By Zephyria It was only a moment after realizing the sole positive function of the Memorial Dungeon that Ham Seok-jeong received the laptop and quickly scanned the contents Jung-bin had organized. She tapped the chair.
“From what I see, the way Doomsday comes in that world and this one seems similar. The Whitening phenomenon is also similar to the Mutation happening in our world, the Invasion phenomenon of the Invasion Dungeons. However, I’m concerned that our world doesn’t have Monster Waves. Is there a possibility that the order has been changed?”
“It cannot be ruled out.”
“Pull out the data for the places where Wave omens are seen. Also, sort out the places where they previously occurred.”
“Understood.”
There was a voice covering the voices of the two people who were seriously talking. Hong Ye-seong and his studio, who had self-preserved himself in a black and white film photograph.
￣Didn’t I tell you? It’s about erasing the previous world and creating a new world. But because it’s an incomplete clock, this time the previous world wasn’t completely erased. That’s why the Destroyed world continues to affect the current world.
￣…Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? The West Sea Rift continued to grow and swallow Hunters until you came in. Have other Hunters entered since you entered? I don’t think so. You must have been the last one.
￣The Destroyed world found you, the first axis. The price paid by the current axis is not enough, so they are looking for someone to pay the rest.
Eui-jae trembled as if struck by lightning. The Monsters that were constantly pouring out. The battle that never ended no matter how much he swung. No matter how many he killed, they kept coming, endlessly….
‘Could it be.’
What if those Monsters were the Monsters that would pour into this world through the Wave?
Then it makes sense that the Mutation started by skipping the Monster Wave, and what Hong Ye-seong said. Cha Eui-jae paid the insufficient price in the West Sea Rift. By killing all the survivors, Monsters, of the Destroyed world.
He couldn’t tell whether to call this fortunate or the worst. Eui-jae fidgeted with his hands anxiously, then slyly raised his hand and joined Jung-bin and Ham Seok-jeong’s conversation.
“…Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have something to say?”
“…I think we can rule out the Monster Wave.”
“Why?”
“Do you happen to know something?”
Everyone’s attention was focused on him. This kind of attention was burdensome. Even more so if he had saved the world without knowing it. Eui-jae answered awkwardly.
“…I think I took care of it.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence flowed. Tap, roll… The dice Gyu-Gyu had thrown into the air fell powerlessly and rolled around. Soon, a sharp clapping sound tore through the silence. Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap. Gyu-Gyu, who finished clapping in a knife-like 337 beat, shouted.
“The great J will save the world even in his sleep! Amazing!”
Eui-jae was always faster with his body than his words.
That’s why―
Phew―!!
“J!”
“Why are you hitting me? I really meant it because you’re amazing.”
“Shut up!”
The flying kick towards Gyu-Gyu was faster than the word “shut up.”Crash, the sofa fell over and the table was overturned.” The tea in the glass scattered in the air. Ham Seok-jeong elegantly sipped her coffee in the midst of the chaos and called Jung-bin.
“Team Leader Jung.”
“Violence is not allowed! We can solve it through conversation…. Yes, Director?”
“Put the repair costs on J’s tab.”
“…Yes.”
The commotion that had broken out was only subdued after Jung-bin and Matthew physically isolated Gyu-Gyu and Eui-jae. Gyu-Gyu clapped vigorously until the moment he was dragged out by the two.
Only Eui-jae and Ham Seok-jeong remained in the messy Director’s office. Ham Seok-jeong was still sitting in an elegant posture, drinking coffee. Eui-jae glanced at her and slyly put the overturned furniture back in its place. Then he sat on the sofa he had originally sat on, but one side tilted sharply as soon as Eui-jae sat down, as if one leg was broken.
Ham Seok-jeong raised the corner of her mouth and smiled.
“So, do you feel a little relieved?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s good. Any injuries?”
“No.”
“Injuries from the Rift too?”
“Yes.”
“Mentally?”
“I’m fine.”
“That means you’re not okay.”
“I’m okay.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know just because you’re wearing a mask? I know that your heart rate is abnormal. A young man can’t have arrhythmia.”
High-ranking Hunters are uncomfortable for this reason. You can’t hide anything properly. Eui-jae pressed down on his heart. Ham Seok-jeong turned her gaze to the laptop.
“Stop by the Management Bureau medical team. They’ll prescribe a stabilizer for the Awakened. Doctor is too busy to see you.”
“Because of the vaccine development?”
“Yes. Thanks to some notebook, the speed of vaccine development has increased.”
Notebook. Eui-jae widened his eyes. He had given Nam Woo-jin in the Memorial Dungeon a notebook with nothing written on it. If that notebook and this notebook were connected. Sweat broke out on his hands. Ham Seok-jeong smiled slyly without taking her eyes off the laptop.
“You seem to have an idea.”
“……”
“That’s a good thing. Work hard while you’re young and healthy.”
“…Yes.”
“Go. If you say I sent you, they’ll show you their face no matter how busy they are. And don’t run into Gyu-Gyu and fight again.”
Eui-jae nodded and got up from his seat. The moment he grabbed the doorknob of the Director’s office, a nonchalant voice grabbed him from behind.
“Come to think of it….”
“Yes.”
“Was she alive there? Hye-kyung.”
Eui-jae tightened his grip on the doorknob.
“…No.”
“Is that so?A sound like air escaping, pssst, was heard. There was no change in the nonchalant voice, as if she hadn’t even expected it.
“Memories are useless too.”
“……”
“Just kidding.”
Eui-jae muttered while caressing the cold doorknob.
“The Director and my aunt…. They died while stopping the Monster Wave. Together.”
“Is that so?”
Ham Seok-jeong let out a short laugh. It was sarcasm.
“The Ham Seok-jeong there is better than me.”
“…Director.”
“That’s also a joke.”
“I know it’s not a joke.”
“If you know, pretend you don’t. Don’t make an adult feel awkward.”
Eui-jae turned his head. Ham Seok-jeong was looking somewhere in the air. With empty eyes. A whispering voice flowed out.
“I think sometimes. If I didn’t think about that child, didn’t make a choice for the country, only thought about myself, put my greed first and kept her by my side….”
“……”
Ham Seok-jeong trembled and laughed.
“Hehe…. It’s a perfect way to pass the time. But now it’s a useless thought.”
The trembling of her shoulders stopped. Countless hours and waiting were melted into Ham Seok-jeong’s face. Strangely, Eui-jae felt like he could fully understand Ham Seok-jeong’s heart. Only now.
Ham Seok-jeong muttered.
“Boy.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Don’t be like that.”
“……”
“Don’t give up anything.”
“……”
“Don’t throw away your life, don’t give up what you want to do. Live greedily. Don’t regret it.”
The eyes that had been looking at the air turned to Eui-jae. Eui-jae was reflected in the empty eyes. Ham Seok-jeong smiled.
“Wouldn’t it be okay for you to be a little greedy?”
Seowon Guild.
Contrary to Ham Seok-jeong’s words, Nam Woo-jin didn’t even show the tip of his hair even though the Director sent him. He was too busy to even eat or sleep. Instead, he was guided to his laboratory. The boy who guided him bowed his head.
“He will come if you wait.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know either. You can sleep on the cot if you’re tired.”
In the end, he was told to wait indefinitely until he came. Still, Doctor’s lab was a good place to kill time. Because there were countless papers, books, monitors, and drugs of unknown origin. Eui-jae wandered around the lab, peeking around. And, not long after, he found an old notebook preciously placed on the desk. Eui-jae smiled broadly.
‘He just leaves something this precious lying around?’
Jackpot. Then he doesn’t even need to meet Nam Woo-jin, he can just check the notebook and go back. Eui-jae opened the first page of the notebook. The letters that had been twisted by magic and could not be read were written in Korean.
[…J gave me a notebook. To give something that fell on the floor as a gift, that guy is really absurd.]
[Anyway, I received a gift, so should I record at least a little?]
[Anything will help.]
‘Was it right after he gave me the notebook?’
Eui-jae turned the page.
[Too many patients. Not enough hospital rooms. Need to open the basement.]
[Decided to collect Mackerel’s blood and manufacture a new medicine.]
[Combination….]
From then on, there were countless alphabets and numbers that could not be interpreted. Eui-jae turned the page without hesitation. To be honest, Nam Woo-jin had terrible handwriting. Whether it was because he was a doctor or just scribbling, he had to read each letter carefully. Well, he seems to recognize his own handwriting, though.
‘I can’t recognize it.’
Reading the notebook was more like decoding than reading. Eui-jae engraved the contents of each page in his eyes. Before long, his end appeared.
[J died.]
[Decided not to hold a funeral. People will despair if his death is announced.]
[Lee Sa-young decided to manage the body. Gave him a Preservation Stone.]
It’s from here on out. The future that Eui-jae doesn’t know. Eui-jae turned the page. Among the countless formulas that could not be understood, there was handwriting written weakly.
[The new medicine is not effective either.]
[Not enough manpower.]
[J’s absence is too great.]
[The speed of Whitening has increased.]
[The number of injured among the Awakened is also increasing.]
[Need to think about a new vaccine.]
This page seems to be the last one. After this, Nam Woo-jin’s handwriting was not added. It seems that no one has died yet. That’s a relief, but….
‘There’s not much to gain.’
Eui-jae clicked his tongue and flipped through the pages. And,
“…Huh?”
He found something.
At the very end of the notebook, something was written.
[I heard you gave me this notebook.]
[Maybe]
[Are you watching?]
Unlike Nam Woo-jin, it was neat and tidy handwriting.