By Zephyria “Don’t worry.” I’ll work hard.”
Yoon Ga-eul’s eyes sparkled as she clenched her fist tightly. It was hopeless. It was impossible to deliver the message to her. Eui-jae nodded weakly. Ga-eul drooped her shoulders.
“So…. Don’t talk about things like the end.”
“…….”
“Without J….”
“…Yeah, I understand.”
If I’m not here, the destruction of this world will accelerate even more. Because Jung-bin and Matthew will die after I die. But there was nothing he could do. His death was predetermined, and he couldn’t interfere with the already decided past.
Watching a world where destruction is certain is so….
‘…Let’s get more information.’
Eui-jae retraced the people he knew. Maybe, in this world, his aunt might be alive. With that small hope, he asked.
“Do you happen to know a Hunter named Park Hye-kyung?”
“Yes, she was Director Ham’s right-hand woman.”
The fact that it ended in the past tense was ominous. Eui-jae only moved his lips silently, barely managing to ask.
“She passed away.”
“Yes, with the Director.”
“…….”
“…J?”
“No.”
He quietly looked up at the ceiling. Another Doomsday was waiting in the place he had escaped to avoid Doomsday. What can I do? He turned his head. Ga-eul was looking at Eui-jae with worried eyes. He knows. Ga-eul, who woke up crying every night. And yet, she kept moving forward.
“Yoon Ga-eul.”
“Yes, J.”
“Someday… there will be something you have to decide.”
Ga-eul had a puzzled look on her face. However, Eui-jae was sure. He had to say this now. If not at this moment, it wouldn’t work. He reached out and firmly grabbed Ga-eul’s hand.
“Don’t hesitate. Have confidence, have conviction.”
“…J?”
“Do what you have to do. Your choice is not wrong.”
“…….”
“Do you understand?”
Ga-eul, who had been silent for a long time as if chewing on those words, slowly nodded. Only then did Eui-jae smile.
Okay, that’s enough.
At that moment, Ga-eul straightened up with a start. And she hurriedly picked up the rope and came over. Is Lee Sa-young coming back? Ga-eul quickly tied both wrists and fell off the bed. At the same time, the door slid open, and Ga-eul raised her voice.
“Ah, no matter how much you ask me to untie you, I won’t!”
“…….”
“…….”
Student Ga-eul doesn’t have any talent for acting either. Would Sa-young be fooled by that? Eui-jae looked at the ceiling with a bitter face. The Gas mask looked back and forth between Ga-eul and Eui-jae lying on the bed, then nodded at her.
“Go.”
“Yes, yes!”
Ga-eul shook her fist at Eui-jae as if to cheer him on, then quickly left the hospital room. Sa-young, who stopped at a suitable distance from the bed, stared intently at Eui-jae.
And.
A snicker was heard.
“I’ll let you off the hook, this time.”
“…….”
Damn perceptive bastard.
Eui-jae closed his eyes, pretending not to notice. Just wait until my body gets better. Then, a languid voice continued.
“Tell me when you recover.”
He slyly opened one eye and looked at Sa-young.
“…Why?”
“I’ve been looking into a few things. I want to escape this place too….”
“What did you find out?”
“People who could be clues.”
He had a neatly folded memo between his black gloves. He flicked the memo. The memo landed neatly on Eui-jae’s stomach. What is he doing? Eui-jae opened both eyes and glared at Sa-young.
“What? Are you kidding me right now?”
“Check it out when you’ve recovered enough to untie that rope yourself.”
“You….”
Is he really kidding me? This was nothing short of a provocation towards Eui-jae. Eui-jae gritted his teeth. He clenched his fist. And.
“You rude bastard, really!”
He lifted it up with force.
Crack!
Along with the steel safety handles attached to both sides of the bed.
“…….”
“…….”
Sa-young looked at him as if he was dumbfounded. Eui-jae was just as embarrassed. No, what kind of rope is it that it won’t break? He awkwardly untied the rope and tried to reattach the broken handle. At that moment,
Sliding!
The door opened forcefully again. Nam Woo-jin, with a tired face, suddenly shouted.
“What are you doing, you guys again!”
But he soon fell silent at the sight inside the hospital room. Eui-jae also fell silent. Sa-young tapped the bottom of his Gas mask and said.
“It’s nothing much….”
“…….”
“J-nim says he wants to be discharged so, so much.”
“…Ah, haha.”
Eui-jae scratched his head awkwardly with a sheepish smile. Because he hadn’t untied one hand, the handle was dangling along with it.
“Bake more.”
“What’s wrong? I thought you wouldn’t eat more because it’s hard to fight when you’re heavy.”
“Shut up. Just bake more quickly.”
Honeybee, sitting cross-legged on the desk, chewed on the taffy and scolded him. Matthew silently raised his index finger. A stream of flames rose from his finger. Sizzle, the buttered squid curled up in the flames. The savory smell stimulated the taste buds. Honeybee looked down at the top of Matthew’s head as he focused on controlling the temperature. The taste of the taffy, the right temperature, the savory smell, Matthew’s gestures, every single expression. It all felt so real.
“…….”
It was a scenery she missed and wanted to see. Really. It was also a scenery she desperately wanted to get back. Not to see it in this fake world, but in the real world.
Honeybee bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears, then quickly turned her head away. Matthew said.
“Just wait a little longer.”
“I know, I do.”
Did he hear her choked voice? I hope he didn’t. Fortunately, Matthew was focused on grilling the squid without any particular reaction. She looked at the ceiling. The white ceiling and the piles of documents, the cross hanging on the wall. It was exactly the same as the HB Guild Leader’s office in her memory.
‘Is this really a Dungeon?’
It’s so vivid, isn’t this another reality? Honeybee glared at the ceiling, chewing on the innocent taffy. At that moment, Matthew opened his mouth.
“Honeybee.”
“What is it?”
“Is something wrong?”
“…….”
“You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”
She was silent. Then, she carefully brought up the topic.
“If.”
“Hmm.”
“You made some kind of choice. Um, for example…. You risked your life.”
Matthew nodded as if telling her to continue. Honeybee shook her crossed legs and continued the question.
“Did you do it because it was the best option?”
“Probably.”
It was an answer without hesitation. Even though she knew he was that kind of person. Honeybee rested her chin on her hand. Tears kept welling up. And she barely managed to utter a word.
“That’s the worst.”
“…….”
She lightly jumped off the desk and stood on the floor. And, with her back turned, she said.
“Bake a few more. I’ll share them with J.”
“…I will. Is J doing okay?”
“Huh?”
When Honeybee turned around with a puzzled look, Matthew glanced at her.
“I heard he collapsed again recently.”
The expression ‘again’ bothered her. Come to think of it, Nam Woo-jin kept worrying about J’s health. Is his body that weak?
‘But….’
Even though she saw the illusion of Jung-bin’s neck being cut off, she didn’t see J die. Honeybee frowned. Matthew carefully packed the perfectly grilled squid legs and taffy into a box, saying.
“I hope you’ll pay attention to him too. Even if you’re not in the same Guild….”
“Do they still not know the reason why he collapsed?”
“So I heard.”
“…….”
Honeybee frowned. This needed to be investigated further.
Hoo, a hazy cloud of cigarette smoke mixed with white ash and flew away. The sea covered in Whitening had long lost its blue color. Waves with white ash floating on them wet her bare feet and then subsided. Can a place that has lost the sea’s unique salty smell, the sea’s blue color, and the sea’s vitality all be called the sea?
Even though he had tried to leave several times, he eventually had no choice but to return. To this place, the sea.
The young man stood there for a long time, not even minding that his feet and the hem of his pants were getting wet. His disheveled indigo hair fluttered, and the hazy sea was reflected in his glasses. Then, a blunt voice was heard from behind.
“Why, are you going to fall in and die?”
“…….”
It was a hunched-over old woman. The old woman clicked her tongue and pointed towards the house with her wrinkled hand.
“You have a guest.”
“…A guest?”
He asked with a puzzled look, but there was no answer. The old woman disappeared, as if she had finished speaking. The young man took a long drag on his cigarette for the last time, then shook the ashes towards the sea. And he turned his back on the white sea. White ash swirled around his damp feet.
The small seaside village is quiet. The Hunters were busy dealing with the Whitening phenomenon occurring in major cities, so they didn’t have the time to pay attention to such places. Most of the people left in the village were natives. People who didn’t have the means to leave to survive, or people who lived without knowing what Doomsday was.
He walks along the uneven road with his damp bare feet. White footprints were left behind him. The man stopped in front of a blue-roofed house covered in hazy ash. He could feel a presence that he wouldn’t normally feel. Should he pretend not to know and go back to the sea now? But there’s no way those people wouldn’t have noticed his presence.
‘Where did I get caught….’
Well, it’s no use looking for the tail now. What’s already happened. The young man let out a long sigh, then strode over the half-open gate. Beyond the narrow yard, two dark figures were sitting on the porch. A man wearing a Gas mask and a man wearing a mask. Why did the people who should be flying around in Seoul come to such a remote place?
The man wearing a sleek black mask opened his mouth. A distorted voice flowed out.
“Mackerel.”
“…….”
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
The young man took out a cigarette pack from his pocket and took out a new cigarette. Then he lit it and sucked on it until his cheeks became hollow. His indigo eyes slowly closed beyond the scratched glasses. He replied in a tired voice.
“I don’t know how you came here….”
The smoke mixed with the air and disappeared.
“Did you wash your hands?”