“I’m not even surprised anymore. The sight of you standing there, I mean.”
Kim Ha-yoon, who had been standing by the window looking outside, turned around with an indifferent expression. As soon as he sat down with a cup of coffee, Kim Do-cheol handed him something. It was a lawsuit filed by Park Mu-jin’s father against Ire in connection with the assault that had occurred a while ago. Park Mu-jin’s father had a strong influence in the committee and was quite friendly with Kim Ha-yoon’s father. He had been strangely quiet that day, and it seemed he was planning to get rid of Ire by any means possible.
“What are you up to?”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you said you’d adopt him in front of our parents.”
“I’m desperate to keep the valuable talent I brought here from being kicked out. What else would I do?”
“No. You’re suspicious. Very suspicious. I don’t think that’s all there is to it.”
“If you’re going to say boring things like ‘you’re drooling over him,’ get out. I have a guest coming.”
“A guest? Who?”
Just then, a woman in a white coat appeared with a knock. Kim Do-cheol waved and greeted her, as he knew her. “Hi, Kwon So-young.”
She was a researcher working at the institute and a close friend of Ha-yoon’s since childhood.
“Just leave. We have something to talk about.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret. Get out.”
At the order to leave, Kim Do-cheol pouted his sausage-like lips, got up, and left. “It’s always a secret from me. Do you think I don’t know?” he grumbled.
As soon as the door opened and closed, Kwon So-young smiled brightly.
“You’re still the same, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I need to get out of here so I don’t have to see that guy’s face.”
“This time, that wish should come true.”
She handed him an envelope, and Ha-yoon opened it to check. Inside was a photograph.
“What do you think? Don’t you have a good feeling?”
Ha-yoon rubbed his chin. In the photo was a man with silver hair and grayish-blue eyes. He was handsome by anyone’s standards, and the word “James” was embroidered on the right side of the man’s gown. He had only seen him briefly as a child, but he remembered the man clearly.
Ha-yoon picked up the photo and moved to the window. Outside, the trainees were still doing their laps. Among them, a particularly bright head of hair caught his eye. The hair, shining in the sunlight, was easily distinguishable even from a distance.
“All the data from back then was lost, so it was hard to get. He left the country before the fire, so if we can find him, we can compare the DNA.”
“Can we find him?”
“We have to try. But before that, we have to pray he doesn’t Awaken.”
“What’s the possibility of him Awakening?”
“Considering the last test subject, I think it’ll manifest in an extreme situation, right? You know what happened that day.”
Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes darkened. Of course, he remembered. During the process of incinerating the test subjects in the lab, one of them Awakened, and most of the people there were killed. And his mother, who barely survived, was beyond repair.
His father, who had already been against the research, was consumed with anger. Afterward, he mobilized special forces to track down the test subject, but no trace was found. At the time, the test subject in question was pregnant and Awakened just before the fetus was to be removed. And the man in the photo was the one who provided the sperm to create the child.
Kim Ha-yoon made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and brought it to the window. As he gradually narrowed the circle, Ire came into view. His smooth lips were curved upward in a pleasant smile.
“No wonder. I was drawn to him from the first time I saw him.”
Ire, having showered, looked in the mirror and examined his face from side to side. His recovery rate was exceptionally good, and most of the scars had disappeared.
He and the others who had caused the incident were excluded from training for two weeks. Instead, they had to do full-gear laps around the field until they were exhausted, and then they spent the rest of the time in character education, counseling, and writing reflections.
Ire took a coping saw and rubbed it against his upper canine teeth. After repeating this several times, he licked the area with his tongue. Then he came out, and Han-gyeol was standing in front of the door. He had been hospitalized with pain, but he looked relatively fine.
“Oh… you were here….”
He looked away, flustered. Ire put on the shirt he had taken off and finished wiping the water from his face. Without responding, he prepared to go out for counseling, and Han-gyeol began to open his locker and organize his belongings. He knew that he was being discharged.
“Um… I have something to say….”
Ire stopped what he was doing and turned around.
Han-gyeol was fidgeting with his hands and looking at the ground like a guilty man.
“That day, I didn’t mean to….”
He bit his lip several times.
“I hate myself for being so pathetic… I didn’t have any personal bad feelings towards you. That bastard threatened me… I couldn’t help it. I know it sounds lame and like an excuse to say this to you now… But I wanted you to understand my situation, so…”
“And then?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone? When I was trapped there, you could have brought Seo Young-jun or Oh Nam-gi.”
Han-gyeol lowered his head with a pained expression. It seemed pointless to say anything more, so he hung the towel on the bed rail and left the room. He didn’t have any ill feelings towards him, but he couldn’t agree with the excuse that he couldn’t help it. At least he should take responsibility for his subsequent choices.
He felt sorry because he thought of him as a good comrade, but on the other hand, he regretted not beating Park Mu-jin, the root of all evil, to a pulp. He thought that if he got hit, he would change, but he hadn’t changed at all. He should have beaten him to death.
No, then Kim Ha-yoon would have been in more trouble because of me.
“Why am I even worrying about that guy….”
Who’s worrying about who? I should take care of myself. He laughed, finding himself ridiculous. He went to the counseling room and sat down, and a person in a gown came in. But it wasn’t the counselor he had seen until yesterday. It was one of the people who had come from the lab before. The woman had her long hair tied up, revealing her cool neckline, and her eyes shone clear and transparent.
“Welcome. The teacher in charge is on a business trip today, so I came. Is that okay?”
“…….”
He wondered if researchers also knew how to do psychological counseling. But whatever it was, it didn’t make much difference. He just wanted to finish the boring conversation quickly and go to lunch.
“We’ve met before, right? I’m Kwon So-young. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.”
When he took her outstretched hand, she shook it up and down cheerfully. She had neat and pretty teeth when she smiled.
“Are you okay? I heard there was a fight.”
“Yes….”
She asked Ire about his daily life. He thought she looked cold when she wasn’t talking, but her voice was as warm as the spring sunshine, melting softly in his ear. Then, without realizing it, he thought about the person who had given birth to him.
What kind of person was she? He had heard from Matteo once. That she was pretty and lovely. That she would have been a good mother if she had lived. What did her voice sound like? Was it as kind as this person’s?
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
Kwon So-young waved her hand cutely in front of his eyes. A ring with an unusual shape sparkled on her fourth finger. When he involuntarily looked at it, she showed him the ring in detail.
“Are you curious about this? My mom gave it to me. It’s pretty, right?”
Ire nodded.
“It’s pretty.”
“My mom nags a lot. That’s why I live separately. It’s not that we have a bad relationship, but when we’re together, I feel like it’s too hard for me.”
Ire laughed without realizing it. He, too, had sometimes wanted to run away from Matteo’s nagging. But that didn’t mean he really wanted to leave…. The woman led the conversation more skillfully than the previous counselor. Before, it felt like he was being interrogated, but now it felt like he was chatting with a comfortable friend.
“How’s life here?”
“It’s not bad. There’s good food, a comfortable place to sleep. But…”
Ire trailed off, and Kwon So-young waited silently.
“If possible, I want to go back to where my family is.”
At that moment, the woman’s gaze turned over Ire’s shoulder. Before he could feel someone’s presence and turn around, someone put a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
“I’m disappointed. I’ve been so good to you.”
He shuddered and moved away, and Kim Ha-yoon smiled with a hurt expression and pulled out a chair to sit next to him. Seeing him suddenly made him want to quit the counseling and get out of there.
“The atmosphere is nice? Do you like the new teacher? I heard you didn’t say a word to Teacher Song.”
“…”
“Or is it because you’re a man? Huh?”
Kim Ha-yoon playfully poked Ire’s cheek, and Ire grabbed his hand and pushed it away. He told him to stop bothering him and leave, but Kim Ha-yoon leaned on his chin and didn’t back down, telling him to continue. In the end, he closed his mouth like a clam, and the counseling ended like that.