By Zephyria …Sa-young opened the tightly closed door to the inner room. The room, devoid of any light, was as still as if time had stopped. Someone lay on the pristine bed, hands clasped together.
It was Cha Eui-jae.
There was no sign of life, but his appearance was almost identical to that of the living. Well, except for the bandage wrapped around his head and his pale complexion. The Preservation Stone next to Cha Eui-jae’s head shimmered. Sa-young smiled wryly.
“…Have you been well?”
No answer came. Neither his fingertips nor his chest stirred. He had grown accustomed to this one-sided conversation. Sa-young gazed silently at the closed eyes before letting out a small sigh.
He wanted to see Cha Eui-jae alive and moving, not this doll-like version. Sa-young reached out towards Cha Eui-jae, but withdrew his hand before touching him. He knew that the moment he touched him, he would once again realize his death.
The dead are cold.
‘…I can’t do this twice.’
Sa-young sat down next to the bed and leaned his head against it. He couldn’t bring himself to lie down next to him. This distance was just right—close enough to be near him, yet far enough to ignore his death.
Sa-young closed his eyes.
In the silent room, only one person’s breathing could be heard.
As Nam Woo-jin had said, the broken mask was neatly placed next to the notebook. Eui-jae touched the broken part of the mask. The upper left part was broken off, and the rest of it was covered in small scratches and cracks. It looked like it would shatter into pieces if he tapped it. It was no longer usable.
‘I guess I have to go see Hong Ye-seong again….’
Eui-jae sighed deeply. He had so much to do, but nothing was easy.
‘I have a lot of work to do as J.’
His range of activity had become too limited just because he didn’t have a mask. Next time, I should avoid getting hit in the head. While protecting the mask from breaking. Eui-jae made a new resolution and opened the notebook. It hadn’t been long since he last looked at it, but a lot of new content had been added in the meantime.
‘The flow of time is definitely different.’
Eui-jae quickly scanned the contents. Most of the new entries were combinations and experimental records that Eui-jae couldn’t understand. Failure, failure, failure, small success, failure….
And, the last sentence of this record.
[Jung-bin is dead.]
“……”
The scene in the Fragment that Student Ga-eul had shown him came to mind. Lee Sa-young, who had been holed up in a dark room, and Honeybee, who had been shouting at him. The story that Jung-bin and Matthew had died.
So, it’s already that time. His mouth felt bitter. Was Lee Sa-young staying in his room like in that memory? He hoped not. Eui-jae sighed softly and opened the last page. Soon, his eyes widened.
[Jung-bin, killed by a Mutation of a team member who tore his throat. Check if anyone around Jung-bin is showing signs of Mutation.]
[Take care of yourself.]
[Don’t overdo it.]
[I miss you too.]
Eui-jae read the neat handwriting over and over again before he could finally think.
Isn’t the gap between the sentences above and below too big?
‘He’s like a ghost.’
How could he say something like this right after blocking a Monster attack with his head? Whether it was Mackerel or Nam Woo-jin, he needed to firmly warn them not to say anything before Lee Sa-young came back.
Eui-jae scratched his cheek awkwardly and repeated the last sentence. I miss you too. It was a clear answer. An answer to the feelings that Eui-jae had written after much deliberation. A corner of his heart tingled. Eui-jae fidgeted with his fingers for no reason.
‘Anyway….’
According to this information, he can prevent Jung-bin’s death. Just like he prevented the Whitening of the fish market. Lee Sa-young must have given it to him with that in mind.
‘…I can do it, right?’
No, he has to. Eui-jae looked for a pen and found a pen holder filled with sharply sharpened new pencils.
“……”
…Did he prepare new ones because I broke so many? Nam Woo-jin wouldn’t have sharpened them himself, so the boy who acted as his secretary must have sharpened them one by one.
‘…I feel bad.’
Eui-jae carefully took one out and held it. He felt a little guilty about trying to use it well this time and breaking it again. In the end, he scribbled as usual.
[I’ll check it out]
[You take care too]
He hesitated and added a sentence.
[Don’t just stay in your room, go out and walk around]
…Is this too much nagging? Eui-jae scratched his temple with the end of the pencil before putting it down. There was no eraser anyway, so he couldn’t undo it. And he could nag this much. I’m older. Eui-jae imprinted Sa-young’s handwriting in his mind again, then closed the notebook, put it on the desk, and left the room.
‘First, go to Hong Ye-seong to repair the mask, advise Mackerel to move the fish market even for a short time, visit the Wave Guild research team to discuss how to open the Dungeon, check Jung-bin’s team members….’
Eui-jae folded his fingers one by one as he walked. At that moment, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps. He quickly hid behind the corner of the wall.
“Hah, hah….”
Min-jun, whom he had met last time, appeared in the hallway. He was one of the medical team that treated Lee Sa-young and was currently a researcher in Nam Woo-jin’s direct team. Wasn’t he supposed to be experimenting with new drugs? Why is he here? Eui-jae tilted his head with a puzzled look and examined Min-jun. His face was pale white, he was covered in cold sweat, and even his hands were trembling.
‘…Something’s wrong.’
Is he sick or something? He doesn’t have a mask, so he can’t stop him to talk. Then, his phone vibrated. Min-jun took out his phone with trembling hands and answered it. He ran to the opposite side of Eui-jae and argued.
“…Why are you calling me now! I’m in the middle of an experiment. I can’t make excuses and come out every time…. You know it’s a big deal if I get caught….”
His voice gradually faded. Even if he listened carefully, he couldn’t hear the other person’s voice. It seemed like they weren’t answering at all. Soon, Min-jun’s presence completely disappeared.
Eui-jae suspiciously looked at the hallway where Min-jun had disappeared. His gut was warning him. There’s definitely something going on….
…But chasing him now is impossible. Repairing the mask is the top priority. Eui-jae forced himself to ignore the uneasiness and headed to the opposite hallway.
Chirp, chirp, chirp. The sound of birds chirping rang out loudly. Eui-jae stared blankly at the wide lawn. Cluck was walking around the lawn, wagging its head, followed by six chick-like birds. Surprisingly, they were real birds with soft feathers, not ceramics.
‘…Aren’t those Monster chicks?’
Of course, they were a bit… bigger than ordinary chicks.
They were definitely chicks with yellow, fluffy feathers and chirping sounds, but they were bigger than Cluck. They were definitely the chicks of a Monster bird. Eui-jae began to search his Monster database….
Hot air poured out of the kiln in the yard. Hong Ye-seong, who was waving a huge fan at the kiln, grumbled.
“How could you break the mask that I made with all my heart? What on earth did you do? Did you have a fistfight with a Monster or something? It shouldn’t break easily!”
He got hit by a paw, so it was a fistfight. Eui-jae changed the subject.
“What are those chick… no, birds?”
“Huh? Oh, I made Cluck some friends.”
“It looks like Cluck is the boss, not the friend.”
“To be exact, I made him some subordinates. Listen, I became friends with a natural person in Jirisan and received six eggs. They were as big as ostrich eggs. Very big.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So, I was going to boil them and eat them…. Suddenly, Cluck slapped me on the cheek!”
“Oh-oh.”
“Then, he didn’t even look at me, who had fallen, and took the eggs. After a while… ta-da, those guys were born. Very cute chicks.”
“…Not Monsters?”
“Huh? You idiot, where do you see a Monster? They’re chicks. Yellow, cute, fluffy, have wings, walk on two feet, and follow Cluck like a boss.”
There were more than one or two things to refute. But Eui-jae decided not to refute anymore.
‘I could debate this for days….’
He decided to just think of them as big chicks. Even if they were Monsters, it would be okay since Cluck seemed to have established discipline properly. Eui-jae checked his phone. He had received a text from his younger brother, Mackerel.
I’ll contact you when the previous location is confirmed, Hyung~^^ Thank you so much for this. If you have any problems with your head, be sure to see a doctor~^^ Tell them that Mackerel will pay for the treatment^^
The Noryangjin Fish Market was to be temporarily relocated to another location. They had prevented the Dungeon Break, but it was impossible to eliminate the source because the Dungeon entrance itself had disappeared. There was no telling when the danger of Whitening would strike. After much deliberation, the Mackerel Brothers, who had heard the story, finally made a decision.
‘It can’t be helped. Ah, it’ll take a long time to set it up again from the beginning. Hyung, you have a lot of Mana Stones saved up, right?’
‘U-uh…. I have enough to make a new one.’
‘Good. Let’s find a place far away from the Dungeon this time. Where would be good….’
‘W-we need to find a place for the merchants to stay….’
‘Therefore! I’m going to stop working as an informant for a while. I can’t even if you ask me, Hyung~ Please understand!’
That’s a good thing. It’s a bit of a shame that he can’t get help from the Mackerel Brothers. Eui-jae lay down on the wooden floor. At that moment, his phone rang. It was an unknown number.
‘There aren’t many people who know this number.’
Who is it? Eui-jae pressed the call button with a suspicious look. He intended to check the voice and hang up. A greasy voice came from the phone.
―Ah, ah~ Is that J’s phone?
“……”
―I have something to talk about~ Is it okay to talk?
Eui-jae frowned slightly. He had definitely heard that voice before.
―Ah, right. I didn’t introduce myself~ I’m Gyu-Gyu.
A smiling face swirled in his head. Gyu-Gyu smiled.
―Well~…. It’s nothing much, I just wanted to work with J, so I contacted you.