Bottom Life #2
I stared at her in utter disbelief as I packed our bags in the hotel room.
“Where exactly are we going?”
The Doctor repeated herself with a calm expression.
“Mississippi. We’ll do some sightseeing there.”
“Mississippi? There’s nothing there but gambling. Do you want to gamble, sis? Have you even been to a casino before?”
“I went a few times when I was younger.”
I narrowed my eyes and studied her carefully. The Doctor quickly averted her gaze and lowered her head slightly. She was practically broadcasting that she had something to hide.
A soft chuckle escaped me.
“There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
“.....”
“It’s fine. Just tell me.”
“Well… the truth is… I received information that Future Science Technology leaked some tech there. It might be related to our lab’s research… the chances are quite high.”
So she’d taken the bait.
I pretended not to understand.
“What are you talking about? Why would our lab’s technology be leaking in Mississippi?”
“Haa…”
With a long sigh, the Doctor finally confessed everything.
“Here’s what happened…”
The World Coalition had detected suspicious activity in Biloxi, Mississippi. A criminal organization under surveillance by American intelligence agencies had been discovered in possession of what appeared to be cluster munitions. Upon discreet investigation, the weapons were found to have originated from Japan. The World Coalition was now preparing to dispatch field agents in coordination with the United States.
The Doctor watched my face shift through various expressions before continuing.
“My guess is… remember the tiger monster that appeared on Mount Fuji? Leona used a lot of cluster bombs while dealing with its offspring. Apparently one of them was a dud. The yakuza got their hands on it, and now there are rumors that a criminal syndicate in Mississippi is analyzing it…”
My predictions were hitting the mark perfectly. Well done, Marcela.
I raised a finger, cutting her off.
“So you looked into this behind my back?”
“T-that’s…”
“Answer me properly. Since when have you been digging up information like this?”
After fidgeting for a moment, the Doctor finally admitted it.
“Every morning… I’ve been checking the World Coalition’s reports…”
“Why? We only need to focus on monsters, and none have appeared lately. There’s no reason for you to concern yourself with their business, is there?”
“I felt too guilty just sitting still… I wanted to help Earth in any way I could… Jihyeok, please don’t be angry…”
“Do I look like I’m not angry? You weren’t even going to tell me? You weren’t seriously thinking of going to check it out alone, were you?”
“No! I did think we should verify it… but I never planned to hide it from you.”
“Then why did you suggest we go sightseeing in Mississippi? You only said that because you were planning to keep it from me. If you truly had no intention of hiding it, you would have been honest from the start and suggested we look into it together.”
The Doctor hung her head completely. She had nothing left to say.
Honestly, I understood her feelings all too well. I had infiltrated Syria based on a single piece of information, then pretended to be deeply traumatized after slaughtering the people conducting human experiments. She must have hidden this out of fear that my trauma would resurface.
I slowly walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Thank you, sis.”
She had expected a scolding, so my sudden gratitude left her completely flustered.
“What…? What are you thanking me for…?”
“For not telling me because you were worried about me. You were afraid I’d get hurt again like I did in Syria.”
“.....”
“But I’m fine now. Thanks to you, I’ve forgotten all about it.”
At those words, the Doctor wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest. Her breathing, faint but full of joy, told me everything. She had swallowed the emotional bait whole.
I gently stroked her back.
“From now on, we do everything together. This time, and every time after.”
“Yeah… I’m sorry…”
This incident was entirely your own doing. You could have stayed quiet and left it to the World Coalition, but your unnecessary meddling is what dragged me into this mess. Instead of simply getting captured, I’ll make sure to drag a few high-ranking officials down with me. Corrupt heroes in positions of power should be more than enough to shatter the Doctor’s mentality.
I’ll have to tell Marcela.
In a luxurious suite at a high-end resort on the coast of Biloxi, Mississippi.
“Mmm…”
The Doctor opened her eyes in the dark room and groped around instinctively. It was a subconscious attempt to find Jihyeok, but all she felt was the soft texture of the empty bed beside her.
A strange sense of unease washed over her. She reached for the headboard and flipped the bedroom light switch.
With a soft click, the room brightened. She squinted for a moment, then frowned when she realized Jihyeok was nowhere to be seen.
Is he in the living room…?
She got out of bed and turned on the living room lights. When she saw how tidy the large coffee table was, she tilted her head in confusion. She had definitely been working on multiple reconnaissance drones to scout the criminal organization for the past two days… but they were gone.
Looking puzzled, her eyes landed on a folded white piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and opened it.
As her eyes scanned left and right across the letter, her hands began to tremble more and more violently.
I'm sorry, sis. I was too worried about you, so I'm going to check it out alone. I'll take a look and come back, so if you wake up, don't come looking for me. Just rest. I love you.
“You…!”
The first emotion the Doctor felt was betrayal. Back at the hotel in San Francisco before coming to Mississippi, Jihyeok had clearly said it. From now on, they would do everything together.
If he had at least told her, she wouldn’t be this furious. But to act like they would handle it together, only to go off alone on something this important… it was only natural that she was livid.
The next emotion that hit her was worry.
What if… what if something had happened to him? What if he had been captured by the criminal organization and was being tortured? The fact that he had been captured in Syria before only made her more anxious.
Now wide awake, the Doctor rushed back to the bedroom and grabbed her phone. She activated the tracking device. When the red dot indicating Jihyeok’s location appeared in a high-crime area, she gripped the phone so tightly it nearly shattered.
If he comes back safely, I’ll send him to the afterlife with my own two hands.
The moment that thought crossed her mind—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed in the distance. The impact was strong enough to shake the entire top-floor hotel.
She ran to the window and yanked the curtains open. In the distance, on an island, she saw flames and a massive mushroom cloud rising into the sky.
Given the scale of the explosion and the sound she had just heard…
Our lab’s cluster bomb…
It was the same cluster bomb she had developed—the one Leona had used. But why, and how, had their lab’s cluster bomb detonated there?
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer. Deciding that contacting Jihyeok was the priority, she tried to call him. But if he had infiltrated the criminal organization, she feared a call might only interfere.
In the end, the Doctor could only bite her nails and stare at the red dot on her phone.
After staring at it intently for a while, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Haa…”
The red dot was moving back toward the resort. It was moving incredibly fast—he must have gotten in a car. It seemed he had heard the explosion and was returning. Perhaps he was the one who had caused it. No, the chances of that were extremely high.
Praising Jihyeok in her mind for handling it so well, she considered going out to meet him but ultimately decided against it. She was furious right now. She wouldn’t even speak to him until her anger subsided.
With that resolve, she looked out at the now-chaotic nighttime coastline. Since the explosion hadn’t occurred nearby, almost no one was fleeing. The tourists were too busy filming the burning island to care about anything else.
Convinced that nothing too serious would happen, the Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed.
Just come back… seriously…
The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. How could he just leave her behind like that? It was a good thing everything had gone smoothly. If it hadn’t… ugh, just thinking about it was terrifying.
While she was busy thinking of all the ways she would scold him, she heard the sound of a keycard at the door and immediately furrowed her brows. She crossed her legs and folded her arms, ready for confrontation.
The door burst open.
The moment she saw Jihyeok’s face, the Doctor shouted.
“Hey! Song Jihyeok! You said we’d move together and now you— huk!”
She had been ready to berate him, but she quickly covered her mouth in shock. Jihyeok’s clothes were filthy. He was drenched in sweat. Not only that, his breathing was ragged and his expression was grim. Something had clearly gone wrong.
Her tone changed instantly.
“Jihyeok… did something happen?”
“Sis, we don’t have much time, so I’ll explain quickly. Listen carefully.”
Jihyeok looked extremely urgent, like someone being chased.
The Doctor swallowed hard and nodded.
“O-okay.”
“You heard the explosion, right? That was one of our cluster bombs. Your prediction was correct. I saw it with my own eyes. I used the reconnaissance drone to carry it to an uninhabited island and detonated it there. But…”
“But…?”
“Someone tracked me back and found me. And it wasn’t just the criminal organization researching our technology. There were other forces involved.”
“Other forces?”
“They’re connected to the Mississippi state government. Not only that, governors from five different states are involved in this. Actually, there might be even more. America is in danger.”
The words coming out of Jihyeok’s mouth were too shocking for the Doctor to process immediately. Her mind went blank, and her mouth slowly fell open.
Jihyeok strode over and grabbed both of her arms tightly.
“Get a hold of yourself.”
“Ah, y-yes…!”
“I’m currently being pursued by the state police. I intercepted their radio transmissions—they’ve pinned the blame on me. I’ll go out now and draw their attention. You need to leave this place immediately. Go somewhere safe and thoroughly investigate everything that happened today.”
At those words, the Doctor shot up from the bed in a panic.
“You’re being chased…? Then this is serious! L-let’s escape together. I’ll contact the World Coalition and explain everything. Or should I call Sehwa or Yuria for help?”
“We came here unofficially. The World Coalition doesn’t know those cluster bombs are ours, and they must never find out. That’s why I went out of my way to detonate it. This incident must have no connection to our lab. Calling Sehwa or Yuria is also out of the question.”
“B-but you’re in serious trouble. I can’t just sit back and—”
Jihyeok pounded his chest in frustration.
“Think about it rationally! There are many people in the World Coalition who don’t like us. If Beast Slayers suddenly appear to rescue someone being chased in a situation like this, we’re finished. They’ll pin everything about the cluster bombs on us and spread rumors everywhere that we’re trying to destroy America!”
“Jihyeok…! What should I do? Tell me…!”
“You need to clear my name as quickly as possible. Can you do that?”
The Doctor’s breathing grew rapid. She could barely breathe properly. Jihyeok looked at her with desperate eyes and asked again.
“Can you do that?”
Snapping back to her senses, she nodded frantically.
“Y-yes! I can!”
“The police will seal off the hotel once they start their investigation. So get out before that happens. I’ll leave right after you. I love you, sis. I’m counting on you.”
Before she could say anything else, Jihyeok planted a deep kiss on her lips, then kicked the door open and ran out.
Even though the situation was terrifying and her mind was a complete mess, one single thought refused to leave the Doctor’s head.
I should have just gone where Jihyeok wanted to go…
Her pointless meddling had turned him into a fugitive.
After standing there in a daze for a moment, she recalled what Jihyeok had said and moved quickly. There was no time for regret. The priority was to escape to a safe location, investigate the incident, and clear his name.