By Zephyria 
“Let’s go. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“Did you forget what the boss said? He told us to wait quietly until he returns.”
“Does it make sense to just sit here doing nothing? What if something went wrong? What if he was captured and tortured, then bit his tongue and died?”
“Baek Seol. That won’t happen. Unless he changed his mind and went back to his family.”
Baek Seol became gloomy at Gilsu’s words. He wasn’t wrong. Although he didn’t show it, Baek Seol knew that Ire missed his family. He thought that if the district a bastards offered good conditions, he might waver.
“What if that’s the case?”
Will the organization collapse again like this? If the leader and deputy leader voluntarily went over to district a as those bastards said, similar things could happen at any time. In the midst of that, Gangsan interjected.
“You’re all too much. Don’t you know him after seeing him all this time? Ire, no, the leader would never betray us. I know because I’ve been through it with him since I was little!”
“I agree. We were the ones who brought him out of district a, but the subsequent decisions were made by the leader himself. So let’s wait and see.”
Amidst the divided opinions, a strange car appeared on the surveillance camera screen that Jang-cheon was watching. It was installed at the central entrance of area c, a place that was not usually used. Everyone looked tense, then belatedly discovered Ire. Their joy was short-lived as they realized that someone completely unexpected had come with him, and their expressions hardened.
“Why did they come together?”
Gilsu tilted his head, puzzled, and rubbed his chin.
“Could the leader have been taken hostage?”
“Where’s the crazy bastard who would drive a hostage around?”
The four, deep in thought, grabbed their weapons and went outside the lab. Logging work was in full swing away from the lab. The lush trees were perfect for hiding, but they were an obstacle to the growth of other plants.
While waiting for Ire to come, the four brought up various speculations about the situation.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s suspicious.”
“What is?”
“Aren’t they really… you know… like that?”
“Baek Seol. You’re making things up again.”
Jang-cheon, who had been listening quietly, nodded.
“I thought it was strange too. Gangsan, you felt it too, right?”
As Gangsan also seemed to agree, Gilsu’s expression darkened. Then Baek Seol stepped forward to check. When asked how to check, he pondered for a moment and snapped his fingers.
“It’s called the ‘Jealousy Inducement Operation.'”
“What’s that?”
“One of us goes to the leader and kisses him, and we observe Kim Ha-yoon’s reaction.”
The faces of the three listening distorted. Who’s going to do it? As soon as they asked, Baek Seol raised his hand demurely and smiled slyly.
“This body will do it.”
Gilsu burst out in anger.
“That’s a stupid thing to do!”
“Is there anything more certain than this?”
“Don’t fulfill your personal desires. Do you still have feelings for the leader?”
“If you don’t like it, you do it.”
Gilsu’s gaze, flustered, lost its way. Looking at Jang-cheon and Gangsan’s expressions, they seemed to be secretly expecting it. He absolutely had to say he didn’t want to, but if he did, Baek Seol might really do something crazy, and he didn’t like that either. After agonizing, Gilsu took a deep breath and thrust his fist forward.
“Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”
Even though the car was kept in the basement of the inn, it was covered in a layer of white dust. After roughly wiping it off, the time was well past lunchtime. After buying bread and drinks nearby, Ire got into the car. When he handed the bread to Kim Ha-yoon, he shook his injured hand.
“You have to feed me. I’m a patient.”
“You have a hand left.”
“What about driving?”
Even though the car was driving itself, he acted shamelessly. Ire told him to not eat if he didn’t want to and bit into the bread. He didn’t know when it was made, but it was dry. He glanced at Kim Ha-yoon, who was only staring straight ahead. He tore off the end of the bread and handed it over, and he opened his mouth instead of his hand. Reluctantly, he put it in, and his expression immediately distorted.
“It’s weird?”
Ire put the bread to his nose and sniffed. It smelled sour, but he thought it was edible enough. When he brought it to his mouth again, Kim Ha-yoon snatched the bread and threw it out the window.
“Why are you throwing away something that’s perfectly fine?”
“Perfectly fine? It smells rotten.”
“I’m okay with it.”
“You have a good eye, but your sense of taste is terrible.”
“Do I have a good eye?”
“You thought I was handsome when you saw me, right?”
“…….”
“That’s proof that it’s good.”
Crazy bastard. After cursing inwardly, he swallowed the bread that was left in his mouth. Afterwards, he looked for shops that were doing business while moving, but most of them were closed and cleaning up due to the sandstorm that had blown in last night.
Then he arrived at a place in district b that sold high-quality bread. While waiting in the car, Kim Ha-yoon personally selected bread and put it in a bag, and also bought milk. After getting in the car, he cut the bread into easy-to-eat pieces and handed it over, and even opened the milk lid himself.
“Chew carefully. You have to eat well to grow up.”
His attitude, as if he were dealing with a child, made him frown involuntarily.
“Don’t treat me like a kid.”
“I know. You’re not a kid. That’s why you did all sorts of things with me.”
When he subtly touched his earlobe, Ire recoiled in disgust, and he heard a low laugh, and soon the car started. As they left district b, an even more desolate landscape came into view. Before he knew it, the sun was beginning to set, and the closer they got to area c, the more he thought.
How many times had he passed through this place? After running away, he initially hid like a dead mouse on the outskirts of area c. Then he moved to area c. He knew that it was untouched by people and that Kim Ha-yoon was the only one who could pass through.
He mainly moved during times when reconnaissance planes were unlikely to be in the air. It was much easier on days when it rained heavily or when there was a severe sandstorm like yesterday. Since there were many infected, it would not be easy to distinguish them from people even if they were caught on a reconnaissance plane.
“I kept looking for you, not knowing you were hiding here.”
Ire didn’t ask why at Kim Ha-yoon’s words. The reason was obvious. He was a human who only thought of taking him and using him for experiments. He didn’t want to hear anymore, so he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. He didn’t like Kim Ha-yoon, but he knew that he had to maintain a proper line until he brought his family.
Let’s use what we can. Whether it’s emotions or material things.
In the meantime, the car slows down. When he opened his eyes, he was near area c. When Kim Ha-yoon’s car was recognized at the entrance, the door opened automatically. Seeing that, Kim Ha-yoon didn’t start and looked at Ire.
“Do you guys come in and out of here too?”
That couldn’t be. They had broken and remodeled the opposite side of the district to create an entrance, but he had no intention of telling him. Fortunately, Kim Ha-yoon didn’t ask any more questions. As the car passed through the dense forest, animals passed by one by one.
Looking around, the reticles twinkled between the vine-covered buildings. His colleagues would be on high alert at the visit of a strange guest. As if to show off, Kim Ha-yoon pressed a button and the car cover opened completely.
“Why are you opening it?”
“Your subordinates are aiming at me.”
He was quick to notice. He looked up at the straight trees and took a deep breath.
“How many are there in total?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“How did you find the guys who were kicked out of district a?”
Ire stubbornly closed his mouth. His question didn’t seem to have any intention. It was nothing more and nothing less than simple curiosity. That’s because Kim Ha-yoon was the kind of person who could wipe this place out in an instant if he wanted to.
“Be nice to me.”
“Why should I?”
“That way you’ll have a lot to get out of it.”
He naturally touched Ire’s cheek. Do you know what pillow talk is? Try to coax me well and get what you want.
He didn’t know what nonsense he was talking about, but it wasn’t a pleasant thing to hear. When he slapped his hand away and glared at him, he chuckled and laughed as if it was funny. At the same time, the lab appeared in the distance. The car stopped and he was about to get out immediately to take his luggage, but Kim Ha-yoon grabbed his arm.
“Wait a minute before you go.”
Just in time, Gilsu, Jang-cheon, Baek Seol, and Gangsan appeared in the distance. He felt strange at the sight of Gilsu running over with a bright smile and open arms.
“Leader! Do you know how worried I was! If I didn’t hear from you by today, I was going to chase after you right away!”
Unlike usual, his gestures were awkward as if he was acting. He strode up and grabbed Ire’s face with both hands. Before he could react, his lips came close in an instant, and Ire’s eyes widened.
At that moment, with a click, a silver gun barrel pressed against Gilsu’s temple.
“Get off.”
Ire turned around in surprise at the threatening voice. Kim Ha-yoon was aiming a pistol with an annoyed face. Gilsu also felt his body stiffen. Where did he get the gun? No, more than that, why is he suddenly pointing a gun and acting up?
Without hearing any further explanation, Gilsu raised both hands to shoulder height and smiled awkwardly.
“Whoa, calm down. It’s a joke. Jang-cheon and Baek Seol told me to,”
Gilsu turned around, but Jang-cheon, Baek Seol, and Gangsan had already disappeared.
“Wow, you traitorous bastards!”
Gilsu stomped and ran towards the lab, and Ire was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events and only blinked. Meanwhile, Kim Ha-yoon turned around and sat down with a displeased expression. He was quite threatening as he rested his injured arm on the steering wheel and rubbed his lips with the hand holding the gun.
“Put the gun away…”
“Why are you standing still?”
“What?”
“Another guy was trying to kiss you.”
“…….”
Ire blinked slowly. So, is he pulling out a gun now because of Gilsu? In fact, he doesn’t even know if he was trying to kiss him. Why would Gilsu have a reason to kiss him? He ignored it and was about to get out of the car, but his shoulder was grabbed roughly. When he turned around, Kim Ha-yoon smiled with a fierce glint in his eyes.
“Only give me the compensation. Got it?”