#046
The day after the mercenaries arrived, Yoo Seong-woo went to Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital with his guards, and Yeon Tae-soo had a brief phone call with the Military Police.
“The sniper who shot at the car still hasn’t confessed to receiving orders from Major General Kim. Of course, it’s just a matter of time, but…”
They were indirectly asking if there really was no definite witness. Yeon Tae-soo raised the corner of his mouth.
“I don’t lie. You’d better prepare a silver bracelet that fits Major General Kim’s thick wrist in advance.”
Major General Kim was one of the current Defense Minister’s right-hand men. Everyone knew he was running around doing the Minister’s bidding.
“And Military Police, you should warn your families about frequent overtime work from now on. I don’t intend to stop with just Major General Kim.”
The king of Eden, who had rarely ventured outside, had started to show his face and make his moves in earnest.
When he returned to Eden, the mercenaries greeted him. They said they had just finished a round of training that was more like a brawl in the backyard.
“Boss, are you okay?” Nikita asked. Xinyan also wore a similar expression beside her. An expression that seemed to ask, “What’s gotten into you?”
“Our boss, I don’t mean to speak ill of you, but… you’ve never been interested in greater causes or such things. They say people do things they’ve never done before when their time is near.”
Although the words came through a translator, he wasn’t one to miss such nuances. Nikita was worried about him.
In fact, Yeon Tae-soo also found himself strange. Had there ever been a time when he wanted to protect someone this much?
Sitting on the sofa in the reception room corridor, Yeon Tae-soo lit a cigarette. Lately, it seemed like he was smoking more.
“…Have you ever wanted to live?”
At his absent-minded words, the two mercenaries looked at each other.
“Hey, is something wrong with the translator? Did it translate that correctly? Who doesn’t want to live? Otherwise, what’s the point of all this bullshit we’re doing?”
Nikita laughed incredulously. Xinyan furrowed her brow.
Yeon Tae-soo chuckled and nodded. Unlike other Eden buildings, this reception room on the first floor of the annex had windows, and through them, you could see the backyard. It was a luxurious view in the otherwise old and dirty Haeya-dong.
“Right?”
Ironically, Yeon Tae-soo had never felt a desire for life. He had been taught from childhood that it was natural for humans to want to live, that it was the normal thing. Even his “foster parents” who raised him said so.
Then was he less human than those who weren’t human? Swallowing a hollow laugh, he sank into the chair. He picked up a snack laid out for guests on the table and chewed, but lost in thought, he couldn’t taste it at all.
“…Is it because of the Jirisan incident?” Xinyan, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
“Hey, what are you talking about now?” Nikita interjected.
The two of them had witnessed the mass slaughter of educational androids in Jirisan with Yeon Tae-soo.
And they had even participated in the massacre under threat. At the time, they had no choice. It wasn’t just their own lives at stake, but the lives of their team members.
That’s when Yeon Tae-soo lost one hand and one eye. Since then, the three of them hadn’t spoken a word about what they saw that day. It was a kind of unspoken agreement.
They had witnessed something horrible, and their leader, Yeon Tae-soo, had been injured. Even now, though they still called him boss, they no longer used honorifics and treated him like a close friend. They had never brought up that day, but Yeon Tae-soo understood why Xinyan had deliberately mentioned it now. He must have been acting that strangely.
“If you want revenge, we’ll help you.”
The voice that came through the translator was firm and heavy. Nikita also nodded beside her. Yeon Tae-soo shook his head.
“No, I’m not interested in revenge. It’s not like my hand and eye will come back if I do. Rather, there are some good points to having a body like this.”
Yeon Tae-soo recalled Yoo Seong-woo’s face, whining that it was cold when his fingers entered him.
“Then what is it?” Nikita asked indifferently.
He let out a small laugh. When he showed no sign of answering, Xinyan spoke again.
“Or is it because of your foster parents?”
This time, Nikita thought, that guy really made a slip of the tongue. Yeon Tae-soo, with his back buried in the chair and his head tilted back, was looking up at the sky. With that face that seemed both strangely smiling and angry, it was impossible to read what he was thinking.
‘There was an excellent performer.’
Yeon Tae-soo was recalling the Minister’s words. That bastard, with his unnecessarily good ears.
‘Is that so? I didn’t notice. And that person isn’t an Eden employee.’
No matter how much you covet him, you won’t be able to take him. Saying he wasn’t an Eden employee meant not to mess with an unrelated person. It was also to emphasize that Yoo Seong-woo had nothing to do with him.
‘If he’s not an Eden employee, then you have even less reason to concern yourself with his whereabouts.’
But the Minister pushed further. At these blatantly provocative words, Yeon Tae-soo almost cursed out loud.
‘Whether I care or not, you’ll have to try it to find out, won’t you?’
He probably already knew, having seen him stand in front of Yoo Seong-woo. That he was his weakness. If so, there was no need to beat around the bush. It was better to be aggressive.
He glared at the Minister, not hiding the hostility in his gaze. If you lay a hand on Yoo Seong-woo, you won’t be safe either.
‘Will it be alright?’
‘What?’
‘Even if we just investigate the illegal activities at Eden, a business suspension could easily be issued.’
Eden had never evaded taxes or crossed the line. All the dirty and ugly things were done by the guests. But where is there a place without dust? If they were determined to dig, they could not only suspend operations but even bring down Eden.
But Yeon Tae-soo smiled faintly.
‘I’m just a gambling house owner, but you’re a Minister.’
He had nothing to lose. It didn’t matter if Eden fell. But what about you?
He knew that the Minister had gritted his teeth to climb up to his position. The desperate have many weaknesses.
‘Let’s see who blinks first. A game of chicken.’
Yeon Tae-soo clearly remembered the Minister’s face at that moment. It was expressionless and unreadable, but the hostility was palpable.
The sky in his view was still cloudy. The pale, papery sky color seemed to represent his complicated feelings.
He straightened his head that had been tilted back and sat up straight. The two mercenaries were now sitting comfortably across from him, waiting for his words.
“Do you know what some people call me?”
“A hero of the war’s end,” Nikita answered immediately. Very rarely, some high-ranking government officials knew that Yeon Tae-soo was a war hero. If it weren’t for the European Union information he had leaked then, the Republic wouldn’t be maintaining its form like this.
“How do you think it would feel to be called a real hero?”
Yeon Tae-soo asked in a somewhat playful tone as he picked up another snack. This time he could taste it properly. Sweet.
“Boss, what’s with the sudden change of heart? You used to call yourself a traitor,” Nikita asked. Her usual playful tone remained, but there was a strange tension in her voice through the translator. Yeon Tae-soo smiled as he looked at her large almond-shaped eyes.
Nikita was right. He had lived rejecting the fact that he was a war hero. Hero? That’s nonsense. He had only defected because he wanted to destroy his homeland.
To properly destroy the homeland that indiscriminately slaughtered child-like androids and made weapons to kill people with the black moonstones extracted from their small hearts.
To punish them with his own hands and walk together into destruction.
But now he was willing to become a hero. If necessary, he was prepared to spread rumors himself and not shy away from flattery.
“For the first time, I want to live.”
He had found something he wanted to protect. To do that, he needed to grow his influence. Because as merely the king of Haeya-dong, it would be difficult to protect.
***
On an ordinary afternoon like any other. It was Yeon Tae-soo who finally dragged out Yoo Seong-woo, who had been holed up in his room doing sculptures.
For the past few days, he had seemed busy going in and out of the Military Police headquarters, but suddenly he barged into the room and suggested a night date. Instead of his usual black suit, Yeon Tae-soo was wearing comfortable short-sleeved knitwear. It was still black, though.
“You know, artworks don’t come from just being cooped up like this. Hm? You need to go out and experience more things.”
Yoo Seong-woo couldn’t help but laugh hollowly at the idea of lecturing an android made for art. Whatever Yeon Tae-soo understood from that laugh, he smiled even more proudly. Yoo Seong-woo shook his head as if admitting defeat.
But on the other hand, he was also relieved. After yelling at Yeon Tae-soo and driving him out like that, he hadn’t asked anything since.
“Are you trying to take me somewhere special?”
“Yeah, it’s special. You can look forward to it.”
Yeon Tae-soo took him to a low mountain on the outskirts of Zone 2, near Haeya-dong. It wasn’t very high, but it was tall enough to be called a mountain.
After climbing for a while until they were out of breath, something appeared through the dark foliage. Yoo Seong-woo frowned, lamenting the lack of infrared function in his body. Yeon Tae-soo, on the other hand, closed one eye and stared into the darkness with his bright blue artificial eye. Ironically, it was the human who had infrared capabilities in this situation.
“We’re here. Come this way.”
Yeon Tae-soo, who had been squinting, opened his eyes again and grabbed Yoo Seong-woo’s wrist, leading him. His steps into the bushes were confident. Although Yoo Seong-woo couldn’t see what was in the darkness, strangely, he wasn’t afraid. Without realizing it, he was gripping the hand holding his tightly. Was it just the darkness making Yeon Tae-soo’s ears look red?
