you he doesn’t need you? The resentment that had built up in his heart showed no signs of disappearing even after a week. It seemed like it would last quite a while. Jung-bin withdrew his hand. In fact, Eui-jae also knew. That only Lee Sa-young could get rid of this resentment.
But….
“Hey.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Where is Lee Sa-young right now?”
He couldn’t meet Lee Sa-young!
The guy who was usually so easy to find, the guy who would come even if he told him not to, wasn’t showing even a strand of hair. He borrowed Bae Won-woo’s cell phone to contact him, but he didn’t answer, he called from a public phone, but he didn’t answer, he pretended to take a walk and loitered near the Wave Guild, but he wasn’t going to appear. Min-gi Seo, who was always missing when he was needed, must have been ordered to cut off all contact. Eui-jae stomped on his shadow for no reason.
He even sneaked into the Guild Leader’s office, avoiding people’s eyes, and stayed there for a whole day, but he still couldn’t see him. Only Bae Won-woo went in and out of the Guild Leader’s office, delivering food. He must have been worried that he would break something again.
Jung-bin shook his head with a troubled expression.
“I don’t know. He’s not the type to report regularly… Have you asked Bae Won-woo-nim?”
“He said he doesn’t know either.”
“Um… What about the Seowon Guild?”
“Seowon Guild?”
The white-haired man floated up in his mind.
“Yes. Lee Sa-young-nim’s doctor is Nam Woo-jin-nim. He visits periodically due to the nature of his body… I think it would be a good idea to ask him.”
“……”
“Or….”
Jung-bin leaned forward. Eui-jae also leaned forward. Leaving only a fist-sized gap between their faces, Jung-bin whispered.
“Have you heard of an informant called… Mackerel?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“He’s good at finding people. I think it would be a good idea to ask him.”
Jung-bin straightened his back as if nothing had happened. Eui-jae smacked his lips.
‘Does he know Mackerel?’
He sighed and stared at the thinly flickering lightbulb. It wasn’t just knowing him.
“Have a good trip, Hyung~ Don’t be shaken by what the civil servant says and push forward, aja aja! You can do it! Let’s mesmerize the civil servant with your flamboyant eloquence!”
“Ah, aja aja…”
Even when he came here, he had been seen off by the Mackerel Brothers, who were holding spatulas and wearing aprons.
“You want me to find out where Lee Sa-young is?”
“Yeah. I have something to say to him, but he’s nowhere to be seen.”
The younger Mackerel, who was giving bread crumbs to the fish floating around, replied.
“Um~ That’s normal, though.”
“Why?”
“Lee Sa-young is originally a hard person to see. Because of his ability, he doesn’t usually appear in crowded places. He quietly does his job behind the scenes.”
Was he?
Eui-jae’s face changed subtly. He seemed to sit well in the Hangover Soup place for someone like that? The face that used to attend every day and interfere with business was vivid in his mind. The younger Mackerel, who was constantly tapping on the keyboard, also nodded.
“A, among Hunters… he’s a, a figure of terror….”
“Well, his personality is a bit of a bitch… Um, isn’t it?”
“So, can you find him, or not?”
“Well, I can find him. Why don’t you go here in the meantime?”
A red goldfish fluttered down and landed in Eui-jae’s grasp. And with a pop, it turned into a yellow memo. The memo was filled with squiggly letters. Someone’s personal details and….
[Current location: Affiliated with Seowon Guild]
Mackerel winked, pretending to shoot with his long index finger.
“I already found what you asked me to find yesterday.”
“……”
Eui-jae crumpled the memo as if he were crushing it. The information he had asked Mackerel for.
It was the current location of the researchers and doctors who had worked at the hospital when Lee Sa-young was hospitalized.