By Zephyria 
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A few days later, the two of them headed toward the Taeul District. It was that ambiguous time of day when the light was stealthily fading.
Among the official residential areas, the Taeul District is one of the places with the most severe wealth disparity. The neighborhoods close to the industrial zone have polished streets, but the edges connected to the exits are quite dilapidated.
Since the places Mu-hae frequented were closer to the latter, this was essentially his first visit to the center, where security was tighter and the people looked different.
A sprawling building eleven stories high, a back entrance to a tower crowded with corporate offices that failed to settle in the industrial zone. In a shabby employee breakroom, Jin Mu-hae was in the middle of a skirmish with someone.
A man wearing a janitor’s uniform scratched the back of his head repeatedly, looking troubled.
“I told you, we don’t handle that kind of thing. Besides, what? Detec—”
“Detective. A private detective.”
“Does a job like that actually exist? Isn’t that just something in movies?”
“It’s not as glamorous as in the movies, but it exists. I’m working for a CEO of a company that anyone who has entered the shared floor would know. There was a problem with a product being supplied there, and the CEO of the partner company hired us, practically sobbing.”
Having infiltrated so many places, these kinds of lies now rolled off his tongue without a second thought.
As Mu-hae operated his Link Watch, an electronic business card created with Shin Dae-soo’s help floated as a hologram before the man’s eyes.
The moment it was touched, it led directly to a related website window, making it difficult to tell it was a fake at a glance.
The man, judging the authenticity, gnawed on his lip.
“They said they might go bankrupt. He was crying so much, saying that if he’s unlucky, he’ll end up with a criminal record. Please, think of it as saving a person and do this for me.”
He floated a large sum of 2,000 Deal in the form of electronic currency before the man’s eyes. A bribe prepared by splitting his once-plentiful living expenses into tiny pieces once again.
It wasn’t for a malicious intent, and 2,000 Deal just to borrow clothes and leave the spot for about thirty minutes.
Agony filled the man’s face. For someone with a meager livelihood, an amount exceeding a month’s salary was enough to shake one’s heart.
“As promised, you have to just look around quietly and leave.”
“No one will know. I won’t cause any trouble.”
Eventually, the man stepped back. Ding—! As the sound of the deposit echoed, he sighed and handed over the clothes.
It was the uniform worn by the janitors of this building. He received a jumpsuit that looked a bit too small for Mu-hae no matter how he looked at it, and the two of them finished changing silently.
“You said the HVAC room on the 9th floor?”
“Yeah. I’ll enter through the duct on the 10th floor, so keep fiddling with the machinery as I told you.”
If they were near a forest or a river, simply hiding in the bushes would have been enough. But to blend into a gray building like this, both Mu-hae and Joo-oh were quite large in stature.
In the end, they disguised themselves as janitors, for whom wandering around the building wouldn’t be strange. A small office on a shared floor rented by those three from the vegan society. Eavesdropping on the sounds from that place was Mu-hae’s goal for today.
The task entrusted to Joo-oh was simpler than expected: sneak into the HVAC room that controls the air for that floor.
Once Mu-hae crawled into the duct, Joo-oh would stop the machinery for a moment. The final goal was to complete the trick in the meantime and reunite with Joo-oh.
‘It’s damn hot.’
Jin Mu-hae dragged in a huge panel to block the CCTV and stepped briskly into a ventilation shaft used by repair technicians.
After crouching and walking for a while, narrow passages where people didn’t pass unfolded here and there. As he squeezed his body and crawled in the direction he had mapped out, the already small clothes dug into his crotch.
‘Fuck.’
Maybe he should have left this part to Joo-oh. Crawling wasn’t particularly hard, but the duct was narrower than expected.
However, passing through the passage easily and installing the device properly were strictly different things. Lacking faith that Joo-oh would handle the job correctly, Mu-hae soon shook his head.
Before long, the duct narrowed sharply. Now it was barely large enough for a head to fit through.
Mu-hae stopped abruptly and calmly recalled the direction he had crawled from. A passage stretched out before him. Faint light rose from every louver grill attached to the floor.
The third one from the nearest. The hole at least 10 meters away from his prone position was the target.
Whirrr—!
A wire shot out from the device attached to his arm. Once the line extended to the desired section and caught nearby, Mu-hae hung the eavesdropping device on it and sent it through.
Now, all he had to do was listen to the voices coming from inside. Despite not exerting much effort, beads of sweat formed on the tip of his forehead due to the sweltering air.
“It’s Jin Mu-hae.”
“Phew… I’m here, so turn the machine back on.”
When he removed the panel and returned to the HVAC room, Joo-oh, who had been pacing in front of the machine, looked pleased.
He held out the equipment he was carrying. When the button was pressed, a crackling sibilance sounded, and soon, faint conversations began to be heard amidst the sound of wind.
—Kzzzzzt— zzz— because of that.
—Kzzzzzt— I think so too.
“It was worse earlier, but it’s getting clearer.”
“It’ll improve soon.”
Fortunately, the eavesdropping device did its job. Haa. As he sat down on the floor, exhaling a long-held breath, Joo-oh quickly crouched down beside him.
As expected, the voices coming through the device slowly began to clear.
—Wouldn’t it be better to try it in a place further removed…
—The problem is that there’s no excuse to go to such a place. Even if it’s uncomfortable, the best policy is not to create a situation where we can be caught. Besides, all preparations have already been completed on that end.
—True. Even for that woman, it would be a bit much to move surveillance personnel without an excuse.
The quiet conversation was faintly embedded amidst the noise. It sounded like they were discussing something quite important, and Mu-hae’s nerves were completely on edge.
What on earth were these things planning that they had to leave the central and whisper here?
He had started investigating the West Wind, focusing on the figures Teacher Jung had picked, but since he hadn’t found any noteworthy candidates yet, he had no choice but to identify the existence through their movements.
—If it succeeds, the tide of the flow will fall into our hands. Then, as you all know…
—We could create a similar case as Solar City, if desired.
However, the thought heading toward the West Wind came to a dead stop at a place name that was even more ominous.
Solar City. The two-syllable word that appeared suddenly sliced through his chest with a chilling intensity.
Mu-hae’s eyebrows twitched as he turned up the volume of the device. Kzzzzzt— wheee… All sorts of noise grew louder along with it.
—There won’t be any mistakes with the coordinates, right?
—I have left them accurately. There are two rest areas nearby, so it’s not an area where one would be suspected just for wandering around a bit.
—That’s true. But isn’t the fact that we’ve postponed the schedule planned six months ago until now because we were conscious of the scrutiny?
—It’s difficult to delay it any further, so we have no choice but to move as quietly as possible.
Naturally, they did not mention the detailed coordinates. Since he had heard from the middle, it was difficult to judge exactly what the conversation was about.
Instead, he barely managed to grasp the clue that there were two rest areas near their target location.
‘Rest areas…’
A map immediately unfolded in Mu-hae’s mind. Near Goryeo City, a section where businessmen or Councilors would find it appropriate to visit, and where unusually, two rest areas overlapped.
‘…Is it Jangjugol? Between Jangjugol District 2 and District 3.’
Strictly speaking, they weren’t attached, but geographically, they were noticeably closer than other scattered rest areas.
If one had worked as a mercenary for seven—no, now about eight years, it was possible to master details that others wouldn’t care about. Just as the natives of the central were accustomed to their own culture, Mu-hae was more well-versed in the external environment than anyone.
Beep—!
Just as Jin Mu-hae was recalling the map he had received from the Company, a sudden, unfamiliar beep was caught through the eavesdropping device.
Using that as a signal, the conversation that had been flowing stopped for a moment, and a long silence followed.
What is it? Did something happen? When he glanced over, Joo-oh was frowning slightly, which was unlike him.
—Let’s do that. In two days, with minimum personnel. Near the bottom of the rocky hill. It’s a confusing terrain, so let’s prepare thoroughly to ensure there are no mistakes.
—Let’s do that.
Fortunately, the interrupted voices were caught by the eavesdropping device again before long. Instead, as if the signal from a moment ago had been a notification, the faint sound of someone preparing to leave, along with the sound of a chair scraping, was caught.
Whirrr!
Mu-hae pressed his Link Watch to control the remaining wire.
Snap—! The sound of the eavesdropping device being smashed echoed as the sensor-equipped wire rolled up. Having erased the traces roughly, Mu-hae sprang up from his seat.
“What are you doing. Let’s go.”
The promised thirty minutes were almost up. Joo-oh, who would usually have dashed out the door before being told, was still standing still with his brow furrowed.
He tilted his head to the side once and muttered something.
“…That content isn’t there.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Joo-oh shook his head and snapped back to his senses. Mu-hae dragged him quickly out of the building and changed back into the clothes they had worn.
As previously mentioned, he left the janitor’s uniform next to the trash can. Joo-oh giggled so much looking at the tight crotch. Feeling his face heat up for no reason, Mu-hae gave him a light shove on the back of the head.
Though it was embarrassing, they decided on their next move more simply than expected. In two days, at the bottom of the rocky hill between Jangjugol District 2 and District 3. It seemed the vegan society was planning to pull something small there.
* * *
“Jin Mu-hae.”
“….”
“Jin Mu-hae.”
“What.”
Occasionally, Jin Mu-hae wondered. How did he end up sleeping in the same bed with this guy?
Until not long ago, the situation of sleeping tightly pressed against someone was something he couldn’t even imagine.
“Head.”
“Haa… just go to sleep.”
Furthermore, the object of this was a fully grown man he’d picked up from somewhere. Would his past self have known that he would hold and stroke something like this in his arms?
Feeling a strange sensation anew, he tried to pull his arm away, and the guy who had clung to him began to struggle.
Why? As if asking, red eyes blinked gently under the dim light of the sleep lamp.
“The past. Is there anything else you remember?”
“…Do I have to?”
Mu-hae was speechless at the question that returned after he asked out of habit. True. There was no longer a need to find a place to send him, so was there any need to know the past?
He had already reached a fantasy-like conclusion that Joo-oh might be an Experiment. What kind of past could be worse than that to justify rushing the remaining memories?
Moreover, currently, he was in a state of temporary sanity—eating cereal on his own and completing tasks promptly. There was no need to poke at things that must have been painful, as it didn’t interfere with daily life at all.
Joo-oh had never expressed that he was suffering because of his past… but considering the nightmares, it was far from a happy time, to put it generously.
“Nothing.”
As expected, Joo-oh averted his gaze and pretended not to know this time as well. Mu-hae didn’t pry further and quietly closed his eyes.
He felt like he had brought up something unnecessary. He had to leave Goryeo City as soon as he woke up tomorrow, and if Joo-oh had a nightmare for no reason, it would affect his condition.
Jin Mu-hae tended to delay sleep and endure in unfamiliar places, but in a home where safety was guaranteed, he would fall into such a deep sleep that his fatigue would vanish even in a short time.
Holding something warm and smelling good, sleep soon overwhelmed him. In the arms of the person who had fallen fast asleep, only Joo-oh remained awake, staring up into the void.
“I don’t want Jin Mu-hae to be afraid.”
The small voice scattered into the darkness.
Bzzzzzz—.
When the Link Watch vibrated at the set time, Mu-hae’s eyes snapped open.
Without a single yawn, he got up and organized his luggage neatly. The stretching that followed loosened his strong yet flexible muscles without a gap.
“Jin Mu-hae isn’t eating breakfast?”
“I’m not.”
He already knew the vegan society bastards would mobilize minimum personnel. Still, since a battle could break out if necessary, it was more comfortable to fuel up with a substitute pill and keep his stomach empty.
Regardless, Joo-oh, who had finished his cereal with loud crunching, came out wearing a hooded jacket. He slung over the bag he always carried and pulled up his mask securely; he was now preparing well on his own without being told.
“Don’t go running off on your own, and stay close to my side.”
Only after giving the usual warning did he leave the warmth of the house. He didn’t know what those three old men were trying to pull, but for some reason, he felt like he was about to discover an important fact.
178 – I Became a Monster in a Failed Game