By Zephyria Jin Mu-hae went down the glittering stairs as if possessed. One, two, he counted the steps in his head, and when he turned around, Joo-oh was following him without a sound.
His eyes, catching the light, gleamed eerily. Perhaps it was because he was looking up at him, but there was something chilling about his sculpted, beautiful face.
“Keep going down.”
Joo-oh gestured as if asking what he was doing. Mu-hae twitched his eyebrows slightly, then turned his head again and headed down.
The stairs continued endlessly until they had descended at least two or three floors. The two finally found a tightly closed entrance.
Diring-!
Mu-hae unlocked it with his Link Watch, and a space that had been buried for a long time revealed itself before his eyes.
Paat, the surroundings brightened all at once. The vast underground floor began to turn, humming faintly.
The first thing that caught his eye was a huge electronic panel occupying an entire side of the wall. It was flickering as if it had just been activated, and a gauge marked with percentages was filling up at the bottom.
Except for the slightly stuffy air, the underground was so clean that it was hard to believe it had been abandoned for so long.
“Wow.”
Joo-oh, who followed him in, exclaimed. Mu-hae nodded slightly without realizing it.
He never imagined that such a decent place was hidden inside. He didn’t know how much money had been spent, but there were devices of unknown use attached here and there, and even comfortable-looking chairs and rest areas were provided in the right places.
Only the withered plant in the corner made him feel the passage of time. When Joo-oh ran excitedly, the preserved-like grass stalk crumbled like ashes in the wind of his collar.
―♪♬
An electronic sound rang, signaling the start of the machine, and a grasp screen appeared on the front panel.
A calm, rippling open sea and a landscape of crimson sunset pouring over it. The setting sun on the horizon was astonishingly beautiful.
Natural scenery, especially such seascapes, is a legacy lost by humans in the Blue Energy era.
No one in this world now goes out of their safe Comfort zone to sail the sea by boat.
“Return flight…”
As if recognizing Mu-hae’s muttering voice, the rippling screen moved on to the next. The light disappeared from the large wall, and the remaining panels, except for what was absolutely necessary, returned to ordinary interior materials.
Now, all Mu-hae could see were a few icons and a search box for the Index function. His Link Watch on his wrist vibrated, revealing its presence, as if it had been linked all along.
It seemed that the functions he had been operating through the Watch could be used here as they were.
“Jin Mu-hae. Here.”
Joo-oh called out to Mu-hae, who was lost in thought. He even tugged at his sleeve, trying to drag him to the other side.
“Sit here.”
He took Mu-hae to an armchair a few steps away. It was placed right in front of the wall, and anyone could see that it was a seat for the screen user.
Jin Mu-hae was about to ignore him again, but he sat obediently on the chair, seeing his face looking so earnest.
As the soft and comfortable sensation wrapped around his spine, a strange sense of ownership pressed down on his chest, as if he had ascended the throne.
Mu-hae crossed his left ankle over his knee and leaned back a little more comfortably. Joo-oh’s eyes, watching him, were filled with extremely happy emotions.
“It’s the same. I like it so much.”
He didn’t know what was the same, but the way he was tapping his heels made him look like an extreme fan who had met a TV show star.
“A place like this… existed.”
This was a hideout. A basement where a few participants gathered to exchange opinions and take a break.
Who would have thought that there would be a space under the land of a residential area where people pass by, where only those who shared the Return flight system could come and go?
It seemed to be a commercial building that had been remodeled for that purpose in the first place. The long staircase leading from the 3rd floor, not the 1st or 2nd floor, was perfect for avoiding outside eyes.
Certainly, it was their own cave that Gu-reum liked, as she said. Her words that he would be there often echoed repeatedly in his ears.
If he had the right, Jin Mu-hae would have stayed here for a long, long time. But all Mu-hae had now was a few hours to stay in Jaegang District.
After sunset, he had to take Joo-oh out through the gate. Unlike his father in the past, Mu-hae still had the shackles of the criminal record he had left behind.
For the first time in his life, regret and disappointment rushed in for what he did not have. Mu-hae turned his head, trying to suppress his hardened brow, and his eyes met Joo-oh’s, who had been watching him all along.
His red eyes smiled faintly. It was a strange gaze of someone who knew everything and was observing, as if he could read other people’s emotions.
He slowly scanned Mu-hae’s neat appearance, then raised his eyes as if sensing something.
And at the same time, Keeeee-!
Kwaaaang!
An earth-shattering roar echoed. The surroundings vibrated and the lights flickered wildly.
An earthquake? Mu-hae, who jumped up from his seat, realized that the noise was echoing from outside the building, from the ground.
Weeeeee-!
A siren rang throughout the building, and the lights inside the basement turned red, as if to warn of danger.
The entire panel on the wall went out and turned black.
“Hmm.”
Joo-oh’s face was as calm as could be, even though he should have been terrified by the sudden situation. He tilted his head left and right a few times as if listening to the sound from afar, then gestured towards the entrance they had entered a little while ago.
“Scary.”
However, his expression twisted as his eyes became uneasy. It seemed that the sense of crisis came a step later as the situation was judged more slowly. Poor thing.
Holding Joo-oh, who had shrunk his body, Mu-hae hurried to the door.
“Let’s get out of here first. Follow me.”
“Okay…”
Joo-oh stuck to his back. His breath became rough as he went up the stairs.
In case he got scared and ran away somewhere, Mu-hae reached back and roughly stroked his soft hair.
When they got out of the building, the surroundings were in chaos. People were running out of the park, and loud shouts were heard repeatedly.
The cries of young children looking for their parents were also faintly heard. Mu-hae’s body flinched slightly at the noise.
Black smoke was billowing from the park where the incident occurred.
“Jin Mu-hae. Go look.”
To that noisy place? He came for the Return flight, so he didn’t want to do anything that would attract attention when he should be quietly watching and disappearing without a trace.
But when Joo-oh ran towards that side first, Mu-hae had no choice but to run after him to catch him.
Joo-oh is definitely selfish. He promised to stay still several times, but he kept interfering here and there whenever he had a chance.
But there was always a reason for his actions. He had never suffered a big loss because of his actions.
Jin Mu-hae moved to the middle of the park, following Joo-oh, who seemed to be caught but not caught. Black smoke was rising from there.
A sunken floor and flames rising around it. It was a strange thing. The crater was so clear that it looked like a small meteorite had fallen from the sky.
Fortunately, the location was in the dense bushes, so nothing hit a human head, but the citizens were in chaos just because of the flames spreading everywhere.
“Mom!”
Only after hearing the voice of a child crying nearby again did Mu-hae realize that the problem was not just the fire.
It seemed that all the electricity in the vicinity had been cut off due to the impact of the accident a little while ago. The entrance to the building that looked like a park shelter was blocked.
The flames were eating away at the bottom at a terrifying speed, and those who were anxious were sticking to the windows.
As the location was where it was, the emergency response team to suppress the accident would arrive in no time. The problem was that black smoke was rising inside the glass window.
He didn’t know why the ventilation function wasn’t working, but it was already staggering and falling down to wait with his hands tied. They couldn’t break the solid window, so they hit the window with their bare hands, leaving red bloodstains on the glass.
Someone who was watching the scene threw a stone at the window, but it hit the wall on the lower floor without even getting close! and rolled on the floor.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Joo-oh’s heart, hugging his arm, was beating loudly. Mu-hae glanced down at him and once again met his strange eyes.
Joo-oh slowly released his clenched arm. At the unspoken signal as if telling him to go, Mu-hae finally broke his decision to stay quietly and leave.
He clenched a fist-sized stone in his left hand. Paak! Mu-hae kicked off the ground and ran towards the building.
He had climbed even more rugged rocks when he was chased by Aberrants or Beasts from the outside, stepping on structures that the fire had not yet reached and climbing the wall with one hand.
“Hoo.”
By the time he took a deep breath, Mu-hae had reached the window on the second floor. Mu-hae, who stepped on the windowsill, hit the glass as hard as he could with the corner of the stone he was holding.
Taang! A short, sharp sound rang out, but the glass didn’t budge. After all, the people inside wouldn’t have been able to break the material that breaks with a simple impact.
Thick smoke spread out, stinging his throat. Mu-hae covered his nose with his sleeve, took a deep breath for a moment, and then hit the window again with all his might.
After hitting the edge of the glass where it met the frame several times, a crack finally spread across the entire window with a crackling sound.
“Back, haa, get back!”
Mu-hae pushed away the people who rushed in with a gesture and kicked the window as if jumping in.
Then, with a screaming noise, one of the windows finally shattered and collapsed.
The people inside dragged those who had fallen and placed them on the windowsill. Staggering and panting as if to let them breathe fresh air even like that.
Aeeeeeee-!
The sound of a siren began to be heard from afar. Only then did Mu-hae drop the stone he was holding down and wipe the sweat from his forehead with his hand.
It seemed that the emergency response team had arrived faster than expected. Mu-hae’s face hardened at the thought that he might not have had to run in and make such a fuss.
“Th, thank you.”
However, those who were isolated at the scene of the accident did not seem to feel that way, and someone grabbed Mu-hae’s hand without hesitation.
Eyes mixed with relief and emotion poured out towards the tall man sitting crouched on the window frame.