272 – HGL 272

272

I contacted Honeybee, but the reply came that Romantic Opener was still lost in a dream. Unable to delay any longer, they decided to return in Mackerel’s old car. It was Jang Mi-sook-ssi’s beloved car, the one Eui-jae had also ridden in. Though it was quite old. Before leaving, Mackerel gathered the food in front of his house and placed it in front of another house.

“It’s a house where Grandmother lives alone.”

“What about the others?”

“They all went back to the sea.”

“……”

“Grandmother will be going back soon too. She’s undergoing Mutation.”

How many people, villages, cities, and countries would disappear like this? He couldn’t know. Doomsday was covering everything with ash and burying it. Quietly.

A few goldfish were spinning around near the steering wheel. Thanks to Mackerel sitting in the driver’s seat and Sa-young squeezing into the passenger seat, Eui-jae occupied the entire back seat. Most of the roads were wasteland, so they had no choice but to find their way by looking at the crooked signs that hadn’t been swallowed by Whitening. He felt nauseous every time they passed over a bumpy road. Eui-jae barely suppressed his nausea and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital room filled with all sorts of soft and warm things….

‘I wonder when I’ll be able to escape.’

Eui-jae looked at the white ceiling and licked his lips. Time continued to dwindle, never tiring.

Reality, Seowon Guild.

Nam Woo-jin manipulated the panel next to the door, and the tightly closed iron door opened. A wave of hot air poured out through the opening. Inside the dark room, a man was sitting with his head bowed, bound by Black Chains. Small thorns were sprouting all over his body. Black soot remained in various places in the room. Ga-young smiled.

“Ah…. So this is Matthew-ssi?”

Nam Woo-jin retorted coldly.

“Don’t even think about playing tricks.”

“Hehe, that’s why you made it yourself, right? I didn’t even touch it? You checked the effects yourself, yet you’re so suspicious.”

Ga-young was quite cooperative. She said she wouldn’t be trusted with what she made, so she told him the entire method of making the cure from beginning to end and then stepped back. Nam Woo-jin injected the cure he made himself into a test subject transferred from the Awakened Management Bureau. …It worked.

Ga-young chattered on.

“Ah! Still, the cure you made yourself was amazing. If you had researched it a little more, you would have created it perfectly. As expected of someone who used to work as a doctor….”

“I don’t need flattery. It’s true that I was late.”

Nam Woo-jin ignored Ga-young’s smile and entered the hot room. His whole body was covered in wounds, perhaps because he kept struggling even while bound by Jung-bin’s chains that sealed his ability. Nam Woo-jin closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Doctor muttered in a low voice. He inserted the needle of the syringe he was holding into his vein and pressed the plunger firmly. He carefully examined Matthew’s face.

After some time, the hands and arms bound by the chains twitched, moved. His eyelids seemed to tremble, then slowly rolled up. Hazy eyes stared at Nam Woo-jin.

“…….”

“Are you awake? Matthew.”

“…Doctor?”

“That’s a great improvement. You recognize me. How’s your body?”

“…Well, it’s the worst.”

Matthew, who had been blinking, gave a faint smile. Nam Woo-jin also let out a sigh of relief. Matthew gave up trying to clear his parched voice and asked.

“How… long… have I been… unconscious…?”

“Quite a while. More than three months.”

“…….”

“Honeybee was so worried, she kept coming to find you. It was almost annoying.”

“…I figured. Is she… alright?”

“Well, she hasn’t come for the past few days… she’s probably fine. Things have been hectic lately. First, let’s call Jung-bin. Jung-bin has to undo the chains himself. Bring water! And prepare an IV drip.”

“Yes, Master.”

A small boy came in with a bottle of water, walking with quick, short steps. He put a straw in the water bottle and put it to Matthew’s mouth. Matthew drank the water with difficulty and then let out a small sigh. In the meantime, Nam Woo-jin took out his cell phone and called Jung-bin. As soon as he answered the phone, Nam Woo-jin spoke abruptly without waiting for a greeting.

“Come to Seowon Guild and undo the chains. Matthew has woken up. This time it’s for real.”

―Yes? Ah, Nam Woo-jin-nim, I see. Is that so…. Please wait a moment. Director, just a moment….

Jung-bin’s voice sounded strange. What was it? Jung-bin was also one of the people who had been waiting for Matthew to wake up. Nam Woo-jin dragged his Crox and headed to the corner of the room. He felt Ga-young’s gaze. He lowered his voice and asked.

“Why, is there another problem?”

―…I’m sorry, I was in a meeting. You said Matthew-nim woke up? That’s really fortunate.

“What kind of meeting is it that you’ve gathered the Director and everyone else?”

A small sigh was heard.

―You’ve been informed about the phenomenon of humans mutating into Monsters, right? Hunters who went into the Invasion Dungeon to compare the Monsters from the Invasion Dungeon with the mutated Monsters have not returned. J, Lee Sa-young, Honeybee, and the Hunters from the Rift Management Bureau as well.

“…….”

―It’s just a simple Monster capture mission, so isn’t it strange that it’s taking this long?

They must be thinking of the same thing. West Sea Rift. The Hunters who didn’t return. Nam Woo-jin glanced back. Matthew was closing his eyes with a tired face.

―First… I’ll go to Seowon Guild right away.

The call was disconnected. Nam Woo-jin put his cell phone in his gown pocket and glanced at Ga-young. Ga-young was still standing by the door. With a mysterious smile on her face. She even waved when she met Nam Woo-jin’s eyes.

‘The next Doomsday is disease, illness.’

‘You know? In the face of disease, everyone is equal, regardless of gender, age, Awakened or civilian…’

Has it already started? Nam Woo-jin took off his glasses and rubbed his face. And then he approached Ga-young.

“We… need to have a different conversation.”

“Ah~ hehe….”

The corners of Ga-young’s lips turned up.

“I thought you’d say that.”

141 hours until Cha Eui-jae’s death.

“It’s just a simple cold.”

Nam Woo-jin said nonchalantly as he put away the thermometer. Eui-jae nodded obediently, but Sa-young looked like he had a lot to say. He tilted his head and asked.

“What’s the possibility of it developing into the flu or pneumonia?”

“None. Just eat well and rest well, and it’ll get better on its own. It’ll get better faster when your ability recovers. Don’t make a fuss. Just turn up the temperature of the heating mat.”

“He went into the Whitening sea. Could there be other problems?”

Mutation. That was what Eui-jae was curious about too. He joined in and asked.

“Has the condition for humans to mutate not been revealed yet?”

“We still don’t know. Overseas, they speculate that the more you’re exposed to Whitening objects or land, the higher the chance of mutating. And civilians are more likely to mutate than Awakened. This is a fact based on data, not speculation.”

“Is it because of the strength of the body?”

“We don’t know that. Anyway, J’s examination is already over. There’s no major problem.”

“…….”

Even after hearing the explanation, Sa-young still had an unsatisfied look on his face. Nam Woo-jin gestured to Sa-young, regardless.

“Jung-bin called for you. He wants to hear the story. Go. He’ll be in the office on the second floor.”

“Tsk…. Me?”

“Since J can’t move, you have to go. Should J go himself?”

Sa-young clicked his tongue irritably and left the hospital room. Nam Woo-jin remained silent for a long time after the sound of his footsteps faded away. He was just staring at Eui-jae. It was a little burdensome to keep receiving his gaze like this. Of course, he had gotten used to Lee Sa-young’s gaze…. Eui-jae tried to act natural, but in the end, he changed the subject first.

“What about, uh, Mackerel? He was undergoing Mutation.”

“It was definitely a state I’d never seen before. Usually, those who mutate do so suddenly without any warning signs. But that guy…. He still maintains his human appearance and ego. Other than some scales growing on his arm, he’s fine.”

“…….”

“So I’m going to try to develop a cure with him. This is something Mackerel has also agreed to.”

“Is that so….”

Silence fell again. Nam Woo-jin stared at Eui-jae with a heavy gaze. It seemed like he wanted to say something but kept hesitating. Eui-jae smiled.

“You can say whatever you want.”

How long had it been? Finally, he opened his mouth with a sigh.

“This is…. I’m only telling you this.”

What kind of story was it that he was hesitating so much? He must have waited until Lee Sa-young’s presence had completely faded away before speaking. Eui-jae nodded. Nam Woo-jin pressed his forehead with a tired face, then slowly opened his eyes.

“It’ll only take longer if I say it in a roundabout way…. I’ll get straight to the point. Your body.”

A heavy voice said.

“I don’t know what the hell you did…. But you’re in a weaker state than usual. I mean, weaker than before.”

Well, that’s right. He was so weak that he was groaning even with a simple cold. And unlike before, when he recovered quickly, he showed no signs of recovery even after several hours. Eui-jae nodded. Nam Woo-jin looked at the floor and muttered in a gloomy voice.

“If this state continues, you’ll….”

“…….”

“You’re going to die soon.”

Eui-jae’s eyes widened.

Finally, someone appeared who knew about his impending death without him having to say it!