By Zephyria 
Having finished his short break, Ha-jin turned Eden around before leaving the bar. He wrapped a thick magazine from the stand around Eden’s left arm, securing it with the blue tape he had obtained from Hee-soo.
“It might be uncomfortable to move if we do both arms. Let’s use one as armor for now. We need to be extra careful since it’s the last stretch.”
Eden silently looked down at his lover’s crown as Ha-jin meticulously taped the magazine to his arm. Superimposed over Ha-jin’s determined face was the pale face from long ago, tying the magic rope on stage.
Eden’s lips tightened with a bitter smile as he recalled the small theater where they first met. Ha-jin had become much stronger than before, but he couldn’t simply be pleased with a growth that came with unnecessary hardship and pain.
Perhaps he had been staring too intently. Sensing his gaze, Ha-jin looked up at him, puzzled. Eden, hiding his affectionate pity, lightly tapped Ha-jin’s cheek.
“I’ll explain the layout of the lab when we get there, so let’s get going.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Ha-jin, pinning Jun-seok’s brooch to his chest like a talisman, nodded vigorously.
❖ ❖ ❖
Jinhwa Tech’s research lab was hidden deep within the mountains. If not for the neatly paved asphalt road, one might have mistaken it for taking the wrong path.
Noticing Ha-jin’s bewilderment, Eden spoke, looking at Pie, who was walking ahead.
“It’s hard to get here without a car. Security is paramount for defense industry research labs, so most are hidden away from public view. The same goes for Blue Works, where I belong.”
Ha-jin wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, eyeing the vehicles parked haphazardly on the hillside with caution. The windows of each were streaked with grime, evidence of long neglect.
“Do you happen to know how many employees are at this lab?”
“It’ll easily be several hundred. It’s a standalone building with 12 floors.”
Ha-jin’s eyes widened in shock at the much larger scale than he had anticipated.
“Huh? It’s that big?”
Eden glanced at Ha-jin, who was sweating profusely.
“I’ve been here a few times with Park Chun-beom, and it wasn’t small. But don’t worry, the building layout is simple.”
Soon, a sign reading “Jinhwa Tech – Yongwoon Technology Research Institute” came into view. Following the arrow on the sign a little further, a glass building with a subtle gray sheen, like fish scales, appeared in the distance.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, save for Pie panting with a bewildered expression and the sounds of mountain birds.
The two passed through a park that had transformed into a dense jungle and hid inside the guard post at the entrance. Eden scanned the bookshelf cluttered with papers and pulled out a “Building Directory” file.
B3~B1F – Underground Parking, Situation Room (B1F)
1F – Lobby, Restaurant, Cafeteria
2~4F – Offices
5~10F – Labs
11F – Satellite Integrated Test Clean Room
12F – Rooftop
He grabbed Ha-jin’s arm, who was looking around like a meerkat, and gave him a rough overview of the building’s floor plan.
“There’s a security gate in the lobby on the first floor. If you go past it and turn left, there’s an emergency exit staircase. We’ll take the stairs straight to the lab on the 5th floor.”
Ha-jin, staring at the floor plan with its confusing array of lines and curves, scratched his temple.
“After we find Tune on the 5th floor, what’s next?”
“We need to call for help and go to the rooftop helipad. If things don’t go well, we’ll just find Tune quickly and get out.”
Eden brushed Ha-jin’s cheek, his brow furrowing as if contemplating something. When he remained silent for a while, Ha-jin poked him in the side.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was wondering if it might be better to go get the walkie-talkie alone.”
“No way. Who knows what might happen? Jeong Tae-geon said that the buddy system is the rule.”
“……”
“I don’t want to be separated, ever.”
“That’s nice to hear, but.”
“I’m not joking.”
As if he were about to leave his side at any moment, Ha-jin grabbed Eden’s thick arm more urgently than usual. After staring at Ha-jin for a while, he let out a short sigh as if defeated and lightly kissed his lips.
“Okay. Let’s go together.”
Eden sent Pie out of the post first and pointed to the building entrance. The dog, now able to understand difficult instructions, sniffed the ground as if smelling something and hid inside the building. Ha-jin anxiously bit his lip, waiting for news.
Soon, Pie came back out of the lab. The two stroked Pie’s bright face and quietly checked for any signs of activity. There was no noticeable reaction from inside the building.
“Looks like there’s nothing in the lobby?”
“Let’s go and see.”
Eden put Ha-jin and Pie behind him and took the lead. As they entered the building, they were greeted by a gate that required a card key to enter. The turnstile was lit with a blue light, indicating that emergency power was on.
Eden lightly tapped Chun-beom’s Employee ID on the reader and looked around. He scanned the walls and floor for any splattered blood, but there were no ominous signs.
But it was too early to relax. The lobby was eerily quiet. Feeling uneasy about the silence, he grabbed Ha-jin’s arm, who was tense with nervousness.
“This won’t do. Let’s go to the situation room first.”
“Huh? Why the situation room?”
“If the CCTV is working, we can get a preliminary understanding of the building’s situation.”
Taking the stairs down to the basement from the first floor, the two passed the sparsely parked vehicles and arrived at the door of the situation room, which read “STAFF ONLY.” The door, which they had expected to be closed, was half-open.
Pie, lying flat on the floor, groaned. It was a signal that there was a corpse or an outsider.
“Stay back.”
Eden secured a long axe between the door and the frame, then pulled out a dagger. The moment he found the switch and turned on the lights in the situation room, he heard Ha-jin gasp behind him. A corpse, unable to close its eyes, was hanging from the ceiling.
Eden indifferently passed the eerie sight and stared at the large screens in front of him. Glass shards were scattered beneath the blacked-out displays. It was clear that someone had deliberately broken them.
Frowning in dismay, he cast his gaze to a corner. There, a small, unbroken monitor was placed.
As he touched the control panel, the words “Ch 85” appeared on the screen, along with a long hallway. Unlike the quiet lobby, at least 70 Zombies were slowly wandering the hallway.
Ha-jin hurriedly rummaged through the drawer under the control panel. Finding a black file, he quickly scanned the white paper inside.
“Channel 85 is the 9th-floor hallway.”
Soon, the monitor screen changed. Along with the words “Ch 79,” an empty, long hallway appeared this time.
“Where is channel 79?”
“Just a moment. Ah… 79 is the 7th-floor hallway.”
After that, the screen changed a total of three times. The 6th and 7th-floor hallways were empty, while the 8th and 9th-floor hallways were filled with Zombies like ham in a can. Unfortunately, the situation on the 5th floor, where Tune was located, was completely unknown.
Eden stared at the screen with sharp eyes for a while, then slowly licked his lower lip. He was lost in thought with a more cautious and fierce expression than ever before.
“It seems there are survivors here. Judging by the fact that the Zombies are concentrated in specific areas, someone must have lured them. And,”
Turning around, he examined the corpse on the ceiling this time.
“There’s an intruder. This person was definitely murdered.”
The dead body showed no signs of struggling, such as thrashing, or a protruding tongue, which are commonly seen in suicides by hanging. Judging by the condition of the skin, it seemed that he had been killed less than an hour ago. The holster on his waist was also empty.
Eden’s gaze turned downward. There were several muddy footprints on the floor, but the corpse’s shoes were clean, indicating that there was more than one intruder.
Not only had they broken into a research lab deep in the mountains, but they had also broken the CCTV screens, killed a security guard, and taken a Gas gun. Intruders with impure and specific purposes had definitely visited this place.
In an instant, Eden clenched his fist, recalling the memo left in the trailer and the looters who had burned down the campsite.