By Zephyria Joo-oh quickly nodded, afraid that Mu-hae might change his mind.
He had looked at the map next to him while riding the Small aircraft earlier. He didn’t remember everything, but he roughly remembered the locations of the Detectors.
“I’ll do 27 to 36.”
“That’s too far.”
“I can do it.”
“The radar isn’t picking up anything… I’ll go there, so you check a few here. Contact me immediately if you find anything strange. Do you know how to send a signal with the Watch?”
“Of course!”
Even after saying that, Mu-hae hesitated for a moment before finally handing over the Inspection kit. Joo-oh hurried off to the left with light steps.
He had only been recognized after doing strange errands when joining the Return flight, so he didn’t know what a stroke of luck this was.
Even though they were colleagues, Joo-oh had only been listening with his ears perked up from a step behind. Or smelling, or looking into the distance.
Sometimes, when a battle broke out, he could swing his club around in Mu-hae’s blind spot, but usually Mu-hae took care of everything unless a stupid Beast ran at Joo-oh like today. Even though he knew Joo-oh was strong.
Compared to that, this mission wasn’t just assisting from behind, but cooperation. It was a division of direct tasks.
‘I’ll do well.’
He was filled with motivation. Joo-oh clenched his fist slightly and ran quickly to the location he remembered.
“That’s, um, number 21.”
The Detectors installed near Goryeo City measured more detailed environmental information at a lower cost than satellites. Checking them quarterly was also the Company’s job.
To be precise, it was a task the Company had been delegated by Goryeo City. That subcontract went down the line to Joo-oh’s hands.
Beep-!
When he sent a wave with the Inspection kit, a signal sounded from the top of the long pillar. Beep- beep-! Beeeep! It reacted properly to all frequencies.
The support was a little dented, but there was no problem with its function. Mu-hae would record any unusual features of the appearance separately, so Joo-oh only needed to take good pictures.
Then number 22, 23… Joo-oh quickly crossed several kilometers. The forest paths that a bike couldn’t travel were no problem at all.
Each time he kicked the ground hard, a handful of dirt was dug up and gravel was crushed. Joo-oh literally ‘flew’. He ran as if flying.
If he finished the work too quickly, he might go to where Mu-hae was. He would surely ask with surprised eyes if he had walked all the way.
He would tell him not to waste his energy when he could be resting in the Small aircraft, but he would also scan his body to see if he was hurt anywhere. Thinking of that look, Joo-oh’s lips slowly curved.
Grrr… Woof!
Even when an oblivious Thorn wolf suddenly popped out, he was just happy. When he tilted his head to the side and looked back, the Beast, which had been full of vigor, flinched greatly.
A strange light seemed to form in its red eyes, and the beast’s tail disappeared under its crotch. The wolf began to tremble in all four limbs.
Fool. Jin Mu-hae hadn’t caught it on purpose because it was running away from him. If this happened, it would be hard to spare it, even if Mu-hae was worried about him being far away.
The Thorn wolf slowly backed away, feeling threatened, but, Kirrr-.
With a strange cry that echoed through the surroundings, the Beast’s body froze. A figure, relatively small compared to the beast, walked along the dirt path with soft steps.
“Hmm.”
Tearing the leather with his bare hands and breaking the bones would be nice… but then he would get too excited. It would be better to use the weapon Mu-hae bought him.
Paah-!
When he lifted the smooth club and swung it lightly, a cheerful resonance was transmitted to his wrist.
The Beast, its head caved in, died without making a sound.
“2… 4… No, hmm… 5 kilometers?”
Joo-oh tilted his head and grasped the distance to the Small aircraft. Being this far away, there was no need to worry about the Thorn wolf’s corpse being discovered.
There were no aggressive creatures left in the area. He couldn’t smell anything far away because of the stench of blood, but his ears and eyes were still intact. He could consider this safe.
“Number 26.”
Joo-oh, quickly moving away from the body with blood gushing out, deliberately called out the Detector number.
Looking at the Thorn wolf’s corpse, his mouth watered even though it wasn’t time to be hungry yet.
Beast Meat just happened to be a little more tender than Aberrant meat and smelled like ‘meat’. He wondered if he could eat a bite of such a big one without it being noticeable.
“No.”
Joo-oh closed his eyes and shook his head. He closed his mouth tightly and rummaged through his bag, and the pack of wet wipes that Mu-hae had thrown him earlier came out.
He immediately wiped the club clean and scrubbed his face just in case. Fortunately, there were no bloodstains on his skin.
“To Jin Mu-hae. I’m going to Jin Mu-hae.”
Joo-oh, repeating as if making a vow, licked his lips and moved his feet. Patience was always difficult and exhausting, making him feel like he was walking through a muddy swamp.
It was the same last time. When he took the chopped human meat out of the Inventory and threw it away. Joo-oh tried hard not to see it as ‘meat’.
But the greasy taste of blood lingering in his head, the sensation of the soft flesh that disappeared without even being caught in his teeth.
Sadly, Joo-oh knew the fragrance of tender flesh. It seemed that in the days when he lived as an Aberrant, at some point when he was out of his mind and couldn’t remember, he had swallowed a mammal that walked on two legs.
‘I’m human.’
Thinking that, he emptied the Inventory. He didn’t feel sad because his senses were dulled to such things, and that made it even harder to leave.
Beep-!
He finished checking Detector number 26. Now it was time to appear in front of Jin Mu-hae.
The agitation in his heart subsided miraculously at the same time as he thought of him. Joo-oh regained his vitality and ran towards the area that Jin Mu-hae was in charge of.
He would be going around on the road, riding his bike. If so, he could catch up with him by crossing the forest.
But even after running for a while, he couldn’t hear the engine sound. He had been running around diligently, thinking he was in a hurry, but Jin Mu-hae must have been fast.
Well, he was the main character who could do anything. He fought with Aberrants, so this simple mission would be a piece of cake.
Still not giving up, he crossed the rocky mountain and finally heard the sound of tires kicking up the dirt road.
“Jin Mu-hae!”
Joo-oh stopped in his tracks with a bright smile, about to run towards the bike.
His reason, which had been growing in size recently, put on the brakes in his head.
‘No.’
Jin Mu-hae still doesn’t know that he can run as fast as a vehicle. And, well, from a human perspective, a creature running at a similar speed to a bike would be a little scary.
‘That won’t do.’
It was no different from chewing meat down to the bones. Why hadn’t he realized this sooner?
He had made another mistake because he wanted to see Jin Mu-hae. ‘Thinking Joo-oh’ was now far beyond that stage.
He had to look good to him so he would wash his hands again and stroke his head for a long time. Joo-oh turned his steps with a regretful heart.
“It’s okay.”
Joo-oh repeated to himself as he ran back to the Small aircraft.
When Jin Mu-hae came back, he would praise him for doing well. He would also check if he was hurt anywhere and shake off his clothes.
So it’s okay. Just be patient a little longer. He had been patient for 15 years, so he couldn’t bear this short time.
As he thought of it, Joo-oh deliberately rolled on the floor once. The dirt and dust stuck to his clothes.
He had messed up his hair, so if he saw him, he wouldn’t be able to stand it without touching him.
“Haha!”
Jin Mu-hae had lived without any problems even though he had no memories before the age of five.
It was natural. It was originally difficult to recall memories of infancy without any special events.
However, uniquely, Mu-hae was found outside the Comfort zone, and as a result, he occasionally had questions in his childhood.
The day he was learning something similar to arithmetic in a corner of the hospital. When asked if he was his biological child, Teacher Jung shrugged his shoulders without taking his hands out of his gown pockets.
‘I know. I secretly tested it and it was right.’
It was a great answer. Mu-hae didn’t have to experience at least the confusion of birth.
Beep-! Beep- beep-!
CME Exploration Request Report
Team members
Regular inspection of Detector
Detector confirmation [31/36]
Support damage on numbers 4, 11, 18, 28
Number 12 B-type signal not receivable
……
Detector number 36 emitted a normal signal sound. Mu-hae folded the pad, put it on his side, and strode to the bike.
Today was the first time he had divided work for Joo-oh. Of course, he had already been cooperating enough by exploring the surrounding terrain and creatures and helping in combat, but he had never performed any other complicated tasks.
‘Because he’s so erratic.’
He rationalized it that way, but he actually knew it himself. That Joo-oh would somehow manage to do anything he was assigned, unless it involved dealing with people.
In fact, he was gradually getting better. A human who used to just make a blank ‘wow’ sound suddenly communicated with just words, made sentences, read the room, understood the situation, and even made his own judgments depending on the situation.
Currently, he was in a perfectly satisfactory state, answering immediately when called, following instructions, and often snuggling up. Even if he stayed without any further development, it would be fun enough to feed him.
But would this stagnation be good for Joo-oh? What was leaving him in a permanently stagnant state if not a taxidermy?
‘Does he still have nightmares?’
He still had a past that he hadn’t found. Unlike Mu-hae, who lived as if he didn’t have any memories of his childhood, his life was completely blank and he was floundering.
Perhaps what Joo-oh needed most now was experience. Mu-hae, who had been in a similar situation, knew better than anyone that he could only develop by solving each problem himself and standing alone.
In his father’s indifference, Jin Mu-hae grew up really quickly.