By Zephyria 
Kim Ha-yoon, gripping the steering wheel, lowered the window. Ire, walking along the sidewalk, sighed as he saw him and quickened his pace.
“How are you going to get there? Fly?”
“…”
“Well, you’re an angel, so you probably can.”
He spoke so loudly that passersby glanced at him and whispered. Ire stopped, squeezed his eyes shut, and gritted his teeth. He really didn’t want to get involved with this guy privately, only for work, but he kept chasing after him and bothering him, which made him furious.
“What did you hear me say earlier?”
“You’re already hurting enough, so stop poking and get in.”
“I’ll go on my own, so leave me alone.”
“You can’t go out without a pass. You know that.”
When he ignored him, Kim Ha-yoon stopped the car altogether, got out of the driver’s seat, and grabbed Ire. When Ire shook him off, telling him to stop, Kim Ha-yoon grabbed Ire’s shoulder, pushed his head down, and shoved him roughly into the passenger seat. Ire tried to get out again, but the car door was locked, and it wouldn’t open even when he pressed the button. Kim Ha-yoon got into the driver’s seat, and Ire glared at him with a dumbfounded expression.
“What do you want from me?”
“If I wanted something, would you give it to me?”
“Stop playing games and open the door.”
“Do you know you’ve been even more of a pain in the ass to me since you met Lee Seon-jae? What’s the reason? Is it my fault things turned out this way? Just get angry and hit me. Don’t ignore me and piss me off like this.”
How shameless. Who was really pissing him off, and who was being accusatory? The car started, and Ire kicked the lower part of the dashboard hard, then sighed and slumped back in his seat.
As Kim Ha-yoon said, it was true that his resentment towards Matteo had deepened after seeing him. The relief of knowing he was alive, the hope that he was getting better, and the disappointment that he didn’t recognize him were all mixed together, making his emotions complicated.
He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, but then he heard a familiar voice. When he opened his eyes, Luca’s image appeared on the dashboard screen. He was wearing a cute prince outfit, dancing, and singing along with a chick-like mouth, which made Ire’s nose tingle.
One by one, the other kids showed their faces, gathered together, sang carols, and talked about their New Year’s wishes. Judging by the Christmas tree behind the children, it seemed to be a video taken around Christmas. Their expressions were much brighter than the last time he saw them, and their voices had strength.
“They’ve grown a lot, haven’t they? Angelo calls me ‘hyung.’ You should have seen that.”
“Are you happy to be called ‘hyung’ by a kid who’s young enough to be your son?”
“Yeah, I’m fucking happy.”
Never mind. He ignored him and focused on the video. Anna’s voice was mixed in from time to time. Did Kim Ha-yoon know? That Anna was the one who occasionally sent news of the children to him. Surprisingly, she often put the children’s letters and photos on the delivery trucks that supplied district b.
At first, he was wary, thinking that Kim Ha-yoon had ordered it, that it was a trap, but it seemed that he himself didn’t know. Why had Anna changed her mind? Had she changed while living with the children? What kind of punishment would be handed down when Kim Ha-yoon found out later? Would he kill her? He didn’t like her, but he didn’t want her to die.
While he was thinking about that, the car passed through a tunnel.
Jang-cheon had once talked about this tunnel. He said that he was so anxious when he was carrying the unconscious Ire out of here after the Information Bureau collapsed. He said that his liver had shrunk to the size of a bean and that his lifespan seemed to have been shortened by ten years. If the pass hadn’t worked properly, they would have been riddled with bullets and gone to the afterlife.
Why hadn’t Kim Ha-yoon issued a sniper order that day? According to Gilsu, a helicopter hovered around them until they got out safely, but there was no attack. Ire thought that was Kim Ha-yoon’s order. If he had to guess, it was to prevent the hard-won experiment subject from being damaged.
As they passed through the tunnel, a huge gate appeared. It used to be so overwhelming that he felt like he was suffocating, but not anymore. The gate couldn’t have gotten smaller, so that meant he had grown that much.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“I’m thinking about throwing Captain out of the car and going back alone.”
Kim Ha-yoon waved his left hand, which was casually resting on the steering wheel.
“See? I’m sick.”
When he looked closely, the scab on his lip was still there. He must have bitten it hard. In the meantime, the car was completely out of district a. After driving for a while, he noticed that the opposite side was turning orange in the distance. He realized that it was because of the sandstorm, not because the sun was setting, and his face darkened.
Around this time of year, a lot of sand would blow in from the desertified west, and it was getting worse and worse. It was hard to breathe even with a mask, and even at home, his throat would sting for days as if glass shards were embedded in it. That was probably why there were so many people with lung disease around.
But district a was different. There was a protective wall, and there were purification devices above that filtered out most of the sand and dust. In addition, large hot air balloons floated around, constantly purifying the air. The people there thought the sky was always blue. Even if there was only a little dust, they would rush to turn on the air purifiers even at home.
Just like the difference between the two districts, he and Kim Ha-yoon were very different people. So, the answer was to avoid each other as much as possible. Once he got his share from the gold mine, he wouldn’t even piss in the direction Kim Ha-yoon lived. He thought that would be better for both of them.
Then he came back to reality and his expression darkened. He had to go through the storm to get to district d, but he didn’t dare. Hadn’t he once boldly entered and experienced his car being wrecked?
“Should we wait until it stops?”
Ire agreed with Kim Ha-yoon’s question. For now, he hurriedly turned the car towards district b. He was trying to find a place to avoid the wind when he spotted an inn. It was the inn where Kim Ha-yoon and he had first met, where Hairy’s head had been cut off. He drove the car into the inn.
“Let’s rest. It’ll take a few hours to pass.”
Before he could even answer, Kim Ha-yoon got out. He didn’t want to, but there was no other way. Ire reluctantly followed Kim Ha-yoon. When they went to the inn, the owner’s eyes widened as he recognized Ire. Instead of acknowledging him, he took the money and handed over the room key.
He found the room and went inside. There were two beds side by side. First, he closed the windows tightly. A moment later, a siren rang throughout the village. An announcement was repeatedly broadcast from an old speaker, telling people to secure their doors and windows in preparation for the sandstorm. Even that was repeated, starting and stopping because the machine was old.
After checking the windows, he looked outside. People were moving busily. He felt strange seeing such an ordinary scene after so long. If he hadn’t gotten involved with Kim Ha-yoon, he would be among them now. He finished his short reverie and turned around, and Kim Ha-yoon took something out of his pocket.
It was a small box, and when he looked closely, he saw that it contained an injection needle.
He tried a few times and then handed it to Ire.
“Give me the drugs.”
Ire frowned as he looked at the injection needle he was holding out.
So, he was telling him to put the needle to his skin and stab him.
“Is this… drugs?”
“It’s a painkiller.”
He understood that his palm was pierced. But he couldn’t understand why he had come all the way here. With an unpleasant expression, he inserted the injection needle into the vial and pulled it back. The drugs filled the injection needle, and he handed it to Kim Ha-yoon.
“You have to help me. As you can see, my hand is like this.”
He sighed and went to his bed and sat next to him. He handled knives without a problem, so why was he so nervous about this? He put the thin injection needle against his skin, and his fingertips trembled slightly. Just a moment. He wiped his palm on his pants and readjusted his grip, and Kim Ha-yoon chuckled softly.
“Cute.”
“Be quiet. I’m concentrating.”
He had learned first aid during training, so he inserted the injection needle into a blood vessel. Fortunately, the blood vessel was thick, so it was easy to find. He slowly pressed the plunger forward, and the drugs went in. He took a look at Kim Ha-yoon’s expression after removing the needle. He was grinning, so it seemed like the injection should have been in his head instead of his arm.
“Is it done?”
“Blow on it, teacher.”
When he glared at him, Kim Ha-yoon leaned on him without hesitation and dropped his forehead on his shoulder. When he pushed him away, he grabbed his arm and pretended to be in pain. Before he could get annoyed, he clung to him again and hugged his waist. Instead of getting angry, he just stared at his black head.
“Let’s stay like this. Until it gets quiet outside.”