By Zephyria Unlike the main ceremony, which yielded unexpected gains, people gathered in small groups as if possessed as soon as the donation event ended and a short after-party began.
Well, the interest in the oddball had already been satisfied, and the level 1 Aberrant hunt was slowly losing steam.
Fortunately, Woo Jung-sun didn’t forget Jin Mu-hae and led him to the table where she was sitting. Only when simple dishes were served did Joo-oh stop his strange behavior and focus on eating.
“I heard you heard some strange announcement. I’m curious about what it was about that made you think about escaping.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. It was just about some God-given substance, and he seemed obsessed with Blue Energy. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t really understand the content. It was just the atmosphere that was a bit…”
Someone was singing on stage and even performing a magic show, supposedly for a charity event. Mu-hae pretended to be ignorant of boring research stories, glancing around and showing interest in the performance.
Joo-oh also played a part in the image of someone without a brain. The occasional sharpness he showed had completely disappeared from his face.
When asked a question out of courtesy, Joo-oh babbled nonsense that had no beginning, end, or relevance, saying, “The shrimp I ate in Bay City was delicious.”
By the time he left, the information passed on to Woo Jung-sun was nothing but thoroughly intentional stupidity.
They were just mercenaries who simply chased money, went into NPS’s trap instead of others, somehow improved their physical performance and survived twice, and still used the incident as a topic of conversation without any intention of digging into it.
“If your body is weak, your mind suffers.”
Joo-oh’s answer to the question of how he escaped was the best. The fact that he looked so handsome made it sound plausible, which made Mu-hae feel a little disgusted with himself.
“Did I do well?”
“Yes.”
“At home, head, um. Stroke it.”
“Okay.”
He was getting help in this way for the first time in his life. Throughout the return flight, Joo-oh seemed absorbed in his famous line.
Was it just his imagination that he felt a chill because the words seemed sincere rather than acting?
Whatever it was, he felt calmer as he fiddled with his frizzy hair. Joo-oh seemed to like it quite a bit too.
However, he pretended to fall asleep suddenly when getting out of the taxi, for some reason, so Mu-hae had to carry him home, pretending not to notice.
It was so absurd to feel him subtly opening his eyes and looking at his face while pretending to be asleep.
“If you don’t get up and take off your shoes by the time I count to three, I’ll make you sleep here. One. Two.”
“Yawn. I slept well.”
“Wash up and change your clothes. Hang them up properly since they’re expensive.”
As he sent him into the study, Mu-hae checked the desk through the crack in the door. The small frame was still there.
A new realization flashed through his mind. Except for the image on his citizen registration card, that was the only photo of Joo-oh in the world.
Of course, Mu-hae wasn’t the type to leave his image everywhere either. But unlike him, who intentionally avoided being recorded, Joo-oh was enthusiastic enough to take pictures whenever he had the chance.
An uncomfortable feeling seeped into his heart. It was a similar feeling to when he realized that he had only called Joo-oh ‘Hey’ or ‘You’ for a long time.
Jin Mu-hae rubbed his stiff hair roughly and loosened the top button of his shirt.
Only then could he breathe and take a long breath. A small, old house that couldn’t even be compared to the place he had been wandering around a few hours ago. He had never realized before that this place could feel so comfortable.
‘Goryeo Bank Daecheong Street Branch…’
Woo Jung-sun’s workplace, presumed to be the Vegan Society, was located near the center of Central. As a formal instructor of the Security Forces, he could enter and leave without suspicion whenever he wanted, but that was only from the perspective of the city people, not from the perspective of the Vegan Society.
Still, today’s events would have given the group that was wary of him one or two excuses.
Mu-hae closed his eyes and thought of the unfamiliar street. A wide-open road where hundreds and thousands of people passed by every day. A secure location with all sorts of companies and facilities…
What would be created like a rule where people gathered? There would be restaurants to feed all those people. There would be cafes, parks, and various public facilities for convenience.
Logistics vans coming and going at dawn. Hover Cars flocking in. And the trash that was left behind after everyone had left.
‘…!’
Yes, trash. Debris that inevitably arises in any place and that someone has to go in and clean up.
Based on his previous experience, he knew how Central’s waste was moved and monitored.
Joo-oh, wearing comfortable clothes, approached Mu-hae, who was shining his eyes eerily.
“Did you find it?”
The sudden question was somehow strange, as if he had read his mind… but Mu-hae simply nodded and walked to the living room, now used to the remark.
Now that he had found the person presumed to be from the Vegan Society, it was time to dig out the related people who were linked together like root crops.
“When does that human sleep and wake up?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. But he said he’s been sleeping and waking up regularly these days.”
“It’s about time for him to wake up.”
This time, Joo-oh understood the question with the middle part omitted perfectly.
At dusk, Jin Mu-hae sent a short message to the saved contact number.
Only valuable resources come into expensive land. Central’s day flows naturally and seamlessly.
As the sky brightens and the appointed time arrives, people gather on the deserted streets. The closed shops open their doors, and the offices that are still dark are brightly lit.
By the time the bank opens, even more people gather around. The era of using cash is over, but since a responsible person is needed in the process of large sums of money changing hands, financial transactions still start at the bank.
“Security… audit?”
However, a different kind of visitor barged in today. Agents in black suits arrived at the best bank in Goryeo City, the Daecheong Street Branch.
The men, who were immediately led to the VIP room, displayed a holographic search warrant.
It stated that a gathering that had not been reported in advance and could be judged as anti-social was taking place in the building.
“This place, from the basement to the upper floors, is all owned by the bank. The first and second floors, which are accessible to outsiders, are closed at 4 p.m., and the remaining floors are all offices, so only employees are allowed in until the security system is activated.”
“Then it must be the work of an insider, not an outsider.”
“What I’m saying is, there’s not even room for such a conspiracy to take place.”
Suspicion of a quasi-terrorist plan using pollutants and unauthorized religious activities. The employees who heard the warning were horrified by the former, but some focused more on the latter.
Central’s surveillance was rampant, but of course, the bank did not close. The absurd audit was soon smoothed over by connections between the higher-ups, and only the atmosphere within the company became tense and uncomfortable.
The only thing that changed was the number of invitations to gatherings that were sent to completely different people.
Park Young-chan was still looking for a different set of values to add light to his boring life, and he noticed that the specific person who had been recommending unique academic conferences was no longer approaching anyone.
He was about to give up on this, as he had been scolded by his father for doing something stupid. He quickly organized the results he had obtained and passed them on to his superior.
The new instructor who had saved his life a while ago seemed deeply moved by his hard work and sincerity.
“Jin Mu-hae. The Emperor wants you to give him a medal too.”
“Don’t talk nonsense and just say thank you.”
“Don’t talk nonsense… thank you…”
“That’s not what I meant by sending it as is!”
Mu-hae sighed in relief after stopping the message that was about to be sent.
Perhaps his liver had swollen after experiencing the fake Return flight terrorist incident, but thanks to the Emperor, who had even lost some of his fear, he had caught the Vegan Society by the tail.
He mixed a large amount of oxidized oil residue and narcotic drugs into the trash in the area where the bank was located. He also fabricated data that seemed to be related to the Vegan Society and put it into a data chip.
He sent his thanks to Teacher Jung, who had taken out a loan for the private drug money, and to Shin Dae-soo, who had given him a seemingly secret security program that an expert could solve…
Jin Mu-hae carefully examined the list in his hand. A total of five people. He couldn’t suspect that all of them were Vegan Society, but even if only two or three of them were real, it would be a great achievement.
Just knowing their movements would reduce the risk of fighting an intangible enemy by half.
“Are you going to tell Gu-reum?”
“Yeah. From now on, I have to dig into the West Wind again.”
Considering Gu-reum’s calm attitude during the last call, dangerous research or information had not yet flowed into the Vegan Society.
If so, it was necessary to return to the research for the Return flight and chase after the ghost-like identity of Kang Ju-seo.
Mu-hae was reporting this fact to Gu-reum because he had realized something.
She had more truth in her hands than he thought. He wouldn’t be able to get the information he wanted even if he pressed her, but if he threw out what he had found out, she would give Mu-hae a certain amount of clues as if she were conducting a qualification test.
At this rate, it was still more like someone was raising someone than a transaction. The learning method was somehow similar to that of his late father or Teacher Jung.
“When this is roughly over…”
Rubbing his stinging eyes, which he hadn’t blinked for too long, Mu-hae spoke to Joo-oh with a sigh.
“Get that damn picture out of the frame in the study.”
“Why?”
“Who took it that it’s so bad? The face is all blurry.”
“Park Young-chan.”
He tried to ignore the voice that was filled with shock and injustice. Mu-hae deliberately turned his head away to avoid his gaze and muttered in a small voice as if passing by.
“Take it again.”
Then, like someone with urgent business, he opened the drawer and rummaged through the equipment.
He stubbornly pretended not to hear Joo-oh, who kept asking him and circling around him.
“Will Jin Mu-hae take it for me?”
“……”
“I’m so happy! Take a picture with Jin Mu-hae!”
“……”
“With Jin Mu-hae!”
“……”