Lee Sa-young, who had been fiddling with the protruding shoulder blades and back muscles, withdrew his hand and lightly tapped the arms that were embracing him. Cha Eui-jae slowly let go. Lee Sa-young picked up the mask that had fallen to the ground and handed it over.
"Sorry for dropping it, Hyung."
"It's fine. A madman made it, so it should be sturdy enough."
Cha Eui-jae dusted off the mask. The face that had seed on the verge of tears had returned to its usual cold expression. 'Perhaps I should have watched a little longer', Lee Sa-young thought, ignoring the surge of regret as he watched the red-rimd eyes disappear behind the black mask. He wanted to touch him a little more, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. After glancing at the light filtering through the door, Lee Sa-young spoke.
"Let's go, Hyung."
"Are you sure you don't need to investigate more? This place seems pretty big."
A distorted voice asked, carefully enunciating each syllable. How much he had missed that voice. Lee Sa-young narrowed his eyes and smiled with his hands behind his back.
"Well... the investigation was done a while ago. Seo Min-gi has already taken the data."
"The remaining data?"
"That was left on purpose. For you to see, Hyung."
Lee Sa-young reached out and tapped Cha Eui-jae's fingers as if urging him. But he didn't move. Lee Sa-young quietly observed the black mask. It seed like he had sothing to say. After a long silence, Cha Eui-jae asked.
"The story isn't over yet."
"..."
"What kind of experints were done to you? How did you end up being taken there?"
"..."
"How did Protheus manage to take you from the hospital...?"
There was a grinding sound of teeth from beneath the mask. Even though it was an expected question, there was no sense of accomplishnt in guessing it. Only pity. Cha Eui-jae was kind and upright. To a foolish degree.
'He doesn't realize that kindness is gnawing away at his life...'
Lee Sa-young, who had been silent, lowered his gaze and blinked. His long eyelashes fluttered. Wearing gloves, he traced Cha Eui-jae's fingers with his own. The firm hand flinched. Lee Sa-young lowered his head and muttered.
"I don't want to talk about it here. That..."
"..."
"Can we talk about it later? Hyung."
Cha Eui-jae didn't respond. Instead, he held Lee Sa-young's hand tightly with his firm grip. The other hand wrapped around the back of his head. As if soothing him, he gently stroked his hair and spoke in a kind tone with his distorted voice.
"Sure, tell later. Let's go."
Lee Sa-young closed his eyes, feeling the gentle touch brushing through his hair. He replied with words that were different from what he had thought.
"Okay."
No.
"I will..."
This is a story you don't need to know.
***
A week later. The hangover soup restaurant was bustling as usual during the dinner hours.
The place was crowded with people squeezed into small spaces, and there was a line of people in front of the automatic self-serve bar for kimchi and side dishes. The magic stones embedded in the self-serve bar glead as they continuously dispensed kimchi into empty bowls. Hands shot up here and there.
"Two hangover soups here!"
"Yes, just a mont."
"Excuse , can I grab a bottle of soju?"
"Just take one bottle. I saw you take one earlier."
"Our part-tir's eyesight has gotten better since becoming a Hunter."
The hunter grumbled as he headed toward the industrial refrigerator. Instead of taking a straight path, he deliberately took a detour around the tables, which was inefficient but had a clear reason.
"..."
That's because a gas mask was sitting with crossed legs at the neighboring table.
Perhaps Lee Sa-young had developed a conscience. Unlike in the past, when he would boldly occupy a central table, he had now chosen a seat in the corner with a full view of the restaurant. The problem was that he had been showing up every day, not just once or twice.
Regular custors were fed up. Wasn't the second-ranked Hunter in South Korea busy? Why was he showing up at a hangover soup restaurant instead of the Pado Guild? They desperately looked at the part-tir, silently pleading for him to kick Lee Sa-young out. After all, the part-tir held the highest authority in the restaurant.
But strangely enough, Cha Eui-jae, the part-tir who would usually have sothing to say, was quiet in the face of this disruption. Instead of confronting Lee Sa-young with a ladle, he would exchange brief glances and even greetings with him from ti to ti. And each ti Lee Sa-young received a glance, he would wave his hand in response.
The part-tir and Lee Sa-young!
Who was Lee Sa-young, if not the most unwelco guest? And yet, to show such kindness to him...
"Fuck, I can't stand this."
Thunk! The chopsticks precisely stabbed the center of a radish kimchi cube. Three people were sitting around a green table. Bae Won-woo, who had already finished two bowls of soup. Team Leader Han, who was shoveling rice into his mouth with his glasses all fogged up. Honeybee, who was tornting the poor radish kimchi, suddenly took a short breath and glared nacingly at Bae Won-woo.
"Shield Guy, be honest."
"Hey, I told you not to call that. What is it?"
Honeybee leaned in and whispered harshly.
"What did your Guild Leader do?"
Bae Won-woo rolled his eyes as he diligently mixed his rice with the soup. The list of things Lee Sa-young could have done was so long that it was hard to pinpoint. Finally, he gave up filtering and replied gloomily.
"He's been up to all sorts of things, so what exactly?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. Just tell us honestly. Didn't we co to an agreent behind the shop?"
Team Leader Han also pushed up his foggy glasses and chid in.
"This situation clearly violates our agreent. The Pado Guild Leader is causing a disturbance in the shop, and yet Cha Eui-jae isn't saying anything. Didn't he offer so kind of deal?"
"What kind of deal?"
"Sothing like the renovation of the hangover soup restaurant."
"Oh, co on, what is this, a conspiracy theory?"
"What exactly happened between them to make them..."
"Oh, seriously, I have no idea..."
While Team Leader Han started arguing, Honeybee glanced at Lee Sa-young. Not only was he waving, but now he was making a flower pose with both hands, observing the part-tir's every move.
'What the heck is he doing?'
Just as Honeybee pretended to gag, their eyes t. Lee Sa-young folded one hand from the flower pose and raised his middle finger high. His skill in cursing while posing was top-notch.
Not to be outdone, Honeybee raised both middle fingers in return. But it was only for a mont because, as soon as the part-tir erged from the kitchen, the black-gloved hands quickly reverted from cursing to a flower pose. Honeybee propped her cheek on her hand and observed them.
The part-tir, holding a tray under his arm, approached Lee Sa-young. The two began quietly conversing. The conversation was nothing special. It was just ordinary talk like, "Do you want a bowl of soup?" "I'm fine," "When does your shift end?" But the part-tir was smiling gently, which was rare.
'I don't think I've ever seen him smile like that...'
A short laugh escaped. The atmosphere was different where the two of them were. Pouting, Honeybee continued to watch them. What on earth had happened to make them so close?
But only for a mont. Her sharp instincts, which had saved her life many tis, were tingling. Beneath that kind deanor was sothing hidden. Don't be fooled by the appearance.
Honeybee blinked. Beneath the smiling side profile, what was hidden...
'Tension...?'
***
11:53 PM. Despite it being well past closing ti and nearing midnight, the lights in the Awakened Managent Bureau's First Field Response Team office were still brightly lit. Almost no one had left. With the team leader still at his desk with his head in his hands, no one else dared to leave.
No one even thought about going ho. The entire Awakened Managent Bureau was on high alert.
'A hunter from the Awakened Managent Bureau was swapped out, leaving only an empty shell.'
It was an unprecedented situation since the bureau's inception. It was undoubtedly the work of Protheus, but no one knew when or how the switch had taken place. Without any clues, the investigation couldn't even properly begin. Although Lee Sa-young had dealt with one of the research facilities and sent so data...
"Sigh..."
There was no significant information there either. All they had were mountains of experint records to go through.
Another deep sigh escaped. The hunters at their desks subtly hunched their shoulders. The team leader of the First Field Response Team, Jung Bin, was clasping his hands together as if in prayer and resting his forehead on them.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the usual gentle smile on his face was replaced with a deeply troubled expression. A long scar remained on his right arm, from which the cast had just been removed.
At that mont, his phone buzzed. Without looking, Jung Bin fumbled for the phone and quickly answered the call. His tired voice spilled out chanically.
"Yes, this is Jung Bin, Team Leader of the First Field Response Team at the Awakened Managent Bureau. How can I help you?"
—Jung Bin.
A strangely distorted voice. It was slightly different from the voice he rembered, but the way it addressed him was very familiar. It sent a chill down his spine.
—Could we talk for a mont? I have sothing to say.
The tone was polite but had an oddly casual, almost irreverent undertone. As far as Jung Bin knew, there was only one person who spoke like that. And as if to confirm it, the strange voice continued.
—Oh, it's , J. Just in case you were confused.
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