By Zephyria 
He pressed his lips shut, staring only at the closed door. When there was no answer, a frantic shout came from inside. “I know you! No, I know Matteo! Talk to us! Open this door if you want to know who you are!”
Even if the warehouse was separated from other buildings, shouting like this would inevitably get them caught. Ire reluctantly opened the door again. The warehouse was dark without lights, but the light coming through the windows made it somewhat discernible.
He saw their faces in detail for the first time. They were the ones he had met in the sewer the day he escaped the unit. They were in a terrible state, torn and bruised as if they had been beaten. The man who had been wearing a mask among the three opened his mouth.
“I didn’t expect to meet you like this. Don’t you remember? We saved you back then. You cut your hair? I thought you were someone else. It looks good. How have you been?”
Watching the guy who was being unusually friendly, Ire got straight to the point.
“How do you know Matteo?”
This time, the big man answered.
“I’ll explain.”
He was the one who had threatened him when he came out of the sewer. He had said he wouldn’t let him off if he blabbed about it. It wasn’t that he deliberately tried to keep his promise, but somehow he couldn’t even tell Kim Ha-yoon about it.
The man still had the tattoo IV on his hand. According to Gangsan, that was the Roman numeral 4. Matteo had VII. That is, 7. What was the connection between 4 and 7?
“Um… where should I start? Actually, we had a picture of you from when you were little. After we ran into you in the sewer that day, Seol-ah… Ah, this friend next to me. Baek Seol. I’m Jang-cheon. Anyway, Seol-ah recognized you and told the deputy commander. Honestly, I didn’t believe it. Such a coincidence doesn’t happen easily.”
The man who wore the mask chimed in.
“I knew there was something familiar about you. I think we’re connected by a precious bond. Haha, don’t you think so, Seol-ah?”
Baek Seol, who had been listening quietly, sighed.
“Don’t try to flatter him. Can’t you tell by looking at his eyes? He has no intention of letting us go.”
That wasn’t wrong. And there was a more important story to tell.
“I asked how you know Matteo.”
“We haven’t seen Matteo in person either. The commander told us. His name is Lee Seon-jae, right?”
“…….”
According to the story, Matteo used to be a rebel in Area C. There were 8 key figures in the rebel group, and the members were formed around them. Then, when the seventh key figure died, the position became vacant, and Matteo, who was young at the time, was placed in the position after gathering people’s opinions. Even though he was young, he had intelligence and bravery.
“You mean Matteo is from Area C…?”
The three nodded in unison.
“That’s a lie. Matteo never told me that.”
“If it’s a lie, how would we have your picture?”
Ire held out his hand.
“Show me the picture.”
“We don’t have it now…. How could we have the mind to take that during the battle? If you really can’t believe it, go to Matteo and ask him. Ask him if he knows a person named Yang-hyun. That’s our commander’s name. There’s an age difference, but they were like sworn brothers.”
He bit his lip. Matteo was gone, missing in an accident, he couldn’t honestly tell them. He had always thought that Matteo was born and raised in District B. That he had been abandoned by his parents and taken in by a priest.
If what they said was true, why hadn’t Matteo told him?
Why did he get angry whenever he lingered around Area C?
“Even if what you say is true, nothing changes.”
At those words, Baek Seol glared.
“See? What did I say? I told you it wouldn’t work.”
“Even if I went crazy and let you go, it’s impossible to get out of here. There are hundreds of cameras watching. Can the three of you break through that? What about after you get out? What are you going to do then?”
“There is a way…. Just like you went to the sewer before, if you tell us about it,”
Ire cut them off.
“I told you that day. I was with my friends and accidentally went in.”
The mask narrowed his eyes. He called him a liar, but he didn’t even pretend to listen and turned around.
“Where are you going! You have to listen to our story more!”
He turned to look at them in front of the door and calmly accepted their pitiful gazes.
“I don’t think I need to hear more. I’m not even curious.”
“About who you are?”
“What?”
“I asked if you even know who you were born from!”
“Stop it, Gilsu!” So the mask’s name was Gilsu. The colleagues next to him stopped him, but the man named Gilsu didn’t seem to want to stop. Anger and hostility blazed in his eyes.
“The person who gave birth to you was an Infected!”
Ire stared at him without blinking an eye.
“I don’t know how you came here and pretended to be a soldier, but if it wasn’t for Matteo, you would have died as soon as you were born! Or you would have been dragged to a lab and suffered all kinds of pain before being taken to the incinerator! Who is it thanks to that you’re alive like this! It’s because of Matteo, and the reason Matteo could live was because other comrades sacrificed themselves for him when he was attacked! But how can you look at us with those eyes?”
Unable to control his increasingly intense emotions, Gilsu raised his voice. Baek Seol and Jang-cheon seemed to be thinking similarly. Baek Seol’s face darkened as he listened quietly.
“You… you knew? You knew everything?”
Ire answered with an indifferent expression.
“Want to expose me? Then tell the others. That I’m a mutant bastard born from the belly of an Infected.”
I don’t know if they’ll believe you. After saying that coldly, he turned around. When he came out of the warehouse, it suddenly became bright because of the lights turned on nearby. The inside of the warehouse was still dark and smelled of a damp stench, like another world.
He closed the door as it was. Now there was no sound coming from inside. After putting the key in and turning it, he closed his eyes tightly and couldn’t move for a long time. His head was a mess with surging thoughts.
Ah— He opened his mouth and checked his canines through the mirror. He hadn’t paid attention to it for a few days, and the ends had started to become sharp again. When he scraped the protruding area with a coping saw, he heard a rustling sound.
—The person who gave birth to you was an Infected!
—If it wasn’t for Matteo, you would have died as soon as you were born! Or you would have been dragged to a lab and suffered all kinds of pain before being taken to the incinerator!
Damn it. He washed his face with cold water and rinsed his mouth. Then, as a habit, he rubbed his canines with his tongue. It was the first time he had heard through someone’s mouth that the person who gave birth to him was an Infected. Matteo and Sister Agape had remained silent even though they knew the truth.
At first, he thought it was because he was more sensitive than others, seeing and hearing better. Then, when his canines started to grow, he realized that this wasn’t the problem. When he came to the military and had his blood drawn, that was the first thing he worried about.
What if it’s revealed? What if they take me and use me as a test subject? That must be why Matteo told him to run away every time. But what he feared didn’t happen, and everything went smoothly. Or, that’s what he thought.
He calmed his complicated mind and went outside. His eyelids were heavy because he had stayed up for several nights. But he couldn’t skip training. As he changed into his training uniform in time for the morning run, his comrade glanced at him.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Was that you last night…?”
It seemed like he was asking if he was the one who blew the whistle and chased the guys away.
When he said yes, his comrade couldn’t hide his uncomfortable expression.
“I had no choice…. It wasn’t my will….”
Han-gyeol had definitely said something similar before. That he couldn’t help it.
Before leaving the barracks, Ire turned to look at him and said one thing.
“Don’t get close to Park Mu-jin. There’s nothing good for you.”
Then, as he closed the door, Seo Young-jun was standing in the hallway, sighing deeply. He knew the reason was the CBR training in the morning. Everyone has their weaknesses, and CBR training was Seo Young-jun’s.
“Damn it. Being a trainee was so sweet. I’m jealous of the guys who were discharged.”
Even if he said that, he knew that he would do his best when he went into training. When he told him not to be so dramatic and nudged him, he suddenly took something out of his pocket. It was a crumpled piece of paper with a beast’s face drawn on it.
“How’s this?”
“Cute. A cat?”
“It’s a tiger, you idiot.”
“…….”
“Have you never seen a tiger?”
How could he have seen one? He had only heard about them. When he mumbled, he made a fuss, saying he was a country bumpkin and would take him to the zoo when he had the chance. Then he stuck the paper on his shoulder. He belatedly understood Seo Young-jun’s actions. He had heard that when they became official members, they usually got a tattoo.
“Does it suit me?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you decided?”
When he said he hadn’t thought about it, he told him to draw a big cross on his back. Then your Lord will be happy. He laughed in disbelief and habitually thought of Matteo. What advice would he have given if he were here?
Then his thoughts shifted to the three people trapped in the warehouse. People from the intelligence agency were coming today to take them away. The arduous guard duty was over today. Would they be interrogated and then executed after going to the intelligence agency?
He shook his head to shake off the swarming thoughts. Just in time, a car from the intelligence agency was entering through the main gate. Ire’s eyes as he watched it were nothing but complicated.