Chapter 55: Perspectives Change (3)
“……?”
As the door burst open, Hyeon-yul raised his hand, then lowered it.
“Doctor. Haven’t you gone home yet?”
He had planned to just quickly check his own body.
Although he didn't have a medical license, checks could be done by hooking up various machines.
“I waited for you!”
Jeong-min suddenly shouted.
“I finish late today. Didn’t you say sleeping soundly is important for health?”
“Things are crazy right now, does that matter? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Yes. As you can see, there are no problems.”
Hyeon-yul nodded.
People died from the poison, bereaved families grieved, and some people cursed at the Black Eagles.
That was all.
There was nothing particularly special.
It was just the same scene he'd seen in videos playing out again.
“I came for a check-up as usual. I just came faster because the Team Leader rushed me.”
Hyeon-yul smiled faintly.
—Mr. Hyeon-yul, right now! Go see Doctor Lee Jeong-min right now!
He felt fine, but Hae-ryeon’s voice had been trembling.
Why was that?
Jeong-min took the thinking of Hyeon-yul inside.
He didn’t just close the door; he locked it.
“Seeing you here means the poison must be gone, did you do it, Hyeon-yul?”
“Yes. I did.”
“All that poison… you swallowed it?”
Jeong-min felt the back of his neck tighten.
“Yes. It’s just like breathing air.”
“I’m going crazy, really!”
Jeong-min took Hyeon-yul again and immediately laid him down on the bed.
He knew poison didn't affect Hyeon-yul.
But the information he possessed didn't include poison potent enough to swallow a city.
What if, just what if, it affected Hyeon-yul in some way?
Just presupposing that made his whole body tremble.
“Doctor. I’m fine. Really, it doesn’t affect me at all.”
Hyeon-yul looked at Jeong-min’s expression and offered comfort in his own way.
Because it was Jeong-min, more than anyone else, he didn't want to see a sad expression.
“That, well, let’s see the test results first……”
Jeong-min thought he should start with a blood test, but then stopped and just looked at Hyeon-yul lying still, and emotions surged up.
His eyes narrowed.
“…What on earth were you thinking?”
The concept of caring for others didn't exist for Hyeon-yul.
He had just endlessly drilled into himself actions he shouldn't do since childhood.
Hyeon-yul maintained a moderate line in any situation.
He always had, and Jeong-min thought he would this time too.
Hyeon-yul turned his head and looked at Jeong-min.
“I wanted to prove my usefulness. It wasn’t a difficult task for me either. Isn’t this the most effective way?”
Jeong-min expected such words, but hearing them tightened his chest.
How could he divide himself into useful and useless?
The concept of 'self' didn't exist for Hyeon-yul.
Jeong-min had once thought that if Hyeon-yul regained the memories lost due to drugs, things might change.
But even now, 14 years later, Hyeon-yul couldn't remember the past.
Medically, that made sense, but didn't non-medical things happen all the time?
Why didn't such things happen to Hyeon-yul?
“Doctor. Please don’t be hurt by my words.”
Hyeon-yul felt troubled by Jeong-min’s increasingly distorted expression.
It felt like he might burst into tears any moment now.
How should he phrase things?
It was difficult.
“…Um, I thought doing this, even if not entirely, would soften the way people look at me. And it was also a mission. I can’t ignore a mission, can I?”
As Hyeon-yul rambled more than usual, Jeong-min realized this was the most comfort Hyeon-yul could offer.
Seeing him look commendable even in this situation meant he really had something blinding his eyes.
“Just say you’re sorry for making me worry. That’s enough.”
“Yes. I apologize for causing concern.”
At Hyeon-yul’s words, Jeong-min exhaled and drew blood.
“Hyeon-yul.”
“Yes.”
“Still, you did well.”
“……?”
Hyeon-yul looked at Jeong-min’s expression.
He always gave praise whenever they met, but today was different.
Hadn't he just been angry?
“You were angry, why are you praising me?”
“Because you did well. I’m extremely upset that you came like this, but saving people is clearly a good deed, right? You saved people, Hyeon-yul.”
“I did…?”
“Yes. You saved many lives.”
Hyeon-yul fidgeted his fingers at the unfamiliar emotion and fact.
After the incident ended, the team members forcibly strapped him to an Eagle and sent him back.
When he went to report to Hae-ryeon, she again forcibly sent him to Jeong-min.
No one had pointed it out so directly, so he hadn’t known.
“…Doctor. Is it, okay for me to save people?”
Hyeon-yul sat up and looked at his own hands.
They were covered in unsightly scars.
These hands were stained with much blood.
“I was a villain.”
Hyeon-yul blinked.
“And… many people died for me to be created.”
This wasn't guilt or anything like it.
He was merely stating a fact everyone knew.
He was, so to speak, 'dirty'.
Joining the Black Eagles was purely for his own safety.
Even now, he felt no sense of heroism or altruism whatsoever.
Why should he save them?
That question still lingered, and some days, the inefficiency annoyed him.
“Won’t they feel bad being saved by me?”
Hyeon-yul looked up at Jeong-min.
Ah.
Jeong-min wore that hurt expression again.
It was just a curiosity.
“Which bastard said that?”
“I haven’t heard it yet.”
“Instead of feeling grateful for the help, anyone who says something like that is the crazy one…”
“But in dramas and movies, when helped, they say ‘Thank you’, but then get really upset when they find out the person is from a criminal organization. Wouldn’t I fall into that category?”
Hyeon-yul pondered quite deeply.
Jeong-min finally let out a long breath.
He wondered why he was saying such things, but it was from dramas and movies.
‘……Thank goodness he hasn’t actually experienced it.’
Jeong-min wiped his face with both hands.
If he had experienced it, he wouldn't have stayed quiet either.
—Mr. Hyeon-yul doesn't tell me everything even when he faces unfairness. So, if even you hear something, please tell me. Please. I can set the stage properly so that he suits your taste, Doctor.
Hae-ryeon’s request echoed in his mind.
He didn't know how grateful he was that she cared about Hyeon-yul.
“You could fall into that category, Hyeon-yul. But for me. I don’t think it matters who the other person is. The person who helped me is like a god to me in that moment. However, separate from gratitude, if they demand something else or try to exploit it, that’s a different problem.”
“…Is that so?”
“You, you didn’t understand, did you?”
“…A little, but I can understand some of it.”
“Then that’s fine. Lie down.”
“Yes.”
Jeong-min looked at Hyeon-yul staring blankly at him, then flicked his forehead.
Thwack.
“Doctor. Do you hate me?”
“Yeah.”
Jeong-min held the drawn blood and answered calmly.
“Really?”
“…Just for today. Just today.”
Worried he might misunderstand, Jeong-min added the trailing words and walked towards the examination room.
“…….”
As soon as Hyeon-yul opened the door, he was met with a gloomy atmosphere.
Hae-ryeon, Shin-woo, Na-yoon, and even Ji-hwan all seemed to be holding their heads identically, about to bury their faces in their desks.
“What are you doing?”
When Hyeon-yul asked, they all stood up simultaneously as if on cue.
“Are you okay, Mr. Hyeon-yul?”
“Hyeon-yul, you’re really okay, right?”
“I know Doctor Jeong-min checks you well, but you’re still okay, right? You’re not hurt anywhere or anything?”
“Hyung! Hyung, why are you back already?”
The sounds mixed together simultaneously.
As the words returned as noise, Hyeon-yul frowned, and everyone shut their mouths.
Their eyes all looked strange, as if they were gauging his reaction.
That couldn't be right.
“I’m fine.”
Hyeon-yul answered calmly.
The examination time had been quite long.
“Isn’t everyone going home?”
“……We should, go home.”
Hae-ryeon answered, staring blankly at Hyeon-yul.
Hyeon-yul was exactly the same as before.
Slowly, Hae-ryeon’s face crumpled.
Even if she was rushed, she shouldn't have sent a newbie.
But if the same situation arose, she would probably make the same choice.
There was no method more certain than this.
Her heart felt heavy at the unchanging fact.
“I caused concern. But I really am perfectly fine.”
Hyeon-yul used what he had learned from Jeong-min moments ago.
Everyone’s expression was similar to Jeong-min’s, so he thought it was the most suitable approach.
“Even if the same incident happened again, I would have done the same. So you don’t need to worry.”
Wondering if something was missing, Hyeon-yul raised the corners of his mouth.
He thought this made it perfect, but the silence stretched quite long.
“……You, why do you live so foolishly? I mean, not that you’re a fool, but you could have said more back there. About the rumors about you being lies.”
Na-yoon spoke bluntly, then hastily corrected herself.
Surely, in that place, Hyeon-yul could have clearly revealed that the rumors were lies.
Just looking at the flow of events and the atmosphere there, it was perfectly suited to reverse everything.
“Because, I did a good deed.”
Jeong-min had said so.
Then, that was enough.
Whatever he said there, changing things would be difficult.
If he became a god to someone because of what happened earlier, conversely, he could also become the devil.
As long as they didn't bother him, he could pretend not to see that much.
“Right. You did very well. It’ll have a bigger impact than landing a punch.”
Unlike his words, Shin-woo let out a long sigh.
A complex feeling washed over him along with it.
Being plagued by rumors was a truly terrible thing.
“Of course! Hyung was the protagonist earlier!”
Ji-hwan retorted defensively.
He couldn't have been prouder to be on the same team.
“Thank you, Mr. Hyeon-yul.”
Hae-ryeon knew this was Hyeon-yul’s way of comforting them.
Thankfully, her heart felt lighter.
“Because of today, the way people see you will change, Mr. Hyeon-yul. I can say that for sure.”
How would things change if perspectives changed?
Those words didn't really resonate with Hyeon-yul.
But Hyeon-yul simply nodded.
“Now, everyone, let’s go home.”
As Hae-ryeon finally smiled, the heavy atmosphere changed.
Going home.
Weren't those words enough to melt everything away?
“I’ll be heading home first.”
Hyeon-yul waved and turned away.
Going home.
But today, it wasn't particularly welcome.
He was moving in two days.
They said it wasn't good for troublesome things to happen before moving.
Therefore, today, he had to visit the Crimson Witch’s experiment site.
Just in case, he had told Jeong-min in advance, but Hyeon-yul looked at his watch and let out a long sigh.
‘…This is really annoying.’
It was heading towards 1 AM.
The experiment site Asan created had a passage leading underground inside a first-floor unit of a luxury apartment.
Who would have guessed that place was connected to an experiment site?
The tile-like white wallpaper turned red following Hyeon-yul’s dagger, and along those bloodstains, the bodies of those guarding the experiment site lay in a line.
Hyeon-yul’s mood was worse than usual.
He even felt the darkness he always suppressed running rampant.
‘…It’s time to sleep.’
Thinking lightly, Hyeon-yul looked ahead.
Whooosh.
The bodies around Hyeon-yul lifted and poured down as if to bury him.
“I don’t know who you are, but……”
The guy couldn't finish his sentence.
Appearing behind the guy along with fluttering darkness, Hyeon-yul plunged his dagger into the psychic’s neck.
Psychics always kept a barrier around their bodies, so a tingling sensation traveled up the dagger.
Hyeon-yul extended his other hand.
Black smoke fluttered at the tip of the dagger.
As he swung the dagger sideways, the barrier disappeared along with the severed neck, and the person collapsed powerlessly to the ground like a piece of paper.
He saw eyes mixed with resentment.
Hyeon-yul met that gaze and checked whether he was dead or not.
Only when the light in the guy’s eyes faded did Hyeon-yul finally move on.
He stood before the door they had been guarding so fiercely.
It also meant everything lay beyond it.
He saw countless spells.
He could just cut through them, but just as many remained.
He already knew the password, why would he act so foolishly?
Choi Asan.
Hyeon-yul entered that name.
With a message confirming authentication, the door slowly opened.
People in white protective suits stood in line, as if guarding something.
Just looking at that scene made him seem like trash, but ridiculously, what those guys hid behind them were experiment subjects.
A sneer escaped Hyeon-yul automatically.
Were experiment subjects that precious?
Hyeon-yul walked slowly.
“…Where did you come from?”
The distorted voices of the guys were heard.
Their faces weren't visible.
It hadn't deviated at all from the methods he had seen in his childhood.
It felt just like returning to the past.
“What does that matter?”
“If you come closer, we’ll kill them all, so don’t come.”
The guys threatened him using the experiment subjects.
“If you had the courage, wouldn’t you have killed them already?”
Hyeon-yul didn't stop walking.
He didn't know what stage they had reached, but Hyeon-yul knew they wouldn't give up.
How much money, time, and lives must have been invested?
Hyeon-yul rolled his eyes inside his helmet.
He could glimpse inside the area they tightly blocked off.
Only two people lay unconscious.
One person's entire body, except for the face, was already melting like slime.
The other child seemed okay, apart from one arm being massively enlarged.
That's just how the appearance seemed; they had lost their skin color.
How could human skin be purple?
What on earth were they trying to create?
“Did you all only handle the experiments here?”
Hyeon-yul asked, and naturally, there was no answer.
“How many did you kill for those two?”
But Hyeon-yul continued his questions.
These were the working-level staff.
They would know more precise information.
“What stage are you at now? Do you intend to torture them until they die, give them drugs until they die? If you’re curious about the end, why don’t you just try it on your own bodies?”
Hyeon-yul sensed the impending death of the two children but didn't bother voicing it.
It was an unnecessary remark.
Hyeon-yul waited for an answer, and as expected, they answered nothing.
That attitude was identical to the past, as if someone had taught them.
Him, whose mind was broken by drugs, and them, didn't seem vastly different even now.
If they were sane in the first place, would they touch children?
Hyeon-yul deactivated the camouflage magic with his smartwatch, then took off his helmet.
“Does anyone among you remember me?”
His childhood face and current face were different, so they might be confused.
But he didn't think they would have forgotten his face.
Because they were the ones who constantly poked him with blades during experiments, carving deep scars all over his body.
“I was Experiment Subject REX—03333.”
Hyeon-yul hadn't forgotten the number they used to call him.