MOTD Side Story 2.7
Side Story: Return Episode 7
Daniel felt a cold sweat run down his spine at the sudden mention of Nate’s name. Why was he asking about Nate all of a sudden? As he cautiously lifted his head, his eyes met Eden’s. Daniel’s shoulders flinched at the cold, expressionless gaze that made it impossible to read his thoughts.
Nate was absent today due to a family gathering. Daniel could have simply said that, but in his state of sheer panic, he unconsciously blurted out a clumsy excuse.
[Ye-yes, Nate is… probably on a date with his girlfriend…]
[…….]
[…He probably is.]
[Girlfriend?]
For a moment, Eden tilted his head and let out a hollow laugh.
That can’t be right. That bastard is gay, isn’t he?
Eden’s expression seemed to say exactly that. Having easily deciphered the meaning hidden in that laugh, Daniel gasped.
Just as he was regretting stepping out of line, a heavy weight settled on his shoulder. Daniel looked back at Eden with wide eyes.
[Tell Nate this. I won’t stop him from meeting Ha-jin under the guise of business, but it would be best for him to give up on those feelings as soon as possible.]
[…?]
Thinking he had misheard, Daniel blinked rapidly, and Eden murmured as if to drive the point home.
[Every time I see them, the way Nate looks at Ha-jin is quite fervent.]
Daniel’s face froze like a stone as he stammered.
[Th-that… that’s, there’s some misunderstanding—.]
[My patience isn’t as good as you might think, so this will likely be the first and last warning.]
Eden removed his hand from the shoulder and gave a sophisticated smile.
[You don’t want Nate to get hurt either. Right?]
It was a refreshing smile that didn’t match the chilling warning. Daniel’s skin crawled at Eden’s eccentricity, the way he could change his expression in an instant as if putting on a mask.
Just then, Ha-jin, who had finished packing his things, stepped in between them.
“What are you two talking about so happily?”
Eden naturally took Ha-jin’s luggage and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
“Daniel says he’s tired and is heading home first. It would have been nice if the three of us could have dinner together, but it’s a shame.”
“Oh, really?”
Daniel couldn’t speak a word of Korean, but he knew for certain that Eden was playing some kind of game. As he stood there blinking blankly, Ha-jin tapped his forearm with a worried look.
[Daniel, are you okay? You said you weren’t feeling well.]
[Huh? Oh… am I… not feeling well?]
[Go home and get some rest. I didn’t notice because you weren’t showing it.]
[Yeah, okay…]
As he agreed like a fool, Eden called out to Daniel once more.
[Ah, by the way, Mr. Daniel. Are there no additional performance schedules with Ha-jin this month?]
[…Additional performances? No, there aren’t.]
At the abrupt question, Daniel looked at Ha-jin as if asking for an explanation. Even Ha-jin shrugged with a face that showed he had no idea. Eden guided the two toward the exit, swinging the door wide open.
[I’m glad there are no other schedules. I’m planning to visit Korea with Ha-jin for about two weeks soon, so I asked just in case.]
“Eh?”
Ha-jin, who was absentmindedly walking out, turned back to Eden in surprise. Unfazed, Eden continued while looking at Daniel.
[Since we unfortunately can’t have a meal today, let’s have dinner next month after I return from Korea. Nate should come along too, if possible.]
At the final addition, Daniel’s face turned pale. Ha-jin’s expression was no different.
“What? We’re going to Korea? Why? What is this all of a sudden…?”
“Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”
While being dragged along, Ha-jin turned back and waved vigorously at Daniel.
[Daniel! Anyway, I’ll call you!]
[Huh? Oh, uh… bye!]
Daniel stood frozen and vacant for a while, watching the two of them disappear in an instant. Grumble… Only after feeling a loud pang of hunger did he finally release the breath he had been holding.
“Are you really going to Korea for a business trip? Not because of me?”
“I told you, I am.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ha-jin looked suspiciously at Eden, who was turning the steering wheel. Regardless, Eden remained focused on the open road ahead, busy picking up speed.
Ha-jin began to speak, scraping the edge of a magic card against his jeans.
“If you’re going on a business trip because of me, you don’t really have to.”
“Why? Didn’t you want to go to Korea?”
“I was being shortsighted back then. I didn’t think about how worried Mr. Jeong Tae-geon might be, given the current chaotic situation.”
Stopping at a red light, Eden slowly turned to look at Ha-jin. He gazed at him in silence for a moment before letting out a low sigh.
“I was the one being shortsighted. Coming here wasn’t a voluntary choice for you, Do Ha-jin.”
At the unexpected reaction, Ha-jin’s right hand, which had been fidgeting with the card, stopped [visit our site]abruptly. Soon, a warm temperature touched his left cheek. After briefly caressing his cheek with a large hand, Eden stepped on the accelerator again.
“Since a business trip proposal came in, let’s take this opportunity to get some fresh air in Korea. However, since crowded places like large planes or ships are still dangerous, we’ll travel by private jet. As for accommodation, we’ll be assigned to a temporary resort instead of a shelter.”
“…Is it really okay for me to go along?”
“Who’s stopping you? I’m the one taking you.”
Eden twitched an eyebrow as if Ha-jin were asking something obvious. Ha-jin furrowed his brow in worry, but then bit his lip as a sense of anticipation pushed through.
“We leave next week?”
“We’ll be staying for two weeks, so pack what you need in advance.”
“Then what about Pie—.”
“Let’s leave him with Hyung.”
“Don’t you think Byeol will throw a fit wanting to come along too?”
“We’ll leave without telling him.”
Only then did Ha-jin finally relax his tense shoulders.
“I’m curious, do I have to stick by your side while Mr. Jeong Tae-geon is working?”
“You’re a civilian, Do Ha-jin, so you’re prohibited from entering MDCC zones anyway. You can stay with Ms. Yun Mi-so or do whatever volunteer work you want.”
“……”
“Are you that happy? The corners of your mouth are curling up endlessly.”
“They are not.”
The car soon entered the intersection at the entrance of the neighborhood. Stopping at the crosswalk, Eden adjusted the navigation and made a casual suggestion.
“Let’s get takeout for dinner.”
Ha-jin wanted to discuss the trip to Korea more seriously, but seeing Eden’s attitude—as if the decision were already final—he could only twitch his lips. After contemplating for a while, he finally thought, ‘Whatever,’ and leaned back comfortably into the seat.
“What should we eat? I’m kind of craving pizza today.”
“Then let’s get pizza and steak from that restaurant we usually go to.”
“Ah, then we should turn this way—.”
Just then, about ten people suddenly jumped out in front of the car.
“!”
Startled, Ha-jin stared with wide eyes at the people blocking the center of the crosswalk. Lined up in a row, they were holding various pickets and shouting slogans.
[The establishment of the SVRF by the WHO is human arrogance! Stop further construction immediately!]
As a woman in the center with a red megaphone led the chant, the people lined up on either side raised their wooden pickets high.
[Stop it! Stop it!]
[AB Bio, stop animal testing!]
[Stop it! Stop it!]
Unable to take his eyes off them, Ha-jin poked Eden in the side.
“Isn’t SVRF the Special Virus Research Facility?”
“That’s right. It’s probably right next to the military quarantine center where my business trip is taking me.”
As the two watched the sentences on the pickets closely, they turned their heads at the sound of someone knocking on the window. Outside the passenger window, a boy who looked to be around Byeol’s age was waving brightly.
Ha-jin lowered the window halfway and asked cautiously.
[What’s going on?]
[Hello, sir. We’re from the Blue Earth Environmental Group. If you have a moment, could you please read this?]
[Ah…]
[You don’t have to pay us!]
The boy, speaking like a machine gun, thrust a yellow newspaper through the open window before Ha-jin could respond. As Ha-jin picked up the newspaper that had fallen on [visit our site]his thigh, the boy quickly hurried away with a word of thanks.
It happened so fast. With a bewildered face, Ha-jin flipped the paper over to check it.
“It looks like a newspaper published by the organization.”
Muttering to himself, he began to read the column on the front page. To be precise, it was an article from last year quoted within the column.
WHO, in partnership with ‘AB Bio,’ pushes for the establishment of Special Virus Research Facilities in select member states
By Vaughn Golden
Published Dec. 1, 20XX
The World Health Organization (WHO) and private company AB Bio are establishing special research facilities to prevent a second zombie virus outbreak.
At a joint private meeting held today, the WHO Board of Directors stated, “The possibility of a second virus outbreak cannot be completely ruled Read on Read BL Novelsout,” and added, “Through close [Read on Read BL Novels]cooperation with 40 of the 194 existing WHO member states, we will establish Specialized Virus Research Facilities, known as SVRF.”
…
However, some are raising concerns that if the SVRF is established despite the vaccine already being completed, the safety management of virus possession will become even more difficult.
‘John Cobelt,’ a world-renowned PhD in microbiology, posted on his personal social media: “The very idea that humans can predict a virus is arrogance. Humanity has not even been able to eradicate the existing Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV. Constant research that destroys nature and animals is actually encouraging the birth of mutant viruses. AB Bio and the WHO must stop secondary research immediately.”
As he slowly read the quoted article, Ha-jin’s gaze stopped at the bottom right. A young man wearing navy-blue horn-rimmed glasses was staring straight ahead with a stiff expression. Ha-jin could easily deduce that the man in the ID photo was ‘John Cobelt,’ the microbiologist mentioned in the paper and the head of the Blue Earth organization.
Compared to his impressive credentials, he looked younger than expected.
“What does it say?”
Eden asked. Ha-jin felt a sudden wave of nausea and closed the newspaper.
“It’s basically about opposing the establishment of the Special Virus Research Facility. These people think that continuing zombie virus research could actually be [unauthorized copy]dangerous. They say that if a unauthorized copyleak occurs, there could be more victims, so there’s no need to stir up something that’s already been eradicated…”
The faces of Jun-seok and Chun-beom naturally came to mind. The faces in his memories, which had grown faint, felt exceptionally vivid today. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Ha-jin slowly closed his eyes.
Even looking back now, he still couldn’t understand what any of those disasters had meant.
“Did you say the organization’s name is Blue Earth?”
Ha-jin, who had been lost in thought, lifted his eyelids.
“Yes, why? Do you want me to read it for you?”
Eden hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
“No, that’s alright.”
Ha-jin half-crumpled the newspaper he had set down and turned his gaze back outside the window.
Just before the pedestrian signal changed, the people moved in unison back to the sidewalk. For some reason, Ha-jin couldn’t take his eyes off their retreating backs for a long time.
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