Fl 71

“It’s been a while, Kim Ha-yoon. Are you not sick anymore?”

A person in a white coat approached Kim Ha-yoon, who was fiddling with empty experimental equipment like toys, and spoke to him. She was Seo Yi-soo, who had worked as his mother’s assistant for a long time. Kim Ha-yoon shook his head at her offering a candy. “I don’t like sweets.” With an awkward expression, Seo Yi-soo put the candy in her pocket and then estimated Ha-yoon’s height with her hand.

“You’ve gotten taller? Were you nine this year?”

Ha-yoon nodded. “Yes.”

“Your mom’s busy, so you’re here?”

It wasn’t wrong. Occasionally, his mother would bring young Kim Ha-yoon to the lab, not so much to play with him, but with the hope that her son would grow up to be like her. However, every time Ha-yoon entered the lab, he hated the unique smell of chemicals. He hated his mother even more for neglecting him and focusing only on her work.

But there was one reason why he came here.

“Want to see Yona?”

A smile finally spread across Kim Ha-yoon’s face. When he nodded, Seo Yi-soo tried to touch his head, saying he was cute. When he subtly avoided her, she added that he was prickly like someone she knew.

Following Seo Yi-soo, they arrived at a quarantine zone away from the lab. On the way, Infected were visible everywhere through the glass windows. Among them were Infected with bulging bellies, but strangely, he had never seen any babies born.

The quarantine zone was a large space with quiet classical music playing and all sides sealed with glass. It reminded him of the large aquarium he had visited as a child. The aquarium had sharks, rays, and all sorts of fish, but not here.

Instead of fish, there were beds, a TV, and a small dining table, and a woman in a white dress was sitting blankly at the table, watching TV as always. She couldn’t take her eyes off the screen, which changed every moment, with a blank expression.

“She seems to be in a good mood today. Don’t you think?”

That expression? Where?

Just then, Seo Yi-soo received a call. After telling him to stay here and not touch anything, Seo Yi-soo hurriedly went downstairs. Seeing her rush off, the person looking for her must be his mother.

Ha-yoon squatted in front of the glass and tapped it with his fingertips. The woman watching TV turned her head and looked at Ha-yoon. The woman was an Experiment Subject named Yona, and she had a special connection with him. To be exact, she was the benefactor who saved his life. He was alive thanks to her.

His mother told him not to feel grateful to her. The only people you should be grateful to are the doctors and researchers, she said. Yona should be accepted only as a resource. She even seemed displeased that the researchers had given her the name Yona. He couldn’t understand everything because he was young, but he didn’t think his mother was always right.

Ha-yoon breathed on the glass, fogging it up, and slowly wrote letters.

Hello?

Yona, who had been staring, got up from her seat and came right up to him. Her cloudy eyes and sharp fangs were no different from other Infected. But his mother said that Yona was special. She would show them something beyond what they had ever experienced, he had heard her explaining to his father. That day, his mother looked unusually excited.

A moment later, Yona gently touched the letters written on the glass with her hand, as if she was trying to read them. Then she lowered herself and closely examined Ha-yoon’s face.

Even in his young mind, he thought she had a very beautiful face. He didn’t know how she had become Infected or where she came from, but she must have been someone loved by everyone.

Ha-yoon’s gaze now went down to her belly. Seeing her belly, which was noticeably larger than before, he thought the baby would be coming out soon. Unlike other Experiment Subjects, would he be able to see her child?

Ha-yoon looked around and then reached into his bulging pants pocket and took something out. It was a palm-sized stuffed doll, which he had stolen from Kwon So-young.

“Want it?”

When he showed it to her in front of her eyes, she showed interest. He pushed the doll inside through the feeding slot. Yona stared at the doll placed at her feet and then bent down to pick it up. He had heard that she sometimes spoke, but Ha-yoon had never seen her speak.

“It’s my present. Give it to the baby.”

Yona fiddled with the doll and then put it in the pocket in front of her dress. It seemed like she liked it, and young Ha-yoon smiled brightly. Not only that, but he poured out the words in his heart with excitement.

“Have you decided on a name for the baby? Should I come up with a name? I’m good at writing. My mom wants me to be a doctor, but I like writing. I like books too, and…”

“Kim Ha-yoon.” At the stern voice, he turned around and saw his mother sending him a cold look. She approached him without hesitation, crossed her arms, and stared silently at Yona inside the glass. When Yona met her eyes, she avoided her gaze and returned to the chair she had been sitting on.

“Did you give her the doll?”

“Yes…”

“Don’t do useless things like that next time.”

After saying that, his mother turned around. “Follow me. I have something new to show you today.” Ha-yoon let out a quiet sigh. Just as he was about to move his heavy steps, Yona, who had been watching TV, turned her head.

Her lips, which had been tightly closed until now, slowly moved.

“Thank you…”

“What were you thinking, going up there?”

At Kwon So-young’s question, Kim Ha-yoon slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed all along. Kwon So-young was pacing around him, breathing heavily. He tried to move his arm, but a throbbing pain surged through him. He was getting painkillers, but the bite wound was more painful than he thought.

After the accident, Kwon So-young took Kim Ha-yoon to the hospital, stitched up the wound, and hurriedly administered the virus treatment. The treatment had a 90% survival rate if administered within 30 minutes of being bitten by an Infected, and that probability decreased as time passed.

Listening to the explanation, Kim Ha-yoon thought she had done something unnecessary. She knew that even if he was bitten, he wouldn’t turn into one of them.

“It’s over now. She knows everything. It’s obvious she won’t cooperate.”

“Shut up and get out.”

“Just one question. Why didn’t you kill him?”

“……”

“You said you would kill him.”

“……”

“Is the reason you changed your mind because of that kid?”

“……”

“Kim Ha-yoon.”

“Get out. Stop nagging.”

Kwon So-young sighed and shook her head. The phone in her gown was ringing non-stop. Not only were there calls from home, but also protests from various institutions were pouring in. From being summoned to the parliament to explain the situation to pressure to immediately close the lab. In the midst of all this, Kwon So-young was going crazy with Kim Ha-yoon in that state.

“Anyway, I can’t give up. I believe you feel the same way.”

After Kwon So-young left, Kim Ha-yoon got up from his seat. He didn’t like the IV line stuck in his arm, so he pulled it out, and a nurse immediately came in.

“You can’t take that out. You need to rest,”

Without paying attention, he got out of bed, picked up his coat, and went outside. Lieutenant Park was standing guard in front of the hospital room. When he headed towards the elevator without a word, Lieutenant Park followed. He went up to the roof, rummaged through his coat pocket, took out a cigarette, and looked for a light.

“Damn it. Where did I lose it?”

Lieutenant Park, who had been watching, came over and lit it for him, then stepped back.

Leaning his back against the railing, he took a deep drag of the cigarette and exhaled into the air. He stared silently at the smoke scattering in the air and then called Lieutenant Park.

“What about that kid?”

“After separating him from Lee Seon-jae, he was quarantined in the intelligence agency. He wants to meet Captain.”

He turned around, crossed his arms on the railing, and looked at the city. The end of the cigarette burned red and turned into ash, which flew away in the wind. What annoyed him more than the failed plan was the action he hadn’t even anticipated.

“Shit. What was it about that little brat? Why did I go all the way there and get my arm bitten off? Besides, I can’t forget the look he gave me at the end. It was pure hatred.”

“I feel like shit.”

After muttering to himself, he threw the cigarette he was holding on the ground and crushed it with his foot. The sky was unusually blue and clear, and the wind was blowing coolly, making it a perfect day for a picnic. But his mood was no different from a humid and gloomy rainy season.

As he walked towards the entrance, Lieutenant Park followed at a distance.

“Prepare the car, I’m going to be discharged.”

“Now, sir?”

“Since he wants to meet me, I have to go in person.”

Then, suddenly, he stopped walking and turned around.

“How do I look?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do I look haggard?”

“……”

Seeing Lieutenant Park’s embarrassed expression, Kim Ha-yoon let out a quiet sigh. “Shit. I was trying to get some sympathy, but it’s no use. Maybe I should have fallen with Lee Seon-jae.”