Through the disheveled strands of hair, a pair of fierce eyes pierced into me. That gaze, brimming with hostility, was so chillingly intense that simply meeting it sent a shiver down my spine. The youthful traces still lingering on his face didn’t register at all.
Thud…! Thud!
A veiny fist repeatedly pounded the transparent wall. The barrier—strong enough to confine even monsters—visibly trembled with each blow. It was a strength that defied all logic. I stared at the man’s body with a stiff expression.
He looked to be at least 190 cm tall. Except for his privates, every inch of his skin was exposed, riddled with fine scratches. From one shoulder across his chest stretched a deep stab wound, dripping with blood.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“The captured specimen… was a human?”
Sun Woosung, who stood beside me, nodded.
“The first survivor discovered on the surface.”
A survivor… A human who’d managed to live among monsters.
The unbelievable reality kept drawing my gaze back to the man.
…But why bring a person to the research lab?
“As you can see, he’s physically far from normal. He went wild, and since the anesthesia had no effect, the hospital couldn’t take him in.”
As if responding to my unspoken doubts, Sun Woosung explained. I looked at him in surprise.
“Did you just say the anesthetic had no effect?”
“Yes. At the time of capture, we only had monster-grade tranquilizers, so we couldn’t use those. After returning to the ship, we injected a standard human anesthetic, but it had absolutely no effect.”
“…!”
“We didn’t try overdosing him or using physical force to knock him out, as we couldn’t predict the side effects.”
I nodded at the calm explanation. Of course they’d need to be cautious.
He was a rare survivor.
Who knew how much invaluable information about the surface he held in his mind? If his mental state were to deteriorate or if he were to die, it would be a significant loss for those placing their hopes in him.
A report must have already reached Yeo Wonjin, so he, too, was likely paying attention to this survivor by now.
“Grrrr…”
I stared silently at the survivor, who was baring his teeth like a beast. It was hard to tell whether he was ignoring what Sun Woosung and I were saying, or simply incapable of understanding it. His expression was consumed entirely by fury and hostility.
“Is he completely uncommunicative?”
“He doesn’t seem to understand human language.”
Extraordinary physical power. Purely instinctive emotional responses. A complete absence of linguistic ability.
It occurred to me—he was more beast than human.
“We should start treatment first.”
I muttered under my breath. Just like Sun Woosung, who must’ve been injured during the capture, the survivor appeared to have taken a serious blow to his upper body during their confrontation. The still-bleeding wound looked like it definitely needed medical attention, even from a distance.
“…”
Having heard me, Sun Woosung turned to me with a look that said, That kind of wound will heal quickly.
…He was concerned for the survivor’s well-being, right?
Thud!
Blood continued to stream from his body, but the survivor, unbothered, unleashed his unfiltered rage on the barrier. The desire to smash through it right then and there was practically palpable. He was so violently frenzied that the medical staff had likely given up on treating him altogether.
It seemed the survivor believed he had been kidnapped by some unknown enemy and locked up in a suspicious facility. The thought stirred a complex mix of emotions.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, I remembered what Lee Seo-rim had said—how she’d asked Sun Woosung to have me look over the transferred specimen.
Don’t tell me that’s why he called me here…
I hoped not, but cautiously spoke up.
“Colonel.”
“Yes.”
“My constitution is only effective against monsters. It has no impact on humans.”
“…”
“Did you bring me here thinking I could somehow calm that survivor down?”
Sun Woosung looked at me in silence. Even without an answer, the silent affirmation in his dark eyes made things slightly awkward.
“Please do not misunderstand. I didn’t call you because of your constitution, Seo Suho.”
He clarified.
“I simply believed that you would not feel any revulsion or fear upon seeing the survivor.”
“Excuse me?”
“Those in charge of the handover. And the other personnel involved.”
Sun Woosung glanced around the observation room, where only he, the survivor, and I were present.
“The moment they faced the survivor, they panicked. Said there was no way they could handle him in Building A.”
I widened my eyes slightly and looked at him.
…Thinking it over, it wasn’t exactly unreasonable. We were researchers of monsters—not of people.
Watching someone desperately struggle to escape their confinement wasn’t something the average person could stomach. Even if that someone resembled a beast—or perhaps a monster—more than a human.
The survivor’s menacing demeanor certainly didn’t help, either.
“But we’ve received direct orders from above to break down the survivor’s guard and extract information about the surface.”
Since I had already anticipated as much, I pressed my lips together in silence. Orders from above were absolute. If the higher-ups had commanded the research lab to tame this survivor like one of our monsters, no one could refuse. Someone had to take the task.
“Frankly, from the beginning, I believed you were the most suitable person for the job.”
Sun Woosung’s dark eyes looked straight into mine.
***
To cut to the chase, I ended up being assigned to the survivor. My daily schedule was split in half to make time for his care.
“Hey.”
I entered the observation room where the survivor was held and greeted him. He clung to the barrier, glaring at me with the same relentless hostility, as if he never tired. With every breath, a fleeting mist fogged the wall before vanishing.
“Doesn’t it hurt your eyes, staring like that?”
Knowing he hadn’t slept at all, I fought the urge to click my tongue as I took in his bloodshot eyes, still sharply glaring.
Fortunately, the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but I wanted to properly inspect his wounds and put some clothes on his nearly naked body. I also wanted to cut that shaggy hair of his to clear his view.
I could understand wanting to return to what he considered his life on the surface… but down here, we had a functioning civilization—one preserved by the few who’d survived. I couldn’t help but worry whether he’d be able to adapt to this society, which was entirely different from the world he knew. He would, eventually, but still…
“Grrrr…!”
As if to remind me how far off that day was, the survivor growled low.
At least he wasn’t drooling—was that a small relief? I examined his features closely. As I’d thought when I first saw him, beneath the roughness and youth, he was surprisingly handsome. If someone cleaned him up and fixed his hair, he might actually look quite neat and presentable.
Standing in front of the barrier, I slipped my hands into both pockets of my lab coat.
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“Grrr.”
“Here, I mean.”
I traced a line from my shoulder to my chest with my thumb. The man’s furious eyes followed the motion.
“And here too.”
I reached out and tapped the barrier near where his battered, bronze-toned hand rested. He must’ve pounded on it so much that the skin had split and smeared blood all over it. Flinching, he yanked his hand back, as if I had actually touched him.
He wore a vicious scowl, but somehow, he didn’t seem all that scary, and I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
“How old are you?”
“……”
“What’s your name?”
“……”
He stubbornly kept his mouth shut, glaring at me. Slowly retreating, he eventually crouched on the floor, watching me warily with just his eyes peeking over his knees. It looked somewhat pitiful, but honestly, if there were no barrier between us and he had attacked, I would’ve died without even making a sound.
Still, I had a gut feeling that this savage-looking survivor might not actually be a bad person. After all, someone who had fought to survive among monsters wouldn’t necessarily be evil. There was something in his eyes I couldn’t quite define.
Too fierce to be called pure, but too pure to be called fierce—those pitch-black eyes.
Could he really not speak at all? Mumbling to myself, I lowered my body and sat down on the floor, resting my back against the barrier and silently staring up at the light above.
He wasn’t a monster. He was human. I kept turning over what to say—whether he would understand if I did say something—but I had no clue. So I just started talking.
“I’m Seo Suho. If you ever feel like calling me that, or anything else, just go with whatever’s comfortable for you.”
“…Grrr.”
“And no matter how frustrated you are, don’t hurt yourself. That does hurt, you know.”
His glare was so intense that my back tingled. I kept my eyes down, refusing to look at him.
Whether monster or human, I hated seeing anyone hurt themselves.
