Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Stars of the Scientific World (2)
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"I'm right here."
I stared intently at the awakened scientist.
Samuel bolted upright and walked over to the patient.
"Sleep more, you punk."
"...Ye-hyeon."
John Mullen didn't seem to be listening to Samuel at all.
"I have a report to make."
"You gonna talk long?"
Yoon tossed the words at Mullen from his seat in the chair.
Mullen didn't react to Yoon's words either. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut and stared at the ceiling. What kind of person is this? I was briefly flustered but quickly pulled myself together.
Were people like this a rarity?
I stood and walked over to the scientist.
"It's me."
I stopped beside the doctor and stuck my head forward.
Samuel turned to me with surprised eyes. John Mullen's eyeballs rolled downward. I gazed into the scientist's blue eyes, which were a different shade from Samuel's.
John Mullen's voice was as low as Yoon's.
"How'd you end up in a portal?"
"Uh, I suddenly fell out of a portal without realizing it. So, about a month ago..."
"...Not that. The route."
"I have almost no memories before that."
"We can actually talk to him."
The Master, sitting in the chair with his legs crossed, muttered to himself.
"The situation must be pretty serious."
Isn't your standard for judgment a bit off?
John Mullen acted like he hadn't heard Yoon. Or maybe he was just naturally ignoring him.
The scientist stared at me intently before looking back at the ceiling.
"Yoon."
"What."
As the scientist called his name, Yoon uncrossed his legs.
Yoon walked over to where we were.
"What's the problem."
"Call Ye-hyeon."
Yoon looked down at John Mullen without moving.
Surprisingly, it was Doctor Han who urged a response. He nudged Yoon with his elbow, as if to say, 'It seems urgent, so call him quick.' The doctor's eyes were utterly serious.
This scientist's reaction must be pretty unusual.
Yoon slowly reached for his phone.
We watched as he called Ye-hyeon. The conversation wasn't long. Yoon said, Commander, Mullen says he has a report to make, then fell silent listening to the other side, and ended the call with a curt "Yes."
The Master pocketed his phone and relayed the result.
"He says unless it's truly a matter of split-second timing, he'll contact us within three hours no matter what."
Once more, silence.
The man, who had lain there like a corpse without twitching a finger, finally spoke just as we were thinking, 'Is the talk over?'
"Hand this man over to me."
...Pardon?
Who the hell is this guy?
Me?
I wasn't the only one flustered. Samuel wore an expression like he thought the man had finally lost it from not getting enough nutrients.
But the Master wasn't surprised.
He refused cleanly.
"Sorry, but I got dibs. He has to train under me officially on weekdays."
"Weekends."
"Hey!"
It was Samuel who got angry at Mullen's short, brazen reply.
I was genuinely touched by the doctor raging on my behalf.
"What, like the kid's some object to pass around? And what's this about weekends? What are you planning to do dragging a clueless kid around on weekends?"
"..."
"It's obvious."
Yoon let out a chuckle, like something was hilarious.
"No subject's piqued my interest like this one lately. You must have a ton of experiments you want to run."
"You're gonna call him in on his day off for some shady experiments?"
"Uh, half a day on the weekend would be fine for me."
All eyes turned to me.
It was quite a sight seeing these seasoned veterans genuinely surprised. Their gazes stuck like they'd been glued. The funniest part was that the scientist who'd been staring at the ceiling had popped his eyes open like a rabbit and was staring at me.
Why are you surprised when you suggested it?
The men looked at me like I was some alien.
"You're not right in the head either."
Samuel finally said.
"What do you think you're gonna go through there on the weekend?"
"I don't think I'll die."
"Then come to me instead?"
Yoon said something menacing. That was a bit... Yoon and John Mullen both seemed like the mad scientist type, but if I had to pick, John Mullen looked a tad safer.
Or not?
As I clouded my gaze looking at Yoon, Mullen blurted out.
"Cool."
Samuel's jaw dropped.
Yoon whipped his head around and stared at John Mullen with an incredulous look, as if he'd never heard such words in his life.
The Master stared at the old-tree-like man.
"You're talking about Hilde? I've never heard you say something like that to anyone."
The Master's character analysis keeps getting deeper.
I felt secretly proud hearing Yoon let out a disbelieving voice.
Anyway, the scientist didn't respond this time either. Instead of answering, John Mullen raised his upper body from the bed. Even his sitting posture was something else.
But is he even allowed to sit up?
"Lie down!"
The doctor shouted.
John Mullen ignored him. Instead, he sat up straight and looked at me.
The pale scientist with gray hair said seriously.
"Tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow's a weekday."
Yoon countered.
Mullen shut his mouth. This guy... he must work without any sense of days and doesn't know what day it is.
Samuel yelled at Mullen again.
"I said lie down!"
"You're screwed."
Yoon turned to me with a warning.
"Don't think nothing'll happen. You'll regret it a hundred percent later. Well, if you wanna back out anytime, just say so. I'll pull you out whenever."
"No... well, it's true I'm a weirdo."
I tried to ignore the rising wave of anxiety.
It wasn't some foolish impulse that made me accept the offer. I really just wanted no more problems caused by me. If my recovery couldn't improve, then at least I should try to get rid of whatever it was that attracted creatures.
Of course, this old-tree-like scientist hadn't said he'd fix that trait.
In any case, if participating in experiments could prevent potential issues, I was willing to give half a day on the weekend—or a full day if success was guaranteed.
Suddenly, a phone appeared in front of me.
"...Number."
Mullen said.
The men were openly shocked. Yoon widened his eyes and blinked them a couple times. The doctor's jaw stayed dropped and wouldn't come up.
I took the proffered phone.
"Got it."
I handed the phone back, and it rang immediately.
Mullen had called me right away. While I saved the scientist's number, Yoon and Samuel Han didn't move from their spots. They kept expressions like they'd seen it all after living so long.
The men didn't budge even as John Mullen settled back into bed.
But did he lie down just because Samuel nagged him?
"You better report this to Ye-hyeon later too."
The doctor broke the silence.
"That this green rookie wants to drag him off every weekend."
No reply came this time either.
The scientist gazing at the ceiling with clasped hands, and the stunned men.
I was chased out of the hospital wing soon after. The doctor shooed me away with hand waves. Work's done, so go rest, he said. Now you can't even rest fully on the weekend, so hurry and rest up.
***
Should I grab dinner on the way in?
As I pondered while walking the company corridor, I ran into a familiar face.
The other guy was tall and slender, dressed in eye-catching clothes, so I recognized him right away.
I called out to the man blended into the crowd from the science wing.
"Ricardo!"
"Ah~... Rookie..."
The man in combat gear, walking lazily, looked up at me.
The habitual smile hanging on his lips as always. The sharp aura piercing through the smile. The only difference was the bloodstains caked all over his body. But even to my clueless eyes, it was obvious it wasn't his blood, so I wasn't worried.
Ricardo approached me slowly.
"See you again... Doing well~? Went out beyond the Core?"
"Yes. I got back early yesterday morning. Looks like you just came back from duty. Good work."
"Just the usual~... If you got back yesterday, today should still be your day off, right~? So why're you coming from the hospital wing?"
Did he get hurt somewhere else? Ricardo asked, one hand shoved in his combat gear pocket.
People hurried past in the corridor. I shook my head and closed the distance with my senior. Ricardo watched me approach, his habitual smile on his lips.
"I went to the hospital wing for a simple checkup."
"Ahh... Alone?"
"No. I went with my Master and another senior, but I came out first."
"Which other senior? Badger?"
Ricardo resumed his lazy steps. I followed along.
I still hadn't familiarized myself with this vast space. So I didn't know where Ricardo was headed. But since the conversation wasn't over, I matched his stride.
I looked into Ricardo's vivid green eyes.
"Senior Mullen. We ended up going together by chance, but we just exchanged numbers and left."
Ricardo stopped dead in his tracks.
What? I halted in confusion too. Why stop suddenly?
But the senior offered no explanation. Instead, he stared at me through his glasses without blinking for a long time.
What's wrong...
Only after a long while did the green-eyed man ask back.
"Mullen?"
"Yes."
"John Mullen?"
"Yes. From the science division."
"You exchanged numbers?"
"Yes."
"Phone numbers?"
"...Yeah."
"Did you ask for it?"
"No, he asked first."
"What the hell are you doing?"
There was no mirth in Ricardo's voice.
The habitual smile had vanished from his lips. He pierced me with serious eyes. People passing in the corridor glanced at us, but he didn't twitch an eyebrow.
Receiving that needle-like gaze, I mumbled.
"Well..."
I briefly explained that I'd be meeting John Mullen every weekend, and Ricardo pressed his lips into a straight line.
Silence returned. The air froze solid. He stood unmoving in the wide corridor full of people.
I waited quietly for him to speak.
But the silence dragged on.
Did I do something to get under his skin?
As the quiet stretched, I grew increasingly flustered. Yoon was expressionless but honest; Ricardo was the opposite, making him harder to deal with in some ways.
Should I just apologize even if I don't know what for?
Luckily, just as I started wondering if I should apologize, he broke the silence.
The green-eyed senior put his characteristic smile back on his lips.
"Hilde..."
"Yes."
"Wanna talk for a sec~?"
Ricardo draped his arm over my shoulder.
I nodded readily. Ricardo didn't remove his arm and started walking. I obediently matched his steps and followed.
We walked through the crowded corridor and turned left.
We stopped in front of the emergency stairs.
Facing the gray door, Ricardo naturally turned his back to the corridor and looked at me with a silent smile.
Then he asked.
"Were you threatened?"