By Zephyria “What do you mean….”
“I’m sorry. I’ll head down first.”
The Instructor quickly disappeared down the stairs. Eui-jae picked up the small frame and looked at the photo again. They look like real brothers like this. At that moment, Ha-eun, who had been running around the Taekwondo studio, peeked her head in.
“Uncle, what’s wrong?”
“No…. Play a little longer. Uncle will talk to the Instructor a bit more and come back.”
“Okay!”
The slightly audible voice was getting louder. Eui-jae put the frame back in its place and followed the Instructor. Stopping halfway down the stairs, he looked down and saw several people gathered at the entrance of the shopping district. They were of all ages and genders, all wearing white clothes, and some were holding signs.
[Awakened cannot be trusted!]
[Let’s overcome the crisis with our own strength!]
“……”
In fact, there was no problem with wearing white clothes itself. However, considering the content of the signs and the slogans calling for the Awakened to step down.
‘Are they from Prometheus’ side?’
Eui-jae frowned and examined them. Surprisingly, there were some familiar faces. They were merchants from the surrounding commercial district or residents from the neighborhood who he had seen while working at the Hanover Soup Restaurant. Civilians who were not Awakened. A seemingly gentle middle-aged man spoke cautiously.
“Instructor Bae, have you thought about it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on, you know what I said last time. I said it would be nice if the Instructor could come to our meeting too.”
“I remember rejecting that offer back then.”
“Hey, don’t reject it so bluntly.”
“Are you saying you all came here because I rejected that offer?”
“Came here? We just stopped by on the way. We thought it would be good if you joined us.”
The Instructor shook his head with a firm face.
“The children are scared. Please refrain from coming together like this.”
“What’s there to be scared of? We’re residents and neighbors here too.”
That’s right, that’s right. Small voices of agreement came from all over. A look of embarrassment appeared on the Instructor’s face. Eui-jae was also wondering. They weren’t people who couldn’t communicate like that. Eventually, the Instructor took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll report you to the police.”
“Report? Report for what?”
“For obstruction of business. You’re blocking the path where the children pass by.”
“Heh heh…. Okay, let’s see what happens! Ahem…. Cough, cough.”
The middle-aged man coughed softly. Other people started coughing one by one. It seemed that the confrontation would continue for a long time unless someone intervened. It was about time for him to step in. He hadn’t acted in a while, but he had enough experience. Eui-jae covered his nose from the top of the stairs and shouted in a high voice.
“Instructor~! Min-ji fell down~!”
“……”
The Instructor looked up in surprise. And he made eye contact with Eui-jae, who was peeking his head over the railing. Eui-jae covered his nose with a blank face and shouted again.
“What should I do~ She’s bleeding from her knee~! Min-ji is crying!”
“…I’ll go up and see.”
“Cough….”
The middle-aged man looked at the Instructor with a dissatisfied face and turned his back. The people blocking the entrance rushed out like a receding tide. The sound of shouting slogans calling for the Awakened to step down and small coughs grew farther away. The Instructor came up to the stairs where Eui-jae was and bowed his head.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, it ended a little earlier.”
“Do people like that come often?”
“Well, yes…. It’s been increasing lately.”
“Are they affiliated with a strange group…. or something?”
“As far as I know, no. Most of them are residents around here…. Ah, the person who made the offer to me was someone I met for the first time in the neighborhood.”
“What’s the meeting about?”
“They say it’s just a social gathering, well. I refused. It’s suspicious…. And I don’t really like socializing with people.”
The Instructor pointed to the stairs as if to say let’s go up. The two climbed the stairs side by side. Eui-jae was racking his brain. What they were claiming was similar to Prometheus. If Prometheus, who had gained public sentiment from the last incident, had settled down. If the middle-aged man was instigating people.
“……”
“Still, I’m trying to make sure the children aren’t harmed. It may be hard to believe….”
Eui-jae looked up. The Instructor was looking at the entrance of the studio with warm eyes. Children were huddled together at the entrance. Ha-eun, who was also clinging to the door, ran over. Eui-jae crouched down and made eye contact with Ha-eun.
“Ha-eun, do you want to go here?”
“Yes!”
“So she does.”
Eui-jae looked at the Instructor and smiled brightly. The Instructor, who had been staring blankly at the smile, nodded with a smiling face.
“I understand.”
“But.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Are you really Shield Guy’s brother?”
“……”
The Instructor turned his head away, pretending not to know.
“Something like that happened.”
The sound of typing on the keyboard echoed loudly. The transparent screens surrounding him changed to different videos every moment. Mackerel Hyung’s studio was dark, with only a bluish light. Eui-jae had come straight to the fish market after registering Ha-eun. He wanted to ask about what had just happened. Of course, he couldn’t reveal his identity, so he embellished it a bit. As if he had seen it while passing by.
Mackerel, who was sitting next to Hyung and peeling a candy wrapper, shrugged his shoulders.
“There are a lot of guys like that these days. You saw it right away.”
“A lot?”
“Yeah, I told you the fish market was busy, right? We were all busy finding out about that. Enough to take out the Damas.”
Mackerel put a round candy in Hyung’s mouth.
“As Hyungnim thought, Prometheus’ communities have sprung up everywhere. They’ve dug into the insecure places well. Comforting people who have lost or injured their families…. It feels like a kind of religious volunteer group?”
“Blasphemous.”
“It is blasphemous. But it’s a sweet haven for people who have nowhere to turn and are insecure. Humans crave attention, you know. Humans can’t live alone.”
“……”
“Well~ so the Awakened Management Bureau couldn’t move rashly either. You got an order not to move either, right, Hyungnim?”
“Yeah.”
“Even though it’s because of the drugs, more people know that Awakened mutate. Distrust has grown that much. In this situation, you shouldn’t move rashly… that’s my opinion.”
Mackerel shrugged his shoulders and tickled Mackerel Hyung’s hair. Mackerel Hyung flinched slightly.
“D, don’t bother me….”
“I’m bored because you keep looking at the monitor and not playing with me.”
“Come to think of it, what about the Hunters who were trapped there? Did you include them in the conditions?”
“Ah, you haven’t heard either, Hyungnim? Yeah, they were transferred to the Awakened Management Bureau. But they were immediately transferred to the Seowon Guild.”
“……”
“They’re researching the Antidote now.”
“How’s the condition?”
“Some people have already started mutating, so it doesn’t seem easy.”
“……”
“Well, if I were to provide a free service….”
Mackerel threw something. Eui-jae skillfully snatched it. It was a red ginseng candy. A bitter scent wafted.
“They’ll be targeting Hyungnim. Constantly.”
“Me? Why?”
“Don’t try to understand the thoughts of crazy bastards. Anyway, I mean be careful. Don’t go out unnecessarily. Of course, I know you’re not the type to not go out even if I say that.”
“……”
“The service ends here! Oh, when are you going to pay me the extra money for using me as a driver?”
“I’ll bring it next time I come. You’re paying with Mana Stone, right?”
“That’s right~”
Mackerel bowed exaggeratedly. At that moment, Mackerel Hyung, who had been quietly typing on the keyboard, opened his mouth.
“…Is the flu going around these days?”
“The flu? No, why?”
“……”
The dark blue eyes behind the black horn-rimmed glasses narrowed. With a click, the images of the fish market’s internal merchants appeared on the screen. The merchants in different places were all coughing softly. The coughing sounded strangely familiar. Mackerel approached the screen.
“They’re all coughing like this at the same time? What, did you guys have a company dinner without us?”
“Th, that’s probably not it. Th, there’s a high possibility it’s just a simple cold….”
The people who had gathered in front of the Taekwondo studio. They had also coughed and left. It wasn’t a very unusual thing, so he had forgotten about it. Eui-jae quietly opened his mouth.
“…The people from that meeting I saw earlier… were also coughing.”
“……”
Silence fell. Mackerel’s face, which had been smiling leisurely, hardened slightly. He took out his cell phone and seemed to be contacting someone. Mackerel Hyung spoke cautiously.
“J….”
“Yeah, tell me.”
“I, I think it’s better to be careful…. I think it’s an overreaction, but there’s always a what if.”
“……”
Eui-jae was silent. At that moment, his cell phone rang. It was the work phone that Min-gi Seo had made for him. The caller was Shield Guy, Bae Won-woo. Eui-jae pressed the call button. And immediately a loud voice burst out.
―“J, J! Can you come right now?”
“Yes? Suddenly? Where to?”
―“Sa-young’s condition is a bit strange! P, please come to Incheon as soon as possible!”
The hand holding the cell phone lost strength. The sound of people coughing beyond the screen became clearer.