By Zephyria 331
As Eui-jae and Jung-bin entered the Seowon Guild, a Seowon Guild member in a librarian’s uniform hurriedly came out to greet them. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as he led the way, saying repeatedly,
“I’m so sorry that I’m the one greeting you. Given the situation…”
“You must be busy. I understand.”
Jung-bin replied kindly, reassuring the Guild member. Eui-jae looked around. The green-eyed boy who was always bustling about was nowhere to be seen. He asked the Guild member who was hurrying down the hallway,
“Where is that kid? The one with green eyes… the Guild Leader’s secretary, or something.”
“Ah, the doll was damaged while stopping an intruder and is undergoing emergency repairs. Yes.”
“Damaged?”
“Yes, yes. It was covered in Poison, and parts of its body melted.”
Poison.
A chilling image flashed through his mind. An experimental subject struggling inside a glass tank filled with Poison. And Lee Sa-young…
“J.”
A small whisper woke Eui-jae. Jung-bin gave him a deliberately gentle smile.
“You’re putting too much strength into it. Relax a little.”
Only then did Eui-jae release his clenched fist. Deep nail marks were left on his palm. Jung-bin nodded as if he had done well and skillfully asked,
“Can it be repaired?”
“The damage is severe this time, so we’re contacting Italy. Ah, here we are.”
The Guild member bowed and hurriedly disappeared. The place he led them to was an operating room with a bluish light. A man standing in front of the operating table, Min-gi Seo, pushed up his sunglasses and greeted them.
“Oh, hello. You came quite quickly.”
“Fortunately, everyone was at the Bureau of Rift Management. What about Ga-young?”
“She was resisting fiercely. We borrowed the hands of a medical expert to put her to sleep for a while.”
As Min-gi Seo stepped aside slightly, Ga-young’s face, asleep with her eyes closed, was visible. She was tightly bound to the operating table with thick ropes. Min-gi Seo shrugged.
“You’ll have to wait a bit to interrogate her.”
“If you proceed like this arbitrarily, there will be human rights issues…”
“Should we bring up human rights to someone who experiments on people?”
“Still, there’s a procedure…”
The two began to argue about human rights. Meanwhile, Eui-jae approached the operating table. The sleeping Ga-young looked fine, except for blood smeared on her cheek.
Should I kill her?
The strength returned to his fingers, which he had barely relaxed. He cracked his knuckles. But Eui-jae took a breath and released the strength in his hand. Then he asked Jung-bin, who was still arguing,
“Can we keep this person detained? With solid defenses to prevent suicide.”
“Hmm… She’s a high risk and a criminal caught in the act… There’s no reason why not. Is that what you want?”
“Yes.”
Eui-jae straightened his crooked glasses and muttered,
“I want Sa-young to meet this person.”
Lee Sa-young feared Ga-young. Even if he wasn’t aware of it, the fear etched into his body was hard to erase. Eui-jae wanted Lee Sa-young to be happy. He wanted him to be free from the past. To do that…
“She has to be alive. Healthy.”
Then he would be by his side. Just like Lee Sa-young was.
His forceful hand dented the edge of the operating table next to Ga-young’s head.
There was a crematorium within the HB Guild. It wasn’t a formal crematorium, but a room with ventilation and fireproofed floors and walls. In fact, it was only possible because the Guild Leader was a fire ability Awakened. Some jokingly said, isn’t this also Guild welfare?
‘Guild welfare, my ass.’
Crackling, sparks flew. This fire was the size of a small campfire. Honeybee tossed a plastic employee ID into the fire. The bright red flames greedily swallowed the HB Guild logo and smiling face. Honeybee stared at the burning card and whispered,
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring the body.”
She squatted down and examined the items in the blue box. A pen and notebook, packaged bite-sized snacks, a dirty cloth used to clean weapons… She had swept up everything from the dead Guild member’s desk, but it was all worthless. The Guild employee ID would serve as a substitute for the remains, and the remaining items would be sent to the family.
She should have done this as soon as she got back, but things piled up, and only now did she have time. Even the Guild members couldn’t attend because they were handling field work.
Team Leader Han approached and picked up the box.
“I’ll go pack this up. The death compensation will be according to Guild regulations…”
“Team Leader Han.”
Honeybee rested her chin on her knees and said,
“I have advertising revenue coming in, the contract fee. Add my share to the compensation. After deducting the company’s share and taxes.”
“Honeybee-ssi…”
Team Leader Han frowned slightly. But Matthew shook his head. As if telling her not to say anymore. Team Leader Han sighed and nodded.
“…I understand. I’ll do that.”
When Team Leader Han left, only the two of them remained. Honeybee stared silently at the flames. It was similar to Jung-bin’s funeral she had experienced in the Dungeon. The flames Matthew had lit, and the helpless feeling.
The body of the Guild member Honeybee had stabbed to death disappeared from that world. The warehouse where she had barely hidden it from people’s eyes was empty. Did the System remove it, or did it disappear as ashes? She couldn’t know.
She stood up forcefully. And she tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to speak.
“I should have brought him back without killing him, no matter what? Gagged, limbs tied up. Then he would have received treatment… Don’t you think? I heard the vaccine development is going well.”
“Honeybee.”
A low voice called her. A large hand patted her shoulder.
“You don’t have to pretend to be okay.”
The hand that was stroking her hair stopped.
“It’s not your fault he mutated. And you weren’t alone, and it was an unknown situation. You made the best choice in that situation.”
Matthew, Mok Taeo, was a thoughtful and taciturn man. Kind yet strict, and he didn’t say things he didn’t mean. That was the Matthew Honeybee knew.
He was comforting Honeybee. He had been like that since the moment they met. His voice was amazing. It was a voice that gave trust, as if everything would be alright.
She felt strange. It was like sharp needles were pricking her fingertips.
Honeybee asked without realizing it.
“…Really?”
“Of course. I believe in you.”
Honeybee looked up at the man standing beside her. He was tall and large like a bear. Matthew stood straight like an old tree. A man who would break in the wind but not waver. The flames flickered over the transparent lenses of his glasses.
“Because we’re looking at the same place.”
She followed Matthew’s gaze. It was the flames. The employee ID had already melted without a trace. A pungent smell wafted. What would remain where the fire had passed?
Ashes would remain.
The hand patting her shoulder was hot. Suddenly, Honeybee realized. She hadn’t had a proper conversation with him since he woke up addicted to Prometheus’s drug.
‘…Huh?’
She slowly tilted her head. Her vision tilted slightly. As much as the angle tilted, she saw what she hadn’t seen before. A new thought burrowed in.
In the last world, Matthew died. After Jung-bin. That must be true. Lee Sa-young wouldn’t lie about something like that. She didn’t want to see Matthew’s death. So she escaped as soon as J came.
And, she prevented the death of Jung-bin in this world.
Then the next in line is…
Matthew?
“……”
Why isn’t there any sign?
Is it not time yet? Or is it because he woke up addicted to Prometheus’s drug? Thoughts chased their tails and multiplied.
She blurted out,
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“Hmm.”
“Why were you addicted? To that, the drug I mean.”
The gaze that had been staring at the flames turned to Honeybee. Honeybee muttered as if possessed.
“I understand why low-ranking street Hunters get addicted. Because their drug resistance is low. But you’re an S-class, and you’ve taken some anti-toxin measures. Because of Lee Sa-young.”
“……”
“If their drugs are so strong, why weren’t other Rankers addicted? Even Old Man Song, who had a close relationship with them, didn’t have thorns growing out of his body, even though he was tattered?”
“……”
“When, how, and why did you get addicted? What happened?”
The hand that had been patting her shoulder stopped, and the hot hand grabbed her shoulder tightly and pulled her. The huge body hugged Honeybee from behind. She tightly grabbed the thick arm that crossed over her collarbone. To break it if necessary. A heavy pressure weighed down on her.
“Honeybee… No, Yoo Chae-hyun.”
Crackling, sparks flew. The momentum had died down compared to before. A fire without firewood was bound to dwindle.
“The words I said when we first met. Do you remember?”
Honeybee slowly nodded. A low voice echoed.
“Quite some time has passed. The world has changed once again, enough for people to change.”
“……”
“In the meantime, you seem to have changed.”
“……”
“…That’s a relief. At least one person has changed.”
The arm that had been suffocating her neck suddenly released. Honeybee hurriedly turned around. Matthew had already turned his back and was walking towards the door. She tried to chase after him, but flames rose up and blocked the way between them. Honeybee shouted at the shadow disappearing through the flames.
“Hey, Matthew!”
No answer came back. Honeybee gritted her teeth and shouted with all her might.
“Hey! You son of a bitch! Stop talking nonsense and come back!”
“……”
“Mok Taeo!”
The wall of fire disappeared a long time later. Honeybee hurriedly ran out of the room, but Matthew had already disappeared without a trace.
“Damn it…!”
Honeybee bit her lip and ran out.
The ashes left in the empty room scattered with a whoosh.