By Zephyria Honeybee, whose shoulder was grabbed, spoke with a bewildered expression.
“It’s exactly as I said. About four hours ago, there was a sighting of Lee Sa-young in Incheon. Well, Sa-young… he used to go to Incheon often anyway, and he moves around as he pleases. I thought he was just making excuses to do something else….”
She glanced at Eui-jae and raised her eyebrows.
“Could it be that he really had a health problem?”
“Is there a photo?”
“It’s Ranker Chat, so there are no photos….”
“Min-gi Seo!”
“I was already listening.”
Min-gi Seo abruptly raised his head from Eui-jae’s shadow. Honeybee was shocked.
“What? Why is that guy here?”
“Right now, you are my Master’s customer. I’ll check the Ranker Chat and rumors, so please check your phone, customer. If Honeybee Hunter is right, you should have a message.”
Min-gi Seo stretched out his arm, half-submerged in the shadow, and handed over a phone. It was the phone for contact that Min-gi Seo had obtained. As soon as it was turned on, a flurry of missed call notifications poured out. The caller was all…
Jung-bin.
“……”
Eui-jae bit his lip. It felt like the ground beneath his feet was spinning. He hesitated for a moment and then pressed the call button. The ringing tone went on for a long time. Eui-jae’s thoughts followed suit, chasing each other’s tails.
‘Did Lee Sa-young really wake up?’
Suddenly?
Of course, they said they didn’t know how long it would take for him to wake up. That waiting was the best option. But not only did he wake up without any warning, but he also went straight to Incheon without contacting anyone?
Without even contacting me?
“……”
Beep. The call connected.
“Jung-bin.”
—Ah, J…. Did you get out of the Dungeon? Are you hurt anywhere?
Jung-bin’s voice was tinged with exhaustion. Eui-jae rubbed the rock with the sole of his shoe for no reason.
“I just heard the news. Lee Sa-young….”
—Ah, you heard. Then let me get straight to the point.
Jung-bin cleared his throat.
—Lee Sa-young was first sighted in downtown Incheon 4 hours and 30 minutes ago, and he seems to have been moving ever since. According to Wave Guild’s contact, the last place he was seen was near the West Sea. Um. To be exact, near the West Sea Rift Memorial.
“……”
Eui-jae’s hand holding the phone tightened slightly.
—Originally, I should have gone, but I can’t move right now…. I’m sorry. But I can’t mobilize the Awakened Management Bureau personnel either.
The moment the Awakened Management Bureau moves, everyone’s attention will be focused on Lee Sa-young. Eui-jae rubbed the ends of his hair for no reason and muttered.
“No, it’s okay. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll go.”
—Okay, then….
Jung-bin hung up the phone with a somewhat urgent tone. Eui-jae held onto the phone and then roughly swept back his hair.
From Mokpo to Incheon?
If Hong Ye-seong’s scroll was here, he could move immediately, but the one he had taken was already used to come to Mokpo. Eui-jae looked around and met Honeybee’s eyes. She must have come from Seoul. With that thought in mind, Eui-jae asked urgently.
“Honeybee Hunter, what did you take to get to Mokpo?”
“I came by Guild helicopter…. But it still took quite a while by helicopter. Um, I don’t know what it is, but isn’t it urgent right now?”
“……”
“I don’t think you’ll be satisfied with the helicopter’s speed, will you?”
She was right. If it wasn’t a means of transportation that could move immediately, it was all the same. This was all a situation caused by Hong Ye-seong being too outstanding. Eui-jae gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, something nudged Eui-jae’s ankle. It was Min-gi Seo, who had only his upper body sticking out from the shadow.
“Fortunately, the transportation problem seems to be solved, customer.”
“Huh?”
“As soon as the sighting appeared on Ranker Chat, Romantic Opener went to find the Guild Master. It seems he’s near the Guild Master right now.”
Romantic Opener. His ability is to open doors to other places. Min-gi Seo slid up his sunglasses. The black sunglasses gleamed.
“Talented people should be used in the right place.”
Eui-jae gave him a thumbs up.
“Okay, then….”
Jung-bin hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. His face, which always maintained a calm light, was flushed red, and heat blisters were blooming in places. He took off his suit jacket and rolled up the slightly burnt shirt sleeves to his elbows. The scars on his right arm, which remained a mess, were revealed.
He was standing in a black room. No, to be exact, it was an ordinary room, but it had lost its original color due to the flames and soot. The only things that maintained their original color were Jung-bin and another man.
At the innermost part of the room, a man bound by Black Chains was kneeling. Beneath his deeply bowed head, crooked glasses were faintly visible. Ugh, a low groan was heard. Jung-bin swept back his disheveled hair.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
The man slowly raised his head.
“Matthew.”
A look of bewilderment crossed his cool expression.
“…Where is this?”
“This is the Seowon Guild basement. Honeybee brought you here. She said the Awakened Management Bureau might leak information. Nam Woo-jin said he couldn’t handle it alone, so he called me.”
Jung-bin smiled bitterly.
“The point about information leaking… I can’t deny it.”
“Is that so….”
“You wouldn’t regain your reason no matter how much we confronted you, so we tied you up first. I’m sorry.”
Matthew, Mok Taeo, blinked his eyes, tilting his head slightly as if tired. He slowly bowed his head. The crooked glasses fell to the floor with a thud.
“…Thank you. I’m coming to my senses a bit.”
“No need to thank me. I’ll get it back several times over.”
An unpleasant voice cut in, along with the sound of a door being kicked open. It was Nam Woo-jin, wearing a white coat. His pale eyes were filled with displeasure.
“If the public official hadn’t come on time, you would have burned down the entire building. Even the valuable books. It’s going to take a while to get rid of the burnt smell.”
“……”
Mok Taeo nodded silently. Jung-bin asked.
“What suddenly happened? Did you suddenly have a problem controlling your ability?”
Until now, Mok Taeo, whom Jung-bin had seen, was someone who was more obsessed with controlling his ability than anyone else. Grilling marshmallows and squid were all part of his ability control training. Nam Woo-jin, who had taken a seat next to Jung-bin, crossed his arms.
“I came to ask you that too. Matthew, where did you take drugs?”
Jung-bin’s eyes widened.
“Drugs? Don’t tell me….”
“Yeah. You’re addicted to that thing we’ve been investigating. You wouldn’t have touched the drugs yourself.”
Matthew, who was blinking his eyes with difficulty, asked.
“Where is Honeybee…? Was she hurt too?”
“She threw you here and left to find something. She wasn’t hurt. She was wrapped in flame-resistant equipment.”
Nam Woo-jin, who was answering smoothly, narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger.
“Answer my question first. Where did a guy like you take drugs? You must have taken quite a bit to lose that much control. Didn’t you notice anything strange?”
Behind Nam Woo-jin, a small boy came and stood with a cart. On the cart were neatly arranged syringes and drugs of various sizes. Jung-bin asked worriedly.
“Is detoxification possible?”
“I don’t know, I have to try it to find out. Hey, Matthew! Don’t lose your mind and answer the questions.”
“That’s……”
Matthew let out a long, hot breath. Then, in an instant, his eyes, which had been flickering as if they were about to close, rolled back.
Jung-bin shouted.
“Damn it, get back!”
Kwaaaang—!!
Kwaaaang—!!
A black shoe roughly kicked open a dark brown door. Two seas were connected by a single door. Of course, one side was full of glittering raw fish restaurant neon signs on the street. Romantic Opener, who was holding the doorknob, fluttered weakly.
“Be, be gentle with the door…. Ugh.”
However, Eui-jae was not in a situation to check on Romantic Opener’s condition. He grabbed his fluttering shoulders and asked as if demanding an answer.
“Hey. Where’s Lee Sa-young? Where is he?”
“O, over there, West Sea Rift, ugh…. Memorial….”
Having heard the answer he wanted, Eui-jae put down Romantic Opener and started running. Min-gi Seo collected the fallen Romantic Opener. And he looked beyond the door, towards Mokpo.
“Will you use Honeybee Hunter too?”
“…It’s okay, I’m fine. I have to return by helicopter.”
Honeybee swept back her blonde hair and turned her back.
“Tell Lee Sa-young I said hi.”
Tap, tap, tap, each time his feet hit the ground, the raw fish restaurants that lined the beach road decreased. The neon signs that had been blurring his vision and the love songs that had been piercing his ears gradually faded away. The surroundings gradually became quiet. Only the sound of his pounding heart rang in his ears.
Eui-jae gritted his teeth. His gray hair fluttered messily.
Thump.
I can’t be late again.
Thump.
Please!
Thump!
Soon, Eui-jae slowed down, catching his breath. A cape stretching out towards the sea, and a huge stone standing there. The West Sea Rift Memorial, with the names of the victims written on it. It was his first time seeing it in person.
The name written at the top was….
J.
“……”
Inside the safety railing surrounding the memorial, a black figure was crouching. The hem of a black coat was scattered haphazardly on the ground. Eui-jae carefully called out to him.
“…Sa-young?”
…The black figure slowly raised his head.
Disheveled black hair, purple eyes peeking through the hair, a pale face, and lips marked with blood vessels from how much he had been chewing on them. It was Lee Sa-young. Eui-jae couldn’t hold back the surge of emotion and blurted out his inner thoughts.
“If you woke up, you should have contacted me or the other Guild members….”
But he couldn’t list all his nagging and had to stop in his tracks.
Lee Sa-young was still staring blankly at Eui-jae with a pale face. But that face was like….
…Like he had seen a ghost.
“……Sa-young?”
Eui-jae carefully called his name once more. As if that was a signal, Lee Sa-young slowly got up. And he staggered towards him. Eui-jae hurriedly jumped over the railing and grabbed his shoulder, which was unable to maintain its balance. It seemed like their eyes met.
A finger’s worth of black hand touched Eui-jae’s cheek. Lee Sa-young continued to fumble, stroking his left forehead, temple, and through his hair. His fingertips were trembling terribly. Eui-jae carefully covered his hand as if to hold it.
“What’s wrong with you?”
At that moment,
Drip….
Tears dripped down his pale cheek.