‘No way….’
The first thing that flashed through my mind was the word ‘incurable disease.’ The kind of severe illness that kills people before they even have a chance to do anything about it.
Could it be that manifestation pain was actually a type of incurable disease, and the attending physician had given me a terminal diagnosis? If that were the case, then Han Jae-hoon’s reaction would make sense.
My body had been sending me signals, but I had hidden them by taking fever reducers, causing me to miss the critical window for treatment. If that were true, then what should I do?
‘This is ridiculous.’
The longer Han Jae-hoon remained silent, the more chaotic my thoughts became. I lightly grasped my trembling shoulders with my hands.
Amidst the worst possible scenarios racing through my head, a certain hypothesis surfaced. Maybe the reason Han Seo-yul never appeared in Mad Love wasn’t because he was just an extra, but because by the time the story began, he was already dead.
Am I going to die like this?
“…Am I… going to die?”
“No, no, Baby, it’s not a terminal illness.”
Han Jae-hoon hurriedly denied my words. He looked me straight in the eye, telling me it wasn’t something fatal, trying to reassure me. Yet, he still wouldn’t say what it actually was.
That only made me even more anxious. Because even if it wasn’t a terminal illness, the way he spoke made it sound dangerous.
“No, you won’t die. It’s not a fatal disease. It’s just…”
He trailed off, lowering his gaze. His clenched fist, which he had been gripping tightly, slowly relaxed as he finally finished his sentence.
“…You’ve just become an Omega.”
“…What?”
I was too shocked to say anything. I was relieved that it wasn’t a fatal illness—but I had become an Omega? For a moment, I wondered if Han Jae-hoon was joking, but his face, heavy with concern, showed not even a hint of humor.
“…Are you serious?”
Han Jae-hoon neither confirmed it nor nodded his head. But I knew. His silence, and the despair in his eyes, told me everything. This wasn’t a joke. It was the truth.
‘I really… became an Omega?’
I was utterly confused. I knew that they existed, but I had always thought of it as something far removed from me. And now I had become one? How was I supposed to accept this?
I was well aware of how this world treated the Neo-Humans. I had heard stories, just a few years ago, about how some people despised them so much that they were cast out beyond the walls, forced to survive in exile.
No one knew how those cast out into the unknown world beyond the walls lived. No, to be precise, no one cared. To the people inside, they were no longer considered human.
“…What’s going to happen to me? I heard that if you become an Omega, you get exiled beyond the walls….”
“No, that won’t happen. It won’t.”
Han Jae-hoon spoke firmly. He took my trembling hand in his and lowered his head for a moment before looking back up at me, his expression carefully composed.
“There’s a doctor in Zone 1 who can cure you, Baby. According to rumors, they can even treat those whose manifestation has already begun. I plan to find that doctor. So it might be difficult, but… would you come with me?”
This was why Han Jae-hoon had been so insistent on taking me to Zone 1. A doctor who could cure someone who had become an Omega—was that even possible? I had my doubts, but the desperate look in Han Jae-hoon’s eyes told me everything.
Whether it was true or not, if there was even the slightest chance of curing me, he would go anywhere to find it.
After hesitating for a moment, I slowly nodded. Only then did the deep worry on his face ease into a faint smile.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure we’ll be able to fix this.”
He said it as if he were reassuring me, but in reality, he was repeating the words to himself. That we would find a cure, that I would be able to come back.
***
A place where the night never came—that was what everyone called Zone 1. During the day, a massive sun rose, and at night, an artificial moon from the power plant illuminated the world. A blessing of light granted exclusively to Zone 1.
The most dazzling place in all of Zone 1 was, without a doubt, the mansion of the Zone Governor. A grand structure of white marble, as splendid as a temple, it was the tallest building across all the zones, with countless rooms inside. The massive walls surrounding the mansion stood like colossal giants, a fortress unto itself.
The people who ruled over this place had always been from the Shining family. True to their name—the brightest ones in the world—they possessed strikingly vivid flame-colored hair and eyes, making them more extraordinary than anyone else.
But so what? At the end of the day, they were nothing more than glorified bureaucrats shackled to a lifetime of paperwork.
A man, his expression dull with boredom, skimmed through the documents before him and let out a massive yawn.
His crotch was starting to itch with frustration, yet because of the aide keeping a close watch on him, he had no choice but to stay seated and pretend to read the mind-numbing reports. His crimson eyes, filled with boredom, lazily scanned the fine print on the papers before him. With an exasperated murmur, he finally voiced his thoughts.
“This is so dull.”
“You still have to do it,” his aide responded immediately, not even allowing him the luxury of complaining.
The man shot a small glare at the aide, filled with mild resentment, but the aide merely shrugged, unfazed. Instead, he slid another stack of documents toward him.
“This is the last batch for today.”
“There’s still this much left? Don’t you think you’re being too harsh on me?”
“Not at all. Considering how many times you’ve shirked your duties and run off, even a few all-nighters wouldn’t be enough to catch up.”
All he had done was skip out a couple of times, and yet he was being treated like some lazy deadbeat who had never worked a day in his life. Pouting slightly, the man flicked his pen onto the desk with a thud, making it abundantly clear just how much he did not want to do this.
His aide let out a long, weary sigh at the display.
“Zone Governor.”
“I’ve hit my limit for today.”
“You’re not a child. You can’t just throw a tantrum like this.”
“Call someone else to do the work instead of me.”
“Who exactly are you planning to dump the Zone Governor’s duties onto?”
“Then they can just appoint a new governor.”
“You haven’t even named a successor yet.”
The aide, his voice filled with exasperation, sighed as the man smirked. The elders had been pressuring him to select a successor as soon as possible, but none of his children satisfied him. Numbers meant nothing when not a single one of them was useful.
“Just bring someone—anyone—and have them do my work.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
“If I order it, they have to do it. Isn’t that right?”
The aide broke into a cold sweat as he struggled to keep the man from shirking his responsibilities, forcing him back into his seat. After a prolonged battle, the man finally picked up the pen he had tossed aside earlier.
Even as he slumped over his desk, he continued muttering complaints under his breath. The aide, suppressing his growing frustration, tried to placate him. Serving such a capricious superior had only deepened the lines on his face.
When he had first become the man’s aide, he had been overwhelmed by the honor of serving someone so breathtakingly beautiful up close. That illusion had shattered within a week.
The man was the most temperamental, unpredictable, and ill-mannered person he had ever met—his personality was the complete opposite of his stunning appearance.
“Zone Governor!”
Just then, the office door burst open, and a steward rushed in, calling out urgently. The man, who had been lying across his desk in defiance of his workload, lazily lifted his head to look at him. The steward, still catching his breath, finally managed to speak, his voice charged with urgency.
“The Governor of Zone 5 is currently making an unofficial visit to Zone 1.”
“…Jae-hoon?”
A man who wouldn’t so much as glance at Zone 1 unless it was for official business was now secretly making his way here?
The man frowned deeply, trying to make sense of it. A fleeting thought crossed his mind—maybe, just maybe, Jae-hoon was coming to see him. But he dismissed the idea almost instantly. He knew better than anyone that it wasn’t the case. It was a foolish notion, even for him.
“Has an official visit request been submitted?”
“There’s been none.”
The aide, after swiftly checking the documents, confirmed it. Any Zone Governor traveling to another zone was required to submit a formal visit request. There was no way Jae-hoon wouldn’t know that—so for him to be sneaking into Zone 1, something serious must have happened.
“How strange. Jae-hoon hates Zone 1. Don’t you agree?”
With a sharp thud, the man stabbed his pen into the pile of unread documents. His lips curled into a smile, but his crimson eyes gleamed dangerously.
Here we go again.
Whenever the subject of the Zone 5 Governor came up, the man could never hide his turbulent emotions.
He may have looked like he was smiling, but he was clearly furious.
The aide, unsure of how to react, awkwardly adjusted his slipping glasses.
“Aide.”
“Yes, Zone Governor.”
“If he’s coming secretly, then we should prepare to welcome him just as secretly.”
“…Excuse me?”
His crimson eyes curved into a mischievous smile. The aide let out a short sigh. Whenever the man smiled like that, it always meant trouble.
“You can do whatever you want, but please, please don’t cause an incident I won’t be able to clean up.”
“When have I ever done that?”
The man shrugged shamelessly. Rising from his seat, he lightly dusted off his clothes. As he swept back his shoulder-length hair, his face lit up with a dazzling grin.
“Well then, shall we prepare to welcome the esteemed Governor of Zone 5?”
His voice practically hummed with excitement.
