Chapter 183 - Multiple Thoughts
A scream erupted. After the scream died down, a small whistle began to sound. Scream, whistle, scream, whistle, "help me!", Whistle. The whistle was getting closer and closer. The man, with anxious eyes, glanced at the door and began frantically tearing the papers on the desk.
But there was too much to tear alone. Damn it! The man bit his lips hard. Blood pooled.
That's when it happened.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was a polite knocking sound. So, they've finally come. The man swallowed his saliva and pulled a button from his pocket, gripping it tightly.
"...Who is it?"
"Me? A guest~"
A cheerful, low voice answered. It was a voice he had never heard in this place. The man pressed himself against the wall, fingers hovering over the button. Just then, a higher-pitched voice interrupted.
"What are you talking about? Just open it."
"It could be a lunatic, or a monster. We need to check if their head's still on straight."
"Ha..."
"Well, since they seem capable of communication..."
The man gritted his teeth and pressed the button.
Beep—
Screeeech!
As the button was pressed, the door violently burst open, and something flew at him. The man's eyes widened. As his frozen body finally loosened, something trickled down from his ear. He touched the spot where his ear had been. Horrific pain shot through him.
"A, a, a..."
AAAAHH! The man crouched down, wailing like a beast.
At the door stood two figures. A man, leaning casually with his hands in the pockets of a white parka, and a woman dressed in a black leather jacket, her face meticulously concealed with a cap and mask. The woman pulled her mask down to her chin. Her red lips twisted. She whispered in a sharp, small voice.
"Can't you handle this more cleanly? What if blood splatters on the data?"
"Ugh, more nagging..."
"When you're hired, you should listen to your employer, right?"
"Sorry~? I only listen to employers who respect my freedom."
"Do you even know how much you were paid? Do your job properly."
"Oh, right. Hmm, should I...?"
The man, who had been standing with a throwing posture, finally raised both hands.
"Oops! I meant to throw just for intimidation, but I accidentally hit~"
"Ha... what if he dies from blood loss?"
"He won't die from losing an ear~ I've been through worse myself. Anyway..."
Amid the screams, a low growling sound mixed in. The man in the parka pointed his chin towards a corner.
"Want me to handle it if it's too much for you?"
"No, just sprinkle a potion on him."
"Such generosity."
The woman in black disappeared from view for a moment. Flashes of light burst out here and there, followed by a splattering sound. Blood sprayed across the white wall in long streaks. Meanwhile, the man in the parka ambled over, swaying like a drunken person.
He yanked out the bloodied hand axe stuck in the wall and crouched down in front of the trembling researcher. Blood dripped from the axe.
The man popped open a potion with a soft plop, grabbing the researcher by the hair.
"Hands off~"
"Uh..."
"If it were me, I'd listen before I lose another limb."
The blood-soaked hands hurriedly fell away. The man poured an entire potion onto the ear. The severed area quickly began to heal. The pain subsided, and the growling of the beastly creature quieted down.
After a while, the woman emerged from the darkness, her appearance unchanged except for a single drop of blood on her cheek. She flicked her rapier, shaking off the blood that had collected. Her voice was laced with gritted teeth.
"How many people have you kidnapped to do this kind of thing?"
"..."
"Look here~"
A hand suddenly shot into view, snapping its fingers. The researcher looked up in terror. The man took off his hood. Disheveled hair poked out. Pale blue hair glistened under the light. The researcher's eyes widened in shock.
"W-w-why, why are you here..."
Gray eyes narrowed into a crescent shape. Ban Gyu-min— Gyu-Gyu —grinned wickedly.
"Well, I got paid~? I'll do anything as long as the price is right."
Bloodied boots stepped closer. The handle of the rapier pressed against the researcher's back.
"Do you have time to chat?"
"Yes, yes. Got it~"
Gyu-Gyu grabbed the researcher's face with his hand and raised his eyebrows at the woman.
"So, what do we need to find out?"
The woman roughly removed her cap, letting a waterfall of black hair cascade down, streaked with patches of gold. Her bright brown eyes gleamed fiercely. She was Honeybee.
"Anything related to the drug they gave to Matthew..."
She paused for a moment, shaking her head.
"No, it doesn't have to be directly related. Just get anything out of him. Everything he knows."
"That's pretty broad~"
"Seeing what's inside, I think these guys are the ones making the mutations. Scrape out everything down to the bottom."
"Oh, now that sounds fun."
"S-spare..."
Snap, the veins on the hand holding the researcher's face bulged. Though the researcher screamed in desperation, the sound was muffled by Gyu-Gyu's grip. His gray eyes sparkled as his lips curled upward.
"Could you stop crying? And don't drool on me... I'm a bit of a germaphobe~"
"Ugh, mmph!"
"Shh, if you keep screaming, I won't ease the pain, okay?"
"..."
"Good, that's a good boy."
With a wide smile, Gyu-Gyu loosened his grip and looked back.
"But boss, you know my powers, right?"
"I do."
"You also know there's no guarantee that I'll get what you want?"
"I know. Do it anyway."
Honeybee perched on the desk and picked up the torn documents. As she pieced them together, she scoffed and glanced coldly at the researcher.
"If he dies, we've got plenty more to ask."
"So scary~"
Gyu-Gyu chuckled slyly as he stared into the tear-filled eyes of the researcher.
"Well, I'll try my best."
"..."
"I'm starting to get curious myself..."
Gyu-Gyu pulled something out of his pocket. It was a 10-sided die. He placed it on his thumbnail and flicked it like a coin. The spinning die shot up into the air. Clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come..."
He rattled off a rapid-fire prayer.
"...for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever."
The die, still spinning in midair, slowly came to a stop.
"Amen."
The die, suspended in the air, dropped to the floor with a clatter. Tak, tadadak... It rolled and finally stopped as it hit the researcher's leg.
6.
Gyu-Gyu sighed and scratched his messy hair. Soon, his hand, now sharp like a beast's claw, fell from his head.
"I've been going to church every week this month. Talk about bad luck."
"Got something else?"
"Yeah~... What should we do?"
"What else would we do?"
Honeybee crossed her legs.
"Do what you're best at. That's why we hired you."
"Oh, right..."
His rough hand clamped over the researcher's mouth, lifting him up. Dangling in the air by his head, the researcher swayed. Between the man's parted lips, sharp fangs gleamed. His gray eyes glinted mischievously as he bent his pinky finger with a snap. The scream was swallowed by the firm grip.
"If you don't want to hurt more, start talking, okay? I'll start with the fingers..."
***
The secret relationship between the top two.
The scandal involving the number one and number two, which had shaken the entire country, quieted down more quickly than expected, thanks to the intervention of a shadowy information dealer known as Mackerel.
Mackerel had spread all sorts of rumors, diluting the information. Since it was Mackerel who had sown the seeds, it was only right that Mackerel cleaned it up. Despite advocating for the freedom of the press, Mackerel was powerless in the face of J's threatening presence, which stormed in with a menacing aura.
"When did freedom of the press start covering fabrications, huh?"
"It's not a fabrication, hyung-nim! No, isn't this a fact? What about those marks on the guild leader's neck!"
"What do you mean 'what about'? They're from this!"
"Ack! Gah!"
Rumors of strange marks on the neck of Lee Sa-young, the guild leader, and of the two being unusually close and looking overly familiar were passed around like urban legends via HunterNet, anonymous sites, and through whispers in the streets.
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Thanks to the secret dealings between the number one and number two, the unsettling atmosphere that seemed to be quieting down persisted. The Awakened Management Bureau was troubled by the growing number of missing low-grade hunters. Despite issuing several notices warning hunters not to travel alone and working with various guilds, the number of disappearances kept rising.
Awakeners, once symbols of safety and success, were slowly becoming a new threat. They were now seen as ticking time bombs, potentially turning into mutants at any moment. While this was still considered a conspiracy theory...
"We're reaching the limits of keeping witnesses quiet."
"..."
Jung Bin sighed briefly, tapping his pen on the table. More and more people were starting to recognize that these mutants were originally hunters. His brown eyes were filled with concern.
"This is troublesome..."
"Ah, that's right!"
Someone raised their hand excitedly.
"I just met J! How about asking J for help?"
"J?"
"Yes, J visited the Awakened Management Bureau earlier."
"Oh, in that case..."
"No."
A firm answer cut off the conversation. The rare smile on Jung Bin's face had disappeared. Though it quickly returned as the team members exchanged cautious glances, he clasped his hands together and spoke.
"J is busy with other matters."
A faint mist rose from the white coffee cup. Ham Seok-jeong liked to have a coffee machine in the director's office and brew her own coffee. When Cha Eui-jae came to visit with his aunt, he would often be offered a cup as well. Though he never drank it, back then he liked it.
His aunt's scolding, "Why are you giving coffee to a child?" and Ham Seok-jeong's joking, "He's all grown up, it's fine."
Now, Cha Eui-jae couldn't even use the word "visit."
Instead of sitting in the seat of honor, Cha Eui-jae sat across from Ham Seok-jeong, who gazed at him. The once black hair now had streaks of gray, and the face bore more signs of time and a few new scars.
It was funny how he was reminded of the passage of time at moments like these. Since Cha Eui-jae hadn't changed in eight years, he had to look at others to notice it— whether it was Jung Bin, Ham Seok-jeong, Song Jo-heon, or even Lee Sa-young.
Thud. Ham Seok-jeong set down her cup. Her sharp eyes softened with a faint smile.
"It's been a while."