#90
But he didn’t know why his feelings were so strange. Ironically, having that thought made him feel like the marks left on his neck from when Cha Do-hyeok had bitten and sucked were stinging.
“…ssi. Ha-seong-ssi!”
Ha-seong, who had been standing quietly lost in thought, snapped to attention at Woo-bin’s call.
“But are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, of course. Whether that bastard has someone he loves or not, what does it matter to me…”
“No, not that. Your hands and face.”
Woo-bin pointed to his own cheek with his finger. Ha-seong, who had been in a daze, turned his head to look at his reflection in the glass window of the corridor.
“Ah.”
Looking closely, his skin was slightly reddened and scraped. Now that he looked, his hands were the same. It seemed to have happened from his contact with Cha Do-hyeok earlier.
“It’s fine. This much is nothing.”
Ha-seong shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“So what are you planning to do now?”
Ha-seong pointed to the side where Baek Sa-jin would be sleeping.
“Well, first I need to report to the higher-ups that we caught the real culprit of the hunter murder case. And at the same time, I’m thinking of starting a top-secret investigation into the incident from 10 years ago.”
“Yes. Oh, and please investigate that bastard’s necklace I gave you first. From what I saw roughly, it seemed to have communication functions for contacting other colleagues, and it might still be connected.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
The two concluded their conversation like that. For now, there was nothing more they could do here today, at least not right now. Since Baek Sa-jin was also going to be investigated in top secret by the Hunter Management Bureau, they had to wait and see what came out after that.
“Then I’ll take that bastard and head back for now. I’ll contact you tomorrow morning.”
“Yes. Be careful going back. Oh, and Ha-seong-ssi.”
As he was about to leave with Do-hyeok, Woo-bin called him back again.
“Thank you so much for this incident. It’s not completely over yet, but I felt I should express my gratitude first.”
Ha-seong pondered what to say in response to that thanks, then just bowed his head slightly and went outside. Woo-bin offered to help seeing Ha-seong supporting Cha Do-hyeok alone, but he declined. Woo-bin had to take care of Baek Sa-jin first.
Still, supporting a tall man alone was somewhat taxing. Ha-seong stopped several times before finally making it out of the building. Cha Do-hyeok probably brought a car while coming here, so he planned to take that back. Before going to the parking lot, Ha-seong stopped for a moment and gazed at the softly risen moon.
‘Thank you so much for this incident.’
He unconsciously mulled over the words Woo-bin had said earlier. Of course, the case wasn’t solved yet. There remained the task of finding out about the accomplices’ existence, whether Baek Sa-jin was really the culprit of the incident from 10 years ago, how he as a civilian could open gates, all those circumstances and methods, and revealing the entire truth, but somehow those words… felt like a farewell greeting.
Ha-seong turned his head to look once at Do-hyeok, who was still sleeping.
“…”
Then he earnestly walked toward the parking lot again.
“Ah, damn heavy.”
Ha-seong first took the car keys from Do-hyeok’s pocket, then opened the door and laid him down in the back seat. Then he got in the driver’s seat. He knew how to drive but hadn’t done it in quite a while, so he was worried. But well, what could he do. He had to get back.
Ha-seong checked on Do-hyeok lying quietly, then slowly started the engine and drove.
* * *
His earliest memory was of young children gathered together in one space eating food. Receiving a certain amount of food on small meal trays and eating quietly in their respective places. That was Do-hyeok’s earliest memory.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that the place was an orphanage where children without parents like himself lived together. Anyway, Do-hyeok neither became depressed nor questioned the fact that he had no parents.
Being alone was simply natural and familiar to him. At first, the teachers at the orphanage were also worried about Do-hyeok, who didn’t cry and was just quiet, unusually so for his age, but there weren’t many people who would care for and take devoted care of someone with such a guarded personality who kept his distance and was wary of others.
“So Do-hyeok, you’ll probably be going to another orphanage too.”
At the now familiar words, Do-hyeok just nodded silently. How many times was this now, moving to a new place to live? Still, he had lasted quite long here. At the place before coming here, he had beaten up a corrupt orphanage director and came over, so he couldn’t stay there very long.
“Get along well there too.”
With the teacher’s final spiritless words, Do-hyeok came to a small orphanage in Seoul. Perhaps it was a natural phenomenon. Regional orphanages were disappearing due to lack of support, and Seoul facilities seemed to be in relatively good condition.
‘Hansol Orphanage’. That was the fourth place Do-hyeok came to.
“I don’t know why that kid is so gloomy.”
“I know, right. I heard he even beat up the director at his previous orphanage.”
Do-hyeok, who had been dumped from another orphanage, was even less welcome among the people there. Even the teachers who had the duty to care for the children avoided and shunned Do-hyeok. But Do-hyeok continued his life as if nothing was wrong, without showing any dissatisfaction.
It wasn’t that he was pretending to be fine. He really was fine. You have to have experienced good emotions somewhere to know loss and feel disappointed, right? Do-hyeok had never received such emotions, not one warm affection, from birth until he turned twelve.
“So Do-hyeok, you’re not going?”
“No. I’m not feeling well.”
“Okay. I understand. Then you need to stay put, alright?”
The Seoul orphanage definitely seemed to be in good condition. Sometimes they would take the children on trips to the suburbs. Of course, Do-hyeok didn’t go along. When he said he wouldn’t go, using the excuse that he was sick, the teacher immediately agreed with a pleased expression.
They left a child of about ten years old who said he was sick and wouldn’t go, alone at the orphanage, and everyone departed like that. But Do-hyeok rather liked it. Being alone was quiet and comfortable.
So much so that he wanted to live like this forever.
But that comfort didn’t last long. It was late afternoon on the day when everyone had left in the morning saying they were going on a field trip. Do-hyeok was spending time reading books donated to the orphanage when suddenly the ground shook and there was a loud noise as if an earthquake had occurred.
Startled, Do-hyeok immediately stood up and looked around. A loud roar and ground tremors were continuing from outside.
“What is that.”
Do-hyeok clenched his fists and went outside. The wind was blowing so fiercely that it was hard to keep his eyes open properly. And when he finally managed to lift his head and open his eyes.
“Wh-what is that…”
An incomprehensible scene was unfolding before his eyes. In the middle of the orphanage yard, a hole appeared as if it had been punched through. A massive, dark cavity so deep its end couldn’t be seen. Do-hyeok stared blankly at that hole, then noticed it was gradually getting bigger and ran to get back inside the orphanage.
“Ugh.”
But the incoming wind and pile of dust made it hard to keep his eyes open properly. As if to block his path, wind blew from the opposite direction and pushed Do-hyeok away. Eventually Do-hyeok lost his balance and fell. And in an instant, his body was automatically pulled in.
“N-no.”
He felt it instinctively. The instinct that he absolutely must not be sucked into that hole. Do-hyeok pressed his small hands against the ground and somehow endured. It was hard to keep his eyes open properly and his ears felt like they would go deaf from the massive ground tremors, but Do-hyeok tensed his body to somehow endure.
“…Ah.”
But it was beyond his power to overcome the force of nature. Do-hyeok, whose arms had lost strength, was eventually sucked inside as the space-time rift led him.
A dizzy sensation like motion sickness. He felt as if his body was being torn to pieces, as if his arms were falling off and his fingers were being cut off one by one. When he thought he might die like this, the surroundings became quiet and the deadly sensation also subsided.
“Hah…”
And when he opened his eyes, there were only unfamiliar scenes everywhere. Do-hyeok repeatedly looked around and stood up.
“Where is… this?”
What entered Do-hyeok’s vision was literally a wasteland. It was all sand dunes in every direction as if he had come to a desert, and nothing could be seen. He stood there alone as if he were the only one left in the world, like a single black dot drawn on drawing paper.
What is this, a dream? If it wasn’t a dream, it was an inexplicable scene. What kind of situation had befallen him? Do-hyeok was only confused. Had he perhaps died? Was this the afterlife he had only seen in books? Do-hyeok looked down at his palm. But he didn’t feel like he was dead. His heart was also beating fiercely.
In other words, he hadn’t died. He had been dragged alive to some unknown space.
“T-teacher.”
Young Do-hyeok stepped backward and called out quietly for teacher. It was a word he rarely spoke even at the orphanage, but in the strange and frightening environment, Do-hyeok reflexively looked for an adult first. But there was no one to respond to that call.
“Wh-where is everyone…”
Do-hyeok clenched his trembling hands and was about to ask where everyone had gone. Then he suddenly realized that question was meaningless. Originally Do-hyeok was alone. It wasn’t that everyone had gone somewhere, but that there had been no one around him from the beginning. Just like how he had fallen alone in this place now.
Just as Do-hyeok was about to sit back down on the ground in despair, suddenly a thump sound came from somewhere. Do-hyeok swallowed and turned his head toward where the sound came from.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
