Cup Noodles and Dog Food

The hospital was still on strike. Of course some consultations continued, but given Dr. Kang's usual personality there was no chance he would drag himself in to work if even a single other doctor was slacking off. He was the sort who could live just fine without lifting a finger… what did he have to lose?

So Seo Rin headed to Dr. Kang's place for the first time. The man had given him the address before, yet Seo Rin had never once visited. At first it seemed odd that the place sat outside Seoul, between Gimpo and Incheon, and he wondered what the guy was thinking… but after riding the motorcycle for a while a glittering, magnificent officetel came into view even from afar.

Counting the floors… whoa, the top floor? Looking from outside, the uppermost level was all glass like a hotel sky lounge—what people called a penthouse, right?

A curse slipped out unbidden. No matter how much money doctors raked in with that "sa" title attached to their profession, this was over the line. Ordinary doctors could never live in a place like this.

Seo Rin stopped in front of the officetel and pressed the elevator button for the top floor without hesitation. When the doors opened there was only a single door waiting—meaning the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entire floor belonged to Dr. Kang. Kang Ui-chan… just what the hell was this guy?

With a displeased look Seo Rin rang the bell. Dr. Kang's voice floated out from inside.

"Door's open."

Seo Rin pushed it—sure enough, unlocked. What was this man thinking? Grumbling, he stepped inside. The living room that unfolded was so vast you could never play soccer, yet handball seemed entirely possible. Dr. Kang sat in one corner amid a mountain of cup-ramen carcasses, glued to his game console.

"Oh, it's you? Long time no see. Come on in."

"…What are you doing right now?"

"FIFA. It's fun. Wanna try?"

Dr. Kang shrugged without taking his hands off the controller. Complete shut-in. How on earth had this man ever become a doctor?

"No."

Seo Rin shook his head hard and quickly pulled out the coated coca leaves.

"You know what this is, right?"

"Dunno. Not interested in horticulture."

"You really don't know?"

"Really."

Dr. Kang answered with zero effort and unpaused the game. A vein throbbed on Seo Rin's forehead as he sat down beside him.

"Seriously… A guest shows up and you just keep playing games?"

"Look at the state of my room. What am I supposed to serve you with?"

"That's not the point… I have something to talk about."

Dr. Kang shook his head, paused the game again, and turned to Seo Rin.

"Please spare me. What is it this time?"

"My father's coffee farm. What exactly is that place?"

"What else? A farm that produces very useful high-value luxury goods."

"…Coffee or cocaine?"

"Both. The farm manager asked me to find him a Korean military guy, so I sent one over. Why? Not treating him well?"

Dr. Kang glanced at Seo Rin as if wondering what the problem could possibly be. How could he say something like that and still not grasp what Seo Rin was taking issue with? Seo Rin was so flabbergasted he flared up.

"Sending him as a bodyguard to a drug farm! Does that even make sense?"

"Better than shipping him off as a mercenary to Russia, right? Russia actually needs real skill. Mafia everywhere."

"Ah, is that so?"

Seo Rin glared at the shameless doctor and found himself speechless. Dr. Kang grabbed the joypad again, shoulders bouncing, and resumed the game.

"Besides, that's Giovanni Vantero's territory—the drug lord. No one would dare raid Giovanni Vantero lightly. The real threat is the farm workers themselves."

"How admirable. How on earth does a doctor from the Republic of Korea have connections over there?"

"Made a few friends while I was studying abroad."

"Haa…"

Seo Rin scratched his head hard. In his entire life he had never run into a situation this fucked. He wanted to explode in rage, yet Dr. Kang was so utterly nonchalant that even the urge to get angry evaporated.

"So you really just sent him without thinking anything of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it?"

"Yeah. Why? Something happen?"

"No. Nothing."

Seo Rin said that and stood up—only to collide with the neatly stacked cup-ramen containers. Startled, he immediately righted them.

"…You should get married already and eat something proper instead of this. What's the point of a house big enough for handball if you live on cup ramen every single day…"

On a roll now, Seo Rin carried the containers to the sink, washed them, stacked them neatly, and cleaned up the trash. He crushed the cola PET bottles with that ferocious grip of his until their volume shrank dramatically.

He even found a mop and mop handle and cleaned the floor. Even while he was doing all that, the homeowner kept bouncing his butt in front of the console and said:

"I take calcium tablets and multivitamins, so it's fine."

"Is that something a doctor should say?"

"A pragmatist's words!"

"Nutrition aside, what about exercise?"

"I do an hour of squash and kendo every day."

"Where?"

Seo Rin muttered and looked at the wall—clear ball marks. A house big enough for handball… and he really did play squash at home. Seo Rin was left speechless… and suddenly felt an overwhelming swell of emotion.

"This goddamn mess."

In the end Seo Rin even stuffed the piled laundry into the washing machine and started it. Then he spoke to Dr. Kang, who was still gaming.

"I'll run it through the spin cycle before I leave, so when the game's over hang everything on the line. Otherwise the drum might rot right along with the clothes."

"My machine is antibacterial, so it's fine."

"Yeah, right."

Seo Rin grumbled his way out of Dr. Kang's officetel.

Anyway, from the doctor's attitude it was clear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he truly knew nothing. Kang Ui-chan was such a skilled liar that even when he lied there was never any tension or tell, so Seo Rin's sense of smell and the like could not easily catch him… but looking at the way the man behaved, what more needed to be said?

Se-geon stopped in front of Sa Jun's house. Befitting a broker, it was a large old warehouse converted into a home, and out front hung a big sign that read:

"…Hm?"

Se-geon focused on the tiny writing beneath the beware-of-dog notice. It clearly stated that anyone who failed to bring a present would be turned away.

"Oh?"

Se-geon laughed incredulously. Still, he backed the motorcycle up and rode to the large discount store he had passed on the way. There he bought a sack of dog food, loaded it onto the rear of the bike, and returned to stand once more before Sa Jun's house. Then, steeling himself, he flung the door open.

At once dozens of dogs erupted in barking and charged straight at him.

"What the—?"

Se-geon was startled. The dogs came in every breed imaginable, and there were more than forty of them.

"Ah, everyone quiet. Quiet. Oh my. Isn't that Se-geon? What's up?"

Narrow-eyed Sa Jun appeared, grinning, slippers dragging. Se-geon handed over the sack of dog food he was holding.

"Ooh… you know the drill, pal. Thanks. I'll put it to good use."

"Quite a few dogs."

Se-geon muttered as he surveyed the warehouse. A tent was pitched out front with a bamboo platform beneath it; Sa Jun had been sitting there typing on a computer.

"…Pretty unique setup. Dog hair not a problem?"

"Completely water-cooled rig. CPU, video card, motherboard, case—everything. So dog hair's never an issue."

"That's a relief. What water do you use?"

"Just well water."

"No galvanic corrosion?"

"Hang a sacrificial jacket on it. Doesn't cost much."

Se-geon studied Sa Jun's computer with genuine curiosity. Sa Jun grinned and gestured for him to sit on the platform. Se-geon settled beside him and looked at the dogs swarming around.

"You brats! I told you not to climb onto the platform!"

Sa Jun growled at the pack; the dogs whimpered and clung to Se-geon instead. Se-geon absently stroked them while regarding Sa Jun.

"Do you know why I came?"

"No idea? You already took Seo Rin from Giovanni Vantero, right?"

So the guy already knew most of the story after all. Se-geon glared at him, then looked back at the dogs. The assorted mutts still sat in front of Se-geon, tails gently wagging.

"The guy was pretty strong."

"Same story I heard. Giovanni Vantero was whining that getting hit by you hurt so bad he was going to die."

Sa Jun replied without the slightest hesitation, as if they were old friends. Se-geon laughed in sheer disbelief.

"Jeez, if it hurts that much he should just go die already. Why thrash around trying to live with that turtle-looking face?"

"Tsk. Don't give him so much shit about his looks. You think he wanted to look like that? Besides, if you stare long enough he actually has a cute vibe."

Se-geon looked Sa Jun straight in the eyes. Giovanni looked cute? The guy's eyes might be narrow, but his range for cuteness was apparently infinite.

"Anyway, so?"

It sounded like time for the main point, so Se-geon grew serious.

"I need to know their movements."

"Ooh, this is something…"

Sa Jun scratched his head and looked at Se-geon.

"What are you offering?"

The question was so primal that Se-geon was briefly flustered.

"How about money?"

Even to his own ears it sounded stupid. Sa Jun worked for money, yet money was never the real goal. Just like Sarhyuk, this one was clearly after something far larger.

Indeed Sa Jun let out a heavy sigh at Se-geon's words.

"Whew, you're hopeless. Really. Is that even a proposal? Offering cash while making an enemy of a drug lord? Not very attractive. Not to mention Tetra Anax on top of it. Hey, Beast. If you're a Jinma hunter, how about putting up something extraordinary the way a Jinma hunter should?"

"Something extraordinary? Dog food?"

Se-geon asked while shooing the dogs back. Sa Jun clutched his belly and roared with laughter.

"Hahahahahaha! Th-that is actually pretty attractive too, but… like, if you catch Lilith, give me a little something to research."

"A pretty abstract reward. You can be satisfied with that?"

"Ahh, nice. The ability to create anything you want—no mage can help being interested. The witch who creates Tetra Anax… Ahaha."

"…"

Se-geon looked at Sa Jun in genuine surprise.

"You were a mage?"

"Didn't know? For all appearances I'm an apprentice of the traditional Knights Templar."

"Your whole family seems to have a specialty."

Se-geon stared at him, incredulous. Older brother a Taoist, younger brother a mage. What kind of family education produced brothers like these? He suddenly muttered:

"Must have gotten a full fantasy-grade upbringing."

"Hm? What?"

"No, nothing. Then will you settle for a chance to research Lilith?"

As far as Se-geon was concerned, Lilith was an enemy to be overthrown no matter what. And once Lilith fell, the mages would be next. To a man who had sworn to wipe the dark world out completely, handing Lilith over to mages was a promise with almost no weight.

Yet with that single promise this guy was willing to enter a double contract that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put his own life at risk. Se-geon could not understand it, but he recognized something of Kim Seong-hui in the man. The madness that eventually visits every mage who researches forbidden secrets for too long?

If he simply stayed still he would make it halfway; instead he stuck his neck into reckless ventures for no good reason. Positively it was a spirit of adventure, an experimental spirit; negatively it was pure immaturity.

"Okay. A small fry like me—even if I play around inside the organization, would I ever get to see a single hair of Lilith? And trading with vampires? I doubt those bastards would look out for me. At times like this you buy a lottery ticket and bet on a guy like you."

"…"

So my reliability is roughly that of one lottery ticket? Se-geon thought, and laughed under his breath. For something so flimsy the risk was enormous. Giovanni Vantero had become a drug lord not only because he was a vampire, but because he had shown zero mercy when he wiped out the Kona Daston family. Get on the wrong side of a man like that and Sa Jun would not have a life left to lose.

One way or another, Se-geon had no desire to be bound to Sa Jun by trust. Yet contrary to his first expectations the conversation had become so utterly free of venom that he felt a quiet disappointment.

"But you like dogs? Why so many?"

Se-geon looked over the bustling kennels. Clearly every structure had been built by hand from wood. Even with some skill, making that many would take a staggering amount of work. Sa Jun simply crossed his arms and answered.

"I don't particularly like them."

"You don't?"

"With the recession these days people abandon a lot of the dogs they were raising. So I took them in one by one and it ended up like this."

"To raise and eat later?"

"Even without that, the dog-meat traders are already begging me to sell."