Chapter 83: All sorts of things are running rampant (3)
“Not a huge amount, but they exist, rarely. No, since it came up, why are you pretending to be a Black Eagle? I almost killed you.”
The bastard frowned, holding the liquid cigarette in his hand.
Those words proved that someone had indeed pretended to be a Black Eagle.
‘I don’t know who it is, but the problem is going to get bigger.’
A group called the former Black Eagles had appeared, but there was no proof that they were the ones who did it.
Seo Hyeon-yul pointed to the Black Eagle emblem with his finger.
“Yeah, that. It looks disgustingly real. I almost attacked you.”
The villain glanced around and then pulled out a few items from his pocket.
“First, take these of various kinds and try them out, or let me go. The effect will be damn good, so how much do you need?”
“How much can you produce?”
Seo Hyeon-yul received the drugs.
“Can’t produce much. Getting the ingredients is a bit tricky. Next location, here?”
“So you are producing them there?”
Seo Hyeon-yul was sure of the fact.
It was here.
‘They must be a part of those producing the drugs.’
The real ones had no reason to act like this.
However, he had to catch even these kinds of people to get closer to the real ones.
“What?”
“I am curious about how much other places charge.”
“You don’t need to know. This place is the cheapest. If you don’t believe me, then get lost.”
“It seems there are several places.”
Seo Hyeon-yul approached, raising his dagger.
“Hey. Put that down. I’ll give you a 10% discount. Seven of my subordinates died because of you.”
The villain reached out, pointed at the dagger, and wagged his finger.
A smile hung on his lips.
“I think you’re mistaken about something, so I’ll correct one thing for you.”
The blade of the dagger Seo Hyeon-yul held was aimed at the villain’s wrist.
Sgok.
He slashed it as is and kindly informed him.
“I am a former Black Eagle.”
“……!”
The villain’s gaze remained fixed on Seo Hyeon-yul for so long that he couldn’t comprehend the current situation.
But soon, he screamed and looked at his missing arm.
He shrieked as if in despair.
“You crazy bastard! I said I’d give you a discount…! Why are you doing this? It costs a fortune to reattach a wrist!”
“I’ll say it again. I am a former Black Eagle.”
Even at Seo Hyeon-yul’s words, the villain didn’t believe him at all.
Sharp, blade-like objects protruded from his body.
He looked like a hedgehog.
“Crazy bastard! Don’t bullshit me! You think I’ll give you the drugs if you do this?”
The villain came straight at him.
Not only sharp but also seemingly hard, those blades were weapons in their own right.
‘It would be a weapon if it touched me.’
Seo Hyeon-yul smoothly dodged the villain's swinging fist.
If he thought he had stabbed him, Seo Hyeon-yul wasn’t there.
He would just despicably dodge towards the already severed arm.
It was considerably easier to dodge to a relatively short distance.
‘Good thing I cut it off.’
Seo Hyeon-yul saw a momentary opening.
Just as the bastard swung his good arm, a black force covered the dagger, and he thrust it upwards.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Following Seo Hyeon-yul’s dagger, the villain’s arm was lifted upwards.
Seo Hyeon-yul, as if to show off, took out another dagger and aimed it at the bastard’s shoulder.
“Can’t you see the Eagle emblem? You’re a villain, for crying out loud, should you be saying all sorts of things like that?”
“…Shit! How are you a Black Eagle! Stop spouting nonsense! You crazy bastard! I can’t give you the drugs!”
“Do I need to cut more for you to believe me? I guess there’s no choice.”
As Seo Hyeon-yul’s hand moved, the villain opened his mouth.
“I, I believe you! I believe you, you bastard…!”
His eyes said otherwise.
He still doubted him.
“Which organization is it? Where is its location?”
Seo Hyeon-yul questioned, continuously staring at the bastard.
He was looking for a chance to escape.
If so, he should help him.
Seo Hyeon-yul intentionally lowered the dagger he was aiming and took out the walkie-talkie that looked like a cellphone.
“Please wait a moment.”
Just as Seo Hyeon-yul lowered his gaze, the bastard raised his hand.
Regardless of whether blood splattered, he threw his opposite fist towards Seo Hyeon-yul.
Thwack!
Seo Hyeon-yul intentionally lowered his body, took the punch on his helmet, and moved his body backward.
“Hahahaha! You think I’d tell you that? Die! Die, you bastard!”
The bastard ran away, and Seo Hyeon-yul waited.
He would go there on his own.
Seo Hyeon-yul looked at the bastard and then took off his helmet.
He had wondered why he was talking like that, but it had pierced the helmet.
He wiped away the flowing blood.
‘I thought the helmet would block it, but that bastard’s power was stronger than I expected.’
Thinking he would get an earful from Lee Jeong-min, Seo Hyeon-yul took out a syringe and injected it starting from his shoulder.
He took out a bandage from the first-aid kit and applied it to his head.
Seo Hyeon-yul used the cellphone-cum-walkie-talkie.
“Hello.”
<Yes. Go ahead.>
“Caught two, one escaped.”
Seo Hyeon-yul reported briefly.
<…Yes?>
“I’ll tell you the location.”
Seo Hyeon-yul stood up from his seat.
“Ah, where I am is…, by any chance, does the location show up?”
<No. It doesn’t show up.>
Seo Hyeon-yul, relieved by those words, looked around.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll let you know soon.”
His legs began to melt into the darkness, but he flinched and stopped.
His fingers were melting away on their own.
‘…Teacher is going to scold me a lot.’
Slap.
As Lee Jeong-min hit Seo Hyeon-yul’s back, Oh Hae-ryeon was startled.
She didn’t think he would actually hit him.
“…Um, Teacher?”
“How long has it been since you injured your palm, and you come back injured again? When I change your medicine, I told you to be careful, didn’t I?”
“It was unavoidable.”
As Seo Hyeon-yul replied nonchalantly, Oh Hae-ryeon glanced at Lee Jeong-min.
He had the exact expression of someone whose blood pressure had risen.
“Unavoidable, my foot. Do I not know you? What is it again? What happened!”
“I thought the helmet would be sturdy.”
“With the helmet? You blocked it with the helmet…? How sturdy do you think that is to block it with that!”
“…It’s a sturdy material.”
Oh Hae-ryeon mumbled.
But looking at the helmet Seo Hyeon-yul brought, it seemed like it had blocked it by a hair’s breadth.
“Why don’t you just say the helmet can block all attacks in the world?”
As the fuming Lee Jeong-min scoffed, Seo Hyeon-yul stared at him intently.
“Teacher. A helmet cannot block all attacks in the world. Don’t you know that?”
“Do I not know that? So, why did you do it?”
“I didn’t think that attack would pierce the helmet. After various judgments, it was an unavoidable choice to prevent shock, as a direct penetration wound to the body would render me unable to perform the mission.”
“This?”
As Lee Jeong-min pointed at Seo Hyeon-yul’s face, Seo Hyeon-yul looked at Oh Hae-ryeon.
“It’s not a penetration wound. It’s just a scratch.”
“…Whaat?”
Oh Hae-ryeon, startled, quickly took a deep breath.
She had been tricked.
That was exactly what she thought.
—Up to a scratch. I’ll understand up to that point. Piercing is not allowed.
She had said that, but she only now understood why she had agreed so easily back then.
‘I didn’t think he’d use the word itself.’
Oh Hae-ryeon’s back of the head throbbed.
“See, Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon? Do you know why I hit Hyeon-yul? Doesn’t it just turn your stomach upside down?”
“Indeed. It turns it upside down better than I thought?”
Oh Hae-ryeon looked at him with curiosity.
“The stomach is not something that can be turned up…. Ah, it can be turned upside down.”
At Seo Hyeon-yul’s answer, Lee Jeong-min took off his glasses and wiped his face.
He had heard countless times about experiences where his stomach had actually been turned upside down.
“Enough, now lie down. I told you not to overdo it today, didn’t I?”
“I haven’t overdone it. My hands just melted because I used my strength a few times.”
“That, I did wrong.”
As Oh Hae-ryeon chimed in, Lee Jeong-min shook his head.
“Do I not know Hyeon-yul? Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon has done nothing wrong. I couldn’t strongly push for a vacation on the doctor’s recommendation.”
“Vacation……”
As Seo Hyeon-yul opened his mouth, Lee Jeong-min hit his mouth.
Seo Hyeon-yul’s eyes narrowed slightly.
But he didn’t open his mouth anymore.
He had already expected to be scolded by Lee Jeong-min.
However, he hadn't thought Oh Hae-ryeon would be here.
“You’re going through a lot, Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon. Hyeon-yul seems to listen very well, but he doesn’t, does he?”
“There’s a slight, somewhat rebellious part to him. He seemed like a model student, though.”
“Did he seem that way? It’s a relief he looks that way, at least on the outside.”
Lee Jeong-min beamed as if he had never been angry.
He didn’t know about other things, but he thought he had done a good job with Seo Hyeon-yul’s education.
As Oh Hae-ryeon laughed, Lee Jeong-min suddenly realized his mistake.
This wasn't it.
There was a separate reason he had been urgently called.
“Things like this happen occasionally when the medicine is changed. But it doesn’t interfere with work, so you don’t have to worry too much about it.”
Lee Jeong-min spoke as if explaining.
Oh Hae-ryeon had come here due to Seo Hyeon-yul’s injury, but it seemed that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
Wasn’t it about the side effects that occur after changing the medicine, which he had also reported to Oh Hae-ryeon today?
“It’s not that, it’s about the medicine Mr. Hyeon-yul is taking. By any chance, can I take a look at it? I have a pharmacist license, so you can rest assured.”
“…Just a moment. Let me just put in the IV.”
Lee Jeong-min, with a troubled expression, put an IV in Seo Hyeon-yul’s arm, then stood up and walked to the office inside the room.
His steps were strangely slow.
“Team Leader.”
Seo Hyeon-yul whispered softly.
‘Just now, Teacher Lee Jeong-min told you not to say anything, so you’re doing this, right?’
Oh Hae-ryeon felt like she was about to laugh, so she covered her mouth and nodded.
“I received medicine from the escaped villain. May I examine it first and then give it to you?”
Seo Hyeon-yul took out the medicine from his bosom and showed it to her.
“This… where did you get this?”
“I received it.”
“Received it? Who? A villain…?”
No way.
She asked with that feeling.
“Yes. A villain gave it to me.”
“……?”
Oh Hae-ryeon looked at Seo Hyeon-yul with surprised eyes and doubted her ears.
Why would a villain give Seo Hyeon-yul medicine?
She thought that itself didn’t make sense.
“He gave it to me, thinking I wasn’t a Black Eagle.”
“But you were wearing the uniform…?”
Oh Hae-ryeon herself was dumbfounded by the ever-increasing question marks.
But how on earth could someone think he wasn’t a Black Eagle even though he was wearing the uniform?
Oh Hae-ryeon thought about this and that, and then her expression quickly hardened.
“……Who, who is impersonating a Black Eagle?”
“Yes. He knew me as such.”
“All sorts of things are truly running rampant.”
Oh Hae-ryeon suppressed her surging anger.
Actually, it wasn’t like this had never happened before.
When the Black Eagles first appeared, there were many impersonators.
She thought it had been sorted out once already, but for this to be rampant again.
‘…It’s the former Black Eagles.’
Oh Hae-ryeon immediately thought of the culprit.
Only those who wore the uniform could imitate it better than anyone else.
“Something… seems to be moving.”
Seo Hyeon-yul spoke, relying on an uncertain assumption.
He didn’t know what it was, but he could see that the place he had once belonged to was gradually changing.
It was a method they wouldn’t normally use.
They even hated the word ‘black’ in Black Eagle.
After learning that someone was behind the Poison King, it seemed to become even more apparent.
“It would be a bit more comfortable to think of it as a desperate struggle, right?”
“Perhaps.”
“First, I can predict what kind of attack will come.”
“They might intentionally lure a Black Eagle and then approach pretending to be a fellow Black Eagle……”
Seo Hyeon-yul stopped talking and closed his mouth.
The sound of a door opening was heard.
“Hyeon-yul.”
At Lee Jeong-min’s voice, Seo Hyeon-yul closed his eyes.
It was absurd.
He had already heard their whispering voices.
“I don’t know what Hyeon-yul requested, but you don’t have to grant it.”
Seo Hyeon-yul opened his closed eyes at Lee Jeong-min’s words.
He looked wronged.
“It’s not that, I just told him what happened today.”
As Oh Hae-ryeon whispered, Lee Jeong-min finally said ‘Ah’ and gave an awkward smile.
He thought Seo Hyeon-yul had coaxed Oh Hae-ryeon into doing something again.
“Here it is. Leaking it would be problematic, so um, could you look at it here and give it back to me?”
What Lee Jeong-min handed to Oh Hae-ryeon was a piece of paper.
“Because it needs to be disposed of quickly.”
He tried to hide it, but an anxious gaze followed.
This was data like Seo Hyeon-yul’s heart.
Seo Hyeon-yul was resistant to numerous drugs.
Excluding all the various drugs he had taken, and then excluding more, it was a combination he had barely found.
He was constantly changing medicines, but still, wasn't it an unknown fact?
He didn't know what would happen if someone knew the components of the medicine he prescribed and administered a drug that could neutralize it.
Could Seo Hyeon-yul endure it again?
That was in the realm of speculation.
Lee Jeong-min’s hand, extended to Oh Hae-ryeon, trembled.
“Teacher.”
Oh Hae-ryeon reached out and placed her hand on Lee Jeong-min’s arm, patting it.
“I know what you mean. That’s why I couldn’t bring it up carelessly either.”
Trust me.
It wasn't a matter of that degree.
It was a matter of risking his life.
“I have sent off numerous team members. I have felt helpless countless times. What I want to protect, both in the past and now, is one thing.”
Team members.
As a team leader, she wanted to protect her team members.
It was a heart that would never change.
“I’ve already given my neck to Mr. Hyeon-yul.”
If she couldn’t protect him according to the contract, then cut her down.
That’s what Oh Hae-ryeon had told Seo Hyeon-yul.
“Actually, this was something we should have done. It was delayed, and because we couldn’t do it, you ended up taking on everything, Teacher.”
Oh Hae-ryeon bowed her head.
“First, I will apologize.”
It was decided that all the team leaders would apologize to Lee Jeong-min soon.
Only the team leaders weren't coming.
Even higher up, the department head was scheduled to come.
That was right.
“…….”
Lee Jeong-min was speechless for a moment.
It was a statement that made him doubt his ears.
Is this right?
Even when he was at a large hospital, he always lived under the pressure of performance.
He had also received countless criticisms asking why he was clinging to meaningless work.
Seo Hyeon-yul was the only living experiment subject, and due to the attacks that could come at any time, he couldn’t officially announce it.
“It’s also my personal thought, but it’s also for those who might still be alive, those who were experimented on. May I join you?”
Oh Hae-ryeon asked carefully.
It was something that needed to be rushed, but Lee Jeong-min also needed time.
Time to adapt.
Time to find out what kind of place this was.
Time to observe what kind of person she was.
Lee Jeong-min, who had fought alone all this time, needed all of this.
Lee Jeong-min looked at Seo Hyeon-yul.
“…Hyeon-yul. What do you think?”
All of this depended on Seo Hyeon-yul’s choice.
Seo Hyeon-yul looked at Oh Hae-ryeon.
She looked extremely desperate, and also earnest.
It was to the point where he felt it was right to see her this way.
‘She’s really doing it.’
Seo Hyeon-yul found that part curious.
What kind of benefits could there be?
Did she just want to use him well?
He wondered if he would understand even if she told him the reason.
“Team Leader.”
Oh Hae-ryeon nodded in response to Seo Hyeon-yul’s call instead of answering.
“Honestly, the disappointment and despair will be great. It would be better to abandon hope as well. We don’t know how long a miracle will last. I wouldn’t really recommend it.”
No matter how skilled Oh Hae-ryeon was, she had seen Lee Jeong-min’s despair and disappointment up close.
It’s painful.
He knew what that emotion was like.
“Will you still do it?”
Seo Hyeon-yul asked as if talking about someone else.