#095
Yeon Tae-soo was essentially an experimental subject deliberately cultivated by the Ministry of Defense. Of course, he had no value by himself.
However, if the Ministry knew about his modified body, and especially if they discovered that what was embedded in his heart was black moonstone—something used only in androids—they wouldn’t leave him alone.
Could there be a better experimental subject? Especially in an era when all sorts of experiments were being abused to increase the efficiency of military androids.
“No.”
“Seong-woo.”
Yeon Tae-soo’s gaze fell upon him as he pleaded again. Two stars, infinitely gentle. Standing, he bent his upper body and whispered to Yoo Seong-woo.
“When the others arrive later, take Popo and go with Secretary Kim to the helicopter. You must get on, no matter what.”
“What are you saying?”
Yeon Tae-soo didn’t answer. He just smiled very faintly. He pushed Yoo Seong-woo away again.
“Sir, wait…”
He couldn’t stop him as he moved away from the table. He clenched his fist with trembling hands.
Thud, thud. A shower of camera flashes poured onto him as he walked. Unmanned cameras floating in the air had begun filming him. The journalists who had sent the cameras already sensed that this moment would be a major scoop after many years.
The moment he saw that cluster of cameras, one solution flashed in Yoo Seong-woo’s mind.
He wasn’t certain whether the minister knew his identity. But he seemed to know that Yeon Tae-soo was digging into Yacheon Technology.
And the minister was trying to use him as Yeon Tae-soo’s weakness.
If so, wouldn’t removing the weakness solve the problem?
Someone who hides their identity can use that identity as a weapon.
He slowly rose from his chair. Between the sounds of flashing cameras, the sound of his chair being pushed back mixed in very faintly.
Yeon Tae-soo, already distant, turned around as if he’d heard that small sound. Immediately, his eyes filled with shock.
Unfazed, Yoo Seong-woo moved his finger, which had already reached his face, toward his ear. Simultaneously, he felt people’s gazes shift toward him. They had followed Yeon Tae-soo’s gaze as he suddenly stopped and turned around.
As he lowered the strap of the mask he had been wearing all along, the crowd momentarily fell silent before beginning to stir. Those who recognized his face reacted.
Yoo-hyun. The mysterious musician who suddenly appeared, gained tremendous popularity, and then suddenly disappeared.
Quite some time had passed, so there weren’t many fans who still held him in their hearts, but seeing his face made them recall the memories. Even though his songs weren’t often heard anymore, a face once imprinted on the public wasn’t so easily forgotten. Even with a large scar.
“Yoo-hyun?”
Someone’s whispered words acted as a catalyst, and now everyone in the hall was looking at him. The minister was no exception.
Seeing the minister’s previously calm face crumble in shock made him want to laugh out loud. But the shocked face of the minister was quickly hidden. Yeon Tae-soo had abruptly moved closer to him.
“Is that really Yoo-hyun?”
“It is Yoo-hyun!”
Yeon Tae-soo, who had quickly approached, shielded him from the murmuring crowd. Embraced by his large frame, he was pushed at once to a corner of the hall by Yeon Tae-soo’s strength.
“Nikita, change of plans. Enter now.”
Yeon Tae-soo spoke while keeping his gaze fixed on Yoo Seong-woo. Something came through his earpiece, and suddenly a loud “BOOM” was heard from one side of the hall.
It was followed by the sound of something collapsing. Bang! Bang! The thunderous noise mingled with people’s screams. Yoo Seong-woo wanted to see what was happening, but Yeon Tae-soo’s hand holding the back of his head wouldn’t let go.
Even without being able to see, he could tell that the hall had become chaotic. The sound of security personnel shouting and running could be heard, and there was the smell of dust.
“They say the helicopter is ready. Popo is waiting too, so go…”
Unable to just listen to Yeon Tae-soo’s words, he pushed him away with all his strength and lifted his head. With the hall that had collapsed as if bombed in the background, Yeon Tae-soo wore a sad expression.
“Where are you telling me to go?”
Yeon Tae-soo didn’t answer. He merely grabbed Yoo Seong-woo’s hand again. He wanted to shake it off, but the pulling force was extraordinarily strong.
“Wait, please wait. Sir!”
Despite shouting loud enough to be clearly heard amid the commotion, Yeon Tae-soo strode on as if he hadn’t heard. The turmoil and dust provided cover for the two of them.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and pushed Yoo Seong-woo toward the wall. A security robot whizzed past behind Yeon Tae-soo.
“Go to India.”
“…What?”
After repeatedly telling him to go, the destination was India? He quickly shook his head.
“No, I don’t want to unless we go together.”
“Seong-woo.”
“I refuse. I absolutely won’t go.”
He gritted his teeth and shook his head again. He had countless things to say, but they all scattered in his mouth. He barely uttered the one phrase that remained.
“Please don’t send me away.”
Yeon Tae-soo’s face contorted in pain. Amid the dust and noise, only his pained face was clearly visible. It felt as if all his sensors were detecting only Yeon Tae-soo.
“You’re my lover, aren’t you?”
And I am yours.
“So please don’t… send me away.”
Yoo Seong-woo’s face also twisted in pain. His heart ached. If a machine like him had a heart, it would have been crushed and pulverized, yet Yeon Tae-soo had revived even that and made it real.
With the heart he had created, he cried, laughed, and felt pain. Just like a human.
“Even though I’m broken, just a pile of scrap metal that could stop at any moment…”
“Seong-woo.”
“I still want to be useful to you.”
Yeon Tae-soo’s eyes became wet with moisture.
Facing him was both so joyful and so sad. For him alone, his emotions were not machine-made or learned—they were real.
Because he had given them. Because he had made them real.
“There has never been a single moment when you weren’t precious to me.”
Yeon Tae-soo embraced him with all his might. Yoo Seong-woo deeply inhaled Yeon Tae-soo, the only upright existence in this chaos.
***
It was Nikita and Xinyan who had destroyed the hall. Originally, Yeon Tae-soo had planned to sneak out only Yoo Seong-woo during the chaos and send him to India.
But even after hearing Yoo Seong-woo’s plea not to send him away, he couldn’t send him alone.
Being with him made him find things more important than rational judgment. Looking back, it seemed that way from the moment he became entangled with Yoo Seong-woo, not just recently.
His mind understood that he should send him away, but when he looked into those eyes, reason became nothing.
In the end, Yeon Tae-soo took Yoo Seong-woo to the nearest safe house. They couldn’t return to Eden as they might be investigated due to the recent terrorist attack.
He had brought Yoo Seong-woo with him for now but had made preparations so that he could leave the country at any time. With a simple command, the standby personnel would take Yoo Seong-woo and depart. Even if he couldn’t give the order himself, Nikita or Xinyan would do it for him.
In truth, there was no guarantee that going abroad would be safe. It might even be more problematic as he would have no way to protect Yoo Seong-woo once he was far from him.
Sending Yoo Seong-woo alone was a last resort. It was a method he had arranged because he didn’t know what the minister might do.
Upon arriving at the safe house, Yoo Seong-woo, seemingly tired, collapsed into sleep. Perhaps it wasn’t fatigue but a symptom of malfunction.
‘…Malfunction.’
Why did that ordinary word bother him so much? Yeon Tae-soo chewed hard on an unlit cigarette while pondering the word. He couldn’t even smoke freely for fear that the smoke might harm him. Yes, he should quit completely. Just as he was taking out his cigarette pack and putting it in the yard trash can, his watch rang. It was a phone call. Since it was from someone who shouldn’t be contacting him, he answered the call with an ominous feeling.
– Sir, I think we’ve found something. Our Yeseon, my granddaughter, drew something… It seems to be a clue.
Fortunately, the news that came was good news.
***
Yoo Seong-woo also heard the news. Old Man Chang immediately transmitted his granddaughter’s drawings to Yeon Tae-soo’s tablet. He said the three drawings were drawn almost simultaneously. That is, there was a high probability they depicted events happening at the same time.
As soon as Yeon Tae-soo displayed the drawings, Yoo Seong-woo couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
The pill that appeared in the drawing, which was as detailed as a black and white photograph despite being drawn in pencil, was one he still had.
“Seong-woo?”
When Yoo Seong-woo froze, Yeon Tae-soo anxiously called him. Yoo Seong-woo hurriedly rummaged through his pants pocket and took something out. When he opened the small cloth pouch tied with string, a pill emerged.
He brought the pill he was holding close to the image floating in the air. The simple letter Y written instead of Yacheon Technology’s logo or name. And even the half-transparent shape. No matter how he looked at it, it was the same medicine.
“This time it seems we’ve truly found something.”
Yeon Tae-soo’s eyes, filled with curiosity, looked alternately at his face and the pill in his hand.
“I don’t know if I have something like intuition, but I feel like we’ve caught onto something.”
Yeon Tae-soo was more pleased with the firmness that appeared on Yoo Seong-woo’s face than with his words. Simply because he seemed to be in a good mood, because his face looked the brightest among the faces he had seen recently, he was in a good mood too.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
