“Eunho will be fine. I asked the people watching us, and they said he’s doing well.”
Only then did Sobin turn his head.
“……You asked them that?”
“I was curious if he was doing okay, but there’s nowhere else I can ask……”
At the chilly tone, Chanwoo’s voice gradually grew smaller. Ah, what’s wrong with me? He didn’t understand why he was shrinking back like this, yet his head kept drooping lower.
“St-Still, it didn’t seem like they were lying. They’re not trying to hurt him either.”
“……”
“If we can just find him before he gives birth… Or rather, maybe it’d be better if he gave birth there with top-level support……?”
“Chanwoo.”
Sobin pulled up the corners of his lips. It was the same smile as always, yet it carried an oppressive warning beneath it. Chanwoo flinched.
“The other side is carnivorous. A tiger, at that.”
“……”
“Do you really believe Eunho is safe? The person who put a tracking device on him and locked him up in a house—do you think he’d just leave Eunho alone?”
“……”
His words stuck in his throat. Yi-beom had treated Eunho well until now, but he was a carnivorous Beastman. One who, by instinct, wanted to prey on herbivores. Right, he’d even imprisoned him. Chanwoo swallowed hard. Sobin slowly clasped his hand.
“We have to save him. Even now, Eunho is probably waiting only for you.”
“If it’s not us, there’s no one who’ll protect that child.”
At the gentle patting on the back of his hand, Chanwoo looked at him. As if he’d never been sharp at all, Sobin’s face had softened back into its usual mildness.
“Hyung, I guess you really can’t just become a doctor for no reason.”
Seeing how much you think about your patients like this. Chanwoo added, eyes sparkling. Just then, a cellphone rang.
Sobin took the phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table. On the screen, three familiar characters appeared.
“E-Eunho……?”
Beneath the name Eunho was an unfamiliar number, but the startled Chanwoo had no time to notice that. As he reached quickly for the phone, Sobin snatched it first.
“Hello?”
[S-Sobin-ssi?]
“Eunho-ssi. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
[I’m trapped on an island right now.]
Sniffling could be heard through the receiver, as if he was crying. Rising from his seat, Sobin scanned outside the window and spoke quickly.
“What about him? Is he there?”
[Uh, I don’t think so. I asked to be left alone……]
“That’s a relief.”
The corner of Sobin’s lips tilted crookedly upward. Unfortunately, Chanwoo, too busy listening to the voice on the line, didn’t see that smile.
“Stay there. We’ll come get you.”
Only after discussing a few more things did Sobin hang up. Beside him, Chanwoo, who had been fidgeting helplessly, asked,
“A-Ah, hyung. Let me talk to him just once!”
“Sorry, it cut off quickly.”
Taking off the apron he was wearing, Sobin stepped away from the table. Chanwoo hurriedly gathered his things to follow, when Sobin suddenly let out an exclamation.
“You stay here.”
“What?”
“It might be dangerous, so it’d be better if you wait here.”
What is he saying right now?
With shaking eyes, Chanwoo grabbed Sobin’s arm.
“How can I just stay here? It doesn’t feel right leaving Eunho to you alone, and Eunho would probably feel more comfortable with me than with you—”
At that moment, Sobin roughly shook off Chanwoo’s hand. Grinding his teeth, he spat out the words.
“I said stay here.”
It was a voice Chanwoo had never heard before.
***
Jinwon, Younguk, and Professor Hwang exchanged silent looks. They didn’t know what had happened between Eunho and Yi-beom, but leaving the island like this made no sense. Especially at dawn, in this pouring rain.
What kind of person was Kwon Yi-beom? A man who had even attempted surgery, prepared to be hated, just to protect Eunho. The things he had done until now—imprisonment, tracking, threats, pleading—flashed through the three men’s minds.
Something definitely happened, right?
Yeah. And seriously bad.
I just want to go home……
The last one was Professor Hwang. As a useless signal slipped in, Jinwon and Younguk glared at him.
Younguk stole a glance at Yi-beom, who was walking ahead. From his rigid back, a deep anger could be felt. Though unseen, it was certain he was clenching his fists hard enough to crush them.
At times like this, stepping up was always Younguk’s role. There wasn’t any special reason—he just had a higher pain tolerance than Jinwon. Slipping up beside Yi-beom, Younguk spoke.
“Hyung-nim, are you really leaving like this?”
As if it were a lie, Yi-beom’s steps stopped. Swaaah—the rain poured down over their heads.
Slowly, Yi-beom turned around. His gaze was fixed upward, toward where Eunho was.
“……Leaving where? Fuck.”
Rainwater dripped from his hair.
“Even if I get hit, I should stay here.”
His bright yellow eyes flashed in the darkness.
Yi-beom looked up at the rain-filled sky. Thick drops struck his face. Only after being drenched in the cold rain did he come to his senses.
There was no time to be swept up in emotion. If he made another mistake, he might drive Eunho all the way to the edge of the sea again. The image of the rabbit standing precariously made Yi-beom’s heart sink.
Leaving where?
Like a predator staring at its prey, he fixated on the place where Eunho was. Soon, he gave an order to Younguk behind him.
“Hide what we came in on at the back of the island. Once the weather clears, that’s the first thing they’ll look for.”
“That’s not hard……”
Younguk nodded, then asked,
“But what about us…… Do we stay here until then?”
At that, Yi-beom looked toward one side of the island. Beside the house where Professor Hwang, Jinwon, and Younguk had been staying, there was another house hidden. It had been acquired together with the island.
Perhaps the previous owner of the island had also had a twisted taste—inside that hidden house was a control room overlooking the entire island. Not only could it monitor every corner of the island, it could perform minor controls like locking doors and lowering windows in the house.
At first, he’d thought, What kind of pervert builds something like this? To think that pervert would end up being me. Tsk. Clicking his tongue, Yi-beom turned toward the control room.
“Let’s go to the control room.”
“The control room? There’s something like that?”
Instead of answering, Yi-beom led the way. Leaving the three bewildered men behind, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. As he tapped it between the falling raindrops, the screen lit up.
Several screens appeared on the display. Surveillance cameras showing the inside of the house. Among them, on the screen showing the living room, there was the rabbit.
“What are you doing just sitting there?”
The rabbit was slumped on the sofa exactly as he had been when they parted. Though he knew it couldn’t be heard, Yi-beom muttered,
“You should go lie down and rest. Baby.”
He stroked the screen with the back of his hand. Even now, he wanted to run back into the house, pull that soft fur into his arms, and beg. To say he was wrong, to plead that they stay together.
With what face could he? Feeling his own hesitant steps, Yi-beom let out a hollow laugh.
“I never thought there’d be a day I’d want to get hit by you, baby.”
If Eunho would just hit him cleanly, he’d take it as much as he wanted. If that could restore Eunho’s trust. With darkened eyes, he caressed the screen.
As if sensing the touch, the rabbit lifted his body. Then, with his two small paws, he briskly wiped his face and jumped down from the sofa. Yi-beom’s gaze followed after him.
Contrary to the expectation that he would rest on the bed, the rabbit walked toward the intercom they used to contact Jinwon. Holding the receiver, he pressed a button. Seeing his mouth moving as he spoke, Yi-beom’s face hardened.
“Can you make calls on that intercom?”
“No. The one placed in Student Eunho’s room is an intercom that only connects between the houses here. Phone calls aren’t possible.”
Yi-beom stared intently at the screen. Judging by the way the ears twitched, he didn’t seem to be pretending. His eyes narrowed.
“Not possible?”
They had arrived in front of the control room. As Yi-beom broke open the iron lock, he tossed the phone to Jinwon.
“H-Huh?”
Jinwon’s eyes widened as he looked at the screen.
“Why is this…… Why can it make calls……?”
“What, it can make calls?”
That couldn’t be right. It was definitely not a phone but an intercom. One that had no functions other than picking up the receiver and pressing numbers. As Jinwon stared blankly at the screen, Younguk muttered,
“We’re fucked.”
The two lifted their pale faces. From inside the control room, bright yellow eyes gleamed. It was such a chilling light that it sent shivers down their spines.
“What are you doing? Tap into the network.”
“……”
“Should I throw all three of you into the sea? Weld you into oil drums?”
“N-No! Of course not!” Jinwon bowed deeply and dashed inside. Yi-beom hated lies and never said things he didn’t mean. How many people had taken his words lightly and ended up discarded in the Pacific Ocean? Wetting his dry lips, Jinwon hurriedly pulled out his phone.
Quick-witted, Younguk moved ahead and raised the shutter. The wall filled with monitors came into view. The monitors displayed the sea, the house where Eunho was, the garden, and even the separate annex where the three had stayed.
Yi-beom slowly walked toward the screen showing inside Eunho’s room. Carefully, he lifted his hand. His fingertips passed the twitching ears and touched the rabbit’s face.
Imprisoning him, forcibly keeping him, threatening to break up—all of it had failed. What remained were only the wounds carved into Eunho’s heart. Haa. Letting out a deep sigh, Yi-beom stroked the screen with a troubled expression.
“I’ll follow your will now.”
There was only one method left. For Eunho to realize himself that the path he was trying to take was the wrong one.
“So just let me stay with you.”
His low voice echoed inside the control room.
***
The next day, as if it had been a lie, the rain stopped.
Eunho, who had been lying along the armrest of the sofa, lifted his head. Sunlight streamed in through the window.
“The weather’s nice……”
