By Zephyria Sa-young slightly frowned.
“…Matthew? Why?”
“The Doctor keeps looking after him, but his condition isn’t improving. I don’t know if it’s because of that damn drug or what, but Elixir and healing ability aren’t working….”
“…….”
The tip of his gloved finger traced the rim of the glass. Matthew was hurt? Wasn’t he already dead? He didn’t seem to have received any reports of problems with his identity. His thoughts, both his own and not his own, were all mixed up. He sighed deeply. There was a hissing sound as air escaped from the Gas mask.
‘At this rate….’
He wouldn’t be able to work properly for a while. Sa-young clenched his fist tightly for no reason, then released it.
It felt like he was moving a beat late. This unpleasant sensation, as if his body wasn’t his own, showed no signs of disappearing. If he let his guard down even a little, an uninvited guest would push him aside and seize control of his body. Even though he had grabbed Cha Eui-jae at home and barely regained a sense of control, it was still like this.
Honeybee, who had been muttering with a scowl, raised her head. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the Gas mask.
“…Didn’t you hear? About the drugs and Matthew. I asked J to tell you.”
“Tell who?”
What story? Drugs? Was there even such a thing as drugs in the first place? Sa-young groped through his foggy head. He felt like a lost and wandering child. Unpleasantly so.
Honeybee, resting her chin on her hand, asked.
“Aren’t you working with J? Your Guild. J said he’d tell you.”
“…J?”
J. Cha Eui-jae. He looked neat and presentable in his suit. As he recalled the image of him standing next to him just before, his mind finally began to move. Did Hyung say something like that?
“……Ah.”
Sa-young let out a small exclamation. Now that he thought about it, Hyung seemed to have said something like that. When he grabbed Cha Eui-jae, who was lingering in the entryway, trying to leave, what did he say? He said he had something he absolutely had to tell him, something about Matthew something something.
Of course, he heard it with one ear and let it out the other. He was dizzy to death, how could he possibly listen to the story of some strange man? He even deliberately tormented him. He was resentful that he was talking about another guy in front of him.
Sa-young replied nonchalantly.
“I heard it.”
“Really?”
“I just needed a little reminder.”
He heard it. He just let it go. Honeybee glared at Sa-young with suspicious eyes. Sa-young shrugged and tapped the area near his temple.
“I’m not really in my right mind these days. Sorry about that.”
“You were never in your right mind to begin with.”
“Haha….”
“You’re talking like you ever were. We all know you’re crazy.”
Honeybee, who had retorted sharply, took out a small file from her Inventory and held it out. He picked up the file and quickly scanned it, and several words caught his eye. Samra Guild, drugs, Matthew, addiction…. They were all familiar keywords. He twisted his lips into a smile.
“…You’ve been up to some pretty interesting things.”
“Give me the information about the drug ring. That’s my demand.”
Sa-young, who had been peeking at Honeybee over the file, tilted his head.
“If I give you the information?”
“Is that even a question? I’ll have to squeeze it out of you. And get a clue to cure Matthew.”
“No…, that’s none of my business.”
Thud, a hand in a leather glove placed the file on the table. Sa-young interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them. The Gas mask tilted slightly as his head tilted to the side.
“What will you give me…?”
“…….”
“Oh, don’t tell me… you were going to try to get valuable information for free? Were you such a shameless and insensible person?”
Bang!
Honeybee slammed her fist on the table and stood up. And she looked down at Lee Sa-young. Her bright brown eyes flickered with anger.
“You don’t have to provoke me like that, I wasn’t going to ask for it for free. What do you want?”
“Hmm, let me see….”
Sa-young replied, not bothering to hide his boredom.
“Actually, there’s not much I want….”
“What?”
“There’s no way you could give me what I want.”
“…….”
“…Which means a deal can’t be made in the first place.”
Just as Honeybee was about to say something, the purple eyes behind the lenses narrowed.
“But I’ll give you the information anyway. Matthew has to be saved…. Yeah.”
The fist that had been about to cover the Gas mask stopped right in front of his nose. Honeybee, who had clenched and unclenched her fist so hard that it was trembling, muttered through gritted teeth.
“You… really piss people off. That was worse than that Gyu-Gyu crazy brat just now. You know that?”
“I haven’t had any room to be mean lately.”
Sa-young took a pen out of his coat pocket. And after scribbling a phone number on the cover of the file, he slid it over to Honeybee.
“You’ll get a call to that number in a few days. Come out then. Be careful not to get any tails.”
“Okay.”
“Not right away. I have things to do too.”
“I guess I know why you came. You came to squeeze Mackerel. Mackerel released that article, right?”
“…….”
“I never thought the great Lee Sa-young would be carried around in J’s arms.”
Honeybee sneered and put the file in her Inventory.
“Ah…. So everyone was thinking that.”
However, contrary to expectations, only laughter was added to his narrowly curved eyes. What, I said that to scratch your pride, why are you laughing? Honeybee frowned. He said he wasn’t in his right mind earlier, is he really? Sa-young replied in a voice mixed with laughter.
“I came to say thank you? I did.”
“What?”
Sa-young didn’t say anything more and waved his hand dismissively.
“If you’re done, go. You shouldn’t leave your spot for too long.”
“Hmph, I’m going even if you don’t tell me to.”
Honeybee, who had turned around, turned back and snapped sharply.
“And from now on, answer your calls regularly. Got it? Don’t go hiding in some corner again and make me come find you.”
“…What?”
Sa-young, who had been rubbing the glass again, raised his head.
Had Honeybee ever come to see him personally? No. But he knew. He knew what she was talking about. A fragment vaguely surfaced through the broken memories. There was a time when he locked himself in a dark space and barely managed to breathe. The one who opened the door then was….
Honeybee, who was tidying her long hair and tying her scarf, looked back with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something to say?”
Her hair was a mess when she opened the door and came in.
“…….”
A few strands of long hair flowed down under the scarf. Honeybee clicked her tongue and gathered the long strands of hair back into one. The messy, cut hair and the long hair were intertwined and crossed.
Am I crazy? Or….
“Do you remember what you just said? You.”
“What? Of course. Who do you think I am, a goldfish? I told you to answer your calls regularly.”
“And then.”
“Then? Um, to not go hiding in some corner and make me come……. Huh?”
Honeybee, who had been confidently continuing her words, trailed off at the end. The fingers that had been tying the knot stopped abruptly. A puzzled look settled in her bright brown eyes.
“Really? That’s weird. Did I go to see you in person? No…”
“…….”
“…Ah, this is driving me crazy. What’s wrong with me these days?”
Honeybee grabbed her head. Her face was pale. It didn’t seem like she had said it on purpose. Words that flowed out unconsciously. A scene that emerged in a fragment of the uninvited guest’s memory. Honeybee knew that moment. Sa-young stood up. The hem of his black coat fluttered.
“There must have been someone else besides me. In a case like this.”
She took a step back with a wary look. Sa-young said ominously.
“Tell me.”
“Why would I?”
Sa-young took off his gloves. A finger with black fingertips grabbed the pen on the table. Hiss, the pen began to melt down black.
“Then I can’t give you the information either, I….”
“What? Hey, are you going to act like that?”
“So tell me. I’ll believe whatever crazy thing you say.”
“…….”
Honeybee, who had been biting her lip, let out a long sigh, “Ah.” She raised both hands and quickly replied.
“Ah, okay. I’ve been seeing weird things lately. Things I didn’t even do keep coming out of my mouth. Like a crazy person. Happy now?”
“For example?”
“Aish….”
Honeybee, who roughly shook her head, raised her index finger and pointed it right in the middle of Sa-young’s Gas mask.
“You’re dead if you tell anyone about this. Got it?”
“I got it, so tell me quickly.”
Even though she had promised, her mouth wouldn’t open easily, and Honeybee wandered around the room for a long time. Sa-young waited patiently. If he had known it would take this long, he should have brought Hyung with him. The longer the time passed, the greater his anxiety grew. The anxiety that he might lose control of himself was secondary,
‘He wouldn’t cause another accident, would he….’
The anxiety was like that of the owner of a very active dog. Cha Eui-jae himself thought that he had very rational thoughts, but from the side, he was a mess. Not just one screw was loose, but several, but strangely, he was like a robot that properly carried out orders. In some ways, he was even self-deprecating.
Sa-young took advantage of the gap while waiting for Honeybee to speak and sent a text message.
It’s taking a while
It’s okay to let the person named Jang Mi-sook follow
I’ll be there soon
A reply came back not long after.
Hyung: Okay
Fortunately, he hasn’t caused any accidents yet. Sa-young was just about to tap the screen of his phone for no reason. Honeybee barely opened her mouth.
“…It’s definitely the face of a living person, but I suddenly see a decayed appearance from being bitten by an animal.”
“…….”
Sa-young didn’t answer and just listened to her. Honeybee bit her lip and muttered.
“Do you know what I saw a while ago? I was talking to Jung-bin, and suddenly Jung-bin’s neck was cut by something and dangling. I thought I had been cursed.”
“It’s not a curse?”
“It’s not.”
“…When did it start appearing?”
“…….”
Black boots tapped the floor.
“After the Day of Change….”
Honeybee and Lee Sa-young were both nervous. An atmosphere as precarious as cracked glass was swirling around them. Only the red goldfish in the tank was swimming leisurely.
Sa-young released the fastening device of the Gas mask, took it off, and placed it on the table. Messy hair, purple eyes, and pale lips were revealed in turn. With his face completely exposed, Sa-young tilted his head and asked.
“Me.”
“…….”
“What do you see on my face?”
Honeybee slowly stared at Lee Sa-young. She tilted her head and answered.
“You…. You seem the same.”
“…Hmm. Really?”
“No, wait. No.”
A question mark appeared in her bright brown eyes.
“The color of your eyes…. Is a little brighter. Light purple?”
“…Ah.”
Sa-young, who let out a low exclamation, raised the corners of his lips and smiled. However, his eyes were filled with unpleasantness.
“Damn accurate.”