By Zephyria “I’m hungry.”
The man mumbled with a pale face. Unlike his soft voice, the pupils of his eyes were greatly dilated.
Teacher Jung took a step back and examined his body. He didn’t seem to be seriously injured anywhere. He was just covered in blood.
“Where’s Mu-hae?”
At the question, Joo-oh blinked, closing his eyes for a long time before opening them. As if thirsty, he licked his lower lip a couple of times.
“Some bad guys were chasing Jin Mu-hae.”
The words he stammered out were meaningful. Well, since he was reeking of such a fishy smell, whatever happened, it couldn’t have been a peaceful situation.
“Weren’t you with Jin Mu-hae?”
“No.”
That was a relief. It was good if Mu-hae wasn’t caught up in anything troublesome.
Anyway, if there’s no sign of bleeding but he’s covered in blood, how badly was the other guy hurt?
Even after losing that much blood, did he run away? No, before that, is he even alive?
“Where did you put the body?”
An ominous hunch doesn’t lie. At the direct question, red eyes slowly turned to Teacher Jung.
Joo-oh, who was breathing irregularly as if suppressing something, answered slowly after a long time.
“I put it away nicely. But I tore it off a little.”
“……”
Oh, dear. He really did mess someone up. I was secretly hoping it was a misunderstanding…
Besides, the expression was openly gruesome. Not ‘threw away’ but ‘put away’. If he tore it off a little, did he perhaps dismantle the body and divide it into portions?
“I’m hungry…”
I want to ask more, but Joo-oh’s condition doesn’t seem normal at all. His face was now blank, and he was swallowing hard.
Teacher Jung crossed his arms and stared at him silently, then pointed to the edge of the hallway with his chin. If you go in that direction, you’ll find the kitchen and bedroom, which are private spaces.
Whether he understood the meaning of telling him to find something to eat on his own, he turned around with a hazy expression, smacking his lips.
Crunch, crunch!
Munch, munch. Gulp.
Soon, only the sound of him diligently chewing and swallowing food echoed through the quiet house.
Prepared vegetables, portioned meat, unroasted nuts, and granola. Joo-oh ransacked Teacher Jung’s refrigerator and cupboards.
At least a week’s worth of food all disappeared into the bloody man’s mouth. Even though it was a shocking situation, I wasn’t very scared, thanks to the certainty that Joo-oh wouldn’t harm me.
When you live in a neighborhood like this, you adjust your safety standards to your personal line. Even if a serial killer is standing in front of you with a knife, it’s safe if they don’t intend to harm you.
Joo-oh had always treated me with one-sided affection, and he didn’t do anything that Jin Mu-hae would dislike if he could help it. So, as Teacher Jung, there was no need to make a fuss.
“Umm. No more meat.”
Only after the refrigerator was empty did reason slowly return to Joo-oh’s pale face.
His gaze, which had been wandering in the air for a moment, shifted to Teacher Jung. Joo-oh, who met his gaze, raised a black finger covered in grain crumbs.
Shhh. He whispered desperately.
“Jin Mu-hae mustn’t know.”
“Well. If he was following that guy, it’s his business, so shouldn’t he know?”
“Then I’ll get scolded. I’ll be sad if Jin Mu-hae doesn’t come to me. Huh?”
Height 178 centimeters, joint function measurement at its maximum or beyond. Mu-hae, who treats a somewhat thin but clearly built and grown man like a child, would surely be surprised if he knew about this.
Also, the method of disposing of the body that he mentioned in passing was quite violent. Jin Mu-hae is not an easygoing guy either, but hunting Beasts and harming and disposing of people are clearly different things. I was sure he would be shocked.
But that doesn’t mean that’s a reason to come here at the crack of dawn.
“Why did you come here of all places?”
“Teacher Jung’s heart is the strongest. So it’s okay.”
As he spoke, Joo-oh glanced in one direction. It was towards the bed.
Teacher Jung had long ago created a secret space under the bed and hid weapons that Central had not recovered.
It was purely coincidental that his head turned in that direction, but his atmosphere, as if he knew something, was strange and made me feel uncomfortable for no reason.
Munch, munch. Joo-oh poured the remaining nuts into his mouth. Teacher Jung couldn’t say anything nice, even as a formality, as the expensive food was being devoured all at once.
“Doesn’t Mu-hae feed you?”
“No. He does… But, earlier, it was really hard to hold back.”
“Hold back?”
He’s already killed someone and come here, what did he hold back?
If I think that this is all something he did for Mu-hae, it’s not something I can’t overlook, but his pupils, which keep wavering and constricting, were enough to make anyone watching feel uneasy.
I don’t know what he’s so excited about. Hooo. Joo-oh, who seemed to be having a hard time himself, sighed deeply and hesitantly approached Teacher Jung.
Then, looking around, he tilted his head slightly.
“What. Do you want me to pat you?”
“Uh-huh. I didn’t say that?”
It was a complete case of burying his head in the sand. Did someone warn him not to say things like this?
The man smiled brightly, thinking he had used his head in his own way.
There’s a little blood matted in his hair, but it’s not something I can’t touch. Teacher Jung stroked the black hair as if comforting him.
Then, surprisingly, Joo-oh’s condition, which seemed somewhat precarious, improved noticeably.
The gleam in his eyes that flashed whenever someone’s hand touched him subsided. He licked his lips less, and he didn’t nod his head and stare at something.
Heuung, finally letting out a pleasant laugh, he gradually calmed down.
“Mu-hae doesn’t say anything about this?”
“I like Teacher Jung too. But Jin Mu-hae is better, so it’s okay.”
What’s okay about it? Joo-oh, who rubbed his cheek against a strange man’s hand and enjoyed the warmth, gave a satisfied smile.
No matter how you look at it, it was behavior closer to a wild animal than a person. It seems that the story that he was picked up from outside was not a lie.
“Change your clothes and go. If it gets light, the blood will be obvious.”
“I don’t have any clothes.”
“I’ll give you some, so go in, wash up, and put them on. Throw the dirty ones away here.”
“It’s okay. I have a place to put them.”
He doesn’t even have a bag to carry them, but he has a place to put them. Is he perhaps going to throw them away in the place where he put the body?
I couldn’t let him leave evidence behind. If Joo-oh is caught and charged with heinous crimes, Mu-hae, who is with him, will also be harmed.
“It’s an exchange. If you don’t give me the clothes you were wearing, I can’t give you new clothes either.”
While living as a doctor against my will, I’ve become skilled at dealing with crazy guys and children.
As Teacher Jung skillfully matched his eye level, Joo-oh soon nodded and went into the bathroom.
For about 20 minutes, Teacher Jung cleaned up the messy house and put the clothes, which were half-dried with blood and stiff, into the medical waste container.
Just in case, I also checked the alleys to see if there was anyone following him with the unauthorized CCTV cameras I had installed around the house. I sent Mu-hae a meaningless message to confirm that he was still asleep.
“Where are my clothes?”
I also roughly checked the body of the person who came out wearing only a towel. I expected it, but surprisingly, there wasn’t even a scratch.
Come to think of it, even when Jin Mu-hae first brought him, he didn’t have a single scratch, even though he was wearing clothes that were torn in places.
I just thought he was lucky, but at this point, it’s a bit suspicious.
“Do you know who’s chasing Mu-hae?”
“Yes. But it’s okay. I won’t get angry.”
There’s no way a dead guy can get angry. Teacher Jung quickly realized that there was someone behind it.
“Should I know too?”
I asked tentatively, as if probing whether it was related to the Return flight’s work.
Did he understand this too? The eyes that met mine were clearer than before.
“Umm. Jin Mu-hae won’t like it.”
It was an ambiguous answer to judge whether he really understood the intention. However, Joo-oh seemed to know who was behind the pursuit of Jin Mu-hae and what that person wanted.
He’s even gauging Mu-hae’s intentions in the midst of it. After all, Joo-oh had quite good judgment to dismiss him as just a mentally loose person.
“Do you want to wear a hat?”
“A hat?”
“Jin Mu-hae told me not to pretend to sleep standing up.”
Of course, as Mu-hae had complained, it was also true that his condition was very strange.
Teacher Jung rummaged through the closet and put an unused cap on his head.
Joo-oh wore it low enough to cover his eyebrows and stared at the air for a long time.
Then he smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“The peanuts were delicious.”
“They’re almonds.”
“I want to eat them again later.”
“Next time, I’ll bill Mu-hae.”
As he disappeared like the wind as he had appeared, Teacher Jung felt like he had a dream.
WELCOME TO LA VIDA 🙂
~Day 211 of Year 15~
[Quest]
Main Quest
Tutorial (Completed)
Chapter 1 (Completed)
Chapter 2
☞ The Person in Charge of the Past Reform (Completed)
Planned Work √
DIY 777 √
Blue not Vlue √
Planned Hero √
Sewer Exploration √
One to Replace Four √
☞ Cooperation Across the Sea (In Progress)
Letter from the Past √
Remnants of Gold
[Remnants of Gold]
His father’s research was also connected to Solar City.
Where did the survivors of the destroyed city disappear to?