Professor Jang stroked his beard and let out a hearty chuckle.
"Well, I never thought I’d hear sothing like that. After the morial was built, everyone just completely forgot about the West Sea rift. They were too busy debating whether the new Number One could really fill J’s place..."
"..."
"The West Sea rift was a space beyond my understanding. And yet... I found myself wanting to research it again. I went straight to Director Ham and told her, ’I’m following this guy. I’m going to see if I can open the rift.’ Then I packed my bags and left."
Cha Eui-jae flipped through the clippings one by one. So, all of this was collected by Lee Sa-young. Just for the sake of soone who saved his life and promised to co back. Because that person might have lost their way and couldn’t return. Because they might still be alive.
’To rescue soone whose na and face he didn’t even know...’
Cha Eui-jae’s fingers lightly traced an old newspaper clipping. It was a blurry photograph of a young man wearing a black mask and a white scarf. The image had been taken from a distance and was low in quality. Lee Sa-young’s obsession was sotis difficult to comprehend.
But thanks to that obsession, Cha Eui-jae was standing here now. He let out a quiet chuckle.
’Well... looks like birds of a feather found each other.’
If this was fate, then so be it. Suppressing the strange warmth bubbling in his chest, Cha Eui-jae asked,
"Professor, could you tell more?"
"Oh-ho? About what?"
"About Lee Sa-young. Anything’s fine."
Before the professor could answer, Seo Min-gi, who had been waiting outside the door, interjected.
"The director scolds the guild leader quite often. It’s a love-hate relationship."
"Why?"
Seo Min-gi adjusted his sunglasses.
"Would you be pleased if soone kept stealing your most important personnel? The guild leader even had the audacity to try scouting Team Leader Jung Bin."
"Oh-ho-ho... Considering Director Ham’s personality, she held back a lot if all she did was scold him. If Team Leader Jung Bin had actually left, she would’ve sought revenge one way or another."
"...On whom?"
"Who else? The guild leader, of course. Even I would’ve wanted to punch him."
Professor Jang laughed heartily as he threw out such ruthless words. Cha Eui-jae stole a glance at Seo Min-gi’s face. In a world where Pado Guild didn’t exist, Seo Min-gi had been part of the Awakened Managent Bureau.
eeh. The small lamb nestled in Cha Eui-jae’s arms let out a soft bleat. He gently set the lamb down and watched its fluffy little form waddle away, deep in thought.
’Maybe I should go back and watch so old videos of Lee Sa-young.’
The video room at Mackerel’s place had been so cozy.
Then suddenly, his head snapped up. Right— Mackerel! He had to check on the Mackerel siblings. There was no guarantee that whitening would occur in the sa area as the morial Dungeon, but...
’There’s no harm in being cautious.’
At that mont, Professor Jang clicked his tongue and glanced around the room.
"I’ve worked with both of them. Honestly, Director Ham and the guild leader are the sa. Watching them go at it— it’s mutual loathing between kindred spirits."
"Well said."
With his goal achieved, Cha Eui-jae should have hurried to the fish market. But he couldn’t help but join in on the discussion.
"...But."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Doesn’t Director Ham have the better personality?"
"Oh-ho?"
So things just had to be judged objectively, no matter how much he cherished Lee Sa-young.
***
A pale light flickered. The tension in the spacious laboratory was palpable. Beyond the transparent wall, sothing bound at the limbs thrashed violently. It was a boy, his hair and patches of skin turning white. His right leg had already morphed into sothing resembling that of a carnivorous beast.
With a sudden swing, the laboratory door burst open. Ga-young strode in, clad in slippers and holding a steaming cup. She greeted them cheerfully.
"Hey there~ Sorry I’m late~ Looks like you’re all set? Should we start right away?"
"Y-yes! We just need to administer it."
"Yeah? Hmm, hmm. Well, since it’s a new day, I should at least say hello properly."
Adjusting the height of the microphone installed on the desk in front of the transparent wall, Ga-young pressed the red button.
"Ah, ah... Can you hear ? Of course, you can. Did you sleep well, my friend?"
Please... let go... A desperate voice sobbed through the speakers. Ga-young smiled brightly.
"Oh, co on. You know we won’t let you go just because you ask~ But this ti, it’s a new drug. If it works, I’ll let you go. I’ll even let you et your mom. Got it? It might hurt, so be a good boy and endure it, okay?"
The crying continued. With another press of the button, the sound was abruptly cut off. Ga-young tilted her head as she took a sip of coffee. Her earlier cheerfulness had completely vanished, replaced by an icy tone.
"Begin."
"Y-yes, ma’am."
A thick, white gas began to fill the chamber beyond the glass. A bloodcurdling scream soon followed. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts— So of the researchers turned pale, but Ga-young remained expressionless, calmly sipping her coffee.
After a while, the screams died down. The fog began to dissipate. Ga-young lightly tapped the shoulder of a seated researcher.
"Zoom in."
A large monitor displayed an enlarged image of the boy. Ga-young personally adjusted the angles, examining his body closely. Then, soone shouted.
"It— it’s working! Look at his lower half!"
The grotesquely mutated, beast-like foot at the end of his right leg had reverted to a human form. Ga-young’s eyes widened before she let out a small chuckle. With light steps, she walked to the corner of the room. There, slumped in a chair, tightly bound, was a man with his head hanging low.
Ga-young spoke to him sweetly.
"So, it was real? Thanks for the help, Min-jun. Old friendships are truly precious, aren’t they?"
"..."
"You’re quite sothing~ Not only did you join Seowon Guild, but you also got into the Guild Leader’s direct team. And now, you’ve even brought us such valuable information."
The white coat over Min-jun’s Seowon Guild librarian uniform was crumpled and torn. He forced his eyes open and whispered weakly.
"...You confird... the results... now let go..."
"Aww, why are you in such a rush? A few more tests won’t hurt."
"I’m... I’m fine. Just— just let my family go! Please!"
Min-jun struggled, causing the chair to rattle. Ga-young, indifferent, accepted a tablet from another researcher.
"Relax~ ...Who said anything about killing them? Your wife and son are still perfectly fine, so stop making such a fuss~ They’re peacefully singing hymns right now."
"Let them go, please..."
"Aww, alright. Then how about you answer just one question for ?"
Ga-young bent down, bringing her face close to Min-jun’s. His bloodshot eyes trembled. She smirked.
"That brilliant doctor, Nam Woo-jin. Where did he get his information...? There’s no way he could have made this much progress in such a short ti."
"..."
"He doesn’t grind up mutants like we do... He’s done way fewer experints. So how did he get ahead of us?"
Min-jun clenched his lips shut. Ga-young let out a long sigh, then pulled a phone from the pocket of her lab coat. She dialed a number, and faint static mixed with music played from the speaker.
"...Yeah, it’s . Nothing major, just wondering... Can you check if Lee Ji-hyun is at the gathering right now?"
"W-Wait. Wait!"
"Did she bring her son again? Check if the kid’s there too. Yeah, five years old. Oh, she is? Then—"
"...The notebook!"
Min-jun squeezed his eyes shut and shouted. A slow grin spread across Ga-young’s lips.
"Oh~ Don’t touch them just yet. Min-jun, did you say a notebook?"
"Y-Yeah. A notebook. It ca from a dungeon. Originally... originally, it was unreadable. But lately, we’ve started making sense of it..."
"And it contains hints for developing a cure?"
"Y...Yes. It has multiple thods written in it, so we’ve been testing them..."
"Aha~"
Ga-young chuckled softly and lowered her phone. Then, she placed a firm hand on Min-jun’s shoulder.
"In that case... we’ll be seeing each other often, won’t we? You’ll have to keep updated~"
Min-jun clenched his eyes shut. Ga-young’s giggling laughter echoed through the lab.
***
Creak— A worn-out truck ca to a stop in the seafood market parking lot. Cha Eui-jae stared at the packed lot with a troubled expression. In the open areas without roofs, white ash had piled up like snow.
’I wasted too much ti.’
The debate comparing Ham Seok-jeong and Lee Sa-young— their similarities and personalities— had dragged on endlessly. With so many people invested in the topic, it was bound to happen. Professor Jang, in particular, had been especially passionate. Having worked under both of them, he got so worked up he was practically fuming. In the end, they hadn’t even reached a conclusion.
’Professor Jang sure talks a lot.’
Now, Cha Eui-jae finally understood why Seo Min-gi had warned him not to get caught listening to Jang’s explanations. Just then, the truck door suddenly swung open. Strands of deep blue hair swayed as a confident-looking young man greeted him.
"It’s been a while, so I ca to et you, hyung-nim. I heard you were back, but— ah, to have you visit like this, I’m honored, truly, mmph—"
Cha Eui-jae grabbed the younger Mackerel by both cheeks with one hand. He turned the boy’s face from side to side like he was inspecting a fish. Skin color? Sa. Hair color? Sa. No signs of scales or anything abnormal. Mackerel flailed his hands.
"Uh, hyung-nim? Hello? What exactly are you doing?"
Thankfully, there were no signs of mutation. That sa shaless face as always. Cha Eui-jae let out a sigh of relief and released his grip. Mackerel rubbed his now-reddened cheeks and shot him an incredulous glare.
"Jeez, I thought my face was gonna cave in. What’s with you all of a sudden?"
"I needed to check sothing."
"Check what? That my handso face is still intact?"
"Yeah, sure. Anyway, how’s your brother? No injuries or anything?"
"Hyung? He’s fine. I’m sure he’s watching us right now."
"And nothing unusual going on around here?"
"Unusual? Why? Is there sothing I should know about?"
"Like an eroded dungeon nearby, or an area where erosion is spreading fast."
"That’s oddly specific... There is an eroded dungeon. It belongs to the Samra Guild, but their managent is... well, with Song Jo-heon locked up, they can’t do much. So, we asked the Rift Managent Bureau to handle it, but they haven’t shown up yet."
An eroded dungeon nearby. If the erosion zone kept expanding, an unmanaged dungeon would soon beco oversaturated with monsters, leading to a dungeon break— where creatures would spill out into the world. Cha Eui-jae pressed urgently.
"Where is it? Is it close?"
"About an eight-minute walk? Seriously, what’s going on, hyung-nim?"
"Point in the right direction."
"Man, you’re making spill all this information, and you haven’t told a thing. What are you, ex-NIS or sothing?"
"I don’t have ti for this! Just hurry up!"
Cha Eui-jae’s sharp tone made Mackerel’s face stiffen slightly. From the driver’s seat, Seo Min-gi chid in.
"He knows what he’s doing. Just follow his lead."
"You guys have, like, seen the future or sothing? Whatever, just go straight through that alley next to the convenience store."
Before Mackerel had even finished speaking, Cha Eui-jae leapt out of the truck and took off running. Like a shadow, Seo Min-gi followed right behind him.
Left alone, Mackerel stared after them with an exasperated expression. Clicking his tongue, he muttered, Tch, whatever. Then, as if speaking to the empty air, he called out;
"I’m following them. Just in case, stay safe!"
The wind howled. White ash swirled through the air like a snowstorm.
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