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“Are you in charge? I don’t compromise. You’d better stop thinking you can do something with that gun.”
The assailant growled. Cheon Geon-young stopped a short distance from him without saying anything to soothe or threaten him. Simultaneously, the assailant’s face began to flush bright red.
“Ahem, ahem.”
He started stomping his feet like someone standing barefoot on summer asphalt. He seemed to be suddenly suffering from intense heat. The doctor, trying to avoid the weapon pointed at his neck, twitched like an electrocuted fish.
Meanwhile, the assailant’s neck turned redder than a tomato. He made a gesture as if trying to vomit something out. He seemed to be trying to expel phlegm to escape the pain, but he ultimately failed.
“Argh!”
Unable to contain his rage, he hastily pushed the doctor he was holding hostage. Then, he violently started tearing off his clothes. The doctor, trembling, ran behind Cheon Geon-young and hid.
“Hot, it’s hot...”
Stripped down to his underwear, he abruptly lay down in the hallway. Soon after, he frantically rubbed his arms and legs on the floor to send cold air into his body. The soldiers’ eyes widened at his bizarre behavior. Oh Gi-cheol approached Cheon Geon-young, his face pale.
“Geon-young.”
Just then, the assailant screamed, saying he felt like he was going crazy from the heat. He was struggling so hard, tears and saliva streaming down his face, that he was tearing at his bare chest.
“Are you going to let me die?”
“Should I?”
It was a dry question that even made Oh Gi-cheol recoil. Only after confirming the terror in the opponent’s eyes did Cheon Geon-young withdraw his ability. At that, the assailant’s body went limp. He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes hollow. The soldiers moved swiftly to surround him.
Cheon Geon-young left after seeing the Esper subdued. No one remaining in the hallway was able to stop him.
After leaving the hospital, he didn’t call a separate car but took a taxi. He listened to the radio, which played everyday news, and stared straight ahead. The river he had feared as a child flashed past the window, but he felt no particular emotion.
A moment later, the taxi stopped in front of a familiar building. Cheon Geon-young paid the fare and took the elevator up to the high floor of the empty building, which had no residents.
This place, on the outskirts of the city, was where Yoon Tae-ha’s hideout was located. It was also the first place she had teleported him to.
After hearing the news of Yoon Tae-ha’s disappearance, Cheon Geon-young immediately bought this building and the one opposite it through the guild. And while he stayed in the Green Sea, dedicating himself to the search, he entrusted the building’s management to a trustworthy person. He ordered them to maintain it as usual but also to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
Cheon Geon-young got off the elevator and stood in front of the casually closed door, which had no special lock. He gripped the doorknob with slightly trembling fingertips.
What were the chances of her being here? He knew it was infinitesimally low, but he still wanted to hope.
Holding the doorknob, he struggled with an invisible opponent for a moment, then slowly opened the door. Upon confirming the uninhabited interior, a foreseen sense of loss pierced his chest.
Strong sunlight, enough to make one wince, poured in through one window. But not even a very thin curtain hung on the window.
Cheon Geon-young first went to the kitchen and checked the refrigerator. The refrigerator contained bottled water, fresh-looking fruit, and bread that could be eaten immediately. However, there were no signs of anyone having touched them.
He looked around other places too. An unknown force pushed him on. Perhaps. Even a small trace would be enough. But there were no signs of anyone having stayed on the bed, which now had clean bedding instead of an old mattress.
He slowly looked around the not-so-large hideout and had to return to the living room without any findings. A sudden, unbearable fatigue washed over him, and he slumped into a chair near the window. He had left only the chair Yoon Tae-ha used to sit in, untouched.
Since a few days after her disappearance, this place had been maintained as the optimal environment for a fugitive to rest. Food, weapons, and a considerable amount of cash were placed where one could find them just by reaching out.
No one guaranteed her survival. Even if she was alive by some stroke of luck, no one thought she would do something reckless like return to Seoul. If she had experienced something so life-threatening, the universal choice for a trained person would be to keep a low profile and not show herself.
But Cheon Geon-young was desperate. Even if the odds were one in a million, not one in a hundred, he couldn’t help but care about this place. It was for the same reason that he had placed the watch Yoon Tae-ha had given him on the small table next to the bed.
He wanted to let her know that this place was safe. He had to show her it was a place he managed so she would rest, even for a moment. I’m waiting for you. I’ll keep waiting. He continuously extended what others called a waste, hoping she would understand his thoughts.
He did not let go of the management of this place even after Ark found Yoon Tae-ha. He had to consider all possibilities: the possibility that the real Yoon Tae-ha was being held by the Director-General, the possibility that the Yoon Tae-ha found by Ark was the real one, brainwashed by an outsider, and the possibility that the severely injured real one was hiding somewhere while a fake appeared with the Director-General.
Exhausted and disheveled, he ran his hand over his face, then leaned his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.
His memories were still not perfectly organized. The timeline was jumbled, and trying to recall certain points caused cold sweats and nausea. The doctor explained it as a side effect of memory deletion.
You must recall them naturally. Do not force them out. It was advice that made sense to his last shred of reason. But he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Now, with everything that illuminated his life dully faded, only the time he spent with her sparkled like the lights on a carousel. If he couldn’t escape this, he would be crushed by the shadows of the past. He might become a being who felt no guilt even as he crossed the line Yoon Tae-ha didn’t want to cross.
If that happened, would you come looking for me?
Cheon Geon-young, wanting to chase even a fleeting illusion, closed his eyes again. For several hours, until he received a call from his family, he remained motionless like a taxidermied animal.
________________________________________
The doors of the intensive care unit opened on both sides, and a naked woman walked out. Moon So-eun cast a displeased look at the person who had just finished her final examination and said,
“Put on a gown, at least. Don’t go wandering around naked like a barbarian.”
What emerged from the treatment room was Yoon Tae-ha’s chimera, with perfectly smooth skin, not a single scar. The chimera, unbothered by the reprimand, smiled sweetly at Moon So-eun.
“You should have brought it. Didn’t you hear the instruction to cooperate to the best of your ability so I can adapt?”
Moon So-eun couldn’t hide her displeasure at the overbearing reply. But recalling the order the Director-General had given her, she handed the prepared clothes to the chimera.
The chimera glanced at her reflection in the glass door that separated the intensive care unit from the outside space and showed a satisfied expression. Afterwards, she put on the underwear and thin gown Moon So-eun offered.
“Follow me.”
With a face like someone forced to train a very dirty and unclean animal, Moon So-eun led the chimera to the dressing room.
The staff working in the intensive care unit had already been re-assigned with those recruited by Geum Gang-seop. For that reason, none of the staff Moon So-eun and the chimera encountered as they headed to the dressing room found the tense atmosphere between them unusual.
Moon So-eun had to grind her teeth and personally open the door for the chimera, who didn’t lift a finger even in front of the dressing room.
Inside the dressing room stood a wardrobe packed with clothes and equipment Yoon Tae-ha frequently wore. The chimera, having already thrown off her gown before the door was fully closed, stood in front of the wardrobe with her arms crossed.
“Why are your tastes so dull? There isn’t a single decent outfit.”
“Don’t think strange thoughts and just wear what you’re given. The people you’re about to meet have known Yoon Tae-ha since childhood. It’ll be troublesome if you think your act is perfect just because you’ve fooled a few headquarters staff who don’t care about you.”
The chimera, glancing over her shoulder at Moon So-eun, boldly asked,
“Aren’t you getting too caught up in playing the fake mother hen?”
Moon So-eun countered, dumbfounded,
“What?”
“Enough. I follow Geum Gang-seop’s orders, not yours.”
The chimera began pulling clothes from the wardrobe and diligently holding them up to her body. Her face looked as innocent as a child picking out a birthday present.
Meanwhile, Moon So-eun realized why the Director-General had brought out this chimera as his trump card.
The chimera in the dressing room clearly recognized that she was not human. Yet, her self-awareness was robust. She was resilient to stimulation and not easily provoked. She was different from Echidna or other chimeras who easily displayed violence even while knowing they were chimeras.
“Everyone at the office is sensitive because of the Iroa incident. Since headquarters is supporting you, few people will openly show hostility. But there will be many who will silently watch you. Remember that even the memory-wiped chimera was almost exposed twice.”
“Iroa?”
The chimera, trying to squeeze into a piece of clothing, widened her eyes innocently.
“That was an old model. An old model made with cheap materials and cheap genes. I’d prefer if you didn’t compare me to something like that.”
A surprised Moon So-eun let out a short gasp.
“Old models can’t perform proper missions. If they believe they’re human, how can they take on a mission that requires killing hordes of people?”
“I’m doing what needs to be done.”
The chimera, fully dressed, walked over with large strides.
“Na Young-kyo explained it to me. She said you’re more pigheaded than you look?”
The chimera looked down at the middle-aged woman, who held strong convictions about her work, as if observing her.
“I don’t care if others die or not. I’ll give Geum Gang-seop what he wants, then I’ll get what I want and leave.”
“We haven’t allowed you to do that.”
“Are you saying something even God wouldn’t say?”
The corners of the chimera’s mouth twisted mockingly as she tapped Moon So-eun’s cheek with her fingertip.
“First, I just need to find out the names of the people cooperating with Lee Hae-kyung, right?”
“Yes.”
Moon So-eun replied reluctantly.
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