By Zephyria 
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‘Solar City conducted several classified research projects independently. No matter how closed an institution the researchers were, for those with the proper qualifications, the doors were practically open.’
‘So, Goryeo City would be the same?’
‘When I actually spent the money and time to verify it, I found that a facility with a similar concept existed here as well.’
I don’t know how she guessed that T-47 would be inside.
What flickered in her eyes was clearly a faint sense of anticipation and certainty.
‘When Solar City met its end, countless things shared that fate. Systems built over a long time, densely packed buildings, roads stretching out like veins, people… everyone thinks everything vanished. But those who survived know. Humans are as clever and tenacious as stray dogs; if something is important, there will always be someone who seeks it and someone who leaves it behind.’
People who sifted through the ashes to sweep up the belongings of the deceased and embezzle undamaged research data.
Olga presumed that her lover’s project had also fallen into someone’s hands. That presumption turned into certainty only after more than twenty years had passed.
What was contained in her bracelet was not just a final farewell. The lover who vanished along with Solar City had left behind his footsteps.
[Olga, I do not wish to drag you into a world like this, but should something happen in an unfathomable future, I hope this legacy can protect you, if no one else.]
With a single gesture from Olga, the encrypted file opened. Documents densely packed with the difficult-to-decipher language of Solar City.
Only after Joo-oh, who had been watching with great interest, cut in and attempted a translation was it possible to guess the source of the secret.
‘Experiment Report No. 42. Following the application of Report No. 38, the reaction speed of Crystal Blue has increased exponentially. It is judged to have passed a kind of singularity, and the range of energy increase and decrease has begun to be observable by the naked eye…’
‘And?’
‘…In preparation for contact with [redacted], some samples for future research have been stored in chamber 3.’
‘That’s a perfect translation.’
A strange light flickered in Olga’s solemn eyes. Holding a secret that could threaten her life if leaked, she looked energized rather than terrified.
Perhaps the now-deceased leadership of Solar City knew that this data could be poison to her. Nevertheless, wanting to create a lifeline for the worst possible moment, they embedded the information in the accessories they shared.
‘Tamjeunggwan. This is where I believe the target is located. The exact name wasn’t in the documents, but if things flowed as that person arranged, no matter which places they passed through, the final destination could only be there.’
Only then did I realize her certainty came from faith. Respect for her lover’s intelligence and ability. And trust.
Thanks to that, it was good that the traces of Solar City flowed and eventually reached Mu-hae’s ears, but…
“I wish Jin Mu-hae would lie down with me.”
“….”
“I wish Jin Mu-hae would lie down next to me.”
“Shut up.”
No matter how I thought about it, it was difficult to sneak into a facility that even general researchers likely couldn’t access.
Unless five hungry Joo-ohs gathered to build a security system, one wouldn’t be able to even linger nearby without a specific purpose.
“Jin Mu-hae is great. Jin Mu-hae is cool. Jin Mu-hae…”
“Sigh…”
Leaving behind Joo-oh, who was still dying of affection to a shuddering degree, Jin Mu-hae finally walked over to the sofa.
Anyway, this damn guy can’t stand seeing someone in a serious state. As he sat deeply in the seat, the guy, who hadn’t even taken off his jacket, snuggled up to him.
“Change your clothes.”
“Mmm. Jin Mu-hae. Hmmm.”
“Stop biting.”
Telling him to stop biting didn’t mean he should lick. Joo-oh began to lick his neck and the corners of his mouth to his heart’s content.
Mu-hae felt his ears getting hot for no reason, so he pushed the idiot’s head away and grabbed his left wrist.
He felt it was time to get in touch after a long while. Gu-reum, with whom he hadn’t exchanged a single word for over two months.
Had she been waiting for his message? No matter how hectic things had been, he felt a creeping worry about whether his request would be ignored due to his ungrateful behavior.
[Today 21:20]
Fortunately, a reply came. A very brief schedule notice without so much as a greeting or various questions.
Mu-hae killed the remaining time by looking through the photos of Olga’s documents. Whenever an unrecognizable word appeared, the idling Joo-oh would pop his head out and read it.
“Defense. It must be defense.”
“Do you even know what ‘defense’ means?”
“Def… def… preparation.”
I know now that Joo-oh is not a normal human. But even for an Aberrant, how did he memorize the language of a city thousands of miles away so thoroughly?
Perhaps Aberrants converse with each other in all sorts of languages, growling and clicking.
Mu-hae imagined a three-meter-tall giant shadow running through a field while babbling in a language near Solar City.
And he immediately erased it from his mind. It was truly a useless thought.
“Before Kanrano, where were you?”
At the sudden question, Joo-oh’s eyes widened. A moment later, his pupils shifted elsewhere to the extent that the whites of his eyes were clearly visible.
He was blatantly avoiding eye contact.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Then why are you making those eyes?”
“Not Solar City. Probably?”
He used to pretend to be a Solar City Experiment… Just as I was feeling indignant, Mu-hae realized.
Joo-oh had never once uttered with his own mouth that he was an Experiment or that he came from Solar City.
I had simply misunderstood. Because the circumstances seemed that way. He exerted strange powers in a human form and rambled about a past that would be incomprehensible if not within human civilization.
‘I was just watching. The monitor…’
‘Monitor?’
‘…I wanted to see Jin Mu-hae.’
There’s no way a monitor would be placed in the middle of an open field outside the city.
Now that I’ve realized his identity, his words and actions in the past are becoming increasingly suspicious.
“It’s 19 minutes.”
In the meantime, luckily for him, the appointment time with Gu-reum arrived. Mu-hae tried to compose his suspicious gaze and uncrossed his legs.
—It’s been a while.
As soon as the connection was made, a mechanical voice he had heard once before greeted him.
It seemed Gu-reum’s unpredictable collection of modulated voices had come to an end. Listening to the humming voice, Mu-hae gave a light greeting.
“That’s how it turned out. As you know, something came up.”
—Even for a mutually complementary contract, don’t you only signal me when it’s convenient for you?
“You could have contacted me first.”
—That is true. You’ve grown a lot.
After throwing back an answer that could be either a compliment or an insult, Gu-reum was silent for a while. Fearing that the connection might be severed if she got upset over such a thing, Mu-hae kept his mouth shut and waited quietly.
—The fact that you sent a message like this means you need help again.
“Some debts have piled up due to recent accidents. I accepted a request to pay them off, but it seems like it won’t be very profitable.”
—I don’t know if you remember, but I only trade regarding Return flight matters.
“Coincidentally, a Return flight is involved. I didn’t intend it, but I think I’ve reached the core.”
—…So, the main point?
“I want to visit Tamjeunggwan.”
Oops. The waveform graph stopped again. Just as he was feeling awkward, wondering if he had said something too excessive without laying the groundwork, a buzzing, electric-like modulated voice let out a very small sigh.
—It’s pointless to ask how you found out about that place.
“Is that so.”
—You probably heard about it vaguely somewhere and are throwing a tantrum to be let in without even knowing what kind of facility it is.
The person who always seemed to be waiting to hand over work and test the waters was now not even hiding her disbelief.
“I heard it’s an important research institution in the central hub.”
—You should know that’s not what I was asking.
“I didn’t know your father belonged to such an institution.”
—Because he never did. Do you understand now how absurd your request is?
Her tone sounded more irritable than usual. For Gu-reum, who rarely showed emotion, this was an unusual reaction.
Tap. Tap. Tap. A noise like the tip of a pen hitting a wooden board mixed in. She seemed to be tapping her desk rhythmically again.
If she could crash an old device in the Jaegang District, she should be able to at least get someone into a heavily secured building.
Faced with an opportunity that would be impossible to attempt without Gu-reum, Mu-hae shut his mouth and pretended to be obedient again.
He thought he heard some unpleasant muttering about him becoming more cunning mixed in between the sibilants, but he ignored it.
—Only designated personnel enter and leave that place. The moment someone is slipped in, word will reach parties we don’t want. So, you won’t be able to enter proudly this time either.
“I can provide any pseudonym or forged identity.”
—Let me add. You won’t be able to enter proudly as a ‘human.’
One eyebrow twitched at the ominous and ambiguous answer. Joo-oh, who had pulled up a chair and sat next to him, started showing strange squirming again.
When Mu-hae gripped his shoulder tightly to tell him to calm down, Joo-oh shook his head and made a fuss. Just as he wondered what the guy had eaten wrong this time, the waveform graph spiked.
—Tamjeunggwan replenishes items needed for research twice a month. It should be about time they need new research materials.
The voice that sounded displeased until a moment ago suddenly took on a subtle hint of amusement.
As if she had pretended to be grumpy just for this, the usual emotionless mechanical voice echoed faintly through the wide space of the underground hideout.
* * *
“I can’t believe people don’t suspect someone wearing a mask like this.”
“Jin Mu-hae. I think you’d be good at cooking meat.”
The restraint mask covering his face felt unreliable. Jin Mu-hae clicked his tongue silently in the uncomfortable back seat of the transport vehicle.
Joo-oh had been gleeful for a while, for some reason. The yellow jumpsuit suited him disgustingly well, regardless of time or place.
“28067. It’s a pretty number.”
“Where exactly is it pretty?”
“It’s easy to remember.”
As he touched the other’s chest, the handcuffs tightening his wrists rattled and followed along.
That was the prisoner number attached to Joo-oh’s clothes. He was so happy to have received a similar number that Mu-hae couldn’t even scold him out of sheer absurdity.
Jin Mu-hae was currently being taken to a correctional facility. Considering the things he had secretly done, being caught a few times wouldn’t have been enough, but fortunately, he was currently under a strange identity, framed for a crime he knew nothing about.
“Don’t forget. Fraud and hit-and-run murder.”
“Of course! Jin Mu-hae is assault, illegal gambling, and murder!”
Joo-oh nodded as if he remembered perfectly. He even shook his clothes, making the yellow patch clearly visible.
The preparation was perfect, but for some reason, he felt like sighing. Mu-hae shook his tightly bound wrists a few times and then leaned back against the hard seat as best he could.
He had steeled himself to do whatever it took to enter Tamjeunggwan. Still, he never imagined he would be transported tied up and wearing a prisoner’s uniform like this.
204 – I Became an Anomaly in a Dead Game