Chapter 56: Experiment Site (1)
How could he forget that number?
He had lived continuously without a name, like that.
Hyeon-yul looked at them.
Just the mention of 'experiment subject' changed the atmosphere.
Though hidden by protective suits, their expressions unseen, he felt their gazes towards him change.
“……Experiment subject?”
Someone spoke up.
Gazes followed, meticulously examining him as if looking at a product.
“Yes. They called me a successful experiment subject.”
“…Successful?”
“How did they succeed?”
“He just… looks like a person?”
The murmuring, starting with one or two, gradually increased.
Looks like a person.
Countless words stemmed from this part.
“You. Right now… is that true?”
“Is there any reason for me to lie, having come all this way?”
One of Hyeon-yul’s eyebrows rose.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed no one in charge who knew him was present.
Hyeon-yul rolled up his left sleeve.
REX—03333.
It was engraved there.
“Living from child to adult, haven’t I lived quite long?”
“W-Wouldn’t you give us a chance?”
“Right. Give us a chance.”
“What kind of chance?”
Hyeon-yul asked.
“Surely, there must be somewhere misaligned in your body. I, no, we can take a look at that.”
“Refining it more precisely. We can stabilize any instability.”
As if forgetting how tightly they had formed ranks moments ago, the guys became disorganized, some even stepping forward slightly.
It was fortunate their faces weren't visible.
His already non-existent appetite might have vanished completely.
“I’ll ask one last time. Is there anyone here who knows me?”
Hyeon-yul asked again and waited.
Only useless conversation continued.
“If anyone knew you, they would have popped out immediately! You’re a masterpiece!”
“Right! Perfection itself! With this, humanity can take another step forward!”
Sounds close to admiration flowed from the guys.
Saying he was amazing.
Saying he was perfect.
Words that dirtied the ears poured out.
“Is that so?”
Hyeon-yul readjusted his grip on the dagger.
His gaze towards them sharpened.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing? If no one knows me, shouldn’t you die?”
Hyeon-yul walked towards them.
Despite the light steps, the atmosphere changed.
He looked ready to devour everything.
“St-St-Stop!”
Hyeon-yul didn’t stop even at those words.
He approached nonchalantly, grabbed the protective suit of one of them, and tore it with the dagger.
A human face emerged from between the protective suit.
“To think you look like this. Strangely, I thought you looked like a person.”
Hyeon-yul reacted as if seeing a person for the first time.
The man whose eyes met his trembled uncontrollably.
It felt exactly like a beast was standing before him.
The mouth that had moved so well just moments ago froze up.
“I was always curious about what was beyond the protective suits you always wore. What you looked like, what expressions you had. I thought about it countless times and even imagined things arbitrarily.”
Maybe they were actually the same kind of experiment subjects as him.
Not wanting to suffer alone, they must have committed these acts out of revenge.
Maybe they weren't human but a new species.
He continued with such nonsensical thoughts.
Back then, he had to think that way to endure.
Did it make sense for humans to commit acts that humans shouldn't commit, over and over?
But they were human.
“Various thoughts swirled in my head, but strangely, now only one comes to mind.”
Hyeon-yul’s gaze lowered as he gripped the guy’s neck.
The guy caught by him couldn't even struggle.
The overwhelming killing intent was immense.
“Whether you are monsters or not, let’s kill you all. Without leaving any behind, let’s wipe out the seeds. Just like that.”
Hyeon-yul’s eyes curved, and the guy’s complexion turned deathly pale.
“If it’s revenge, it’s revenge. But it’s not some grand goal for all those who died. It’s just for me, who lost memories and even my original name because of you. It’s really, quite bothersome.”
“…W-Wait a moment. Don’t get excited. Now is the time to think rationally.”
“I only plan to kill those directly involved in this matter; I have no intention of touching your families or other people. How can I be more rational than this?”
He could do more but didn't.
He could make them suffer more, but he had no intention of crossing that line further.
Offering them a peaceful death, how could he be more rational than that?
“Isn’t it you, not me, who isn’t being rational right now?”
Hyeon-yul’s gaze turned to the other guys.
Terrified, they stepped back.
“This… is a leap that can change humanity anew!”
“Right, a leap!”
“If you wanted to leap so badly, why didn’t you do it yourselves?”
Hyeon-yul sneered and tightened his grip on the neck.
“Leap or whatever, have I ever once said I was interested? Did those you killed, those you butchered, ever say they wanted to be part of that leap?”
“…Keok.”
“What exactly are you trying to justify? Sublimity? You and I are just the same kind of murderers.”
Hyeon-yul didn’t make excuses.
Even if being lumped together was disgusting, the fact that he was a murderer didn't change.
“…You. Do you know what this sublimity is? Do you know how the Empire became the Empire?”
A voice came from behind.
Perhaps seeming quite brave, but it was just a coward trembling behind a protective suit.
“I’m not interested.”
Empire or whatever, why did he have to listen to such grand talk?
The Poison King, the Crimson Witch, and even these guys, why did they keep bringing up the Empire?
“It was the Empire that created the power we now take for granted.”
“Is that so?”
It was a story that would make anyone else freak out, but Hyeon-yul spoke nonchalantly about this too.
The Empire created power.
What would change by knowing this?
“How many sacrifices do you think it took for everyone to possess power? You say this value isn't sublime? How can you say that?”
Hyeon-yul laughed at those words.
As he tightened his grip, a ‘crack’ sound was heard, and the body went limp.
‘If I do this, they won’t be able to say anything anyway.’
Tossing the guy aside, Hyeon-yul took another step forward.
“What do you think you’re doing now?”
Hyeon-yul didn't understand their question itself.
Appearing in front of the guy who asked, he stabbed him in the chest.
Even the scene of blood splattering looked like a very natural action.
“Why are you asking that? I don’t understand.”
“…The Empire, trampled other nations with that power.”
Along with rough breathing, condensation could be seen inside the suit.
“Since the Empire did it, you can too. Is that what you want to say?”
“You… must become the blade aimed at the Empire.”
“I don’t know about such nonsense, but I will return the favor clearly. Since you did it, I will too.”
Hyeon-yul showed a smile.
Black power coiled around the dagger held in his opposite hand.
Just looking at it was ominous.
But the guy marveled.
“Th-This power… it could reach the heart of the Empire.”
It felt too beautiful to face as his last sight.
It was like a black flame that would burn everything.
“……You have to put everything back.”
Hyeon-yul didn’t reply to those words but swung his hand wide.
As thick darkness, seeming to cut through space, was drawn sideways, numerous necks were severed simultaneously.
Blood spurted towards the sky, raining down blood.
Hyeon-yul smiled without batting an eye.
“You haven’t changed at all, back then or now.”
Whether they lacked the perception that experiment subjects were human, they just obtained what they wanted by any means necessary.
Therefore, what he had cut down were villains.
Hyeon-yul looked at the blood-soaked experiment subjects.
What was the difference between them and him?
Broken by drugs, yet unable to live even a single day without drugs, were they like that too?
Hyeon-yul cleanly wiped the blood off his body with darkness, then took out his cell phone.
“Doctor.”
<Did you… find it?>
“No. It’s not here either. I found two people. I’ll bring them home.”
<Hyeon-yul.>
“Later. I want to talk later.”
<Alright. Come quickly.>
Hyeon-yul hung up the phone and looked at the experiment subjects.
He didn't know if even Jeong-min could save experiment subjects.
He had merely swum in the sea and reached a lighthouse.
He got to live because some luck, whether a divine prank or something else, activated.
They kept saying he was complete, perfect, but how was he different from them?
“If you can’t endure it, don’t force yourself.”
Hyeon-yul said, covering them with shadow.
“Even if you live, hope doesn’t exist.”
He was the future they desired.
Perhaps he was like a fantasy they could embrace because they didn't know what lay at the end if they endured, if they held on.
“I’ve lived, and this place isn’t much better than there.”
Hyeon-yul looked at the place swallowed by darkness.
“Still, if you want to live, try holding on a bit longer. A moment when you feel happiness will come eventually.”
Slowly raising his gaze, he looked around the experiment site.
He needed to know what data was here.
Hyeon-yul walked towards the computer.
He needed keys.
He searched the guys’ bodies with darkness, looking for keys.
One.
Two.
Three.
It only worked after inserting three keys.
Vast amounts of information were stored within.
Hyeon-yul’s eyes moved.
What he wanted to know now was the purpose of the experiment.
The rest could be examined gradually.
Among the numerous reports, Hyeon-yul stopped at the name ‘Choi Ah-ra’.
His eyes moved slowly.
What was the purpose of the experiment?
The answer came easily.
‘Ah, it was an experiment to save a child.’
Asan wasn't foolish enough not to know the simple principle that dead people cannot be revived.
He himself had undergone such experiments, so it wasn't surprising.
But why did she do this?
It was hard to understand.
‘…Anyway, did the Empire kill that child?’
Children shouldn't be killed.
Knowing that fact, even if he didn't care about other things, he felt just a little bit displeased.
Why did that child have to die?
“Doctor.”
Hyeon-yul returned to Jeong-min’s house again and handed over the data found at the experiment site.
This data would surely be helpful to Jeong-min.
“Here it is.”
Hyeon-yul paused while handing over the data and looked at Jeong-min.
If Jeong-min died, would he act like Asan too?
That thought briefly lingered.
But the answer was no.
Because dead people couldn't come back.
‘I hope the Doctor doesn’t die.’
He didn't care about other things, but he kept wishing for that.
For him to live longer than himself.
For him not to die even after he himself died.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hyeon-yul shifted his gaze to the two experiment subjects.
They would die.
All the experiment subjects he rescued and brought back died.
He knew that the only surviving experiment subject would continue to be him, and that would never change.
Jeong-min suddenly wore an apologetic expression.
Every time he saw that expression, Hyeon-yul found it hard to understand the emotion.
“Whatever happens to those two, you know it’s not your fault, Hyeon-yul, right?”
Jeong-min always said that whenever he brought back experiment subjects.
“I don’t expect anything. Honestly, I don’t really care if they live or die. You shouldn’t suffer either, Doctor.”
“I need to get used to it.”
Jeong-min adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly.
“Even if you say that, you don’t seem used to it.”
“This is indeed… quite difficult.”
Jeong-min touched the corner of his eye.
The fact that he couldn't save them always pierced his heart.
He just couldn't get used to it.
When would he get used to it?
“It’s amazing every time this happens.”
“What is amazing?”
“How did I save you? That thought does come up every time this happens.”
“Indeed. I’m curious too.”
His condition back then wasn't good.
It felt like his whole body would break apart any moment.
That's when he reached out to Jeong-min for help.
“You know, Hyeon-yul.”
“Yes.”
“Do you still not remember anything like the past?”
Shock therapy was absurd, but sometimes people did regain memories that way.
Even though it was a method that should never be used, Hyeon-yul visited the experiment site today.
Wasn't that place the most shocking location for Hyeon-yul?
“Yes. I don’t remember. It’s just full of memories I don’t want to recall. I want to erase them, but these don’t get erased.”
Hyeon-yul’s gaze only deepened; it didn’t ignite.
He was like firewood whose flames had completely died down.
“I’m curious who I am. But I also think, what’s the use of knowing now? I can’t become the person they remember.”
Jeong-min couldn't say anything to those calm words.
He knew better than anyone how Hyeon-yul had lived.
“Still, I hope you don’t let go of hope.”
“I will try.”
“Alright. Hurry up, go in and sleep.”
“Have sweet dreams.”
Hyeon-yul bowed his head and disappeared.
Watching him go, Jeong-min let out a long sigh.
Seo Hyeon-yul.
This wasn't his real name.
It was a name he and Hyeon-yul had created.
Hoping the day would come when he finds his original name again.
“Ah, Hyeon-yul.”
Suddenly, Hyeon-yul’s voice came from beside him.
Startling, but Jeong-min wasn't surprised.
“Yes.”
“You’re moving tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. I’m moving tomorrow.”
“Okay, contact me.”
“Yes. Sleep well.”
Jeong-min waved his hand and looked at the spot where he had disappeared.