By Zephyria 
The night cleaning ended in five days. Despite the reversed day and night labor, Mu-hae immediately regained his rhythm.
Originally, he frequently took naps and woke up while handling external requests. If he had been picky about the time or place to sleep, he would have been sickly and met his father in an accident by now.
Even after shaking up Hwang-jae, Mu-hae had drinks with them once more. Unlike Hwang-jae’s uneasy expression, Mu-hae flawlessly carried out his assigned role.
Acting like a young punk who seemed moderately useful and moderately foolish. What started as awkward infiltration had become second nature after several attempts.
‘Jin Mu-hae, you’re talking well now.’
‘Are you one to talk?’
He even received praise from Joo-oh, but he wasn’t particularly pleased.
Come to think of it, Jin Mu-hae had also made significant progress. He now had a rudimentary understanding of Central’s political relationships, and unlike a few months ago when he was practically illiterate when reading records about Blue Energy, he now understood many explanations.
Accordingly, his monotonous vocabulary had changed. When he talked to Director Gil, the latter occasionally wore a surprised expression.
The human world was infinitely vast even when confined to Dome City. It was progress he couldn’t have imagined in the past.
“What if Hwang-jae doesn’t contact us?”
“Then we’ll have to raid the Jumyeong District first. We need to get the goods anyway.”
On his last day of work, he left his contact information with Hwang-jae. Hwang-jae received the number, which he probably didn’t even know the meaning of, with a troubled expression.
After that, it was quiet. Not receiving contact as the festival approached meant he wasn’t included in their scheme.
Well, how could he be involved in such a serious matter after only knowing them for a short time? He probably wouldn’t have known about the plan at all if it hadn’t been for that drunken rant.
Who knows how much Hwang-jae, bitter as he was, confessed from start to finish… His usually indifferent face was contorted like never before at that time.
Bambam- Barabambam♪
Bbirolo- Bbiririring-♬
“What is it?”
“Jin Mu-hae. You’ve got a call.”
“…Why is the notification sound like this?”
Mu-hae was appalled by the frivolous ringtone that he would never have set while sane, and he shook his left wrist.
Then, when his eyes met Joo-oh’s, the red-eyed man grinned and scurried away.
That crazy bastard must have changed the notification sound without permission. He probably fiddled around next to him while he was sleeping.
Mu-hae shook his fist as if to say, ‘I’ll get you later,’ and pressed the Link Watch to answer the call.
Click. He could clearly sense the other person, but there was no voice.
He could faintly hear someone’s breathing. It sounded like they were suppressing their panting as if they had been running.
“Hwang Hyung. Is that you?”
―…Are you busy now?
He asked just in case, and it really was Hwang-jae. Mu-hae immediately hardened his expression and stood up from his seat.
―You said you were in the west, right? That’s near Jaegang District. Can you come out for a bit now?
“…I don’t know what’s going on, but should I go to the Jaegang District gate?”
Actually, he knew. If they were suddenly looking for him the day before the festival, it must be related to the terrorism.
Click. The call ended without mentioning the time or place. Mu-hae paused as he was about to put on his red jacket and attach his equipment, then put it back down.
He only put a small, inconspicuous weapon in his pocket and turned his head. Joo-oh, quick to notice, had put on his hood and was carrying a bag on his back.
“What did you put in there?”
“Nothing. Just my stuff.”
“I mean, what?”
“My stuff.”
Mu-hae didn’t bother him about his unwillingness to talk and headed for the front door.
He didn’t know how much he had agonized over it, but since he had given the signal on such a tight schedule, he had to hurry if he wanted to move.
“Should we take a taxi?”
“Yeah. Looks like they’re already in Jaegang District.”
It hadn’t been long since Joo-oh tightened his belt by cutting down on meat, but this week they had enough living expenses to take a taxi anywhere.
It was thanks to Joo-oh drastically reducing the number of Fruit Tornadoes he emptied every meal. He didn’t want to be stingy about every little thing, but his life had taught him to calculate money first.
“…Here!”
Now that he lived in Jaegang District, passing through the gate was easier than going for a stroll. Someone was calling them from a nearby alley, waving their hand.
It was Hwang-jae. His hair was soaked with sweat, as if he had run all the way here from where he lived.
“Looks like he was playing in the water. Jin Mu-hae will scold him.”
“It’s not, so be quiet. Hwang Hyung. What are you doing here?”
He gestured without answering and went into the alley. A well-lit back area, unlike the slums or Sakdal, was revealed.
Hwang-jae looked around several times, as if he was uneasy about the semi-open environment, but eventually sighed and leaned against the wall. His clothes were as stained with sweat as his hair.
“Do you… remember what you said back then?”
“What suddenly… If you mean what I said before, are you talking about ‘the plan’?”
“Yeah. That. What you said about everyone gathering according to their roles.”
Hwang-jae’s small eyes moved anxiously. His voice was extremely quiet, even though there seemed to be no one listening.
“We just gathered because we had the same intentions. Since we do various things, we each took on the necessary parts.”
“We were lucky…”
“I thought so! But I don’t think so. That’s why I called you.”
A choked emotion was mixed in with the whispering voice. Hwang-jae wiped the sweat running down his face with his sleeve and bit his lip.
“Everyone I met while hanging out with Choi Hyung. I thought it was a coincidence. But yesterday, I heard that you were involved.”
“Me?”
“I wasn’t trying to hide. Choi Hyung’s house is usually entered and exited even when the owner isn’t there. I went ahead to wait and went into that Hyung’s room. I shouldn’t have.”
A place he hadn’t even been able to get near despite having drinks three times. The gray door, somewhat far from the round table room or the bathroom, loomed before Mu-hae’s eyes.
“There’s an item from the secret society. I just wanted to see it again. You made me uneasy… Then I heard someone coming, so I hid in the closet in a daze. Choi Hyung came in and was talking to someone.”
He couldn’t hear the other person’s voice, but he knew it wasn’t someone he usually hung out with.
He mentioned their plan to a stranger, and at the end, a story related to Jin Mu-hae came out.
“He said he hired a mercenary to escort them to the midpoint when things started. Since he’s not going through an agency, there won’t be any records, and since he said he’s been resting for a while, he’ll answer even if you contact him suddenly.”
It was shocking that the guy who was supposed to finish the job together was already planning to run away. It was even more shocking that an outsider they didn’t know was involved.
Hwang-jae must have been dizzy at the thought that they had gathered just the right people for the plan, as someone had said.
In a situation where even someone with a head for decoration would feel suspicious, Hwang-jae had been holding his breath for hours, and as soon as Choi had disappeared, he had looked for Mu-hae.
His face, full of confusion, even looked haggard at first glance.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. It seems like it’s gone beyond just playing around.”
“It’s amazing that you’re feeling that now. Isn’t it obvious?”
“That’s what I think now! Even when we gathered and talked yesterday, it didn’t feel like that.”
They must have only said things that those who were fighting against an absurd society, the reincarnation of a secret society, and those who had nothing and weak egos would go crazy for.
When unrealistic people gather, the abnormal becomes normal. Mu-hae, who grew up in the slums and among mercenaries, knew that even the slightest suspicion could be erased by a sense of belonging and bravado.
“So, what are you going to do now? The festival is tomorrow.”
“Do I know? I can’t even report it as a conspiracy…”
“Then who knows? It’s Hwang Hyung’s job.”
Hwang-jae’s lips trembled at the resolute urging. A man who had only grown old in vain, on the verge of tears, was not a pleasant sight, even as a compliment.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally mustered some courage.
“If we stop it… wouldn’t it be okay to stop it without knowing?”
“Is that possible?”
“I can lock the Distribution Center door that I opened again. The parcels… If I contact Yeo-hoon and disrupt the plan!”
“You can delay or divert the time.”
Hwang-jae’s face, which had been red, regained some life with Mu-hae’s affirmation. Hwang-jae wiped away the water, whether it was tears or sweat, with his clothes and stared at the two men, who were about the age of his son, with desperate eyes.
“But it’s a little, a little hard to do alone. Can you help me?”
“…Sure. I’ll pretend to accept the request if Choi Hyung contacts me.”
Hwang-jae looked like he had risen from hell. Did he really think their sloppy scheme would work?
Anyway, it seemed like they could prevent the incident from getting bigger at this point. Mu-hae pushed away Joo-oh’s hand, which was rummaging through his bag to take out something to eat, and filled his head with all the information Hwang-jae had leaked.
Meanwhile, Hwang-jae, who had finally received a candy, added more details with his cheeks bulging.
“There’s that ornament on the bookshelf in Choi Hyung’s bedroom. If you manipulate it in a way that only that Hyung knows, a sailing ship will come out…”
Found it. He thought he would have hidden the Return flight item tightly, but he could easily get it if he just went to that house with Hwang-jae and opened the door.
Mu-hae slowly turned his head, counting the time when the fake Return flight was scheduled to move.
His gaze reached the direction of Central. While Mu-hae was manipulating their traces, Gu-reum would probably be moving in her own way.
As the day waned and the night deepened, the streets were also steeped in silence. Mu-hae left his lodging in Jaegang District in the early hours of the morning, a few hours before the festival.
His face, looking down at the Link Watch, was stiff. Joo-oh came close and grabbed his arm, whispering.
“Still no contact?”
“…Yeah. I wonder if he’s changed his mind.”
“Could something have happened?”
Hwang-jae, who was supposed to contact him in advance, was nowhere to be found. It was almost the promised time, so he was going to leave anyway.
He had to find him first. He had rattled off the house address, which he hadn’t asked for, the day before when he was half out of his mind.
Shiiiing-.
The taxi stopped in front of a building that looked like it had cheap rent, just like where Choi lived.
If he remembered correctly, it was room 208. Hoping that he hadn’t leaked the wrong information, Mu-hae hurried up the stairs and found the shabby door.
Click. The doorknob turned without any resistance. Even if it was a formal residential area, there was no way he would leave the door open.
Feeling uneasy, he entered the house, which was stuffy and dark as if it hadn’t been ventilated. As he groped for the light switch, Joo-oh grabbed Mu-hae’s sleeve tightly and pulled him.
“…That’ll hurt.”
Along with the sudden remark, a fishy smell brushed past his nose.
Paat! Under the light that came on, he could see the messy studio apartment.
Amid the cluttered and broken furniture, there were bloodstains everywhere.
Lying near the bed was a man with long hair that almost covered his eyes. He was lying in a pool of blood, holding his side.
His left arm, where the Bio Chip had been implanted, was torn open.