By Zephyria 
Pulse rate increased, and signs of physical abnormality detected. Is this an emergency? Please tell me if you want to switch to autonomous driving. If it’s an emergency, I’ll change the destination to a hospital. Is a rescue team needed? Shall I connect you?
Ire ignored it and drove the car, speeding towards the NK Research Institute. As he overtook the cars ahead and floored it to the maximum speed, warning sounds rang out one after another. He slammed the steering wheel with his fist, telling it to shut up, when an unexpected call came through.
He pressed the button, and Kim Ha-yoon’s face appeared on the dashboard screen.
“Where are you?”
Ire stared at the screen with a hardened expression at the calm voice. He felt as if the blood in his body was flowing backward. The fact that he had been rolling around in the same bed with this man until yesterday morning was unbearably painful, and if he could, he wanted to chase after Kim Ha-yoon right now and kill him with his own hands.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“Return to the base. Immediately.”
Ire was so dumbfounded that he burst out laughing. Captain Kim Ha-yoon must have been fully briefed on the situation. His eyes were unwavering, and his relaxed expression was the same. He was so unchanged that Ire almost felt like he had misunderstood.
“I’m asking if you have anything to say to me, you bastard!”
Ire shouted and forcibly ended the call.
But the voice continued to flow out.
“Even if you go to the research institute, nothing will change.”
“Why? Are you afraid your lies will be exposed? What the hell did you do to Matteo! Was the surgery a lie too? Did you enjoy deceiving me so completely? Like an idiot, I didn’t know anything… nothing!”
“Damn it!!!” Ire slammed the steering wheel with his fist as hard as he could, venting his anger. At that moment, a car cut in front of him, and he swerved to avoid it, causing the car to hit the curb with a thud and stop.
“Ire!”
He raised his head and saw that his forehead was cut, and a little blood was flowing. Kim Ha-yoon’s voice, asking if he was okay, was filled with concern. Hypocrite! Double-faced! Piece of trash!
“Are you listening to me?”
Ire hated it terribly, but he knew better than anyone that he needed Captain Kim Ha-yoon now.
So, he barely moved his lips, which wouldn’t open, and called him.
“Don’t kill him….”
“…….”
“Please…. I’ll go and sort things out. I’ll go right now, so… please… just don’t kill him.”
Kim Ha-yoon didn’t answer, and Ire squeezed his eyes shut. Captain, please…. he muttered one last time, and a low breath, whether it was a sigh or something else, flowed from the speaker.
“Alright. But wait there. I’ll send someone right away—”
Ire didn’t listen to the end, pressed the end call button, and started the engine. He rubbed his reddened eyes with the back of his hand and stepped on the accelerator. Kim Ha-yoon called him several more times on the way, but he ignored him to the end.
And when he finally arrived near the research institute, he could sense that things had escalated more than he had thought. A helicopter was circling the building, and soldiers and police were setting up barricades and surrounding all sides.
He hurriedly got out of the car and ran towards them, but Kim Do-cheol, who appeared from somewhere, blocked his way.
“Hey, how did you get here?”
“Where’s Matteo?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why are you here?”
Just then, Major Kim Seon-oh appeared behind Kim Do-cheol. The man, properly dressed in his military uniform, was quite different from the cool figure he had seen in Area C. Major Kim Seon-oh, his smile gone, gestured for Ire to come over. Kim Do-cheol followed.
“What’s this? Major Kim Seon-oh, did you call him?”
“Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s order. Let this kid in and wait for further instructions.”
Kim Do-cheol, who was listening, burst out in anger.
“Then what about the guys inside? Are you telling them to just die if that monster attacks?”
Major Kim Seon-oh didn’t reply and took Ire across the yard and inside. Passing through the crowd, he spotted Kwon So-young among them. The woman who had given him the cake was standing among the researchers in white coats, looking troubled.
Then their eyes met, but Kwon So-young looked away first. Seeing that, Ire was certain. Not only Kwon So-young but also Kim Ha-yoon had known the secret about him from the beginning.
Following Major Kim Seon-oh, he took the elevator to the top floor, where armed soldiers were gathered. The veteran officers exuded a sense of grimness and even ruthlessness. Some of the faces he occasionally exchanged greetings with caught his eye. Unlike usual, their eyes were filled with hostility as they looked at him. Ire felt the same way as he looked at them.
“Major. Why did the order suddenly change from ‘kill’?”
“Shut up. Stay focused and guard well.”
When they reached the door leading to the rooftop, Major Kim Seon-oh took out a pistol from his waist and handed it to Ire. Ire stared silently at the pistol he was offering and shook his head.
“I’m okay….”
“The one inside is your family, isn’t he?”
“…….”
“Take it anyway. You never know what might happen.”
Major Kim Seon-oh forcibly handed him the pistol and gave instructions to the other soldiers guarding the front. They opened the entrance and let Ire in, aiming their guns. The door closed behind him with a thud, and Ire tucked the pistol he was holding into his waistband.
Slowly turning the corner, a familiar figure came into view. The man, wearing a blue suit that seemed to have been provided by the research institute, was standing precariously on the railing. It was Matteo. Ire tried hard to hold back the feeling that tears would burst out.
“Matteo!”
The cloudy eyes, the gleaming fangs visible in the slightly open mouth, and the low growling sound that resonated with each breath made his heart sink to the bottom. There was no life to be found in the eyes that looked at him, but despite that, Ire thought it was fortunate that Matteo was still alive.
“Matteo….”
As Ire approached, Matteo stepped back. The helicopter circled around them incessantly. The soldier on board aimed his gun at them, and Matteo’s gaze lingered there for a moment.
In that gap, Ire climbed onto the railing, closing the distance.
“Matteo….”
It was nothing short of painful to see Matteo baring his teeth and guarding against him. Run away, Michael. Would things have been different if he had listened to his words? He shouldn’t have accepted Kim Ha-yoon’s offer in the first place. No, he shouldn’t have gotten involved at all.
Overwhelmed by the flood of regrets, his emotions spiraled out of control.
“Brother….”
It was a title he hadn’t called out in a long time. One he used to call out often as a child, but one he couldn’t call out after Matteo adopted him as his son.
“Let’s go back… okay? Let’s go home….”
As Ire reached out his hand, Matteo’s eyes slowly closed and opened repeatedly. Matteo frowned, grabbed the right side of his head with his palm, and groaned. Matteo? In Matteo’s eyes as he raised his head, a glimmer of sanity returned.
“Mica…el?”
“Yeah… it’s me. Do you recognize me? Do you know who I am?”
The tears he had been holding back finally fell onto his cheeks. Even though his eyes were cloudy, Ire could see the warmth in his gaze as he looked at him.
“Michael…. Why are you here….”
Holding onto Matteo’s shoulders, who looked confused, Ire continued to meet his gaze.
“Let’s go…. I’ll explain everything when we get there. Let’s go back to our house… okay? Please…. I’m sorry…. I, I was wrong. I should have listened…. I shouldn’t have come here…. We should have gone home together that day….”
Matteo’s face contorted in pain as if he was trying to hold onto his fading consciousness. Seeing that, Ire’s heart broke. Matteo looked out at the world beyond the railing with a face that had no attachment to life, and Ire desperately grabbed his shoulders and pleaded.
“Please don’t do this. You’re the only one I have left now. Don’t leave me. Please….”
Matteo slowly turned his head.
He smiled as he gently wiped Ire’s cheeks, who was crying endlessly.
“Sorry….”
What? In a moment of carelessness, Matteo pushed Ire’s shoulders hard. Unable to maintain his balance, his body fell backward, and he plummeted to the ground in an instant. Dazed, he looked up and saw Matteo being thrown off the railing.
“Matteo!!!”
Instinctively, Ire realized that Matteo had chosen death. He hurriedly got up to grab him, but someone else jumped out ahead of him. The man supported himself on the railing with one hand and reached out his other arm to grab Matteo, who was about to fall.
Running over, Ire saw Matteo, hanging in the air, being grabbed by the collar by Kim Ha-yoon, struggling. To make matters worse, Matteo was frantically biting Kim Ha-yoon’s arm. In a situation where flesh was falling off and blood was flowing, Kim Ha-yoon’s face contorted in pain.
Kim Ha-yoon used all his strength to pull Matteo up and threw him to the ground.
“Damn it!”
As Matteo staggered and tried to get up, armed soldiers poured onto the rooftop. Ire hugged Matteo and shouted. “Don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot!” Then he raised his head and saw Kim Ha-yoon in front of him. Holding his arm, which had been torn to shreds, with an unreadable look in his eyes.