Fl 69

“What were you doing out and about on your day off?”

Seo Young-jun’s question snapped Ire back to reality, and he looked around. The cafeteria was now bustling with soldiers who had come to eat. While Ire was getting his food, Seo Young-jun stood beside him, looking worried.

“This guy’s really lost it. You’re just passing by the meat you love?”

Come to think of it, Ire only had salad on his tray. Normally, he would have gone back for the meat, but he didn’t even have the energy to do that, so he just filled his tray with a token amount of food and walked to his seat. As soon as he sat down, Seo Young-jun, who had followed him, examined his complexion.

“Are you really okay?”

Ire forced a smile and nodded. No, actually, he wasn’t okay. Yesterday, he had taken Kim Ha-yoon’s car to District B and met Gangsan. When Ire explained the whole story, Gangsan looked like he was about to burst into tears. After comforting him, Ire searched every place Matteo might have gone. But he couldn’t find a single clue, so he had to return empty-handed.

Seeing Ire still spacing out, Seo Young-jun picked up some meat and put it on Ire’s rice.

“Eat quickly. Your face is pale. Don’t faint again during training.”

Then, Ire belatedly noticed the bandage on Seo Young-jun’s arm. The bandage with the cute drawing was the kind mainly used in the infirmary. Ire had worn one on his arm before, too, when he had blood drawn for a blood test to check for anemia.

“Did you get a blood test?”

“Yeah. I went to the infirmary and got it drawn earlier.”

Soldiers had regular blood tests. Since they lived together in a group, it was to prevent possible epidemics, and Ire had heard that it was also to discover specific diseases that individuals might have, so they could be given medication or advised to leave.

“You should eat the meat. You must be tired from having so much blood drawn.”

Ire muttered, and Seo Young-jun tilted his head. “What are you talking about?” Ire explained with his hands so that Seo Young-jun could understand. “Doesn’t it make you dizzy to have that much blood drawn? I get dizzy.” Seo Young-jun, who was listening, laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

“Don’t exaggerate. You think they draw that much blood?”

The amount Seo Young-jun described was significantly different from Ire’s experience. When Seo Young-jun said they only filled about half of a normal syringe, Ire looked confused.

“Are you sure you saw correctly? Weren’t you out of it and mistaken?”

Ire shook his head. He had seen his blood in a special pack, and it seemed to be about 500CC, which made Seo Young-jun’s expression turn a little serious. He asked if Ire had any other pain, looking worried that he might be suffering from some other illness.

“I really don’t understand. What reason would they have to draw that much blood? Unless it’s for an emergency transfusion on the battlefield…”

Transfusion… In other words, giving his blood to someone else. The doctor in charge at the infirmary had said that before. He said that artificial blood was used these days, but in the past, they used to do something called blood donation to save people. He had given Ire a piece of candy while telling him that they used to give out bread for donating blood.

“Ask them next time you get tested if they do that again. It’s weird.”

Suddenly, something Ire had heard in class flashed through his mind. After the virus first spread, there was a surge of Infected, and some of those who had been suffering from diseases showed improvement, so some people deliberately became Infected. He had heard that the blood of the Infected actually had a temporary therapeutic effect.

“……”

Could it be…?

Just as the puzzle pieces that had been floating around in his head were about to fall into place, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Code Black, Code Black. All officers and Non-commissioned officers are to assemble on the parade ground immediately with full gear.” People who had been eating everywhere instantly stood up.

Code Black meant an emergency situation, so everyone threw their trays into the collection bins as if they were discarding them and ran outside. In the chaotic atmosphere, Ire’s heart started pounding strangely fast. He couldn’t eat any more, and instead, an unknown anxiety kept washing over him.

Ire hurriedly returned his unfinished tray and left the cafeteria, and Seo Young-jun followed him.

“You finish eating and come back.”

“How can I eat when you’re in this state, hyung? What’s going on today?”

When they came out into the hallway, a helicopter was attempting an emergency landing on the parade ground. Soldiers were lined up waiting to board the helicopter, and Seo Young-jun’s face stiffened when he saw them.

“What the hell is going on? Did a rebel army invade or something?”

Then, Oh Nam-gi suddenly cut in between them.

“It’s not a rebel army, but there’s been a riot at the research lab.”

“Which research lab?”

“NK. The place where they keep the Infected.”

“Ugh, frustrating. Speak properly. What happened there?”

Oh Nam-gi looked around and lowered his voice. “A senior Non-commissioned officer only told me in confidence, so don’t tell anyone.”

“Apparently, one of the Infected they brought in yesterday escaped, and it’s a mess. The surrounding area is completely closed off, and it’s crazy right now.”

Hearing that, Seo Young-jun shuddered.

“Wow, that’s scary. Should I call my mom and tell her not to go outside?”

Oh Nam-gi, who was listening, scoffed.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be shot anyway. Can’t you tell by the fact that they only gathered the officers and left?”

Then, they both realized that Ire hadn’t moved at all since earlier and turned to look at him with puzzled expressions.

“Ire, are you okay?”

The puzzle pieces were quickly falling into place.

—An unidentified Infected was spotted in the A-5 district stream at dawn.

—It is presumed to be an Experiment Subject who escaped. Should we kill them on sight?

An Experiment Subject who escaped. Escaped… Ah… Ire squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them and ran in the opposite direction. He heard his colleagues calling his name, but he didn’t have time to care about that. He headed straight to the infirmary upstairs, burst through the door, and the nurse, startled, grabbed him.

“What’s wrong?”

Ire shook her off, picked up a scalpel nearby, and kicked down the door to the doctor’s office. The doctor was also quite surprised by the sudden uninvited guest.

“Are you sick somewhere, ah!”

He noticed the scalpel in Ire’s hand and urgently pressed the emergency button. The nurse who had followed Ire came in and then ran back out, and Ire locked the door and strode towards the doctor.

The doctor stood up, pale-faced and faltering.

“Put that down, put that down right now. Hurry!”

Ire grabbed the man by the collar with murderous intent, slammed him against the wall, and held the scalpel under his chin. At the same time, someone pounded hard on the door. Threats to break down the door if he didn’t open it followed, but Ire ignored them and pressed the scalpel against the man’s neck.

“Answer my questions truthfully from now on. If you lie, I’ll slit your throat right here.”

“There’s nothing good about this. Put the knife down. Hurry. Nurse Kim! Kim, huh!”

The doctor’s pupils dilated as Ire pressed the blade closer. He kept moving his eyes towards the door, as if he thought someone would come to save him. Finally, the blade pierced his skin and blood flowed, making the doctor’s face even paler.

“Answer me.”

“Th, that’s…”

“Answer me, you bastard!” The doctor squeezed his eyes shut at Ire’s roar.

“I, I sent it to the research lab. I, I don’t know the details. I swear.”

At that moment, the door burst open and soldiers rushed in. “What the hell are you doing, you bastard!” The soldiers surrounded Ire, snatched the scalpel from his hand, and grabbed his arms on both sides. “Get out here, you bastard. Are you out of your mind?” Ire heard them shouting, but his ears were ringing.

Why didn’t he know? Why didn’t he suspect anything…?

Why did he believe so firmly that Matteo had become that way because of mental illness? Even though he had reached the point of biting people’s necks, why did he think it was because of depression and anxiety?

Ire was dragged along blankly, but he belatedly came to his senses. He pushed away the soldiers who were holding his arms hard, and then another soldier grabbed his neck from behind with his arm to restrain him.

“You’re crazy! Can’t you just stay still!”

Then, punches and kicks flew at him. Normally, he would have just shut up and taken it, but he couldn’t do that now. He slammed the back of his head into the face of the Non-commissioned officer who was choking him from behind, and then quickly pulled a pistol from his waist.

“You crazy bastard! Put the gun down!”

Bang— Ire pulled the trigger towards the ceiling, and white cement powder fell from above with an ear-splitting sound. The faces of the soldiers surrounding him turned pale.

“If you don’t move, I’ll fire.”

“Get a grip, you bastard! There’s nothing good for you in doing this!”

“I said move.”

As if they had requested support, Ire heard footsteps rushing in from behind. Ire threw the gun he was holding at them and, without a moment’s hesitation, threw himself towards the window in the hallway.

Crash— The glass shattered and he fell from the second floor, rolling once when he hit the ground. “Catch that bastard!” Ire heard the shouts behind him and ran outside with all his might. He had parked the car Kim Ha-yoon had given him not far from the base. He was going to drive it and see for himself. He hoped that this dirty premonition was wrong.