By Zephyria The first thing he encountered was a pair of transparent green eyes, like glass beads.
“He’s awake.”
Immediately, several faces popped into his view. Min-gi Seo, the boy, Jung-bin, Bae Won-woo, Kang Ji-soo, Honeybee, Yoon Ga-eul, even Cluck. Everyone wore a serious expression, and Ga-eul was even crying, her face red.
“What the hell is going on—”
Eui-jae stopped speaking and touched his face. Thankfully, he was still wearing the mask. He slowly sat up, his mind racing. He clearly went into the Fragment in Min-gi Seo-ssi’s shadow. But where was he…
‘A hospital room?’
It was the Seowon Guild’s hospital room. He couldn’t understand what was going on. Noticing his puzzled expression, Ga-eul blew her nose into a tissue and mumbled in a nasal voice.
“I’m sorry, the connection was lost… and you wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I tried…”
Summarizing her sobbing voice, it went something like this: Whether it was because Cluck climbed on him, or if there was another problem. This time, the connection with J’s consciousness was completely severed. Usually, he should wake up immediately when the connection was lost, but this time, there was no sign of it. Reconnection didn’t work, and he wouldn’t wake up. Ga-eul was greatly panicked. So, she desperately knocked on the shadow, looking for someone to help…
Min-gi Seo rubbed his stomach with a pale face.
“My stomach still… Ugh.”
“I, I’m sorry. I was too urgent…”
“It’s… alright. Next time, please… tell me over the phone… Ugh.”
Min-gi Seo covered his mouth and ran out of the hospital room. Jung-bin smiled awkwardly. Min-gi Seo apparently vomited in front of the Director and Jung-bin. Anyway, as soon as Ga-eul escaped from the shadow, she shouted to Jung-bin and the Director.
‘J-ssi won’t wake up!’
It was natural that it became an emergency. Jung-bin carried J, who was still retching, and Ga-eul ran after him, not caring if her ability was exposed. In the meantime, the emergency contact network was activated, and Bae Won-woo and Kang Ji-soo came to the Seowon Guild as guardians in place of the absent Lee Sa-young.
‘Then where’s Honeybee?’
As Eui-jae’s gaze reached her, Honeybee tucked her hair behind her ear and replied primly.
“I came because I had business with Doctor. But Doctor collapsed, and I heard you collapsed too, so I came to see.”
Jung-bin asked cautiously.
“Are you alright? If your stamina is reaching its limit, please tell us comfortably.”
“I’m really okay. It’s not something to be so overdramatic about…”
“Overdramatic!”
Bae Won-woo shouted, then received a sharp glare. He cleared his throat and said with a serious face.
“J-nim, you haven’t rested properly, whether in the past or now, have you? You just keep running around doing this and that. Everyone is worried.”
The people surrounding him nodded. Bae Won-woo scratched his head awkwardly.
“We may not be of much help… but we still want to help. There’s too much to do for you to do it all alone.”
Eui-jae looked around at the people. Every one of them had warm eyes. Eyes that were both familiar and unfamiliar. He wanted to say something. But no sound came out. Eui-jae moved his lips several times, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth.
Then, a warm hand rested on his shoulder. Jung-bin was smiling gently.
“Quite reliable, aren’t they?”
“……”
“In the past, J-nim had to carry all the burdens… but now there are many people to share them with.”
“……”
“You don’t have to solve everything alone, J. We’ll help you.”
Wind leaked in through the half-open window.
Before he knew it, the surrounding scenery had changed to the emergency staircase of the old Awakened Management Bureau. Sitting a few steps away from Jung-bin on the emergency staircase. Just as he was twirling the cigarette in his hand, he heard a noisy chatter from above the stairs. J raised his head. They were Hunters he had encountered several times during missions. They recognized him and waved. J awkwardly waved back.
Come to think of it, there were people he could call comrades back then too….
Eui-jae fiddled with the thin white blanket and asked.
“Do you happen to have any secured specimens of the big-mouthed Monster?”
Honeybee, who was twirling her hair with her finger, nodded.
“I caught that and gave it to Doctor.”
“Is the corpse still there?”
“Well, I heard they were going to taxidermy it for research… It would be faster to ask this kid.”
The boy, who received the gaze, answered clearly.
“Yes. We have taxidermied and preserved the corpse for data preservation purposes.”
“Then can I see it…”
As Eui-jae tried to get out of bed, several hands rushed in and pushed him back onto the bed. Eui-jae’s eyes widened. What? Bae Won-woo sighed.
“Oh my, you have no learning ability…”
Jung-bin, who was holding his shoulder, smiled gently.
“J-nim, what did I say earlier?”
“No, I have to see it myself…”
“J-nim?”
“No, but this is really…”
“It’s not allowed.”
The pressure from the smiling face was immense. Damn it, he appreciated the concern, but this was too much overprotection. Eui-jae squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“I have to go inside that thing’s stomach!”
A terrible silence fell.
The hands that had been holding his body one by one fell away. Honeybee, shaking off the hand that had been holding Eui-jae, muttered.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just restrain him? He doesn’t seem to be in his right mind yet.”
“Hmm, I’ll consider it.”
“Please take care of it. I have somewhere to go.”
“…Are you going to meet that person?”
“I even got permission, okay? Don’t even think about catching me.”
She waved her hand and left the hospital room altogether. Kang Ji-soo muttered.
“He must have had a hard time…”
He felt the pitiful gaze. Wow, this is driving me crazy. Eui-jae desperately looked at his last salvation, his last lifeline, Student Ga-eul.
“Student Ga-eul, I saw it.”
“Wh, what?”
“The way to go to the Whitehole. I saw it while the connection with Student Ga-eul was lost!”
“Th, through the Monster’s stomach…?”
Perhaps she imagined the scene. Ga-eul’s face turned pale, and she took a step back. Eui-jae let out a silent scream. He felt like the two-eyed man who came to the village of the cyclops.
For the first time in his life, Cha Eui-jae missed Hong Ye-seong. If he were here, he would have agreed with this crazy talk. If he wanted to escape, he would have taken out all sorts of tools. Eui-jae felt the hands laying him down and covering him with a blanket, and repeated a name in his mind.
‘Hong Ye-seong.’
He needed Hong Ye-seong. Right now.
Honeybee entered the dark room with her arms crossed. Beyond the iron bars that filled the room, someone was tied to a chair. Perhaps sensing the presence, the person tied to the chair slowly raised her head. Tangled brown hair covered half of her face.
“Ah…. I was wondering when you’d come.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up. The crooked round glasses lens shone brightly. It was Ga-young. After being caught trying to infiltrate the Seowon Guild, she was locked in the room where Matthew had been isolated.
Ga-young laughed, her shoulders shaking.
“I saw the advertisement, Honeybee-ssi.”
Thud!
Honeybee kicked the chair placed opposite the iron bars. She went right up to the bars, grabbed them, and whispered.
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense and just answer the question.”
“You’re so violent…”
“Since when?”
“What?”
“Since when did you seduce Matthew?”
“Hehe….”
Ga-young laughed, her shoulders shaking.
“Seduce, that’s a strange way to put it…. He was always on our side.”
“Don’t talk crap! Why would Matthew move with a cult like you?”
“Well, I know more about Mok Taeo than you do? He may have been a good colleague… but was he really a good person?”
At the sarcastic voice, a vein popped out on the back of Honeybee’s hand. The bars she was holding in her hand creaked and warped. Ga-young laughed loudly.
“Ahahaha! What, you didn’t see Mok Taeo as some kind of saint, did you? A responsible Guild Leader? A man who’s strict but has a warm side, something like that? Haha… Ah, you really have no eye for people.”
The laughter continued for a long time. After a long time, the laughter stopped, and Ga-young sighed softly as if she had run out of energy and tilted her head. Honeybee put her hands in her pockets, bent her waist slightly, and matched her eye level with Ga-young.
“Matthew hates Awakened.”
“……”
“Is that why he was with you guys? To eliminate Doomsday with human power, and to eliminate Awakened?”
Ha, Ga-young scoffed. She raised the corners of her mouth as much as possible and sneered.
“Overcoming Doomsday with human power? That human doesn’t care about that kind of thing.”
“……”
“He doesn’t care if he dies or not, that human. Drugs? He injected them himself, too?”
“……”
“Have you ever seen a fire only burn one place? It spreads everywhere….”
Ga-young suddenly raised her head. Her brown eyes gleamed brightly.
“The human who wants the world to be destroyed more than anyone else is that human, Mok Taeo!”